Malcolm X, airport cat caught, island park expansion: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Montgomery: The state on Tuesday closed a $509 million bond deal to help build two supersize prisons amid lawsuits by inmates bidding to block the project. The Alabama Finance Department confirmed that the bond sale, which had been approved last month, was finalized. The deal closure comes after criminal justice reform activists had strived for more than a year to disrupt the sale. But legal wrangling over the project is continuing through ongoing litigation. Gov. Kay Ivey and lawmakers approved the construction as a solution to Alabama’s ongoing prison woes. Critics of the plan argue that the state is ignoring the bigger issues – prison staffing levels and leadership – to focus on building projects. “The construction of new and modern correctional facilities is absolutely and undeniably necessary to support the safety of both inmates and staff, to improve mental health care, to provide space for vocational and rehabilitative programs, and ultimately to protect public safety,” Alabama officials said in a statement. “No eleventh-hour lawsuits by inmates or activists will halt these efforts, and the state intends to move to dismiss the lawsuits and to vigorously defend against the claims as being without merit.” Activists had tried to discourage the deal, calling it a cruel investment in mass incarceration.

Alaska

Anchorage: Some rain helped firefighters battling a wildfire that prompted evacuations. About a half-inch fell into early Monday, allowing crews to build more fire breaks to help control the wildfire started by lightning June 21. “It’s not really like a season-ending type of rain; it’s more like a slowing,” said Mark Enty, a spokesperson for a state firefighting team. The fire has been burning near the community of Anderson. Evacuation orders were place for all properties accessed by roads, trails or driveways on the west side of the Parks Highway from mileposts 269 to 275. The city of Anderson, located about 80 miles southwest of Fairbanks, is not under an evacuation order. At least one home has been confirmed to have been lost, and Enty said Denali Borough officials will make an official assessment of other structures. The fire was estimated to be 110 square miles.

Arizona

Phoenix: Evictions in the greater Phoenix area have returned to pre-pandemic levels. The latest data from the Maricopa County Justice Court shows that landlords filed 5,792 evictions in June, compared with 5,669 in June 2019, before the pandemic began. Maricopa County had among the highest levels of evictions in the United States before state and federal eviction moratoriums that slowed lockouts during the coronavirus pandemic. Those eviction bans have long since ended. June also saw the highest number of monthly eviction filings since the pandemic began in spring 2020. A court spokesman emphasized that applications for rental assistance are still being accepted and encouraged tenants in need to apply.

Arkansas

Paragould: Jimmie Lou Fisher, who served as Arkansas’ state treasurer for more than two decades and was the Democratic nominee for governor in 2002, has died, a funeral home said. She was 80. Fisher died Monday at Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould, Mitchell Funeral Home said. A cause of death was not released. Then-Gov. Bill Clinton appointed Fisher as state auditor in 1979. She later served as treasurer from 1981 to 2002. “I will always remember that early October morning in 1991, when Jimmie Lou introduced me as I kicked off my presidential campaign on the steps of the Old State House,” Clinton said in a statement Tuesday. “As always, she was enthusiastic, caring and kind, saying just the words we all needed to hear.” He added: “She loved Arkansas and Arkansas loved her back. And she did a fine job as state treasurer.” Fisher ran for governor in 2002 and lost to Republican Mike Huckabee, capturing 47% of the vote. “She loved politics and was a faithful and fierce warrior for her party throughout her adult life,” Huckabee said Tuesday. A funeral service is scheduled for Thursday in Paragould.

California

Los Angeles: Former U.S. Rep. Katie Hill, who was ordered to pay attorneys’ fees to a British tabloid and two conservative journalists she sued after the publication of intimate photos without her consent, has filed for bankruptcy protection. If successful, the move could allow Hill to avoid paying about $220,000 in fees to the defendants, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Democrat who briefly represented a district north of Los Angeles had accused multiple parties in a revenge-porn lawsuit of violating the law by publishing or distributing the compromising photos. The lawsuit was thrown out, and a judge later rendered the financial judgments. Hill did not immediately respond to a request for comment. She resigned in 2019 after the publication of the photos and amid a House ethics probe into allegations of an inappropriate sexual relationship with one of her congressional staffers, which she denied. Hill, 34, gained national attention in 2018 when she was elected to Congress in a district long under Republican control. She was celebrated as the face of millennial change and was close to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a fellow California Democrat.

Colorado

Denver: A man who allegedly made a threatening phone call against the state’s top elections official has been charged with retaliating against an elected official. Kirk Wertz, 52, was arrested June 6 in suburban Denver over the June 30 phone call to the office of Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold after investigators tracked his cellphone moving from Goodland, Kansas, to Colorado, according to a court document. Authorities have not revealed what the alleged threat was. His alleged statements to the person who answered the phone at Griswold’s office and to a state trooper who called the number back later were redacted from a document explaining why he was arrested. A spokeswoman for the Denver District Attorney’s Office, Carolyn Tyler, confirmed that Wertz had been charged but declined to elaborate beyond what was included in the document. Wertz was being held in jail Friday after making his first appearance in court Thursday. There was no attorney listed as representing him yet in court records. In a statement, Griswold thanked law enforcement for taking action against Wertz and said threats would not deter her from carrying out her election duties. “The wave of violent threats directed at election officials and workers across the county is extremely concerning,” she said.

Connecticut

Hartford: The wife of a former state lawmaker pleaded guilty Tuesday in connection with her role in the alleged theft of more than $600,000 in federal coronavirus relief funds from the city of West Haven. Lauren DiMassa, one of several people including her husband who were arrested in the investigation, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy in U.S. District Court in Hartford. Sentencing has not been scheduled. She remains free on bail. Federal prosecutors said West Haven paid DiMassa, formerly known as Lauren Knox, nearly $148,000 for services she never provided to the city. She and her husband were accused of submitting fraudulent invoices to the city for coronavirus-related services including youth violence prevention, but instead they used the money for their own benefit, prosecutors said. DiMassa’s lawyer, Francis O’Reilly, said in court that it was important to note that DiMassa turned over most of the money she received from the city to her husband. O’Reilly declined to comment after the hearing. DiMassa’s husband is former state Rep. Michael DiMassa, a West Haven Democrat who also served as an aide to the West Haven City Council. He resigned from both positions after his arrest in October. He has pleaded not guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges.

Delaware

Wilmington: While the First State saw a slight decline in fatalities in 2020, a report released Tuesday still ranks Delaware among the deadliest states for pedestrians. Smart Growth America’s Dangerous by Design 2022 report analyzed federal crash and fatality data from 2016 to 2020 – the latest statistics publicly available – finding Delaware’s pedestrian fatalities declined slightly during the pandemic, averaging 2.89 deaths per 100,000 people from 2016-20. That represented a 0.42 decline in deaths per 100,000 people from 2016 to 2019, but long-term comparisons between rates from 2011-15 and 2016-20 show little change, keeping Delaware the fifth most dangerous state for pedestrians, the report shows. New Mexico was at the top with 3.76 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people annually, followed by Florida with 3.22 deaths, South Carolina with 3.19 deaths and Arizona with 2.98 deaths, according to the report. Delaware has consistently ranked among the deadliest states for pedestrian safety, and over the past decade, the number of pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities on the state’s roadways has nearly doubled. The First State saw non-motorized fatalities increase from 21 in 2009 to 28 in 2020, according to the latest statistics available through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s online database.

District of Columbia

Washington: D.C. residents can now preregister for monkeypox vaccination appointments, WUSA-TV reports, citing a Tuesday announcement by DC Health. Once appointments become available, starting Thursday, people who preregistered will receive an email invitation to make an appointment. Residents will then have 48 hours to claim their appointment. About 3,000 appointments are expected to become available this week. Currently, eligibility for the vaccination is limited to adults in certain sexual circumstances that would increase their risk, based on where the virus has been circulating most heavily in the U.S. But residents who do not meet the current vaccine eligibility criteria are still encouraged to preregister. The monkeypox vaccinations are free and based on availability. At the appointment, confirmation of an appointment and proof of residency will be required.

Florida

Miami: U.S. immigration officials say 25 Cuban migrants landed in South Florida on Tuesday – the latest arrival amid a mass migration from the island to escape political and economic troubles. The group was seen sitting off the side of the road by a beachside park in Key Biscayne in the early morning and included women and a few children, who were all taken into custody. Chief Patrol Agent Walter Slosar of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said via Twitter it was a smuggling incident that was being investigated. Between last October and May, Customs and Border Protection officials have found and detained about 1,000 Cubans arriving in Florida. Meanwhile, as of Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard said it had stopped more than 3,000 Cubans at sea since last October. The majority of Cubans continue to migrate by crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, with about 140,000 arriving since last October – a number that exceeds the Mariel boatlift of 1980, when more than 124,700 Cubans came to the U.S. Cuba is seeing its worst economic crisis in decades due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the tightening of U.S. sanctions. Last summer, people staged massive protests, which ended in hundreds of arrests, according to nongovernmental groups.

Georgia

Lithonia: A man became trapped while trying to crawl down through a vent from a strip mall roof into a pizza restaurant Tuesday, forcing firefighters to slice open the vent to free him, police said. The man was taken to a hospital, and the extent of his injuries was unclear. Police told local news outlets that emergency responders cut open the vent where it extended upward from a pizza oven at a Little Caesars outlet in suburban Lithonia, about 15 miles east of downtown Atlanta. Brittany Davis, a U.S. Army recruiter, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution she could hear the man yelling for help when she arrived for work at a neighboring recruiting office. “I looked on the roof but couldn’t see anybody,” Davis said. She called 911. Davis said a Little Caesars employee told her he could hear the man’s voice coming from inside the oven. Davis said she went inside the pizza restaurant and spoke to the man, who reported he was in pain and having a panic attack. “I’m not sure what time the restaurant closes at night, but the oven still gives off heat after they close, I imagine,” DeKalb County Fire Cpt. Jason Daniels told WXIA-TV. “For him to get down into the pipe … he had to do it in a certain window of time when the oven was cool enough, and obviously nobody was there.” The man walked to an ambulance shortly after being removed and was taken to a hospital. Police did not identify him or announce any criminal charges.

Hawaii

Honolulu: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island was given new land Tuesday in a deal that will protect and manage a pristine white sand beach and ocean bay area that is home to endangered and endemic species and to rare, culturally significant Native Hawaiian artifacts. Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit land preservation group, transferred its ownership of Pohue Bay and surrounding land to the National Park Service. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has the world’s largest and most active volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Kilauea. Most of the coastline where the bay is located is made of ancient lava flows, black rock and sea cliffs that dart out into the ocean. Pohue Bay, a rare and idyllic oasis in an otherwise rugged landscape, is home to endangered hawksbill sea turtles, green sea turtles, endangered Hawaiian monk seals and other species found only in Hawaii. The area houses anchialine ponds – landlocked pools with a mix of fresh and salt water – where rare Hawaiian red shrimp called ʻōpaeʻula live. The area is also culturally significant because it has remains of ancient Hawaiian villages, petroglyphs, burial sites and the largest known abrader tool quarry in the state, according to the Trust for Public Lands. Abraders are ancient tools used for sanding, smoothing and grinding.

Idaho

Boise: Lame-duck Republican Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin has given a big pay boost to an administrative assistant who is also a top state Republican Party official in a move that could hinder the ability of the next lieutenant governor by significantly depleting the office’s budget before January’s power transition. In an email Monday, McGeachin informed the Idaho Division of Financial Management that Machele Hamilton would go from part time to full time and jump from $20,000 to $77,000 annually. Her hourly pay is an increase from $20 an hour to about $37 an hour. Her title in the new role is director of strategy and constituent services. She is also the first vice-chair of the Idaho Republican Party. Hamilton is making about $30,000 more than McGeachin’s former chief of staff, Jordan Watters, who resigned in March when McGeachin couldn’t stay within last year’s budget. It’s not clear why Hamilton is being paid so much more than Watters, whose chief of staff duties would likely have included everything in the title Hamilton was given. Hamilton answered the phone for McGeachin’s office Tuesday afternoon but said McGeachin wasn’t available. Hamilton declined to comment about her employment in the office, and McGeachin didn’t respond to a message left with Hamilton by the Associated Press concerning Hamilton’s employment.

Illinois

Rockford: A Wisconsin doctor has purchased two clinical buildings in northern Illinois where he plans to offer abortion pills as early as Friday at one location and surgical abortions within six months at the other site. The move comes after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights last month. That led abortion providers in Wisconsin to stop the procedures while the courts determine whether the state’s 1849 law banning most abortions stands. Abortion remains legal in Illinois, making it a likely draw for residents of many other states in the Midwest and even the South. Dr. Dennis Christensen said he’s part of a group trying to revive abortion services in Rockford, in part to accommodate Wisconsin patients. Christensen is an obstetrician-gynecologist who has provided abortions in Madison and Milwaukee and is now mostly retired, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. He recently purchased a former acupuncture office for $75,000 and the former Animal Emergency Clinic of Rockford for $350,000, according to the Winnebago County records. The newly formed Rockford Family Planning Foundation is fundraising and is preparing the second site for surgical abortions, birth control and related care. “We feel like it’s absolutely essential for us to get open as quickly as possible,” said Jeanne Bissell, the group’s president.

Indiana

Indianapolis: Students across the state had small improvements in their English and math scores, with standardized test results released Wednesday indicating a tentative bright spot following years of pandemic-disrupted learning. Results for the spring 2022 ILEARN exam from the Indiana Department of Education show the statewide percentage of students meeting their grade expectations for math climbing to 39.4% from 2021’s 36.9%. The English proficiency levels rose to 41.2%, up from last year’s 40.5%. ILEARN was first implemented in 2019 to replace the state’s ISTEP exam for students from third to eighth grade. The state did not test students in 2020 because of COVID-19-related school shutdowns. Students with passing scores remain about 7 or 8 percentage points below 2019’s pre-pandemic pass rates. The 2022 report also says most grades saw slight increases in passing scores, with the exception of sixth and eighth graders, who saw minor decreases in English scores. All grade levels’ math proficiency increased at least 2 percentage points since 2021. Charity Flores, chief academic officer at the Department of Education, presented the findings to the Board of Education on Wednesday. This year marks the second year of recovery, she said.

Iowa

Des Moines: Gov. Kim Reynolds declined Tuesday to say whether she would get behind a so-called red flag law in Iowa after a new bipartisan federal gun safety law would offer funding to states that enact them. Reynolds, a Republican, said she wouldn’t rule it out and plans to “take a look at everything.” But she also said that she believes red flag laws have not stopped some shootings in other states and that Iowa needs to have a “balance” that recognizes the rights of gun owners as it moves forward. “When we focus on one solution to the issues that we see with active shooters, we tend to, I think, not think about what other solutions are,” she said. “And we eliminate potential things that we can do right away.” Extreme risk protection orders, also known as red flag laws, allow police or family members to get a court order that temporarily confiscates firearms from a person who may present a danger to others or themselves. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia currently have red flag laws in place. Many of those states are clustered in regions of the U.S. largely governed by Democrats, but some states run by Republicans such as Florida and Indiana also have them. Such laws have gained some bipartisan support, including among U.S. lawmakers as 29 Republicans joined Democrats to pass the federal gun safety law in late June.

Kansas

Topeka: The Kansas State Board of Education is looking to veteran teachers to help mitigate staff shortages this fall. The board on Tuesday passed a measure giving any retired educator who previously held a Kansas teaching license an easier pathway back into the classroom during the 2022-23 school year. The new transitional license option, intended for retired educators whose prior teaching credentials have been lapsed for at least six months, streamlines the process and eliminates application fees and professional development requirements needed for typical license renewals. Applicants will still have to pay $50 for a background check, since the state education department outsources that work. Over the past five years, teacher retirements ebbed, but they ticked back up in the past five years, according to Kansas State Department of Education data. In 2020, the agency recorded 785 educators as having retired, but in 2022, KSDE has reported a record-high 986 teacher retirements, said Shane Carter, director of teacher licensure. However, the department in the past few years has also seen a surge in the number of retired teachers who have renewed their teaching license, Carter said, more than doubling from 368 retired teacher renewals in 2020 to 766 in 2022.

Kentucky

Frankfort: A medical marijuana advisory team formed by Gov. Andy Beshear will hold a town hall on the issue Thursday evening in northern Kentucky. The Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee is traveling around the state to gather views on the issue and provide feedback to the governor’s office. The next town hall is set for 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Northern Kentucky University’s student union ballroom in Highland Heights, a statement from the Justice & Public Safety Cabinet said. Other meetings are set for Tuesday at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet in Frankfort and July 25 at Hopkinsville Community College. The first meeting was held July 6 in Pikeville. Justice and Public Safety Secretary Kerry Harvey and Public Protection Secretary Ray Perry serve as co-chairs of the 17-member panel. It includes health care professionals, members of law enforcement and advocates for medical marijuana.

Louisiana

New Orleans: State authorities have once again been blocked from enforcing a near-total ban on abortion, this time under a judge’s order released Tuesday by a state court in Baton Rouge. Judge Donald Johnson’s order halts enforcement temporarily while lawyers for a north Louisiana clinic and other supporters of abortion rights pursue a lawsuit challenging the legislation. Johnson set a hearing for next Monday. State Attorney General Jeff Landry criticized the ruling in a series of posts on Twitter. “To have the judiciary create a legal circus is disappointing,” Landry wrote in one post. “The rule of law must be followed, and I will not rest until it is. Unfortunately, we will have to wait a little bit longer for that to happen.” Kathaleen Pittman, director of the north Louisiana clinic that was the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, expressed relief in a phone interview. Pittman said the Hope Medical Group for Women clinic in Shreveport is ready to resume counseling and abortions. Louisiana’s two other clinics are in the capital, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans. “We look forward to arguing for a preliminary injunction before Judge Johnson next Monday and, in the meantime, we take solace in the fact that crucial healthcare for women has been restored in the state of Louisiana,” Joanna Wright, an attorney for the clinic, said in an email.

Maine

Portland: A federal circuit court has reinstated a ban on lobster fishing gear in a nearly 1,000-square-mile area off New England to try to protect endangered whales. The National Marine Fisheries Service issued new regulations last year that prohibited lobster fishing with vertical buoy lines in part of the fall and winter in the area, which is in federal waters off Maine’s coast. The ruling was intended to prevent North Atlantic right whales, which number less than 340, from becoming entangled in the lines. The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine issued a preliminary injunction to halt enforcement of the rules. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston vacated that ruling Tuesday. The circuit court sent the case back to the district court level but noted in its ruling that it does not think the lobster fishing groups that sued to stop the regulations are likely to succeed because Congress has clearly instructed the fisheries service to protect the whales. “Although this does not mean the balance will always come out on the side of an endangered marine mammal, it does leave plaintiffs beating against the tide, with no more success than they had before,” the court ruled.

Maryland

Ocean City: Commercial and recreational fishermen woke up Sunday to new mako shark regulations from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to boost the number of the migratory predator. Michael Luisi, acting director of the department’s Fishing and Boating Services, said a zero retention limit was established for shortfin mako sharks in both commercial and recreational fishing. Prior to that, a very limited number of the species could be retained. Luisi said penalties for doing so would include “severe and hefty” fines for violators. “Most shark fishermen are going to be up on the regulations because they have to just go fishing,” said Mark Sampson, captain of the charter boat Fish Finder, based in Ocean City. “But your average guy that goes out to catch tuna or black sea bass might not have taken the time to learn shark regulations. So if he accidently catches one on his line, he won’t know if it’s a keeper or not. Those anglers are the ones that are the most frustrated with regulations.” After 40 years of being at the helm of a charter boat, Sampson remains busy with clients that do not always plan on coming back with a shark. For some, the experience is enough. The average season for shark fishing runs from mid-May to October, with mako sharks caught to mid-June.

Massachusetts

Boston: A family’s beloved pet cat that’s been dodging airport personnel, airline employees and animal experts since escaping from a pet carrier at Logan International Airport about three weeks ago was finally caught Wednesday. “Whether out of fatigue or hunger we’ll never know, but this morning she finally let herself be caught,” an airport spokesperson said in a statement. The cat, named Rowdy, was given a health check and will be returned to her family. “I’m kind of in disbelief,” said her owner, Patty Sahli. “I thought, ‘What are the odds we’re actually going to get her back?’ But I got a call this morning, and I am just so shocked.” Rowdy’s time on the lam began June 24, as Sahli and her husband, Rich, returned to the U.S. from 15 years in Germany with the Army. When their Lufthansa flight landed, the 4-year-old black cat with green eyes escaped her cage, in pursuit of some birds. Soon Rowdy herself was on the receiving end of a chase, as her getaway set off a massive search involving airport and Lufthansa personnel, construction workers, and animal welfare advocates, as well as the use of wildlife cameras and safe-release traps. Despite numerous sightings, Rowdy always eluded her pursuers – but now, a little calm has been restored. “It was such a community effort,” Sahli said.

Michigan

Lansing: An effort to lock certain voting rights into the Michigan Constitution has taken a major step toward the fall ballot, eclipsing a rival campaign led by Republicans to limit absentee voting and add other restrictions. Promote the Vote, a coalition of 27 groups, submitted nearly 670,000 signatures Monday. While the signatures still must be validated by election officials, the petitions contain about 245,000 more names than necessary to qualify for the Nov. 8 election. The ballot question would expand voter rights by allowing nine days of in-person early voting, state-funded absentee ballot postage and drop boxes in every community. Promote the Vote is the same coalition that helped pass no-reason absentee voting and same-day voter registration in 2018. Khalilah Spencer, president of Promote the Vote, said the campaign “observed the 2020 election, and even the 2018 election, and we see where there could be improvements.” In addition to increased access to early voting, the constitutional amendment would require 24-hour absentee ballot drop boxes in every community. Voters could also join a permanent list to have absentee ballots sent for every election. And it would require election audits to be conducted in public by state and county officials and certified based only on the official records of votes cast. Some portions are already in Michigan law, but the state has seen attempts at “manipulating the language in that law, and we want to make sure we close those loopholes,” Spencer said.

Minnesota

Minneapolis: Local governments in the state are trying to find creative solutions to managing the cost of fueling their fleets of vehicles as gas prices remain high. With gas prices recently near $5 a gallon in the Twin Cities, municipal leaders are looking to keep police squad cars, fire engines, dump trucks and park equipment fueled, yet stay on budget. The city of Buffalo is urging carpooling and checking tire pressure on its vehicles to stretch a tank of gas. “We’re projecting we will be coming in over our fuel budget,” said Taylor Gronau, Buffalo’s assistant city administrator. “However, a lot of those trips are necessary and needed.” Several communities are trying to add more electric and hybrid vehicles to their fleets – only to find huge backlogs, the Star Tribune reports. Earlier this summer, Minneapolis started a program that gave home inspectors the option of taking e-bikes to job sites. It saved wear and tear on the vehicle fleet and cut the city’s gas consumption. Several other city agencies, including IT and public works staff, are also looking into e-bikes. While dozens of local governments are under state fuel contacts, which cover a majority of fuel purchases in bulk and at a fixed rate, many other communities don’t participate, including Buffalo, which relies on retail gas stations to fuel its fleet.

Mississippi

Pearl River County: A volunteer fire department lost the use of three trucks when its own station went up in flames. WLOX TV reports the fire happened Monday night at the Nicholson Volunteer Fire Department station. Nicholson is a community in Pearl River County, near the Gulf Coast and the Louisiana state line. Five neighboring firefighting agencies assisted in fighting the blaze. Three trucks were heavily damaged, according to the TV station. And a county press release said several other pieces of key firefighting equipment were destroyed in the fire. Former Nicholson fire Chief Bobby Robbins estimated the damage at $1 million and said it could take roughly 100 days to have the equipment replaced. There were no injuries. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Robbins said the trucks were donated by Deep South, a company from which the team is now considering renting. The Pearl River County Fire Marshal said officials are working with other agencies in the meantime to borrow equipment. Authorities must determine how the fire started as well as how to provide immediate protection in Nicholson without the fire trucks, equipment and a usable firehouse.

Missouri

St. Louis: Developers announced plans Monday to expand the capacity of a controversial wind power transmission line so much that it would match that of four new nuclear power plants. Invenergy Transmission, the Chicago-based company attempting to build the Grain Belt Express, now says the project will be able to deliver 5,000 megawatts of power, about 25% more than originally planned, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Investment in the project, which would stretch about 800 miles from Kansas to Indiana on a route crossing Missouri and Illinois, also would soar to about $7 billion, Invenergy said. Various municipal utilities in Missouri have long intended to buy power from the project, but now five times as much electricity will be delivered to the state – rising from 500 to 2,500 megawatts, compared to earlier plans. The project will help unlock $7.5 billion in energy cost savings in Missouri and Illinois, according to its developers. The Grain Belt Express has the support of several area advocacy groups, including the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and the Associated Industries of Missouri. But some farmers who don’t want high-power transmission lines on their land have fought the project.

Montana

West Glacier: The scenic Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park opened for the 2022 summer season Wednesday after a spring marked by heavy snow and cool temperatures delayed plowing and maintenance work, park officials said. The July 13 opening matches the road’s latest opening dates since it first opened to the public on July 15, 1933. The alpine highway also opened July 13 in 2011 due to a late snowpack and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Vehicle reservations are needed to travel on Going-to-the-Sun Road and can be obtained at the recreation.gov website. The $2 timed entry reservation fee is in addition to the $35-per-vehicle park entry fee. Timed reservations are also needed to enter the North Fork area, but they are not needed to enter other parts of the park such as Many Glacier, Two Medicine, St. Mary or the Chief Mountain Highway. The park’s free shuttle service along Going-to-the-Sun Road operates on a first-come, first-served basis.

Nebraska

Omaha: Supporters of the late Malcolm X are making a new push to get him in the Nebraska Hall of Fame. The Omaha native was nominated 15 years ago but rejected amid concerns of controversy, the Omaha World-Herald reports. A Malcolm X Memorial Foundation board member submitted a nomination for the next class of honorees – selected every five years – for the human rights activist, who was born as Malcolm Little in 1925 and was assassinated in 1965. JoAnna LeFlore-Ejike called him “one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history,” according to the World-Herald, and putting him in the Nebraska Hall of Fame would push “the rest of the state to know about the true civil rights history of Omaha.” Malcolm X is one of eight Nebraskans nominated this year. New members may only be named at least 35 years after their deaths.

Nevada

Reno: The University of Nevada, Reno is expecting fall enrollment to match numbers from a year ago – still down from pre-pandemic levels, when the campus saw record enrollment of 21,000 in the fall of 2019. “We are all least even where we were last year,” UNR President Brian Sandoval said. At UNR, fall 2020 enrollment, including non-degree-seeking students, was 19,961. It climbed to 20,129 in fall 2021. The state’s seven colleges – including Truckee Meadows Community College and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas – have all felt the effects of closing campuses and moving classes online. Enrollment systemwide topped 112,427 in the fall of 2019, according to data from the Nevada System of Higher Education. In 2021, enrollment was 106,259. Spring 2022 enrollment was estimated at 95,446 across the seven institutions. Among the factors affecting enrollment, Sandoval said, are the hardships students experienced from COVID-19, travel restrictions including for foreign students, and fewer Californians enrolling as the neighboring state has dramatically increased its admissions. “Students are challenged on a lot of levels,” Sandoval said, adding that housing prices and inflation are also affecting how many can afford higher education.

New Hampshire

Concord: A judge has consolidated hundreds of lawsuits alleging physical and sexual abuse at the state’s youth detention center, more than two years after the first case was filed. David Meehan sued the state, the youth center, agencies that oversee it and multiple former employees in January 2020, alleging he endured near-daily rapes and beatings at the Youth Development Center in Manchester in the 1990s. At the time, he was one of about three dozen men and women who had come forward, but since then, about 450 have filed lawsuits alleging abuse by 150 staffers over six decades. The civil litigation has largely been on hold since 11 former youth workers were arrested last year, but a judge last week kicked it into high gear with an order setting out the consolidation process. While consolidation brings the “the risk of cookie-cutter dispositions,” proceeding with individual cases would present a “backbreaking clerical burden” for the court, said Merrimack County Superior Court Judge Andrew Schulman. The state is expected to produce more than 3 million pages of documents in the initial discovery phase. Discovery likely will take several months, and groups of cases will be combined for joint trials, lawyers said.

New Jersey

Trenton: A new “strike force” within the state attorney general’s office will aim to enforce New Jersey laws that protect the right to an abortion, working to make sure that patient confidentiality and personal health information are secure and that patients and providers are not threatened or intimidated by protesters. The Reproductive Rights Task Force announced Monday by acting Attorney General Matt Platkin is intended to ensure the full implementation of laws that give New Jersey some of the strongest protections for abortion rights in the United States. As other states ban or severely restrict abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the 49-year constitutional right to an abortion in the United States, New Jersey is expected to become a haven for people from those states who are seeking the procedures. Two laws signed by Gov. Phil Murphy on July 1 bar the extradition of people who receive or perform an abortion in New Jersey to those states that restrict or criminalize the procedure and prohibit public agencies from aiding investigations conducted by those states into abortions provided in the Garden State. The new group of attorneys and law enforcement officers within New Jersey’s Department of Law and Public Safety “will ensure that these laws are enforced to the full extent possible, and that we use every available resource to protect access to abortion care in New Jersey,” Platkin said in a statement.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: Physicians and researchers are urging state lawmakers to allow the use of psychedelic mushrooms in mental health therapy aimed at overcoming depression, anxiety, psychological trauma and alcoholism. A legislative panel on Tuesday listened to advocates who hope to broaden the scope of medical treatment and research assisted by psilocybin, the psychedelic active ingredient in certain mushrooms. Oregon is so far the only state to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin. Recent studies indicate psilocybin could be useful in the treatment of major depression, including mental suffering among terminally ill patients, and for substance abuse including alcoholism, with low risks of addiction or overdose under medical supervision. Physician Lawrence Leeman, a medicine professor at the University of New Mexico, urged legislators to move forward without waiting for federal decriminalization or regulatory approval to expand responsible therapies using doses of psilocybin. Leeman and other advocates outlined emerging psilocybin protocols, involving six-hour supervised sessions and extensive discussions about the experience in subsequent counseling. He warned legislators that public interest is spawning illicit, underground experimentation without safeguards.

New York

New York: Soaring demand for the monkeypox vaccine caused the appointment system to crash in New York City, one of many places where supplies have been running out almost as soon as they arrive. City health officials acknowledged the frustration over the limited supply of the vaccine and vowed to build a “stable appointment infrastructure” as the vaccine supply increases. U.S. infections now exceed 1,000 from the growing outbreak. Most patients experience only fever, body aches, chills and fatigue. People with more serious illness may develop a rash and lesions on the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body. Vaccine shortages have added to anxiety around the virus. Health officials say anyone can get monkeypox, but most cases in the U.S. have been men who have sex with men. Scientists warn that anyone who is in close physical contact with someone who has monkeypox or their clothing or bedsheets is at risk of infection, regardless of their sexual orientation. “After COVID, this should have been easy,” said Daniel Ross, 25, a Harlem man who was one of the many who sought to make an appointment Tuesday. “I kept refreshing and refreshing. … I was frustrated.” Ross soon gave up on the appointment portal, which went down minutes after it went live. “It’s going to haunt me,” he said.

North Carolina

Winston-Salem: Local Republicans are planning a 30-day raffle of guns and ammunition, a move that’s drawing criticism in light of recent mass shootings across the U.S. The Forsyth County Republican Party will offer semi-automatic weapons, among other guns, in the raffle, the Winston-Salem Journal reports. Organizer Vernon Robinson said each raffle ticket will bear a three-digit number the purchaser can check each day against one of the games in the North Carolina Education Lottery from Sept. 9 through Oct. 8 to determine the winner. “The biggest problem with raffles is that the buyers can’t be sure the folks who are conducting it are playing it straight with the numbers,” Robinson said. “The way we solve that problem is to use the N.C. Education Lottery’s daily Pick 3 numbers.” A lottery spokesman said the agency does not know of any law that prevents other groups from using publicly released drawing numbers to decide their own raffles. Robinson said he hopes the fundraiser will net the party some $9,000 to $10,000 to “beat Democrats.” “The only people who are upset about gun raffles are people who are hostile to guns and gun owners,” he said. Kevin Farmer, chairman of the Forsyth County Democratic Party, said the move was “disappointing but, given the extremist nature of the Republican Party, not at all surprising.”

North Dakota

Fargo: State Attorney General Drew Wrigley on Tuesday rejected calls to release body camera footage of a fatal police shooting in Fargo and said he will personally oversee the case himself. Wrigley’s announcement came a day after family members and their supporters demanded to see video in the death of 28-year-old Shane Netterville, of Jamestown. About 50 people gathered Monday evening outside Fargo City Hall in a protest organized by a Native American group. Wrigley said the footage will be made public once all the proceedings are complete. “As a matter of course, law enforcement does not release evidence to the media for public consumption,” he said, noting there are only limited exceptions. Officer Adam O’Brien, an 11-year veteran of the department, shot Netterville on Friday after police responded to a report of people slumped over in a van. A police report said when officers arrived and tried to make contact with the occupants, the vehicle began to travel directly toward officers, and O’Brien fired. Netterville was driving the van, which police said had been reported stolen. Another man was arrested at the scene after he reportedly ignored commands of officers and was found to have methamphetamine. A third person who fled the scene was apprehended Tuesday.

Ohio

Columbus: The Columbus Division of Police will refer for internal review only one of 24 alleged misconduct cases during the 2020 racial injustice protests presented by an investigative team, police said Tuesday. Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said in a statement that she would only be referring one sergeant to the Internal Affairs Bureau for an administrative investigation. The referrals came after an investigation by retired FBI agent Richard Wozniak and Columbus Special Prosecutor Kathleen Garber, who were tasked in 2020 with looking into alleged criminal misconduct by officers during protests in May and June following the murder of George Floyd Jr. by then-Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin. In the statement, Bryant said she “immediately put together a team” to see which, if any, of the cases could be investigated further. Bryant noted that any administrative investigation must also comply with the contract with Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge #9, which mandates that all investigations occur within 90 days of the receipt of the complaint. Only one case fell within the 90-day time frame because the clock was stopped while the sergeant’s conduct was under a criminal investigation, Bryant said in the statement. The criminal investigation concluded May 27.

Oklahoma

Tulsa: People who believe they are descendants of victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre can now provide genetic material to help scientists when they begin trying to identify remains of possible victims. Danny Hellwig, laboratory director with Intermountain Forensics, said Wednesday that researchers are not ready to begin trying to match DNA for identification, but an outpouring of requests from local residents on how to provide genetic material led them to begin the process of accepting donations. “That’s what prompted this,” Hellwig said. “We didn’t expect the amount of support and willingness to help … people have jumped out of the woodwork” to offer their DNA for testing. Black people who had ancestors in Tulsa in 1921 are sought, Hellwig said. “What we need is to populate these databases with family lines” of direct descendants, making identifications of the remains possible within days, Hellwig said. “If we’re only matched with very distant relatives, it can take much longer,” with previous efforts to make such matches taking four years or more, he said. The Salt Lake City nonprofit foundation is examining 14 sets of remains removed from a Tulsa cemetery a year ago and has said at least two of the remains contains enough usable DNA for testing for possible identification.

Oregon

Portland: Far-right Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson’s trial started this week on one count of felony riot in connection with a brawl outside a Portland bar in 2019. Jury selection began Monday and is scheduled to continue through Thursday, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports. Prosecutors allege Gibson instigated a street fight between Patriot Prayer and anti-fascists May 1, 2019, at the now-closed bar Cider Riot. In an arrest warrant affidavit, Deputy District Attorney Brad Kalbaugh said video of the brawl shows Gibson and his two co-defendants “taunting and physically threatening members of the Antifa group in an effort clearly designed to provoke a physical altercation.” Three other brawl participants with the Patriot Prayer group, Chris Ponte, Ian Kramer and Matthew Cooper, were indicted and pleaded guilty. Kramer, who knocked a woman unconscious and fractured her vertebrae with a baton, pleaded guilty to riot, assault and unlawful use of a weapon. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison and five years of probation. Ponte, who prosecutors said threw a rock and hurt a woman, pleaded guilty to a riot charge in a plea deal. He was sentenced to three years probation and 10 days in jail. Cooper pleaded guilty to riot and was sentenced to three years’ probation.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: The governor tweeted he had “big news” Tuesday, announcing the state budget passed in recent days includes funding for three new state parks. Gov. Tom Wolf’s press secretary, Beth Rementer, subsequently said the park sites haven’t been chosen, but work to identify and purchase the land is underway by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The state’s 2022-23 spending plan includes $56 million to add the new state parks to what is currently a 121-park system. The three will be the first new state parks in Pennsylvania since 2005, not counting Washington Crossing, which was transferred from the state Historical and Museum Commission. The money will also help develop the state’s first park for the use of all-terrain vehicles and similar motorized recreational vehicles. “Our beautiful state parks are among the finest in the nation,” Wolf tweeted. “I’m proud that we secured funding in this year’s budget to make this investment in our park system.”

Rhode Island

Providence: A woman who authorities say pretended to be a decorated Marine Corps veteran with cancer to fraudulently collect about $250,000 in veterans benefits and charitable contributions has agreed to plead guilty, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. Sarah Jane Cavanaugh, 31, of East Greenwich, signed an agreement in U.S. District Court in Providence under which she will admit to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, forgery, and fraudulent use of medals, U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha said in a statement. She has also agreed to pay more than $82,000 in restitution. She faces more than 20 years in prison, but prosecutors have agreed to recommend a sentence on the low end of sentencing guidelines, according to court documents. Cavanaugh’s attorney, Kensley Barrett, said Tuesday that while he appreciates the interest that the case has garnered, he has no comment at this time. There is no record of Cavanaugh ever serving in the U.S. military, according to authorities. However, she did work as a licensed social worker for the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Providence. Through her job, she gained access to documents, personal information and medical records belonging to a real veteran with cancer, which she used to create fraudulent documents and medical records in her name, prosecutors said.

South Carolina

Columbia: A lawyer for disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh said Tuesday that investigators have indicated they intend to pursue murder charges against him for the deaths of his wife and son, who were fatally shot outside their home more than a year ago. Lawyer Jim Griffin said in a statement that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division told Murdaugh family members they plan to seek indictments from a grand jury later this week. “We won’t have any comment until charges are actually brought against Alex,” Griffin said. Officials with both state police and the attorney general’s office would not comment on whether authorities were pursuing the indictments, which were first reported by news and opinion website FITSNews. Murdaugh already faces dozens of criminal charges that have piled up in the months since his wife Maggie, 52, and their 22-year-old son, Paul, were killed. But until now he has not been charged in connection with their deaths; he’s repeatedly denied any role in those killings. The deaths led to at least a half-dozen investigations into Murdaugh and his finances resulting in charges that he stole $8.5 million from people who hired him and that he lied to police in saying he was shot by a stranger on a roadside when – officials say – he really asked a friend to kill him so his surviving son could collect a $10 million life insurance policy.

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: Citizens who called the National Weather Service concerned about some “silvery objects” in the sky around the city this week prompted the agency to tweet that the objects were not aliens but rather test balloons launched by a South Dakota aerospace subsidiary. “Sorry, not aliens,” the NWS tweeted in response to the calls it received. The high-altitude balloons were launched by Raven Aerostar, a subsidiary of Raven Industries. “As a South Dakota company and the world leader in stratospheric balloon technology, our team conducts stratospheric balloon flights throughout the year, and many of them are launched from our dedicated hangar near Baltic,” Aerostar president Jim Nelson said. “Two of our Thunderhead Balloon Systems are currently over Sioux Falls.” The balloons, which look like hot air balloons, operate miles above the surface of the earth. Once a balloon reaches the stratosphere, it changes from a teardrop to a pumpkin shape, South Dakota Public Broadcasting reports. Aerostar said the balloons have a variety of uses, including monitoring wildfires, expanding cellular networks and military reconnaissance. They navigate by autonomously changing altitude to take advantage of wind currents in the atmosphere.

Tennessee

Memphis: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is increasing its investment by $1.4 billion for a strategic plan that includes programs advancing the study and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic diseases, the hospital said Wednesday. The additional funding is part of a six-year expansion plan that launched last year, and it will raise the six-year operating and capital budget to $12.9 billion, the Memphis-based hospital said in a news release. New funding will affect scientific operations, clinical care, global medicine and infrastructure. The number of new jobs will increase from from 1,400 to 2,300, while funds for construction, renovation and capital needs will rise from from $1.9 billion to $2.3 billion, the hospital said. As part of the expansion plan, more investment will be seen in areas including structural biology, advanced microscopy, data sciences, global childhood cancer care, and collaborative projects involving St. Jude and scientists across the U.S. and the world, the hospital said. Additional funds also will be used on construction projects including Domino’s Village, a 140-unit housing facility; the Family Commons, a treatment-free zone for patients and their families to rest and enjoy themselves; and two 15-story towers dedicated to patient care and clinical research, St. Jude said.

Texas

Austin: University of Texas student leaders are advocating for campus officials to “protect reproductive rights” and take action in response to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade last month and the state’s ban on abortions. A statement released by the student-run UT Coalition for Reproductive Justice and Rights on Tuesday includes a series of demands, including calling for UT leadership to expand sex education and reproductive health care resources, support adding an emergency contraceptive vending machine on campus, and advocate for reproductive health care access. “We unequivocally support reproductive rights, justice, and autonomy for all. The right to control our bodies and the ability to make healthcare decisions that should be private should not belong to any government or anyone other than ourselves,” the statement said. “We stand in solidarity with all abortion-seekers affected by this decision.” Sameeha Rizvi, vice president of the student-run UT Senate, said the coalition published the statement to emphasize “the lack of response from the university” to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. She said students believed that collective action would help persuade UT to potentially take action on the demands.

Utah

Salt Lake City: A man is in custody after police say he admitted attempting to hang one man and killing another as part of a “purge” that he claimed was directed by a higher power. Christian Francis Taele, 28, was arrested after police responding to a report of an assault found the 23-year-old victim strung from a piece of gym equipment at an apartment complex in Ogden on Saturday evening. It was unclear if Taele had an attorney who can speak on his behalf. KSL-TV reports he is being held for investigation of attempted murder. Witnesses said Taele, of Lake Shore, approached the victim, strangled him with a rope or strap, and kicked him numerous times before dragging him into the gym. The man was hospitalized and had no signs of brain activity. “The attack was unprovoked, and there is no indication that either the suspect or victim have ever spoken prior to the attack,” police wrote in an affidavit. While Ogden police were interviewing Taele, investigators say he confessed to a homicide in Spanish Fork and provided details of the slaying and the crime scene that had not been publicized. In that case, the body of 49-year-old Ryan Hooley was found next to a trash bin Friday.

Vermont

Colchester: Leaders of the Vermont Army National Guard are investigating allegations of misconduct in recent months following a report made public last year on the Guard’s culture and policies. Vermont Adj. Gen. Greg Knight said in a statement Monday that he could not elaborate on the investigations but that it’s critical for members to know that “all members are, and will continue to be held accountable regardless of rank or position.” “I am disappointed that poor decisions and behavior continue to happen, but am glad to see our members report bad behavior when they see it,” he said. In November 2019, Knight requested an assessment by the National Guard Bureau Office of Complex Investigations. The 113-page report released last year found the Vermont National Guard’s sexual assault polices lacked specifics to ensure compliance, a prevention program had inadequate resources, and many personnel perceived favoritism and a “good old boy” network. The investigation concluded that “the command climate and culture within the VTNG is generally sound, though there is room for improvement,” and made 35 recommendations. “Our people are by far the most important part of our organization,” Knight said in the statement. “These investigations are a result of our people trusting the process, and reporting aberrant behavior to the chain of command.”

Virginia

Whitewood: Flooding in a remote pocket of southwest Virginia has damaged more than 100 homes and left some 40 people unaccounted for, but there are no confirmed deaths or injuries, authorities said Wednesday. First responders in Buchanan County began receiving reports of rising water and damage Tuesday night, authorities said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. After daybreak, crews conducted aerial surveys to examine the extent of the disaster. Several small communities in the Virginia county that borders West Virginia and Kentucky were affected, according to the sheriff’s office. About 40 people – a mix of adults and children – were reported unaccounted for, but that number was expected to decrease as swift-water rescue teams continued to survey the area, authorities said. A shelter was established at a local school. Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Eric Breeding said the number of persons unaccounted for was based on relatives trying to contact a resident in an area where there may be limited or no phone service. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that they are in trouble or in danger. They’re just letting us know that we need to check on these people,” Breeding said.

Washington

Seattle: A man was arrested on suspicion of threatening to kill U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, prosecutors said. According to King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Casey McNerthney, a judge on Monday ordered the 48-year-old man to remain jailed in lieu of $500,000 bail but denied prosecutors’ request for an anti-harassment order protecting Jayapal, The Seattle Times reports. In 2016, Jayapal became the first Indian American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She is a Democrat who heads the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Seattle police arrested the man outside Jayapal’s house at 11:25 p.m. Saturday after she called 911 and reported an unknown person or people were in a vehicle using obscene language, a probable cause statement said. She told a dispatcher her husband thought someone may have fired a pellet gun, the statement said. Officers arrested a man who was standing in the middle of the street with his hands in the air and a .40-caliber handgun holstered on his waist, the probable cause statement said. A neighbor told police she heard the man yell something to the effect of “go back to India, I’m going to kill you,” the statement said. The neighbor also said the man drove by Jayapal’s residence at least three times, yelling profanities.

West Virginia

Charleston: A helicopter crash last month that killed six people occurred when the aircraft hit a rock face 15 minutes after takeoff from a local airport, federal investigators said in a preliminary report Tuesday. The Vietnam-era Bell UH-1B “Huey” helicopter struck the rock face in an area about 4 miles from Logan County Airport in Amherstdale, National Transportation Safety Board investigators said in the report. The cockpit and cabin then crashed into a roadway and a guardrail and were consumed by fire. Investigators have not yet released any information about the cause of the accident. A final report could take a year or two to complete, they said. The June 22 flight was the last scheduled for the day during a multiday reunion for helicopter enthusiasts where visitors could sign up to ride or fly the historic Huey helicopter, described by organizers as one of the last of its kind still flying. The helicopter was flown by the 114th Assault Helicopter Company, “The Knights of the Sky,” in Vinh Long, Vietnam, throughout much of the 1960s, according to the website for MARPAT Aviation, a Logan County flight school that operated the helicopter. After the Huey returned to the U.S. in 1971, the website says, it was featured in movies such as “Die Hard, “The Rock” and “Under Siege: Dark Territory.”

Wisconsin

Madison: A federal judge is siding with the Sun Prairie School District in a lawsuit filed by two Black parents who objected to their children’s middle school assignment that asked students how they would punish a slave in ancient Mesopotamia. Dazrrea Ervins and Priscilla Jones claimed the Black History Month assignment in February 2021 violated their civil rights as well as those of their children. The question was not part of the school district’s curriculum on ancient Mesopotamia. Three teachers came up with the assignment on their own, according to an internal investigation. The teachers were placed on administrative leave and later resigned, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. Along with complaints about the assignment, the lawsuit also accused the district of discriminating against one of the children for his learning disability and failing to protect him from racist bullying. U.S. District Judge James Peterson, in Wisconsin’s Western District, said the parents failed to show evidence that their civil rights or those of their children were violated by the assignment. “A reasonable jury certainly could find that its content and timing were offensive, insensitive and justifiably upset students and their families,” Peterson wrote. “But a hostile environment claim requires much more than a single upsetting episode.”

Wyoming

Jackson: Local search and rescue responders are hoping to raise donations for a helicopter and secure county support to cover operational costs, the Jackson Hole News&Guide reports. Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr announced the campaign Monday, saying the county’s search and rescue team responded to a record number of calls for service last year, according to the newspaper.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Malcolm X, airport cat caught: News from around our 50 states