Here is the latest Idaho news from The Associated Press at 9:40 p.m. MST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee has rebuked Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state for misusing taxpayer money and ordered her to reimburse more than $7,500 to the U.S. Treasury. In a report that culminates a six-year investigation, the ethics panel said McMorris Rodgers misused official resources for campaign or other political purposes. McMorris Rodgers was the highest-ranking woman in the House Republican caucus from 2013 to January 2019. The congresswoman said in a letter to the ethics panel she accepts its findings.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge in Portland, Oregon, is considering whether federal authorities should revoke grazing permits it granted to two Oregon cattle ranchers who were pardoned by President Donald Trump. Dwight and Steven Hammond were convicted of arson for setting a fire on federal land that burned about 140 acres. They were ultimately sentenced to five years in prison. A protest over their case led to the 2016 armed occupation of a wildlife refuge near Burns, Oregon that ended with one death. Trump pardoned the Hammonds last year but environmental groups sued when the U.S. government renewed their grazing permits.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A court says the U.S. Forest Service violated environmental laws by failing to adequately consider potential harm to Yellowstone cutthroat trout in a Canadian mining company's plans to expand its search for gold in eastern Idaho. The judge ruled Wednesday that the Forest Service must examine how exploratory drilling by British Columbia-based Otis Gold Corporation could harm groundwater and possibly fish. The company's Kilgore Project covers about 19 square miles about 60 miles north of Idaho Falls. The company says the area contains about 825,000 ounces of gold.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Authorities have arrested and charged an Idaho man with murder involving torture in the slaying of his ex-girlfriend. Prosecutors say 56-year-old Darla Fletcher went to David Randall’s house to pick up some belongings she left behind. Her family grew concerned after she didn’t show up for work. Police say her adult son went to confront Randall on Monday and found his mother’s body covered in blood in the home. Randall faces up to life in prison or the death penalty if convicted. Randall has not yet entered a plea and his attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

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