News

Local man proposes creating a fun ‘silly crosswalk’

Published on Thu, 03/17/2016 - 3:27pm
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This town could use a little more silliness, a local resident told city commissioners Tuesday night, and he has a simple, cost-effective idea for that. 

AJ SCAFF

 

Conservative lawmakers face opponents in Montana primaries

Published on Thu, 03/17/2016 - 3:26pm

HELENA, Mont. — Skirmishes between so-called "responsible Republicans" and the GOP's more conservative faction will again play out at the ballot box, as moderates attempt to increase their numbers in the Montana Legislature.

Election filings this week show continuing signs of the deep fractures within the Montana GOP, with a dozen Republican incumbents facing opponents in the June 7 primary.

Brazil braces for protests as former president joins Cabinet

Published on Thu, 03/17/2016 - 3:25pm
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RIO DE JANEIRO — Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in as his successor's chief of staff on Thursday and President Dilma Rousseff insisted he would help put the troubled country back on track while denouncing attempts to oust her.

Commission recommends child fatality review team

Published on Thu, 03/17/2016 - 3:24pm

HELENA, Mont. — The Protect Montana Kids Commission is recommending the state create a panel to review child fatalities or near fatalities that occur due to abuse and neglect, examine any trends, educate the public about prevention and recommend policies and practices that might help reduce such occurrences.

Syria's Kurds declare de-facto federal region in north

Published on Thu, 03/17/2016 - 3:22pm
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BEIRUT — Syria's Kurds on Thursday declared a de-facto federal region in Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Syria, drawing sharp condemnation from both the Damascus government and its opponents who decried the unilateral move as unconstitutional and setting a dangerous precedent.

US cancels oil and gas lease on Montana land sacred to tribe

Published on Thu, 03/17/2016 - 3:22pm
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BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Obama administration on Thursday canceled a disputed oil and gas lease just outside Glacier National Park that is on land considered sacred to the Blackfoot tribes of the U.S. and Canada.

The move came after U.S. District Judge Richard Leon criticized the government over its decades-long delay in resolving the matter. He accused the government of trying to "run out the clock" on a lawsuit from Solenex LLC, a Louisiana company that wants to drill for oil and gas on the 6,200-acre site.

Attorney: Appeal 'frivolous' in notorious student rape case

Published on Thu, 03/17/2016 - 3:17pm

BILLINGS, Mont. — The attorney for a Montana teacher serving 10 years in prison in a notorious student rape case said Thursday her client's appeal of his sentence lacks merit, an unusual move that could end the defendant's chances for a reduced term.

Assistant Appellate Defender Eileen Larkin filed a request with the state Supreme Court to let her drop the case of Stacey Dean Rambold, a former Billings Senior High School teacher who raped a 14-year-old student. The girl later committed suicide.

National Briefs

Published on Thu, 03/17/2016 - 3:17pm

Hawaii Air Force unit getting own power grid that uses trash 

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (AP) — The Air Force unit that defends Hawaii skies will get experimental energy technology that uses trash to generate power and relies on its own small electrical grid. The aim is to keep the base operating if a bomb, cyberattack or natural disaster knocks out the local utility.

Bundy loses bid for release ahead of federal trial in Vegas

Published on Thu, 03/17/2016 - 3:15pm
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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada rancher and anti-authority figure Cliven Bundy lost a renewed bid Thursday for release from jail ahead of trial on federal conspiracy and assault charges stemming from an armed standoff against government agents two years ago.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Carl Hoffman pointed to the violence alleged in an indictment accusing Bundy of inciting the impasse to stop a roundup of cattle from public land near his ranch in April 2014, and to a history of Bundy ignoring federal court orders.

Tomb radar: King Tut's burial chamber shows hidden rooms

Published on Thu, 03/17/2016 - 3:12pm
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CAIRO — Radar scans of King Tutankhamun's burial chamber have revealed two hidden rooms, a tantalizing discovery that could resolve a mystery as old as the pyramids: What was the fate of Egypt's beautiful Queen Nefertiti?