Pessimism on US ratifying UN Arctic treaty

According to APRN, Sen. Lisa Murkowski and experts in Arctic policy are increasingly pessimistic over the U.S. ratifying the United Nations' Law of the Sea Treaty. The treaty sets economic zones in the Arctic, rights over the continental shelf, and guidelines for settling international disputes. Sen. Murkowski says there's a stalemate in Washington about ratifying the agreement, and that it's unlikely to be broken unless the Obama administration, which is giving priority to the START nuclear arms treaty, gets involved. The U.S. remains the only Arctic nation that hasn't ratified the treaty. Recently, Norway and Russia settled a disagreement, due in large part, one official said, to both parties having signed and ratified the Law of the Sea Treaty. Listen to more, here. Incidentally, Alaska Beat isn't sure this is significant, but literally, a stalemate cannot be broken -- it means a chess game is over.