As of Wednesday, July 7, 2021, Montana reports 114,102 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 153 new cases reported in the last day: 49 new cases in Yellowstone County, 30 new cases in Flathead County, 17 new cases in Cascade County, 14 new cases in Powder River County, and more new cases in 14 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 428. Currently, 46 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Yellowstone, Cascade, Flathead, and Missoula Counties. 1,671 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Six more deaths have been reported since Monday. Nationwide, more than 606,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 33,700,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Microsoft is urging Windows users to immediately install an update after security researchers found a serious vulnerability in the operating system. The security flaw, known as PrintNightmare, affects the Windows Print Spooler service. Microsoft said of its security patch, “We recommend that you install these updates immediately.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has declared a gun violence emergency and says he will sign legislation that allows for civil lawsuits against gun manufacturers, distributors and dealers for how they market and sell firearms. The new law would close a loophole that allowed people with active warrants to purchase guns. Industry stakeholders can be held liable for the illegal or “unreasonable” sale, manufacture, distribution, importing or marketing of firearms that cause harm to the public as a “public nuisance.”

Democrat Monica Tranel has announced her run for the Montana’s newly created seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Tranel, of Missoula, is the second Democratic candidate to join the race. Last week Democratic state lawmaker Laurie Bishop, of Livingston, also announced her campaign. Two Republicans have also said they’re in the race — former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, who previously held Montana’s lone seat in Congress; and former Kalispell state Sen. Al Olszewski.