Featured Articles in News

Report: Taxpayers lose $500B annually to fraud as states resist oversight

(The Center Square) – Fraud could cost federal taxpayers as much as $521 billion annually, according to a Foundation for Government Accountability report citing a federal estimate. The report estimates that improper payments by the federal government have totaled about $3 trillion since 2003. Liesel Crocker, the report’s author and senior research fellow at FGA, spoke with Read More…

Longtime MDT Official Larry Flynn Named Department Director

HELENA—Gov. Greg Gianforte has named Larry Flynn director oAll Postsf the Montana Department of Transportation, elevating a longtime agency official who has spent more than three decades working for the department. Flynn replaces outgoing Director Chris Dorrington and takes over one of Montana’s largest state agencies, with more than 2,000 employees and an annual budget Read More…

Vedder Named Assistant Vice President at Minneapolis Fed

MINNEAPOLIS—Laura Vedder has been appointed assistant vice president in Treasury Services at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, expanding her leadership role at the bank less than two years after joining the organization. In the new position, Vedder is responsible for Treasury Services’ compliance and risk program, including vendor management and Treasury-specific compliance efforts. She Read More…

NSF grant to fund low-income graduate, undergraduate students at Montana State and University of Montana

For some students, earning an undergraduate degree can create financial pressure to enter the workforce immediately, putting graduate school – and the specialized knowledge, research experience and expanded career opportunities an advanced degree can provide – seemingly out of reach. In this MSU file photo, a student works in a lab in MSU’s Norm Asbjornson Read More…

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Appeals Court rules Trump’s birthright citizenship order violates Constitution

President Trump’s attempt to block the U.S. from recognizing birthright citizenship for children born to illegal immigrants runs afoul of the Constitution, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday, becoming the highest court to reach that conclusion. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the 14th Amendment grants citizenship to “all persons born in the Read More…

Columbia University agrees to pay more than $220M in deal with Trump to restore federal funding

NEW YORK — Columbia University has reached a deal with the Trump administration to pay more than $220 million to the federal government to restore federal research money that was canceled in the name of combating antisemitism on campus, the university announced Wednesday. Under the agreement, the Ivy League school will pay the $200 million Read More…

As national company bids for East Helena landfill, Missoula company warns of monopoly

A Missoula waste company is officially protesting Republic Service’s purchase of a family-run East Helena waste company. The reason? Monopoly concerns, Missoula-based Grizzly Disposal and Recycling claims. “When you control the landfill, you control the prices,” said Billy Fisher, Grizzly’s general manager. “We already dealt with this in Missoula.” Family business Tri-County Disposal has operated Read More…

Longtime critic of voting machines charged in firebombing of Colorado election office

DENVER — A longtime critic of voting machines and local government has been charged with arson for allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail-like device into the office holding the voting equipment in his Colorado mountain community. William Wayne Bryant, in a brief court appearance Wednesday, was advised of the charges presented against him in the June Read More…

House subcommittee votes to subpoena Justice Department for Epstein files

WASHINGTON — A House subcommittee on Wednesday voted to subpoena the Department of Justice for files in the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein after Democrats successfully goaded GOP lawmakers to defy Trump and Republican leadership to support the action. Democrats on a subcommittee of the powerful House Committee on Oversight made a motion for Read More…

Gabbard uses surprise White House appearance to attack Trump’s enemies on the Russia investigation

WASHINGTON — As the national intelligence director, Tulsi Gabbard is responsible for guarding America’s secrets and discovering threats from overseas. But when she made a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room Wednesday, her targets were President Donald Trump’s political enemies. Escalating her attempts to undermine the long-settled conclusion that Russia tried to help Read More…

Person dies in South Carolina children’s hospital from brain-eating amoeba

Officials at a Columbia, South Carolina, children’s hospital confirmed Tuesday that a patient there recently died due to the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri. Prisma Health Children’s Hospital said the patient died from primary amebic meningoencephalitis, a brain infection caused by the amoeba, according to CBS News. No other details were provided regarding the victim’s identity Read More…

Missouri AG sues Planned Parenthood for ‘disinformation’ about risks of abortion pill

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey wants the Planned Parenthood Federation of America to pay at least $1.8 million for its promotion of the abortion pill, accusing the abortion giant of deceiving clients about the health risks to “cut costs and boost revenue.” The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Cole County Circuit Court said Planned Parenthood has Read More…

First bin store opens in Choteau

The Choteau Juice Box, which opened in mid-April, is a combination shop, selling a wide variety of disposable vape products and smoke accessories on one half of the store and selling liquidation items at bargain prices on the other half. Caine and Shanda Gray are operating the shop at 25 Third St. NE in the Read More…

Choteau, Fairfield, Power receive grants

The Montana Farmers Union Foundation has awarded more than $43,000 to 22 projects that create new opportunities and contribute to the growth and enhancement of Montana agriculture and rural communities. “MFU Foundation’s grant program has been a huge success so far,” MFU Chief of Staff Matt Rains said. “This year, we were excited to see Read More…

Federal judge in Florida rejects move to unseal grand jury transcripts on Jeffrey Epstein case

A federal judge said Wednesday she lacks the authority to grant the Trump administration’s request to unseal grand jury transcripts related to investigations of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in South Florida in 2005 and 2007. Judge Robin Rosenberg for the Southern District of Florida said that under a precedent set by the 11th U.S. Circuit Read More…

More than 100 aid groups warn of starvation in Gaza as Israeli strikes kill 29, officials say

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — More than 100 charity and human rights groups said Wednesday that Israel’s blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip toward starvation, as Israeli strikes killed another 29 people overnight, according to local health officials. Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, was set to Read More…

California asks court to give state control of Los Angeles County’s troubled juvenile halls

LOS ANGELES — California’s top prosecutor said Wednesday he has asked a court to give the state control of Los Angeles County’s troubled juvenile detention facilities because incarcerated young people are enduring unsafe conditions, including violence and rampant drug abuse. Attorney General Rob Bonta said he wants the county to hand over administration of the Read More…

Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine faces possible prison time after admitting to drug possession

NEW YORK — Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine admitted Wednesday that he violated the conditions of his supervised release from prison by possessing drugs, marking his latest run-in with the law since he completed a federal prison sentence on racketeering and conspiracy charges. The 29-year-old performer, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, told a Manhattan federal judge Read More…

Five universities face federal probe over scholarships for undocumented, DACA students

The Department of Education launched investigations Wednesday into whether five leading universities are violating federal anti-discrimination law by granting certain scholarships exclusively to undocumented students or those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status. The five universities under investigation are the University of Louisville, the University of Miami, the University of Michigan, the University of Read More…

Love for murdered Idaho students and condemnation for Bryan Kohberger mark his sentencing

BOISE, Idaho — Friends and relatives of the four University of Idaho students murdered in their rental home by Bryan Kohberger delivered powerful statements of love, anguish and condemnation as his sentencing hearing began Wednesday. “This world was a better place with her in it,” Scott Laramie, the stepfather of Madison Mogen, told the court. Read More…

Butte-Silver Bow commissioners diving into contentious ‘urban camping’ issues

A Butte-Silver Bow commissioner and some residents say “urban camping” is becoming a serious problem in Butte and they want local laws to regulate it. “Communities across the country and here in Montana are grappling with the public health, safety and environmental changes posed by unsanctioned encampments in parks and other places,” Commissioner Trudy Healy Read More…

Mayor Reiter arrested for DUI

Cody Mayor Lee Ann Reiter was arrested on early Saturday morning for driving while intoxicated; incorrectly turning at an intersection; right-hand turns; and failing to use appropriate turn and safety signals, according to the Park County Sheriff’s website.