House GOP Leader: Senate Should Change Its Rules to Pass DHS Funding. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said on Sunday that the Senate should change its rules in order to pass a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). "I think they should change the rule," McCarthy said on NBC's "Meet the Press," suggesting the Senate invoke the so-called "nuclear option" to allow spending bills to only require a simple majority to advance instead of 60 votes. The Hill 

Deline Self-Government Agreement Clears First Reading. The community of Deline in Canada's Northwest Territories took an important step this past week in becoming the first community self-government in the territory. Deline's self-government agreement passed first reading in the territorial legislature on Feb. 23, meaning that both the federal and territorial governments have signed the agreement. "We've come a long way and I was very happy today to hear all of the legislative assembly pass the first reading," says Leonard Kenny, chief of Deline, a mostly Dene community. "It was a really proud day for me." Alaska Dispatch News

National Roundtable to Focus on Violence Prevention Campaign. Governments and Indigenous groups from across the country say they're committed to joining efforts to end violence against Indigenous women and girls in Canada, following the first ever national roundtable on the issue. Indigenous families and leaders, premiers, provincial and territorial ministers and federal representatives met in Ottawa Feb. 27, pledging to develop a violence prevention and awareness campaign ahead of a second national roundtable in 2016. Nunatsaiq Online

Bowhead Whale Sighting Off SW England. Sea Watch Foundation regularly receives reports and photographs of unidentified whales and dolphins. Many of these can be assigned to a regular or common species. Some are unidentifiable. On this occasion, the photographs taken on a very basic mobile phone presented something of a challenge but yielded a more significant result. The sighting was made last Friday (20th February) and the observer logged it on the Sea Watch website over the course of the weekend as a sperm whale. On following up and requesting the images, the local resident, Anna Cawthray, forwarded a series of photos which had been taken on her friend's mobile phone depicting a c. 25 ft whale that she'd encountered in shallow waters just metres off Par Beach on the remote island of St Martin's (49o57' N) in the Isles of Scilly, SW Cornwall. [email protected]

Submarine Warfare in Arctic: Russia Mastering New Underwater Tactics. Commanders of Russia's Northern Fleet are mastering new ways of using deadly underwater weapons in the High Arctic, the press service of the Northern Fleet reported. "During the meeting, special attention was paid to the issue of using torpedoes to make openings in the ice, so submarines could surface and fire missiles in the hard conditions of the High Arctic," said the main statement during the meeting of Navy commanders at the training center in Gadzhievo. Sputnik News

Alaska Farmer Turns Icy Patch of Tundra Into a Breadbasket. The Alaskan tundra might not seem like much of an agricultural hotspot, but one farmer in the frigid town of Bethel believes he's found America's newest breadbasket. For the last 10 years, Tim Meyers has been coaxing an enviable quantity of fruits and veggies from just four acres of land. Last year, he produced 50,000 pounds of potatoes, beets, carrots and other vegetables. He sells it at his year-round biweekly market and to local grocery stores. National Public Radio

Ancient Yup'ik Way of Healing Being Revived to Prevent Suicide, Other Social Ills. Health care providers in Bethel are reviving "Calricaraq," an ancient Yup'ik holistic way to live a long, healthy, and balanced life. The Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation's Preventative Services Department is bringing back a system that's meant to guide the Yup'ik, or "real people" in Yup'ik, from conception to adulthood. They hope it will help curb alarming suicide rates and tough social issues facing Yup'ik people today. Sophie Jenkins, whose Yup'ik name is 'Qass, for short, is the Native Connections Manager for YKHC's Preventative Services Department.  As Jenkins speaks, a translator speaks in English. "Neqarilartut umyuaqalagtelluki imkut alerquceteng..." "The elders are remembering our Yup'ik laws," said Jenkins. KNBA