Most people residing in the lower 48 wouldn't imagine snow posing much of a challenge to Alaskans. However, some recent extreme weather has left two towns on Prince William Sound struggling to regain access to the outside world. To cope, Cordova has called in the National Guard to help battle huge snowdrifts while Nome is seeking fuel supplies from a Russian tanker.

After plenty of political wrangling, incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) won as a write-in candidate with 93,000 votes. It's the first time in half of a century that a Senate candidate won as a write-in. How did she beat out her challenger Joe Miller? We're joined for some answers by Libby Casey, Washington correspondent for the Alaska Public Radio Network. 

Competitive three-way races continue to be a rarity, but the introduction of the Tea Party has increased those numbers this election season. In states where they are taking place, third-time has not proved a charm for political analysts.Instead, it has skewed the numbers and may lead to surprising results in some critical races.

In Alaska, analysts see Tea Party Republican candidate Joe Miller splitting the moderate to liberal Republican vote between incumbent Lisa Murkowski, running as a write-in candidate, and Democrat Scott McAdams. Florida may prove a mirror-image to Alaska's three-way race: Republican Tea Party candidate Marco Rubio polls as the most likely to win the Senate seat, but after a nod from former President Bill Clinton, Gov. Charlie Crist looks set to take some ballots away from Democratic candidate Kendrick Meek.

Lisa Murkowski, the Republican senator from Alaska, may have lost the bid for nomination in the Republican primary, but that fact hasn't seemed to dampen her plans to continue her campaign for November's general election. 

Alaska lost its iconic lawmaker, Ted Stevens, in a plane crash on Monday night. Stevens was the longest-serving Republican senator in history and served six terms in the U.S. Senate. The former senator lost his re-election bid in 2008, after he was convicted on corruption charges. The charges against Stevens were later dropped at the request of United States Attorney General Eric Holder, who found prosecutorial misconduct during Stevens’ trial.

As oil from a mile-deep wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico continues to gush, BP is set to break records by drilling two miles below the sea's surface off the coast of Alaska in pursuit of what they believe is a 100 million barrel reservoir of oil. 

"You have a company in the Gulf that was pushing the envelope in technology which played a role in this disaster," says Ian Urbina, national correspondent for The New York Times. "In the Arctic, the one project that is being allowed to go forward is by BP, and once again they are pushing the envelope."

Sarah Palin stepped down yesterday as Governor of Alaska. What's up next for her? Her reasons for leaving and what she plans to do are still unclear. The Takeaway talks to Dan Bross, news reporter for KUAC in Fairbanks, Alaska, Jackie Siciliano, blogger for the website Team Sarah in Long Beach Island, New Jersey, and Jimmie Bise, blogger and founder of the culture and politics blog, The Sundries Shack in Waldorf, Maryland. Watch the first half of Palin's speech in the video below.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin officially hands over power to Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell on Sunday. What’s next for her and what is her legacy as Alaska's former governor? (One thing we do know: her autobiography is scheduled to come out next spring from Harper Collins.) Joining The Takeaway is Libby Casey, reporter for the Alaska Public Radio Network, to talk about Palin's legacy in Alaska, and Bernadette Malone, former editor at Sentinal, an imprint of Penguin Publishers, to talk about the autobiography.

Sarah Palin has been a lot of things: hockey mom, a Miss Alaska pageant winner, a high school point guard, and a Republican Vice Presidential candidate. But in a few weeks, one thing she won't be is Alaska's Governor. On Friday she surprised the nation when she announced her resignation from the post. Joining The Takeaway to discuss Alaska's reaction to the news, and to guess what Ms. Palin will do next, is Larry Persily, former aide to Governor Palin and a long-time Alaska journalist.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin resigned late Friday afternoon with no warning. The reasons for her move remain a mystery. Is she making a play for national politics? Or is she really done with the political scene? Joining The Takeaway are Libby Casey, the Washington correspondent for Alaska Public Radio Network, and Steve Heimel, a reporter for Alaska Public Radio Network, based in Anchorage, Alaska, who are here to discuss how this resignation is resounding in both cities.

If you missed her speech, here are some highlights:

Former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens may walk away from seven felony convictions a free man with a clean record. Yesterday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Justice Department is seeking to have Stevens’ verdict thrown out due to prosecutorial misconduct. It will not pursue a new trial and wants all charges dropped. Stevens, the Senate’s longest serving Republican, was convicted in October for lying on financial disclosure forms about gifts. The Takeaway talks to Libby Casey, reporter for Alaska Public Radio Network in Washington, D.C. who has been following the case since last fall, and Steve Heimel, Host of “Talk of Alaska” in Anchorage, Alaska.

In the video below, Stevens' attorney Brendan Sullivan discusses the case.