The U.S. Treasury Department said its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network identified about $17.5 billion in suspicious financial activity potentially connected to health care fraud, highlighting the scale of schemes targeting Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers. The findings come from an analysis of 5,702 Bank Secrecy Act reports filed by financial institutions between March 1, Read More…
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen has joined Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stop a multistate antitrust lawsuit seeking to block Paramount Skydance’s proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The filing puts Knudsen at the center of another major national antitrust fight, this time on the opposite Read More…
(The Center Square) – Seattle City Councilmember Bob Kettle acknowledged receiving a long-awaited formal explanation from Mayor Katie Wilson’s administration regarding the forced resignation of former Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes on Friday. He maintains he still disagrees with how the executive branch handled Barnes’ ousting. In a letter sent on behalf of the mayor, Read More…
A University of Montana political science professor will spend the academic year sharing his expertise and research at one of the world’s most prestigious institutions. Dr. Robert Saldin, a political scientist and co-director of UM’s Democracy Studies Program, has been awarded the Leverhulme Visiting Professorship at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The Read More…
Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, became Joint Base Lindsey Graham during a ceremony Aug. 10 to rename the installation after the late senator, Air Force veteran and South Carolina native son. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth poses for a photo with service members at Joint Base Lindsey Graham, S.C., Aug. 10, 2026, after the Read More…
President Trump signed a proclamation Wednesday imposing tariffs of up to 100% on imported drones and their components, using national security authority to reshape a market currently dominated by foreign — and particularly Chinese — manufacturers. The tariffs, issued under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, take effect September 3 for most Read More…
A consumer protection trial against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, started Tuesday in Oakland. A bipartisan coalition of attorneys general including California’s Rob Bonta made opening statements that Meta designed addictive, harmful features on Instagram and Facebook that drive excessive youth use, leading to severe mental and physical harm. The trial is Read More…
Missoula pediatrician Laurie Carter is piloting a program with University of Montana researchers as part of RESOLVE, a new strategic healthcare partnership between UM and Providence Health. The new program, the Montana Child Abuse Network (MT CAN), uses a telehealth model to help rural health providers and child welfare professionals care for children who may have experienced Read More…
Three-quarters of Americans and nearly seven in 10 Canadians have sought financial guidance from at least one source in the past year, according to a new study from Gallup conducted in partnership with Edward Jones, though the sources people rely on most are not always the ones they trust most. Among U.S. adults who sought Read More…
BOISE, Idaho — A federal judge has blocked Idaho from prosecuting doctors who perform abortions when necessary to protect a pregnant woman’s health or prevent her from harming herself, delivering a significant but limited setback to one of the nation’s strictest abortion laws. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled that portions of Idaho’s Defense Read More…
A tribal nonprofit and an outdoor recreation company filed the federal lawsuit, arguing the work threatens archeological sites and sacred grounds. A tribal nonprofit and an outdoor recreation company on Friday asked a federal judge to block border wall-related construction in Big Bend National Park, arguing that the project is contrary to U.S. law and Read More…
Greatest numbers apprehended at northern border all year in July The number of foreign nationals apprehended nationwide was historically low in July but the highest they’ve been since January, according to the latest data released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The increase is largely due to a greater number of illegal border crossers being Read More…
Army Tech. Sgt. Ted Takayuki Tanouye posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in western Italy during World War II. Tanouye was born to Nikuma and Momoye Tanouye Nov. 14, 1919, in Torrance, California. He was the eldest of six children. He graduated from Torrance High School in 1938, where he played Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. — Gov. Kelly Armstrong has appointed senior adviser Conner Swanson to lead the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, putting a longtime policy aide in charge of the largest agency in state government. Swanson will take over as DHHS commissioner Aug. 29, succeeding interim Commissioner Pat Traynor, who has led the Read More…
WASHINGTON — American companies will have a new way to help employees build savings for their children under Treasury Department guidance that allows employers to make tax-free contributions to Trump Accounts. The Treasury Department this week outlined rules for employer-sponsored Trump Account programs, providing a framework for companies to contribute as much as $2,500 annually Read More…
The U.S. Naval War College held its annual Convocation ceremony Tuesday, Aug. 4, welcoming 477 students to the academic year, including 292 new students from all six branches of the U.S. armed forces and federal government agencies, 81 U.S. students continuing from previous fall and spring enrollments, and 104 international students from partner and allied Read More…
The North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions joined financial regulators from 48 agencies across 47 states in reaching a $15.5 million settlement with NewRez LLC, one of the nation’s largest mortgage servicers, over the company’s improper use of force-placed insurance on borrowers who already had active homeowners insurance policies. The settlement, announced Wednesday and coordinated Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — Gov. Greg Gianforte traveled across western Montana this week, visiting agricultural producers and manufacturers, opening a new manufacturing facility in Kalispell and recognizing a dozen veterans for their military and community service. The stops were part of Gianforte’s ongoing 56 County Tour, an annual swing through Montana aimed at highlighting local businesses, Read More…
An estimated 15 million U.S. adults, or 6% of the population, were victims of financial scams in 2025, with total losses reaching approximately $68 billion, according to a study released by Stop Scams Alliance and Gallup. The nationally representative survey of more than 5,100 U.S. adults found that scams affected Americans across demographic groups, with Read More…
Janos Zsofka told himself he wouldn’t join law enforcement after leaving the U.S. Marine Corps. It was simply too cliché, he thought. He said roughly one-third of his scout sniper platoon pursued a career in law enforcement after leaving the Marines, hoping to find a similar sense of purpose. Zsofka tried attending a two-year college Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Gov. Mark Gordon has appointed Jeremy Kent Kisling to serve as a circuit court judge in Wyoming’s Fourth Judicial District, filling a vacancy on the bench serving Johnson and Sheridan counties. Gordon announced the appointment Aug. 6 following Wyoming’s judicial selection process. Kisling was among the nominees submitted to the governor by Read More…
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said Duke University School of Law intentionally discriminated on the basis of race in admitting students to its 2023, 2024 and 2025 incoming classes, announcing investigative findings that the school violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Read More…
Kellogg said it will remove artificial colors from all its cereals by the end of this year, moving up a timeline the company set just last August by more than a year. Kellogg had said in August 2025 that it would eliminate synthetic dyes from its cereals by the end of 2027. The company said Read More…
Six Montanans working across music, painting, ceramics, glasswork, engraving and violin will receive the state’s highest arts honor this year, the Montana Arts Council announced. The 2026 Governor’s Arts Award recipients are Missoula musician Jeff Ament, Bozeman landscape painter Clyde Aspevig, Bozeman stained glass artist David Fjeld, Helena ceramicist Sarah Jaeger, Bozeman violinist Carrie Krause, Read More…
Two former NBA players, Royce White and Enes Kanter Freedom, say they intend to declare for the WNBA draft in 2027, arguing that the league’s collective bargaining agreement fails to clearly define who is eligible to play. White, a former NBA player and Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Minnesota, said Sunday that the league’s lack Read More…
The White House launched a website, fraud.gov, to publish the actions and recoveries of its Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, saying Americans should be able to track federal enforcement efforts in one place. The administration said the task force has uncovered nearly $230 billion in fraud since beginning its work, blocked $56 billion in fraudulent Read More…
About one in five Americans who sought financial advice in the past year turned to artificial intelligence, even though few trust its expertise on money matters, according to a Gallup survey conducted in partnership with financial services firm Edward Jones. Among U.S. adults overall, only about three in 10 said they have “a great deal” Read More…
Genetic material from bison bones collected at Wyoming archaeological sites — and housed at the University of Wyoming — played a key role in a sweeping new study about the history of the iconic species in North America. The study — which involved researchers from more than 30 institutions and organizations, including Wyoming State Archaeologist Read More…
The Department of War announced more than $80 million in proposed investments in university mining and metallurgy programs, including at the Colorado School of Mines, the South Dakota School of Mines and Johns Hopkins University, unveiled at a roundtable with mining industry executives. The funding would flow through the department’s Office of the Under Secretary Read More…
Sen. Tim Sheehy introduced legislation that would create a dedicated pharmaceutical trade negotiator within the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and expand federal oversight of foreign drug pricing policies. The Use Sovereignty to Reduce Rx Act, or USTRx Act, targets what its sponsors describe as price control regimes in wealthy countries that suppress payments Read More…
Employers now have guidance from the Treasury Department on how to contribute to ‘Trump Accounts’ for their employees’ children, and the department says more than 50 companies have already committed to offering such contributions. The new guidance provides a framework for employers to contribute up to $2,500 annually to employees’ ‘Trump Accounts’ for their children. Read More…
A coalition of state financial officers applauded the Securities and Exchange Commission for moving to rescind its 2024 climate disclosure rules that is estimated to save public businesses more than $7.9 billion. In March 2024, the SEC approved amendments to its rules that would mandate all public companies disclose greenhouse gas emissions, how it managed climate-related risks, Read More…
The FBI opened a criminal probe specifically targeting Donald Trump in May 2017, alleging the newly elected president may have been acting as a Russian asset when he fired then-Director James Comey even though the bureau’s own evidence overwhelmingly showed at the time there was no collusion with the Kremlin. Internal FBI memos newly declassified Read More…
Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Susie Hedalen has launched a new online platform intended to make state and district education data easier for the public to search and understand. The Community Engagement platform, built on software from PowerSchool, provides access to Montana’s annual report cards required under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act at the Read More…
The Treasury Department released its annual report on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, showing the panel reviewed 347 covered transactions in 2025 even as repeated lapses in federal funding slowed its work. CFIUS, the interagency body that screens foreign investment for national security risks, is chaired by Treasury and includes the Read More…
A federal grand jury in Nevada indicted a Henderson, Nev., physician on charges he orchestrated a $95 million scheme to defraud Medicare by billing for medically unnecessary amniotic wound treatments applied to elderly patients, the Justice Department announced. Stephen Dubin, 74, sole owner of Dubin Medical Consultants, doing business as Wound MD, is charged with Read More…
Gov. Greg Gianforte is accepting public comment on five applicants for a temporary appointment to the Montana Public Service Commission, with a deadline of 5 p.m. Mountain time on Thursday, Aug. 20. The applicants are Kirk A. Bushman, Nicholas R. Fitzmaurice, Nicholas A. Loos, John E. Prinkki and David E. Wanzenried. Their applications are posted Read More…
Montana State Auditor James Brown has suspended the insurance producer license of a Kalispell bail bondsman accused of exploiting people under his supervision, including allegedly trading bond services for sexual favors. The suspension order, issued Aug. 3, bars Laine Kendall Callahan from operating as a bail bondsman in the state pending a revocation hearing, which Read More…
Investors will get one of the most important economic reports of the month Wednesday morning when the government releases its July Consumer Price Index, providing the latest look at inflation and potentially reshaping expectations for the Federal Reserve. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release July CPI at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday, Aug. 12. Read More…
Former President Joe Biden’s cancer has spread beyond his bones and is causing him significant pain, his son Hunter Biden said in an interview with the BBC posted online Friday. Hunter Biden described the disease as “very painful” and “very debilitating,” saying it had “metastasized into his bones and further.” He did not specify where Read More…
Army Cpl. Jake Allex earned the Medal of Honor for extraordinary courage while leading his men forward under heavy fire during the Battle of Amiens in World War I. Allex was born Angelko Allex Mandushich July 13, 1887, in Streska, near Prizren, in the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire, present-day Kosovo. He was of Read More…
Nutrition is moving closer to the center of medical education, allowing pre health students a different path to careers in medicine. In June, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services announced new commitments from medical education and accreditation organizations to strengthen nutrition instruction throughout medical school, residency and professional training. Seventy-three medical schools have Read More…
The Trump administration is reviewing how millions of acres of wilderness and other undeveloped federal lands are managed across Idaho and the West, opening several longstanding federal policies to public comment through Aug. 14. The Interior Department is examining policies used by the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Read More…
Angi Bruce resigned as director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department effective immediately Friday, moving to a newly created position in Gov. Mark Gordon’s office. Bruce, who became the agency’s first female director when she took over in 2024, will begin her new role, titled “director of special policy initiatives,” on Monday. Gordon’s office Read More…