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11/8/14 - Associated Press declares Dan Sullivan the winner in Alaska's U.S. Senate race

With 30,000 votes yet to be counted, AP says Begich cannot overcome Sullivan's lead

Last night the Associated Press declared Dan Sullivan the winner in Alaska's U.S. Senate race. A few hours earlier, other news media were saying the race was still too close to call. Ballots from rural  Alaska and districts like Juneau, which lean Democratic, are among the 30,000 votes that remain to be counted. The AP says the results of 20,000 ballots counted yesterday (Tuesday) indicate Mark Begich cannot overcome Sullivan's lead of just over 8,000 votes. Officials say they'll take up the count again on Friday, and continue Monday through Wednesday of next week as needed.

The Governor's race remains too close to call, with unaffiliated candidate Bill Walker leading over incumbent Gov. Sean Parnell, a Republican, with some 1,500 votes. Still, Walker and Lt. Gov. candidate Byron Mallott plan to announce the leadership and focus of a transition team this afternoon.

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Tuluksak residents without power

The western village of Tuluksak has been without power since the power plant there failed last week. KTUU says the outage left 96 customers or households without electricity. The community of 380 has gone without power before. Two years ago an outage lasted so long, meat spoiled in freezers. Power plant manager Willie Phillip says replacement parts have been ordered. The outage is occurring as temperatures are warmer than usual. Today's forecast for Tulaksak calls for a high of 44 degrees.

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Archeological dig reveals infant remains with hunting tools

As KUAC's Dan Bross reports, an archeological dig on the Tanana River near Fairbanks has revealed the remains of two infants buried with hunting tools near thousands of bones from salmon. Archeologists say the items show the importance of hunting and some of the ways fish were processed thousands of years ago. The remains are dated to some 11,000 years ago, just after the most recent Ice Age. Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) director of tribal government and client services Will Mayo acknowledges scientific intent, but urged those involved to be mindful of the conflict between science and long-held cultural rules against disturbing the dead, saying it's a weighty matter to be part of a change to a culture. Former TCC president Jerry Isaacs agrees, saying he hopes the research will shed light on causes and treatment of modern health problems, such as cancer, among Athabascan Indians and other Alaska Natives. Archeologists say the site, called "Upward Sun River," is unique in the New World for the volume of well-preserved and dated items it contains. A paper on the infant remains has been published in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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As growing numbers of Alaskans enter their older years, local filmmaker documents families caring for parents with Alzheimer's

Anchorage filmmaker Mary Katzke's film "Backing Out of Time," documents five families providing care to parents with Alzheimer's Disease. It shows caregivers juggling careers, children, and financial hurdles as their parents become less and less able to care for themselves, sometimes even losing the ability to recognize their adult children. The documentary will be shown at the Bear Tooth theater pub tonight at 5:30 p.m.

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