The Senate will consider Federal Deposit Insurance legislation. The House will consider the National Defense Authorization Act.

US Climatologist: Arctic Circle Should Be No-Fly Zone. A climatologist in the United States says the Arctic Circle should be a no-fly zone for major commercial flights. In a new report, Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil engineering at Stanford University in California, says black soot from commercial jets is attracting heat from the sun. Airlines first started flying over the Arctic in 1998, when Russia agreed to allow other countries to fly planes in its airspace. Alaska Dispatch

Climate Change Creates Grizzly Conflicts in Arctic: Lack of hunting restrictions a concern for bear conservationists. Climate change is pushing tundra grizzlies into Arctic communities where they would not normally be seen, raising issues about human safety and conservation of the bears. Vincent L'Hérault, a biologist and PhD student at the University of Quebec in Rimouski, said grizzlies are expanding their range in a northeasterly direction, showing up in communities such as Arviat, Baker Lake, Rankin Inlet and Chesterfield Inlet. Calgary Herald

Denmark: Who Owns the Arctic? The far north of our planet is presumed to have abundant mineral resources. And as the Arctic ice sheet has been shrinking in the past number of years, greed has been growing. The bordering countries are scrambling to secure themselves ownership rights - with competing claims from Denmark, Russia, Norway and Canada. Danish researchers are now looking for evidence that the ocean floor in the far north is an extension of Greenland's land mass and thus belongs to the kingdom of Denmark. Deutsche Welle

Arctic Shipping is Disaster Waiting to Happen, Safety Group Warns. Ferrying a load of soybeans from Seattle to China in 2004, the engine of Malaysian freighter Selendang Ayu lost power and the vessel broke in half on rocks off Unalaska Island in the middle of the Alaskan archipelago. A ferocious Bering Sea storm thwarted rescue efforts, resulting in the loss of six crew members, and the vessel spilled 350,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil. The oozing fuel killed thousands of seabirds, closed local fishing and contaminated miles of shoreline -- all inside the sensitive habitat of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Los Angeles Times

Delegation Seeks Delay in More Fishery Observers. Alaska's congressional delegation wants changes in federal plans to put observers on more commercial halibut fishing boats.The observer program has been around since 1990 for large catcher and catcher-processor vessels in Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska fisheries. The National Marine Fisheries Service has announced plans to add part-time observers to vessels that are less than 60 feet but more than 40 feet. Anchorage Daily News

Subsistence Board Cancels Work Session. The Federal Subsistence Board has canceled a work session scheduled this Friday on the memorandum of understanding to allow additional time for state fish and game advisory committees to meet and provide comments. The board has been in the process of accepting comments on the memorandum of understanding through the winter subsistence regional advisory council and state fish and game advisory committee public meetings. However, not all the advisory committees have held their winter meetings. The board will reschedule the work session at a later date. The goal is to have revisions finalized by May of 2013. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Fresh, New Generation of Leaders Grab Reins at Alaska Native Corporations. A second generation is starting to run Alaska's Native corporations. "There's been a passing of the torch," said Jason Metrokin, president of Bristol Bay Native Corporation and himself one of a group of younger Native CEOs who are bringing advanced degrees and business experience to the running of the corporations. Metrokin said the second generation owes everything to the first generation of leaders, who founded the corporations after passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971. But after 40 years of corporate experience, the time has come for the passing of the torch to the next generation. Michelle Anderson with Ahtna also mentioned. Alaska Dispatch