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Alaska federal judge Joshua Kindred abruptly resigns

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Alaska federal judge Joshua Kindred abruptly resigns


By Sean Maguire

Updated: 15 minutes ago Published: 15 minutes ago

Alaska U.S. District Court judge Joshua Kindred abruptly resigned from the federal bench this week without explanation.

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Kindred, 46, was appointed to the District Court of Alaska by former President Donald Trump in 2019 and confirmed in 2020. Formerly an Anchorage prosecutor and an attorney at the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, Kindred was 42 when he became a federal judge, making him among the youngest of a wave of judges appointed by Trump.

Federal judgeships are lifetime appointments, and resignations are rare. It’s not clear why Kindred is stepping down.

Kindred wrote a one-page letter to President Joe Biden on Wednesday, giving his formal notice of resignation. The letter gave no reason why he was resigning. It’s effective on July 8.

Questions to Kindred’s chambers on Friday were directed to Candice Duncan, chief clerk of the U.S. District Court of Alaska. Duncan said in a prepared statement that all of Kindred’s cases would be reassigned on July 5.

Kindred was picked by Trump to replace U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline in 2019. He was deemed qualified by the Alaska Bar Association but was rated 16th of 20 applicants. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski told Alaska Public Media at the time that Trump was looking to appoint younger judges to the bench.

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The U.S. District Court of Alaska has three active district judges, four “senior judges,” who are in semi-retired status, and a handful of magistrate judges assisting. With Kindred’s resignation, Chief Judge Sharon Gleason is the only active district court judge serving in Alaska.

Former Alaska Chief Judge Timothy Burgess resigned at the end of 2021 when he reached the minimum retirement age of 65 for federal judges. Burgess has been a senior judge since then, which allows him to take cases if the court’s active judges are unavailable.

Burgess’ seat on the court has remained vacant since 2022. Federal judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. By convention, the names of potential nominees are often chosen by home-state senators.

U.S. Sens. Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Rep. Mary Peltola did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday on Kindred’s vacancy or the effort to fill Burgess’ seat.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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Alaska

Yundt Served: Formal Charges Submitted to Alaska Republican Party, Asks for Party Sanction and Censure of Senator Rob Yundt

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Yundt Served: Formal Charges Submitted to Alaska Republican Party, Asks for Party Sanction and Censure of Senator Rob Yundt


Sen. Rob Yundt

On January 3, 2026, Districts 27 and 28 of the Alaska Republican Party received formal charges against Senator Rob Yundt pursuant to Article VII of the Alaska Republican Party Rules.

According to the Alaska Republican Party Rules: “Any candidate or elected official may be sanctioned or censured for any of the following
reasons:
(a) Failure to follow the Party Platform.
(b) Engagement in any activities prohibited by or contrary to these rules or RNC Rules.
(c) Failure to carry out or perform the duties of their office.
(d) Engaging in prohibited discrimination.
(e) Forming a majority caucus in which non-Republicans are at least 1/3 or more of the
coalition.
(f) Engaging in other activities that may be reasonably assessed as bringing dishonor to
the ARP, such as commission of a serious crime.”

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Party Rules require the signatures of at least 3 registered Republican constituents for official charges to be filed. The formal charges were signed by registered Republican voters and District N constitutions Jerad McClure, Thomas W. Oels, Janice M. Norman, and Manda Gershon.

Yundt is charged with “failure to adhere and uphold the Alaska Republican Party Platform” and “engaging in conduct contrary to the principles and priorities of the Alaska Republican Party Rules.” The constituents request: “Senator Rob Yundt be provided proper notice of the charges and a full and fair opportunity to respond; and that, upon a finding by the required two-thirds (2/3) vote of the District Committees that the charges are valid, the Committees impose the maximum sanctions authorized under Article VII.”

If the Party finds Yundt guilty of the charges, Yundt may be disciplined with formal censure by the Alaska Republican Party, declaration of ineligibility for Party endorsement, withdrawal of political support, prohibition from participating in certain Party activities, and official and public declaration that Yundt’s conduct and voting record contradict the Party’s values and priorities.

Reasons for the charges are based on Yundt’s active support of House Bill 57, Senate Bill 113, and Senate Bill 92. Constituents who filed the charges argue that HB 57 opposes the Alaska Republican Party Platform by “expanding government surveillance and dramatically increasing education spending;” that SB 113 opposes the Party’s Platform by “impos[ing] new tax burdens on Alaskan consumers and small businesses;” and that SB 92 opposes the Party by “proposing a targeted 9.2% tax on major private-sector energy producer supplying natural gas to Southcentral Alaska.” Although the filed charges state that SB 92 proposes a 9.2% tax, the bill actually proposes a 9.4% tax on income from oil and gas production and transportation.

Many Alaskan conservatives have expressed frustration with Senator Yundt’s legislative decisions. Some, like Marcy Sowers, consider Yundt more like “a tax-loving social justice warrior” than a conservative.

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Pilot of Alaska flight that lost door plug over Portland sues Boeing, claims company blamed him

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Pilot of Alaska flight that lost door plug over Portland sues Boeing, claims company blamed him


The Alaska Airlines captain who piloted the Boeing 737 Max that lost a door plug over Portland two years ago is suing the plane’s manufacturer, alleging that the company has tried to shift blame to him to shield its own negligence.

The $10 million suit — filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Tuesday on behalf of captain Brandon Fisher — stems from the dramatic Jan. 5, 2024 mid-air depressurization of Flight 1282, when a door plug in the 26th row flew off six minutes after take off, creating a 2-by-4-foot hole in the plane that forced Fisher and co-pilot Emily Wiprud to perform an emergency landing back at PDX.

None of the 171 passengers or six crew members on board was seriously injured, but some aviation medical experts said that the consequences could have been “catastrophic” had the incident happened at a higher altitude.

Leani Benitez-Cardona, NTSB aerospace engineer, and Matthew Fox, NTSB chief technical advisor for materials, unpacking the door plug Sunday from Alaska Airlines flight 1282, a Boeing 737-9 MAX, in the materials laboratory at NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C.NTSB

Fisher’s lawsuit is the latest in a series filed against Boeing, including dozens from Flight 1282 passengers. It also names Spirit AeroSystems, a subcontractor that worked on the plane.

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The lawsuit blames the incident on quality control issues with the door plug. It argues that Boeing caught five misinstalled rivets in the panel, and that Spirit employees painted over the rivets instead of reinstalling them correctly. Boeing inspectors caught the discrepancy again, the complaint alleges, but when employees finally reopened the panel to fix the rivets, they didn’t reattach four bolts that secured the door panel.

The complaint’s allegations that Boeing employees failed to secure the bolts is in line with a National Transportation Safety Board investigation that came to the conclusion that the bolts hadn’t been replaced.



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FIRST ALERT: Heavy snow incoming to Southcentral, Southeast, and Southwest Alaska

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FIRST ALERT: Heavy snow incoming to Southcentral, Southeast, and Southwest Alaska


ANCHORAGE, AK (Alaska’s News Source) – A large winter storm is not only bringing heavy snowfall, but warmer temperatures are approaching! The most impacted areas will include Southcentral, Southeast, and Southwest Alaska, with close to a foot of snow accumulation likely through Tuesday afternoon.

Anchorage will receive a trace of snow overnight and into the early morning hours with about 1 to 3 inches of snow by early Monday afternoon. Close to 5 inches of snow will fall across the Kenai Peninsula and Copper River Basin by Monday afternoon before Tuesday morning brings closer to a foot of snow accumulation across the region. Anchorage and Mat-Su snow totals by Tuesday morning will likely reach 8 to 10 inches.

www.alaskasnewssource.com/weather/alerts/

Juneau will most likely get the heaviest rounds of snow from this storm system with close to a foot of snow likely to accumulate by Monday afternoon with even more snow Tuesday morning. Across Southeast, snow total will vary but Sitka and Ketchikan will receive near 3 to 7 inches. Brace for a few days of heavy snowfall with wind gusts up to 30 miles per hour. Rapid snow accumulation will add hazard to roads and rooftops so be vigilant and weather aware.

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Download the free Alaska’s News Source Weather App.

This storm is already making landfall from the Kuskokwim Delta to Bristol Bay. Expect 8 to 16 inches of snow by Monday night as the heaviest rounds will pass over late Monday morning. Wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour will add blizzard-like conditions with reduced visibility. The Aleutian Chain is bracing for high winds as the gusts up to 70 miles per hour are likely tomorrow. Light rain will pass through as a result of residual moisture of the tail-end of this storm.

The Interior will remain mostly dry tomorrow with mostly cloudy skies stretching over the Brooks Range and into the North Slope. Overnight lows are still quite chilly, sitting near 50 and 60 below zero. Coldest temperatures of the season were record Sunday morning at -50 degrees in Fairbanks, being the coldest temperature since February 2024 which was also -50 degrees. Light snow is possible Tuesday, but otherwise, very calm and quiet weather remains across central and northern Alaska.

Send us your weather photos and videos here!

24/7 Alaska Weather: Get access to live radar, satellite, weather cameras, current conditions, and the latest weather forecast here. Also available through the Alaska’s News Source streaming app available on Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV.

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