Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led a coalition of 23 state attorneys general in urging the U.S. Senate to confirm Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as the next attorney general of the United States. In a letter sent to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, Ranking Member Richard Durbin and other committee members, Knudsen urged Read More…
(The Center Square) – Betting on a football score isn’t gambling. At least not according to the federal Commodities Futures Trading Commission. The commission recently proposed rule changes to strengthen its governance over prediction markets and sports betting. The changes involve how the panel defines “gaming” and “gambling.” The proposal defines limitations for the CFTC’s Read More…
The Center Square) – Minnesota’s special districts reported $5.4 billion in outstanding long-term debt in 2023, while increasingly relying on state funding as pandemic-era federal aid declined. This is according to a new report from the Minnesota Office of the State Auditor. The 91-page report examined 572 special districts that submitted financial data to the auditor’s Read More…
Army Pvt. Joe Gandara was a paratrooper who fought in France during World War II. Little is known about him other than that he was the son of Mexican immigrants. However, his bravery and selflessness earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor — nearly 70 years after he sacrificed himself to save his battle buddies. Read More…
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on eight individuals and entities linked to procurement and recruitment networks that the agency said continue to fuel Sudan’s civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Treasury said the networks have enabled both sides to expand Read More…
Appointees offer insight on community banking, regional economy, including one from Montana Three community bank executives were appointed this spring to an advisory council by Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President and CEO Neel Kashkari. The Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council provides information, advice and recommendations to the Minneapolis Fed president from the perspective of Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led a coalition of 23 state attorneys general in urging the U.S. Senate to confirm Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as the next attorney general of the United States. In a letter sent to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, Ranking Member Richard Durbin and other committee members, Knudsen urged Read More…
The Justice Department said fifteen individuals — eleven described as illegal aliens and four U.S. citizens — have been charged in Massachusetts in connection with more than $1.4 million in alleged fraud involving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, MassHealth, and disability and unemployment benefits. The charges, announced this week, are the latest from a Benefit Read More…
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden’s anti-doxxing bills, House Bill 1084 and House Bill 1298, will take effect July 1. “Protecting our law enforcement officers and public servants from doxxing is of utmost importance,” Rhoden said. “They are on the frontlines every day, working hard to keep us strong, safe, and free, and they should never Read More…
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz took a big bipartisan swing last month when he unveiled a compromise bill with Democrats to regulate college sports, a play he believes is the only path to saving the multibillion dollar industry from itself. The Protect College Sports Act, which Cruz wrote with Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, after months of Read More…
The vast majority of Republicans indicated they had moved on from the bitter GOP primary and now support Paxton. Talarico had commanding leads among independents and moderates. Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico are neck and neck in the race for U.S. Senate, according to a new poll released Tuesday by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas Read More…
(The Center Square) – Betting on a football score isn’t gambling. At least not according to the federal Commodities Futures Trading Commission. The commission recently proposed rule changes to strengthen its governance over prediction markets and sports betting. The changes involve how the panel defines “gaming” and “gambling.” The proposal defines limitations for the CFTC’s Read More…
After a long absence from politics, former legislator Jim Peterson has returned, seeking the limelight once again, this time to criticize the Montana Republican Party for amending its bylaws. You have probably never heard of Peterson, so here is a quick refresher. Jim Peterson is a former Senate Majority Leader and President, most famous for Read More…
Across the Mountain West, data center construction has been slowed by local opposition, fueled in part by misunderstandings about the water consumption associated with the industry. Articles like “AI Chugs a Bottle of Water Every Time You Chat With It,” and “The Dark Side of Data Centers Part 2: Water Guzzlers” give the impression that Read More…
Medicare Advantage is not just an abstract policy for many Montana seniors who rely on it to access doctors, prescriptions, medical care, and peace of mind. Montanans deserve accountability, not bureaucratic delays, when they have questions about their plan and coverage. States need a stronger role in protecting consumers and enforcing the Medicare Advantage rules Read More…
A recent settlement with the Department of Justice in Texas has flung open the doors for the very first time for detransitioner medical care. Attorney General Ken Paxton announced earlier this month that after a lengthy investigation into the alleged misuse of Medicaid funds to perform transitions at Texas Children’s Hospital, they would open a Read More…
Barry Diller’s People Inc. submitted a non-binding proposal to MGM Resorts International’s board on June 1 to acquire the roughly 74% of the company it doesn’t already own, in a deal that would value the casino operator at more than $18 billion including debt. People Inc., the holding company formerly known as IAC that owns Read More…
Stock’s blistering post-IPO run has investors betting on Musk’s broader ambitions in AI, even as some analysts call the valuation overheated Space Exploration Technologies Corp., the Elon Musk-led rocket and satellite company known as SpaceX, vaulted past Amazon.com in market value this week, becoming the world’s fifth most valuable public company in just three trading Read More…
Senior research scientist John Jumper said Friday he would leave Google DeepMind to join Anthropic, the latest high-profile departure from the tech giant’s AI research division. Jumper, who shared the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry with Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, is best known as the co-creator of AlphaFold, an AI system that has predicted Read More…
Social-media company sheds in-house AI video unit as it looks to rein in the rising costs of developing generative-AI models and immersive gaming products Snap Inc. is carving out its generative-AI video team into a new, independent company called Dotmo, the latest move by the social-media giant to manage the soaring costs of building artificial-intelligence Read More…