Bear attack, thwarted inmate escape, rescued pup: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Hoover: A police officer was shot multiple times Sunday after police responding to a report of gunfire on an interstate faced off with a suspect at an apartment complex, police said. The officer with the Hoover Police Department is expected to survive. Hoover is just south of Birmingham. Hoover police Lt. Daniel Lowe said a driver reported that someone fired multiple shots at his vehicle on Interstate 459 Sunday morning. No one was injured. Officers had information about the vehicle used in the shooting and located a possible suspect at an apartment complex in Hoover. As they attempted to make contact with the person, he produced a weapon and opened fire, Lowe said in a news release. One officer was struck multiple times, but his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. Hoover police returned fire, though it wasn’t clear whether the suspect was hit, Lowe said. Police evacuated some apartments and advised other residents to stay inside on the belief that the suspect was still at the complex. The department announced later on its Twitter page that the suspect was in custody.

Alaska

Anchorage: The Elders and Youth Conference is underway in Anchorage this week, KNBA-Anchorage reports. For the last two years, the pandemic kept them from meeting in person. On Sunday, the First Alaskans Institute held a “Warming of the Hands” reception at the Alaska Native Heritage Center to celebrate the start of the conference. The head of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium thanked the institute for requiring masks and proof of vaccination, according to the news outlet. The conference, now in its 39th year, is a way for both young and old to make a personal connection through their love of Alaska Native culture.

Arizona

Tucson: A $1,150 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in the killing of a radio collared bobcat that was part of a Tucson research project, according to authorities. The Arizona Game and Fish Department said the bobcat was found fatally shot on Sept. 28. Officials said the research project, which is partially funded by a state Game and Fish grant, is studying how bobcats use the wildlife-urban interface on the west side of Tucson. Department officials said the maximum penalty for illegally killing wildlife is four months in jail and a $750 fine and civil penalties could also apply. The Arizona Game and Fish Department manages managing more than 800 native wildlife species.

Arkansas

Decatur: A 71-year-old man was fatally shot by a northwest Arkansas sheriff’s deputy who found him driving a tractor and displaying a handgun, authorities said. Nelson Amos was fatally shot Saturday by a Benton County sheriff’s deputy, according to Arkansas State Police. State police said Sunday that they were investigating the shooting. State police said that sheriff’s deputies had been called after someone reported hearing gunfire on Amos’ property. State police said that when a deputy later encountered Amos driving a tractor on a local road and brandishing a handgun, the deputy fired his rife, killing Amos. State police said their investigation will be submitted to the Benton County prosecutor, who will determine whether the use of deadly force by the sheriff’s deputy was consistent with the law.

California

Whittier: A person suspected of being under the influence while riding a horse through city streets was arrested after leading police on a pursuit in Southern California, authorities said. Officers in a patrol car chased the suspect Saturday in Whittier, about 20 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, according to police. “An intoxicated person on a horse, galloping through traffic… refusing to pull the horse over… that was our afternoon,” Whittier police posted on Instagram. The pursuit ended with the DUI suspect in custody and the horse receiving lots of love from officers, police said. Accompanying photos showed officers leading the brown horse with a saddle on its back from the scene and offering it water.

Colorado

Pueblo: The city of Pueblo and Pueblo School District 60 are seeking to improve safety and accessibility to a pair of East Side schools through a grant application to the Colorado Department of Transportation. The Pueblo D60 board directors voted unanimously Thursday to apply for a Safe Routes to School grant to add sidewalks, Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant ramps, bike lanes and road markings at various places along Monument Avenue where Park View Elementary and the Risley International Academy of Innovation are located. The total project area spans from East Second Street to East 12th Street along Monument Avenue. During a Pueblo D60 board work session Thursday, Pueblo Area Council of Governments (PACOG) Transportation Director Eva Cosyleon explained the need for creating a “pedestrian and bicycle safe corridor” in the project area. “We have broken sidewalks, we have missing sidewalks at driveways and alleys, and also missing ADA curb ramps – which poses a huge issue for people with a handicap,” Cosyleon said. “They need to have accessibility for wheelchairs or even mothers who have strollers and are trying to take their kids to school.” Cosyleon also presented traffic-crash data from the past five years to board directors. From 2017 to 2022, there have been 280 accidents within a two-mile radius of the Monument Avenue corridor and two people have been killed. Among those crashes, seven involved pedestrians, two involved school-aged children, two involved bicyclists and one involved an individual in a wheelchair.

Connecticut

Morris: A 250-pound black bear mauled a 10-year-old boy playing in his grandparents’ backyard in Connecticut and tried to drag him away before the animal was fatally shot by police, authorities said. The child was attacked about 11 a.m. Sunday in the town of Morris, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said. He was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening. Officers from the state police and DEEP’s environmental conservation force responded and shot the bear, authorities said. The boy’s grandfather described the harrowing attack to the Republican-American of Waterbury. James Butler said his grandson was playing near a trampoline when the bear emerged from thick woods behind the house. “I heard him yell ‘bear’ and when I looked up, I saw his leg in the bear’s mouth and the bear trying to drag him across the lawn,” Butler said. Butler, who uses a wheelchair, wheeled his chair toward the bear and threw a metal bar at its head, he told the newspaper. The bear released the boy but then grabbed the child a second time and used its claws to try to roll the boy onto his back, the grandfather said. A neighbor alerted by the boy’s screams raced over and scared the bear off by brandishing a pipe and yelling, Butler said. The bear was fatally shot by police a short time later. Butler, and his wife, Christina Anderson, who was inside the house when the bear attacked, said the boy suffered a puncture wound to one thigh, bite marks on a foot and ankle and claw marks on his back. State biologist Jenny Dixon said the risk of negative bear-human interactions is increasing as the state’s expanding bear population becomes acclimated to humans and develops a taste for their food.

Delaware

Middletown: One person is dead and two others were seriously injured in a crash involving two trucks early Saturday morning in Middletown, according to Delaware State Police. State police said at approximately 4:23 a.m., a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 driven by an unidentified 24-year-old was traveling south on Route 13/South Dupont Highway. At about the same time, a 2018 Ford F-150 had entered the left lane of Route 13 from Hyetts Corner Road headed north. A police investigation determined that, at some point north of the Route 1 overpass, for an unknown reason, the Dodge left the southbound lanes, crossed the grass median and entered the northbound left lane of Route 13, where it collided with the Ford. Police found that neither the 24-year-old driver of the Dodge nor a 26-year-old front-seat passenger were wearing their seat belts. They were both seriously injured and taken to an area hospital. The 67-year-old driver of the Ford, who was wearing his seat belt, was pronounced deceased at the scene of the collision, police said Sunday. His identity was being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Route 13 was closed for almost four hours while the crash was investigated and the roadway was cleared.

District of Columbia

Washington: A man was reunited with his 5-month-old puppy after police say he was robbed and shot at last Wednesday in Northeast D.C., WUSA-TV reports. “Thank you to everyone who submitted tips to help find this furry friend,” D.C. police tweeted out Monday. D.C. police worked with the Humane Rescue Alliance and received community tips to safely locate the puppy that had been missing since Oct. 12 when the dog’s owner was allegedly robbed at gunpoint in the 4500 block of Polk Street, Northeast D.C. According to the police report, the robber got away with the dog and shot at the owner as he ran away. The dog owner was not injured. The case is still being investigated, according to the news outlet.

Florida

Fernandina Beach: Two men face attempted murder charges for allegedly firing into each other’s vehicles on a busy highway and wounding each other’s daughters, who were passengers in their back seats. William Hale, of Douglasville, Georgia, and Frank Allison, of Callahan, Florida, were charged last week with attempted second-degree murder in the Oct. 8 confrontation on U.S. Highway 1 in Nassau County. A witness told Nassau County sheriff’s deputies that both vehicles were being driven so erratically and engaging in a “cat and mouse” chase that he called the authorities out of concern, according to an incident report. Hale, driving a truck with relatives as passengers, told deputies that he and Allison were “brake checking,” or braking in front of each other repeatedly, during the confrontation. He said at some point, he heard a “pow” at his back door, so he grabbed a gun he kept in his center console and fired out of the driver’s window, according to the incident report. “It was an instant reaction,” Hale said, noting that he fired “everything that was in the clip,” deputies reported. Allison told deputies that he fired his gun at the truck’s bed or tire after a water bottle was thrown into his car. Before the water bottle was thrown, his wife had been “flicking them off,” he said. “Mr. Allison said his goal of firing the shot was to ‘get out of the whole situation,’ ” the deputies reported. Hale’s daughter suffered a wound to her upper calf, while Allison’s daughter suffered a collapsed lung, according to the report. There was no attorney listed for Hale in an online docket. An attorney for Allison didn’t immediately respond to an emailed inquiry on Monday.

Georgia

Atlanta: Four people were hurt, including three students, in a shooting during Clark Atlanta University’s homecoming outside a campus library early Sunday, authorities said. A large group of people were listening to a DJ near Atlanta University Center’s Robert W. Woodruff Library around 12:30 a.m. when officers on patrol in the area heard gunshots, Atlanta police said. A preliminary investigation found three students and another person were injured when shots were fired from a vehicle, Clark Atlanta University said. Atlanta police said multiple people were shot. One of the victims was grazed and refused medical attention. Three others were taken to a hospital, though they were conscious and alert. Clark Atlanta is part of Atlanta University Center’s consortium of historically Black colleges.

Hawaii

Maui: Maui County’s race for mayor is turning into the most contentious in the state, HawaiiNewsNow reports. In Saturday’s debate, organized by Akaku Maui Community Media, incumbent Mayor Mike Victorino defended his record, and retired judge Richard Bissen accused Victorino of being a passive mayor. The candidates had similar views on land swapping for properties facing erosion, homelessness, supporting reservations and fees to manage over-tourism, according to the news outlet. The general election will be held on Nov. 8.

Idaho

Boise: The state Department of Agriculture announced that it plans to crack down on the sale of pet CBD, the Idaho Statesman reports. The department began having new conversations about pet CBD when the Legislature passed a law legalizing industrial help. The agency sent out a letter in July warning sellers that enforcement would begin Nov. 1, according to the news outlet. Supporters of pet CBD say it eases their animals’ anxiety and pain.

Illinois

Springfield: The second and final Illinois gubernatorial debate is set for Tuesday, potentially the last time that Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker and Republican challenger Darren Bailey will share a televised stage at the same time. Recent polls indicate Pritzker has a sizable lead over Bailey, a Xenia state senator, with a possibility to win in November by similar margins to his 2018 victory over former Gov. Bruce Rauner. Public Policy Polling conducted a poll on the behalf of the Chicago Sun-Times/WBEZ, which found the Democrat with a 49% to 34% lead over his opponent. In 2018, Pritzker received 54.5% of the vote compared to 38.8% going to Rauner, the Republican incumbent. With election day now a little more than three weeks away, University of Illinois-Springfield political science professor emeritus Kent Redfield says the upcoming debate provides both candidates with an opportunity to gain, maintain or lose support.

Indiana

Evansville: Firefighters were battling a large fire Monday in southwestern Indiana that’s left an Evansville warehouse and neighboring buildings in ruins and produced a smoke plume visible for miles around. Evansville Fire Department spokesman Mike Larson said about “every truck in the city” as well as one fire unit from Henderson, Kentucky, was called to the scene of the warehouse fire along Morton Avenue. He said the fire was contained as of 9:15 a.m. CDT and no longer a threat to spread, but fires were still burning inside the warehouse and neighboring buildings. Dozens of firefighters would likely remain at the scene for hours, Larson told the Evansville Courier & Press. Larson said there were no reported injuries, and there was no word yet on a possible cause of the fire in the city about 170 miles southwest of Indianapolis. The fire, which was reported about 4:40 a.m., produced a smoke plume so thick it was clearly visible on weather radar in the city. Video footage of the scene showed that flames were still rising by mid-morning from multiple collapsed buildings across a large area and producing smoke plumes. Authorities closed the Lloyd Expressway near the Evansville’s Division Street and U.S. 41 exits and asked motorists to avoid the area.

Iowa

Cedar Rapids: U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, of Iowa, has been hospitalized with a kidney infection, her office said Monday. Hinson’s chief of staff, Jimmy Peacock, issued a statement saying Hinson was admitted Sunday night to a hospital in Cedar Rapids. “She is looking forward to being back on the road soon,” Peacock said. Hinson’s congressional office confirmed that Hinson, a Republican, remained hospitalized Monday morning. The office did not respond to a question about when she was expected to be released. Hinson is running for reelection to Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District seat and is being challenged by Democrat Liz Mathis, state senator.

Kansas

Topeka: Kansas will begin winding down a COVID-19-era rental assistance program, a move that was expected but still has housing advocates worried about whether renters and the nonprofits that help support them will be prepared. The Kansas Emergency Rental Assistance program was created in March 2021 as the latest iteration in a series of efforts to provide aid to renters affected by the adverse economic conditions created by the pandemic. Backed by $200 million in federal funds and run by the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation, the program’s launch was rocky at first due to limited staffing and high demand, though things eventually stabilized. State officials announced Wednesday the program was entering a “hold phase,” where the agency has received enough applications to exhaust its funding. All current applications under review will be put on pause unless more money becomes available. “We may not have the funds to ultimately be able to review or fund those applications,” Ryan Vincent, executive director of the KHRC, told KMUW. “We’ll have them ready, and if we end up receiving any additional funding … we can go back and fund some of those applications in the second hold phase.” The prospect of obtaining additional federal funds is uncertain. Congress could ultimately choose to appropriate more funds for the program, though such a move seems unlikely. The U.S. Treasury Department has also reallocated money from states that have been slower to spend their funds or declined to participate in the program.

Kentucky

Frankfort: A county’s court operations that have been closed since historic flooding in July will resume this month. The Knott County Office of Circuit Court Clerk will reopen Oct. 31 in the county Judicial Center. Circuit and district court proceedings will be conducted remotely due to ongoing repairs to the center. Proceedings may be heard in person in another county if all parties agree, according to the Administrative Office of the Courts in Frankfort. The Supreme Court issued an administrative order amending the emergency order that suspended court operations after the flooding. The order clarifies that the clerk’s office was legally closed from July 28 to Oct. 30 for time computation purposes and allows the presiding judge to grant additional time extensions. Gov. Andy Beshear said last week that 43 people from six counties died in the flooding that hit parts of eastern Kentucky in late July. He said one person remains missing.

Louisiana

Lafayette: Republican Tim Temple, a wealthy insurance executive from Baton Rouge, will run against incumbent GOP Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon in 2023 with the state mired in a homeowners insurance crisis. Temple posed a strong challenge to Donelon in 2019 by spending $2 million of his own money, but Donelon pulled out another win with 53% of the statewide vote. Donelon first won the office in 2006. “Over the last 17 years, Louisiana auto rates have soared to the most expensive in the country, while recently we’ve seen an explosion of homeowner rate increases and an expansion of attorneys promising quick claim settlements and loosely regulated public adjusters,” Temple said in a news release. “Just last week, the current commissioner approved a 63% homeowner’s insurance rate increase,” Temple said. “Continuing to recycle old plans ignores the actual problems and shortcomings altogether, and these issues are too serious to ignore. More than ever Louisiana needs an insurance commissioner with experience in the insurance industry, that will be honest, transparent, accountable, and put the people of this state ahead of insurance companies.” While it’s true Donelon approved a 63% rate hike for customers in the state’s quasi-government safety net insurance company Citizens, he had little choice. By law, Citizens’ prices must be 10% above the highest market rate in each parish or the actuarial rate, whichever is higher. Citizens provides insurance to homeowners who can’t secure protection in the private market.

Maine

Kittery: Town leaders have taken steps to ensure a diverse range of reading materials stay on shelves of the historic Rice Public Library as book-banning efforts have surged nationally. A formal “Freedom to Read” policy was adopted by the Town Council at its Oct. 12 meeting. “The freedom to read is essential to our democracy,” the policy states in part. “The Town of Kittery is devoted to reading and wishes to assert the public interest in the preservation of the freedom to read,” it reads. “We trust our Kittery residents to recognize propaganda and misinformation and to make their own decisions about what they read and believe. The freedom to read is guaranteed by the Constitution.” Approved by the Town Council in tandem with the policy was a step-by-step book challenge process, which outlines how Kittery’s Library Advisory Committee receives and evaluates contested reading materials. Only Kittery residents are permitted to initiate a challenge. “The library considers material objectionable only if the material taken as a whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value,” the challenged materials policy reads. Lee Perkins, the town library director since 2010, noted Rice Public Library previously followed the American Library Association’s “Freedom to Read” statement. Because the library officially became a town department in 2019, however, the Town Council had to approve the town’s own “Freedom to Read” library policy “to carry forward this commitment,” according to a report to the council from Town Manager Kendra Amaral.

Maryland

Salisbury: The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration has launched a survey to receive public input on preliminary improvement concepts and highway needs for the expansion of Route 90 (Ocean City Expressway). The survey, which was announced in an Oct. 12 news release, is available to the public through 11:59 p.m. Nov. 10. Results will be used to form preliminary improvement concepts. The survey is part of the MD 90 Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) Study. Expansion of the entire 12-mile corridor between Coastal Highway and Route 50 is a part of the state’s long-term “Reach the Beach” plan. Improvements include general road safety, traffic congestion relief, and allowing first responders such as police, firefighters and EMTs to respond to emergencies swiftly. As stated by the Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration, the western end of Route 90 at Route 50 carries roughly 33,000 vehicles per day throughout the summer season. By 2045, the highway’s average daily traffic volume is expected to increase by 10%.

Massachusetts

Swampscott: Police came to the rescue of a person who was out walking their dog over the weekend when they were surrounded by a pack of coyotes. Police in Swampscott received a call at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday from the dog walker who said they were surrounded and the coyotes were “not backing down,” police said in a Facebook post. Responding officers counted at least nine coyotes. They were apparently scared off by the arrival of the cruisers with their lights flashing. Police escorted the dog walker and their pet to their home with no additional danger. The dog walker’s name was not made public. Police also posted a series of tips from the Humane Society for how to deal with bold coyotes, urging residents to be aware of their surroundings when walking their dogs, especially during evening hours when coyotes are most active. Police also recommended that people bring noisemakers, squirt guns or pepper spray with them to scare coyotes away.

Michigan

Detroit: Michigan students, and particularly those experiencing homelessness, continue to attend school at a lower rate than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic. The statewide school attendance rate for the 2021-22 school year fell to 88%, down 4.1 percentage points from the previous school year, when attendance hovered at 92.9%. The decline marked a 4.3-percentage-point drop from 2019-20’s attendance rate of 93.1%, according to state data released in September. It is the first time in at least five years that the statewide attendance rate has dipped below 90%. Economically disadvantaged students attended school at a rate of 88% last school year, down from 90.7% in 2020-21. Students experiencing homelessness attended school at a rate of 79.8% in 2021-22, a decline of 5.4 percentage points from the prior year’s rate of 85.2%. State attendance rates are calculated by dividing the total days students could attend school by the total days students actually attend. “There has to be a recommitment to intentionally addressing chronic absenteeism here in this great state of Michigan,” said Delsa Chapman, deputy superintendent at the Michigan Department of Education.

Minnesota

St. Cloud: Mayor Dave Kleis announced Friday the city was awarded $1.09 million in state grant funds for the installation of green hydrogen and renewable natural gas demonstration projects. Funding came from the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources. These technologies will reduce operating costs, keep user rates low, provide additional revenue opportunities, provide economic growth opportunities for the community, reduce dependence on natural gas and high carbon fuel sources, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and increase energy resiliency, according to a press release from the city.

Mississippi

Oxford: A pickup truck struck two University of Mississippi students in a parking lot in downtown Oxford, killing one of them and injuring the other, police said. Two suspects, both from Collierville, Tennessee, were arrested by Monday in the crash, which occurred early Sunday, authorities said. Tristan Holland was taken into custody Sunday in Shelby County, Tennessee, on accessory after the fact. He will face extradition to Oxford, according to the Oxford Police Department. Seth Rokitka was taken into custody Monday after investigators found his wrecked truck in Marshall County, Mississippi, between Oxford and Collierville. The Oxford Police Department said it would provide more information after Rokitka is charged. It was not immediately clear whether either Holland or Rokitka had an attorney who could comment on their behalf. Oxford police said the department received an emergency call after 1 a.m. Sunday from passersby who saw two people injured in the parking lot behind City Hall. Mayor Robyn Tannehill said the student who died was 21-year-old Walker Fielder of Madison, Mississippi. Fielder was a 2020 graduate of Jackson Academy in Jackson, Mississippi. The injured student was transferred to a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Oxford police told WRAL-TV that she is 20-year-old Blanche Williamson of Raleigh, North Carolina. Williamson graduated from Episcopal High School, a boarding school in Virginia.

Missouri

Springfield: Two teenagers were killed Saturday evening when the vehicle they were in traveled off Farm Road 170 near Republic and struck a tree. Two other teenagers were taken by ambulance to CoxHealth Hospital in Springfield. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, a total of four teenagers – ages 15 and 16 – were riding in the 2005 Honda Accord. At 6:15 p.m. Saturday, the vehicle was traveling east on Farm Road 170, just east of Republic, lost control, traveled off the left side of the roadway, and struck a tree, the patrol reported. The Republic district provided some details to teachers, staff and parents late Sunday. The two students killed were a 16-year-old male from Republic and a 15-year-old male from Billings.

Montana

Billings: A police officer shot an armed man at the Billings Clinic Emergency Department on Sunday, the Billings Gazette reports. When officers responded to a report of an armed man at the hospital, the man fired one round. An officer fired one round, hitting the suspect, who was then taken into custody, according to a social media post from police. Police said no hospital staff or patients were injured in the incident, according to the news outlet.

Nebraska

Omaha: Record-low temperatures are expected Tuesday in Omaha, Lincoln and Norfolk, the Omaha World-Herald reports. “A cold front dropping down from Canada will be sitting right over the top of (eastern Nebraska) Tuesday morning,” Taylor Nicolaisen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Valley, said Sunday. “The records for Omaha, Lincoln and Norfolk could be in trouble, especially Lincoln.” The low temperatures for all three cities were set in 1972 – Omaha recorded 20 degrees, Lincoln 21 and Norfolk 18. But the cold won’t last. Highs in eastern Nebraska expected to rebound into the 50s to low 60s on Wednesday, according to the news outlet.

Nevada

Reno: Nevada reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 1,130 new cases. That’s down 11.9% from the previous week’s tally of 1,283 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19. Nevada ranked 46th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows.

New Hampshire

Portsmouth: New Hampshire public health officials say they see a dangerous combination ahead: a winter rise in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, and low interest in coronavirus booster shots, especially the new bivalent dose targeted at omicron. Approximately half of Granite Staters eligible for the first booster have gotten one and far fewer, about 35%, have received a second, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency has not reported state-level uptakes of the new bivalent booster but has put the national rate at just 4%. “It’s one thing to have the vaccine,” said Dr. Sally Kraft, vice president of population health at Dartmouth Health, in a briefing on the bivalent booster Tuesday. “It’s another to get that vaccine in people’s arms.” On Friday, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services asked lawmakers for approval to use $8.9 million in federal pandemic aid to expand access to vaccines and antiviral medications.

New Jersey

Trenton: Democrats in competitive Garden State congressional races vastly outraised and outspent their Republican challengers in the three summer months after the state’s primary. In the 7th Congressional District, Rep. Tom Malinowski – who faces a tough reelection effort after redistricting added more Republican-leaning towns to the district – raised more than anyone else in the state, at over $1.8 million, and spent $3.3 million, according to the latest Federal Election Commission filings, due Saturday, which cover campaign activity from July through September. He collected more than twice as much in donations as his challenger, Thomas Kean Jr., who raised $866,000, and spent three times the $1 million that Kean paid vendors. Rep. Mikie Sherrill of the 11th District spent more than any other congressional contender over the summer, $3.7 million, more than 21 times what her Republican opponent, Paul DeGroot, managed with $175,000. She raised $970,000 to DeGroot’s $171,000. Rep. Josh Gottheimer of the 5th District continued to stockpile an eye-popping amount of money, with more than $14 million in the bank after raising another $1.1 million and spending $1 million in the third quarter.

New Mexico

Roswell: Roswell officials say the city’s UFO Festival had an economic impact of more than $2 million. The Roswell Daily Record reports the Roswell City Council’s finance committee looked earlier this month at an economic report for the event. It indicated more than 40,000 visitors came to the four-day festival, which ran June 30-July 3. The cost for the city to mount it was more than $200,000. Officials applauded the results as a “10 to 1 return on your money.” Staff who put together the report reviewed gross receipts taxes, occupancy or lodgers’ tax, ticket sales and other factors. They also analyzed data from trash collection to estimate the number of visitors. This year’s festival marked the 75th anniversary of the alleged Roswell Incident. Something crashed at what was then the J.B. Foster ranch in 1947, with the U.S. Army announcing it had recovered a “flying disc” but later saying the debris was merely the remnants of a high-altitude weather balloon. Speculation about extraterrestrials and government cover-ups has existed ever since, inspiring books, movies and TV shows. The milestone anniversary brought various businesses and groups together to organize 34 events for the UFO Festival.

New York

New York City: Are your New York state license plates peeling or falling apart? The New York state Department of Motor Vehicles will replace them for free. “We are encouraging New Yorkers who have peeling license plates to get new ones, without any charge, to avoid the risk of being ticketed and having to pay a fine,” DMV Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder said. A driver can be ticketed if their plate number is no longer clearly readable. Customers who want the next available standard plate number for free can email the DMV at dmv.sm.peelingplates@dmv.ny.gov.

North Carolina

Salisbury: Two people were shot and others were injured as they fled gunfire that broke out at a North Carolina college homecoming concert on Saturday night, officials said. Officers called to the campus of Livingstone College in Salisbury around 11 p.m. found two people shot and others who were hurt as attendees fled the gunfire, city officials said in a statement. Officials didn’t release details of their conditions. There was a fight during the concert and one person, who isn’t a Livingstone student, fired one or more shots, police and school officials said in a joint statement. The school’s priority is to ensure students’ mental health and evaluate public safety measures to create a safe environment, Livingstone President Dr. Anthony J. Davis said in a statement. The college is cooperating with police as they investigate, he said. “I am saddened because our students, alumni, family and friends were exposed to this senseless act of violence,” Davis said.

North Dakota

Bismarck: Republican Congressman Kelly Armstrong has raised nearly $2 million for his reelection bid for North Dakota’s lone U.S. House seat, the Bismarck Tribune reports, outraising his independent challenger, former Miss America 2018 Cara Mund. Recent campaign finance reports indicate Armstrong has more than $1.8 million to Mund’s $77,790. This is the first official comparison of the two candidates’ fundraising efforts, according to the media outlet.

Ohio

Cincinnati: Democratic Rep. Jeff Crossman says he would drop an appeal of the state’s six-week abortion ban if elected attorney general over Republican Dave Yost. Crossman said he would refuse to defend Ohio’s law, which bans doctors from performing abortions after cardiac activity is detected, in court. As a state lawmaker, he voted against the six-week abortion ban, but it passed the GOP-controlled Legislature anyway. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the bill in 2019. But Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Christian Jenkins recently blocked that law indefinitely. Yost filed an appeal Wednesday with the Ohio 1st District Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. Crossman said he would drop that appeal. “I intend to end this crusade against women and protect their constitutional rights,” Crossman said. “I will end the appeal immediately and I will honor the court’s decision.” Yost campaign spokeswoman Amy Natoce slammed Crossman for not defending Ohio’s law. “He literally just promised to cancel democracy because he doesn’t like a law passed by the General Assembly. Doesn’t that bother you?” she asked. “The attorney general has a sworn duty to defend laws passed by the people’s elected legislators regardless of his personal opinions – something Jeff Crossman is too inexperienced and morally bankrupt to understand.” Practically speaking, that might not end the appeal. In 2014, then-Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, a Democrat, refused to defend the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, so outside attorneys handled the case instead.

Oklahoma

Okmulgee: Authorities are trying to determine if four bodies found in an Oklahoma river are those of four men who were reported missing several days ago after leaving a home together. Police in Okmulgee, about 40 miles south of Tulsa, said Friday that the bodies of four males had been found in the Deep Fork River. They have been sent for autopsies. Police said they’ve been searching for four friends – Mark Chastain, 32, Billy Chastain, 30, Mike Sparks, 32, and Alex Stevens, 29 – who were believed to have left a house in Okmulgee on bicycles on the evening of Oct. 9. Mark Chastain’s wife reported that he, Billy Chastain and Mike Sparks were missing, police said Tuesday. A few hours later, Alex Stevens’ mother reported him missing, police said. The bodies were discovered after a passerby saw something suspicious in the river near a bridge, police Chief Joe Prentice said. The bicycles have not been found, Prentice said. Police did not immediately respond to a message left Sunday. The men were all from Okmulgee, which has a population of around 11,000.

Oregon

Eugene: Twenty-five Oregon mayors joined together for the common goal of creating a strategy to address the statewide homeless crisis using funding and construction investments, submitting the plan to state officials Friday. A subcommittee on the Oregon Mayors Association put together the request calling for a partnership between the cities and the state to fund a response to local homelessness and preventative programs – totaling about $123 million annually. In addition to the annual funding for those programs, the plan also calls for construction investments for shelters and transitional housing projects. The letter to legislators highlighted the crisis, stating the municipal leaders “cannot be left to solve this statewide crisis” on their own. “The No. 1 issue throughout Oregon – in both rural and urban communities, large and small – is homelessness. We know this humanitarian crisis is impacting both the individuals directly experiencing homelessness as well as communities at large,” stated the OMA letter. Although many cities have individual or regional programs to address local issues, the statewide crisis has exceeded their “individual capacity.”

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: The state and national Republican parties are suing anew in the state in an effort to block some mail-in ballots – those lacking the voter’s handwritten date on the outside envelope – from being counted in November, when voters will elect a new governor and U.S. senator. The GOP’s filing late Sunday went straight to the state Supreme Court, with barely three weeks left before Election Day. The court does not have to take up the lawsuit. “The time for the Court to act is now,” lawyers for the Republican Party told the justices in the lawsuit. The effort by Republicans to ensure that improperly dated or undated ballot envelopes are thrown out could help their candidates in tight contests around the state. As of Friday, nearly 1.2 million voters had applied for a main-in ballot, with applications from registered Democrats outnumbering Republicans by an almost 4-to-1 ratio. Throwing out undated ballots would theoretically ensure that more Democratic ballots are tossed out, helping Republican candidates. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration last week told counties that they are expected to include ballots with undated or improperly dated envelopes in their official returns for the Nov. 8 election.

Rhode Island

Providence: A jury has convicted a former corrections officer at the Adult Correctional Institutions of having sexual relations with two female inmates over the course of a year. Collins Umoh, 44, of Warwick, on Thursday was found guilty of three counts of criminal sexual conduct with an inmate under his direct custodial supervision between 2017 and 2018 after a five-day trial before Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Montalbano, according to an announcement by Attorney General Peter F. Neronha’s office. The state was unable to proceed with four additional counts that were subsequently dismissed, said Brian Hodge, spokesman for the office. He declined further comment. Umoh had been a corrections officer for 11 years at the time of his arrest in May 2019. Authorities at the time accused him of having sex with three women housed in the Gloria McDonald Correctional Facility between July 2017 and August 2018. “This agency has no higher priority than running safe, secure and constitutional facilities, and the protection of ACI inmates from sexual misconduct is something we take particularly seriously,” Patricia A. Coyne-Fague, director of the state Department of Corrections, said in an email at the time of his arrest. “Anyone involved in sexual misconduct will face significant consequences.” Assistant Attorney General Daniel Carr Guglielmo prosecuted the case, with State Police Detective Herb Tilson leading the investigation with the assistance of the Department of Corrections Office of Inspections. Umoh is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 15. The charges are punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a fine of $10,000. Umoh’s lawyer, Stefanie Murphy, could not be reached immediately for comment.

South Carolina

Spartanburg: Hundreds of incorrect absentee ballots were mailed to Spartanburg County voters due to an error by the vendor who prints them, county officials said Wednesday. “This is an unfortunate situation, but thankfully there is time to correct it,” Elections Director Adam Hammons said in a statement. “My office is working hard to ensure every affected voter receives the correct ballot as soon as possible, giving the voters ample time to return them before 7 p.m. on Election Day.” Hammons said after sending to the vendor the file of voters’ names to be sent a ballot, his office identified one voter that had applied for an absentee ballot but later moved out of the county. He said his office asked the vendor to remove the voter from the file prior to printing and mailing the ballots. “During that process, the data shifted, unbeknownst to the vendor, causing the error,” Hammons stated. County spokeswoman Scottie Kay Blackwell said the county elections office is immediately mailing a new, correct ballot to all 699 voters who received the incorrect ballot. The office is also reaching out to voters directly, telling them the correct ballots will arrive in an envelope with a yellow stripe, she said. “The issuing and return of the new, correct ballots will be tracked by the elections office, ensuring that only one ballot is counted for each voter,” Blackwell stated. She said voters who are unsure if they’ve been impacted by the error can visit scvotes.gov and click on “Get My Sample Ballot.” If the sample ballot matches the one they received in the mail, they will know they received the correct ballot.

South Dakota

Yankton: Authorities say an inmate who tried to escape from a hospital where he was receiving treatment was caught within 10 minutes. The 26-year-old man who was housed at the Yankton County Jail had been taken to Avera Sacred Heart Hospital for a medical issue Thursday evening when he ran away from a correctional officer, the Yankton Press and Dakotan reported. The suspect was apprehended less than two blocks away, according to the Yankton County Sheriff’s Office. He was charged with first-degree escape, which carries a maximum charge of two years in prison.

Tennessee

Gatlinburg: A campground at Great Smoky Mountains National Park that has been closed for nine years has been reopened, park officials said. Look Rock Campground is a 68-site facility that provides camping along one of the park’s most scenic drive, according to Superintendent Cassius Cash. The campground opened Saturday and remains available through Nov. 13. “We are grateful for the voices who supported us in our efforts to secure the needed funding for repairs, including the Friends of the Smokies and their donors,” Cash said in a news release. Look Rock Campground and Picnic Area were closed in 2013 after the water utility systems failed. The picnic area reopened with limited services after the park received funds in 2019 to install an accessible vault toilet. The water system has now been completely replaced, with access to flush toilets and potable water. Campground sites were rehabilitated. Ten sites were renovated to accommodate larger recreational vehicles and offer the first electric and water hookups in a park campground, the park said. The park received $4.7 million for the work from campground fees, donations and federal funds. Campground reservations must be made through Recreation.Gov.

Texas

Fort Worth: A Fort Worth police said an officer fatally shot a 29-year-old man who pointed a handgun at him after police responded to a call from the man’s mother, who said he was damaging her home with a hammer. The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office has identified the man killed early Sunday as Taylor Grimes. Fort Worth police said that during the mother’s 911 call late Saturday, the man could be heard saying he would hurt his mother if any officers responded. Police said that when officers arrived, Grimes came to the door holding a handgun, closed the door and then refused to leave the house. The SWAT unit and hostage negotiators then arrived and tried to convince Grimes to surrender and to allow his mother to leave the house, police said. When his mother eventually left the house, Grimes was seen standing in the doorway, pointing a handgun at an officer, police said. Police said that the officer fired his weapon, striking the man. The medical examiner’s office said Grimes died in the living room of the home.

Utah

Provo: Provo has a new acting chief of police after the sudden resignation of police chief Fred Ross, The Salt Lake Tribune reports. Ross didn’t cite specific reasons for his resignation, other than saying that the job had “been determined to not be sustainable.” He was appointed to the role in November 2021. “After discussing this with my family,” Ross continued in a statement, “I’ve determined it is in my best interest personally and professionally to resign my position as chief of police, effective immediately. I thank you sincerely for the honor of serving you, the department, and the people of Provo.” Mayor Michelle Kaufusi appointed Capt. Troy Beebe, a 24-year veteran of the Provo Police Department, as the acting chief in an early Monday announcement, according to the news outlet.

Vermont

Burlington: Students will be taking a different standardized test this spring. Students will no longer take the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and the Vermont Science Assessment (VTSA) tests that they have since 2015. The new test, Cognia, encompasses the subjects of English language arts, math and science and will first be administered in the spring of 2023. The Agency of Education chose Cognia after the former testing provider’s contract was up, noting Cognia’s focus on equity. “Cognia’s approach to diversity, equity and inclusion in the development and implementation of assessments aligns with Vermont’s values, and the accessibility and user experience of their testing resources will make working with the assessments easier for students, families and educators,” said Dan French, Vermont’s secretary of education.

Virginia

Harrisonburg: A man has been charged in a shooting at an outdoor gathering over the weekend that sent eight people to hospitals, police said. Harrisonburg police arrested Tyreaf Isaiah Fleming, 20, of Harrisonburg, on Sunday afternoon, the department said in a statement. Fleming is charged with attempted murder, aggravated malicious wounding and firearms offenses, police said. Online court records do not list an attorney who could speak on Fleming’s behalf. Witnesses said shots were fired into the crowd at an outdoor gathering on Devon Lane in Harrisonburg around 2:20 a.m. Sunday, police said in a statement. Statements from witnesses and security camera video helped investigators identify Fleming as a suspect. Eight people ranging in age from 18 to 27 were taken to hospitals with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, police said. Police said they are investigating whether anyone else was involved in this incident.

Washington

Kitsap: The Navy has scrapped a plan to lease local base space to a developer to build a power plant that could feed Kitsap’s electricity grid when outages occur. “The project was determined to not be financially feasible,” said James “Ken” Johnson, a Navy spokesman. The Navy had offered up to 95 acres at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor of mostly forested lands and up to 10 acres of what are mostly surface parking lots at Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton for lease. Johnson said the Navy had entertained multiple proposals that led to a potential leasee, but that leasee decided to drop out of contention earlier this year. Running power plants and facilities is nothing new for the Navy in Kitsap, a place where 13 nuclear-powered submarines are homeported along with two aircraft carriers powered by twin nuclear reactors. Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton is also home to a steam plant that generates heat for buildings at the base and the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard using natural gas. But coinciding with the Navy’s initial proposal in 2020, Puget Sound Energy – owners of most of Kitsap County’s electricity grid – had made its own request for proposals to help make the grid more resilient. Among them is a plan to build a biodiesel-fueled power plant at a former rock quarry at Ueland Tree Farm, and several proposals for battery-fed energy storage in both the West Hills of Bremerton and in Suquamish. The Navy would not comment on any of those specific proposals. But Johnson said Navy officials are “focused on meeting the Navy’s goals for energy efficiency, reliability, and resiliency.”

West Virginia

Charleston: The deadline has arrived to register to vote in the Nov. 8 General Election. A voter registration form must be in the county clerk’s possession by Tuesday for people who register in person, Secretary of State Mac Warner’s office said. Registration may also be completed by mail, and that must be received or postmarked by Tuesday. Voters may also register online by the close of business of their county clerk’s office. Voters can download a mail-in form, register online or find the county clerk’s contact information at GoVoteWV.com. Warner says anyone who has moved, changed their name since the last election or wants to change party affiliation may update their registration by Tuesday. Warner’s office and county clerks around the state held more than 100 voter registration drives during the month of September. A total of 5,326 people in the state registered last month, Warner said. Absentee voting began Sept. 23. Early in-person voting starts Oct. 26 and continues through Nov. 5.

Wisconsin

Green Bay: A nationwide study ranked Wisconsin No. 1 in mental health. Despite a shortage of therapists and wait times for mental health providers that can stretch up to and beyond six months, the study, conducted by Mental Health America, found the Badger State still had enough high points to top other states when it comes to tackling its residents’ mental health needs. Compared to other states, fewer Wisconsin adults are reporting that their mental health needs are going unmet, more adults are seeking treatment and fewer students are being reported for emotional disturbances with their individual education program. Another possible reason for its elevated status is the fact Wisconsin has invested in the mental health needs of its residents, industry professionals say. The report, published Thursday, covers a range of measures, including adults with any mental illness, youth with major depressive disorder, and those struggling with mental health conditions who couldn’t receive treatment due to workforce shortages or a lack of insurance coverage.

Wyoming

Jackson: Teton County Emergency Management will be testing its alarms Tuesday, Jackson Hole Daily reports. The county is testing its outdoor warning sirens to ensure they work for emergencies, such as inclement weather, incidents with hazardous materials and wildfire evacuations. “Most people associate outdoor warning sirens with tornadoes,” said Rich Ochs, coordinator for Teton County Emergency Management, in a press release. “Hearing a three-minute siren wail means that you should tune into local radio, All-Hazards Weather Radio, trusted online local media, or your phone for an alert.” According to the news outlet, the test will sound like a few short siren bursts and will go for no longer than one minute at a time, at siren locations in Teton Village, Teton Pines, downtown Jackson, Gregory Lane, Adams Canyon and Hoback Junction. Residents indoors will likely not be able to hear much, as the sirens are not designed to sound inside of buildings.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bear attack, thwarted inmate escape: News from around our 50 states