As of Friday, February 5, 2021, Montana reports 95,458 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 362 new cases reported in the last day: 60 in Yellowstone County, 59 in Flathead County, 37 in Missoula County, 32 in Gallatin County, 26 in Lewis & Clark County, and more new cases in 26 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 3,497. Statewide, 4,341 people have been hospitalized. Currently, 102 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Yellowstone, Flathead, Cascade, and Gallatin Counties. 1,307 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Nationwide, more than 459,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 26,900,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

Fox News has canceled its highly rated ‘Lou Dobbs Tonight’. The host used his show to support former President Donald Trump’s election conspiracies, prompting a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit from Smartmatic, a voting software company that was the subject of several false claims made on Fox News and Fox Business. The cancellation brings an end to Dobbs’ decade-long run on the network, where he was a staunch advocate for Trump and many of his most conspiratorial views. The Smartmatic suit alleges that Fox News, three of its hosts — Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro — and Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell defamed the company by falsely claiming that Smartmatic was used to rig the 2020 election. In at least 13 different instances, Lou Dobbs and other hosts or guests advanced demonstrably false claims about Smartmatic and its role in the 2020 election, including claims that it was being used to change the outcome in battleground districts. (In fact, Smartmatic software was only used in Los Angeles County, and there is no evidence of election fraud.) If Fox News were forced to pay Smartmatic $2.7 billion in damages, it would effectively wipe out almost all the profit the company created for its parent company, Fox Corp., in the fiscal year of 2019.

Helena High School was evacuated Friday after receiving a bomb threat, but authorities did not find anything suspicious in or near the building. Lt. Cory Bailey of the Helena Police Department said the threat was received by phone about 2 p.m. Helena Public Schools Superintendent Tyler Ream said the school was evacuated as a precautionary measure. Bomb detection canines from the Helena Police Department and Montana Highway Patrol were used to check the school and surrounding property, which have since been released back to the school district.

A bill that greatly expands where Montanans can carry concealed firearms, including in bars and on college campuses, has passed the state Legislature. House Bill 102 was carried by Republican Rep. Seth Berglee, of Joliet. Similar legislation has met the veto pen of Democrats in prior sessions, but the state now has its first GOP governor in 16 years. The bill was one of the first highly controversial measures to move through this session, and it moved on largely party-line votes with Republican backing. Supporters argued that more guns in more places would make people safer because it allowed for increased self-defense. Opponents raised concerns about combining guns and alcohol, said increased access to firearms on campuses could increase the suicide completion rate and questioned if those without law enforcement training could respond effectively in emergencies. The bill aims to limit the authority of the state Board of Regents and university system by stopping the adoption of polices regulating firearms on campuses. A legal note attached to the bill, as well as its opponents, have raised concerns that it may be at odds with the state Constitution, which says the regents have full power over the system and campuses.