MISSOULA, Mont. — The University of Montana is seeking public comment on a proposal to name a new forestry and conservation building in honor of two Stevensville residents whose financial contributions will help expand natural resource education and research. The proposed Robert T. and Janet M. Wolfenden Forestry and Conservation Building would serve the university’s Read More…
CHICAGO — An Indian national living in Illinois has pleaded guilty to participating in a $227 million Medicare fraud scheme that used personal information purchased from a Pakistani company to bill the federal government for COVID-19 test kits that were never requested or delivered. Syed Murtuza Kablazada, 36, of Des Plaines, Illinois, pleaded guilty to Read More…
(The Center Square) – As colleges and universities scale back diversity, equity and inclusion programs amid federal funding pressure from the Trump administration, supporters of the cuts argue DEI has negatively affected academics and higher education. Approximately $3.7 billion in federal research funding has been targeted for cuts, disrupting hundreds of clinical trials and research Read More…
A Billings mental health counselor has been sentenced to three years in the Montana Women’s Prison and ordered to repay more than $603,000 after being convicted of submitting fraudulent Medicaid claims for counseling sessions that never occurred. Staci West, a licensed professional counselor, was sentenced Oct. 22 after an investigation by the Montana Department of Read More…
Two Chinese nationals have each been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for operating as unauthorized agents of China’s intelligence service, conducting covert financial transactions and gathering information about American military personnel and installations. Liren “Ryan” Lai, 40, and Yuance Chen, 39, were also sentenced to three years of supervised release after pleading guilty Read More…
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy expanded at a 3.4% annualized rate in the third quarter of 2026, exceeding economists’ expectations as business investment accelerated and consumers continued spending, according to new data from the Commerce Department. The growth rate, the strongest in a year, marked a significant acceleration from the 2.2% expansion recorded in the Read More…
WASHINGTON — A 34-year-old California man has pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State terrorist organization after federal investigators determined he supplied money, firearms and other equipment to individuals he believed were affiliated with ISIS. Ammaad Akhtar, a U.S. citizen, admitted to attempting to support the terrorist organization between February Read More…
SpaceX has secured commitments for a $40 billion financing arrangement to purchase advanced artificial intelligence chips, but the transaction is drawing attention to borrowing costs and growing investor concerns about the capital required to expand AI infrastructure. The company, which trades under the ticker SPCX, announced Oct. 26 that it had reached a binding commitment Read More…
— Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte and the Montana Department of Labor and Industry announced a $1.5 million grant to develop a statewide digital career platform designed to connect students, job seekers and employers with education, training and employment opportunities. The grant, awarded by nonprofit Britebound, will support development of Montana’s Talent Marketplace, an artificial intelligence-powered Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is leading a coalition of 20 state attorneys general seeking to intervene in two federal lawsuits that could eliminate a widely used permitting process for oil and natural gas pipelines crossing rivers, streams and wetlands. The states argue that eliminating Nationwide Permit 12, a federal authorization administered by the U.S. Read More…
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry lost reelection to his seat on the board of directors for the massive planned power and data center company he co-founded called Fermi, according to a transcript of the vote from an annual meeting Friday obtained by The Texas Tribune. Fermi, which has ambitions to become the largest data center Read More…
Having worked in fire safety and emergency response for almost 50 years, I have seen extraordinarily brave people fight increasingly extreme wildfires with inadequate tools for communication and coordination. The establishment of the U.S. Wildland Fire Service gives us a chance to change that. The proposed consolidation of federal wildland fire management under the Department Read More…
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte and state Rep. Curtis Schomer toured a new workforce housing development in Billings, highlighting progress on 35 homes intended to provide more affordable homeownership opportunities for working families. The South Hills Commons development will feature two- and three-bedroom houses available to qualifying buyers earning between 60% and 140% of the area’s Read More…
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined senior federal law enforcement officials to announce expanded efforts to combat government benefits fraud in Minnesota, including new financial reporting guidance, a $25 million whistleblower incentive program and additional enforcement actions targeting alleged Medicaid fraud. The announcement came one day after federal investigators executed search warrants and arrested four individuals Read More…
(BPT) – Key takeaways The vulnerabilities buried inside legacy systems at every large organization are no longer hidden. While Y2K forced organizations to look honestly at decades of accumulated code, the frontier AI moment is forcing the same reckoning. The organizations responding fastest are the ones that have built the capacity to remediate vulnerabilities at Read More…
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service have proposed new regulations tightening eligibility and verification requirements for federal health insurance subsidies, implementing changes enacted under President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts legislation. The proposed rules would affect the Premium Tax Credit, a refundable federal tax credit that helps qualifying individuals and families purchase health Read More…
Newswise — Honda did not just lend Arizona State University students a lab bench this September. It lent them a hand. A very advanced one. For three weeks, Heni Ben Amor — a professor of computer science and engineering in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence at ASU — and his students worked inside the Read More…
(BPT) – Key Takeaways The U.S. aerospace and defense industry needs a skilled workforce, supply chain resilience and continual innovation to remain competitive on the global stage. A new white paper from the Washington Post Creative Group and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) examined four key pillars of today’s defense and aerospace sector: workforce Read More…
Dolly Parton’s nephew Bryan Seaver announced the legendary singer’s death on Aug. 25, 2026, in a prerecorded video. Seaver, the son of one of Parton’s 11 siblings, had been her head of security for many years. But Seaver is currently embroiled in a messy dispute with She’s Alive LLC, the company Parton established to manage Read More…
(BPT) – Key takeaways: Buying and traditional leasing have long been the two main ways to have an everyday car, but both typically require longer-term financial commitments. More flexible car options are emerging for people who don’t want to commit to the same vehicle for years. Flexcar offers an alternative to buying and leasing, allowing Read More…
(BPT) – Key takeaways Today’s tech-dependent lifestyles, extreme weather events and aging power grids all mean one thing: Backup power is essential. Solar generators provide a noise-free, fume-free battery backup option for power outages. The HomePower Series from Jackery offers a range of power solutions to fit every home, every family and every budget. And Read More…
KALISPELL, Mont.—The Flathead Valley Community College Board of Trustees has unanimously approved an employment agreement with Dr. Deborah Kish Stephan, who will become the college’s next president on Jan. 1, 2027. Stephan will succeed longtime President Jane Karas, who has led the college for more than two decades. The board’s approval follows Stephan’s appointment on Read More…
GRAND FORKS, N.D.—The University of North Dakota will host retired Air Force Col. Patrick “Mike” Shortsleeve, a national security and intelligence expert now working in the defense industry, for a campus presentation Nov. 5. Shortsleeve, vice president of strategic development at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., will speak at 2:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union Read More…
WASHINGTON—A Mexican national was sentenced to five years in federal prison for his role in an international human smuggling operation that brought hundreds of undocumented immigrants into the United States through the Canadian border, the Justice Department announced. Edgar Sanchez-Solis, 27, was sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling Read More…
Newswise — AMES, Iowa — Picture 2 a.m. in central Iowa. Almost everyone is asleep. But on a phone on a nightstand, shares of company stock are changing hands. An investor in Seoul may be buying while someone in Des Moines is selling. The market is wide awake. “For generations, U.S. stock exchanges have hit Read More…
The year 2026 has been an expensive one for social media platforms. Since March, YouTube and Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, have settled or paid out in multiple lawsuits to the tune of more than US$17 billion for allegedly acting negligently, deliberately designing their platforms to hook kids and misleading the public Read More…
Pankaj Agrrawal, University of Maine Monthly checks for the nearly 76 million Americans who receive Social Security benefits will rise by 3.6% in 2027. The increase, announced on Oct. 14, 2026, is the largest since the one that took effect in 2023. This cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is how the government tries to make sure Read More…
(BPT) – Key takeaways Training only the leadership team in generative AI creates a bottleneck, because the wasted hours live on the front line. Free courses from the AI companies are worth taking, and each one teaches a single platform. AI products change month to month, so the timing of training matters as much as Read More…
(The Center Square) – Twenty-two financial officers from across the U.S. wrote to the nation’s top rating agencies – Moody’s, Fitch, and S&P – asking them to explain the influence ESG policies have had on states’ credit ratings, with the officers detailing what they consider the harm using such “political assumptions” causes to states and Read More…
(The Center Square) – The NCAA on Friday sued Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in federal court after the governor issued an executive order earlier this week giving Ohio colleges and universities the option to expand the eligibility options for some student-athletes. “In June, the NCAA adopted a new eligibility model, giving all otherwise eligible student-athletes Read More…
WASHINGTON—American families saw modest gains in income and wealth between 2022 and 2025, but a growing share struggled to keep up with debt payments, according to a new Federal Reserve report examining the financial condition of U.S. households. The Federal Reserve Board released its 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances on Friday, providing a detailed look Read More…
CHICAGO—Cboe Global Markets has named Catherine Grover executive vice president and chief human resources officer, effective Nov. 16, 2026, as the global exchange operator continues to expand its operations and workforce. Grover will oversee Cboe’s worldwide human resources operations, including talent recruitment, employee development and organizational planning. She will be based in Chicago and report Read More…
WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is warning that immigration and spending proposals backed by the Democratic Socialists of America could impose substantial costs on federal taxpayers, citing a new White House economic report that estimates the broader policy agenda would add approximately $49 trillion to federal deficits over the next decade. The Council of Economic Advisers released Read More…
BOISE, Idaho—Two Idaho nonprofit organizations say voting laws enacted in 2023 have made it more difficult for eligible residents to register and cast ballots, while Secretary of State Phil McGrane maintains that voters have multiple ways to meet the state’s identification and residency requirements. Babe Vote and the League of Women Voters of Idaho, two Read More…
Troy Aikman, ESPN’s longtime Monday Night Football analyst and Hall of Fame quarterback, says he is preparing to become a free agent after this season, raising questions about his future with the network and his 25-year broadcasting partnership with Joe Buck. Aikman, 59, is entering the final months of a five-year ESPN contract worth approximately Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont.—Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito is resigning from his position to become interim U.S. attorney for the District of Montana, ending 16 years as the county’s top prosecutor. Twito’s final day as county attorney will be Sunday, Oct. 25, and he will assume his new federal position Monday, Oct. 26, according to his resignation Read More…
WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy praised President Donald Trump’s announcement of plans to establish a next-generation military training range in Montana, describing the project as an investment in modernizing the nation’s defense capabilities. The proposed facility would support integrated military exercises and testing involving emerging technologies, including electronic warfare, hypersonic weapons, space systems and advanced targeting Read More…
(The Center Square) – A bipartisan bill has been filed in the U.S. Senate to target cartel trafficking in the U.S. The Enhancing Southbound Inspections to Combat Cartels Act was filed to increase inspections of traffic heading south to Mexico through any U.S. state to combat the flow of illicit firearms and money that fuel drug Read More…
WASHINGTON—Union Pacific is seeking to keep video footage of remarks by Chief Executive Jim Vena out of the public record as the railroad and Norfolk Southern press ahead with their proposed merger before the Surface Transportation Board. The dispute centers on comments Vena made in March at a Southwest Association of Rail Shippers conference. Merger Read More…
BILLINGS, Mont.—The Billings City Council has approved the sale of Lampman Park to a private developer for $834,000, clearing the way for a proposed residential development that would bring 81 housing units to the six-acre property. The park, located south of Monad Road between South 30th and South 31st streets, is currently designated as parkland. Read More…