Alaska Station Sets Dubious Record: Most Senate Campaign Ads
The Center for Public Integrity calculates that KTUU in Anchorage ran more U.S. Senate ads this cycle than any station in the country.
Business
Republican Sweep Highlights Climate Change Politics In Alaska
GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is set to head the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. It can be easier for her oil-reliant state to adapt to the changing climate rather than address its causes.
How Did Berkeley Pass A Soda Tax? Bloomberg's Cash Didn't Hurt
The American Beverage Association poured tons of cash into the effort to defeat the penny-per-ounce sugary-drink tax. But the effort to pass the tax also got cash infusions from some big-name donors.
Sotheby's Has Record Auction With Works By Giacometti, Van Gogh
On Tuesday night, Sotheby's brought in its highest total yet for a single auction: more than $422 million dollars. The record total owed a lot to the sale of two works — a Giacometti sculpture that went for $101 million and Van Gogh's "Still Life with Daisies and Poppies" fetched $61.8 million.
Chinese Tech Company Combines Multiple App Types Into One — At Great Profit
The company Tencent has developed the world's second largest standalone messaging app Wechat, with over 300 million users.
Taylor Swift, Platinum Party Of One
Taylor Swift's latest album, 1989, sold 1.287 million copies its first week alone, making it the first album released in 2014 to go platinum. The last musician to go platinum in a week? Taylor Swift.
Prison Dairy Gives Inmates Job Skills — And A Sense Of Purpose
California's high-security Corcoran prison is home to a dairy that provides milk to almost every prison in the state system. For inmates who staff it, it's more than a job: It's a refuge and a future.
GMO Labeling: Colorado Voters Reject Food Measure; Maui Voters Approve
While more than half of U.S. states have contemplated similar GMO legislation, the only one that has come close to requiring a label is Vermont.
Massachusetts Food Waste Ban Gains Broad Acceptance
Massachusetts law now says that if you throw out more than a ton of food waste a month, it can't go to a landfill. But many institutions had already begun composting waste or turning it into energy.
Thumbs Up For Higher Minimum Wages, And For Marijuana Industry
Voters in Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota overwhelmingly approved minimum-wage hikes. Illinois voters approved a nonbinding wage-hike referendum. Recreational pot was approved in Oregon.