News at 6 - November 6, 2025

Now at six, it is a first alert day. South Central sees its first significant snowfall of the season. We've been tracking the arrival all week, and here it is. This is a live look right here from the Rabbit Creek overpass right above the Seward Highway. Of course, with snow, the potential area, the potential danger on area roads does increase. Here's video you're looking at now from a multi-vehicle crash on the Glen Highway near Eagle River. Anchorage police say it happened just before one this afternoon. Now it closed all southbound lanes of the road, all inbound lanes into Anchorage also shut down. Police also announced closures of the northbound lanes of the Glen Highway near Eklutna. Those lanes also now open. And again, when we issue first alert days like today, these are the type of things we keep in mind to try to keep you and your family safe. Chief meteorologist, Melissa Fry, she's been tracking and anticipating these conditions all week long. Joining us now from outside getting that firsthand look while tracking what's next.

Yeah, John and Augusta, we're here in Midtown, and it's just been coming down nonstop since this afternoon. We've been measuring the snow here periodically, and we do have a solid about pushing close to five inches at this point here in Midtown, at least on the grassy surfaces. And looking at the traffic here behind me, we are seeing actually people moving along pretty okay. People are definitely keeping it slow, taking it easy, and just remembering those winter driving tips that we just haven't had to use here in quite some time. So continue to be mindful that it is slick and this snow is going to continue to accumulate here through the night. Winter weather advisories are in effect and I want to show you those conditions again those advisories in effect until 6 a.m. We do again, we are looking at about six inches of snow for most of the Anchorage Bowl. More as you head up to the hillside, we will see likely more than six inches for the Anchorage Hillside. South Anchorage as well, seeing significantly more. Kenai Peninsula up to 16 inches of snow at Turingham Pass, up to 10 inches of snow for the western side of the Kenai Peninsula. Many of you watching are not seeing that much snow. It is headed your way. You will see that accumulating overnight tonight. And Thompson Pass, not much more additional snow, but we will still see those strong wing gusts, again, up around 50 miles per hour. So do be prepared for blowing snow if you are headed that direction. Looking at those conditions here overnight tonight, temperatures are going to stay pretty consistent in the mid-20s. As we head into early tomorrow morning, light snow sticking with us all the way through the early morning commute. I expected to taper off at least this heavier stuff at about 6 o'clock here tomorrow morning, and then we'll see improving conditions through the rest of the day. We'll take a look at the rest of South Central. What you can expect is we head into the weekend as we do a... more storms on the way. John and Augusta coming up here in a few minutes. All right, Melissa, thank you so much. Stay warm out there, and our team will always work to alert you of significant weather impacts in Alaska. For forecasts focused on your particular neighborhood and community, download our first alert weather app on your smartphone or tablet and our 24-7 weather channel on your Roku, Amazon Fire, and Apple TV. The government shutdown continues, and the Federal Aviation Administration is reducing flights all across the country by 10% that begins tomorrow. The FAA says the change has impact 40 high-volume markets. That includes Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. All right. Well, that's where we find Joe All Good right now. And with more on this, also the potential challenges that lie ahead, Joe. Yeah, that's right. 10% of all the flights coming in and going out of here today won't be flying tomorrow. And Anchorage isn't the only one. Atlanta, Boston, Baltimore, Seattle. The list goes on. 40 major airports across the country will see a reduction in air traffic. And it's all due to the shortage of air traffic controllers amid the government shutdown. Experts are saying travelers should have a backup plan in case of cancellations and delays. And airlines are taking extra measures to try and reassure passengers. like canceled fees and easier rescheduling. We spoke to one passenger today who said they were nervous about flying to Texas this evening for their daughter's birthday. In the backup plans, I don't have any backup plans. I mean, I just got to get there. This is my last child and she's 21 and we celebrated the other two. So I need to celebrate her as well. So it's important.

We haven't seen any cancellations yet, but as it gets closer to tomorrow across the rest of the country, they might start rolling in. So we're going to be here later tonight to give you any updates on the situation. Joe Allgood. I'll ask his news source. Back to you guys. Hi, Joe, thank you. As a result of the government shutdown, Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson has canceled its annual Veterans Day ceremony. It was scheduled to take place next Tuesday. The video you see is from last year's event. The base says it's unable to host the public event. while the shutdown continues. And despite the change, Major General Torrance Sacks says it's time to honor our veterans in whatever way you can. In a statement, he said in part, quote, we encourage all Alaskans to pause on Veterans Day to honor those who have worn the uniform in defense of our nation, unquote. The ceremony is anticipated to resume next year. And the day after the president urged Republican senators to kill the filibuster, both of Alaska's Republican senators telling us today they're not interested. That comes after Senator Lisa Murkowski and Senator Dan Sullivan attended a breakfast alongside other Republicans hosted by the president. Without ending the filibuster, it will still take 60 Senate votes to end discussion on the bill, which would end the shutdown. Most Democrats say they will not vote on that bill because they're fighting for expiring Obamacare tax credits. Republicans say that discussion can only happen when the government is open. Where Alaska senators are falling in with, they say, are with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who's been saying they don't have the votes to end the filibuster. The president talked about this idea of getting rid of that rule. That rule has been around in one form or another. Since literally the founding of the republic, it makes the Senate different from the House. But I'll tell you this, you know, we don't have the votes to get rid of that 60 vote rule to get rid of the filibuster. For the senator's full conversation with Will Courtney, catch our extra edition of Alaska's political pipeline. It's on our website, mobile app, wherever you listen to your podcasts.

More chicken noodles? More chicken noodles? It's good. People were outside the state delegations offices today in downtown Anchorage serving soups. Residents are approaching a week now since SNAP benefits expired. The 907 initiative was one of the groups downtown today. They tell Alaska's news source, serving soup is a way to show solidarity toward those impacted, but they also say this is a call for action toward the state delegation. Following the big impact, or I should say the impact, the big beautiful bill, will have on SNAP benefits in the current government shutdown. When I was younger, we weren't very privileged. We didn't have a lot of money, and we did use SNAP to get our food. We went to the food bank, ate our meals there, and I don't know. There's just... It's hard to imagine that people won't have that access. Food is, to me, a human right. Like, we need it to survive. Alaska's news source spoke to the state delegation today regarding this event. Senator Lisa Murkowski's press team told us that she's working to end the government shutdown. She said in part, quote, food insecurity affects too many of our friends and neighbors, and the shutdown has only made that worse. A federal court has ruled that the administration must distribute 100% of SNAP benefits for the month of November. And the senator does expect the administration to adhere to that ruling. of it also reacting to our team about about this today. Well, look, what I did when the paycheck stopped, I stopped getting my paycheck. All right. So I'm trying to, you know, show empathy with what's happening to our federal workers. Reach out to Representative Nick Baggage. We have not heard back from his team at this time. And we now have an update on the Portage Glacier Highway crash that killed three people this past Saturday. Anchorage police have identified the people killed as 51-year-old Jonathan Quintania, 46-year-old Maria Sampang, and 23-year-old Cazel Saquilion. This was a single-vehicle crash and is still under investigation. Tonight, our investigative team follows up on Alaska's ban on intoxicating hemp products. The hemp industry took off in 2018 when Congress legalized hemp, the non-intoxicating version of the cannabis plant. While marijuana does remain heavily regulated in Alaska, the cannabis industry takes issue with hemp, which is unregulated. It's often produced out of state where they say some hemp processors have found ways to extract THC. making intoxicating gummies and drinks. In May, federal magistrate judge Kyle Reardon sided with the state, calling this a public safety risk. Now seven months after the federal court banned these products in Alaska, cannabis industry leaders say they are still flooding the market.

We've got our investigative reporter, Rebecca Polshah, joining us now. Rebecca, what did you learn about Alaska's enforcement of this ban? Well, since the court decision, state officials tell me they lack the manpower to fully enforce the ruling, but these hemp products can be manufactured out of state and shipped to Alaska. So you may have seen them being sold in gas stations and convenience stores without the strict regulations that Alaska's cannabis businesses face. Rebecca, you know, some cannabis businesses, they say that this is having an impact on their industry. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, they say, they tell me that they can't compete with untaxed, unregulated hemp products. And we looked at Anchorage's cannabis sales numbers. Taxes dropped from 5.6 million in 2023 to 5.4 million in 2024. The Alaska Marijuana Industry Association says licensed cannabis businesses face strict regulations and heavy taxes while hemp products bypass these requirements entirely. The Alaska Industrial Hemp Associations challenged the state span. They argued federal law allowed them to sell these products. We are still waiting to hear back from them and will update when we do. Again, our Rebecca Palshaw reporting. We'll see your full story tonight on the late edition with John. Yeah, we'll do it. Thanks for listening. Click subscribe so you can get the latest podcast from Alaska's new source automatically. And stay up to date with breaking news and in-depth reporting available for free 24-7 with the Alaska's new source app.