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![Feds Order Improvements, Restart Plan From Exxon Over Pipeline Spill](http://townsquare.media/site/119/files/2011/07/alg_spill_yellowstone_river.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Feds Order Improvements, Restart Plan From Exxon Over Pipeline Spill
Federal regulators have ordered Exxon Mobil to make safety improvements to the ruptured pipeline that spilled an estimated 1,000 barrels of crude oil into the Yellowstone River in Montana.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Tuesday that "when companies are not living up to our safety standards, we will take action."
![Rising River Complicates Exxon Oil Spill Cleanup](http://townsquare.media/site/119/files/2011/07/oil-spill.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Rising River Complicates Exxon Oil Spill Cleanup
The initial cleanup along the oil-fouled Yellowstone River could be tested Tuesday as rising waters make it harder for Exxon Mobil Corp. to get to areas damaged by the crude spilled from a company pipeline.
The National Weather Service predicts the Yellowstone River, swelling with mountain snowmelt amid hot summer temperatures, will peak at Billings on Tuesday afternoon.
![Eastern Montana Thundertorms Cause Damage](http://townsquare.media/site/119/files/2011/07/lvb-hail-01.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Eastern Montana Thundertorms Cause Damage
High winds driven by a fast-moving line of thunderstorms downed trees and knocked out electricity to about 500 homes and businesses.
National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Solum says that the storm moved through at about 6 p.m. Sunday with wind between 60 and 70 mph.
![Montana Military Affairs Gets Poor Marks In Audit](http://townsquare.media/site/119/files/2011/07/flagpro_american-flag-memorial-day.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Montana Military Affairs Gets Poor Marks In Audit
Auditors say the Montana Department of Military Affairs does a poor job of managing the federal Homeland Security money it receives.
The findings show that the agency spent about $19 million in federal grant money over the past three years and did not monitor any of the subcontractors for compliance.
![New Asbestos Danger Found In Libby](http://townsquare.media/site/119/files/2011/07/r-LIBBY-MONTANA-ASBESTOS-large570.jpg?w=980&q=75)
New Asbestos Danger Found In Libby
Libby residents have longed for the day when they will be rid of the asbestos that turned their town into the nation's deadliest Superfund site.
Now they are being forced to live through the agony again, thanks to two piles of bark and wood chips on the edge of town.
![On-going Investigation At The Elks Club](http://townsquare.media/site/119/files/2011/07/elks-club-250x2001.jpg?w=980&q=75)
On-going Investigation At The Elks Club
Authorities say they are questioning a "person of interest" in the death of a 41-year-old Spokane, Wash., man who was found unconscious with severe head trauma outside a concert venue in Missoula.
![Jury Rules In Death Of Missoula County Jail Inmate](http://townsquare.media/site/119/files/2011/07/grand_jury.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Jury Rules In Death Of Missoula County Jail Inmate
A coroner's jury has decided the Missoula County jail staff is not responsible for the death of an inmate who hanged herself with a telephone cord in a holding cell.
The jury made its decision Friday in the April 27 death of 27-year-old Michayla D. Brilz of Lolo.
![EPA Gauges Damage of Exxon Oil Spill In Yellowstone River](http://townsquare.media/site/119/files/2011/07/yellowstone-river.jpg?w=980&q=75)
EPA Gauges Damage of Exxon Oil Spill In Yellowstone River
Teams of federal and state workers are fanning out along Montana's Yellowstone River to gauge the environmental damage from a ruptured ExxonMobil pipeline that spewed tens of thousands of gallons of crude into the famous waterway.
![Good News For Montana’s Bighorn Sheep](http://townsquare.media/site/119/files/2011/07/bighorn-sheep_463_600x450.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Good News For Montana’s Bighorn Sheep
Montana wildlife managers say a spring survey of bighorn sheep shows that past actions of killing sick bighorns in an effort to prevent a pneumonia outbreak from killing even more bighorns appears to have resulted in a higher survival rate for lambs.
![Western Governors Discuss Fires, Energy](http://townsquare.media/site/119/files/2011/07/gregoire1-6-30-11_t470.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Western Governors Discuss Fires, Energy
Western state governors dealt with difficulties in building transmission lines to get the West's abundant power generation resources to the rest of the nation at a meeting Thursday in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.