A large chunk of a mountain pass highway in Wyoming has collapsed, severing a well-traveled commuter link between small towns in eastern Idaho and the tourist destination of Jackson.

Wyoming officials have decided to hold off on auctioning a pristine and valuable chunk of state-owned land within Grand Teton National Park.

Authorities say a woman accused of setting fire last year to a Wyoming abortion clinic that was under construction told investigators that she opposes abortion and was experiencing anxiety and nightmares over the facility opening.

The U.S. abortion landscape is far from settled nine months after the U.S. Supreme Court ended the nationwide right to terminate a pregnancy.

British police have launched a major search for a two-month-old baby after officers arrested the infant's mother and her boyfriend who had been missing since January.

The father of a British woman who has been missing for two weeks with her partner and newborn baby has appealed for her to contact police.

The owner and operator of North Dakota’s lone abortion clinic says a judge’s ruling that will delay the closing of the state's lone abortion clinic should provide more than enough time for her to move it a few miles away to Minnesota.

Abortion bans set to take effect this week in Wyoming and North Dakota were temporarily blocked Wednesday by judges in those states amid lawsuits arguing that the bans violate their state constitutions.

When the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that established a right to abortion, it sparked legal changes and court challenges in states nationwide.

The effort to officially celebrate Juneteenth as a paid holiday has faced skepticism inside legislatures that have largely chosen symbolic gestures to recognize the holiday while curtailing certain conversations on race and racism.

Organizers of a planned new women's health clinic that would offer abortions in Wyoming vow to press ahead with their plans despite a suspected arson attack, protests, harassing messages and the chance that abortion could soon become illegal in the state and several others.

Major energy producing states from Alaska to Pennsylvania are reaping a windfall from soaring oil and natural gas prices, stoked by the war in Ukraine and the U.S.-led ban on Russian oil imports.

The governors of four Rocky Mountain states say they will cooperate on developing ways to make hydrogen more available and useful as clean-burning fuel for cars, trucks and trains.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in letters to seven governors, is reaffirming the need for members of their states' Army and Air National Guards to get the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine or lose their Guard status.

Montana wildlife officials have advanced plans that could allow grizzly bear hunting in areas around Glacier and Yellowstone national parks if states in the U.S. northern Rockies succeed in their attempts to end federal protections for the bruins.

Montana officials are asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to lift threatened species protections for grizzly bears in the northern part of the state.

Reserving doubts whenever others claim to know what’s best is part of life in Wyoming.

Australia’s two largest cities are moving closer to ending lockdowns as vaccination rates climb, but leaders are warning that people should remain cautious with their newfound freedoms and that coronavirus case numbers will inevitably rise.

Former President Donald Trump has chosen a favored candidate in his bid to unseat Rep. Liz Cheney, one of his most vocal critics.

New Zealand’s first coronavirus outbreak in six months has grown to seven people.

President Joe Biden is sounding the alarm about the need for more resources to fight a series of wildfires in Western states.

A shortage of jet fuel, coupled with supply chain issues and an urgent demand from firefighting aircraft, continues to cause problems at airports around the West.

President Joe Biden is relaunching the council of governors.

The U.S. Supreme Court won't allow Wyoming and Montana to sue Washington state for denying a key permit to build a coal export dock.

Fifteen Republican governors have sent a letter to the U.S. Commerce Secretary, urging that the U.S. Census bureau release redistricting data as soon as possible.

Republican political donor, investor and philanthropist Foster Friess has died.

Elected officials in Wyoming aren’t sticking their necks out in defense of Liz Cheney as she faces ouster from House GOP leadership.

Most states are encouraging renewable energy but a new program in Wyoming does the opposite.

There are two winners of a $20 million contest to make products from carbon dioxide emitted by power plants.

Ad___JOHNSTON, Iowa — Facing an uptick in new coronavirus cases and a hesitancy among a significant portion of the population to get the vaccine Iowa Gov. State health data shows 555 new positive cases in the past 24 hours and no additional deaths reported. Illinois Department of Public Health officials on Tuesday reported 2,404 coronavirus cases, including 17 more deaths. State health officials say 43% of people have received at least one dose of a vaccine and about 65% are fully vaccinated. ___ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s number of confirmed coronavirus cases reached 39,302, a record high for a second straight day.

— Wyoming’s governor is rejecting a call by President Joe Biden for states to reimpose mask orders in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Coronavirus cases nationwide are on the rise, but infections in Wyoming have fallen off sharply since December. Tribal health officials said that the United Kingdom strain was confirmed in a sample obtained in the western part of the reservation. State health officials on Monday announced more than 1 million people in the state, about 17% of Wisconsin’s population, have completed their vaccination cycles. AdThe COVID-related hospitalizations dropped to 549 on Monday, far below the pandemic record of 5,082 on Jan. 11, according to the state’s pandemic dashboard.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker shows Alaska leading states in the percentage of its population to have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. Larry Hogan said Tuesday, citing improving COVID-19 health metrics and increasing vaccinations. It was unclear what authority state officials might be able to exert on federal facilities. — County health officials in Wyoming have detected the coronavirus variant that originated in South Africa. Another 16 million doses are expected to be shipped by the end of the month.

FILE - In this Dec. 17, 2019 file photo, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., speaks with reporters at the Capitol in Washington. House Republicans are expected to vote in the coming days on whether to oust Cheney from their third-ranking leadership post over her vote to impeach former President Donald Trump. – When Liz Cheney, the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, decided to vote to impeach a president from her own party, she knew she'd cause some waves. “Washington, D.C., mythologizes the establishment powerbrokers like Liz Cheney for climbing in a deeply corrupt game. “If people are still as angry in the summer of 2022 as they are now, Liz Cheney faces some real problems,” Warfield said.

The U.S. government has approved routes for a system of pipelines that would move carbon dioxide across Wyoming in what could be by far the largest such network in North America, if it is developed. – The U.S. government has approved routes for a system of pipelines that would move carbon dioxide across Wyoming in what could be by far the largest such network in North America, if it is developed. In all, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management designated 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometers) of federal land for pipeline development through the Wyoming Pipeline Corridor Initiative, the Casper Star-Tribune reported. Energy markets drive development of carbon capture projects for oil development, said Matt Fry, state of Wyoming project manager for the pipeline initiative. Sage grouse numbers have dwindled substantially over the past century and much of their habitat in Wyoming carries development restrictions.

– A deepening divide among Republicans over President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the election runs prominently through Wyoming, the state that delivered Trump's widest prevailing margin by far. The Wyoming Republican Party has made party fealty a core issue and punished state party officials seen as disloyal. I just don't think that's going to play out in Wyoming," University of Wyoming political science professor Jim King said. Though Wyoming voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2020 and 2016, the state embraced Trump reluctantly. In 2016, Republicans in Wyoming initially backed Cruz over Trump almost unanimously for the GOP presidential nomination.

– As lawmakers around the U.S. convene this winter to deal with the crisis created by the pandemic, statehouses themselves could prove to be hothouses for infection. Public health officials say that move endangers the safety of other lawmakers, staffers, lobbyists, the public and the journalists responsible for holding politicians accountable. The risk is more than mere speculation: An ongoing tally by The Associated Press finds that more than 250 state lawmakers across the country have contracted COVID-19, and at least seven have died. Failing that, Democrats asked for requirements on masks and virus testing, which were also rejected. Edwards spoke in opposition to public health restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus during his campaign.

And we must act as though anyone we are around may be infected.”The cases reported Saturday trailed only the record 10,322 cases reported Tuesday. ___ROME — Italy had more than 21,000 daily coronavirus cases and added 662 deaths in the last 24 hours. There were 14 more deaths reported Saturday, bringing the total to 1,874 confirmed deaths. Russia’s 2.4 million confirmed cases is the fourth-largest caseload in the world behind the United States, India and Brazil. ___NEW DELHI — India has registered 36,652 confirmed coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours.

– A Wyoming Department of Health official involved in the state's response to the coronavirus questioned the legitimacy of the pandemic and described a forthcoming vaccine as a biological weapon at a recent event. Shepherd was introduced as and talked about being a Wyoming Department of Health employee in the over hour-long presentation in Loveland, Colorado. Shepherd's baseless and unsubstantiated claims undermined Wyoming's public health measures — and public exhortations — to limit spread of the virus, as well as its plans to distribute COVID-19 vaccines in the months ahead. He has worked for the health department since 2013 and has been a part of the state’s team responding to COVID-19, though not in a leadership role, department spokeswoman Kim Deti said. Researchers have worried for months that politicized skepticism of COVID-19 vaccines could hurt their efficacy.

They watch as big game animals in the West chase emerging spring greenery to ever-higher elevations, then return to lowlands to avoid the worst of winter's cold and snow. Roads, such as Interstate 80 from Wyoming to California, also hold up and kill migrating big game animals. Reintroduced populations of Western big game animals need decades to rediscover migration routes, research suggests. Mark Gordon in February designated three mule deer migration corridors with plans for others where state officials would encourage but not force help from landowners. And we now have a whole toolbox full of tools that we can use to maintain these migration corridors,” Kauffman said.

Experts have urged the government to reduce social and business activity before the holiday season because of a rise in serious coronavirus cases. The 583 new cases reported Thursday was the first time that South Korea’s daily tally had exceeded 500 since March. KCCI reports that the Iowa Department of Public Health reported 3,331 new positive COVID-19 cases as of 10 a.m. to bring the total to 222,278. The 14-day cumulative number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 of population, a recognized measure of the pandemic’s spread, also fell Thursday, to 325. The Reno-Sparks area has recorded 59 COVID-19 deaths the last 30 days — half of those this past week.

___HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:— US reaches 12 million total coronavirus cases— Italy hits nearly 35,000 new daily virus cases— Calif Gov. ___PORTLAND, Ore. -- Oregon has reported a record number of coronavirus cases for the second day in a row. California had a record 13,000 new cases on Thursday and more than 1 million total confirmed cases. Overall, Russia has recorded more than 2,064,000 confirmed cases and 35,778 confirmed deaths. ___NEW DELHI — India has reported 46,232 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, with the situation particularly alarming in New Delhi.

Gary Herbert speaks as he joins state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn at a press conference at the Capitol in Salt Lake City, clarifying the state's mask mandate on Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. Minnesota’s per-capita new case counts are better than neighboring Wisconsin and the Dakotas, which have some of the country’s highest transmission rates, but have still raised alarm with the state's health officials. In Idaho, where 1 of every 223 residents tested positive for the virus over the last week, Republican Gov. With Trump still not conceding the race, some Republican governors have greeted Biden’s efforts in a more measured way. In Oklahoma, where cases also are on the rise, Republican Gov.

It’s the latest in a string of actions by the administration meant to boost the mining industry by hastening environmental reviews and shielding companies from international market pressures. Under the 1872 mining law that governs the industry, companies are not required to pay royalties on minerals extracted from public lands. “For too long in the West, the mining industry has enjoyed a sweetheart deal,” Udall said. It directs agencies led by the Interior Department to report back within 30 days on measures they can take to hasten mining projects, and within 60 days with recommendations for imposing tariffs or quotas on China and other U.S. mining sector competitors. Earthworks' Aaron Mintzes said the proposal advances “a mad rush” to advance mining projects before Trump’s term expires at the end of the year.

Gavin Newsom discusses his revised 2020-2021 state budget during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif. The resulting consumer spending led to a rebound in sales tax revenue in some states. Tom Wolf also wants the Legislature to legalize marijuana, with the tax revenue going toward grants for small businesses and criminal justice reforms. State tax revenue often lags economic trends because individuals' income losses aren't reflected on tax returns until months later. The worst is still yet to come, said Brian Sigritz, director of state fiscal studies at the National Association of State Budget Officers.

Supporters say carbon capture would save coal by pumping carbon dioxide a greenhouse gas emitted by power plants underground instead of into the atmosphere. To date, carbon capture has been implemented at only one commercially operating coal-fired power plant in the U.S., the Petra Nova facility outside Houston that's been idle since May. I know its often easy to take shots at carbon capture and say its uneconomic. The study that Clairsville, Ohio-based Leonardo Technologies Inc., the University of Wyoming and others did for the government examined potential carbon-capture economics at four Wyoming coal-fired power plants owned by Portland, Oregon-based PacifiCorp. The Sierra Club also took issue with the study, saying Wyoming coal power is becoming more expensive compared with wind and solar and that the analysis didn't account for rising operating costs at aging power plants.

NEW DELHI Indias virus cases have surged another 32,695, taking the nation closer to 1 million and forcing a new lockdown in the popular western beach state of Goa, two weeks after it reopened to tourists. The new confirmed cases took the national total to 968,876. Coronavirus cases have surged to record levels in the Los Angeles area. ___MELBOURNE, Australia Australias coronavirus hot spot Victoria state is reporting a record 317 newly confirmed cases in a day. ___SACRAMENTO, Calif. California has reported its second-highest daily total of new coronavirus cases and equaled its second worst day for deaths.

FILE - In this July, 1997 file photo, Dwayne Hargo, left, Rick Chatman, right, and Quail Dobbs, in the barrel, try to divert the bull's attention away from a fallen cowboy at the Frontier Days rodeo in Cheyenne, Wyo. Cheyenne Frontier Days has been canceled for the first time in its 124-year history due to the coronavirus. Cheyenne Mayor Marian Orr said Wednesday, May 27, 2020 that organizers decided the risk of spreading the virus was too great for the more than 140,000 people who visit Cheyenne for Frontier Days in late July. Cheyenne Frontier Days, billed as the world's largest outdoor rodeo, has been canceled for the first time in its 124-year history due to the coronavirus, the city's mayor told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Bars all over Cheyenne are typically standing-room-only during Frontier Days as people try line dancing and mechanical bull-riding.