From David Hulen in Anchorage --

Here's a statement just put out by TransCanada (downloadable version, with background, here ):

TransCanada Corporation today announced that TransCanada and ExxonMobil have reached an agreement to work together on an Alaska gas pipeline.

TransCanada's Alaska Pipeline Project is designed to deliver a reliable and secure source of clean energy to markets for decades to come. With an initial forecasted capital cost of US$26 billion, the project would provide a variety of benefits to Alaska and Canada, as well as the rest of the United States, including substantial revenues, jobs, business opportunities and new, long-term stable supplies of natural gas.

Note: This was our initial coverage of the announcement. It's now a news story on the main ADN homepage. That story will be updated through the afternoon.

From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage and Erika Bolstad in Washington –

The pipeline company TransCanada announced today that it has an agreement with Exxon Mobil Corporation to work together on an natural gas pipeline from Alaska to the Lower 48.

“We are pleased that TransCanada and ExxonMobil have reached agreement on initial project terms to progress this exciting initiative," Hal Kvisle, TransCanada president and chief executive officer, said in a written statement.

The statement contained no details but the companies have scheduled a noon teleconference (Alaska time) with reporters to discuss it. Some Alaska state legislators were briefed by TransCanada this morning, and at least one emerged highly skeptical about the importance of the development.

An agreement was reached this week between TransCanada and ExxonMobil to partner together in building Alaska’s natural gas pipeline. Governor Palin, center, is joined in Dallas, Texas this week by (left to right) Marty Massey, Joint interest Manager for Exxon Mobil; Alaska Department of Natural Resources Deputy Commissioner Marty Rutherford; Rich Krueger, President of Exxon Mobil Production Company; Hal Kvisle, President and CEO of TransCanada Corporation; and Dennis McConaghy, Executive Vice-President of Pipeline Strategy and Development. Photo courtesy of the Governor's Office.

From David Hulen in Anchorage --

David Letterman had more to say about the controversy over his Palin remarks than was reported in that transcript yesterday. He spent eight minutes on it last night:

Palin supporters, including those at Team Sarah and Conservatives4Palin, are urging people to complain to CBS, Letterman advertisers, the FCC and the Anchorage CBS affiliate. Some are calling for Letterman's job.

Meanwhile, Palin spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton posted this today on the governor's Facebook page:

The Palins have no intention of providing a ratings boost for David Letterman by appearing on his show. Plus, it would be wise to keep Willow away from David Letterman.

Update, 4 p.m. Thursday: Sen. John McCain has now weighed in on this -- in support of Palin.

"I don't understand why Letterman would say that about a young woman," he said.

From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage –

An announcement is coming this week regarding the proposed natural gas pipeline to the Lower 48, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

There's been buzz about it the past several days and, although no one is willing to confirm it with their names attached, an announcement appears imminent. Much of the talk has been among Alaska legislators and members of their staffs.

Several state legislators said they’ve heard chatter that the announcement will involve Exxon Mobil joining with up with TransCanada to pursue construction of a pipeline from the North Slope to the Lower 48.

"I've heard the rumor, I don't know anything as far an any truth to it or not," said state House speaker Mike Chenault, a Republican from Nikiski,

Chenault said that it could be true, since Gov. Sarah Palin told Sean Hannity on Fox News that "some really good, exciting news" was coming soon

Anchorage Rep. Mike Hawker said he doesn't have any confirmation either but heard a rumor an announcement could come as soon as Thursday morning. He said he asked Exxon officials recently to clarify exactly what is going on because of all the buzz that they were in discussions with TransCanada.

“And they said we really want to make an announcement, it will be in the next couple of weeks,” Hawker said. “So that leads me to believe this is the follow on to that.”

Hawker said there's a huge range of speculation as to what the details of such an arrangement might be.

The Houston Chronicle is reporting on its Web site tonight that Exxon Mobil is in discussions with TransCanada, based on an unnamed source said to be familiar with the deal. The company would not be just a passive customer of the pipeline, which could cost as much as $30 billion and run 1,700 miles, but would likely be involved in the design and construction, according to the Chronicle.

From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --

Former Republican state Rep. Ralph Samuels is considering a challenge of Gov. Sarah Palin in next year's election, and Valdez Republican Rep. John Harris says he plans to run for governor if Palin doesn't.

Potential candidates of both parties are giving serious thought to next year's race for governor. Democrats Bob Poe and Rob Rosenfeld have already filed to run. Sen. Hollis French and former state House minority leader Ethan Berkowitz, both Democrats, have said they're considering it.

No one has filed as a Republican to run for governor yet. But Samuels confirmed he's giving serious thought to a run.

Update, 4 p.m.: Entertainment Weekly reports that Letterman, on tonight's show, addresses the controversy and apologizes pleads guilty to poor taste:

Taping tonight's episode of The Late Show, David Letterman took a few minutes to respond to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who called him "pathetic" in a radio interview after he made her and her family the butt of a recent Top 10 list. The late-night host had drawn particular fire from Palin and some pundits for a joke about one of Palin's daughters being impregnated by New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez during a trip to Yankee Stadium. Camp Palin apparently took the joke to be a crack against Palin's 14-year-old daughter Willow, who had recently attended a Yankees game, but Letterman insisted today that the real target was 18-year-old daughter Bristol.

“We were, as we often do, making jokes about people in the news and we made some jokes about Sarah Palin and her daughter [Bristol]... and now they’re upset with me…” Letterman says on tonight's show. "These are not jokes made about her 14-year-old daughter. I would never, never make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl.... Am I guilty of poor taste? Yes. Did I suggest that it was okay for her 14-year-old daughter to be having promiscuous sex? No." Saying he hopes he's "cleared part of this up," Letterman extended an invitation to Palin to come on the show as a guest.

Original post

From David Hulen in Anchorage --

We've been covering this on our Alaska Newsreader, but we'll mention it here for those who've missed it. David Letterman is under fire for comments the last two nights, and Palin and supporters are fighting back.

A couple of rundowns of the controversy: David Letterman Slammed For Sex Jokes About Palin's Teen Daughter (Fox News) and Sarah Palin smacks down David Letterman again(Politico).

From Erika Bolstad in Washington D.C. --

Greg Sargent at the Plum Line, a blog that's part of the Washington Post's whorungov.com project, delved into the Gallup poll that looked at which leaders Americans see as speaking for the national Republican Party.

When asked to name the "main person who speaks for the Republican Party today,"
the poll found that "Republicans across the country are most likely to name three men: Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, and Dick Cheney."

Palin, Sargent points out, did not make the list. So he called Frank Newport, Gallup editor-in-chief, to ask for "more precise numbers."

"Newport told me that the percentage who cited Palin is all of…less than 0.5%," Sargent wrote. "That means that of the 1,015 national adults who were asked who speaks for the GOP, Newport said, less than five people cited Palin."

"She did not come to Americans' minds when they were asked this question," Newport told Sargent.

From Erika Bolstad in Washington D.C. --

Remember back to September, when Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was a newly minted vice-presidential candidate and she was asked by ABC's Charlie Gibson about drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and her split with her running mate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.?

At the time, she told Gibson: "We'll agree to disagree, but I'm gonna keep pushing that, and I think, eventually, we're all gonna come together on that one."

Apparently Palin wasn't persuasive enough. Today, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee shot down Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski's effort to open up ANWR to directional drilling. The sole Republican to vote against the proposal? McCain.

The amendment, which came up during work on an energy bill, failed 10-13. Murkowski, the top Republican on the energy committee, has argued that directional drilling could be done from outside the refuge to tap reserves with its boundaries.

From David Hulen in Anchorage --

The governor may not have spoken, but she stole the headlines at that GOP fundraiser in Washington last night. More on our homepage. Some of the other coverage:

> Palin center of attention at big GOP dinner (CNN)

> Sarah Palin Snubs Washington Insiders at Senate-House Dinner (US News & World Report Washington Whispers blog)

> Keynoter or Not, Palin Steals Spotlight at GOP Fundraiser (Dana Milbank column, Washington Post)

> In Palin’s Shadow, Republicans Collect Cash (NY Times Caucus blog)

> Despite Questions About Her Appearance, Palin Welcomed at GOP Dinner (Washington Post)

And an alternative take at Politico.com: Sarah Palin makes little splash at dinner

Gov. Palin on Sean Hannity's Fox News show tonight.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin arrives at a Republican congressional fundraiser with her husband Todd Plain. (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Update, 4:20 p.m. (Alaska time): Palin and her husband just walked in, across the stage, to a smattering of applause. We'll have a story later.

From Erika Bolstad in Washington D.C. --

So I'm here at the yearly Senate-House dinner, the big fundraiser for the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee. And the big question is: will Palin attend and will she speak?

From David Hulen in Anchorage --

The Washington Post reports, via anonymous sources, that two of the key federal prosecutors in the Alaska corruption cases -- Nicholas Marsh and Edward Sullivan -- have been "quietly transferred" out of the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section.

From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --

Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza, citing "sources familiar with her schedule" (is this what it's come to -- it takes anonymous sources to find out what the governor is doing?) is writing that Gov. Sarah Palin will attend tonight's Republican congressional fundraising dinner in Washington, D.C.

Cillizza writes:

"Palin was initially invited to keynote tonight's gathering, which will benefit the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, as the keynote speaker.

Then came word -- via Politico's Jonathan Martin -- that Palin had been re-invited to the event and asked to speak only to have that invite reneged when concerns were raised that she would overshadow Gingrich."

Meanwhile, Palin is tweeting from D.C.

"In DC, will meet w AK's Washington office (John Katz) re: natural gas pipeline & readying AK for good movement on huge project for us & U.S.," she writes.

(UPDATE -- Sounds like Palin won't have a speaking role but "Republicans said officials would introduce her to the mega-donor audience and give her a shoutout at the event," according to the New York Times caucus blog. The Times also writes:

From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage –

Conservative talk show host Sean Hannity’s interview with Gov. Sarah Palin will be aired on Fox News tonight (5 p.m. Alaska time.) In the interview, Palin continues to position herself as the anti-Obama.

The Fox web site promises Palin will be “blasting Obama’s policies” on the show.

The Drudge Report has a partial transcript, in which Palin says Obama’s actions are “kind of a ‘we told ya so’’ from the McCain/Palin campaign.

"Maybe we didn’t have a good way of expressing that, or articulating that message of ‘here is what America could potentially become if we grow government to such a degree that we cannot pay for it and we have to borrow money from other countries, some countries that don’t necessarily like America.

And this many months into the new administration, quite disappointed, quite frustrated with not seeing those actions to rein in spending, slow down the growth of government. Instead Sean it is the complete opposite. It’s expanding at such a large degree that if Americans aren’t paying attention, unfortunately our country could evolve into something that we do not even recognize."

A fan asks former U.S. vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, right, to sign a baseball before the New York Yankees faced the Tampa Bay Rays in a baseball game at Yankee Stadium in New York, Sunday, June 7, 2009. (AP/Kathy Willens)

From David Hulen in Anchorage --

The governor's trip continued yesterday with an appearance at an autism walk, a Yankees game with former NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and a speech at a Long Island fundraiser for a group that works with the developmentally disabled.

Drudge is reporting that the governor will appear on Sean Hannity's Fox News Channel program tonight.

Some of the coverage:

> Sarah Palin hits New York City, joins Rudy Giuliani for Yankees game (New York Daily News)

> Sarah Palin speaks at fundraiser in St. James (Newsday)

> Is Sarah Palin running for prez? On LI, nobody's saying no (Newday column)

Update, Monday 3 p.m.: Claims of plagiarism are "just silly," a Gingrich spokesman tells Politico.

Update, Monday 8:40 a.m.: Here's Van Flein's full letter, along with Palin's prepared text of the speech.

Update, Sunday 11 p.m.: Gov. Palin's personal attorney, Thomas Van Flein, on behalf of the governor, is taking strong issue with any suggestion that Palin improperly used material from Gingrich in her speech last week.

"Mr. Dunn has made the serious, and false, accusation that the Governor plagiarized text from Newt Gingrich," Van Flein wrote in a letter to the ADN. "...Far from 'lifting' or plagiary, this is proper attribution in a political speech. The audience was made aware that Mr. Gingrich wrote about President Reagan’s legacy, and Governor Palin attributed her paraphrasing to Mr. Gingrich expressly and did so at the beginning and at the end of the paraphrasing. Labeling this type of commentary plagiarism is defamatory. It is also simply false."

Original post:

From David Hulen in Anchorage --

Yes, writes blogger Geoffrey Dunn on the Huffington Post. He says the governor's introduction of talk show host Michael Reagan Wednesday night borrowed heavily, and with only partial attribution, from a 2005 article co-written by Newt Gingrich. Dunn's original post last night said it was "a pure case of unadulterated plagiarism," and the headline read "Palin Plagiarizes Gingrich in Anchorage Speech." The post was subsequently softened to say "lifted." It's set off a moderate buzz in the they-love-her/they-don't-love-her Palin blogosphere. The governor's defenders argue she attributed the comments adequately (she mentioned Gingrich twice), and that Dunn's piece is an unwarranted attack. Meanwhwile, the Dunn item is being widely linked on left-leaning blogs. Links, audio and video below.

(AP/Kevin Rivoli)

From David Hulen in Anchorage --

Gov. Palin's trip to New York is getting a fair amount of attention. Yesterday, she was in the upstate town of Auburn (once the home of William Seward and the hometown of Palin's SarahPAC aide Meghan Stapleton) for a parade, celebration and speeches. The AP reports more than 20,000 people were there.

Later, she spoke at a private fundraiser to raise money for a planned new Seward museum. The site Conservatives4Palin has video of her remarks, in which she criticizes President Obama for proposed budget cuts that would halt expansion of the missile defense system at Fort Greely.

From CNN's Political Ticker:

...Sarah Palin admonished the Obama adminstration on Saturday for proposing cuts to Alaska's missile defense network, a move she said would leave her state and the rest of the country vulnerable in the case of a future attack...

Palin said she will "argue with every ounce of my being for Washington to pay attention."

Palin is in the New York City metro area today for a fundraising walk for the group Autism Speaks in Westchester County and celebration for Independent Group Home Living Inc. on Long Island.

Some of the other coverage:

> LI dinner has Palin watchers eyeing her next campaign (Newsday)

> Sarah Palin wows the crowd at Founders Day in Auburn (Syracuse Post-Standard)

> Thousands turn out for Palin in Auburn (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

> Sarah Palin celebrates history, beauty, strength of CNY (Syracuse Post-Stasndard)

Here's video from the parade and her remarks afterward, via Syracuse Post-Standard:

From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --

Not all the ethics complaints against Gov. Sarah Palin have fizzled.

She did agree to settle a complaint about her children travelling at state expense.

You can read about that settlement by clicking here. Now the deadline is coming for payment.

By RACHEL D'ORO
Associated Press Writer
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has until June 23 to reimburse the state for an estimated $10,000 in costs associated with trips taken by her children, under an agreement resolving an ethics complaint against her.

From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --

Gov. Sarah Palin's out on the East Coast today, apparently going on a tour of Harriet Tubman’s House, the Women’s Rights National Historic Park, and the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

I wish I could tell you what all she's doing on the East Coast (meeting with donors, Lower 48 supporters?) but my repeated requests for the governor's schedule have gone unanswered.

Ben Smith of Politico spent the day with Palin and offers a glimpse of what she's doing.

Here's an excerpt:

SENECA FALLS, N.Y. —Governor Sarah Palin paused Friday afternoon at the in front of a monument bearing the Declaration of Sentiments, an early feminist touchstone.

“We anticipate no small amount of ridicule,” she read, and remarked: “Some things never change.”

Read Smith's entire piece here.

There's more coverage of Palin in the Syracuse, New York newspaper.

From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --

A Palin administration briefing on efforts to get an in-state natural gas pipeline drew a packed house this morning. Legislators, lobbyists, staff, even state Republican Party Chair Randy Ruedrich came to the Anchorage Legislative Information office to find out what’s going on with the project.

It’s a sign of the intense interest in this idea. The Legislature gave Palin $7 million this spring to work on the possibility of bringing North Slope natural gas down to Southcentral Alaska.

Harry Noah, who is leading the effort for Palin, said the goal is to figure out how much such a pipeline would cost and see if the energy companies are interested in selling the gas they control and making it happen. So far no one’s seriously talking about the state paying to build the line. Most of the focus of late seems to be on Enstar's proposal to build a pipeline to bring North Slope gas to Fairbanks and Anchorage.