State and federal prosecutors in Alaska are investigating whether the campaign for a U.S. Senate candidate who has the same name as the Republican incumbent could be part of a conspiracy to confuse voters, two people with knowledge of the investigations told NBC News.

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Dan J. Sullivan, a former teacher, announced his campaign in May and recently registered as a Republican. He has said he’s mounting a legitimate effort to unseat the other Sullivan, Dan S. Sullivan, who has been in office since 2015.

But Sen. Dan S. Sullivan and Republicans have alleged that the newcomer launched the campaign in an attempt to confuse voters and that he’s working with the Democratic challenger Mary Peltola.

Just this week, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that Dan J. Sullivan can stay on the state’s August primary ballot. The state’s elections division had initially disqualified the challenger from the ballot, with Elections Director Carol Beecher alleging that the challenger filed to run “with a purpose to confuse or mislead” voters.

Now, NBC News has learned, the FBI, the Alaska attorney general and the U.S. attorney’s office in Alaska are all investigating whether two or more people conspired to create the Sullivan challenger’s campaign with the intention to confuse voters, hurt the incumbent and boost votes for Peltola.

It is possible that both the Sullivans and Peltola could all be on the November ballot, since the top four vote-getters in the Aug. 18 primary advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. The general election contest is then decided by ranked-choice voting.

Alaska’s Senate race will be key to the fight for Senate control in November’s midterm elections, with Democrats looking to net four seats to take control of the chamber. And Democrats have held up Peltola as a strong recruit, saying Alaska is a prime pickup opportunity, even though President Donald Trump won the state by 13 points in 2024.

One of the people familiar with the investigations said the Alaska attorney general’s office began its investigation into whether any state laws were violated before federal investigators began their probe. The federal investigation is looking for possible wire fraud or a conspiracy to deprive Alaska voters of a free and fair elections process, which could be a civil rights violation, the people said.

Sam Curtis, a spokesperson for the Alaska attorney general’s office, declined to comment on whether such an investigation exists.

“The Department of Law generally will neither confirm or deny the existence of a criminal investigation,” Curtis said in a statement. “That said, the Alaska Attorney General’s Office is not an investigating agency. Any allegations of criminal conduct is referred to federal, state, or local law enforcement.”

The people familiar with the investigation said it wasn’t clear yet who could face potential charges in either state or federal investigations, or whether that might affect the upcoming election.

U.S. Attorney Michael Hyman was appointed by the Trump administration, and acting Alaska Attorney General Cori Mills was appointed by Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

In a statement, Harry Child, a spokesperson for Peltola, denied her campaign had anything to do with the rival Dan Sullivan.

“Our campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign. Mary is focused on lowering costs for Alaskans, and our campaign will be connecting with Alaskans across the state to ensure their voices are heard on Election Day,” Child told NBC News.

Sen. Sullivan’s campaign declined to comment, while the challenger Sullivan’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Sullivan, the political newcomer, denied any coordination or contact with the Peltola campaign, the state Democratic Party or any national Democratic strategists.

Spokespeople with the U.S. attorney’s office in Alaska did not respond to requests for comment.

TEMPE, AZ — The Arizona Department of Public Safety is investigating a fiery crash on the Loop 202 in Tempe on Sunday evening.

Around 5:30 p.m., DPS officials say they were called to the freeway just west of McClintock Drive for an “unknown injury collision.”

The Arizona Department of Transportation confirmed that at least one vehicle had caught fire. The westbound lanes of the freeway have been closed because of the crash.

The smoke was also impacting eastbound Loop 202 traffic.

It’s not yet clear if anyone was hurt in the crash and how severe the injuries are.

How long the traffic restrictions in the area will last is not yet known.

Fireworks can frighten animals and send them scattering, but Jackie and Shadow’s eaglets apparently are made of sterner stuff.

Chicks Luna and Sandy were seen safe and sound Sunday morning around 6 a.m. on the popular livestream nest cam aimed at their Big Bear pine tree, snacking on fish in the family aerie.

Mom and Dad did fly off when the nearby Fourth of July holiday show promoted by tourism organization Visit Big Bear began on Saturday night, Big Bear Valley media and website manager Jennifer Voisard told the Orange County Register on Sunday morning.

But both bald eagles flew back to their nest Sunday morning to care for their eaglets, who had remained around the nest during the show.

The fireworks show has faced controversy regarding the famous avians, spawning a Change.org petition to move the festivities farther away or switch to an environmentally friendlier drone show.

More than 45,000 people signed the petition. But the show went on for the sake of the local economy.

There was particular anxiety this year among environmental advocates as the eaglets were on the cusp of flying as the event was planned. The pair took their first flights just days beforehand. They had been spotted in nearby trees but didn’t immediately return to the nest.

The nonprofit that operates the webcam, Friends of Big Bear Valley, wrote a letter to officials warning that, “whether they are still in the nest or newly fledged, they will depend on Jackie and Shadow to care for them.”

“If, as in the past, Jackie and Shadow were to flee the habitat area for a few days, this could put the eaglets in danger at this important time of their lives.”

To the relief of their fans, the parents did return.

The fireworks event is an important economic driver in a year when Big Bear saw less snow than usual during its peak winter months, the travel organization said.

“The fireworks show is a long-standing community tradition and an important economic driver for Big Bear’s local businesses, workers, restaurants, lodging properties, recreation providers, and families. That context is especially important this year after another low-to-no snow winter, which directly impacted many of our neighbors, employees, and small businesses,” Visit Big Bear said in a statement.

It said the show happens about two miles away from Jackie and Shadow’s nest and lasted only about 30 minutes.

The eagles — and occasionally their chicks — could be seen on Friends of Big Bear Valley’s livestream heading into Sunday evening.