All posts by Big Sky Headlines

US GDP shrank 4.8% in the first quarter amid biggest contraction since the financial crisis

Gross domestic product fell 4.8% in the first quarter, according to government numbers released Wednesday that provide the first detailed glimpse into the deep damage the coronavirus wreaked on the U.S. economy. Economist surveyed by Dow Jones had expected the first estimate of GDP to show a 3.5% contraction. This marked the first negative GDP Read More…

A black woman is ‘not a must’ for Biden’s running mate, Clyburn says

WASHINGTON — Joe Biden’s remarkable comeback from the depths of a fifth-place finish in the New Hampshire primary to all but locking up the Democratic nomination this month can be traced to his overwhelming support among black voters. And one critical endorsement — from South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn — helped reinforce that support at a tenuous moment in his Read More…

A California politician resigned after he appeared to throw his cat and drink a beer during a Zoom meeting

A planning commissioner for the city of Vallejo, Calfornia has resigned from his position after throwing his pet cat and appearing to consume an alcoholic beverage during a publicly-accessible Zoom meeting between city officials, Vallejo Times-Herald reported. During the Planning Commission’s meeting on April 20 — the group’s first teleconference amid the coronavirus pandemic — Chris Platzer told Read More…

Car-rental giant Hertz is reportedly preparing for a potential bankruptcy after it missed lease payments

Car-rental company Hertz is preparing for a potential bankruptcy filing, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, as the coronavirus pandemic brings nearly all travel to a standstill. People familiar with the matter told the paper that Hertz is working to reduce its debt payments and is in talks on a forbearance agreement that could help it Read More…

USNS Comfort Set to Return to Virginia on Thursday

NORFOLK, Va. — The Navy hospital ship sent to relieve stressed New York City hospitals as coronavirus cases surged is set to leave this week and return to its homeport in Virginia, the U.S. Navy said. The USNS Comfort will set sail for Norfolk on Thursday, officials said in a statement Tuesday. The ship docked in Manhattan on March Read More…

Texas to pay Wyoming $1.85 million for 2023 game

LARAMIE — Wyoming will be handsomely compensated for its trip to Texas during the 2023 football season. UW announced the pending matchup with the Longhorns, scheduled for Sept. 16, 2023 at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium, earlier this year. Texas, which won’t be making the return trip to War Memorial Stadium, will pay UW $1.85 million for Read More…

SOME WYOMING SCHOOLS DECIDE TO REMAIN CLOSED FOR YEAR

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — Some Wyoming school districts are deciding to remain closed for the rest of the school year. The Casper Star-Tribune reports that Natrona County on Monday joined a handful of other districts in deciding against reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic. Others include Albany and Campbell counties, and the Green River-based Sweetwater County Read More…

AOC suggests low-income workers should boycott after coronavirus shutdown ends

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) argued Wednesday that many Americans should protest economic insecurity by refusing to work after coronavirus-related restrictions are lifted. “When we talk about this idea of reopening society, you know, only in America does the president — when the president tweets about liberation — does he mean go back to work. When Read More…

Woman Arrested After Moms Stage ‘Playdate Protest’ Over Idaho Stay At Home Order

One of the advocates of a movement urging Idahoans to disobey the governor’s stay at home order has been arrested at a protest in Meridian. Forty-year-old Sara Brady, who’s affiliated with the anti-vaccine groups Idahoans for Vaccine Freedom Health Freedom Idaho, was arrested at Kleiner Park in Meridian Tuesday afternoon. As a video posted to Read More…

MINORITY WHIP: GORDON UNDER PRESSURE TO ‘REOPEN’ ECONOMY

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Wyoming House District 45 Representative Charles Pelkey, who also serves as the Minority Whip said today in a Facebook post that Governor Gordon is “suddenly under a lot of pressure to “reopen” the economy no matter what the recommendations from health officials might be.” Gordon’s first of three orders was placed in mid-March in response Read More…

From Montana to Massachusetts, states approach economic restarts at different speeds

As governors around the country weigh reopening their economies amid the fight against COVID-19, a patchwork of stay-home orders and other business restrictions exist. Some states are moving faster to reopen, like Georgia, where the governor is allowing nail salons, bowling alleys and other businesses to reopen Friday. Other states such as New Hampshire are Read More…

Banks See High Demand for Loans and Refinancing

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began closing businesses and lowering interest rates, banks in the Flathead Valley are reporting high numbers of phone calls, loan applications and mortgage refinances. Banks have seen a lot of activity through the Small Business Administration’s $349 billion federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which authorizes forgivable loans to small businesses Read More…

Miles City non-profit organization provides Chromebooks to teachers

MILES CITY, Mont. — Miles City Community Improvements is a non-profit organization in Miles City that has donated Chromebooks to teachers in the Miles City School District. According to Miles City Community Improvements board member Marc Ingraham, Miles City Community Improvements has donated 20 Chromebooks to teachers in the Miles City School District.  Ingraham says funding came Read More…

Montana High School Association officially cancels spring sports

HELENA — Spring sports in Montana are officially canceled. The Montana High School Association and executive director Mark Beckman sent a release on Wednesday afternoon following Gov. Steve Bullock’s press conference detailing the gradual re-opening of Montana, beginning with “Phase 1” this weekend. In that press conference, Bullock said schools would have the option to Read More…

What does oil’s negative price mean for Wyoming?

Futures prices for oil fell into the negatives for the first time in recorded history Monday, further straining a Wyoming economy already reeling from months of price declines, continuing strife in the coal industry and the shutdown of numerous businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.   West Texas Intermediate oil contracts for the month of Read More…

Gianforte adds another $500K to campaign kitty

HELENA — Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte has loaned another $500,000 of his own money to his campaign, increasing his personal contributions to $1.05 million – about a third of his total funding. Even without the personal loans, Gianforte, Montana’s U.S. representative, has easily out-raised his two Republican rivals in the year-long campaign for Montana’s Read More…

Nearly 3 million borrowers have been granted mortgage relief, and the industry is crying for help

More than 2.9 million homeowners have taken advantage of a program designed to provide relief to holders of government-backed mortgages, part of the coronavirus CARES Act relief package. This represents 5.5% of all active mortgages, according to Black Knight, a mortgage data and analytics company that is now tracking the growing numbers daily. The program Read More…

The Trump administration paid a bankrupt company with zero employees $55 million for N95 masks, which it’s never manufactured

The coronavirus pandemic has created a desperate clamber for vital medical supplies, like N95 masks, that has led the federal government to award massive contracts to third-party vendors to help fill the gaps. In this chaotic effort to obtain supplies, the Trump administration awarded a $55 million contract to Panthera Worldwide LLC, a company with Read More…

Wuhan abruptly increased its coronavirus death toll to 50% higher than previously reported

The central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus first appeared late last year, revised its death toll sharply higher on Friday. Local authorities changed the previous figure of 2,579 to 3,869, China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. The change, 1,290 additional deaths, is an increase of almost exactly 50%. Officials also added another 325 Read More…

Twitter fight erupts between Alaska politicians and Sen. Chuck Schumer over coronavirus relief cash

The battle over whether for-profit Alaska Native corporations should get a slice of the $8 billion in coronavirus relief intended for U.S. tribes exploded Thursday into a Twitter fight among U.S. senators, an Alaska-born Interior Department official and the governor.   Let’s get you caught up: Congress has agreed to give $150 billion in relief Read More…

Idaho Falls man admits to exchanging vape pen for sex with teenage girl, say detectives

AMMON — An Idaho Falls man was arrested Wednesday after investigators say he traded sex with a teenage girl for a vape pen. Investigators were alerted of the alleged sexual activity between the victim and Tyler M. Meng, 26, when Facebook sent sexually explicit messages to investigators, according to court documents obtained by EastIdahoNews.com. Meng Read More…