NASA Launch Delay/ US Jobs/ Agriculture Risk Programs

Missoulian: More lousy weather as NASA tries for space station delivery
Today’s Weather Outlook: 30 Percent ‘Go’
“Forecasters from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station 45th Weather Squadron have issued an updated prediction for today’s launch of an Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo spacecraft at 5:33:11 p.m. EST aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.”

Bozeman Chronicle: US adds healthy 211K jobs; unemployment steady at low 5 pct. 
Payroll employment rises by 211,000 in November; unemployment rate unchanged at 5.0%
“In November, the unemployment rate held at 5.0 percent, and the number of unemployed persons, at 7.9 million, was essentially unchanged. Over the past 12 months, the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons are down by 0.8 percentage point and 1.1 million, respectively.”

Bozeman Chronicle: Enrollment opening soon for agricultural safety net programs
USDA- Major Risk Management Programs

Air Ambulances/ Yellowstone Wolves/ Climate Talks

Missoulian: Montana hospitals: Air ambulances too expensive, often mean high bills for patients
Survey Responses from (Most) Air Ambulances Serving Montana
Air Ambulance Services Operating in Montana

GAO: AIR AMBULANCE Effects of Industry Changes on Services Are Unclear

Wolves do not recognize political boundaries and often move between different jurisdictions--state, tribal, and federal. Here, the 8-Mile Pack wolf pups sit on a boulder in 2013.

NPS/Stahler

Missoulian: Yellowstone tallies 104 wolves at end of 2014
Yellowstone Wolf Management
“There were at least 104 wolves in 11 packs, including nine breeding pairs, living primarily in Yellowstone National Park during December 2014. From 2009 to 2014, wolf numbers have fluctuated between 83 and 104 wolves, and 6 to 9 breeding pairs. Pack size in 2014 averaged 9 wolves (range = 2 to 14). Forty pups survived to year-end, including 17 in northern Yellowstone and 23 in the interior of the park. An average of 4.4 pups per pack (82%) survived in the nine packs that had pups. For the first time, the size of a wolf pack was estimated via genetic sampling methodology, using scat samples from a den site.”

Missoulian: The Latest: UN climate official sees 'the stars aligning'
21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
“The stars are more aligned now for a historic, universal agreement than they ever have been. We need an agreement for the decades where ambition ramps decisively up the path to global deep decarbonization. We need a strong, unified transparency regime of reporting and review so everyone can see how we’re all doing. We need to elevate our focus on building resilient societies and addressing the impacts of climate change.”

Vaccinations/ US in Syria/ Transportation Bill/ Blackfeet Water Settlement

Missoulian: Students turned away from Missoula County schools for not having vaccinations
Montana Immunization Program
CDC- Vaccines & Immunizations

Missoulian: US-led airstrikes pound IS near Iraq's Ramadi
Coalition Strikes Hit ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq
“U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.”

Missoulian: Congress reaches deal on 5-year transportation bill
H.R.22 - Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015

Missoulian: Senate panel to vote on Blackfeet water agreement
S.1125 - Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act of 2015

EPA Cleanup at Columbia Falls/ Cyber Security Bills

Missoulian: Glencore reaches agreement with EPA for Columbia Falls cleanup
Final agreement to study contamination at Columbia Falls aluminum plant site (Flathead County, Mont.)
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a final agreement to investigate contamination at the Columbia Falls Aluminum Plant, also known as the Anaconda Company Columbia Falls Reduction Plant site, in Flathead County, Montana. Under the terms of the agreement, the site’s current owner, Columbia Falls Aluminum Company, will conduct a comprehensive investigation of soils, river sediments, and ground and surface water to determine the nature and extent of contamination at the site. The company will reimburse EPA for its future costs in overseeing the investigation.”

Missoulian: Cybersecurity bills would add secrecy to public records laws

S.Amdt.1569 to S.Amdt.1463
“To improve cybersecurity in the United States through enhanced sharing of information about cybersecurity threats.”

H.R.1735 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016
“The bill authorizes the FY2016 personnel strengths for active duty and reserve forces and sets forth policies regarding military personnel; compensation and other personnel benefits; health care; acquisition policy and management; DOD organization and management; civilian personnel matters; matters relating to foreign nations; cooperative threat reduction; and strategic programs, cyber, and intelligence matters.”

S.754 - Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015
“This bill requires the Director of National Intelligence and the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS), Defense, and Justice to develop procedures to share cybersecurity threat information with private entities, nonfederal government agencies, state, tribal, and local governments, the public, and entities under threats.

To detect, prevent, or mitigate cybersecurity threats or security vulnerabilities, private entities may monitor and operate defensive measures on: (1) their own information systems; and (2) with written consent, the information systems of other private or government entities.

Liability protections are provided to entities that voluntarily share and receive cyber threat indicators and defensive measures with other entities or the government.”

International Climate Talks

Missoulian: Obama: Climate pact an 'act of defiance' after Paris attacks
Remarks by President Obama at the First Session of COP21
Ban Ki-moon (UN Secretary-General) on Climate Change and COP21 - UN Radio Interview (Paris, 29 November 2015)