Montana news stories on Newser

22 States Back Montana's Citizens United Challenge

Rob Quinn — Tue, 22 May 2012 07:00:00 CDT

Montana's attorney general is fighting to preserve his state's ability to curb corporate political spending, and almost half of America's states are backing him. Some 22 states and the District of Columbia have filed a brief urging the Supreme Court not to use its Citizens United decision to strike down...

Time to Make Souter Dissent on Citizens United Public

Matt Cantor — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:21:50 CDT

The Supreme Court could soon revisit the issue of campaign finance, and it's time we heard David Souter's opinion on the matter. Souter wrote an unpublished draft dissent against Citizens United, the case that opened the door to super PACs; it was an issue dear to his heart, notes Richard...

Supreme Court Agrees to Reconsider Citizens United

Kevin Spak — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 09:32:58 CDT

The Supreme Court has agreed to take a case that justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer say will give it a chance to rethink its infamous Citizens United v. FEC decision. The court is being asked to look into a Montana Supreme Court decision stating that its law restricting...

Judge: Yeah, I Sent Racist Obama Email

Polly Davis Doig — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:28:27 CST

It always seems like a good idea at the time: Open stupid email forward at work, guffaw under your breath, forward it on to a couple of buddies. Except when you're a federal judge. On your official email. And the content of the email takes a not-so-subtle racist jab at...

Avalanche Dog Turns Up Alive

Mary Papenfuss — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:17:02 CST

Avalanches claimed the lives of three Montanans , but a feisty fighter they didn't get was the dog of one of the dead men. Rescuers were certain Ole, a Welsh corgi, was buried along with his owner last weekend. They saw no sign of the dog when they searched for victims....

3 Killed in Montana Avalanches

Mary Papenfuss — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:52:50 CST

Two Montana snowmobilers and a cross-country skier have been killed in three separate avalanches. The body of the skier was recovered by Montana authorities just across the border in Wyoming after his wife reported he vanished in an avalanche as they skied together. Two hours earlier, a snowmobiler died nearby...

Yosemite Deaths 3 of Many in West This Year

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 11:42:05 CDT

The deaths of three young tourists who were swept over a 317-foot waterfall this week in Yosemite are far from the only water-related deaths to hit the West this year. Rising temperatures have caused record snowfall to melt, engorging waterways with sometimes tragic consequences. In Montana, at least 10 people...

Plane Forced to Land on Highway ... Kind Of

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 10:18:30 CDT

A retired air traffic controller piloting a small plane to western Montana for a vacation wasn't exactly cleared for a landing when his plane's engine died—good thing the highway was empty. The Colorado pilot was forced to make an emergency landing on an unusually empty stretch of US Highway...

As Feds Set Cleanup Deadline, Exxon Under Fire

Polly Davis Doig — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 10:07:32 CDT

Exxon Mobil had better clean up its act—and its 1000 barrels of crude currently spilled in the Yellowstone River. Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer has a litany of complaints that mostly boil down to the oil giant misleading state officials about the scope of the spill, and has yanked state...