A 17-year-old Rockland County student was mauled by a female grizzly bear (no, not that kind) while in the deep backwoods of Alaska yesterday, leaving him in the ICU along with another teenager who was attacked. more ›

Yesterday became Political Nerd Christmas as a trove of 14,482 of Sarah Palin's emails totaling more than 24,000 pages were released almost 3 years after they were first requested, when she was tapped by John "Country First" McCain to be his VP candidate. The emails are from the first 21 months of Palin's time as governor, do not include her final 10 months (those also have been requested) and 953 have been redacted altogether. While the emails are riddled with typos (whose aren't?), exclamation points, and folksy substitutions for curse words ("holy flipping crap") they are largely lacking in surprises. This hilarious graphic from the Guardian tells the tale: more ›

The 24-year-old pilot who made an emergency landing at Rockaway Beach—in spite of not getting permission for the landing—and explained that he did so because it "happens in Alaska all the time"—is not City Councilman Peter Vallone's favorite person. The Queens lawmaker wrote to the FAA, "Mr. Maloney must face the strictest punishment. A pilot who abuses the privilege of flying, at a minimum, should have his licenses revoked." The Queens DA's office is also launching a criminal probe into Maloney's antics. more ›

A single engine DeHavilland DHC-3T carrying former Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens crashed in southwest Alaska. The plane had nine people aboard, and at least five were killed. There are conflicting reports about Stevens' condition: CBS News reports, "A family friend told an NBC affiliate in Alaska that Stevens had been killed, but later said that the senator's death was not confirmed." Also on the plane, owned by Alaskan telecom GCI, was former NASA chief Sean O'Keefe. An NTSB "Go Team" is on the way to investigate the crash; the "Go Team" looks at "high profile" crashes. more ›

Though the latest NOAA oil spill trajectory says oil is at least 100 miles off the shore of Florida, but this video from the Huffington Post begs to differ. Filmed just 20 miles southeast of Pensacola, the National Wildlife Federation found fish struggling to survive. They even spotted a blacktip shark, which is classified as a near-threatened species. more ›

New York magazine's cover feature on former Alaska governor Sarah Palin focuses on her new career: "No one else has rolled politics and entertainment into the same scintillating, infuriating, spectacularly lucrative package the way Palin has or marketed herself over multiple platforms with the sophistication and sheer ambitiousness that Palin has shown, all while maintaining a viable presence as a prospective presidential candidate in 2012." There's also insight from Levi Johnston about Palin and husband Todd, "It’s like they hate each other but they don’t want anyone to know it. I think they were gonna get a divorce, but then they were like, ‘Let’s not prove them right.’ I’ve never seen them sleep in the same room, he’s always on this little recliner." Of course, Johnston may be biased. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Fox News' "Real American Stories," hosted by hockey mom Sarah Palin, will be airing tomorrow night with interviews with Toby Keith, Jack Welch and LL Cool J. But the rapper wants to set the record straight, because he didn't actually sit down with Palin for an interview. He wrote on Twitter last night, "Fox lifted an old interview I gave in 2008 to someone else & are misrepresenting to the public in order to promote Sarah Palins Show. WOW." Watch what you say, Cool James; you might getcherself yer very own Palin target on your back! more ›

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will be journeying to the continental U.S.—and New York State this weekend. Newsday reports that on Sunday, she's being honored at a fundraiser for Independent Group Home Living, an organization that helps developmentally disabled people to live fuller lives. Palin's young son Trig, 1 year old, has Down Syndrome and IGHL says, "Governor Palin has become a symbol to families who are coping with their own children’s special needs. These families look to leaders such as Governor Palin for compassionate attention to the educational and therapeutic programs that are improving their own youngsters chances for learning." Palin will also be attending an event in Auburn, NY on Saturday—it's a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Alaska's statehood at the home of William Seward, the secretary of state who negotiated buying the land from Russia.. For $250, you can get a "Personal Introduction and Photograph with Governor Palin" in addition to cocktails, dinner and entertainment. more ›