Alaska

Rock, once a seafloor of mud, sand, and pebbles, towers into the sky, only to erode away, becoming a new and different seafloor, layered like pages in a book.

Appalachian State University's Dr. Ellen Cowan reads these pages, most recently off the coast of Alaska. They tell the full story of geological changes on the continent, as written by glaciers over millions of years.

On a busy day, thousands of tourists visit the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. The U.S. Forest Service wants those people to take in the dramatic views but also consider why the glacier is receding.

Alaska may overhaul the way it spends its oil wealth. While the state has a lot of oil, the price of oil has dropped so much that the state now has a $3.5 billion deficit — two-thirds of its budget.

Alaska is about to become the first state to have pot cafes where people can buy and consume marijuana. The state's marijuana control board recently approved on-site consumption at retail stores.

Producers and consumers in southwestern Alaska see one upside to climate change. It's now possible to farm in parts of the tundra where agriculture was unheard of just a few years ago.

Alaskans have the highest rates for health insurance in the country. Many get a subsidy to help defray the cost, but those who don't wonder, increasingly, whether it's time to go without insurance.