5 Things to Know in Montana for June 27

Your daily look at news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today.

NEW SETTLEMENT TALKS IN CHURCH SEX ABUSE CASE:

A Helena judge has postponed a church sex-abuse trial so attorneys for an order of nuns and hundreds of plaintiffs can try to work out a settlement. The first three of hundreds of plaintiffs who say priests and nuns abused them as children in western Montana had been scheduled to go to trial July 14. District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock pushed that date to December on Thursday after the sides agreed to hold informal negotiations.

OIL TRAIN DANGER EXTENDS BEYOND BAKKEN:

U.S. officials say the danger posed by a dramatic increase in North American oil train traffic extends far beyond shipments from the booming Bakken region on the Northern Plains. Acting National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Chris Hart says all crude shipments are flammable and a risk to communities and the environment.

CANDIDATE PUSHES FOR LAWSUIT TO CLOSE PRIMARY ELECTIONS:

A conservative Republican who sponsored a successful resolution to close primary elections to nonparty members during last week's convention is seeking a federal lawsuit to force the state to comply. Matthew Monforton says moderate party leaders are stalling because closed primaries threaten their chances for election.

AUGUSTA MAN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO KILLING NEIGHBOR IN PROPERTY DISPUTE:

An Augusta man has pleaded not guilty to deliberate homicide in the shooting death of his neighbor. Joseph Campbell appeared in a brief hearing Thursday in District Court in Lewis and Clark County. The 68-year-old Campbell was arrested Monday in the Oct. 18 slaying of 53-year-old Timothy Newman.

MONTANA NATIVE DRAFTED BY OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER:

C.M. Russell High School and Stanford graduate Josh Huestis' (HEW'-stiss) dream of being drafted came true when he was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the NBA draft. Huestis' draft stock rose after he helped Stanford advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament this year and set the university's career blocked shots record at 190. The Thunder selected him with the 29th pick.