Mama Grizzly defers to Allah: Former half-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin lashed out at President Obama on Saturday for his decision to send weapons to Syrian rebels for the first time. Palin, who was speaking at the annual meeting of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, had this to say: "Until we have a commander in chief who knows what he is doing... let Allah sort it out!"
Back into the wild: Jon Krakauer, the award winning journalist and best-selling author of "Into the Wild," "Under the Banner of Heaven" and "Into Thin Air," among other works, is back in Alaska. Krakauer found fame in the wild land near Denali National Park and Preserve with his controversial recount of the life of Christopher McCandless, who died in an abandoned bus off Stampede Trail north of the park. Talkeetna Air Taxi posted this photo on Facebook, June 13, of Krakauer flying up to join a team of mountaineers currently attempting to summit North America's mountain Mecca.
Sunshine leads to success on McKinley: Chalk up the 78 percent success rate -- highest in 34 years -- for climbers trying to summit Mount McKinley so far this year to great weather. On average, only 52 percent of McKinley climbers actually reach the top of North America's highest peak, 20,320 feet above sea level. Some 300 people are still on the mountain, and more are expected to start up before the end of the climbing season next month.
Medals for fishing crew: The U.S. Coast Guard 17th District awarded Gold Life Saving Medals to the crew of the fishing vessel Tuxedni, based in Kodiak, for their efforts in rescuing five individuals from another vessel that had capsized and sank in Alitak Bay on Jan. 25, 2012, according to Coast Guard Deck Watch Radio. All seven members of the capsized vessel, Heritage, were recused -- a Jayhawk airlifted two survivors from the frigid, rough waters while the medal winners helped the remaining survivors. The medals are very prestigious; Congress established them in 1874, but only about 600 have been handed out since then, and it had been 75 years since the Coast Guard last awarded an Alaskan.
Boomers think AK is groovy: According to new estimates of a national trend, Alaska has experienced the largest growth between 2010 and 2012 in its proportion of residents 65 and older, with an increase of 13.8 percent, Governing has reported. The 49th state along with four others, as well as the District of Columbia, also experienced a slight decline in their median age, and Alaska's far from the oldest with a median age of 33.7; Maine took the retirement cake with 43.5 years. More than 43 million Americans now fall into the 65-plus age range, which may make movie theaters in places like Brunswick County, N.C., move their showtimes up in the day.