Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Optimism among chief executives of large U.S. companies has reached a two-year high, driven by greater optimism about hiring and sales.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Air Force says it will offer bonus money and other incentives to members of its nuclear missile corps as part of a broader plan to fix what ails the force.

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — Missoula authorities plan a crackdown on uncontrolled dogs in a popular hiking area after three attacks on sheep the city relies on to graze down noxious weeds.

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Montana man convicted in the beating death of a high school classmate will learn whether he gets another shot at freedom after 30 years of protesting his innocence.

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — A Wilsall man sentenced to 40 years in prison for escaping from a Bozeman pre-release center and holding his former foster mother hostage has been denied a new trial.

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — Police in Montana say a woman kicked and struck her boyfriend with a shotgun because he said bad things about her in his sleep.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has signed a $12.3 billion water projects bill that finances improvements ranging from a harbor expansion in Boston to flood control in Iowa and North Dakota. The legislation was the result of a rare instance of bipartisan work in the divided Congress.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City has agreed to pay nearly $600,000 to settle allegations that police wrongfully arrested a group of Occupy Wall Street protesters during a march on New Year's Day 2012.

BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — Members of the Montana Democratic Party know they face an uphill battle in this fall's general election.

SEATTLE (AP) — The student who wrestled down the gunman at Seattle Pacific University has not talked about the experience publicly, but the brother of Jon Meis (mees) spoke Sunday to the congregation at First Free Methodist Church on campus.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says bankruptcy courts have limited authority to rule on disputes outside the traditional bankruptcy process.

ADISON, Wis. (AP) — Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has asked a federal appeals court to halt gay weddings in Wisconsin after a judge declared the state's ban on same-sex marriages unconstitutional.