BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A U.S. judge on Thursday delayed for two more weeks the first grizzly bear hunts to be held in the Lower 48 states in almost three decades, as he considers whether federal protections for the animals should be restored.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen leaves the fate of about 700 bruins in and around Yellowstone National Park in limbo, more than a yea...