And in Alaska, the state Supreme Court has ruled unanimously on all counts against Republican Senate hopeful Joe Miller’s challenge of last month’s U.S. Senate election. The ruling effectively affirms the victory of incumbent Lisa Murkowski, the longtime Republican who ran a write-in campaign after she lost the Republican primary. Since the election, Murkowski has become an increasingly independent voice in the Senate. Politico reports she was the only Republican to cast votes for all four items on President Barack Obama’s wish list: a repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a tax cut compromise, the START treaty, and cloture for the DREAM Act.