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• High schoolers talk politics at UM Play Video

  November 21, 2011 6:10 PM

  MISSOULA--The students hanging around in the University Center are looking a little younger than usual on UM campus this week. More than 350 hight school students from Montana and Idaho are joining the college crowd for the next two days. The Model United Nations Conference brings high schoolers together... more »

• John Edwards indicted on conspiracy, campaign-law violations

  June 3, 2011 10:50 AM

  WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former Democratic vice presidential nominee and two-time presidential candidate John Edwards was indicted by a federal grand jury Friday on six counts, including conspiracy, issuing false statements, and violating campaign contribution laws. If convicted on all counts, the former North Carolina senator faces up to 30... more »

• Congress passes budget deal despite GOP defections

  April 14, 2011 6:13 PM

  WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A budget deal reached last week to avert a government shutdown won approval Thursday from both the House and Senate, sending it to President Barack Obama for his signature. The measure cuts $38.5 billion in spending while funding the government for the rest of the current... more »

• 4 ways we're still fighting the Civil War

  April 11, 2011 9:15 AM

  CNN -- He stood 5-foot-8 and weighed 145 pounds. His face was gaunt and sunburned. Ticks, fleas and lice covered his body. Before battle, his lips would quiver and his body went numb. When the shooting started, some of his comrades burst into maniacal laughter. Others bit the throat... more »

• How a government shutdown would affect Montana

  April 6, 2011 11:17 PM

  BILLINGS- Congress is working on a budget to prevent a government shutdown at midnight Saturday and any closure would affect 10,664 employees in Montana. The Office of Personnel Management reports that the biggest federal government employers in Montana are the Department of Agriculture with 2,985 followed by the Department... more »

• Dalai Lama ready to give up political power

  March 10, 2011 8:54 AM

  (CNN) -- The Dalai Lama announced Thursday his plan to retire as political head of the Tibetan exile movement, according to his website. "Tibetans need a leader, elected freely by the Tibetan people, to whom I can devolve power," the exiled spiritual leader said in a statement. "Now, we... more »

• Congress pushes shutdown deadline to March 18

  March 2, 2011 11:46 AM

  WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Senate passed legislation Wednesday extending funding for the federal government by two more weeks -- through March 18 -- while cutting $4 billion from current spending levels. The measure, approved in a 91-9 vote, buys legislators more time to try to avoid a government shutdown.... more »

• Tea Party at second anniversary: What happens next?

  February 26, 2011 10:55 AM

  Phoenix (CNN) -- The Tea Party has already stitched together a colorful history made of success and failure, anger and optimism and lots of controversy. And as the movement marks its second anniversary, it's worth asking: Where is it headed? "It started spontaneously and organically as a protest/rally... more »

• Rahm Emanuel wins Chicago mayoral vote

  February 22, 2011 10:50 PM

  CHICAGO (CNN) -- Rahm Emanuel, the former chief of staff to President Barack Obama, won the Chicago mayoral election over five other challengers Tuesday, topping the 50% threshold to avoid a runoff vote, CNN projects. With almost 75% of the vote counted, Emanuel had almost 55% of the vote,... more »

• Government shutdown: What's at stake

  February 21, 2011 2:18 PM

  WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) -- One thing is clear: nobody in Washington says they want a government shutdown. But lawmakers have only until a week from Friday to agree on a way to keep the lights on in federal offices here and around the world. The clock is ticking. Lawmakers... more »

• Senator Baucus reflects on his job and his future

  January 26, 2011 8:17 AM

  BILLINGS - He doesn't really look like one of the most powerful men in Washington, but as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and a 36 year veteran of Capitol Hill, Montana's Senior Senator Max Baucus is exactly that. His career in Washington started with two terms in the... more »

• Obama approval rating on the rise

  January 13, 2011 10:03 AM

  (CNN) -- At the start of President Obama's third year in office, a new poll indicates that the president's approval rating is on the rise. A Quinnipiac Poll released Thursday showed Obama's approval rating at 48 percent -- nearing the 50 percent approval rating he has not held since... more »

• Oprah talks Palin, 2012

  December 22, 2010 10:27 PM

  (CNN) -- Oprah Winfrey says America may "fall in love" with Sarah Palin as a TV star, but is dismissing the idea that the country would vote for the former Alaska governor in the future. Asked in an interview with Parade magazine if the thought of Palin's running for... more »

• Breaking the yule logjam on Capitol Hill

  December 17, 2010 12:00 PM

  Washington (CNN) -- It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Washington. Call it bipartisanship, political necessity or a burning desire to get home for the holidays. A yule logjam of legislation on taxes, spending and a hot-button social issue might be breaking in an anything-but-tame lame duck... more »

• Procedural snag delays House vote on tax deal

  December 16, 2010 5:36 PM

  WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The House of Representatives moved toward a final vote Thursday night on the $858 billion tax deal negotiated by the White House and top Senate Republicans after an argument among Democrats over possible amendments delayed consideration for several hours. The bill, which cleared the Senate 81-19... more »

• Ethics violations leveled against Political Practices nominee

  December 14, 2010 8:17 PM

  HELENA - Legislators submitted four names to Governor Brian Schweitzer as nominees to become Montana's next Commissioner of Political Practices on Tuesday. One of the names is someone who has been accused of violating ethics laws in two states. A committee made up of House and Senate leadership... more »

• House Democrats defy Obama on tax cut bill

  December 9, 2010 12:34 PM

  WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Democrats voted Thursday not to bring up a tax package that President Barack Obama negotiated with Republicans, raising questions over the president's influence in his own party. "This message today is very simple. That in the form that it was negotiated, it is not acceptable... more »

• White House seeks Democrats' backing for tax deal

  December 7, 2010 11:09 AM

  WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House was fighting Tuesday to persuade Democrats to support a compromise on taxes that President Barack Obama and Republican leaders have reached. The overall compromise will cost between $600 and $800 billion over two years, according to CNN estimates. At the heart of... more »

• Schweitzer meets with new state legislative leaders

  November 24, 2010 11:20 AM

  HELENA - Governor Brian Schweitzer sat across the table from the new leaders of the Montana House and Senate on Tuesday in a session that demonstrated a sense of cooperation. Montana State Representative Mike Milburn of Cascade and Montana State Senator Jim Peterson of Buffalo, both Republicans, expressed their... more »

• House ethics committee votes for censure of N.Y. Democrat

  November 18, 2010 11:52 PM

  WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The House ethics committee voted 9-1 on Thursday to recommend censure for Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York, in response to multiple rules violations committed by the 20-term congressman. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat and the committee's co-chairwoman, announced the recommendation around 6 p.m. Thursday, after a... more »

• House panel finds Rangel guilty of ethics violations

  November 16, 2010 1:01 PM

  WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A House ethics subcommittee found longtime Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel guilty Tuesday on multiple violations of House rules. The subcommittee, according to California Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the ethics committee chairwoman, found "clear and convincing" evidence of guilt on 11 of 12 counts, including failing to... more »

• Democrats to push for $250 Social Security payment

  November 16, 2010 12:24 PM

  NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- When House Democrats return to Washington on Monday, a top priority will be putting a $250 dollar check in the mail to 58 million Social Security recipients. Democrats plan to vote early in the lame-duck session on a bill that would provide Social Security recipients... more »

• Jeb Bush says 'never say never' to White House bid

  November 15, 2010 12:14 PM

  (CNN) -- Ex-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has said time and again he's not running for president in 2012, but the younger brother of former President George W. Bush also isn't ruling out a potential White House run in the future. "You never say never about anything," said the younger... more »

• Priorities for Congress surface

  November 14, 2010 11:46 AM

  (CNN) -- When Congress returns for its lame duck session this week, its members will have to decide which issues to tackle first, and according to one Republican, that will not include a discussion of the "don't ask, don't tell" military policy. Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn said the... more »

• Rehberg ready to head back to DC Play Video

  November 14, 2010 11:24 AM

  The U.S. House of Representatives returns to session on Monday and with a new party majority moving in very soon. Re-elected Montana Representative Denny Rehberg says Congress has a lot of unfinished business to work through during their lame duck period. Some of the issues include spending biils,... more »

• MT Democratic Party releases Executive Director

  November 14, 2010 12:15 AM

  HELENA - The Montana Democratic Party has released Executive Director David Benson from his position. Benson took on the role in October of 2009, and was let go from all duties about a week ago. Democratic Party Communications Director Martin Kidston told us the decision had nothing to... more »

• Obama says he's not caving on tax cuts

  November 12, 2010 9:31 AM

  SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- President Barack Obama declared Friday that his "number one priority" is preserving tax cuts for the middle class, and sharply denied that comments by his senior adviser David Axelrod suggest that his administration is about to cave in to Republicans who also want to extend... more »

• Emanuel steps down for expected Chicago run

  October 1, 2010 2:52 PM

  WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Veteran Illinois politician Rahm Emanuel, long known as one of toughest men in American politics, has stepped down from his powerful position as White House chief of staff, President Barack Obama officially announced Friday. Emanuel has been temporarily replaced by White House Deputy Chief of Staff... more »

• Analyst expects Tea Party to influence MT elections

  September 22, 2010 10:29 AM

  BILLINGS - We'll be counting the votes from the mid-term elections in about six weeks. One of the big questions is what impact, if any, will the Tea Party Movement have in Montana. Political analyst Craig Wilson says given the groups track record across the country, they could... more »

• Opinion: Why the web benefits liberals more than conservatives

  June 1, 2010 1:17 PM

  (CNN) -- From the micro-donation platform first popularized by Howard Dean in 2003 to the million-strong Barack Obama Facebook page to the huge audience of the Huffington Post, liberals have been the dominant political force on the internet since the digital revolution began. Now, research out of Harvard University's... more »

• Legislative district boundaries discussed in Helena Play Video

  May 29, 2010 3:44 PM

  HELENA - The Districting and Apportionment Commission is moving closer to drawing the lines for Montana's new legislative districts. The commission met in Helena and is required to adhere to mandatory criteria set by the U.S. and Montana Constitutions. During Friday's meeting, commission members focused on setting discretionary criteria. The... more »

• 3 things we learned from Tuesday's primaries

  May 19, 2010 12:45 PM

  Washington (CNN) -- CNN Political Editor Mark Preston looks at what Tuesday's primaries could say about the rest of 2010. The president takes another loss A Democratic governor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate fell in November, the late Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy's seat went Republican in January, and now... more »

• City councilor denies using work laptop for politics Play Video

  April 29, 2010 7:05 PM

  MISSOULA - The chair of the Missoula County Republican Central Committee is asking for a city council member's e-mail records because he suspects the work laptop has been used to conduct political business. But the city council member denies it. Missoula County's Republican Central Committee chair Will Dechamps said... more »

• Anti-taxation initiative proposed for MT ballot Play Video

  April 14, 2010 9:19 AM

  HELENA - There's a new Constitutional Initiative being proposed for the 2010 ballot as the Montana Coalition to Prevent Double Taxation is gathering signatures for CI 105. The proposed measure would ban real estate transfer tax, which is a tax on property, including real estate, land, farms, ranches and... more »

• Montana GOP questions Schweitzer's travels

  April 6, 2010 6:45 PM

  MISSOULA - The Montana Republican Party wants to know how much Governor Brian Schweitzer is spending when he travels the state and on Tuesday, they filed a request to the Governor's Chief of Staff. The GOP says that on March 25 th , Schweitzer traveled the state making five... more »

• Baucus State Director steps down

  February 20, 2010 2:31 PM

  BILLINGS - Barrett Kaiser, State Director for U.S. Senator Max Baucus, has resigned to take a new job with a national public relations and political affairs office. Kaiser has worked for Baucus for nearly 11 years. Baucus announced that John Lewis will replace Kaiser as his top Montana aide.... more »

• Curdy announces for HD100

  February 10, 2010 9:58 AM

  Willis Curdy, a Missoula area farmer and retired teacher and wild land firefighter, has filed to run as a Democratic candidate for the Montana State House of Representatives in House District 100. Curdy says that he feels that by living in House District 100 for over 27 year allows... more »

• Missoula County candidates file for 2010 election Play Video

  January 14, 2010 6:31 PM

  Filing day in Missoula brought a name to nearly every position so far, but interested parties will have until March 15 to file. Several incumbents are seeking office again in Missoula County, but we're sure to have a new sheriff as Mike McMeekin will not run. On Tuesday two people... more »

• Missoula Council swears in members Play Video

  January 3, 2010 5:46 PM

  It was a big day for the city of Missoula as six city-council members are welcomed back to serve in their seats for another term, as well as the acceptance of one new member. This year Mayor John Engen, Judge Don Louden, and six city council members including the... more »

• Baucus office: Drunk video claims 'gutter politics'

  December 28, 2009 6:49 PM

  Montana Senator Max Baucus office says claims the Senator made a speech on the Senate floor while drunk is just an example of 'gutter politics'. The video is from a speech on December 23 on health care reform. It's been seen on not just You Tube, but on news... more »