Debt Deal Reached; Major Cuts Coming. President Obama announced Sunday night a hard-fought deal with congressional Republicans to slash the federal deficit by $2.7 trillion over 10 years and lift the nation's debt ceiling limit to avoid a catastrophic default. The pact includes no tax increases sought by the President. With the nation's reputation and credit rating hanging in the balance, Obama said bitterly divided U.S. leaders had finally struck a deal to "end the crisis Washington imposed on all of America." Government Executive

Lawmakers Eye Super Committee. Publicly, most lawmakers say they have no desire to be named to the so-called super committee tasked with finding an additional $1.5 trillion in cuts to the deficit by Thanksgiving. But behind the scenes, some are already beginning to jockey for seats on the 12-member bipartisan panel, which many see as a historic opportunity to overhaul the Tax Code and entitlements. In the Senate, some potential candidates will soon begin to interview with leaders, who under debt-limit legislation will have the power to appoint members to the committee, comprising an equal number of Democrats and Republicans and balanced representation from the House and Senate. Politico

Inhofe Puts 'Hold' on Commerce Nominee. Republican Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma put a "hold" on President Barack Obama's nominee to be Secretary of Commerce. Mr. Inhofe, the Senate Environment and Public Works ranking member, blasted Mr. Obama's pick, John Bryson, for his record on the environment and economic policy. As long as the hold is in place, the Senate won't likely vote on Mr. Bryson's confirmation. The Wall Street Journal

For Alaska's Alutiiq, the Future May be Found in the Past. Sven Haakanson is the executive director of the Alutiiq Museum, Kodiak's Alaska Native culture center where visitors explore 7,500 years of Alutiiq history, language, and arts. National Geographic interviewed Haakanson at the Seventh International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS VII), held recently in Iceland. Organized by the International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA), ICASS VII was attended by more than 400 delegates, who between them presented some 300 papers and joined discussions in dozens of workshops. National Geographic

Russia May Lose 30% of Permafrost by 2050. Russia's vast permafrost areas may shrink by a third by the middle of the century due to global warming, endangering infrastructure in the Arctic zone, an emergencies ministry official said Friday. "In the next 25 to 30 years, the area of permafrost in Russia may shrink by 10-18 percent," the head of the ministry's disaster monitoring department, Andrei Bolov, told the RIA Novosti news agency. "By the middle of the century, it can shrink by 15-30 percent, and the boundary of the permafrost may shift to the north-east by 150-200 kilometers," he said. Radio Netherlands Worldwide

NWT Regulatory Boards Running on Empty. Nearly every regulatory board in the NWT has vacancies to fill, leaving them without the expertise and power to function properly, according to Dennis Bevington, MP for the Western Arctic. Of the territory's 13 regulatory boards, only two are functioning with full membership. Bevington said the blame for this can be placed squarely on the shoulders of John Duncan, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. Northern News Service

Military Exercises Start in Resolute this Week. The Canadian Forces' annual summer Arctic training exercise will begin near Resolute this week, and is scheduled to include a simulated, major air disaster. Joint Task Force North will set up its headquarters in Resolute for the duration of the operation, which will include more than 1,100 personnel from the navy, army, air and special forces along with about 100 personnel from other countries. Divers, Canadian Rangers, Hercules aircrafts and coast guard ships as well as a number of federal departments are expected to participate and/or support the operation. Northern News Service

The Alaska Volcano Observatory Monitors Alaska Volcanoes.  Read about other notable volcanoes worldwide and beyond in Eruptions and the Human Eye at Frontier Scientists