- JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Gov. Sean Parnell is scheduled to sign into law an overhaul of Alaska's oil tax structure on Tuesday. Opponents are planning a protest at the Dena'ina Center in Anchorage, where Parnell also is expected to sign legislation aimed at advancing an in-state natural gas pipeline project and related to state permitting. Parnell has championed an oil tax overhaul as a way to increase production and industry development but critics say it gives too much to the oil companies with no guarantee for what Alaska might see in return. There is an effort under way aimed at letting voters decide whether the bill should stand or be repealed. The governor on Tuesday also is expected to sign state budget bills.

- ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Coast Guard's inquiry into the December grounding of a Shell drill barge off the coast of Alaska kicked off with testimony from the company's emergency response coordinator. The 266-foot diameter Kulluk on Dec. 27 was on its way from Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands to a Seattle shipyard when it broke from its towing vessel in 20-foot swells. Norman "Buddy" Custard told an investigative panel Monday he twice ended shifts hopeful that lines re-established could be used to tow the barge to a sheltered Kodiak Island bay for repairs. The attempts failed and the vessel ran aground Dec. 31. Custard says the top priority in the incident was the safety of 18 people on the drill barge. Coast Guard helicopters lifted them to safety Dec. 29.

- FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — A Kenai couple has the only winning ticket in this year's Nenana Ice Classic. The ice on the Tanana River went out at 2:41 p.m. AKST on Monday, tripping the tripod in Alaska's favorite guessing game. The game uses standard, not daylight savings time. No one predicted the exact minute the tripod would fall. But Warren and Yvonne Snow of Kenai were a minute off, guessing the time at 2:40 p.m. on Monday, meaning they were the closest. Ice classic manager Cherrie Forness says the Snows win the $318,500 jackpot. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports this was the longest breakup on record for the 97-year-old guessing game. It was three hours longer than the previous record, set at 11:41 a.m., May 20, 1964.

- ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska volcano eruption prompted regional airlines to cancel flights yesterday to nearby communities, including a town that reported traces of fallen ash. The Alaska Volcano Observatory says Pavlof Volcano has been releasing ash plumes as high as 22,000 feet. Clouds obscured the volcano Monday, but scientists say seismic instruments at the volcano 625 miles southwest of Anchorage showed continuing tremors. Geologist Chris Waythomas says the abrasive ash did not rise enough to threaten international air traffic passing over the volcano-rich Aleutian arc. Ash emissions have reached high enough, however, to affect flights of some smaller planes. Anchorage-based regional carrier Penair has canceled a dozen passenger and cargo flights to several communities. They include Sand Point, which reported a dusting of ash Sunday.

- FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — Low-lying areas of Fort Yukon were flooded after ice broke on the Yukon River, leaving 15 homes uninhabitable in Circle. The Yukon River moved past Fort Yukon late Monday morning, and village officials reported to the National Weather Service that the frontage road was impassable and water was up to the steps of the tribal hall. The ice had jammed about 15 miles upriver from Fort Yukon until it partially broke Monday morning. A flood warning in Fort Yukon has been extended to 10 p.m. Tuesday. Residents in Circle took refuge at the post office, school and store when the Yukon River flooded Sunday. There were no injuries, but a group of elders were rescued from a stranded vehicle.

- JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska has unveiled a plan to determine the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge's oil and gas potential, as the state looks to reinvigorate the debate over whether to drill on the refuge's coastal plain. Governor Sean Parnell said Monday that the U.S. Department of Interior hasn't indicated that it will address oil and gas issues in a new planning document for the refuge so Alaska is stepping up. Alaska is proposing a multiyear plan that includes seismic surveys, environmental studies and exploration drilling on the refuge's coastal plain. Exploration would take place in winter, and Parnell says it would have a limited impact on the environment. Parnell says he will ask the state Legislature for up to $50 million toward the plan, if the federal government is willing to partner with Alaska. An environmentalist calls the plan a "recycled bad idea."