Category Archives: Montana

Groundbreaking youth-led climate trial comes to an end in Montana

Posted on by

Ruling could take weeks to emerge in trial for Held v Montana, which is the first constitutional climate trial in US history

A groundbreaking climate trial came to an early close on Tuesday as lawyers on each side presented a very different picture of who can be held responsible for the climate crisis.

Attorneys representing the lawsuit’s young challengers said Montana officials and agencies must be held accountable for exacerbating the crisis, and thereby violating the plaintiffs’ state constitutional rights. But the defense argued that climate change is a global problem, and that if Montana is contributing to it, plaintiffs should work to change that through the legislature.

Continue reading...

‘I’m a prisoner in my own home,’ asthma sufferer, 15, tells landmark US climate trial

Posted on by

Montana teen Mica is one of 16 plaintiffs in historic trial, alleging state has violated residents’ right to healthy environment

Mica, aged 15, learned about climate change when he was just four, when his parents showed him the documentary Chasing Ice.

“I understood it more than my parents thought I would,” he testified in a groundbreaking trial on Tuesday. “I just knew something bad was happening, but I didn’t know exactly what it was.”

Continue reading...

‘My life and my home’: young people start to testify at historic US climate trial

Posted on by

The plaintiffs note that Montana’s constitution pledges a healthy environment ‘for present and future generations’

The US’s first-ever trial in a constitutional climate lawsuit kicked off on Monday morning in a packed courtroom in Helena, Montana.

The case, Held v Montana, was brought in 2020 by 16 plaintiffs between the ages of five and 22 from around the state who allege state officials violated their constitutional right to a healthy environment by enacting pro-fossil fuel policies.

Continue reading...

Montana becomes first US state to ban TikTok

Posted on by

Greg Gianforte, the governor, signed legislation prohibiting mobile app stores from offering the video-sharing platform by next year

Montana has became the first US state to ban TikTok after the governor signed legislation prohibiting mobile application stores from offering the app within the state by next year.

The move is among the most dramatic in a series of US escalations against TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance. TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny over its ties to China, amid concerns that such links could pose a national security threat.

Continue reading...

Montana governor lobbied by non-binary son to reject anti-trans bills

Posted on by

David Gianforte, who uses he/they pronouns, said they urged father Greg to stand up against ‘unjust, immoral’ legislation

The son of the Republican governor of Montana, Greg Gianforte, met their father in his office to lobby him to reject several bills that would harm transgender people in the state, the Montana Free Press reported.

David Gianforte told the paper they identify as non-binary and use he/they pronouns – the first time they disclosed their gender identity publicly. They told the outlet they felt an obligation to use their relationship with their father to stand up for LGBTQ+ people in the state.

Continue reading...

Montana Republicans bar transgender lawmaker from the statehouse floor

Posted on by

Zooey Zephyr will be able to vote remotely, however the decision has drawn protests that brought the legislature to a halt

Montana Republicans have barred the transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr from the statehouse floor for the rest of the session after she told colleagues they would have “blood on your hands” if they voted to ban gender-affirming medical care for trans children.

Under the terms of the punishment, Zephyr will still be able to vote remotely but will be unable to participate in debates for the remainder of the 90-day legislative session. The Democratic representative had been forbidden from speaking for the past week over her comments, which Republicans said violated decorum.

Continue reading...

‘Let her speak!’: protests after Montana Republicans silence trans lawmaker

Posted on by

Zooey Zephyr hasn’t been allowed to speak on house floor since taking a stand against bill that would ban gender-affirming care

Protesters gathered outside the Montana state house on Monday over Republican legislative leaders’ decision to prevent a transgender lawmaker from speaking after she told colleagues they would have “blood on their hands” if they banned gender-affirming medical care for trans youth.

Zooey Zephyr, a Montana state representative, hasn’t been allowed to speak on the state house floor since Thursday because of her remarks.

Continue reading...

Into the drink: train derails beside Montana river, tipping out cases of beer

Posted on by

Coors Light and Blue Moon shipments spilled beside the Clark Fork River in Paradise, leaving a difficult mess

A train derailment beside a scenic western Montana river has spilled powdered clay and huge amounts of beer, leaving crews with a daunting cleanup.

The train derailed on Sunday across the river from Quinn’s Hot Springs Resort in Paradise, spilling cases of Coors Light and Blue Moon beer in cans and bottles, the Missoulian reported. No injuries have been reported.

Continue reading...

US secretary of state postpones China visit after spy balloon flies over Montana

Posted on by

Antony Blinken delays trip, as China claims balloon was for ‘meteorological’ purposes and was blown off course

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has postponed a planned visit to China this weekend after the intrusion of a high-altitude Chinese balloon into US airspace.

China had apologised for the incident, claiming it had been a weather balloon which had been blown off course, but US officials made clear they did not believe that explanation and the Pentagon restated its assessment it was a surveillance aircraft, adding that by midday Friday it had changed course and was over the centre of the country.

Continue reading...

Pentagon says it is monitoring Chinese spy balloon spotted flying over US

Posted on by

Officials say balloon has been watched for a few days but decided not to shoot it down for safety reasons

The Pentagon has said it is tracking a Chinese spy balloon flying over the US but decided against shooting it down for safety reasons.

Defence officials said the balloon had been watched since it entered US airspace at high altitude a couple of days ago. It has been monitored by several methods including crewed aircraft, and has most recently been tracked crossing Montana, where the US has silo-based nuclear missiles.

Continue reading...

Thirteen bison killed after road crash near Yellowstone national park

Posted on by

Herd struck by semi-truck on Montana highway, with some of the bison needing to be euthanized ‘due to severe injuries’

Thirteen bison have died as a result of a road crash in the dark on a Montana highway near Yellowstone national park, authorities have announced.

In a statement released on Facebook, the West Yellowstone police department announced that around 6.30pm on Wednesday “multiple bison were struck by a semi-truck near mile marker 4 on Highway 191”, referring to a highway north of the town of West Yellowstone.

Continue reading...

‘Bomb cyclone’ storm could bring deadly winter weather to US

Posted on by

An estimated 50 million Americans also under windchill alerts as ‘once-in-a-generation-event’ could impact holiday travel

Severe winter weather is set to affect millions across the US this week, as freezing temperatures and strong storms threaten to wreak havoc on holiday travel plans.

A burst of arctic air settling over several states this week is forecast to drop temperatures to dangerous – and potentially deadly – levels just as more than 110 million Americans are expected to set out for their celebrations.

Continue reading...

US National Weather Services warns of ‘widespread’ winter storm hazards

Posted on by

More than 15 million people under winter advisory while several areas in midwest and Great Plains face intense snowstorms

More than 15 million people are under a winter advisory as of Tuesday, as several areas in the midwest and Great Plains face intense snowstorms, Axios reported.

Storm warnings are in effect across a dozen states, including parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana and South Dakota.

Continue reading...

Brutal heatwave headed for US west, raising health fears

Posted on by

Parts of California could see 115F heat as several states face potentially record-breaking weather

A brutal, potentially record-breaking heatwave is setting over the US west, the latest in a string of extreme temperature events that’s putting communities on high alert for heat-related illness and death.

Temperatures are expected to hit 115F (46C) in the coming days across parts of southern California, Sacramento and the San Joaquin Valley, according to the National Weather Service. In Death Valley, temperatures were forecast to reach more than 120F (49C).

Continue reading...

Homes destroyed as Washington state wildfire forces evacuation of town

Posted on by

Fourteen structures burnt in Lind, in east of state, as forecasters in California warn ‘sleeping giant’ McKinney fire could grow further

A small town in Washington state was evacuated due to a fast-moving fire that burned a half-dozen homes, as crews in California made progress against the state’s deadliest and largest wildfire of the year.

In Washington, the Adams county sheriff’s office warned residents of Lind on Thursday afternoon to flee due to the encroaching flames.

Continue reading...

McKinney fire grows into California’s largest this year as thunderstorms fuel concerns

Posted on by

Huge blaze burns out of control as crews also battling fires in Montana, Idaho, Hawaii and Texas

A wildfire in California grew to the largest the state has seen yet this year, as firefighting crews braced for thunderstorms and hot, windy conditions.

The McKinney Fire was burning out of control in northern California’s Klamath national forest, near the Oregon border, with expected thunderstorms a big concern, said US Forest Service spokesperson Adrienne Freeman.

Continue reading...

Gianforte was vacationing in Italy as Montana flooded, governor’s office says

Posted on by

As state suffered record flooding – and Yellowstone national park closed – his office initially declined to say where he was

Montana’s governor, Greg Gianforte, was vacationing in Italy during that state’s historic flooding, which caused Yellowstone national park to close, his office confirmed on Friday.

As the state suffered record flooding and rockslides, Gianforte’s office had initially declined to say where he was or when he might return, citing “security concerns”, even as a statewide disaster was declared.

Continue reading...

River pushed off course as floods leave Yellowstone ‘dramatically changed’

Posted on by

Heavy rain and rapid snowmelt caused a dramatic flood that may forever alter the human footprint on the national park’s terrain

The forces of fire and ice shaped Yellowstone national park over thousands of years. It took decades longer for humans to tame it enough for tourists to visit, often from the comfort of their cars.

In just days, heavy rain and rapid snowmelt caused a dramatic flood that may forever alter the human footprint on the park’s terrain and the communities that have grown around it.

Continue reading...

Yellowstone national park closed after record rain and major flooding

Posted on by

All entrances to national park blocked off as floods inundate roads and bridges, and some houses swept completely away

Yellowstone national park has closed down in the face of extreme weather that caused major flooding after record levels of rainfall.

The surging floodwaters had pulled houses into rivers and forced rescues by air and boat, but they have now begun to slowly recede, leaving tourists and others stranded after roads and bridges were knocked out by torrential rains that swelled waterways to record levels.

Continue reading...