Nate Hegyi

Last year saw the most deaths and attempted suicides at federal Bureau of Indian Affairs jails since 2016. The Bureau promised reforms after NPR reporting found a pattern of misconduct in its jails.

At least four inmates died and 46 others attempted suicide from July 2021 through June 2022, according to a new report. It is the most yearly deaths and attempted suicides recorded since 2016.

The jails program has come under fire for numerous deaths. NPR and Mountain West found a previous review was managed by a retired official who oversaw the facilities when some of the deaths occurred.

The Interior Department ordered a review of tribal jail deaths, but the man who got the contract is a former agency official who oversaw the jails when some of the deaths occurred.

A ruling could settle the decades-long dispute over the scope of the landmark law, with big implications for wetlands and ephemeral streams around the West.

In Idaho, Utah and Wyoming, less than 8% of qualifying households had taken advantage of a federal broadband subsidy. But an expansion in eligibility may mean an uptick in uptake.

The Biden administration has moved to crack down on violent domestic extremists over the past year. But it's given the Bundy family – whose militant actions presaged the Capitol insurrection, and who continue to illegally graze cattle on public lands – a pass.

“What we’re starting to see is that affordable housing can no longer be ignored,” says Megan Lawson of Headwaters Economics.

Recent storms brought mountain snowpack above normal levels across much of the West, but the precipitation only slightly improves the region's long-term drought conditions.

Read or listen to the morning news headlines for Monday, Dec. 27, 2021.