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…
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…
Gov. Greg Gianforte last week continued his 56 County Tour, spotlighting innovations and investments in Montana’s rural communities in Big Horn, Rosebud, Treasure and Prairie counties. “Across Montana, rural communities are welcoming innovation and new investments to preserve the culture and history of our past while growing our economy,” Gianforte said. “Thanks to the efforts 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…
Taxpayers help subsidize illegal immigrants in 21 states, including California, Texas, Illinois, New York State financial aid continues to expand within higher education, allowing money to go to eligible illegal immigrant students. The increased spending is heating up debate over who should receive state taxpayers-funded higher education benefits. Currently, around 21 states and the District Read More…
The U.S. Supreme Court threw out a federal appeals court ruling in an immigration case Tuesday and returned the case to the court for an alternative ruling. In a 6-3 decision along partisan lines, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that immigration officers have broad authority to decide if restrictions should be placed on a returning Read More…
DOJ moves to intervene in case brought by Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne over state’s gender-identity housing requirements The Justice Department said it intends to intervene in a lawsuit filed by the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, a Catholic religious order, against the State of New York over a law requiring long-term care facilities to assign rooms Read More…
(The Center Square) — A majority of American voters say the U.S. should remain in NATO, according to The Center Square Voters’ Voice poll. President Donald Trump has toyed with the notion of pulling out of the treaty, ramping up talks in recent months following a reluctance of several NATO nations to assist the U.S. 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…
Montana Attorney General’s Office files 25 felony counts; suspect already held in North Dakota on similar charges Prosecutors in the Montana Attorney General’s Office have charged a Sheridan County man with 25 felony counts of sexual assault and drug-related crimes, Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced. The charges stem from allegations that the man abused five Read More…
This coverage is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting access. Sign up for Votebeat Texas’ free newsletters here. A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration’s overhaul of an immigration verification system to check voter eligibility across the nation, striking down a central pillar of the Read More…
Former Montana utility regulator will lead the $4 billion federal power-marketing agency serving the Pacific Northwest U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright announced Travis Kavulla as administrator and CEO of the Bonneville Power Administration, putting the former Montana utility regulator in charge of the agency that markets wholesale power across the Pacific Northwest. “Travis Kavulla’s Read More…
Financing aims to scale domestic rare-earth processing as Washington pushes to secure a mine-to-magnet supply chain The U.S. Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital said Thursday it has signed a $725 million conditional loan commitment with Energy Fuels Inc. to expand the company’s domestic processing of rare-earth elements, the latest move in Washington’s push 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…
Attorney General Austin Knudsen asked the Montana Supreme Court to dismiss a petition from Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell seeking to end Knudsen’s supervisory control over her office, according to a reply filed this week. Knudsen invoked supervisory control over the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office on April 30, after Cromwell declined to rescind a policy 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…
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico on Thursday slammed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, his Republican opponent, for a plea deal his office offered a Waco man who was charged with repeatedly sexually abusing a young boy. Speaking from the steps of the McLennan County Courthouse in Waco, Talarico demanded that Paxton release communications from Read More…
Five-day celebration in Helena will run June 24-28 with free tours, workshops and a Capitol Lawn finale The Montana Historical Society will host the Montana History Festival from Wednesday, June 24, through Sunday, June 28, a five-day community celebration marking the grand opening of the fully completed Montana Heritage Center. The festival will feature free Read More…
(The Center Square) – American voters believe building more data centers in the United States are not worth the potential strain on local electricity, water and infrastructure and that the negatives outweigh the importance for national security and competing with China, according to a new poll. The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll found that 54% 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…
Governor recognized two veterans with Montana’s top commendation and addressed the state VFW’s annual convention Gov. Greg Gianforte recently continued his 56 County Tour and honored veterans in Yellowstone and Custer counties as part of his annual effort to visit every county in Montana. “As I travel the state for my 56 County Tour, I Read More…
The Marine Corps is taking a leap forward in tactical vehicle training, trading unnecessary wear and tear for high-tech, immersive realism at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. With the introduction of the multiplatform driver simulator, Marines are now able to push the limits of the joint light tactical vehicle without assuming any physical 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…
Attorney general says MVD will waive renewal and replacement fees in July for Montanans adding the state’s new eagle-in-flight citizenship marker Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced that the state’s Motor Vehicle Division will waive certain driver license and identification card fees throughout July for residents who add the state’s new citizenship marker to their Read More…
A new poll shows Democrats and independents divided between two candidates running against Republican Kurt Alme in Montana’s U.S. Senate race, with the split vote giving Alme a substantial overall lead. The survey, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies from June 8-11 among 500 likely voters, found Alme leading the general election ballot with 44% support, Read More…
Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) said Wednesday that his bipartisan “America the Beautiful Act,” co-authored with Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), has passed out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and is headed to the Senate floor. The committee approved the bill, S. 1547, by voice vote, along with a bipartisan substitute amendment offered by 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…
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…
(The Center Square) – The controversial union-backed billionaire tax in California is officially heading to the Nov. 3 ballot. Secretary of State Shirley Weber announced the California Billionaire Tax Act exceeded the number of signatures it needed to qualify for the general election. The initiative aims to impose a one-time 5% wealth tax on the Read More…
Siding with SpaceX and the attorney general’s office, the Texas Supreme Court on Friday ruled that environmental groups did not have a right to sue to preserve public access to a beach that has been closed during rocket launches. The unanimous ruling said a trial judge properly dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning the groups Read More…
Abutting the first-floor hallway of Montana State University’s Romney Hall, the Travis W. Atkins Veteran Support Center resembles a typical campus study space. But through the center doors is much more. Equipped with rows of tables, printers and grab-and-go snacks, the center dedicated to supporting MSU’s military population provides a comfortable place for veterans and their family members to study, relax and find community. Started in 2011, the Veteran Support Center has consistently invested in the Read More…
A former U.S. Intelligence Community contractor pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit offenses against the United States after soliciting and accepting more than half a million dollars in illegal kickbacks in exchange for steering government contracts to his co-conspirators. David Duggin, 55, of Orrtanna, Pennsylvania, worked as a Senior Systems Engineer and on-site contractor at Read More…
The Department of War announced the creation of the Cyber Mastery Incentive Pay program, a sweeping overhaul of how the military compensates its elite cyber warfighters, aimed at attracting, developing and retaining the specialized talent needed to dominate an increasingly contested digital battlespace. The C-MIP program, part of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s broader Project Read More…
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has released its first round of funding opportunity overviews under the Rural Health Transformation Program, marking a significant step forward in the state’s effort to reshape healthcare delivery in underserved communities across Idaho. The funding opportunity overviews are designed to give stakeholders an early look at the expected Read More…
Montana earned recognition as one of the nation’s premier destinations for entrepreneurs, landing in the top 15 states in a WalletHub study ranking all 50 states on their business startup environments. The report evaluated states across 25 measures grouped into three dimensions: business environment, access to resources and business costs. Metrics included number of startups Read More…
The U.S. House of Representatives passed Congressman Ryan Zinke’s Allied Defense Sales Act, legislation designed to strengthen American manufacturing by making it easier for allied nations to jointly purchase U.S.-made defense equipment while deepening strategic partnerships abroad. The bill represented a continuation of Zinke’s work as Chairman of the Foreign Military Sales Task Force, where Read More…