Montana

Montana Senators react to passage of foreign aid bill

Published

2 years ago

April 25, 2024

Montana Senators react to passage of foreign aid bill

HELENA, Mont. (KUMV) – More than $95 billion in foreign aid was approved by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden.

The final hurdle was cleared on Tuesday after the Senate passed the package in a 79 to 18 vote. The bill consists of more than $60 billion to Ukraine and $26 billion to Israel.

Both Sens. Steve Daines, R-MT, and Jon Tester, D-MT, voted in support of the package.

“As Presidents Reagan and Trump showed, peace is best achieved through strength; weakness in the face of ruthless enemies is a surefire way to start new wars that involve American troops. This bill provides critical, lethal aid to Israel as they defend themselves from terrorists. With antisemitism raging on our college campuses, it sends a very strong message to those who threaten Jews and chant ‘Death to America,’ that America stands with Israel,” said Daines.

While Daines supported the bill, he said he was frustrated there was nothing in there for the U.S. Southern border.

“Terrorists are crossing into our country every single day, but unfortunately, the Biden Administration and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle refuse to support policies that would meaningfully address this threat,” said Daines.

Meanwhile, Tester said he voted for the bill to counter foreign adversaries, including China, Russia and Iran.

“America’s foreign adversaries like China, Russia and Iran want nothing more than to take our place as the world’s leading military and economic superpower, and I voted with Republicans and Democrats to make sure that won’t happen,” said Tester in a statement.

Tester said he also secured an amendment in the bill that aims to impose economic sanctions on those engaged in the international trafficking of illicit fentanyl— chemicals used to make fentanyl— and would declare international trafficking of fentanyl as a national emergency. He introduced the Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act back in 2023.

“This targeted, bipartisan package will keep Montanans safe at home by cracking down on the fentanyl epidemic that is devastating our communities, and it will strengthen our security abroad by countering our adversaries and standing firm with our allies,” said Tester in a statement.

The package could also result in a ban on TikTok if the Chinese-owned company doesn’t sell within nine months.

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Montana

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Published

2 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Apparent AI Glitch in Filing by Montana Public Defender, Recent Congressional Candidate

Everyone makes mistakes, even experienced professionals; a good reminder for the rest of us to learn from those mistakes. The motion in State v. Stroup starts off well in its initial pages (no case law hallucinations), but is then followed by several pages of two other motions, which I don’t think the lawyer was planning to file, and which appear to have been AI-generated: It begins with the “Below is concise motion language you can drop into …” language quoted above.

Griffen Smith (Missoulian) reported on the story, and included the prosecutor’s motion to strike that filing, on the grounds that it violates a local rule (3(G)) requiring disclosure of the use of generative AI:

The document does not include a generative artificial intelligence disclosure as required. However, page 7 begins as follows: “Below is concise motion language you can drop into a ‘Motion to Admit Mental-Disease Evidence and for Related Instructions’ keyed to 45-6-204, 45-6-201, and 4614-102. Adjust headings/captions to your local practice.” Page 10 states “Below is a full motion you can paste into your pleading, then adjust names, dates, and styles to fit local practice.” These pages also include several apparent hyperlinks to “ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws,” “ppl-ai-fileupload.s3.amazonaws+1,” and others. The document includes what appears to be an attempt at a second case caption on page 12. It is not plausible on its face that any source other than generative AI would have created such language for a filed version of a brief….

There’s more in that filing, but here’s one passage:

While generative AI can be a useful tool for some purposes and may have greater application in the future, when used improperly, and without meaningful review, it can ultimately damage both the perception and the reality of the profession. One assumes that Mr. Stroup has had, or will at some point have, an opportunity to review the filing made on his behalf. What impression could a review of pgs. 12-19 leave upon a defendant who struggles with paranoia and delusional thinking? While AI could theoretically one day become a replacement for portions of staff of experienced attorneys, it is readily apparent that this day has not yet arrived.

The Missoulan article includes this response:

In a Wednesday interview, Office of Public Defender Division Administrator Brian Smith told the Missoulian the AI-generated language was inadvertently included in an unrelated filing. And he criticized the county attorney’s office for filing a “four-page diatribe about the dangers of AI” instead of working with the defense to correct her mistake.
“That’s not helping the client or the case,” Smith said, “and all you are doing is trying to throw a professional colleague under the bus.”

As I mentioned, the lawyer involved seems quite experienced, and ran for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2020 (getting nearly 48% of the vote) and for the House of Representatives in Montana’s first district in 2022 (getting over 46% of the vote) and in 2024 (getting over 44%). “Его пример другим наука,” Pushkin wrote in Eugene Onegin—”May his example profit others,” in the Falen translation.

Thanks to Matthew Monforton for the pointer.

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Montana

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

Published

14 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Your guide to local sports events, plus what’s on TV

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Montana

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

HELENA — You probably have goals and plans for 2026—the Montana Department of Agriculture does too.

“We’re really focusing on innovative agricultural practices,” Montana Department of Agriculture director Jillien Streit said.

It’s no secret that agriculture—farming and ranching—is not easy. There are long days, planning, monitoring crops and livestock, and other challenges beyond farmers’ and ranchers’ control.

(WATCH: Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026)

Montana Department of Agriculture focusing on innovation in 2026

“We have very low commodity prices across the board,” Streit said. “We still have very high input prices across the board, and we have really high prices when it comes to our equipment, and so, it’s a really tough year.”

But innovation, including new practices, partnerships and technology use, can help navigate some of those challenges.

“We can’t make more time and we can’t make more land, so we need to start putting together innovative practices that help us maximize what our time and land can do,” Streit said.

Practices range from using technology like autonomous tractors and virtual fencing—allowing rangers to contain and move cattle right from their phones—to regenerative farming and ranching.

“It is bringing cattle back into farming operations to be able to work with cover cropping practices to invigorate the soil for new soil health benefits,” Streit said.

The Montana Department of Agriculture is working to help producers learn, share, and collaborate on new ideas to work in their operations.

The department will share stories of practices that work from farms and ranches across the state. Also, within the next year or so, Streit said the department is hoping to roll out technology to help producers collaborate.

“(It’s) providing a communication platform where people can get together and really help each other out by utilizing each other’s assets,” she said.

While not easy, agriculture is still one of Montana’s largest industries, and Streit said innovating and sharing ideas across the state can keep it going long into the future.

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