Arctic lease sales, which were contained in the program’s draft version, should be included in the final version as well.

Russia will deploy a division of troops about 50 miles from the US. Business Insider. At a recent event, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that a division of troops would be stationed in Chukotka, Russia's far-east region, just slightly more than 50 miles from Alaska. "There are plans to form a coastal defense division in 2018 on the Chukotka operational direction," said Shoigu. He said that the deployment was "to ensure control of the closed sea zones of the Kuril Islands and the Bering Strait, cover the routes of Pacific Fleet forces' deployment in the Far Eastern and Northern sea zones, and increase the combat viability of navalstrategic nuclear forces." Broadly, Russia has taken the lead in militarizing and exploring the Arctic region, as melting ice caps open up new shipping lanes between the East and West. In that context, the deployment of a division to the sparsely populated Chukotka region makes sense. In the past, Russia has bemoaned NATO and US troop deployments near to its borders. How the US will respond to this deployment remains to be seen.

Governor says Alaska will know in a year if market will support pipeline project. Alaska Dispatch News. Despite the huge challenges facing the massive Alaska LNG project, Gov. Bill Walker said on Thursday the state has an unprecedented opportunity to take the reins of a project and finally build a pipeline and sell natural gas from