The Weekend Off – News You Missed

The Original Ebenezer Baptist Church

Alaska

ADN.com – Walker administration asks 9th Circuit to pause same-sex marriage appeal pending Supreme Court ruling

News that the U.S. Supreme Court will decide the fate of same-sex marriages means Alaska is pressing pause on its ongoing challenge to the decision allowing marriage equality in the state.

NPR.org – Welcome To Whittier, Alaska, A Community Under One Roof

Whittier, Alaska, is a sleepy town on the west side of Prince William Sound, tucked between picturesque mountains. But if you’re picturing a small huddle of houses, think again.

Instead, on the edge of town, there stands a 14-story building called Begich Towers — a former Army barracks, resembling an aging hotel, where most of the town’s 200 residents live.

Fairbanks Daily Miner – North Pole to consider ban on marijuana sales

The North Pole City Council will soon be considering a ban on the sale of marijuana in city limits.

National

Washington Post – Holder limits seized-asset sharing process that split billions with local, state police

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Friday barred local and state police from using federal law to seize cash, cars and other property without proving that a crime occurred.

Al Jazeera America – Overworked and underpaid: New York workers fight for a real minimum wage

Across the U.S., millions of workers in 20 states started the New Year with a raise. In nine states, the law required the minimum wage to keep up with inflation, while 11 others passed new legislation to hike up the wage floor. But not everyone entitled to a raise will actually get one.

AP – Pipeline breach spills oil into Yellowstone River

Montana officials said Sunday that an oil pipeline breach spilled up to 50,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River near Glendive, but they said they are unaware of any threats to public safety or health.

The Bridger Pipeline Co. said the spill occurred about 10 a.m. Saturday. The initial estimate is that 300 to 1,200 barrels of oil spilled, the company said in a statement Sunday.

International

Desmog.UK – Yet Another Record Breaking Hot Year ‘Does Not Bode Well for Civilisation’ Says NASA

Scientists confirmed this week that 2014 was the hottest year on record with global temperatures undermining claims from climate deniers that global warming is not a serious threat to civilisation.

The Economist – Higher water mark

TIDES ebb and flow but mean sea levels are among the constants of climate science. Though things like the recent slowdown in the rise of average surface temperatures are puzzling, scientists can at least point to higher sea levels as clear evidence that climate change is real. The rise is caused by thermal expansion (hot water expands) and by melting ice sheets. And the facts are observable: thousands of gauges—such as that pictured above—measure tides around the world, with some records going back to the 18th century.

BBC – Ukraine conflict: Battles rage in Donetsk and Luhansk

Dozens of people have been killed or wounded as fighting escalates along the front line in eastern Ukraine and the battle for Donetsk airport continues.

Artillery fire was reported in several areas of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions and a hospital in Donetsk city was hit, reports said.

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