Federal highway officials have announced $635 million of grants to repair or replace old bridges across the U.S. The grants awarded Thursday include improvements to a 200-foot-high bridge in Yellowstone National Park and the replacement of a bridge not far from a landslide zone in Alaska's Denali National Park and Preserve.

A Montana business owner and supporter of former President Donald Trump has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol that interrupted certification of the 2020 Electoral College vote.

Montana has become the eighth state in which voters will decide this year whether they want to legally protect the right to an abortion.

Officials say that a 3-year-old was among the six people killed in last week's Montana pileup that happened when a dust storm caused blackout conditions on Interstate 90.

Montana's top schools official has been fined $100 after she pleaded no contest to a citation alleging she illegally passed a stopped school bus while children were boarding.

A shortage of bus drivers is complicating the start of a new school year already facing a surge in COVID-19 cases and conflicts over whether masks should be required in school buildings.

A cyberattack on a critical U.S. pipeline is sending ripple effects across the economy, highlighting cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the nation’s aging energy infrastructure.

President Joe Biden has nominated Tracy Stone-Manning of Missoula, Montana, to direct the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management.

FILE - In this Dec. 24, 2020 file photo, Belarus Roman Catholic Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz leads a Christmas midnight mass at the Church of Saints Simon and Helena during in Minsk, Belarus. Pope Francis on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, accepted the resignation of Minsk archbishop who had been blocked for months by Belarusian authorities from returning to his homeland after criticizing crackdowns on anti-government protests there. (AP Photo)VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis on Sunday accepted the resignation of Minsk’ archbishop who had been blocked for months by Belarusian authorities from returning to his homeland after criticizing a crackdown on anti-government protesters there. That was nearly four months after he was blocked entry while traveling back from a religious visit to Poland. Weeks of massive protests had seen Belarus citizens flood into the streets in daily protests demand Lukashenko’s resignation.

Belarus Roman Catholic Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz leads a Christmas midnight mass at the Church of Saints Simon and Helena during in Minsk, Belarus, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. Belarusian authorities have allowed Roman Catholic priest Kondrusiewicz to return to the country after denying him entry for months. Kondrusiewicz was barred from entering the ex-Soviet nation for nearly four months after his criticism of the Belarusian authorities' crackdown on protests. (AP Photo)MOSCOW – Belarusian authorities have allowed a Roman Catholic priest to return to the country after denying him entry for months. Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk and Mohilev arrived in Belarus on Thursday.

– Two women who were detained in northern Montana by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents for speaking Spanish while shopping at a convenience store have reached an undisclosed monetary settlement in their lawsuit against the agency, the ACLU of Montana announced Tuesday. “Ma’am, the reason I asked you for your ID is because I came in here and I saw that you guys are speaking Spanish, which is very unheard of up here,” O’Neill said in the video. “We stood up to the government because speaking Spanish is not a reason to be racially profile and harassed,” Suda said in a statement provided by the ACLU. In gathering information for the lawsuit, the ACLU said Customs and Border Protection agents in northern Montana acknowledged they routinely profiled non-white people. “If there's somebody speaking Spanish down there it's like all of a sudden you've got five agents swarming in, ‘What’s going on?'

Postal Service agreed Wednesday to reverse changes that slowed mail service nationwide, settling a lawsuit filed by Montana Gov. The agreement also requires the Postal Service to prioritize election mail. “The Postal Service was willing to resolve this matter because it has always been our goal to ensure that anyone who chooses to utilize the mail to vote can do so successfully,” said Postal Service spokesperson David Rupert in a statement. “This settlement underscores our unwavering commitment to that principle and to our important role in the nation’s electoral process.”The agreement comes after a federal judge temporarily blocked the controversial Postal Service changes on Sept. 17, calling the changes “a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service” before the November election. Postal Service.

Postal Service agreed Wednesday to reverse changes that slowed mail service nationwide, settling a lawsuit filed by Montana Gov. The agreement also requires the Postal Service to prioritize election mail. Postal Service did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The agreement comes after a federal judge temporarily blocked the controversial Postal Service changes on Sept. 17, calling the changes “a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service” before the November election. Postal Service.

In Sonoma County, residents of the Oakmont Gardens senior living facility in Santa Rosa boarded brightly lit city buses in the darkness overnight, some wearing bathrobes and using walkers. More than 1,200 people were also evacuated in Shasta County for the Zogg Fire, spread over 23 square miles (59 square kilometers) by Monday. So far in this year's historic fire season, more than 8,100 California wildfires have now killed 29 people, scorched 5,780 square miles (14,970 square kilometers), and destroyed more than 7,000 buildings. Fire worries were developing across Southern California, although it was unclear how strong the predicted Santa Ana winds would become. Conditions were also hot, dry and windy in parts of Arizona, where the Sears Fire in Tonto National Forest north of Phoenix has grown to more than 14 square miles (36 square kilometers) since it erupted Friday.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied an attempt by the Montana secretary of state to restore Green Party candidates to the November ballot. Republican Secretary of State Corey Stapleton filed a motion Monday to halt the state Supreme Court order. Stapletons certification of the November ballot, sent to counties late Thursday, included an asterisk saying the secretary and other parties were challenging the Montana Supreme Court decision. Green Party candidates are believed to draw votes away from Democratic candidates. It was never determined who was behind the 2018 effort to get Green Party candidates on the Montana ballot.

(AP) - Strong winds and heavy snow caused power outages and temporary road closures in northwestern Montana as a wintry storm threatened to drop several feet of snow in some areas of the northern Rocky Mountains. The area is forecast to see a total of up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) by the time the storm winds down Sunday night, said meteorologist Megan Syner. Gusty winds on Saturday knocked down trees and damaged power lines, causing scattered outages in northwestern Montana and along the Rocky Mountain Front. Following the storm, temperatures are expected to drop into the teens and 20s (around minus 13 Celsius) across much of western and central Montana overnight Monday. The weekend storm system was also bringing strong winds and snow to the mountains of northern Washington and northern Idaho.