All posts by Big Sky Headlines

Vivendi sells 10 percent stake in Universal Music Group to Ackman’s SPAC

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman bought a 10 percent stake in Vivendi’s Universal Music Group for $4 billion, valuing the world’s largest record label — which is home to Drake, Taylor Swift and Billy Eilish — at around $42 billion. Ackman’s blank-check company Pershing Square Tontine Holdings and Vivendi announced the news on Sunday after weeks Read More…

Tokyo Olympics: Kiwi weightlifter Laurel Hubbard to become first transgender athlete to compete at the Games

Kiwi weightlifter Laurel Hubbard will make history at the Tokyo Olympics by becoming the first transgender athlete to compete at the Games. Hubbard has been named among five weightlifting athletes selected to the New Zealand Team. Hubbard, who won silver at the 2017 world championships and represented New Zealand at the 2018 Commonwealth Games before Read More…

Saudi talks up strength after US cuts military assets

Washington on Friday said it was cutting the number of troops and air defence units deployed to the Middle East, including Patriot batteries and an anti-missile system, called THAAD, from Saudi Arabia. “This will not affect the Saudi air defences,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki told reporters. “We have a strong understanding with… our allies about Read More…

Sheldon Whitehouse under fire for membership at all-white beach club

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is facing new scrutiny over his decades-long membership in an all-white private beach club, as he bills himself as a progressive and prominent critic of “systemic racism” — dismissing membership based on race as “a long tradition in Rhode Island.” Whitehouse (D-RI) was confronted Friday by a GoLocal Providence reporter, who published Read More…

Worden Ballantine Water District asks Yellowstone County to share federal COVID relief funds for permanent water fix

Worden- The Worden Ballantine Yellowstone County Water District has asked Yellowstone County commissioners for federal dollars coming from the American Recovery Plan Act to help resolve continued water issues. District chair Dan Ewen and Board member Gary Fredericks passed along the request Wednesday morning and gave an update on what the water district has done Read More…

Rep. Rosendale releases statement after VA moves to offer veterans gender confirmation surgery

HELENA, Mont. – Representative Matt Rosendale released a statement in response to an announcement that the Department of Veterans Affairs is moving to offer transgender veterans gender confirmation surgery. The following is Rep. Rosendale’s statement: “President Biden and Secretary McDonough advocating for taxpayer-funded gender transition surgeries is an absolute disgrace. The VA should be focused on Read More…

South Dakota governor slams Biden over fireworks plans: ‘What a hypocrite’

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) blasted President Biden on Tuesday, accusing him of being a “hypocrite” for planning Fourth of July celebrations at the White House after her plans to hold a fireworks display at Mount Rushmore were denied. “What a hypocrite. President @JoeBiden wants “a summer of freedom” where we “mark independence from the virus by celebrating with Read More…

NATRIUM NUCLEAR PLANT COMING TO WYOMING MAY NOT IMPROVE ON EXISTING WATER-COOLED REACTORS

CASPER, Wyo. — When Governor Mark Gordon announced this June that Wyoming has been selected for the construction of a new “advanced” nuclear reactor, he said it would be “game-changing and monumental” for Wyoming. The system that would be built at one of four sites in Wyoming is called the “Natrium” reactor. It was co-developed by TerraPower, founded Read More…

DeSantis says he’ll send Florida police officers to help Texas, Arizona enforce border

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that Florida law-enforcement officers will go to Texas and Arizona to help with border control, as Florida continues to challenge the Biden administration in federal court about immigration enforcement. DeSantis’ announcement during a news conference in Pensacola came after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey sent a Read More…

North Dakota Enacts Price Transparency Law

On April 27, 2021, Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota signed House Bill 1032 into law, making North Dakota the latest state to enact drug price transparency measures. The North Dakota law has three main disclosure requirements applicable to drug manufacturers: (1) quarterly Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC) reporting, (2) disclosure of certain information upon a drug price Read More…

Police arrest 91 people in joint operation, including members of an Idaho white supremacist prison gang

BOISE, Idaho — The U.S. Marshals Service and numerous Treasure Valley law enforcement agencies conducted a joint operation for less than two weeks that resulted in 91 arrests.   According to a statement released by the U.S. Marshals Service, police arrested 43 gang members of the Aryan Knights, a white supremacist prison gang founded in Read More…

Senators Braun, Daines, Lankford’s amendment to outlaw animal-human hybrids receives vote on Senate floor

WASHINGTON – Senator Mike Braun, Senator Steve Daines, and Senator James Lankford’s amendment to the Endless Frontier Act that would make it a crime to engage in chimera research, or the creation of animal-human hybrid organisms, received a vote on the Senate floor tonight. Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey introduced the original legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. READ FULL Read More…

BBQ cooks compete in Absarokee

An Absarokee tradition returned with the 19th Montana BBQ cook-off on Saturday. The event was canceled in 2020 because of COVID and came back this year on the downtown street. Texas Smoke Whisperer beat 27 teams for the Grand Champion title and gets a chance to compete nationally with the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS). Read More…

Judge Upholds Dismissal of Case Against Resort Developer

HELENA — A U.S. bankruptcy judge has upheld court decisions that the state of Montana lacked legal standing to file an involuntary bankruptcy petition nearly a decade ago against Yellowstone Club co-founder Tim Blixseth. Judge Mike N. Nakagawa of Nevada on June 3 confirmed the ruling by previous judges to dismiss the involuntary petition, noting Read More…

Gov. Gianforte Launches Come Home Montana Campaign

Governor Greg Gianforte launched a website as part of the administration’s new campaign to encourage Montanans, who have moved to other states, to come back home to Montana. “For too long, Montana’s most valuable export has been our kids and grandkids,” Gov. Gianforte said. “Our quality of life is second to none, and we’re reminding Read More…

Board mulls whether Whitefish Lake is an airport

Is Whitefish Lake an airport? Can it be considered a “landing field”? What’s the difference between an aircraft hangar and a big garage that just happens to store a floatplane? The Flathead County Board of Adjustment wrestled with those questions last week as a couple sought permission to build a hangar on their property near Read More…

Montana nominee for national BLM director faces tough questions from GOP senators

HELENA — Montanan Tracy Stone-Manning, nominated to head the U.S. Bureau of Land Management under President Biden, faced some pointed questions Tuesday from Republicans at her Senate confirmation hearing. GOP senators – including Montana’s Steve Daines – grilled Stone-Manning about her past positions on natural-resource development on federal lands, suggesting she would be an opponent Read More…