Tech News
Today’s tech stories point to platforms tightening control over how users access and interact with online content—shifting product focus, enforcing link and archiving policies, and exploring new interface features. The tradeoff is innovation and safety versus openness and long-term accessibility. Readers should view these moves through how they affect discoverability, preservation, and everyday browsing behavior.
Meta announced it will separate Horizon Worlds from the Quest VR platform and shift Worlds to be almost exclusively mobile. Meta says it will continue making VR headsets.
The English Wikipedia blacklisted Archive.today and began removing about 695,000 archive links after the site was used to direct a DDoS attack and altered snapshots of webpages.
CSS-Tricks described the proposed :near() CSS pseudo-class that detects when the pointer is near an element. The proposal uses a length argument to set detection distance, measured by Euclidean (straight-line) distance.
Local News
Montana is seeing a mix of loosening federal environmental guardrails and growing pushback over public-land access and industrial pollution risks. At the same time, public health and the economy show uneven strains, with drug harms shifting in composition and some local businesses facing acute financial pressure. These crosscurrents matter for voters, land users, utilities, and local leaders weighing near-term costs against long-term health, habitat, and community stability.
The EPA finalized repeal of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards that would have required power plants to install filters to limit mercury, arsenic and lead emissions. Experts warn of more deaths.
Opioid overdoses rose in Montana despite a decline in fentanyl detection. Ambulance responses to suspected opioid overdoses increased by about 250 calls (35%) in 2025.
Conservation groups oppose the USFS plan to repeal the Roadless Rule in Montana. The rule limits road building and logging on about 60 million acres of national forest, including in Montana.
Months before the Izaak Walton Inn's corporate owners abruptly announced plans to shutter the historic Essex hotel, they faced a foreclosure lawsuit alleging default on two loans totaling $9.4 million.
One week into the filing period for the 2026 elections, four candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination in Montana’s Western U.S. House District to challenge incumbent Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke.
U.S. Governance
Recent developments show courts playing an outsized role in defining the limits of executive power, shaping election rules, and adjudicating disputes over religion in public schools. At the same time, gaps in public-health data sharing and new international coordination efforts highlight how governance also depends on transparency and cross-border standards. For readers, the key lens is which institutions—judges, agencies, states, or partners abroad—are now setting the rules that affect costs, rights, and public services.
The Supreme Court struck down most of President Trump's tariffs in a 6-3 decision. He said he would impose a global 10% tariff under a different law.
A Virginia judge blocked a Democratic-backed referendum on redistricting affecting four U.S. House seats. The order runs until March 18 and conflicts with early voting starting March 6, potentially dooming the referendum.
South Carolina hospitals are not required to disclose measles-related admissions.
The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's tariffs. Companies are lining up to seek refunds of about $133 billion in import taxes already collected.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a block, allowing a Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments displays in public classrooms to take effect. The court said details are unclear.
The United States and India signed the Pax Silica Declaration. It says economic security equals national security and highlights India's talent, critical-mineral refining capacity and AI infrastructure investments.
Global Affairs
Tensions are rising across several regions as governments weigh coercive tools—from threats of force and cross-border strikes to new tactics that blur lines between battlefield and civilian life. At the same time, courts and legislatures are shaping who is protected or punished, highlighting the push-pull between security aims and legal or humanitarian constraints. For readers, the practical lens is how rapidly decisions can shift risks for civilians, detainees, and diaspora communities.
US President Donald Trump said he is considering a limited military strike on Iran to pressure its leaders to agree a deal to curb the nuclear programme.
Israeli air strikes killed at least 10 people in eastern Lebanon, including six Hezbollah members, after Israel said it targeted Hezbollah sites in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanese and Israeli officials said.
Russian drones, including small FPVs and long-range Shahed drones, are terrorising Ukrainian civilians. They have transformed the battlefield and brought the war to Ukrainians' doorstep.
Venezuela freed 379 political prisoners after the National Assembly approved an amnesty law, a lawmaker said Friday. The law aimed to free people imprisoned before the US toppling of Nicolas Maduro.
A judge temporarily blocked deportation of four Chagossians who sailed to the Chagos Islands to protest its handover to Mauritius. He upheld challenges over delays in permits and the removal orders' lawfulness.
Daniel Taylor, a Kent county councillor, was jailed for 12 months after admitting controlling or coercive behaviour towards his wife and consequently lost his seat. He had been suspended by Reform UK.