Yellowstone National Park – Yellowstone National Park, on the site of a giant volcano, has begun swelling up. Scientists say it could mean
that molten rock is accumulating beneath the surface.
But a professor of geophysics at the University of Utah --
Robert Smith -- says there is no evidence of an imminent volcanic
eruption. He says many giant volcanic craters around the world go
up and down over decades, without erupting.
Smith and colleagues report in Friday's issue of the journal

Laramie, WY – The city of Gillette is considering mixing
water pumped during coal-bed methane gas production with regular drinking water to stretch the city's supply in the face of a
projected water shortage.

Steve Peterson is Gillette's utility engineering manager. He says the city has spoken with some in the CBM industry about
providing water as a short-term solution. Companies pump water from the ground in coal-bed methane production.

By Elsa Heidorn

Laramie, WY – A Bureau of Land Management wild horse roundup will go ahead this month, after all.

The BLM previously said it did not have the money to gather wild horses and take care of them in Wyoming until 2008. Then Governor Dave Freudenthal and Wyoming's congressional delegation vigorously protested the delay. The Bureau of Land Management's Steven Hall says the BLM heard those protests loud and clear.

By Elsa Partan

Laramie, WY – The reason a proposed statewide smoking ban will not be taken up by a legislative committee is because it does not have enough support. State Senator Charles Scott of Casper says the reason a joint legislative committee bill did not have a chance of being heard in the short budget session that starts in February.

It will be quite controversial and take a lot of time, and that's trouble in a 20-day budget session. I think we have the votes to bring it to the general session, but not to the budget session.

By Addie Goss

Laramie, WY – Two more groups have spoken out against proposed oil and gas leasing by the Bureau of Land Management in the Upper Platte River Valley.

On Tuesday, both the Saratoga Town Council and the Carbon County Commissioners voted to protest the leases. At issue are 26,000 acres bordering the Medicine Bow National Forest. Governor Freudenthal came out against those leases on Saturday, in a letter to the Bureau of Land Management.

Jerry Paxton is a Carbon County Commissioner and owns land in the contested region.

By Elsa Partan

Laramie, WY – The state has seen two apparent domestic violence killings in the last three days.

In one case in Natrona County, the victim, Jennifer Randel, had dated the accused killer for about four years. In that time, authorities say they had been called ten times to respond to domestic violence.

Lovell, Wy – Two people are dead in Lovell following an
apparent murder-suicide yesterday (Monday).
Authorities identified the dead as 22-year-old Brenda Lee Davila
and 23-year-old Steven D. Lopez.
Lovell Police Chief Nick Lewis says Davila was the victim and
Lopez was the lone suspect in the shooting. Four shots were fired
from a handgun in the incident.
Lewis says he wants to see final autopsy results before formally
classifying the incident as a murder-suicide.

Casper, Wy – A Natrona County man faces charges of
first-degree murder and kidnapping after police on Sunday found him
in a pickup truck with the dead body of a woman to whom he once had
been engaged.
Police arrested 46-year-old Donald Lee Rolle. Authorities say
that he slashed his wrists with a knife when officers arrived at
the truck. The truck was stuck in a ditch in Natrona County when
officers arrived.
Police say they found the body of 40-year-old Jennifer Randel in
the truck.

Laramie, Wy – A senior investigator at the Project on Government Oversight says a nuclear lab near the Wyoming border has fallen behind in efforts to secure against a terrorist attack. Pete Stockton says the Idaho National Laboratory is several years behind its deadline of protecting the nuclear material and plutonium stored there. Stockton is pushing for the lab to move the material to a more secure location.

By Peter O'Dowd

Laramie, WY – A government report shows that security upgrades at the Idaho National Laboratory are lagging about 4 years behind schedule.

To protect against terrorism, the Department of Energy is working toward meeting stricter security standards at several of the nation's nuclear laboratories.

Pete Stockton, who is a senior investigator for the watch-dog group Project on Government Oversight, says the lab should move nuclear-grade material to a more secure site.