News you can use
News you can use
Sorted by date Results 1 - 12 of 12
HELENA - The Department of Defense has taken the unusual step of overseeing a plagiarism investigation being conducted by the U.S. Army War College against Sen. John Walsh because the Montana Democrat is a member of Congress, the college's provost said Tuesday. The department will review the recommendations of the school's academic review board, Provost Lance Betros said. Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said Tuesday the decision on whether punishment is... Full story
HELENA — The number of Montanans who signed up for health coverage through the online marketplace that is a key part of President Barack Obama's health overhaul increased nearly tenfold in December, according to new federal health data released Monday. From Oct. 1 through Dec. 28, a total of 13,151 Montana residents chose health plans through the federal exchange, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That is compared to the 1,382 people who had signed up in October and November, the period when p... Full story
HELENA - U.S. Sen. Max Baucus' surprise announcement that he will not seek a seventh term in 2014 was Montana's top news story of 2013, according to The Associated Press' annual poll of state editors. This year's list includes maneuvering ahead of the 2014 elections, the pushback against anonymous campaign funding and the headaches surrounding the nation's health care overhaul. It highlights crime-fighting efforts in Indian Country and in the oil patch, along with notable... Full story
GREAT FALLS — Six people who oversaw a Blackfeet program for troubled youth were arraigned Thursday on charges they embezzled from the $9.3 million project and doctored invoices to embellish the tribal contributions needed to keep the federal money flowing. The indictments kept under seal until Thursday include the two former leaders of the Po'Ka Project, director Francis Onstad, 60, and assistant director Delyle "Shanny" Augare, 57. Po'Ka means "child" in the Blackfeet n... Full story
ANACONDA — A Washington state man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to beating and stabbing to death his 3-year-old son in a southwestern Montana field this month after taking him from their Lacey, Wash., home. Jeremy Brent Cramer, 38, was arraigned in District Court in Anaconda, about five miles from where Broderick Cramer's body was found July 9 next to a knife and two rocks covered with blood and hair. The 38-year-old Cramer, wearing a black-and-white striped jumpsuit and o... Full story
Gov. Steve Bullock made a surprise visit to Afghanistan Wednesday to meet with Montana troops in his first trip overseas since taking office in January. The Democratic governor was in Kabul as part of a delegation that included Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. The two-day trip to Afghanistan includes meeting members of the Montana National Guard's 495th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion operating in the country's southwestern sector. Tuesday, Bullock was in Kuwait to visit... Full story
HELENA — Attempts to settle allegations that hundreds of Montanans were sexually abused as children by Roman Catholic clergy have been stymied by challenges from the church's insurers over which claims they are obligated to cover. So attorneys representing the 360 alleged victims, along with lawyers for the Helena diocese, the Ursuline Sisters of the Western Province and District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock began laying out plans Wednesday for the first of what could be many trials beginning in December. Attorneys for both s... Full story
HELENA — Federal prosecutors on Friday charged state Sen. Shannon Augare with drunken driving, obstructing a peace officer and reckless driving after the Browning Democrat allegedly told a sheriff's deputy last month he had no jurisdiction to arrest him and fled a traffic stop. The charges are misdemeanors and, if convicted, Augare would face penalties of between nine and 15 months in prison and up to $1,800 in fines. The U.S. attorney's office has requested a court summons be issued for Augare, said Assistant U.S. A... Full story
HELENA — Rocky Boy's, Fort Belknap and three other Montana reservations don't report drunken-driving convictions to the state, and county prosecutors say the information void poses a safety risk for both repeat offenders and other drivers. Tribal justice systems generally have jurisdiction over misdemeanor crimes committed by Native Americans on reservations, and a DUI becomes a felony in Montana only upon a person's fourth offense. That means the state has no ability to force tribal courts to share their misdemeanor DUI conv... Full story
HELENA — Federal officials this week lifted their temporary hold on funding for a $361 million water pipeline for a Native American reservation in northern Montana after Chippewa Cree tribal officials demonstrated they were addressing conflicts and accounting problems. The Bureau of Reclamation notified tribal leaders in March there would be no additional funding for the 50-mile pipeline project until the tribe showed action had been taken. The federal agency found problems that included missing money, a conflict of i...
HELENA — The West Texas district attorney who prosecuted former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf in 2009 said Saturday that he'll file a motion to revoke Leaf's probation following his arrest in Montana. Leaf was arrested Friday in his hometown of Great Falls on burglary and drug possession charges, police said. James Farren, the Randall County district attorney who prosecuted Leaf in Texas and negotiated a plea deal with him in 2010, said he would file the motion Monday to revoke the 10-year probation Leaf got in the agreement. "...
HELENA — Police arrested a 48-year-old woman they say shot and killed her husband and another woman early Thursday, leading to a police standoff outside a Helena apartment building. Helena Police Chief Troy McGee said Michelle Coller Gable has been charged with two counts of deliberate homicide. She was treated at a hospital for an undisclosed injury and released into police custody. AP Photo/The Independent Record, Eliza Wiley SWAT team moves around the corner at scene of a double homicide Thursday near downtown Helena, M...
