The House and Senate are not in session this week.

Deficit Panel Heads Toward Its Likely Demise With Little Drama at the End. The joint deficit committee remained deadlocked as the panel headed toward a likely announcement Monday that it had failed in its monthslong quest to reach an agreement to reduce the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion. While lawmakers on the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction fanned out on the Sunday talk shows, the two sides evidently held no meetings Sunday, although some panel members exchanged views by telephone, according to congressional aides. Up against the committee's deadline for action, congressional leaders who were actively involved last week showed no sign of trying to broker a deal. Congressional Quarterly

Omnibus Likely After Spending Bills Stall. Congress appears to be on track to wrap the remaining nine annual appropriations bills for 2012 into a single omnibus when it returns to work after Thanksgiving. Senate leaders had hoped to break the bills into smaller minibuses but that strategy has run into trouble. The omnibus approach has been favored by House leaders, who have wanted to limit the number of potentially embarrassing spending votes this fall. The Hill 

Canadian Elders Right All Along, 'Lost' Caribou Herd Had Just Moved. A vast herd of northern caribou that scientists feared had vanished from the face of the Earth has been found, safe and sound - pretty much where aboriginal elders said it would be all along. "The Beverly herd has not disappeared," said John Nagy, lead author of a recently published study that has biologists across the North relieved. Those scientists were shaken by a 2009 survey on the traditional calving grounds of the Beverly herd, which ranges over a huge swath of tundra from northern Saskatchewan to the Arctic coast. A herd that once numbered 276,000 animals seemed to have completely disappeared, the most dramatic and chilling example of a general decline in barren-ground caribou. Toronto Star 

Nunavut Arctic College Promotes New Online Courses. Municipal training in Nunavut just got a lot easier. That's because Nunavut Arctic College plans to launch the first of five online courses for the Municipal Training Organization's municipal government program later this month. Nunatsiaq Online

Kotzebue Teen Gets Invite to White House. Two years ago, when Tessa Baldwin began her efforts to combat the devastating Alaska Native suicide rate, the subject was all but taboo. "No school, no student, no teacher wanted to talk about suicide," Baldwin, who comes from Kotzebue is now a senior at Mt. Edgecumbe, said. "Teachers said they really didn't want their children learning about suicide because then they might do it. That really goes to show how much things have changed." Now, Baldwin has a steady list of requests for her presentation from schools around the state. And on Dec. 1 and 2, she will present before President Obama. The Arctic Sounder 

New Legislation Would Let Coast Guard Sink Pirate Vessels. Alaska Senator Mark Begich and Representative Don Young this week introduced a piece of legislation that would allow the US Coast Guard (USCG) to get rid of ships caught illegally fishing in various ways. Begich and Young worry that auctioning off the usually old and poorly maintained pirate fishing vessels will lead them to end up back in the pirate fishing trade. The last high seas drift netter seized by USCG and sold by the government, the Arctic Wind, is now at an unknown location. The Senate hopes to ratify a new treaty that will let the US seize pirate fishing vessels and perhaps increase the number of them the government has to dispose of. FIS United States 

No Arctic legislation was formally considered on Friday.

Airships to the Arctic VI: A Game-Changer, December 5-6, 2011. The sixth Airships to the Arctic conference explores the forward and backward linkages of the emerging airship industry. The introduction of transport airship will require new locations for transshipment and generate economic opportunities that do not exist today. Just as these other modes of transport spawned an array of input suppliers, this conference examines the supply base of the airship industry. Construction of large transport airships will create the need for materials, engines, pilots, avionics and many other large and small input suppliers.  

AGU Fall Meeting, December 5-9, 2011. The American Geophysical Union's ("AGU") Fall Meeting to connect with colleagues, broaden their knowledge base, and embrace the joy of science.  The groundbreaking research presented at this world-renowned event is critical to advancing our understanding of the natural world and to addressing the challenges society faces as they relate to our science. As an organization, AGU works to unite Earth and space scientists who are dedicated to the common goal: scientific discovery for the benefit of humanity.  One of the most important ways we do this is through the Fall Meeting - an event that embodies who we are as a scientific organization and that is key to helping us achieve our organizational mission, vision and goals. 

Alaska Marine Science Symposium, January 16-20, 2012. The symposium was first held in 2002 to connect scientists in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest and beyond in an effort to collaborate and communicate on research

activities in the marine regions off Alaska. There will be plenary and poster sessions featuring a broad spectrum of ocean science on issues of climate, oceanography, lower trophic levels, the benthos, fish and invertebrates, seabirds, marine mammals, local and traditional knowledge, and socioeconomic research. There will also be speakers, workshops and special sessions.

Arctic Science Summit Week 2012, April 20-22, 2012. The summit will provide opportunities for international coordination, collaboration and cooperation in all areas of Arctic science. Side meetings organized by stakeholders in Arctic science and policy are also expected. More information to follow. 

From Knowledge to Action, April 22-27, 2012. The conference will bring together over 2,000 Arctic and Antarctic researchers, policy and decision-makers, and a broad range of interested parties from academia, industry, non-government, education and circumpolar communities including indigenous peoples. The conference is hosted by the Canadian IPY Program Office in partnership with the National Research Council of Canada, among other groups. Each day of the conference will feature a program of keynote speakers, plenary panel discussions, parallel science sessions, as well as dedicated poster sessions. The conference-wide plenaries will explore themes related to topics of polar change, global linkages, communities and health, ecosystem services, infrastructure, resources and security. Other sessions will provide the opportunity to present and discuss the application of research findings, policy implications and how to take polar knowledge to action. 

The Tenth International Conference on Permafrost, June 2012. The conference will be held in Tyumen, Russia, and is organized and hosted by Russia. The last conference was held in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 2008. Details to follow.  

The Arctic Imperative Summit, July 29-August 1, 2012. The summit will be hosted by Alaska Dispatch and will bring together leading voices in this conversation, including residents from the small villages that comprise Alaska's coastal communities; state, national and international leaders; the heads of shipping and industry; as well as international policymakers and the news media. The goal of the summit is to sharpen the focus on the policy and investment needs of Alaska's Arctic through a series of high level meetings, presentations, investor roundtables and original research.

15th International Congress on Circumpolar Heath, August 5-10, 2012. This event is sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Society for Circumpolar Health, and the International Union for Circumpolar Health.  The forum will consider community participatory research and indigenous research; women's health, family health, and well-being; food security and nutrition; social determinants of health; environmental and occupational health; infectious and chronic diseases; climate change health impacts; health service delivery and infrastructure; and behavioral health.

Arctic/Inuit/Connections: Learning from the Top of the World , October 24-28, 2012.  The 18th Inuit Studies Conference, hosted by the Smithsonian Institution, will be held in Washington, DC. The conference will consider heritage museums and the North; globalization: an Arctic story; power, governance and politics in the North; the '"new" Arctic: social, cultural and climate change; and Inuit education, health, language, and literature. For more information, please email Lauren Marr.