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An expected expansion of the Trump administration’s laptop ban to include flights from Europe is causing heartburn among the travel industry and some European officials, who fear a logistical nightmare for millions of trans-Atlantic passengers just ahead of the summer vacation season. Briefings Thursday for U.S. senators and the major domestic airlines ended with no announcements from the Department of Homeland Security about changes to the restrictions, which already prohibit passengers from carrying laptops, tablets and e-readers into the cabins of planes flying to the U.S. from 10 Middle Eastern airports. But European airline officials are “preparing behind the scenes”

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump defended his firing of FBI Director James Comey, asserting in a flurry of tweets Wednesday that Republicans and Democrats “will be thanking me.” Trump did not mention any effect the firing might have on the probe into contacts between his 2016 campaign and Russia. Instead, Trump tweeted that he’ll name a replacement “who will do a far better job, bringing back the spirit and prestige of the FBI.” Nevertheless, Tuesday’s abrupt firing throws into question the future of the investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible connections to Russia and immediately raised suspicions of an underhanded

Democrats ground the Senate to a halt on Wednesday, forcing Republicans to abruptly end or postpone committee hearings in protest of President Donald Trump’s controversial decision to fire FBI Director James Comey.   On Wednesday morning, Minority Whip Dick Durbin — the number-two Senate Democrat — said that the Senate is currently facing an important “constitutional question” and made the unusual move of preventing the Senate from holding committee hearings, where senators research and debate bills, and conduct oversight of federal agencies.   Durbin cited Comey’s firing when he objected to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s request to allow 13 committees

Grant money for a college preparation program that helps people from low-income families appears to still be in limbo. In March, the U.S. Department of Education ruled some Upward Bound applications, including the one from the University of Montana, ineligible for funding due to minor formatting errors. For example, UM failed to double-space one page, the budget page, out of a total of 65 pages. UM resubmitted its application with correct formatting, and U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, has been a leading voice calling on the federal agency to reconsider grant requests based on substance, not spacing. U.S. Sen.

Hanna Harris was killed on July 4, 2013, and since then, her family has been working to raise awareness of the issue of missing and murdered Native American women around the country. This week, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution marking May 5th as National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls. The day is in honor of Hanna, on what would have been her 25th birthday, and the hundreds of other missing or murdered Native women around the country. “This is a very big day for the family because it turned into a national day of

Family and friends gathered at Malmstrom Air Force Base Friday to welcome home the last returning airmen of the 819th RED HORSE unit. Around 70 airmen returned to Great Falls after being deployed to the Middle East for around six months. “They’ve been in Jordan, they’ve been in Afghanistan, they’ve been in Iraq, in fact they were there in the Mosul area making preparations for the offensive here as we’re working to eradicate ISIS; so this unit right here in Montana is tied directly to what’s going on as we’re combating terrorism around the world and could not be more proud of them,”