On Thursday, the Alaska Supreme Court will consider two proposed rules that would require lawyers in the state to disclose evidence that suggests a person has been wrongly accused or convicted of a crime. 

State prosecutors and defense lawyers in Alaska are not explicitly required to turn over exculpatory evidence - facts that suggest a defendant or convicted criminal is innocent.

"This is designed to encourage lawyers to think about the consequences of not doing anything," said Steve Van Goor, counsel for the Alaska Bar Association. "When you're in a position to report evidence and don't, an innocent person sits in prison." 

Van Goor said the primary motivation behind the proposed rule is the prevalence of cases around the country in which people have been exonerated by new evidence.

The change of policy here is something of a cautionary step, Van Goor said, because cases where exculpatory evidence becomes known after a trial are few and far between. He said there is no immediate example of someone in Alaska who was found entirely innocent after the introduction of DNA evidence. 

Even with Alaska's track record and a series of safeguards already built into state law and rules, past wrongful convictions give an idea why there is a movement to expand protections and how human error sometimes prevents justice.

One night in 1994, police found a woman drunk and in disarray, wandering around a city park in the Southeast Alaska community of Petersburg.

She claimed she was raped in the park, and the man she accused was convicted by a jury and sentenced to five years. But the jury was not provided key evidence that contradicted her story, even though the prosecutor knew it existed.

When the Superior Court learned of the previously-unknown facts in 1997, the conviction was overturned, and the state dismissed all charges in 2000.

Even that case, however unfortunate for the defendant, illustrates some of the protections already built into the system at work, said John Skidmore. Skidmore is director of the criminal division of the Alaska Department of Law. He oversees all of the state's prosecutors.

Skidmore said even though human error led to an incorrect result in the initial trial, because of the the appellate courts, the case was handled properly in the end. 

"Fortunately, we've been doing a good job," he said. "To my knowledge, there's been no case in which someone was wrongfully convicted beyond the trial court level. The Appellate Court has been an appropriate check."

The Department of Law supports the proposed rule changes, though if enacted by the Supreme Court, Skidmore said it raises questions of how prosecutors will manage their workload.

Still, "it's another safeguard to make sure innocent people aren't convicted, and when they are, that it's corrected," Skidmore said. "It's good for everyone."

Even though there are no specific Alaska examples of a conviction being overturned in light of exculpatory evidence after the appeals process played out, there are recent examples here and in the Lower 48 of prosecutors fighting the release of important evidence that could have swayed a jury.

Former Alaska prosecutor Jay Gullufsen was suspended in July for withholding evidence in the murder trial of Jimmy Eacker, who was initially convicted of first degree murder for the brutal killing of a Seward woman. When new DNA evidence was presented in court, showing the DNA of another man in the victim's body, Eacker pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

In Austin, Texas, Michael Morton returned home one day in 1986 to find his wife had been brutally murdered in their bed. He was wrongfully convicted of the crime and served 25 years in prison, in part because a prosecutor fought to prevent the DNA testing that eventually exonerated him of the crime.

That type of case, combined with the lack of incentive or risk of consequence for the state to disclose exculpatory evidence in every case, is why advocates like Bill Oberly support the new rule.

The Thursday work session of the Supreme Court will be led by the rules committee, composed of people from across the legal community. The session is closed to the public.

Anchorage police are asking for the public's help in finding a missing and vulnerable woman.

Police say 52-year-old Traci Hill last contacted her family in Illinois on Aug. 5 around 9:00 p.m. and she requires "ongoing maintenance medication, and her family is concerned for her well-being."

"She indicated to family members and her landlord that she planned to travel to Illinois to attend to some personal business, but as far as the family knows she never arrived and the family has not heard from her since," Dani Myren, police spokesperson said in a statement. "No foul play is suspected at this time."

Hill is described as white woman, around 5'5" tall and weighing approximately 230 pounds, with red hair and hazel eyes.

If you have any information on her whereabouts, then call police at 786-8900.


Contact Neil Torquiano

On Thursday, the Alaska Supreme Court will consider proposed rule changes that would require lawyers in the state to disclose evidence that suggests a person has been wrongly accused or convicted of a crime. 

Alaska state prosecutors and defense lawyers are currently not required to turn over exculpatory evidence - facts that point toward a defendant's innocence.

"This is designed to encourage lawyers to think about the consequences of not doing anything," said Steve Van Goor, counsel for the Alaska Bar Association. "When you're in a position to report evidence and don't, an innocent person sits in prison." 

Van Goor said the primary motivation behind the proposed rule is the prevalence of national cases in which people have been exonerated by new evidence.

The change of policy here is something of a cautionary step, Van Goor said, because it is rare that crucial evidence becomes known after a trial, and there is not a known example of someone in Alaska who was found innocent because of such evidence presented after the trial and appeals process had played out. 

Even with Alaska's track record and a series of safeguards built into state law and court rules, past wrongful convictions give an idea why there is broad support for the expanded protection.

One night in 1994, police found a woman drunk and in disarray, wandering around a city park in the Southeast Alaska community of Petersburg.

She claimed she was raped in the park, and the man she accused was convicted by a jury and sentenced to five years. But the jury was not provided key evidence that contradicted her story, even though the prosecutor knew it existed.

When the Superior Court learned of the previously-unknown facts in 1997, the conviction was overturned, and the state dismissed all charges in 2000.

There are recent examples and in the Lower 48 of prosecutors fighting the release of important evidence that could have swayed a jury.

Former Alaska prosecutor Patrick Gullufsen was suspended in July for withholding evidence in the trial of Jimmy Eacker, who was initially convicted of first degree murder for the brutal killing of a Seward woman. When new evidence was presented in court, showing the DNA of another man was also in the victim's body, Eacker pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

In Austin, Texas, Michael Morton returned home in 1986 to find his wife had been brutally murdered in their bed. He was wrongfully convicted of the crime and served 25 years in prison, in part because a prosecutor fought to prevent the DNA testing that eventually exonerated him of the crime.

The National Registry of Exonerations has identified 1,181 cases nationally that were overturned post-conviction because of new evidence - often DNA, misleading forensic evidence, mistaken witness ID or a combination of those factors.

"I don't think anyone in Alaska, or the United States, can deny that wrongful convictions happen,"  said Oberly, executive director of the Alaska Innocence Project. "We have to correct those, or our justice system is a sham."

The 1994 Petersburg case is one of the best Alaska examples of someone who suffered ill effects from evidence that surfaced post-conviction. But even that case illustrates protections already built into the system, said John Skidmore, director of the criminal division of the Alaska Department of Law, who oversees all of the state's prosecutors.

Even though human error led to an incorrect result in the initial trial, Skidmore said, because of the work of a defense lawyer the case was properly resolved at the appellate level. 

"Fortunately, we've been doing a good job," he said. "To my knowledge, there's been no case in which someone was wrongfully convicted beyond the trial court level. The Appellate Court has been an appropriate check."

The Department of Law supports the proposed rule changes, though if enacted by the Supreme Court, Skidmore said it raises questions of whether the workload of prosecutors will increase.

Still, "it's another safeguard to make sure innocent people aren't convicted, and when they are, that it's corrected," Skidmore said. "It's good for everyone."

The Thursday work session of the Supreme Court will be led by the Alaska Bar Association. The session is closed to the public.

Two corrections officers escorted the man accused of killing two teenage girls in a drunk driving crash Friday evening for his first court appearance at the Anchorage jail court Tuesday afternoon.

Stacey Allen Graham, 31, appeared before a judge and has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of driving while intoxicated. Two 15-year-old girls, Jordyn Durr and Brooke McPheters, were killed when Graham allegedly drove recklessly and hit them with his 2006 red pick-up truck at 88th Ave and Abbott Rd Friday night.

Family of the two victims sat in the courtroom pews during Graham's arraignment and declined to speak to media.

Graham, still bruised and recovering from his injuries, asked for a public defender to be appointed to his case. When asked to raise his right hand and swear to tell the truth about his financial income, Graham partially raised it.

"I'm on commissioned sales and my bring home pay every two weeks is $1,600  and commission could range between anywhere from $300 to $4,000," Graham said.

According to the criminal complaint, witness reports and roadway evidence indicated Graham's truck was moving faster than the posted speed limit of 45 mph in the area.

Graham had been driving in a reckless manner, according to court papers, passing and tailgating other traffic before ultimately losing control, striking Durr and McPheters as they were walking on the west sidewalk area of Abbott.

Durr and McPheters were pronounced dead at the scene. The Anchorage Fire Department removed Graham from the truck that rested on its side and he was transported to the Alaska Native medical Center.

According to medical staff, Graham's blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit of .08 percent.

In the court papers, police said visibility diminished due to the heavy rain at the time of the crash and there was standing water on the roadway.

Prosecutors asked to raise Graham's bail from $75,000 to $500,000 cash plus a third party custodian, but Judge Jennifer Henderson turned down the request. Hon. Henderson set bail to $100,000 cash appearance bond plus a third party custodian and said that would be the monetary bail performance requirement.

Graham's bail also included several conditions; he's required to appear at all scheduled hearings, obey all court orders and laws, staying in touch with his attorney, not consuming or possessing alcohol or illegal drugs, not going to bars or liquor stores and not allowed to drive during pendency of the case among other conditions.

Contact: Samantha Angaiak

Updated Aug. 13 at 6 a.m.

In an extensive Tuesday release, the FBI offered much more information on serial killer Israel Keyes' far-flung travels, following up on the initial Monday release of a timeline detailing his 15-year trail of murders, robberies and sexual assaults.

On Tuesday, the bureau provided five videos of hour-long interview sessions with Keyes it conducted last year before his December suicide, in an attempt to spur public recollection on his actions and the crimes in which he is implicated.

In an interview posted Tuesday by the FBI, Special Agent Jolene Goeden says Keyes had planned to keep killing people, until he was arrested in Texas in connection with the February death of Anchorage barista Samantha Koenig.

"Israel Keyes had no remorse at all," Goeden said. "He enjoyed what he did, he talked about enjoying what he did, he talked about, you know, had he not been caught, some of his future plans and what he would have done, which included continuing to do what he was doing, continuing to kidnap and murder people, so he had no remorse at all."

A more extensive map of Keyes' movements and alleged murders posted Tuesday, listing individual car rentals and plane trips he made, is also available in spreadsheet form on the FBI's site.

The bureau said it is making the information public in the hopes that someone will be able to provide insight into Keyes' alleged involvement in 11 suspected homicides, up from a previous estimate of eight, and possibly to find leads in other unsolved crimes.

Goeden says Keyes was evasive in interviews, but also quick to correct them when they had something wrong. Investigators came to believe that when he referred to killing less than 12 people, he meant 11 -- a hypothesis they tested in subsequent talks.

"There were several times where we just threw out statements like 'your 11 victims' and things like that and he didn't correct us, so based on that and some additional things that he said, we believe the number is 11," Goeden said.

Before committing suicide in December 2012, Keyes admitted to raping and killing Koenig in February 2012, and to attempting to ransom her corpse. He is also suspected of the brutal murders of Vermont couple Bill and Lorraine Currier.

A statement from the FBI's Anchorage office suggests Keyes could have been involved in other unsolved homicides.

"We have a comprehensive timeline, we can identify where he's traveled to," said Deirdre Fike, the FBI agent in charge of the case, in an interview with Channel 2.

Among the revelations in Monday's timeline are explanations of Keyes' methods, which he discussed with investigators before killing himself in jail.

Keyes did not know his victims prior to their abductions, he frequented prostitutes, and there was no apparent rhyme or reason behind any of the crimes, said Fike. He also traveled thousands of miles to plan and execute brutal attacks.

"Sometimes he would fly into one area, rent a car and drive a thousand miles to where the crime was actually committed, so there are some challenges in investigating crimes of that nature," Fike said.

According to Goeden, Keyes' meticulous nature extended to his approach to the interviews.

"I never got the sense that he accidentally told us something or got angry and riled up and something flew out of his mouth," Goeden said. "My sense was that he knew every time he came in kind of what he was going to give us that day."

Channel 2's Austin Baird and Adam Pinsker contributed to this report. This is a developing story. Please check KTUU.com and watch Channel 2 newscasts for updates.

Contact Chris Klint

Demolition crews tore down the Inlet Inn, a former downtown hotel, on Tuesday, ending what police and nearby business owners called a troublesome site.

Since January, the hotel at 539 H St was boarded up and closed down after frequent complaints of a hangout for the homeless and a source of crime in the area.

50-year-old Andrew Wilson was stabbed to death on Jan. 31, 2012. A jury convicted 51-year-old Jackie Adams of second-degree murder in August 2012.

Anchorage police responded to 490 calls to the hotel in 2012.

Contact Neil Torquiano

Two visually impaired bicyclists completed their long journey from the tip of South America to Prudhoe Bay in early August.

Tauru Chaw and Christi Bruchok cycled for nearly 18 months and covered nearly 15,000 miles. The duo rode on a tandem bike.

They both have limited vision and had to rely on each other to look out for hazards on the road.

"I think one of the most memorable experiences of this trip was trying to cross through Columbia and Panama, there's actually no road that goes through the jungle," Bruchok said. "It's really dense jungle there, and we didn't want to try and put our bike back on the airplane, because we had so much difficulty getting it to Argentina in the first place, so the only option was a boat."

They completed their journey on August 2 and have been sharing their story across the state. They want to encourage other visually impaired people along the way that they can accomplish anything they set their minds too -- despite their disability.

For more information, visit their website.

Editor's Note: KTUU's Adam Pinsker contributed to this story.

Contact Neil Torquiano

The party was joined in the lawsuit by two individuals, and is the second lawsuit filed to overturn the map. The first was filed by Fairbanks-area residents.          

Attorney Joe McKinnon, representing plaintiffs in the latest suit, says he will seek to have the lawsuits consolidated.          

The Alaska Supreme Court has ordered that a new map be drawn for the 2014 elections after allowing an interim plan to be used for 2012 races.          

Last week, the Alaska Redistricting Board asked a judge to dismiss the earlier challenge.

The Wasilla Planning Commission voted 5 to 1 Tuesday to allow the Matanuska Electric Association to run power lines through downtown Wasilla -- provided that they're buried underground.

MEA preferred to run the lines above ground, citing costs. The utility says it will cost $41 million to bury the lines, and only about $9 million to run them above ground along the Parks Highway.

Some locals, like Check it Out Auto Sales owner Mike Verbos, say MEA's option would be an unsightly blemish on the town's skyline.

"It just looks like a monstrosity," Verbos said. "It's just something that takes away from the beauty of the city."

Verbos says he and a number of other business owners oppose the above-ground power lines.  He thinks many of them would be willing to pay a little extra on their utility bills to foot the costs.

"I think so, I think it's fair, and I think people would vote that way," Verbos said.

MEA has looked at several scenarios that would route the lines around downtown Wasilla through neighborhoods. Those plans have been dubbed too costly or have been met with fierce resistance from residents.

"People have consistently doubted our numbers," said MEA spokesperson Kevin Brown. "They've told us point-blank they just don't believe us, but we're conservatively quoting industry standard numbers."

MEA plans on appealing the planning commission's decision to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, which meets Wednesday in Anchorage.

"We need to strengthen the transmission system within the Wasilla area, because they are the largest low growth area we have right now," Brown said. "They use more power than anyone else in the area."

Contact Adam Pinsker

It's a dispute over jail safety that's reached a climax in the past few weeks.

In July, the Anchorage Correctional Complex reduced its minimum number of officers for the day shift from 39 to 37. Since then, the Union representing those officers says there have been at least two violent incidents within the jail complex.

"The issue we're having is they continue to cut minimums, and minimum staffing is the minimum amount of officers that they have to have to run the institution," said Brad Wilson, the business manager for the Alaska Correctional Officers Association. "And those minimums need to stay up and they continue to drop under this administration."

Bryan Brandenburg, director of Division of Institutions, says the numbers remain adequate and similar to numbers across the state, despite recent violent incidents.

"It's not that we took people off of the shift," Brandenburg said. "We just now, when there's not someone there we find someone else that's on shift to work that instead of calling in overtime to cover that post."

Brandenburg said while the number has been reduced, the number of officers within the building will remain the same, because those two officers are in new roles, but are still able to respond to incidents if needed.

Union representative Wilson also says that Brandenburg has made deceptive statements to media regarding the ratio of officers to inmates and about the number of officers working the night shift.

"We have some serious concerns made last week by the director, comments made on Channel 2," Wilson said. "One of the comments he made was there are 33 officers at night at Anchorage Jail, that's deceiving."

According to Wilson, there are 33 officers on shift between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. but from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., there are 22 officers on shift.

"The other [discrepancy] I have with the director was he made a comment that there's 4.7 inmates for every officer," Wilson said. "That's also deceiving - the facts of the matter there is four shifts, four, there's only one shift on at any given time."

According to Brandenburg, it is common to refer to the number of officers to inmates in their total figures instead of by shift.

"Staffing issues are based on work load and post orders and we are adequately staffed in all of our facilities and so it's unfortunate that they felt that that was deceiving in any way," Brandenburg said.

While the Union and the State may not agree on staffing numbers for various shifts, one thing they both say is a top concern is safety of both officers and inmates.

Contact Mallory Peebles

Firefighters say no injuries are reported in a South Anchorage trailer fire Wednesday morning.

Anchorage Fire Department dispatchers say units were sent to space 631 of the Dimond Estates trailer park, at 1200 W. Dimond Blvd., in response to a call at about 5:16 a.m.

Firefighters at the scene say three people inside the trailer were able to safely escape the blaze. A total of 14 units responded; crews were able to bring under control and contain the fire, which destroyed about half of the trailer, in about 10 to 15 minutes.

There are no indications that the fire was deliberately set. A response for the displaced residents by the Red Cross of Alaska was pending.

Channel 2's Caslon Hatch contributed information to this story.

Contact Chris Klint

The City of Ketchikan has to fork over $825,000 to a Juneau construction firm after the city ended a project early.

The agreement was accepted July 10, according to court documents obtained by the Ketchikan Daily News.

Miller Construction Co. sued for the city's alleged failure to pay termination costs related to a reconstruction project.

Miller won the nearly $5 million contract in 2011. The city claimed the company was slow and the work not acceptable. The contract was terminated and the project rebid.

Construction company president Terry Miller said he wasn't satisfied with the settlement, which was about $125,000 less than what they sought. But he said it was prudent to end the legal process.

City Manager Lew Williams III said there was no winner in the process.

The Coast Guard says two fishing boats ran aground overnight in southeast Alaska waters.

The 75-foot tender Pacific Queen just before midnight Tuesday reported hitting bottom and taking on water 40 nautical miles south of Petersburg.

Radio station KINY reports the skipper and two crew members decided to abandon ship and were picked up by the vessel Windham Bay as a Coast Guard helicopter arrived from Sitka. The Windham Bay had responded to the Coast Guard's urgent marine information broadcast.

The agency says the fishing boat Coral Sea ran aground at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday near Gourd Island north of Dixon Entrance and west of Ketchikan.

Five crew members entered a life raft and were picked up by the good Samaritan vessel Time Bandit.

No one was injured in either incident.

An Anchorage Democrat has filed preliminary paperwork to oppose Republican Gov. Sean Parnell's bid for re-election.

Sen. Hollis French on Wednesday submitted a letter of intent to the state Division of Elections. Now he can start fundraising and other efforts to measure support he is likely to find around the state.

French is a former state prosecutor serving his fourth term in the Alaska Senate. He narrowly defeated a November challenge by Republican opponent Bob Bell, emerging from a recount with a 59-vote lead.

"I've had great support from family, from friends, from my inner circle, and now I want to have a conversation on a larger scale to see if I'm the right candidate to replace this governor with somebody who's more pro-Alaska," French said in an interview with Channel 2.

French started laying out his case against Parnell, who he described as a former oil industry lobbyist, focusing in particular on three issues.

"My belief is that this governor is leading us in the wrong direction on a lot of fronts, notably oil taxes, but also education and healthcare," French said.

Parnell campaign manager Jerry Gallagher swung back in a statement, saying the governor is the only candidate in the race committed to lower taxes, fighting federal overreach and increasing education opportunities.

"So far, the other candidates for governor, including Hollis French, mirror President Obama's policies of higher taxes and bigger government," campaign officials wrote. "The voters will have a clear choice."

Bill Walker, a longtime candidate who previously ran as a Republican, has announced a bid for governor as an Independent.

After French's announcement, Walker said in a statement that he remains "focused on the November 2014 election concentrating solely on the solutions that are in the best interests of Alaskans without the constraints of party platforms."

In 2010, Parnell defeated Walker in the GOP primary, 50.1 percent to 33.1 percent. French lost the 2010 Democratic primary to Ethan Berkowitz, a former state representative, but he picked up 38.8 percent of the vote.

Other Anchorage Democrats in the Legislature have publicly mentioned the idea of a run, with Sen. Bill Wielechowski recently saying he was examining his prospects. While Rep. Les Gara had said he would run unless a candidate he likes stepped up, on Wednesday he said French is the candidate he was waiting for.

Channel 2's Chris Klint contributed information to this story.

Contact Austin Baird

If you're looking for cheap housing, you might want to avoid Kodiak or Fairbanks.

A new survey from the Alaska Housing Finance Corp. puts each at the top of the most expensive places to live in Alaska, although in different categories.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner said the survey found a three-bedroom single family house, the most common rental property on the market, costs an average of $2,131 per month in the Fairbanks North Star Borough. That is $111 a month above the second-place Kodiak Island Borough.

The Kodiak Daily Mirror says the island is the most expensive place to rent a property when all rental units are considered, at $1,365 a month. That figure includes utilities, and is more than $200 more than second-place Anchorage.

Some members of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly have apologized to others for making accusations and disparaging remarks during a contentious debate.

The Peninsula Clarion reports (http://is.gd/6c9Chv) the bad behavior came when the assembly in July approved an ordinance to regulate a 50-foot buffer along the shoreline of salmon bearing streams, public or private.

One member, Kelly Wolf, opposed the passage of the salmon stream ordinance as an overreaching land-grab. Wolf said some on the assembly were acting like "Nazis."

Assembly President Linda Murphy says she was as guilty as any other member when the rules became lax and bad habits developed as the debate heated up.

Along with apologies, assembly members received copies of chapter 13 of Mason's Legislative Manual, an eight-page guide to maintaining decorum during debate.

___
   
Information from: (Kenai, Alaska) Peninsula Clarion, http://www.peninsulaclarion.com

The Anchorage Police Department will hold a community rally at West High School Friday night, to recognize and condemn the deadly toll taken by recent alcohol-related crashes on city streets.

According to APD spokesperson Jennifer Castro, the rally -- set to take place at the school at 1700 Hillcrest Dr. from 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m., with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. -- will feature an overview from APD Chief Mark Mew of the department's anti-DUI efforts, as well as its plans for community involvement in them.

"Every year, countless lives are changed forever due to dangerous or impaired driving," Castro wrote in a Wednesday statement. "After going more than a year with no alcohol related fatality incidents in Anchorage, our city has experienced four in the last two months."

Those deaths include the loss of two 15-year-old girls -- Brooke McPheters and Jordyn Durr -- struck and killed Friday in an Abbott Road crash by Stacey Graham, who now faces murder and DUI charges. JBER airman Lane Wyatt, 22, faces charges in the June 30 death of 20-year-old Citari Townes-Sweatt during an East Anchorage crash, while police say "speed and alcohol" were factors in a July 12 Mountain View single-vehicle crash that killed passenger Marcia Mausali, 32.

According to Castro, other speakers at the rally will include Nancy Bidwell, founder of the Forget Me Not Mission, as well as Anchorage School District Superintendent Ed Graff.

The rally will end with a candlelight vigil to honor the victims of dangerous driving.

A table prepared by APD lists DUI arrests and fatalities in the city, from 2004 through the year to date, as follows:

Channel 2's Mallory Peebles contributed information to this story.

Contact Chris Klint

The Coast Guard says its report on the Alaska grounding of a Royal Dutch Shell drill petroleum drilling barge likely will not be released to the public until early next year.

Cmdr. Joshua McTaggart in May led a nine-day hearing into the grounding of the Kulluk near a small island off Kodiak.

The Anchorage Daily News reports the hearing conclusions were due July 5 to the commander of the Alaska district, Rear Adm. Thomas Ostebo.

Coast Guard spokesman Kip Wadlow says McTaggart was granted a six-week extension to Aug. 19.

After a review by Ostebo, the investigative report will go to Coast Guard headquarters for another review and then public release.

Wadlow says Shell will not review the report before its public release.

A remote Alaska volcano is again oozing lava into its ice-filled caldera, but there's no cause for alarm for nearby residents.

Scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory say seismic activity and satellite imagery indicated Veniaminof Volcano was again emitting a low-level lava flow after a week's hiatus.

There also have been a few short ash plumes since the volcano began erupting in June. The largest of those happened Monday with a plume up to 12,000 feet before it quickly dissipated.

Veniaminof is in the Aleutian Islands, about 480 miles southwest of Anchorage. The closest village is Perryville, about 20 miles away. Timothy Kosbruck, a local official, says the village was socked in by clouds and fog Wednesday, and the volcano wasn't visible.

A 60-year-old Talkeetna woman was transported to Mat-Su Regional Hospital after a car crash.

Alaska State Troopers say a car driven by Kathleen Kaso at Mile 4 Talkeetna Spur was struck from behind early Tuesday night by a vehicle driven by 21-year-old Jordan Check of Talkeetna..

Talkeetna emergency responders had to extract Kaso from her car.

The crash closed the road into the community for about 90 minutes.

Troopers say Check was issued a citation for failure to exercise due care to avoid a collision.

A message left with a Mat-Su Regional spokeswoman was not immediately returned.