A few weeks ago, as my friend Forest and I rode our bikes on the vast white sheet of the frozen Yukon River downstream of Galena, the river forced us into a 90-degree hard left. There, the channel suddenly necked down from being almost a mile wide to just a quarter mile.

A 300-foot outcrop known as Bishop Rock sits at this pinch point on the middle Yukon. Its name — bestowed by someone in remembrance of an Oregon missionary who was murdered there in 1885 — comes up at this time every year when people start talking about river breakup and the potential for ice-jam flooding.

Kyle Van Peursem of the Alaska Pacific River Forecast Center mentioned Bishop Rock during a recent presentation on the potential for spring floods in communities along the state’s rivers.

Though the Yukon, Kuskokwim, Koyukuk and other rivers in central and northern Alaska are all very solid and white as of this writing, that will soon change. River breakup happens when the power of the sun melts feet of snow from the landscape and rots the ice of the river that was hard as iron for so dang long.

Predicting when breakup will occur at any of the dozens of villages along river systems is an inexact science. The most important variable is air temperature. Warmer Aprils are good, Van Peursem said, because they allow the snow and ice to melt at a more gradual rate that won’t overwhelm river channels.

The biggest driver of the dynamic breakups that flood villages is a cold April that “compresses the time to get rid of snowmelt,” he said.

Alaska villages on rivers most often flood in springtime due to ice jams. Jams happen when meltwater shoves chunks of recently broken ice sheets together.

“I think of these as like a dam in the river,” Van Peursem said. “The breakup front (a conveyor belt of ice chunks) stops, water has no place to go and piles up behind it.”

Constrictions in rivers like Bishop Rock are common places for ice jams. In 2013, a pileup at Bishop Rock swelled the river upstream like a python and flooded Galena. The same happened in 1945, when U.S. Air Force bomber pilots dropped more than 75 bombs on the ice jam in front of Bishop Rock. They failed to dislodge the mass of ice.

Bishop Rock will soon loom large in windows of a single-engine aircraft in which Van Peursem will fly. He will monitor that portion of the Yukon River on flights from Galena as part of the Riverwatch program.

Van Peursem said the part of the Yukon he is monitoring is trending toward a dynamic breakup due to a cold April — Galena’s low temperature on April 22, 2026, was in the single digits Fahrenheit — but “hopefully we can slowly warm up as we go into May.”

A note to my readers: This, friends, is the second-to-last Alaska Science Forum I will write. After 31 years in the saddle, I am retiring from my science-writer job here at the Geophysical Institute on May 1, 2026. Though I have planned this for a while, the date sure has snuck up. I will sum up the whole adventure in my final column next week.

And — fear not — my boss and other leaders at the Geophysical Institute are committed to continuing the Alaska Science Forum after I leave.

WASHINGTON (AZFamily) — After a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington on Saturday night, reaction poured in from Arizona politicians about what happened.

Rep. Abe Hamadeh, a Republican who was at the dinner, said he and other members of Congress were evacuated from the Washington Hilton following the gunshots.

Hamadeh said the shots rang out not far from where he was sitting.

“They were gunshots. I’m a former military. I’m an Army officer. they were gunshots. As soon as those gunshots rang out you, heard glasses shattering everywhere, people spilled their drinks bolting down to hide underneath the tables,” Hamadeh said.

Hamadeh said he tried to duck under a table but couldn’t fit. He said that’s when his security team called him and he was quickly escorted him out of the room.

“It’s scary we have to live like this. Nobody should have to live like this,” he said.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman, a Republican from Indiana, also spoke about the incident in Hamadeh’s video posted on social media.

“It was very scary,” he said. “All of a sudden, 50 to 75 feet over my left shoulder, gunshots go off, and we all jump underneath the table. Stuff was falling over. The drinks were spilling over.”

Officials rushed to safety

Mark Lodato, Dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, and former Associate Dean at the Walter Cronkite School of Mass Communication, was sitting feet away from the stage.

He spoke exclusively with Arizona’s Family.

“Everyone immediately jumped below, and got under tables and hid, trying to wait to figure out what was going on,” Lodato said.

He said he watched as Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was quickly whisked out of the room.

A video he captured shows officials moving chairs to rush Secretary of State Marco Rubio to safety.

Bipartisan reaction

Arizona GOP Rep. Andy Biggs, who is running for governor, said in a social media post that he and his wife are relieved no one was hurt and are praying that the violence stops.

“It is deeply concerning and frustrating to have another near instance of tragic and senseless violence at an event featuring President Trump,” Biggs said.

Republican Rep. Paul Gosar also posted on X and praised the response from first responders.

“I’m deeply thankful for the swift response from law enforcement, relieved that the President and First Lady are safe, and am keeping our nation in my prayers,” he posted.

On the Democratic side, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes echoed the quick actions of first responders.

“I am glad that everyone at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is safe and for law enforcement’s fast response. Violence has no place in our political discourse,” Fontes posted on social media.

Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat, posted on social media that he is “I’m thankful that the President and others at the correspondents dinner are safe, and for the quick response from law enforcement.”

Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton offered his thoughts and prayers on social media. “I’m grateful for the swift response from Secret Service after a dangerous and harrowing incident at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Praying for the safety of all in attendance,” he posted.

Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs called the incident “horrifying” on social media and said, “Violence has no place in our politics. I hope President Trump and all others in attendance are safe.”

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A 31-year-old suspect identified as Cole Thomas Allen is in custody following a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, DC, with authorities continuing to investigate his background and possible motives, media reports said late Saturday.

Citing official statements and eyewitness accounts, the reports identified Allen as being from California, later confirmed by US President Donald Trump, who called the suspect “a very sick person,” and said he was thought to have acted alone.

Trump, along with the first lady and several top Cabinet members, was escorted out of the Washington Hilton ballroom, where the event was taking place, by Secret Service. Shortly afterward, he said the suspect had been “apprehended” and shared photos of him on the ground shirtless, along with blurry security footage of what appeared to be a figure darting past security agents.

Officials said the suspect was armed with multiple weapons, including a shotgun, a handgun and several knives. Metropolitan Police interim chief Jeff Carroll said he was also a guest at the hotel hosting the dinner.

Also speaking after the incident, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said the suspect reportedly “rushed a Secret Service checkpoint” in a lobby before being stopped by agents.

An officer was shot during the incident but survived thanks to a bulletproof vest he was wearing.

“He was shot from very close distance with a very powerful gun, and the vest did the job,” Trump said, adding the officer was “in great shape.”

Witness accounts provided additional details about the suspect’s actions before the shooting.

A volunteer at the event, Helen Mabus, told the New York Post that the suspect appeared to assemble a “long” weapon in a lightly monitored area near a terrace-level entrance.

“He grabbed it out of a bag or something … it was long and didn’t look like a typical gun,” the daily quoted her as saying.

Mabus said the suspect was partially out of view of security while handling the weapon in a “makeshift room” used for storing bar carts.

“He put it together and … ran towards the stairs to go down to the ballroom,” she recounted.

Mabus said the suspect then began firing in multiple directions, estimating she heard at least 10 shots. “It just seemed like he was shooting all over the place,” she said, describing panic among guests.

Authorities said the suspect was later apprehended and transported to a hospital for evaluation.

Jeanine Pirro, US attorney for the District of Columbia, said the suspect would face two charges and is expected to be arraigned in federal court on Monday. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said additional charges may follow, noting that the investigation was ongoing.

FBI Director Kash Patel, who was also at the dinner, said the bureau had begun examining the suspect’s background and would “analyze all evidence immediately.”

While officials have said no clear motive was immediately clear, CBS News reported that

Allen admitted to security forces after his arrest that he intended to shoot Trump administration officials.

Citing two sources, the broadcaster said Allen did not specify that he was targeting Trump, only saying he was after “administration officials.”

The suspect is reported to have earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from California State University, and a Cole Allen appears among computer science graduates in the May 2025 commencement program of California State University, Dominguez Hills.

According to law enforcement sources cited by CBS News, Allen worked as a teacher with C2 Education in Torrance, a private tutoring service, and was named “Teacher of the Month” in December 2024, according to a Facebook post. It is unclear whether he was still employed there at the time of the incident.

White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting

The incident occurred during the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel, where President Trump, first lady Melania Trump and other high-level figures were present.

Witnesses reported hearing loud “pop, pop, pop” sounds, prompting guests to take cover under tables as security forces responded.

The Trump couple, Vice President JD Vance and Cabinet members were evacuated from the head table, while other guests remained inside the ballroom.

Secret Service agents and law enforcement quickly intervened, securing the scene and taking the suspect into custody as the event was halted.