Montana

WASHINGTON - Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana said they improved his strength and posture. Celebrity Kim Kardashian boasted they allowed her to ditch her personal trainer. But federal and state officials said the rocker-bottom Shape-ups and other toning shoes made by Skechers USA Inc. don't live up to the hype from the company and its high-profile endorsers. On Wednesday, the Manhattan Beach company agreed to pay $50 million to settle false-advertising allegations by the Federal Trade Commission and the attorneys general of 44 states, including California, as well as the District of Columbia.

Ryan Leaf was arrested early Monday morning in Montana on charges of burglary, theft and two counts of criminal possession of dangerous drugs - two days after posting bail for similar charges. Central Montana Drug Force Commander Chris Hickman says Leaf was arrested in Great Falls on charges stemming from a burglary on Sunday and was also being detained on a probation violation. The former NFL quarterback has a court hearing later Monday but cannot be released from jail since the probation violation does not carry a bond.

One pitch, one swing, one run, one loss. That's what happened to the Ocean View Little League team from Huntington Beach on Wednesday night. Ben Askelson crushed a hanging curveball from relief pitcher Braydon Salzman in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Big Sky Little League team from Billings, Mont., representing the Northwest, a 1-0 win over Ocean View. Ocean View, the West champion, had outscored its opponents, 21-0, and had 23 hits in winning its first two games here.

  The Judicial Council of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals opened a misconduct review of Montana's chief federal District Court judge for forwarding a racially charged email about President Obama from his courthouse computer. Judge Richard F. Cebull asked for the review as calls mounted Thursday for his immediate resignation. Legal ethics experts predicted the incident would result in a public admonishment. The judge, appointed byPresident George W. Bush12 years ago, maintained after the email became public that it was meant to be seen as anti-Obama and not racist, but added, "I can obviously understand why people would be offended.

The Rocky Mountain West, which helped give Democrats the White House and control of the U.S. Senate, has emerged as a key 2012 battleground as President Obama works to win back independents and others disaffected by the last two years of high unemployment, soaring deficits and expansive government growth. Obama achieved a breakthrough in 2008, carrying Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico and coming close to winning Montana, a state Democrats lost overwhelmingly in the two previous presidential campaigns.

Matt Szczur caught two touchdown passes, ran for 159 yards and had 68 yards receiving, leading Villanova to its first Football Championship Subdivision title with a 23-21 victory over Montana on Friday night at Chattanooga, Tenn. No. 2 Villanova (14-1) won the title in its first championship game appearance. Top-seeded Montana (14-1) was making a record 17th consecutive appearance in the playoffs. Andrew Selle threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Jabin Sambrano to pull Montana to within 23-21 with 1 minute 7 seconds left, but the onside kick attempt went out of bounds and Villanova made a first down before running out the clock.

Montana authorities on Tuesday scaled down a search for a militia member accused of firing on two sheriff's deputies, saying the practiced survivalist and ex-convict could easily have traveled dozens of miles through the state's jagged western mountains. Missoula County sheriff's deputies saw a Jeep Cherokee run a stop sign Sunday morning and gave chase once it refused to pull over, the department said. David Earl Burgert Jr., 47, led his pursuers off-road into the mountains, jumped out when he got stuck and opened fire on the deputies with a handgun, authorities said.

The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday declared its first public health emergency, saying the federal government would funnel $6 million to provide medical care for people sickened by asbestos from a mine in Montana. The declaration applies to the towns of Libby and Troy, where for decades workers dug for vermiculite, a mineral used in insulation.

With four gray wolves having been killed in Idaho since Sept. 1, a federal judge has cleared the way for legal hunting of the once-endangered predators to proceed. U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy in Montana found that there would be no irreparable harm if the limited hunt in that state and Idaho were allowed to go forward. But the judge also wrote that the Fish and Wildlife Service, in continuing to list Wyoming wolves under the Endangered Species Act while delisting them in the two neighboring states, "has distinguished a natural population of wolves based on a political line, not the best available science."

UCLA next vs. Montana, Sunday at Pauley Pavilion, 7 p.m., Prime (delayed, 9 p.m.) ? The Grizzlies (3-2) have won three consecutive games, including a 75-67 triumph over Cal State Fullerton, and will play Portland on Friday before taking on UCLA. Montana freshman swingman Kareem Jamar, a former Westchester High standout, has started all five games and is averaging 7.6 points and 6.4 rebounds.

Montana's chief federal judge Wednesday admitted forwarding an email to friends about President Obama that appears to equate African Americans with dogs and raises questions about the president's mixed racial ancestry. “Normally I don't send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine,” Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull wrote before forwarding the email, a copy of which was obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

The Supreme Court served notice Friday that it would not let states or state judges casually defy its much-disputed ruling in the Citizens United case that gave corporations a right to spend freely on election campaigns. The justices put on hold enforcement of a Montana election law. But the case could force the high court to reconsider the corporate spending issue if its liberal justices insist on doing so. On Dec. 30, Montana's high court said it was refusing to follow Citizens United as a binding precedent.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post A novel Emily M. Danforth Balzer & Bray: 480 pp.: $17.99, for readers age 14 and up There's something about the open spaces of the Great Plains that make the exploration of nascent homosexuality even more alienating and risky than the same experience in a big city or suburb. At least that's the story detailed in Emily Danforth's young adult debut, "The Miseducation of Cameron Post," a book that reads like a literary response to the Katy Perry hit "I Kissed a Girl" if it took place under a big Montana sky. Cameron Post is just 12 when she kisses her best girl friend on a dare - ostensibly as practice for future liaisons with boys.

Move over, Joe Montana to Dwight Clark. Scoot aside, Steve Young to Terrell Owens. Make room for The Catch 3.0. San Francisco's Alex Smith fired a 14-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis with nine seconds remaining Saturday, lifting the San Francisco 49ers to a 36-32 victory over the New Orleans Saints in a wild divisional playoff game at Candlestick Park. A defensive gem of a game transformed into a shootout in the final minutes, with a series of rapid-fire touchdowns -- four in the final 4 minutes 2 seconds.

From San Francisco — One of the San Francisco 49ers' biggest supporters, a cornerstone during the club's finest years, wouldn't dare set foot inside Candlestick Park on Saturday. By his estimate, he has turned down dozens of invitations to watch the 49ers play host to New Orleans in a divisional playoff game. But he's staying put at his ranch in Montana, rooting from afar. "I'll be perched by myself, right here with my dogs, watching the game," said Eddie DeBartolo, whose teams won five Super Bowls during his 23 years as owner, from 1977-2000.

Montana has engaged in a long, slow dance between corporations and politicians through much of its history. The free-spending audacity of the copper kings during the early 20th century — when mining czar W.A. Clark bought himself a seat in the U.S. Senate — are the stuff of Western lore. In an attempt to fight back, Montana voters in 1912 passed an initiative barring direct corporate contributions to political candidates and parties — a law that, like those in many states across the country, was undone by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2010.

UCLA tonight vs. Montana When: 7 p.m. Where: Pauley Pavilion. On the air: TV: Prime (9, delay). Radio: 570. Records: UCLA 3-3, Montana 3-3. Record vs. Montana: 4-0. Update: Coach Ben Howland said he would likely go with the same starting lineup he used against Kansas, when he replaced Joshua Smith with Brendan Lane in an effort to curtail Smith's foul trouble. Smith went on to record his first career double-double, played a career-high 28 minutes and committed only two fouls.

The Supreme Court served notice Friday that it would not let states or state judges casually defy its much-disputed ruling in the Citizens United case that gave corporations a right to spend freely on election campaigns. The justices put on hold enforcement of a Montana election law. But the case could force the high court to reconsider the corporate spending issue if its liberal justices insist on doing so. On Dec. 30, Montana's high court said it was refusing to follow Citizens United as a binding precedent.

Colleen Kegg hasn't worked out the details of her exit plan yet. But about one thing, Kegg is clear: When she can no longer feed herself or go to the bathroom without assistance, she will take steps to end her life. A rare and incurable neurological disease is gradually stealing the things the 60-year-old Santa Barbara-area resident lives for, and she wishes a California physician could legally prescribe life-ending medication, as doctors can in Oregon, Washington and Montana. Instead, she'll have to find another way. "I know I can stop eating and drinking," Kegg told me one evening in her sister's home, her speech already slowed by corticobasal degeneration, a condition somewhat similar toParkinson'sandLou Gehrig's disease.

UC Riverside 75, at Montana State 73: Robert Smith hit a three-pointer with one second left as the Highlanders surprised the Bobcats, who had led, 73-69, with 14 seconds left. Riverside's Kevin Bradshaw scored and was fouled with five seconds to play but he missed the free throw. Smith got the rebound and made the three-pointer. Phil Martin, who led the Highlanders with 25 points and 10 rebounds, added a free throw after a Montana State foul to close the scoring. Smith scored 14 points and Kareem Nitoto added 12 for Riverside.