Here is the latest Montana news from The Associated Press

Here is the latest Montana news from The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) Montana's senior senator says President Obama is leaving the door open to taxing health-care benefits. That's something Obama campaigned against when he ran for president.

Montana Democrat Max Baucus heads the Senate Finance Committee and met with Obama yesterday. Baucus says he raised the tax issue with the president and taxation is "on the table." The White House said later that Obama does not want to take that route.

WASHINGTON (AP) Montana is among 31 states where national forest roads and bridges will be repaired through $228 million in economic stimulus spending announced by the Obama administration.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says that in dozens of national forests, the $228 million will be used for road maintenance and decommissioning, and for watershed restoration. Vilsack says a total of 106 projects in the 31 states will be funded.

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) A research associate at Montana State University in Bozeman has been awarded a prestigious NASA fellowship. MSU says the fellowship will allow Eric Boyd to explore the possibility that living organisms exist in an environment perhaps similar to conditions on Mars. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration awarded Boyd a one-year fellowship, with the possibility of renewal for a second year. Boyd earned a doctorate at in microbiology at MSU.

HELENA, Mont. (AP) A woman from Libby has claimed the $70,000 jackpot she won in the Montana Cash lottery drawing of May 23.

Wanda Hill's winning ticket was bought by her husband, Jim, at the Rosauers supermarket in Libby. Hill and her husband plan to buy a vehicle with part of the winnings. The $80,000 jackpot for the Montana Cash drawing of Feb. 4 remains unclaimed. The winning ticket bought at Eastgate IGA in Butte will expire on Aug. 4.