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    "slug": "ted-stevens-comes-home-in-october",
    "headline": "ted stevens comes home in october",
    "deck": "For one day in October, a United States Navy ship named for Ted Stevens will be sitting in Whittier, and then it is gone for good.",
    "url": "https://thedailyalaska.com/story/ted-stevens-comes-home-in-october",
    "section": "Politics",
    "area": null,
    "published_at": "2026-09-07T20:00:00+00:00",
    "updated_at": "2026-10-02T06:03:59.129677+00:00",
    "body_md": "The United States Navy will commission the USS Ted Stevens, designated DDG 128, on October 3, 2026, in Whittier, Alaska. It will be the first Navy commissioning held in Alaska since 2013, when the USS Anchorage was commissioned in its namesake city. The ship honors former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, who represented Alaska in the U.S. Senate from 1968 to 2009, the longest tenure of any Republican in Senate history.\n\nStevens' widow, Catherine Ann Stevens, and his daughters, Susan Stevens Covich and Lily Stevens Becker, are expected to attend the ceremony. Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao and Vice Adm. Joe Cahill are also expected to be present. Cao said the ship is \"ready to answer our Nation's call.\"\n\nThe USS Ted Stevens is a Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer. It is equipped with the AN/SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar and upgraded electrical power and cooling systems.\n\nBefore his decades in the Senate, Stevens was a decorated Army Air Corps pilot in the 1940s.\n\nAfter the commissioning ceremony, the ship will depart for its home port in Norfolk, Virginia. October 3 will be the only day the USS Ted Stevens is in Alaska water, with his family on the dock in Whittier.\n\nPublic attendance details for the ceremony had not been announced as of publication.",
    "sources": [
      {
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    "story_id": "6f337d27-b288-4cae-b7c1-7ac5c9978bc1",
    "slug": "ted-stevens-comes-home-in-october",
    "summary": "The U.S. Navy will commission the USS Ted Stevens (DDG 128), a Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, on October 3, 2026 in Whittier, Alaska, the first Navy commissioning in Alaska since 2013's USS Anchorage. The ship honors Senator Ted Stevens (1968-2009) and will homeport in Norfolk, Virginia.",
    "key_facts": [
      "USS Ted Stevens, DDG 128, will be commissioned October 3, 2026 in Whittier, Alaska.",
      "It is the first Navy commissioning in Alaska since the USS Anchorage in 2013.",
      "Ted Stevens served in the U.S. Senate from 1968 to 2009, the longest tenure of any Republican senator.",
      "The ship is a Flight III Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer with the AN/SPY-6(V)1 radar and upgraded power and cooling systems.",
      "After commissioning, the ship will homeport in Norfolk, Virginia.",
      "Catherine Ann Stevens, Susan Stevens Covich, Lily Stevens Becker, Hung Cao, and Vice Adm. Joe Cahill are expected to attend."
    ],
    "faq": [
      {
        "a": "In Whittier, Alaska, on October 3, 2026, the first Navy commissioning in Alaska since 2013.",
        "q": "When and where will USS Ted Stevens be commissioned?"
      },
      {
        "a": "The ship will homeport in Norfolk, Virginia after the ceremony.",
        "q": "Where will USS Ted Stevens be stationed?"
      },
      {
        "a": "A U.S. Senator who represented Alaska from 1968 to 2009, the longest-serving Republican in Senate history, and a decorated Army Air Corps pilot before his Senate career.",
        "q": "Who was Ted Stevens?"
      },
      {
        "a": "2013, for the USS Anchorage in Anchorage.",
        "q": "When was the last Navy ship commissioned in Alaska?"
      }
    ],
    "claims": [
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        "claim": "The USS Ted Stevens (DDG 128) will be commissioned October 3, 2026 in Whittier, Alaska.",
        "confidence": "sourced",
        "source_url": "https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/08/28/uss-ted-stevens-gets-october-date-historic-commissioning-whittier/",
        "source_label": "alaskasnewssource.com"
      },
      {
        "claim": "It is the first Navy commissioning held in Alaska since the USS Anchorage in 2013.",
        "confidence": "sourced",
        "source_url": "https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/08/28/uss-ted-stevens-gets-october-date-historic-commissioning-whittier/",
        "source_label": "alaskasnewssource.com"
      },
      {
        "claim": "Ted Stevens served in the U.S. Senate from 1968 to 2009, the longest-serving Republican in Senate history.",
        "confidence": "sourced",
        "source_url": "https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/08/28/uss-ted-stevens-gets-october-date-historic-commissioning-whittier/",
        "source_label": "alaskasnewssource.com"
      },
      {
        "claim": "The ship will homeport in Norfolk, Virginia after the ceremony.",
        "confidence": "sourced",
        "source_url": "https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/08/28/uss-ted-stevens-gets-october-date-historic-commissioning-whittier/",
        "source_label": "alaskasnewssource.com"
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    "locations": [
      {
        "area": "Southeast",
        "kind": "city",
        "name": "Whittier"
      },
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        "name": "Norfolk, Virginia"
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    "people": [
      {
        "org": "U.S. Senate",
        "name": "Ted Stevens",
        "title": "Former U.S. Senator"
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      {
        "org": null,
        "name": "Catherine Ann Stevens",
        "title": "Widow of Ted Stevens"
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      {
        "org": null,
        "name": "Susan Stevens Covich",
        "title": "Daughter of Ted Stevens"
      },
      {
        "org": null,
        "name": "Lily Stevens Becker",
        "title": "Daughter of Ted Stevens"
      },
      {
        "org": "United States Navy",
        "name": "Hung Cao",
        "title": "Acting Secretary of the Navy"
      },
      {
        "org": "United States Navy",
        "name": "Joe Cahill",
        "title": "Vice Admiral"
      }
    ],
    "organizations": [
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        "name": "United States Navy"
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    "event_dates": [
      {
        "date": "2026-10-03",
        "label": "USS Ted Stevens commissioning"
      },
      {
        "date": "2013",
        "label": "Previous Alaska Navy commissioning (USS Anchorage)"
      },
      {
        "date": "1968",
        "label": "Ted Stevens' Senate service begins"
      },
      {
        "date": "2009",
        "label": "Ted Stevens' Senate service ends"
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    "disclosure": "Produced with AI assistance, narrated with Slav Lund's voice clone with his consent, and reviewed by a person before publishing.",
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