5 things to know about Montana for Wednesday , July 2

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

RAPE SUSPECT FACES NEW DRUG CHARGE:

A Bozeman man who is charged with trying to rape a former girlfriend in February and then escaping from police custody for three weeks now faces a drug charge. Gallatin County prosecutors charged 28-year-old Kevin Anthony Briggs with criminal possession of dangerous drugs. County Attorney Marty Lambert says a syringe found in Briggs' backpack had traces of a drug called etizolam, which has amnesic, hypnotic and sedative effects.

JUDGE BLOCKS LOGGING PROJECT:

A federal judge is blocking a logging project in the Kootenai National Forest over concerns that roads built for the project may harm a threatened population of grizzly bears. The U.S. Forest Service called for installing gates on some of the planned roads, but the judge says the roads should be closed permanently.

WYOMING TO RECONSISDER YELLOWSTONE CHILDREN SCHOOL FUNDING:

Park County, Wyoming, has scheduled a meeting to reconsider a plan that would enable children of Yellowstone National Park employees to continue to be educated in Montana. The federal government is no longer paying for the few dozen youngsters in Mammoth Hot Springs in northern Wyoming to attend school in nearby Gardiner, Montana.

BOY, DAD CHARGED WITH WITNESS TAMPERING:

A 17-year-old Havre boy and his father are charged with witness tampering for allegedly trying to prevent a rape victim from going to police. The girl said she was raped by the teen and both the boy and his father contacted her later and urged her not to report it. The boy has also been charged with rape.

GROUPS SPEND MILLIONS ON ADS IN CONTESTED SENATE RACES:

Political groups backed by Karl Rove want another $20 million in television air time. American Crossroads super PAC and its affiliated nonprofit Crossroads GPS on Tuesday sent out ad requests for six Senate races where Democrats are at a risk of losing the seats., including Montana. Ads to influence competitive House races will be booked later.