Nov 22 (Reuters) - Three Bank of America (BAC.N) , opens new tab investment bankers in India have left the company as it probes allegations of wrongdoing over stock sales, a source familiar with the matter said. The departures were first reported by the Financial Times. A whistleblower complaint alleged that Bank of America shared non-public information with some investors before it sold roughly $200 million worth of stock for some clients in India, according to a Wall Street Journal report in September. The bank is carrying out an internal investigation, according to the source, who declined to be identified when discussing personnel matters. In September, BofA said it takes complaints seriously and thoroughly investigates them. Sign up here. Reporting by Saeed Azhar, editing by Lananh Nguyen and Marguerita Choy Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab
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Hammond Power Solutions Declares Quarterly Dividend
Greenwave technology CEO Danny Meeks buys $248,821 in stock
Surf Air Mobility Hits 8-Month High On Insiders Buying Company Stock: Retail Cheers
White House says at least 8 US telecom firms, dozens of nations impacted by China hacking campaignKings fire coach Mike Brown less than halfway through his 3rd season, AP source says The Sacramento Kings have fired coach Mike Brown less than halfway through his third season with the team mired in a five-game losing streak, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the firing hadn’t been announced by the team. ESPN first reported the firing. Brown won NBA Coach of the Year in his first season in 2022-23, when he helped Sacramento end the longest playoff drought in NBA history at 16 seasons. But Sacramento lost in the play-in tournament last year and was off to a 13-18 start this season. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
A top Fed official leans toward December rate cut but says it depends on economic data WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Federal Reserve official says he is leaning toward supporting an interest rate cut when the Fed meets in two weeks but that evidence of persistent inflation before then could cause him to change that view. Speaking at George Washington University, Christopher Waller, a key member of the Fed’s Board of Governors, said he was confident that inflation is headed lower and that the central bank will likely keep reducing its key rate, which affects many consumer and business loans. But he noted that there’s a risk that inflation “may be getting stuck above” the Fed’s 2% target, which would support an argument for keeping the Fed’s rate unchanged this month. Cyber Monday shoppers expected to set a record on the year's biggest day for online shopping Consumers in the U.S. are scouring the internet for online deals as they look to make the most of the post-Thanksgiving shopping marathon on Cyber Monday. The National Retail Federation coined the term for the Monday after Black Friday in 2005. Even though e-commerce is now part and parcel of many people’s regular routine, Cyber Monday continues to be the biggest online shopping day of the year, thanks to steady discounts and a fair amount of hype. Several major retails actually started their Cyber Monday promotions over the weekend. Consumer spending for the online shopping days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday provides an indication of how much shoppers are willing to spend for the holidays. Supreme Court doesn't seem convinced FDA was unfair in blocking flavored vapes teen use increased WASHINGTON (AP) — A majority of Supreme Court justices didn’t seem convinced Monday that federal regulators misled companies before refusing to allow them to sell sweet flavored vaping products following a surge in teen e-cigarette use. The court did raise questions about an FDA crackdown that included denials on sales of more than a million nicotine products formulated to taste like fruit, desert or candy. The case comes a month before the start of the second Trump administration, which could change the FDA's approach after he vowed to “save” vaping. Can AI chatbots make your holiday shopping easier? Tired of thinking about what gifts to get everyone this year? Artificial intelligence chatbots might help, but don’t expect them to always give you the right answers. Scouring the internet for Cyber Monday deals may yield an encounter with more chattier iterations of the chatbots that some retailers built to provide customer service. Some companies have integrated models that allow shoppers to ask questions like “What’s the best wireless speaker?” Retailers hope consumers use these shopping assistants as virtual companions that help them discover or compare products. The technology is still in its infancy, though, and chatbots are prone to hallucinations, so most of the new tools sometimes get things wrong. Intel CEO Gelsinger retires; Zinsner and Johnston Holthaus named interim co-CEOs Struggling chipmaker Intel says in a surprise announcement that CEO Pat Gelsinger has retired. Two company executives, David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, will act as interim co-CEOs while the company searches for a replacement for Gelsinger, who also stepped down from the company’s board. The departure of Gelsinger, whose career spanned more than 40 years, underscores turmoil at Intel. The company was once a dominant force in the semiconductor industry but has ben eclipsed by rival Nvidia, which has cornered the market for chips that run artificial intelligence systems. Nvidia’s ascendance was cemented earlier this month when it replaced Intel on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Stock market today: Rising tech stocks pull Wall Street to another record NEW YORK (AP) — Technology stocks pulled Wall Street to another record amid mixed trading. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% Monday after closing November at an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1%. Super Micro Computer, a stock that’s been on an AI-driven roller coaster, soared after saying an investigation found no evidence of misconduct by its management or the company’s board. Retailers were mixed coming off Black Friday and heading into what’s expected to be the best Cyber Monday on record. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. Better drugs through AI? Insitro CEO on what machine learning can teach Big Pharma WASHINGTON (AP) — Artificial intelligence is changing the way industries do business. But executives in the pharmaceutical industry are still waiting to see whether AI can tackle their biggest challenge: finding faster, cheaper ways to develop new drugs. Despite billions poured into research and development, new medicines still typically take a decade or more to develop. Insitro is part of a growing field of AI companies promising to accelerate drug discovery by using machine learning to analyze huge datasets that could lead to new medicines. FTC opens Microsoft antitrust investigation that Trump administration must carry on or drop Antitrust enforcers with the Federal Trade Commission have opened a wide-ranging investigation into Microsoft’s business practices, starting off a big legal project that an incoming Trump administration must take up or abandon. The FTC is investigating Microsoft’s cloud computing business and related product lines such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, according to a person who was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. It’s the latest action of more than three years of aggressive antitrust enforcement shepherded by FTC Chair Lina Chan, who was elevated to lead the agency by President Joe Biden after he came into office pledging tougher scrutiny of monopolistic behavior by Big Tech companies. More than 3 million travelers screened at US airports in a single day. That's a record Travelers heading home after the Thanksgiving holiday are setting a record. The Transportation Security Administration says that it screened nearly 3.1 million travelers on Sunday, breaking the previous record by about 74,000. That mark was set on July 7, also a Sunday after a holiday, July Fourth. Hundreds of thousands of travelers were delayed or had their flights canceled. FlightAware says more 6,800 flights were delayed on Sunday, with the highest numbers at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. General Motors to sell its stake in Lansing, Michigan, battery factory to LG Energy Solution DETROIT (AP) — General Motors has reached an agreement to sell its stake in a nearly completed electric vehicle battery plant in Lansing, Michigan. The company said Monday that it has a nonbinding agreement for the sale to joint venture partner LG Energy Solution of South Korea. The companies expect to close the sale by the end of March. Financial details were not released Monday, but GM said it expects to recoup its investment. The company has spent about $1 billion on the Lansing factory. GM says it will rely on joint venture factories in Warren, Ohio, and Spring Hill, Tennessee, to supply factories that make seven electric vehicles now on sale in the U.S.
SOME significant changes are coming in the New Year for Social Security recipients, including a check increase. About 72.5 million Americans depend on a program from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Those programs offer financial support to those who are retired , disabled, or survivors after the death of a spouse, divorced spouse, child, or dependent of someone who paid Social Security taxes . Most recipients know that the monthly check they get in the mail as part of their benefits arrives on Wednesdays, depending on their birthday. They also know that the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is announced in October of each year, which will determine how much money they get in the following year. Cost-of-living adjustments are made based on inflation rates and determine what monetary amount would help Americans comfortably get what they need to live in the current economy. Read More on Social Security The COLA adjustment announced on October 10 was 2.5%, the lowest increase in about four years. Still, it's floating around the historical average of about 2.6% and means an additional $48 per month for each check throughout the year, or $576 total. With the COLA adjustment, the average Social Security payment will be $1,968. Although retirees could benefit even more. Most read in Money WAIT IT OUT So long as they wait until what's defined as the full retirement age , determined by the SSA, they can get 100% of benefits. That number is 67 for anyone born after 1960 and means those who wait until then to stop working get $4,018 per check. This is up from $3,822 last year. Single disabled, widows, and widowers will see their payments bumped up to $1,832. Those who are disabled with a spouse and one or more children will have an increase to $2,826 monthly. It's important to note that all of the listed totals are expected averages and are subject to change depending on factors personal to each recipient. Social Security payments are issued on the second, third, or fourth Wednesday of each month based on the recipient's birthdate: Second Wednesday : For individuals born between the 1st and 10th of the month Third Wednesday : For those born between the 11th and 20th Fourth Wednesday : For those born between the 21st and 31st Increases will arrive when payments for 2025 begin in January. TAX CONSIDERATIONS Those Americans still working should also remember that there is a limit on the amount of earnings that can be taxed by the SSA. It's defined as the "maximum taxable earnings" and changes annually along with the COLA based on increases in average wages nationwide. As a result, the more you make, the more is taxed. In 2025, maximum earnings will go up to $176,100 from $168,600. Read More on The US Sun There could also be extraordinary money some Americans could save if President-elect Donald Trump makes specific changes to Social Security. Still, an economist exclusively told The U.S. Sun that Social Security is quietly "screwing people it was designed to help."Prince Harry opened up about his late mother Diana , the Princess of Wales, in a heartbreaking speech at a key summit where Bill Clinton, Serena Williams and Jeff Bezos were also among the guest speakers. The Duke of Sussex attended the DealBook summit in New York, a high profile annual gathering of political, business and cultural leaders, on Thursday, in his latest solo engagement without his wife Meghan Markle . Taking to the stage for an interview with New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin, the prince shared gut-wrenching details about his experience with the media after the death of his mother in 1997. He was asked about his "battles" with the press by Mr Sorkin, and in a passionate speech, he said: "I’ve had a lived experience since I was a kid. "I’ve seen stories written about myself that aren’t exactly based on reality. I’ve seen stories about members of my family, friends, strangers, all sorts of people." He added that he found himself "questioning the validity" of information he saw in the press, adding that he started a "war" with the industry after Diana died in a car crash aged just 36 - four years younger than the Duke is now. He said: “I was fighting myself. When you’re kind of trapped within this bubble it kind of feels like there’s no way out." He added that he felt "helpless" after the tragic incident, and battled an "inner turmoil" from a very young age. He also answered questions on a variety of topics, including a discussion about banning social media for children - something Harry himself is against, as it could lead to school bullying and family arguements. But he highlighted the need to keep children safe, and the importance of safeguarding. Elsewhere in the summit, Bill Clinton discussed Joe Biden and the reason behind Kamala Harris ' nightmare US Election loss - the fact that she was a "stranger" to the electorate, coupled with her predecessor's unpopularity. He said: “It was almost impossible to think she could win if the president has an approval rating of under 40 per cent. "I think she would have been a good president.”
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson is heading to the NFL draft after leading the Southeastern Conference in rushing and setting a handful of school records. The SEC Offensive Player of the Year announced on social media his intention Friday to leave after his junior season. He helped the seventh-ranked Vols go 10-3 with a first-round loss in the College Football Playoff where Sampson was limited by an injured hamstring. Sampson thanked his family, Tennessee coaches and fans, saying he learned so much and had the chance to be part of something special. Tennessee went 3-7 in 2020, and he leaves with the Vols having won 30 games over his three seasons. “I poured my heart and soul into this program and this community,” Sampson wrote. “With that being said, I will be declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft.” Sampson set a school record running for 1,491 yards. He also set a program record with a league-best 22 rushing touchdowns, breaking a mark that had stood for 95 years. He was part of coach Josh Heupel’s first full signing class in December 2021 out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He also set school records for total touchdowns scored (22), points scored (132) and consecutive games with a rushing touchdown (11). He led the SEC in nine different categories, including rushing attempts (258), rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, 100-yard rushing games with 10, averaging 114.7 yards rushing per game, points scored, points per game (10.2), all-purpose yards (1,638) and all-purpose yards per game (126.0). He finished this season tied for fifth all-time in the SEC ranks for rushing TDs in a single season with Leonard Fournette of LSU. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballHere are some of the headlines from this past week in the Missoulian. To read the full stories, click the link on each headline: 17-year-old suspect charged after fatal Christmas shooting in Polson A 17-year-old male has been charged in connection to a fatal shooting in Polson early Christmas Day, according to Lake County Sheriff Don Bell. A 31-year-old Pablo man, identified by Bell as Sheldon Fisher, was "shot and killed during a disturbance involving multiple people," Bell stated in a press release. It's unclear if the suspect will be charged as an adult in the shooting, which took place Wednesday at about 3:30 a.m., according to Bell. Lake County Attorney James Lapotka did not immediately return a phone call Friday morning. Polson Police Chief George Simpson said Friday that the incident took place in a residential area on the city's west side, where upwards of a dozen people were involved. Two shots are believed to have been fired by a single shooter, he said, and no other people were injured. Charging documents could not immediately be obtained. Simpson and Bell declined to provide the suspect's name, citing his age. — Sam Wilson, sam.wilson@missoulian.com Tara Elliott aims to bring 'patience and grace' as Missoula's new district judge After a career spent working complex criminal cases as a prosecutor in New York City and Missoula, Tara Elliott said she was ready for something new. Following her uncontested election in November to an open seat on the bench of Montana’s Fourth Judicial District — covering Missoula and Mineral counties — she’ll take office in January. Elliott, 49, will replace retiring District Court Judge Robert “Dusty” Deschamps. Tara Elliott was elected to fill the seat for Montana's Fourth Judicial District, replacing Robert "Dusty" Deschamps. Elliott began her law career as a prosecutor with the Manhattan DA, eventually moving to Missoula to work in the U.S. Attorney's office prosecuting federal criminal cases. “I think I was looking to contribute and continue my career in civil service in a new way, and I thought being a judge here would give me a better opportunity to contribute in a more local area, in a more local way,” she said in a recent interview. Growing up in a large Irish Catholic family in New York City, Elliott said she always felt called to the legal profession. Three of her uncles were lawyers, and she said working in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office had long been a dream of hers. “The Manhattan District Attorney’s office is kind of a thing,” Elliott said, laughing. “Like ‘Law and Order,’ there’s like 15 TV shows about it.” — Sam Wilson, sam.wilson@missoulian.com Weekend storm to bring powder, significant avalanche danger A significant winter storm from Thursday evening through the weekend could drop a foot or two of snow in the mountains of western Montana, delivering deep, fresh powder at the height of winter holidays but also increasing the risk of large, deadly avalanches. Forecasts ranged widely on exactly how much snow different areas of the mountains might collect by Sunday night. Predicted totals varied from just over 1 foot on the low end in some places to 3 feet or more at the high end in others. Valley towns were predicted to get little snow — anywhere from a dusting to 2 inches. According to National Weather Service forecasts around midday Thursday, anywhere from 10 to 23 inches of snow could pile up by Sunday night at Point Six, the peak north of Missoula just above the high point of Snowbowl Ski Area. By the time the ski area opens for the day Saturday, the agency predicted around 3 to 9 inches of new snow may have accumulated there since Thursday afternoon, with the remainder to fall over the weekend, mainly Saturday night. — Joshua Murdock, joshua.murdock@missoulian.com Hellgate Elementary's 'Hot Chocolate Boys' raise over $2,000 for families in need Four years ago, a group of Hellgate Elementary students thought a hot chocolate stand might be a good way to make some pocket money. But then they had an idea: instead of keeping the money for themselves, why not spend it on Christmas gifts for families who couldn’t afford them? “It’s very important to not be thinking about yourself all the time,” said Noah Westhoff, a seventh grader who formed the group with his friends. The Hellgate Elementary “Hot Chocolate Boys” meet with the superintendent at Hellgate Elementary School to talk about their fundraising efforts over the holidays on Dec. 18, 2024, in Missoula. Also in the group were fourth grader Ansel Ihde and his brother, seventh grader Henry Ihde, whose grandfather offered to match whatever they raised the first year, expecting he’d be shelling out 50 dollars or so. Instead, the boys raised over $300 in a single day selling hot chocolate for 50 cents a pop. The Hot Chocolate Boys presented their $780 in an envelope to the Hellgate Elementary School Board for the school's counselors to distribute, and a tradition was born. This year, on a cold November Saturday, the six boys, half from seventh grade and half from fourth grade, set up their stand on a street corner and sold hot chocolate, baked goods and candy for seven hours. The supplies and goods came from their families. New to their operation in 2024 was a real game changer — an electrical system to keep the hot chocolate hot. — Andy Tallman, andy.tallman@missoulian.com Christmas in the cooler: The Prohibition raids of 1925 made holiday less cheery BILLINGS — Roughly 100 years ago, dozens of Billings residents spent the holidays in and out of the courthouse. Their crime? Being a nuisance. More specifically, they were keeping the booze in Billings flowing, directly defying laws that ostensibly dried out the country. “We have bootleg joints and bootleggers selling whiskey,” opined W.F. Wade, superintendent of the Montana Anti-Saloon League during a meeting in Billings weeks after a series of busts in town that nabbed more than 20 offenders. “There were more than 100,000 of these joints and their proprietors before prohibition became effective,” he told a crowd that included members of the clergy and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. “Prohibition just drove the skunk out of his hole so he could be found.” — Paul Hamby, paul.hamby@billingsgazette.com Missoula's birders take Christmas tally of winged citizens Before the turn of the 20th century, when conservation was in its infancy, groups of hunters would put on a Christmas “side hunt,” where teams would compete to shoot down the most feathered and furred denizens of the land. But in 1900, the then-budding Audubon Society started a new tradition: the Christmas Bird Count, where citizen scientists would take tallies of America’s birds without shooting them out of the sky. That first count had 27 participating birders in 25 locations. Over a century later, the Christmas Bird Count sees people across the United States and Canada tally up birds in hundreds of cities, with multiple census locations in each one. Julia Lippert scans the fields for birds east of Maclay Flat Nature Trail on the morning of Saturday, Dec. 14. Lippert and several others participated in the annual Christmas bird count with the Feminist Bird Club of Northwest Montana. In Missoula, local birdwatchers hit the trails at various locations around the city on Dec. 14. Five Valleys Audubon and the local chapter of the Feminist Birding Club gathered a crew to survey the Maclay Flats Nature Trail, which is apparently a good place to spot owls. The woods were replete with birds, especially by the river. Two flocks of honking geese soared overhead. Crows and pigeons fluttered between trees on the opposite bank. The birders debated the species of a woodpecker perched high up — hairy or downy? Downies are smaller with shorter beaks, but such relative terms are hard to determine without seeing specimens side by side. The group decided it was a hairy woodpecker, aided by Merlin, an app that helps with bird identification. — Andy Tallman, andy.tallman@missoulian.com Gore, franchises and no-budget hits: 5 films, portents from 2024 As the 2024 cinematic season draws to a close, we find ourselves at the end of a year marked by uncertainty. With box office receipts down worldwide, streaming services kicking into high gear, and former theatrical institutions struggling to recapture their earlier magic, these last 12 months are going to be seen as a pivot point between what has come before and what comes next. And while we can’t be 100% certain as to what awaits us in the future, by looking at a number of 2024’s releases, we can at least get a picture as to what the future of cinema is going to look like. — Charlotte Macorn, for the Missoulian Things to do: Missoula New Year's edition Dance at Bare Bait's "Glimmer Ball," plus a host of options are on tap for this year's Missoula on Main New Year's Eve celebration. — Cory Walsh, cory.walsh@missoulian.com At the Roxy: Annual all-day Kung Fu Marathon gets weird and wild See a rockstar biopic on Christmas with "A Complete Unknown," or spend New Year's Eve watching the weirdest and wildest kung fu. — Charlotte Macorn, for the Missoulian Congress passes bill to protect climbing bolts on federal land The fate of rock climbing in the U.S. could be determined by outgoing President Joe Biden during his final weeks in office. On Thursday, the U.S. Senate passed the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences, or EXPLORE, Act . It had passed the House back in April. The bill's passage last week through the Senate sent it to the president's desk. As of Monday, it was still awaiting Biden's signature. The 220-page bill contains a raft of provisions for the nation's public lands, from improving national battlefields and offering broadband internet in developed recreation sites to ordering federal agencies to develop and map of long-distance bicycling routes around the country. Crucially for rock and ice climbers and mountaineers, the legislation contains the Protect America's Rock Climbing, or PARC, Act, which was absorbed into the bill after having been introduced as a standalone item in 2023. The PARC language directs the secretaries of Interior and Agriculture — Interior oversees the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service, Agriculture the U.S. Forest Service — to "recognize that recreational climbing (including the use, placement, and maintenance of fixed anchors) is an appropriate use" in designated wilderness across the country. For existing climbing routes, the language also orders the agencies to ensure "the continued use and maintenance of recreational climbing routes (including fixed anchors along the routes)." — Joshua Murdock, joshua.murdock@missoulian.com Audit initiates 100 complaints against Montana guides, outfitters Montana’s licensing board for outfitters and guides has opened 100 investigations against licensees — although the state agency overseeing that board has demanded those now under review receive an apology. The source of those investigations is a legislative audit that found 138 alleged violations in which outfitters or guides did not self-report criminal convictions while renewing their license or becoming licensed for the first time. The auditors triggered the investigations when they notified the state Board of Outfitters about the unreported violations. The audit , among other things, ultimately recommended the Board of Outfitters move away from self-reporting requirements and establish rules to conduct background checks of those seeking licensure to lower the risk level "to an acceptable level for the board." And while the Legislative Audit Division contended its work was done properly, auditors received a sharp rebuke last week from the Montana Department of Labor, which houses the Board of Outfitters. Sarah Swanson, director at DLI, contended those licensees' due process rights were violated when legislative auditors conducted "dragnet" background checks on licensed outfitters and guides, something neither the Board of Outfitters nor the Department of Labor have the authority to do themselves. — Seaborn Larson, seaborn.larson@helenair.com Fatal crash victim found in mountains west of Flathead Lake after 10-day search A Flathead County man who had been missing for 10 days was found dead over the weekend where his vehicle rolled off a Forest Service road west of Blacktail Mountain Ski Area. Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino said Monday that local rescue teams ended the search for Gregory James Wells, 69, after finding his vehicle “several hundred yards” off the road. The mountainous area roughly between the ski hill on the west shore of Flathead Lake and Lake Mary Ronan. Wells had been reported missing by his family on Dec. 10, Heino said, after he failed to return to his Kila-area home from a local casino. Crash investigators estimated the time of the crash at 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 10, according to a report released by the Montana Highway Patrol. Wells wasn’t wearing a seat belt when his pickup truck left the roadway and rolled down the mountainside, the MHP reports states. He became pinned under the vehicle. — Sam Wilson, sam.wilson@missoulian.com Grants boost Eastern Shoshone, 100s of other tribal bison programs BILLINGS — Wyoming's Eastern Shoshone Tribe has received a $3 million grant to expand the Yellowstone Bison Conservation Transfer Program , the tip of a funding iceberg meant to return bison to tribes across the nation. "There's a big effort to get buffalo out of Yellowstone to tribes," said Jason Baldes, the Shoshone Tribal Buffalo representative. "A lot of tribes are interested in those Yellowstone genetics to enhance the heterogeneity of other herds." The injection of money will "supplement bison cultural herds along with the aim to create 20 new herds, which will stabilize and strengthen the efforts of each tribal nation and support cultural renewal while fostering ecological rejuvenation in northern short mixed-grass prairies," according to the grant announcement. — Brett French, bfrench@billingsgazette.com Missoula officials coordinate response to spikes of opioid ODs First responders, public health officials and harm-reduction workers in Missoula are finalizing a new tool to respond to potentially fatal clusters of opioid overdoses in the county. Next month, the coalition that also includes folks from emergency services, law enforcement and statewide agencies will finalize an “Overdose spike alert and response” plan as part of Missoula Public Health’s emergency operations plan. Leah Fitch Brody, Missoula Public Health’s substance use disorder prevention coordinator, said the plan follows more than a year of discussions between a range of stakeholders about how best to respond to “spikes” of overdoses in the area, like when a particularly powerful batch of fentanyl makes its way into the community . “We all wanted to recognize that we all have a part to plan in this, that ultimately we don’t want to see people die from overdoses,” Fitch-Brody said. “So how can we work together?” The result is a 14-page document that outlines planning and response steps for a range of groups and agencies with some level of involvement in responding to local opioid use. — Sam Wilson, sam.wilson@missoulian.com Montana trans advocate: ‘We are a way to radicalize people’ When Rep. Zooey Zephyr walks into the Montana State Capitol for the opening day of the 2025 Legislature, she will be doing so as arguably the most visible member of the chamber after being the focal point of a procedural standoff over a proposed anti-trans bill last session. It’s a far cry from the day the Missoula Democrat was inaugurated in 2023. Then, she was a first-term lawmaker with little name recognition outside of the western Montana community that elected her. Today, her likeness appears on coffee shop windows and bumper stickers, and she’s been featured in national publications like the New Yorker, Time Magazine and Teen Vogue . Zephyr, a trans woman elected in 2022 to serve in the then Republican-supermajority-led Legislature, gave remarks against a bill that sought to ban gender-affirming care for trans minors. Her GOP colleagues voted to censure Zephyr from the floor of the lower chamber, saying she violated decorum rules. The rookie legislator continued to cast her vote from a bench in the Capitol hallway. That bill ultimately passed, but has since been held up in legal challenges. The censure sparked outcry and protests against the Montana Republican Party, one that had championed a slew of anti-trans bills during the session including this gender-affirming care ban, a drag show prohibition and a legal definition of sex as binary, among others. All of those bills have been either temporarily blocked or deemed unconstitutional by the courts. "If the Legislature continues to be obsessed with targeting this community, our courts will continue to do their job and defend the constitutional rights of every Montanan," Zephyr said. — Carly Graf, carly.graf@missoulian.com Is John Dutton real? Meet the powerful rancher seemingly inspiring the 'Yellowstone' legend He’s a fourth-generation rancher with one of the biggest spreads in one of the most beautiful parts of Montana. His ranch is so expansive, in fact, that he flies a helicopter when he needs to tend to his herd or put out a fire in a hurry. And he’s from a deeply entrenched and politically powerful family. But, no, he’s not John Dutton, the character who Kevin Costner played up until the start of its new season last month, on the hit “Yellowstone” TV show. He’s Bill Galt, and he’s well aware that art appears to be imitating his life. “Oh, I’ve heard that a lot,” Galt said of the comparisons. “But I think mostly that's attributed to the fact that I'm a rancher that flies a helicopter and that those first few episodes of ‘Yellowstone’ had that helicopter in there. But that being said, they do use a lot of my sayings. I don't know where the hell they get them.” One source might be “ The Cowboy Way: Seasons of a Montana Ranch, ” a nonfiction account of former Lee Montana editor — and current Arizona Daily Star editor — David McCumber’s year spent working on Galt’s ranch near White Sulphur Springs in the late 1990s. — Ted McDermott, ted.mcdermott@lee.net Missoula riders collect podiums, national title at Cyclocross National Championship Six weeks after some of the top cyclists in North America converged upon Missoula to vie for continental championships at the 2024 Pan-American Cyclocross Championships, western Montana sent 10 of its own to Louisville, Kentucky, for the U.S. Cyclocross National Championships. Battling thick, sticky mud that built up on bikes and slick terrain that sent riders to the ground time and time again, the contingent of mostly teenagers came away from last weekend with a handful of podium finishes, a top-10 result in the men's pro race and a collegiate national championship. Lucy Millar, center, of Missoula races in the Junior Women's 17-18 event at the Pan-American Cyclocross Championships in Missoula on Nov. 3, 2024. Millar placed 15th in the same event at the U.S. Cyclocross National Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, on Dec. 15. Of the 10 cyclists — nine from Missoula and one from Whitefish — nine race for Team Stampede, a Missoula-based youth development team that focuses on cyclocross and cross-country mountain biking. Alex Gallego, owner of Missoula Bicycle Works and Team Stampede's coach, said it was the largest group of Missoula riders that has traveled to a cycling national championship. Another rider, Missoula's Caleb Swartz, 25, is a professional cyclist racing for Enve Composites, GU Energy Labs, Challenge Tires and local sponsors like Forward Endurance Coaching and Black Coffee Roasting Co. His sister, Emma, is a former top professional cyclocross racer and coaches for Stampede as well; she was in Louisville to support the riders but didn't race this year. — Joshua Murdock, joshua.murdock@missoulian.com 'It's a monster:' City to retire longtime Missoula snowblower When giant snow berms started encroaching into the road on Flynn Lane several years ago, Deputy Director of City Streets Brian Hensel knew he had one tool that would wipe the floor with any competition. Hensel called in the city's Oshkosh, a 67-year-old snowblower truck that grinds and spits out hundreds of cubic yards of snow per minute. The machine rolled down Flynn Lane shooting a grand arch of snow to clear the road. Brian Hensel, the deputy director of city streets, visits the retired Oshkosh snowblower on the corner of Broadway and Russell Street on Wednesday, Dec. 18 in Missoula. "We shot snow 200 feet into the air, and it was just impressive," Hensel said last week remembering the rough winter. "It's just shooting snow up there, little rainbows are coming out and the sun was shining through, but we hardly get to do that. We are usually loading the snow into trucks." After serving the Missoula community for the last 30 years, the city's Oshkosh snowblower is headed to auction. The piece of machinery was built in the 1950s and has been hard to maintain, Hensel said. Often the machine will break for weeks on end. When the Oshkosh did work, however, the giant behemoth could fill a dump truck full of snow in approximately 13 seconds. It's worked mainly along Missoula's busy streets, clearing the medians that can pile high after the plows run. The legacy of the decades-old vehicle is on display at the corner of Russell and Broadway, lovingly decorated with Christmas lights and red bows by city employees. The city will miss the giant machine, Hensel said, but newer, less costly snowblowers will take its place, albeit without the storied past. — Griffen Smith, griffen.smith@missoulian.com End of an era and a fresh start: Sushi Hana to move into Scotty's Table location There are some exciting changes afoot for downtown Missoula's dining scene. It turns out that Sushi Hana isn't closing permanently at all, but rather moving into the current Scotty's Table restaurant location below the Wilma Theater. But that means that Scotty's Table is ending its long run in Missoula for good. Scotty's Table owners Katie and Scott Gill are selling their restaurant space real estate to Sushi Hana owners Yuriko and Floyd Hagen. Over the next few months, Sushi Hana will be moving into the space and will reopen with a revamped menu, rebranded as simply "Hana." Scotty’s Table owner Scott Gill and Sushi Hana owner Yuriko Hagen pictured at Scotty’s Table on Friday, Dec. 20 in Missoula. The Gills have been looking to sell for quite a while, and Yuriko Hagen said the Scotty's Table spot, which looks out at Caras Park, has long been her "dream location" in Missoula. "I've been a big fan of Scotty's Table and I've been a regular customer for a long, long time," she said on Friday afternoon, sitting at a sunlit table in what will become her new venture. Both restaurants operate under the "we're all a big family" style, and both places have employees that have worked there for many years, even decades. "We really wanted to find people that were like-minded and that were connected to the community," Katie Gill explained. "We're a family-run business, and we were looking for a similar, chef-driven, family-run sort of situation." — David Erickson, david.erickson@missoulian.com Kalispell's Hockaday art museum selects new name The Hockaday Museum of Art in Kalispell is changing its name to Glacier Art Museum. The new title, which reflects the proximity to Glacier National Park, will have “a broader reach and recognition for both local and out of state visitors,” board chair Mike Roswell said in a news release. “We believe we have a new opportunity to tap into the increasing population to the Flathead Valley with a moniker that conjures immediate images of the Park. With this name change and new strategic plan, we can strengthen our connection to Glacier National Park and grow our programming, collection, staffing and facilities to inspire and educate all who enter our doors.” The name change was approved by the board of directors in September as part of a strategic planning process that began in 2022. The board went through an assessment program with the American Alliance of Museums as part of the first phase to get accredited. As part of that, they identified areas for growth and the potential for a name change came up. — Missoulian Staff Missoula Valley's Salish roots on display in couple's mural A lobby in a building designed to help people find their way is looking more welcoming courtesy of a mural that depicts the Salish people’s connections to the Missoula Valley. When people arrive at the Watershed Navigation Center on Mullan Road, they’ll be greeted by a mural painted by Indigenous artist-educator couple Aspen and Cameron Decker. The brightly colored painting illustrates Salish traditions and imagery, from harvesting foods to their clothing. The central figure, a Salish woman harvesting bitterroots, is depicted with authentic details, from the traditional construction of her digging stick to her high-top moccasins to the sally bag strapped around her waist to store the roots. Aspen and Cameron Decker, shown in front of their newly completed mural, at the Watershed Navigation Center on Wednesday, Dec. 18 in Missoula. “My goal with my art is to bring Indigenous perspective to the narrative,” said Aspen Decker, an enrolled member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (T̓at̓ayáqn, Ql̓isp̓é and Sqlsé). “Because for a long time, everyone’s been just looking at anthropologists' and Jesuits’ documents of who we are as the Séliš people, but hardly any of it has come from us, directly from our people. I want to make sure that I’m representing us in an authentic way, where this is our experience,” she said. The center is adjacent to the Trinity Apartments affordable housing complex, which is a joint project between the city, county, Missoula Housing Authority and the nonprofit Homeword. — Cory Walsh, cory.walsh@missoulian.com Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter.
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The internet is rife with fake reviews. Will AI make it worse?The Regional Development Implementation and Co-ordination Committee, led by the Government Delivery Unit, has embarked on a tour of the project sites to assess projects that had previously stalled in Siaya County. The motive is to ensure that the contractors are back on site in an effort to ascertain that works continue towards completion. The contractors have been called upon to resume work on the projects that had previously delayed completion or stalled at various stages due to financial constraints after the government availed funds and payments were made to the various contractors for the completion of projects by the national government. The committee, led by Director for Delivery in the Government Delivery Unit Silvance Osele, visited various projects in the Bondo Sub-county round to verify actual works on the ground while ascertaining progress levels and addressing the existing challenges. “Works were scaled down because of financial challenges, and there was a promise that funds were being mopped up to accelerate the works to completion. We are at a stage where funds have streamed in and quite a number of contractors have been paid, and therefore this committee is going round to verify that they are actually back on site,” Osele said. The exercise was also done to assist the committee in preparations for the next budgeting cycle to know how to prioritise and ensure the projects are implemented smoothly by addressing the emerging challenges. Amongst the projects visited included Dhogoye Causeway in Usenge, valued at Sh1.9 billion, intended to reduce flooding in the area, boost blue economy activities, and also open up movement for residents. Bondo–Liunda Road was another project visited; the road was cited as being at 80 per cent completion, with construction of the bridge expected to be complete by 30 December this year and 2.7 kilometres of the road expected to be completed by March 2025. Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) also had several projects, including an administration block, a library complex, and a blue economy research hub that stands at 90 per cent completion and is expected to be operational by the end of February 2025, with the only remaining installations being fresh water and electricity. “At the same institution we have an administration block being done, a library, and a tuition block; all these are being accelerated within the broader plan of the national government to ensure the flow of funding so that these projects are completed in time,” said Osele. While speaking during the visit by the Government Delivery Unit officials, JOOUST Vice Chancellor Prof. Emily Akuno said that the completion of the library complex will be a huge boost not only to the appearance of the institution but will also open up the academic space to allow increasing the numbers of students and lessen the pressure on the already tight space they are operating from. Akuno also lauded the government’s endeavour to see the operationalisation of the Blue Economy Research Hub at Miyanndhe, adding that the institution’s research partners have already availed equipment to the tune of Sh50 million and the facility has several ‘ready to go’ laboratory spaces that go even beyond the blue economy, as they intend to delve into health research as well. The VC said that once operational, these laboratories will be a game changer in health and specialised laboratory services in the county, a move that could prove immensely beneficial to the residents.The New York Yankees have now completely moved on from second baseman Gleyber Torres, who reportedly agreed to a one-year, $15 million deal with the Detroit Tigers on Friday morning. Torres leaves a gaping hole in the Yankees' infield. But he might not be the only player from the 2024 roster who New York parts ways with. In fact, FanSided's Zachary Rotman recently predicted the Yankees to cut ties with outfielder Alex Verdugo. Verdugo is projected to sign a four-year, $60 million contract this winter, per Spotrac. "Fortunately for Yankees fans who were sick of Verdugo by the time the season ended, his spot on the roster has been replaced," Rotman wrote. "They did lose Soto but replaced his spot on the roster with Cody Bellinger who is expected to be the team's starting center fielder. "Aaron Judge is slated to move back to right field and now is the time for Jasson Dominguez to get his shot as the team's left fielder. The Yankees could conceivably bring Verdugo back to fill a bench spot, but they already have Trent Grisham on the roster." Verdugo, who started quite a lot of games for manager Aaron Boone's club in 2024, doesn't have a starting job anymore. As Rotman mentions, Bellinger, Judge, and Dominguez will start for the Bronx Bombers with Grisham being the left-handed outfielder off the bench. New York likely isn't interested in signing a backup outfielder for nearly $20 million a year. More MLB: Blue Jays, Red Sox Linked To $100 Million AL East Free Agent, Per Insider
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