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Good afternoon. It’s Friday, Jan. 2.

In today's newsletter:

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan has been touting the Big Beautiful Bill to Alaskans, often calling it the "Alaska Opportunity Act." Yet polling shows that Alaskans remain skeptical.
A group seeking to repeal Alaska’s open primaries and ranked choice voting has gathered enough signatures to place the question on the November 2026 ballot.
The natural gas utility for Southcentral Alaska said a prolonged cold snap has increased the demand for gas from the region’s main storage facility, but that it still has enough to meet that demand.

The transition from one year to the next is often filled with "best of" lists chronicling the books, movies, products and more that rose to the top over the past 365 days. This is a different kind of list. Without further ado, here are the worst films of 2025, according to The Washington Post’s critics. And where to watch them, if you must.

Anchorage weather

It's sunny today with a high near 4 degrees. Much of Southcentral Alaska will continue to experience a cold snap for the next several days. Temperatures could reach minus 25 in Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula through the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

Here’s what else is making headlines in Alaska today.

— Megan Pacer, mpacer@adn.com

Sullivan is on a quest to rebrand the Big Beautiful Bill to Alaskans. For some, it remains a tough sell. →

As opponents have described the bill in catastrophic terms, Sen. Dan Sullivan has been its persistent cheerleader. Some looking at the bill see no reprieve from the rising costs that impact the lives of everyday Alaskans.

Another initiative to repeal open primaries and ranked choice voting set to appear on Alaska’s 2026 ballot →

This is the second time a group has successfully gathered the needed signatures to put the question of repealing Alaska’s voting system on the ballot. A repeal effort narrowly failed to pass in the 2024 election.

Southcentral Alaska utilities say cold snap hasn’t strained winter gas supply, despite longer-term challenges →

Over the last three weeks, Enstar has pulled more gas from the region's main storage facility than it had planned as temperatures often plunged below zero.

Troopers shoot and kill man, injure another in Fairbanks shooting→

Alaska State Troopers fatally shot a 24-year-old man armed with a knife during a mental health crisis and injured another in Fairbanks on Thursday, public safety officials said.

U.S. Supreme Court will soon consider taking up Alaska’s battle over subsistence →

The nation's high court will consider whether or not to review a lower court’s decision in a case involving subsistence fishing that pits the state of Alaska against the federal government and Alaska Natives.

Anchorage neighborhoods pursue public art to create a stronger sense of place →

Beyond the Beige, a joint public art initiative through the municipality and Anchorage Community Development Authority, brings extra color to neighborhoods.