Freedom Rock, vest saves K-9, Obama-Fauci: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Birmingham: A Confederate heritage group will fight Macon County’s lawsuit that could lead to the removal of a rebel monument in the heart of nearly all-Black Tuskegee, the group’s attorney said. Although Macon County has asked a court to give it the deed to a downtown square where the memorial has stood for 115 years – potentially a key first step toward taking down the statue – the United Daughters of the Confederacy owns the square legally and wants the monument to remain, said Jay Hinton, an attorney for the group, in its first public response to the court fight. “All of those members have ancestors who are honored by that monument,” he said. The monument, located in front of the county courthouse in a city of 9,400 that is 97% Black, has been the subject of on-and-off protests and attempts to remove it for decades. The monument went up at a time when groups all over the South were erecting Civil War memorials to honor rebel troops and portray the cause of the Confederacy as noble. Hundreds have been taken down in recent years as they came to be seen as symbols of racial oppression against Black people.

Alaska

Juneau: Alaska could receive more than $1 billion from the recently passed federal infrastructure package for high-speed broadband networks, which an official with the Alaska Telecom Association said would be “transformational.” Christine O’Connor, the association’s executive director, also told Anchorage television station KTUU that the funding represents a significant opportunity to make investments in broadband. “We’ve never seen an environment like this before for broadband,” she said. O’Connor was a member of a broadband task force established by Gov. Mike Dunleavy that recently released a report on improving internet access. The federal package, supported by Alaska’s congressional delegation, is expected to provide more than $1 billion to the state for high-speed broadband. Funding also is expected for tribes across the country.

Arizona

Wintersburg: Emergency sirens designed to alert nearby residents of a problem at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station about 50 miles west of Phoenix were scheduled to be tested Wednesday. The 70 sirens located within a 10-mile radius of the plant near Wintersburg will sound for three minutes at noon and again at 12:30 p.m. Maricopa County will also test a system that send alerts to cellphones once at 12:15 p.m. The system will only send signals to devices in the test area. The sirens or cellphone alert systems notify people in the area that they need to turn on their radios or televisions to get news and instructions on how to respond. The tests are required by federal regulators and overseen by state and local emergency management agencies. The agencies will have people near each of the sirens to ensure they are operating and that the wireless alert system is working correctly. The Palo Verde plant is the largest power plant of any kind in the U.S. and has three nuclear reactors that were completed in the mid-1980s. It is operated by Arizona Public Service Co. and is owned by APS and a consortium of other power companies.

Arkansas

Little Rock: Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he will call the Legislature back into session next week to take up a tax cut plan, and that he hoped lawmakers would hold off on efforts to enact an abortion ban similar to one in neighboring Texas. Hutchinson said the planned special session was set to begin Dec. 7, with its focus primarily on the tax cut package that calls for reducing the state’s top income tax rate from 5.9% to 4.9%. The package, which also includes corporate tax cuts and a low-income tax credit, would cost the state $135 million in the current fiscal year and grow to nearly $498 million when fully implemented in 2026. Hutchinson is pushing for the tax cuts after the state ended its fiscal year in July with a nearly $1 billion surplus. A coalition of advocacy groups earlier Tuesday called on the Legislature to focus on funding needed services rather than a tax cut they said would primarily benefit higher earners. Hutchinson said the state has been increasing funding for services, even with the tax cuts it’s enacted over the past several years.

California

Thousand Oaks: A helicopter crew rescued a man who tumbled down a steep Southern California hillside after his car ended up teetering on the ledge, authorities said. After stopping his car just short of the slope, the man got out, lost his balance and fell about 200 feet into Bell Canyon, the Ventura County Star reported. Multiple agencies including fire and sheriff’s departments and the California Highway Patrol assisted with the rescue in the area on the border of Ventura and Los Angeles counties. The man didn’t appear to have life-threatening injuries, officials said. He was taken to a hospital to be checked out. Authorities didn’t immediately say how the motorist ended up off the road at the edge of the canyon.

Colorado

Fort Collins: A Fort Collins Police Services K-9 who helped apprehend a barricaded suspect near the Old Town Square on Monday night went home uninjured because of a vest that protected the dog when police said the suspect tried to stab him. Police responded to a call about 8:15 p.m. Monday that a man had approached another man in the Old Town Square and threatened him with a knife, according to a news release from Fort Collins police. Shortly after the 911 call, police located a suspect, identified as 29-year-old Matthew Bishop, nearby the Old Town Square still armed with a knife, and police said Bishop threatened them with it. Officers used a less-lethal SAGE launcher, which deploys 40mm hard foam batons, to try and safely resolve the situation but Bishop fled the area, according to the news release. Police spokesperson Kate Kimble told the Coloradoan that Bishop barricaded himself in an emergency escape staircase in a building at the northwest corner of College Avenue and Olive Street. Fort Collins SWAT responded to the scene, and crisis team members worked to convince Bishop to surrender, according to police. At about 11:20 p.m., police said Bishop exited the stairwell but tried to run, so K-9 officer Inox was deployed to apprehend him. Bishop allegedly attempted to stab Inox, but Inox’s protective vest saved him from injury. “Inox was not injured, fortunately,” Kimble said in an email. “The vest protected him from the stabbing and likely saved his life.” Bishop was arrested on suspicion of five felony charges, according to police. Court records showed the charges have not been formally filed by the district attorney’s office as of Tuesday night.

Connecticut

Uncasville: Gov. Ned Lamont said he does not plan to mandate booster shots for certain workers or reissue statewide indoor mask mandates in stores and restaurants. That’s despite new COVID-19 infection numbers that are the highest in nearly a year and news of the omicron variant being identified in different parts of the world. The Democrat, however, said he does expect that masking requirements in schools will remain in place for now. Lamont said he doesn’t see a need yet to require certain workers to get a booster shot, noting Connecticut ranks among the top 10 states for people getting the third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The governor said encouraging people to get the additional shot is easier than issuing mandates and requirements. Over the past two weeks, the rolling average of daily new cases has increased by 267.4 infections, or 70.8%, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins. One in every 791 people in Connecticut tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week.

Delaware

Wilmington: Delaware workers’ compensation insurance rates will drop by about 20% in December, according to the Department of Insurance. The voluntary market is seeing an average 20% decrease in voluntary market loss costs, and residual market rates are also decreasing by an average of 20%, according to a press release from the Department of Insurance. It’s the fifth year in a row that workers’ compensation rates have dropped. This year’s decrease, which was decided by the Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau, will go into effect on Dec. 1. Policyholders will see rate changes upon renewal. Savings vary by policy. Lower premiums do not change how much a worker can get in compensation insurance, but it does affect employers. The rates that employers pay help cover medical treatment or lost wages if a worker gets injured on the job. Delaware businesses can save even more money on workers’ compensation premiums through the Department of Insurance’s Workplace Safety Program. Eligible businesses can get up to a 19% discount on insurance, and last year’s total savings was about $7 million, according to the department.

District of Columbia

Washington: Former President Barack Obama and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, visited a children’s vaccination clinic in Washington to encourage children to get a COVID-19 shot. Speaking to children and parents at Kimball Elementary School waiting to get their second dose of the vaccine, Obama called the pediatric vaccinations “one more thing to be thankful for” during the holiday season. “Nobody really loves getting a shot,” Obama said. “I don’t love getting a shot. But I do it because it’s going to help keep me healthy.” After their surprise appearance in the school gymnasium drawing audible gasps, Obama and Fauci greeted children and their families, posing for photos and giving fist-bumps. The pair passed out stickers to children after they got their shot.

Florida

Sebring: A man is accused of fatally shooting a black bear and one of her cubs, officials said. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a news release sent Tuesday that the 43-year-old man shot the bears in the Sun ‘n Lake community in Sebring on Oct. 26. He faces four charges, wildlife officials said. The state attorney’s office is prosecuting the case. “Our officers work tirelessly to protect Florida’s natural resources and this egregious violation serves as a reminder of why our work is so important,” said Col. Roger Young. “The deliberate shooting of these two bears is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.” Biologists with the agency were able to trap one uninjured bear cub in the community and release it in a more suitable habitat, officials said. They saw another cub in the area but were not able to capture it.

Georgia

Augusta: An Augusta company that uses ethylene oxide to sterilize medical instruments is being sued by residents. The Augusta Chronicle reported the lawsuit by 20 current and former Augusta residents claims a plant operated by Kendall Patient Recovery emitted the cancer-causing gas, putting them at risk. At least two other such lawsuits have been filed in metro Atlanta, one against Covington-based Becton Dickinson and one against Smyrna-based Sterigenics. One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, filed in July, blames the Augusta plant for her breast cancer diagnosis in 1999. She lived 5¹/₂ miles from Kendall Patient Recovery. Attorneys for the company seek to dismiss the case, saying Kendall Patient Recovery never exceeded state-permitted emission limits. The company also argued the lawsuit doesn’t prove ethylene oxide is responsible for the illnesses of residents and former workers. Attorneys for both the plaintiffs and defendants did not respond to requests for comment.

Hawaii

Honolulu: The state Department of Health said tests of water samples from the Navy’s water system at Pearl Harbor have so far been inconclusive after it received more than 100 complaints about fuel-like odor coming from tap water in the area. Kathleen Ho, the department’s deputy director for environmental health, said samples sent to a Hawaii lab showed there were no contaminants in the water up to five parts per million. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t contaminants in the water, she said. The department expects to get results from samples sent to a California lab later this week. Ho told reporters at a news conference that a department inspector also noticed a fuel-like smell while at Red Hill Elementary School and at a child center in Aliamanu. Ho said all complaints about the fuel-like odor came from people using the Navy’s water system. The department has not received any complaints from customers of the Honolulu water utility, the Board of Water Supply. The department on Monday recommended that all Navy water customers avoid drinking their tap water. It also recommended that those who can smell fuel in their water avoid using it for bathing, washing dishes and laundry.

Idaho

Boise: Idaho is bracing for the likely appearance of the omicron variant, state officials said, noting the state is well-positioned to detect its arrival but a poor vaccination rate among residents could be problematic. Idaho Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen and other officials at a news conference said there isn’t enough known about the omicron variant yet to understand possible ramifications when it reaches the state. It’s not known, for example, how deadly it is or how easily it can spread. It’s also not known how effective vaccines that work against other variants will work against omicron. The state has expanded monoclonal antibody treatment, but it’s not known if that will be effective against the omicron variant. But Jeppesen and state epidemiologist Christine Hahn said getting vaccinated or getting a booster if eligible are the best possible protection, especially because vaccines are known to work against the delta variant, the major strain infecting and killing people in the state now. Mask wearing is also recommended.

Illinois

Chicago: Organizers of an effort to restore North Pond in Chicago’s largest park hope to reach their fundraising goal and begin work by early next year. The Chicago Tribune reported that North Pond in Lincoln Park is drying up because of eroding banks and algae bloom. Work to restore it is expected to cost $7.3 million, and a nonprofit organization raised money to dredge the pond. “North Pond has such an important connection for people,” said Doug Widener, executive director of the Lincoln Park Conservancy. The pond was built in the mid-1880s. The restoration plan would deepen the pond to about 8 feet from its current depth of 2 to 3 feet and add erosion controls. Widener said he hopes work can be complete by late summer or early fall next year.

Indiana

Burns Harbor: An explosion rocked a steel mill in northwest Indiana on Tuesday, rattling nearby residents and producing a plume of smoke visible miles away, though no one was injured, officials said. The blast at the Cleveland-Cliffs Burns Harbor steel mill could be felt as far away as Portage, and a plume of reddish-brown smoke was visible as far away as Chesterton, a few miles away. Residents and business owners said the explosion shook their homes and shops about 12 p.m. CST. Cleveland-Cliffs spokeswoman Patricia Persico said the blast took place in a slag pit at the mill along the Lake Michigan shoreline in Porter County. Steel slag is a molten liquid byproduct of the steelmaking process, and it is taken to pits where it solidifies as it cools. Portage Police Chief Michael Candiano said police and fire units were at the scene assisting other agencies. United Steelworkers Local 6787 President Pete Trinidad said no one was injured “and everything is under control.”

Iowa

Altoona: The 100th and final Freedom Rock mural will be placed at Adventureland in Altoona, closing out a yearslong project. Iowa artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II set out in 2013 to honor service members by painting murals depicting military scenes on large boulders in each of Iowa’s 99 counties. He achieved his goal earlier this year with the installation of a rock in Linn County. The bonus mural at Adventureland will be the second in Polk County. The other is at an American Legion post in Bondurant. Sorensen, a Republican state representative from Greenfield, said in a Facebook posting that he hoped to place the rock right in front of Adventureland by July 4, with further details to come. Sorensen painted his first rock mural in 1999 and has painted rocks in other states, as well. Each rock is different and might reflect certain conflicts, honor the fallen or recognize a county’s history. The only image that doesn’t change is that of a Huey helicopter, made with paint mixed with the ashes of Vietnam veterans.

Kansas

Topeka: Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has notified state education officials that some public universities are violating a state law passed last week that loosened requirements for obtaining medical and religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccinations. Schmidt wrote a letter last week to Kansas Board of Regents President Blake Flanders, with copies sent to the University of Kansas Chancellor Doug Girod and Kansas State University President Richard Myers. Schmidt said “at least some” public universities are violating the new law but specifically mentioned the University of Kansas and Kansas State. He said the institutions must “immediately cease and desist” from their requirements. Schmidt’s spokesman said Tuesday that the letter has not been sent to any other institutions. University of Kansas spokeswoman Erinn Barcomb-Peterson said the university has updated its forms and processes to comply with state law and a federal executive order. Kansas State University did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Flanders said in a statement that state universities will follow all state laws in implementing vaccine requirements.

Kentucky

Bowling Green: Kentucky education officials plan to discuss a proposal that would add more limits on the use of corporal punishment in schools where it is still allowed. A proposed administrative regulation will be up for discussion Wednesday during a Kentucky Board of Education meeting, the Daily News reported. The current state statute permits the use of physical force by a teacher or other caregiver if they believe “that the force used is necessary to promote the welfare of a minor or mentally disabled person.” Most Kentucky schools no longer allow physical force to be used for discipline. More than 150 school districts prohibit corporal punishment, four permit it and and 11 have no clear policy, the newspaper reported. The proposal would make students with disabilities, those who are homeless or those who are experiencing the foster care system exempt from corporal punishment and limit its use on other students. It would require schools that allow physical force for discipline to have a clearly defined policy that limits it to a last resort, limits who can administer it and provides counseling to students afterward.

Louisiana

Bossier City: An inmate who escaped from a facility in the Baton Rouge area has been captured in Bossier City, authorities said. Shwilliam Cheevis, 23, was apprehended Monday and taken into custody without incident, Bossier City police said. Law officers were acting on a tip and found Cheevis at an apartment complex with his girlfriend, KSLA-TV reported. Cheevis had escaped from the Dixon Correctional Institute on Thanksgiving Day, authorities said. He was serving time for sentences from Caddo Parish that included aggravated second-degree battery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Maine

Augusta: A former speaker of the Maine House of Representatives and U.S. Senate candidate said she is donating $3.5 million in leftover campaign money to a civil legal aid nonprofit group in the state. Sara Gideon, a Democrat, lost to Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins a year ago. Gideon said her donation to Maine Equal Justice will help the nonprofit create a new project that will create paths out of poverty for families. The new effort will be called the Build Hope Project. The effort will be designed to create new economic opportunities for parents and children and help working parents complete degree and credential programs, Gideon said. The gift “will provide immediate and significant support to working parents earning their degree, to their children – and ultimately to the entire state – by increasing the numbers of higher skilled workers badly needed by Maine’s employers and our economy,” Gideon said. Gideon’s race against Collins broke state fundraising records. Gideon ended the election cycle with more than $10 million in campaign cash.

Maryland

Annapolis: A sewage overflow has prompted Maryland officials to close part of the Potomac River to shellfish harvesting for the second time in recent weeks. The Department of the Environment issued an emergency order Monday closing about 180 acres of the Potomac River offshore from the St. George Island area of St. Mary’s County, officials said in a news release. After the St. Mary’s County Metropolitan Commission reported the spill Monday, the department dispatched an inspector. The order was issued when it was determined that sewage likely entered the river, officials said. The commission reported that the overflow that began Nov. 24 was stopped Monday and entered ditches that drain to the river. The department estimated about 2,500 gallons entered the river and about 11,000 gallons were vacuumed from ditches. There are no aquaculture leases in the emergency closure area, officials said. Sewage spills in the St. George Island area prompted temporary closures in St. George Creek about two weeks ago and in January. The department will request a meeting with the commission on the repeated system failures and plans to address the sewage spills, officials said.

Massachusetts

Boston: A Massachusetts Housing Court judge overturned Boston’s eviction moratorium, saying the city’s public health commission had overstepped its emergency powers. Judge Irene Bagdoian wrote in her decision Monday that evictions are a matter of state law, not local authority, The Boston Globe reported. “This court perceives great mischief in allowing a municipality or one of its agencies to exceed its power, even for compelling reasons,” she wrote, noting that a town could use a similar public health rationale to circumvent affordable housing laws. She added that this type of expansion of power “should be unthinkable in a democratic system of governance.” The moratorium that blocked enforcement of court-approved evictions was put in place on Aug. 31 by the administration of then-acting Mayor Kim Janey, who said it was to protect residents still struggling to pay rent because of the coronavirus pandemic. A city landlord and a constable, who serves judicial processes, challenged it in court. The U.S. Supreme Court in August struck down the Centers for Disease Control’s nationwide eviction moratorium.

Michigan

Lansing: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration said it wants lawmakers to quickly allocate $300 million in federal pandemic rescue funding to support coronavirus testing at schools amid a fourth surge of infections in Michigan. The money was included in the relief law approved by Congress and President Joe Biden in March. It is set to expire next summer and is part of a $2.5 billion supplemental spending request that state budget director Christopher Harkins sent to the Republican chairmen of legislative appropriations committees on Nov. 19. The GOP-led Legislature returned to session Tuesday after a two-week break. The Senate plans to begin advancing a $3.3 billion proposal to spend federal infrastructure and pandemic dollars on water-quality upgrades, including $1 billion to replace lead pipes and $680 million for dam safety. The House intends to pass $250 million in public safety spending with a mix of federal and state aid. It is unknown if legislators and the Democratic governor will reach a deal in coming weeks.

Minnesota

Rosemount: President Joe Biden on Tuesday went to Minnesota to pitch his completed infrastructure deal and a giant social spending bill that he’s still trying to get passed, but also found himself reassuring the nation he would fight the evolving COVID-19 threat without resorting to “shutdowns and lockdowns.” Biden met with students at Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount in a garage space with a bulldozer, backhoe and cargo truck before delivering a speech criticizing GOP lawmakers for opposing his social services and climate spending bill that would expand health care coverage, enhance job training for students at community colleges and offer child care benefits for middle- and low-income Americans. Biden has been eager to build momentum for his agenda but he finds himself again forced to divert attention to the coronavirus. He said that on Thursday, he would detail his plan for how “we’re going to fight COVID this winter, not with shutdowns and lockdowns” but “with more widespread vaccination, boosters, testing and much more.”

Mississippi

Pascagoula: A murder suspect who escaped police custody last week is back behind bars. Aceon Ja’shun Hopkins, 20, surrendered to a family friend in Neshoba County early Tuesday and was taken into custody, Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell said. Hopkins escaped authorities Friday while hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds following a shooting in Moss Point two weeks ago. That case remains under investigation. No charges have been filed, Moss Point Police Chief Brandon Ashley has said. According to Ezell, Hopkins is suspected in two murders that happened in Meridian and has 13 additional warrants for various offenses, including drug charges in Gulfport, WLOX-TV reported. Two other people were also arrested and have been charged as accomplices in Hopkins’ escape, the sheriff said. Breanna Marie Cunningham is charged with aiding escape and Keesler Vonchay Holloway is charged with conspiracy to commit a crime. They were both arrested Monday. Holloway worked at Singing River Hospital in Pascagoula at the time of the escape, Ezell said. She provided information to Cunningham that helped her assist Hopkins in getting away, he said. The investigation into Hopkins’ escape is ongoing and more arrests could occur, Ezell said.

Missouri

Clayton: A bipartisan majority of the St. Louis County Council has called for the ouster of acting Public Health Director Dr. Faisal Khan, but County Executive Sam Page said Khan isn’t going anywhere. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the council on Tuesday voted 5-2 to adopt a nonbinding recommendation that Page, a Democrat, reject the formal appointment for Khan to lead the health department. The vote was the latest development in a political fight between Page and a council majority who have opposed public health orders issued by Khan to slow the spread of COVID-19. Last week, Khan sent an email thanking employees and telling them “to ignore the lunatic fringe” opposing those measures. And in July Khan was captured on surveillance cameras making an obscene gesture at protesters in the lobby of council chambers while leaving the building. Council members said Khan’s email showed a failure to act professionally under pressure.

Montana

Great Falls: Residents are being asked to avoid the Gibson Flats area on the south side of Great Falls because of a fire that destroyed several structures and is threatening others Wednesday morning, according to the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office. The fire was first reported around 2:40 a.m. Wednesday. Anyone who has been displaced because of the fire and is in need of food or shelter should contact the Salvation Army at (406) 453-0391. Great Falls Fire Rescue is asking residents to stay away from the area of 26th St S and 33rd Ave S and the Highland area. Almost a dozen fire and law enforcement agencies have responded to the fire. There have not been any deaths or injuries reported “to the best of our knowledge,” the sheriff’s office said in a release early Wednesday. A wildfire has also started in the Browning area, according to the Glacier County Sheriff’s Office. The Tribune will provide updates as soon as they are made available. Great Falls and the region continue to experience high winds Wednesday, with gusts of 70 to 110 mph along the Rocky Mountain Front and 50 to 70 mph on the plains. The high winds are expected to continue through Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Great Falls.

Nebraska

Omaha: Health officials have shut down a COVID-19 vaccination clinic north of downtown Omaha, citing repeated vandalism at the site of the drive-thru clinic. The Douglas County Health Department announced in a news release that it’s closing the clinic off Abbott Driver, just north of the CHI Health Center event facility. The department declined to give details about the vandalism, citing an ongoing criminal investigation into the matter. Anyone who had an upcoming appointment at the site for a vaccine will be contacted by by staff to reschedule elsewhere, officials said. The department said it’s looking for a new clinic site and will release information when a new site is opened.

Nevada

Las Vegas: Nevada casinos equaled a record streak of eight straight months of $1 billion or more in house winnings in October, with travel, tourism and events returning to pre-pandemic levels in a state dependent on gambling revenue, according to several economic reports. McCarran International Airport said Tuesday that nearly 4.2 million passengers arrived and departed in October, making it the busiest month since the coronavirus pandemic began in March 2020. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority totaled nearly 3.4 million visitors in October and said nearly 82% of the region’s more than 150,000 hotel rooms were occupied. Casinos statewide won a little more than $1.2 billion last month, equaling a mark set before the Great Recession in 2007, the Nevada Gaming Control Board reported. The statewide monthly tally of casino winnings was up 19.5% compared with pre-pandemic October 2019.

New Hampshire

Concord: Annual counts of loons are up slightly in New Hampshire and Vermont, wildlife authorities and advocates said Tuesday. In New Hampshire, the number of territorial loon pairs rose from 321 to 326 this year, according to the Moultonborough-based Loon Preservation Committee. Those are pairs that stay together for at least a month and have a potential to breed, said Harry Vogel, senior biologist with the committee. Vermont’s Fish and Wildlife Department said loons in that state are also thriving. A record of 109 nesting pairs were recorded in 2021 – the highest since loon monitoring began in 1978, the department said Tuesday. Maine is home to the largest population of loons in the eastern United States. Maine Audubon said Monday the count of adult loons increased this year, but the count of loon chicks fell. Loon counters in Maine found 3,446 adult loons this year, up from 2,974 last year, however the number of chicks was down to 224 from 414, Maine Audubon said. Wildlife advocates in the states attributed the increase in loon counts to management measures such as protection of nesting areas. Bans on the use of lead fishing tackle have also played a role, they said. Ingestion of lead can kill the birds.

New Jersey

Freehold: An 85-year-old man who admitted using his SUV to purposely hit and kill a romantic rival three years ago has been sentenced to 10 years in state prison. Johnny Westbrook of Asbury Park pleaded guilty in July to aggravated manslaughter in the hit-and-run death of 63-year-old Daniel Rivera three years ago. Westbrook’s sentence was imposed Monday and made public Tuesday. The incident occurred in December 2018, when Westbrook followed Rivera – his neighbor in an adjacent apartment building – to a nearby store. Westbrook waited outside for several minutes and, when Rivera emerged from the business, Westbrook drove his SUV onto the sidewalk, ran over Rivera and dragged him several feet, according to Monmouth County prosecutors. He left the scene on foot and was later found at his apartment. A month earlier, authorities said the two men got into a physical fight in the apartment building hallway, swinging canes at each other before Westbrook punched the victim in the nose. Defense attorneys tried to have Westbrook declared incompetent for trial, saying he had memory loss. A psychiatrist, though, testified that she believed Westbrook was faking or exaggerating any memory loss.

New Mexico

Albuquerque: Several dozen ancient alligator juniper trees have been illegally cut down at El Malpais National Monument in western New Mexico and authorities with the National Park Service are trying to find out who’s responsible. Known for their unique furrowed bark, alligator junipers grow slowly. A seed can take up to 18 months to mature after pollination and the growth rate for young trees is about 0.6 inches per decade, slowing as they get older. Officials said the trees that were cut down were likely hundreds of years old. Lisa Dittman, a spokeswoman for the national monument, said Tuesday that officials don’t know why the trees are being targeted or what they’re being used for. Rural New Mexico residents frequently cut wood in the fall to help with winter heating needs, but cutting trees at El Malpais is illegal. The cutting of alligator junipers affects biodiversity within the monument and officials said the area will take many decades to recover. The initial illegal tree cutting discovery was reported in 2020. But park law enforcement monitoring the area and over the past year have reported additional trees cut down, with the latest incident happening in October. Park employees are encouraging the public to submit any information that would help with the investigation to the National Park Service’s tip line.

New York

New York City: The city’s troubled jail system is facing more turmoil: the suspension of hundreds of corrections officers for failing to meet a Tuesday night deadline to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The city’s Department of Correction reported 77% of its uniformed staff had gotten at least one vaccine dose as of 5 p.m. Monday, the lowest of any city agency. Corrections Department Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi said Wednesday morning that about 700 jail workers who have applied for religious or medical exemptions can continue to work while their cases are reviewed. That leaves just under 1,100 uniformed staff who are unvaccinated and could be facing suspension, but Schiraldi said some of those workers are on long-term leave for other reasons and he did not know precisely how many workers were suspended for failing to comply with the mandate. The deadline for jail workers to be vaccinated was delayed a month because of existing staffing shortages. Workers who haven’t applied for an exemption and who failed to show proof of vaccination by 5 p.m. Tuesday were to be placed on unpaid leave and surrender any city-issued firearms and protective gear, officials said. Mayor Bill de Blasio, who already imposed similar mandates for other city workers, said he expects the vaccination rate to rise as workers begin missing paychecks or their requests for an exemption are denied.

North Carolina

Tabor City: A fire marshal is crediting a 9-year-old girl with saving her family after their home was engulfed in flames sparked by a space heater. Columbus County Fire Marshal Shannon Blackman said the girl was sleeping in her home in Tabor City on Sunday night and awakened to discover a space heater on fire in her bedroom, news outlets reported. She then woke up her younger sister, and alerted the rest of the family to get out of the house. Three of the four adults inside the home suffered second- and third-degree burns, officials said. The girls’ father, David Vela, is a firefighter with the Lake Waccamaw Fire Department who was injured after reentering the burning home to rescue two dogs. Lake Waccamaw Fire Chief Brandy Nance said Vela is in intensive care with third-degree burns on his back in a hospital in Augusta, Georgia. Blackmon said the family lost everything in the fire.

North Dakota

Williston: The trial continues for a Williston man accused of running over several neighbors with his truck, killing one of them. Steven Rademacher is charged with murder, attempted murder and terrorizing in a July 2019 confrontation with some neighbors. Prosecutors said Rademacher sped past the neighbors who urged him to slow down. According to court records, Rademacher turned his truck around and headed toward the neighbors, striking several, including Dyson Bastain who was killed. Rademacher drove away after the people were hit and was arrested a short time later, authorities said. KXNews reported law enforcement witnesses dominated Tuesday’s testimony. Jurors were shown video and pictures from the crime scene. Rademacher’s trial this week was set after a Northwest District judge declared a mistrial in the case in August when the identities of two alternate jurors were revealed.

Ohio

Barberton: The remains of an Ohio sailor who died nearly 80 years ago during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor have been identified, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said. The agency said Buford Dyer, 19, of Barberton, was killed Dec. 7, 1941. He was among 429 who died on the battleship USS Oklahoma. Dyer’s remains were identified through DNA testing as part of a federal Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency effort to identify those who were recovered from the USS Oklahoma. He will be buried on April 11 in Seville.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 4-1 to reject clemency for a man convicted and sentenced to die for his role in a quadruple slaying in Oklahoma City in 2005. The board’s denial of a clemency recommendation for 35-year-old Gilbert Postelle paves the way for him to receive a lethal injection on Feb. 17 unless a court intervenes. Postelle did not deny his involvement in the Memorial Day 2005 shooting deaths of James Alderson, Terry Smith, Donnie Swindle and Amy Wright at a home in southeast Oklahoma City. Prosecutors said Postelle, his brother David, father Brad and another man carried out the killings in a “blitz attack” motivated by their belief that Swindle was responsible for a motorcycle accident that left Brad Postelle seriously injured. Gilbert Postelle received two death sentences for the killings of Wright and Alderson after evidence showed he pursued the two as they were trying to flee and shot them from behind with a rifle. But Postelle’s attorney, Robert Nance, argued that Postelle, then 19, suffered from years of methamphetamine abuse that began around age 12 and that he was strongly influenced by his father, who suffered mental injuries in the motorcycle crash that ultimately prompted the slayings.

Oregon

Portland: Democratic Rep. Peter DeFazio, the longest-serving U.S. House member in Oregon’s history, said he is retiring and will not seek re-election next year. DeFazio, 74, is the chairman of the House Transportation Committee. He represents Oregon’s 4th District, which covers the southwestern portion of the state, including coastal communities and the liberal university towns of Eugene and Corvallis. It is seen as a safe seat for Democrats, “With humility and gratitude I am announcing that I will not seek re-election next year. It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as Congressman for the Fourth District of Oregon,” DeFazio said in a statement. DeFazio was first elected in 1986. The last time a Republican was elected to the seat was 1972.

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh: A Pittsburgh man who threw concrete at a police vehicle and injured an officer amid last year’s protests over the murder of George Floyd was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison. George Allen, 31, will also have to serve three years of probation after he’s released. He had pleaded guilty to obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder. Allen threw “multiple pieces” of concrete at an occupied Pittsburgh police vehicle that was parked on a city street during the protests in downtown Pittsburgh on May 30, 2020, prosecutors said. One piece shattered the front passenger window and hit an officer, causing minor bruising to his arm. U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab, who handed down the sentence, said Allen can remain free on bond until he reports to prison on Feb. 1 to start his sentence.

Rhode Island

Providence: The city has begun providing guaranteed monthly payments to some low-income residents, Mayor Jorge Elorza said. The city received more than 4,000 applications, and 110 residents were randomly selected to participate in the pilot program, said Elorza, a Democrat. They received the first of 12 monthly payments of $500 in November. Most of the participants are women, more than 60% have children and nearly half are Latino. The median reported monthly income for the 110 residents before the payments began was $913. Providence announced in July that it was joining a small but growing number of U.S. cities pledging to provide a guaranteed monthly income to a certain number of low-income residents. Under the Providence Guaranteed Income pilot program, city families living at or under 200% of the federal poverty level were eligible to apply for payments and corresponding benefits counseling. The counseling program is now available to all Rhode Island residents through Dorcas International and Amos House, city and state officials said. Participants will be screened for all the benefits they might be eligible for, and can get help with applying.

South Carolina

Port Royal: A part owner of a private island in South Carolina accessible only by plane or boat has been given permission to build his own home on the island after Beaufort County last year denied a request to build an ecotourism resort. Bay Point, near Hilton Head Island, was subdivided into lots for houses decades ago, and Timothy Prichard said he intends to build his own house, The Post and Courier reported. Pitcher is one of several partners who own the island. Opponents of the earlier ecotourism plan worried that the building won’t end with just one house. Environmental officials have given permission for a septic tank on the lot, but opponents are asking the state Department of Health and Environmental Control to review that decision. The home also would still need a building permit before construction could start. “It’s clear that it is one of many planned villas,” said Rikki Parker of the Coastal Conservation League. “There’s development on the horizon if that zoning decision is allowed to stand.”

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: The Great Plains Zoo and the Butterfly House & Aquarium are considering a partnership, the organizations’ CEOs said. Audrey Otto, the CEO of the Butterfly House & Aquarium, said she was approached by Great Plains Zoo CEO Rebeka Dewitz about the potential partnership, and that a committee that includes both of them, as well as two board members from each organization, is exploring whether such a move makes sense. Dewitz said discussions were in the early stages, adding that a third-party consultant, Zoo Advisors, had been hired using a grant from the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation, and was looking at aspects including economic impact for both organizations.

Tennessee

Oak Ridge: Federal regulators will review an application to build a low-power test nuclear reactor in Tennessee. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said environmental and safety reviews should be finished by September 2023 for the test reactor planned in Oak Ridge by Kairos Power. Regulators said the 35-megawatt reactor would use molten salt to cool the reactor core, providing insight to develop a bigger version meant for a commercial nuclear power plant. Kairos will need to apply for a separate operating license. In May, the Tennessee Valley Authority announced plans to collaborate with Kairos on the test reactor. The TVA said it generates more than 40% of its electricity from nuclear power and has received the first U.S. preliminary site permit for a so-called small modular reactor, also in Oak Ridge. The TVA said it’s evaluating potential environmental impacts of deploying more than one reactor and more than one design at the Clinch River Nuclear Site.

Texas

Austin: Regulators of Texas’ oil and gas industry that buckled during February’s deadly freeze moved toward making some producers more prepared for cold weather, but not in time for this winter as the nation’s power grid monitor warned the state is still at risk of blackouts. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is guaranteeing the lights will stay on this winter. But energy experts are less confident and said Texas’ response over the last nine months to a winter storm that killed hundreds of people – including some who froze to death after power was knocked out for days – has been insufficient. Some were concerned that gas operators that froze up in February – cutting off fuel to power plants – would be able to skirt new weatherization mandates by seeking exemptions. But gas supply deemed crucial by the state could not avoid doing so under new rules passed Tuesday, according to state regulators, which critics agreed amounted to an improvement.

Utah

St. George: A Virginia man died in Zion National Park on Sunday after a canyoneering incident, officials said. Andrew Arvig, 31, of Chesapeake, Virginia, was on a permitted trip starting Saturday through Heaps Canyon with two others when “they had difficulty negotiating the last few rappels in the canyon which delayed their exit,” a statement said. “Arvig was the first to exit Heaps Canyon, rappelled past a small rock ledge where he needed to land and re-anchor his rope in order to then rappel the remaining distance to the ground,” officials said. “The other members of the group used their ‘pull line’ to rappel to the perch. Mr. Arvig was unable to ascend the 20 feet back to the perch.” After several failed emergency calls because of poor reception, rangers began a search-and-rescue operation Sunday morning with more than 30 rescuers, including a technical rescue team, a helicopter dispatched from Grand Canyon National Park and a Life Flight helicopter and crew from St. George, the statement said. Rescuers found Arvig suspended from a rope about 260 feet above the Upper Emerald Pools or 20 feet below the perch with the two other canyoneers stranded on the perch, officials said.

Vermont

Norwich: Police in Norwich and nearby sections of New Hampshire are searching for a dog believed to be named “Ruby” that is thought to have killed some chickens. The Norwich Police Department has requested the names of all dogs licensed under the name of Ruby in the nearby town of Hartford and in the New Hampshire communities of Hanover and Lebanon. But so far, police have been unable to locate the owner of the dog believed to have attacked the hen house owned by Norwich resident Eric Picconi on Nov. 15, leading to the death of four chickens. Norwich police said the search is ongoing. The Valley News reported the audio of the attack was recorded by a home security system on which hens can be heard wailing and a dog barking. Then a female voice is heard calling Ruby, which led Picconi to believe that is the dog’s name. Picconi’s property abuts the town’s Huntley Meadow, which has athletic fields, but is also a popular area for dog owners.

Virginia

Richmond: One of two outstanding recounts requested by Democratic incumbents who trail their GOP challengers in Virginia House races is set to take place Thursday and Friday. Republicans won at least 50 seats in the 100-seat chamber in the Nov. 2 election and have said they expect their narrow leads to hold in the 85th and 91st Districts, where the recounts were requested. The secondary count of ballots in Virginia Beach’s 85th District race between Republican Karen Greenhalgh and Del. Alex Askew will kick off Thursday morning, Christine Lewis, the city’s deputy registrar, told the Associated Press. On Friday, any ballots being challenged will be presented to a three-judge panel, which will rule on how such ballots should be counted, Lewis said. Askew, who trails Greenhalgh by 127 votes out of 28,413 counted, announced two weeks ago that he would seek a recount, the same day Del. Martha Mugler said she also would request one in her race against Republican A.C. Cordoza. Cordoza leads by 94 votes out of 27,388 counted. The Associated Press hasn’t called either race. The 91st District recount was expected to take place next week, spokespersons for the House Republican and Democratic caucuses said.

Washington

Bellingham: The Lummi Indian Business Council has passed a resolution declaring a disaster after more than 70,000 European green crab – an invasive species – were captured and removed from the Lummi Sea Pond in recent months. The Tribe cultivates shellfish and juvenile salmon in the 750-acre sea pond surrounded by the most productive natural shellfish beds on the reservation. The crabs threaten hatchery operations, Tribal shellfish harvests and might have larger impacts if the infestation spreads, the Bellingham Herald reported. “The appearance of the European green crab is a serious threat to our treaty fishing rights,” Lummi Nation Chairman William Jones Jr. said in a press release. The council passed the resolution after a multiagency effort led by the Lummi Natural Resources Department to remove the predator that consumes shellfish, destroys salmon habitat and is credited with the rapid decline of Maine’s soft-shell clam industry. The crab is highly adaptable and preys on juvenile clams before they reach harvestable age, out-competes native crab species, and wreaks havoc on marine and estuary ecosystems.

West Virginia

Huntington: Striking workers at Cabell Huntington Hospital were scheduled to vote on a contract offer Wednesday. The hospital made a new contract offer to more than 900 maintenance and service workers, The Herald-Dispatch reported. The Service Employees International Union District 1199 said voting will take place throughout the day with ballots expected to be counted by 8:30 p.m. The hospital’s director of human resources, Molly Frick, said in a statement the hospital is “hopeful that our employees will ratify the contract and we look forward to them returning to work.” Union members went on strike in early November after their contract with the hospital expired.

Wisconsin

Oneida: The Oneida Nation will legally offer sports betting beginning this week, the first time such wagering has been allowed in Wisconsin. Sports betting is the result of a new gaming compact amendment with the state that allows “event wagering.” That can include betting on sports and events such as nationally televised award shows, professional sports league drafts and professional games, including football, basketball and baseball. Gamblers at the Oneida casino will be able to bet on the state’s three professional sports teams: the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Bucks and Milwaukee Brewers. Wagering on Wisconsin college athletics or events involving children is not allowed. The Oneida Nation will hold a ceremony Tuesday at its main casino near Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport to mark the occasion, Press-Gazette Media reported.

Wyoming

Cheyenne: Gov. Mark Gordon said Friday’s release of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s report on federal oil and gas leasing and permitting was used as an excuse for the Biden Administration’s illegal moratorium on oil and gas leasing on federal lands. Quoted on his website, Gordon said, “Instead of selling energy to our allies, as we used to, this administration wants to make us more dependent on our adversaries. And for what? We can do more to reduce CO2 emissions by innovating new technologies that improve our standard of living than regulating into oblivion.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 50 States