As of Friday, February 11, 2022. Montana reports 256,630 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 1,185 new cases of coronavirus infection reported since yesterday: 213 new cases in Cascade County, 173 new cases in Flathead County, 101 new cases in Yellowstone County, and more new cases in 48 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 8,637. All of Montana’s 56 counties report active cases. Currently, 269 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. 3,067 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Six more people’s deaths have been reported since yesterday. Nationwide, more than 914,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 77,400,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

A judge restored federal protections for gray wolves across much of the U.S. on Thursday, after the protections were removed in the waning days of the Trump administration. Removing the protections exposed wolves to hunting that critics said would undermine their rebound from widespread extermination early last century.

The truck blockade by Canadians protesting their country’s COVID-19 restrictions is tightening the screws on the auto industry, forcing Ford, General Motors and other car companies to shut down plants or otherwise reduce production on both sides of the U.S. border because of a lack of parts reaching the factories.

A Russian skating star faces an urgent hearing to decide her Olympic fate after positive drug tests. All eyes now turn from the Beijing Olympic ice to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which will decide whether Kamila Valieva is able to compete in next week’s women’s event.