Wyoming files notice it will appeal grizzly bear ruling
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — The state of Wyoming has filed notice it will appeal a judge's decision to restore federal protections for grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park.
U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen ruled in September that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service erred in removing Endangered Species Act protections for the Yellowstone bears in 2017.
The ruling blocked planned grizzly hunts in Wyoming and Idaho. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports an appeal would put the case before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
Grizzlies in the Yellowstone area have increased from fewer than 150 to around 700 today.
Federal and state officials say grizzlies have made a full recovery. Environmental groups and American Indian tribes say grizzlies still face threats.
$2,500 reward in Nov. 27 fatal stabbing in Nevada
WADSWORTH, Nev. (AP) — Secret Witness is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to an arrest and prosecution of the killer of a 58-year-old man who was stabbed to death last week in western Nevada about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Reno.
The Washoe County Sheriff's Office says John Whitaker of Olinghouse was found with stab wounds Nov. 27 outside a house in Wadsworth north of Interstate 80 where deputies responded at about 10:45 p.m. with police from the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal Department.
Whitaker was transported to a local hospital where he was declared dead.
The sheriff's office says it still has no suspects.
Anyone with information should contact sheriff's deputies at 775-328-3320 or Secret Witness at 775-322-4900.
2 plead guilty to embezzling from Blackfeet Head Start
GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — Two people have pleaded guilty to their roles in a scheme in which employees of the Blackfeet Tribe's Head Start program claimed $232,000 in unearned overtime pay.
Patrick Calf Boss Ribs and Theresa Marie Calf Boss Ribs pleaded guilty Thursday to theft from an Indian tribal government receiving federal funding and wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris scheduled sentencing for March 14.
Former Early Head Start manager Theresa Calf Boss Ribs faces restitution of over $57,000 while payroll clerk Patrick Calf Boss Ribs' plea agreement calls for him to pay $33,500 in restitution.
The two, along with four co-defendants, were charged with conspiring to claim 7,800 hours of unearned overtime from April 2013 to July 2014.
Prosecutors said the tribe repaid the federal government over $250,000 for disallowed overtime and other costs.
