<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-0"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">As senators gathered at the Capitol last month to debate legislation to allow President Trump to zero out funding for public broadcasting, a siren and public service message rang out more than 4,000 miles away in this small town in the Aleutian Islands.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">“Attention: A tsunami warning has been issued for this area,” the message said. “Move to high ground immediately. Tune to your local radio station for details.”</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Residents of Unalaska, Alaska, hopped into their cars and tuned to KUCB, the only local station on the island, to listen for live updates as they drove uphill and away from danger.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">The next day, <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/17/us/politics/senate-vote-trump-bill-pbs-npr-foreign-aid.html" title="">the Senate passed the bill</a>, acceding to Mr. Trump’s demand to cancel funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides money for KUCB and stations like it all over the country that serve listeners in remote areas — many in Alaska reachable only by plane, boat or, in the winter, ice bridge.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="Dropzone-1"></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-1"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">That has left 245 public broadcasting grantees in rural communities — including 27 stations in Alaska — at risk of going off the air. It has also pointed to a profound shift in Congress, where for decades lawmakers would regularly wheel and deal on major legislation, going up against their own president if necessary, to protect their constituents.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">That was the case this summer for Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, who defied Mr. Trump and tried unsuccessfully to salvage the public broadcasting funding, and then when she failed, broke with her party to vote against the bill.</p><div class="css-kbghgg"><div class="css-121kum4"><div class="css-171d1bw"></div><div class="css-asuuk5"><noscript><div class="css-7axq9l" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-1b5b8u1" data-tpl="i" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><path clip-rule="evenodd" d="M2.5 12a9.5 9.5 0 1 1 19 0 9.5 9.5 0 0 1-19 0Zm8.5 1.75v-7.5h2v7.5h-2Zm0 2v2h2v-2h-2Z" fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript-message"><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.</p></div></div></noscript><div class="css-1dv1kvn" id="optimistic-truncator-a11y" tabindex="-1"><hr/><p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. 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