Soccer seismology, lobster drop, battle ax defense: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Mobile: The mayor is proposing to annex 13,000 residents into the city. Al.com reports that the proposal – if it happens – would make the south Alabama city the second-largest in the state. Mobile, with a population just under 190,000, is currently the fourth-largest city behind Birmingham, Huntsville and Montgomery. Discussion on the Mobile City Council has split along racial lines, with the council’s three black members voicing the most concerns about the annexation. Under the proposal, the annexation of three separate corridors west of the city’s limits would change the city’s demographics from 50% black and 45.5% white to 48.8% black and 46.7% white.

Alaska

Anchorage: The University of Alaska Board of Regents approved a $277 million operating budget request Friday following a plan previously negotiated by university leaders and Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Officials say the decrease is part of a three-year plan to reduce the budget by $25 million in the 2019-20 school year, an additional $25 million the following year and a $20 million cut the third year. Officials say the budget cut must still be approved by the Legislature. Board regents say they originally planned to vote on a proposed 5% tuition increase for the coming fall semester but unanimously agreed to postpone the vote until January after student opposition. The next full board meeting is scheduled for Jan. 17 in Anchorage.

Arizona

Phoenix: Home prices in the metro area are poised to hit a new record this month as lower interest rates continue to entice more home buyers, while the number of houses for sale shrinks. The area’s median home price is expected to climb from $280,000 to $285,000 in November, based on pending sales. Bidding wars for homes priced below $350,000, particularly by investors paying cash, are common. A growing number of first-time buyers are getting beat out by those investors, who are driving up prices. In September, housing analysts called metro Phoenix’s housing market “a bit frothy” and compared it to the 2004 market.

Arkansas

Little Rock: The city’s teachers will go on strike for one day this week over a state panel’s decision to strip their collective bargaining power and complaints about state control of the 23,000-student district, union officials said Monday. The strike Thursday will mark only the second time teachers have walked out of the job in Little Rock history. The Little Rock Education Association’s announcement comes after the state Board of Education in October voted to no longer recognize the union when the contract expired Oct. 31. Union leaders are calling for the state to give them back their bargaining power. Before the contract ended, the Little Rock School District had been the only one in Arkansas where a teachers union had collective bargaining power.

California

San Francisco: A progressive lawyer who campaigned to reform the criminal justice system has won the city’s tightly contested race for district attorney. Chesa Boudin declared victory Saturday night after four days of ballot counting determined he was ahead of Suzy Loftus by a slim margin. Loftus, who was appointed interim district attorney by Mayor London Breed three weeks before Tuesday’s election, conceded and said she will work to ensure a smooth and immediate transition. Boudin, 39, is a former deputy public defender who campaigned to confront mass incarceration and racial bias in the criminal justice system. He said he would be tougher on police in use-of-force cases. In a statement, Boudin said he was humbled to be part of a movement pushing for sweeping criminal justice reforms.

Colorado

Denver: Two dozen aging dams in the state have been rated in unsatisfactory condition and are located in places where their failure would likely kill at least one person, according to an Associated Press investigation. The 24 Colorado dams range in age from 41 to 127 years old and are used for irrigation, recreation and drinking water supply, according to public records. They are spread among 16 counties, with El Paso having four, Jefferson three, and Mesa and Park counties two each. Records show the dams are up-to-date with their inspections, and all have emergency action plans in case of a failure. In addition, work is underway or planned for some of the dams, and at least one in El Paso County, South Lake dam, has been repaired, says Bill McCormick, chief of Colorado Dam Safety at the state Division of Water Resources.

Connecticut

Hartford: The state is providing additional help to homeowners dealing with failing foundations. Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont says the recently announced $20 million supplemental assistance fund will provide low-interest loans to cover home repairs beyond fixing the foundations, such as addressing heating and plumbing systems. Homeowners can qualify for up to $75,000 in loans if they have already been approved for financial assistance from the Connecticut Foundation Solutions Indemnity Company Inc. The state’s $133 million fund for helping replace foundations was created in 2017. The Hartford Courant reports tens of thousands of homes could be at risk of having a foundation fail because of an iron sulfide called pyrrhotite. The newspaper says it costs about $185,000 on average to replace a foundation.

Delaware

Dover: The New Castle County Police Department is asking for more than $100,000 in state taxpayer money to help pay overtime and other costs. The department is asking for about $73,000 from the State Aid to Local Law Enforcement Fund for training and overtime costs. It is seeking an additional $39,000 under a separate Emergency Illegal Drug Enforcement fund for overtime and money for drugs buys and informants. The State Aid to Local Law Enforcement Committee will meet Tuesday in Dover to consider those and more than two dozen other requests from local police departments. State lawmakers allocated more than half a million dollars in this year’s grant-in-aid bill to assist local police departments with equipment, training and operational costs.

District of Columbia

Washington: Two people have been shot and wounded by an off-duty police officer working as an apartment security guard. Citing a police statement, news outlets report the uniformed officer was at his part-time job late Friday when he encountered several people, at least one of whom was armed. The statement says the officer, fearing for his safety, shot his department-issued firearm, striking a man and a teenager. It says the two were hospitalized and treated for wounds not considered to be life-threatening. The officer wasn’t injured and has since been placed on administrative leave, per department policy. An investigation is ongoing. The statement doesn’t say why the officer feared for his life. Authorities didn’t immediately release his identity.

Florida

Marathon: A Miami man has won a stone crab claw eating competition in the Florida Keys. Kevin Bombardier bested 23 rivals Saturday by cracking and consuming 25 stone crab claws in 14 minutes and 16 seconds, a new record at the Keys Fisheries Stone Crab Claw Eating Contest. Marathon residents Greg D’Agostino and Ryan Beckett claimed a fifth consecutive top team title, finishing in 6:40. Contestants had to pick claws completely clean of meat in the fastest time. Meat left behind resulted in time penalties. The Keys contribute an estimated 40% of Florida’s annual stone crab claw harvest. The fishery is considered a renewable resource because of the crabs’ ability to regrow harvested claws. Stone crab season began Oct. 15 and ends May 15.

Georgia

Atlanta: The state’s farmers are finally poised to cash in on the cannabis craze. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that state officials by the end of the year plan to submit proposed rules to the federal government for growing hemp. That means Georgia farmers could begin legally raising the crop as early as this spring. Hemp is used to make CBD, the suddenly popular compound extracted from the cannabis plant. Marketers say CBD can treat a range of ailments without getting users high. CBD oil in Georgia has so far come from other states. Under Georgia’s proposed hemp rules, farmers would only be able to sell hemp to state-licensed processing companies. Hemp crops grown by licensed farmers would also face inspection.

Hawaii

Hilo: Housing officials say the newest homeless shelter on the Big Island is near capacity just weeks after opening. Hawaii News Now reports Keolahou is 88% full after the first phase of renovations opened 25 beds less than a month ago. Officials say the capacity is expected to double to 50 beds next month, and construction is planned on the second floor to create 20 additional apartments. Officials say the $2.5 million shelter caters to homeless men who have few places to go to in Hilo. Housing officials say homeless men were dealing with waiting lists for the two existing shelters because they were routinely full. Officials say the former hospital building currently provides medical attention, counseling, employment opportunity connections, laundry facilities, legal guidance and food.

Idaho

Boise: Last month’s chilly weather broke records for Idaho, coming in as the coldest October since the state began recording average temperatures in 1895. Boise State Public Radio reports the average temperature for October 2019 was 36.7 degrees Fahrenheit. That compares to the mean temperature of 44.1 degrees Fahrenheit for roughly the past century. Steve Parker with the National Weather Service in Boise says a jet stream in Alaska moving south caused the cold temperatures across Idaho and much of the northwestern U.S. He says it’s a typical weather pattern, but it just arrived unusually early. Parker says that doesn’t necessarily mean an extra-cold winter. Temperatures have been above average so far this November.

Illinois

Carbondale: The city is receiving a federal grant to build a downtown transit hub that will service more than 30 counties. The Southern Illinoisan reports the city will receive $14 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Carbondale has pursued funding for the Southern Illinois Multimodal Station since 2016. City Manager Gary Williams says the transit center will make transportation, including Amtrak and bus travel, much more efficient. He says the city can now start acquiring land needed to build and hire designers. U.S. Rep. Mike Bost says the funding also will be used to demolish the existing Amtrak station. Carbondale Mayor Mike Henry calls it a “major investment in rural transportation that will improve the lives of many working families in our region.”

Indiana

Bloomington: Indiana University has reopened the art museum on its campus here after a three-year renovation that’s opened up some of its workings to public view. The Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art reopened Thursday to the public following the extensive updates to the building’s infrastructure, including the installation of large windows that allow museum patrons to watch conservators at work. Previously they had done their jobs hidden away inside the space. The Herald-Times reports those windows are part of the museum’s efforts to focus on transparency and education after its $30 million renovation. The museum opened in 1982 and was closed in May 2017 for the renovation project. The museum’s collection included more than 45,000 objects, many of which are on display in its seven galleries.

Iowa

Iowa City: For a second consecutive year, fewer international students started the fall semester at the University of Iowa. A top recruiting official at the University of Iowa says the drop is not for lack of trying. “The pool has gotten smaller,” says Brent Gage, UI’s associate vice president for enrollment management. The decline in international students is largely due to a drop in Chinese student enrollment. An Iowa Board of Regents report notes that 1,055 fewer international students started at Iowa public universities this fall, compared to last fall. In particular, 715 fewer students from China started at Iowa public universities this year. Chinese student enrollment peaked in 2015 but has since fallen by 44%, according to the Board of Regents.

Kansas

Kansas City: Court records say an off-duty police officer who told a bar server, “I have my gun on me. I’ll shoot you,” was initially allowed to keep his service weapon after a responding officer urged witnesses not to press charges. The Kansas City Star obtained the records after a state agency revoked the law enforcement license for former Kansas City, Kansas, police officer Robert Ward. The 41-year-old eventually was sentenced to one year of probation for assault and possession of a firearm while under the influence after other officers raised concerns about his conduct last year at The Peanut bar in Mission. The officer who initially tried to cover for Ward no longer works for the Mission police department. Police didn’t say whether that officer quit or was fired.

Kentucky

Louisville: As the final votes trickled in during last week’s gubernatorial election, a network of automated Twitter accounts suddenly sprang into action. They spread misinformation about the election being rigged, according to the CEO of a company that tracks political misinformation on social media. Gideon Blocq, the founder and CEO of VineSight, says his company witnessed thousands of accounts with “bot-like” automated behavior spreading misinformation about the race, including a screenshot of a tweet by one account claiming to have destroyed ballots with votes for incumbent Republican Gov. Matt Bevin. “Immediately at the end of the counting of the votes, these stories started popping up in parallel, all about the election being rigged,” Block says. The governor wound up losing to Democrat Andy Beshear by 5,189 votes, though Bevin still hadn’t conceded Monday.

Louisiana

New Orleans: The city has a 25-bed facility where people found seriously drunk in public can sober up under the care of trained staffers. The City Council voted Thursday to authorize police to take people to the Sobering Center, which is near the French Quarter. Emergency Medical Services has been doing so since October, and the center has been open for nearly two months. At a ribbon-cutting Thursday, EMS director Dr. Emily Nichols said it takes about 13 minutes to get someone under care there, while hospitals can take up to an hour. She says it frees hospital beds for people with other needs. A city news release says Odyssey House Louisiana runs the center, which also provides support for people who need additional long- or short-term help.

Maine

Portland: A drop in the catch of lobsters off the state has customers paying more for the seafood and fishermen concerned about the future. Maine’s harvest of lobsters is about 40% off last year’s pace through September. While October and November tend to be months of heavy lobster catch, the state’s fishermen are in jeopardy of bringing less than 100 million pounds of lobster to the docks for the first time since 2010. The drag in catch has contributed to an uptick in price at some fish markets. Some Maine stores are selling lobsters for $12 per pound, about 10% more than a year ago. Fishermen say lobsters have been slow to shed their shells this season. The catch usually picks up when many lobsters lose their old shells and reach legal size.

Maryland

Baltimore: The Republican whose social media posts about trash in the city ultimately led to President Donald Trump’s verbal attack of the late Rep. Elijah Cummings says she’ll run for Cummings’ seat. Kimberly Klacik tells The Baltimore Sun she’ll file next week as a candidate for the 7th Congressional District special election. Cummings died last month. Primaries will be in February, with an April general election. Klacik’s videos of West Baltimore – within the 7th District – ultimately caught the attention last summer of Trump, who blasted Cummings’ district as a “rodent-infested mess.” That set off a war of words with Baltimore boosters. Over a dozen people have filed to run or are considering a run in the overwhelmingly Democratic district. Klacik is a member of a county Republican leadership committee.

Massachusetts

Wellfleet: The season’s first cold-stunned sea turtles were rescued from Cape Cod beaches over the weekend. A spokeswoman for Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary says juvenile Kemp’s ridley turtles were found Saturday at beaches in Brewster and Eastham. A third was found Sunday on Great Island in Wellfleet. The ridleys, the world’s most endangered sea turtles, were taken to the New England Aquarium’s animal care facility in Quincy for medical care and rehabilitation. A green turtle was found dead Saturday morning in Eastham. The turtle strandings are an annual event on Cape Cod as the reptiles suffer hypothermia-like symptoms when the weather and water turn cooler. Last year, the first strandings were reported in late October.

Michigan

Oshtemo Township: A man whose hobbies include ritualized combat with replica weapons from the Middle Ages says he wielded a battle ax he calls “my baby” to fend off an intruder. Thirty-six-year-old Ben Ball tells WOOD-TV he was playing video games at his apartment late Wednesday when someone who once dated his ex-roommate kicked in his door. He believed the attacker might be armed. Ball tells the station he grabbed the ax, took two steps forward and struck the intruder in the torso. After the two grappled, the attacker fled. Police deployed a K-9 unit to track a trail of blood leading to 33-year-old Alex Lavell Rawls. Kalamazoo County officials say Rawls spent the night at hospital before going to jail. WOOD-TV reports Rawls faces a home-invasion charge.

Minnesota

St. Paul: State wildlife officials have rejected a request from environmental groups to ban the use of lead in rifle bullets, birdshot and fishing tackle. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources denied the petition Monday. DNR officials say restrictions on the use of lead ammunition and tackle should instead be considered by state lawmakers. Minnesota Public Radio News reports environmental groups argued that lead fishing tackle and ammunition pose a threat to wildlife and human health. Petition author Tom Casey chairs Friends of Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas, which proposed the rules. Casey says lead is “just not something that should be voluntarily introduced to our environment by hunters and fishermen and others.” The DNR says the agency believes the health and environmental impacts of lead ammunition and tackle deserve further study.

Mississippi

Meridian: The state has one of the highest numbers of dams that pose dangers and are in poor condition, according to a two-year investigation by the Associated Press. Many are owned by rural drainage districts or were built as amenities in subdivisions and may now be owned by homeowners unable to oversee or pay for maintenance. The state has 375 high-hazard dams, meaning they could kill someone if they fail. Of those, 35% are in poor or unsatisfactory condition. That was the fourth-highest share in the country among the 44 states and Puerto Rico with high-hazard dams in bad shape. Since 2014, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has counted 42 dams that failed. At least nine others have been drained, sometimes in face of imminent hazard.

Missouri

Columbia: A judge has found that the University of Missouri knowingly violated the state’s open records law by overestimating the cost to provide records to an animal rights group. The Columbia Missourian reports that a Boone County judge sided Friday with the group Animal Rescue, Media & Education, also known as the Beagle Freedom Project. It was initially told it would cost $82,000 to get records about 179 dogs and cats used in university research. The group sued in 2016, alleging the cost was so high that it effectively prevents the public from accessing information. Before the case went to trial this summer, the university lowered the bill for accessing the records to $8,950. It said in a statement that it was “committed to being transparent” and was reviewing its options.

Montana

Sarpy Creek: When a coal company used a backhoe to dig up a huge bison killing ground on the Crow Indian Reservation in 2011 to make way for mining, investigators found the damage violated federal law and would cost $10 million to repair. But documents obtained by the Associated Press and interviews with investigators show nothing happened. There were no fines and no repairs. Westmoreland Energy is still mining as it awaits federal approval for repairs to the site where Native Americans killed bison for centuries. A Bureau of Indian Affairs spokeswoman said a civil violation notice was issued last year but would not provide details. Westmoreland executive Joe Micheletti says no penalty is involved. The 2,000-year-old southeastern Montana held countless bison bones and more than 3,300 stone tools and spear points.

Nebraska

Omaha: The State Board of Education has approved new social studies standards aimed at encouraging students to look at history from multiple perspectives, including those of religious, racial and ethnic groups; women; LGBTQ people; and Native American nations. The standards adopted Friday were written by a group of Nebraska educators and suggest what students should learn about history, government, civics, geography and economics. The standards adopted in 2012 encouraged examining history from different perspectives. The new proposal emphasizes the importance of understanding different points of view and provides examples as emphasis. The Nebraska Education Department’s Cory Epler says the increased emphasis reflects the department’s commitment to equity. He says students should be able to see themselves in the standards, and the standards also should “create a window for students to see other students.”

Nevada

Charleston: A proposal to expand a Southern Nevada ski resort to keep pace with demand from Las Vegas is moving forward despite concerns it overlaps with habitat of an endangered butterfly. The plans for Lee Canyon Ski Area include miles of new mountain biking, skiing and hiking trails along with a zip line, mountain coaster, expanded parking lot, and equipment rental and food and beverage building. Opponents say the upgrades are a threat to the Mount Charleston blue butterfly, which was listed as endangered in 2013. The butterfly lives in the Spring Mountains, the same range as the ski area, and has endured threats to its habitat ranging from wildfires to invasive species to climate change. Proponents say trail development will reduce tree cover in a way that helps the butterfly, which needs habitat with openings in the tree canopy.

New Hampshire

Lebanon: Pregnant women who are trying to quit smoking are getting more help at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health thanks to a $20,000 grant from the March of Dimes and the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation. Officials at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center say about 10% of their pregnant patients smoke. But that rate jumps to nearly 90% among pregnant women who also are being treated for opioid and substance use disorders. They say the goal is to increase smoking cessation among pregnant women, reduce premature births, and improve maternal and infant health. The grant will be used to enhance screening, intervention and treatment for tobacco use.

New Jersey

Atlantic City: State education and teachers’ union officials are vowing to work together on expanding the teaching of black history, including an initiative to send teachers to sites in the United States and Africa associated with the slave trade. The initiative was announced Friday as a new program under the state’s Amistad law, named after the ship commandeered by African slaves in the 19th century. Ed Richardson, executive director of the New Jersey Education Association, said about 20 educators are to visit sites next summer. In the first year, teachers will probably visit U.S. slavery sites, such as Jamestown, Virginia; Charleston, South Carolina; and New Orleans. Later, the program is to include a trip to Ghana. The program is modeled after one that sends educators to Holocaust sites in Europe.

New Mexico

Milan: Environmental officials say more wells are needed to measure uranium plumes in a major aquifer in western New Mexico. The Gallup Independent reports the state Environment Department is asking federal authorities to collaborate with the state to ensure accurate measurement of a plume of uranium contamination leaving the Bluewater Disposal Site. State officials are concerned the full nature of the groundwater plume within the San Andres-Glorieta aquifer has not been defined because of the lack of a comprehensive monitoring well network. Bernadette Tsosie, site manager at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management, says the path of the San Andres-Glorieta aquifer plume remains 2 miles north of the nearest drinking water supply well.

New York

Albany: State officials are urging New Yorkers to be on the lookout for spotted lanternfly egg masses over the winter. The invasive insect hasn’t been found in New York yet, but it was spotted in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has since been found in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The insects are devastating to trees and crops such as grapes and hops. They lay eggs in the fall on surfaces including vehicles, firewood, outdoor furniture and campers. That allows them to hitch a ride to new areas. Egg masses are an inch long and often smooth and brownish gray with a shiny, waxy coating. The state departments of environmental conservation and agriculture are urging the public to inspect outdoor items and report any egg masses to DEC.

North Carolina

Raleigh: Income tax filers in the state will get more generous breaks on their returns soon but could pay more upfront sales taxes for online purchases in a measure Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has signed into law. Cooper’s signing announcement came several hours after he vetoed another bill that would have reduced corporate franchise taxes. The Republican-penned measure signed Friday increases the standard deduction – meaning the amount of income on which filers pay no taxes – by $750 to $1,500 starting in 2020. For a single filer, the deduction will now be $10,750. The new law also directs companies like Amazon to collect sales taxes on consumers buying products they offer through third-party retailers.

North Dakota

Bismarck: Construction is moving along on a bridge while future funding remains unclear for the rest of the highway expansion. Project manager Mike Fanelli says the 2.2-mile segment of the Long X Bridge project should be about half done this season. The bridge will replace the narrow two-lane bridge and realign the roadway over a four-lane, open-deck bridge to be opened to traffic in fall 2020. A Transportation Department engineer, Matt Linneman, says a timeline for the U.S. Highway 85 four-lane expansion from Belfield to Watford City depends on funding. The department’s traffic count shows that 4,200 vehicles come though the bridge corridor daily. The Bismarck Tribune reports the highway is a major artery for heavy oil-field traffic. The $34 million bridge project is to be completed July 2021.

Ohio

Akron: Authorities are searching for a Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal that was reportedly stolen from a newspaper’s former office. The theft was discovered Thursday morning after the Akron Beacon Journal’s staff moved from the paper’s former building. The Akron Beacon Journal reports the thief took the medal from a protective display case where it was stored in the former newsroom lobby. The medal was scheduled to be moved to the next office. Police say the medal was stolen sometime between Tuesday and late Thursday morning. Akron Beacon Journal Publisher Bill Albrecht says the paper is cooperating with the investigation. The medal was awarded for the paper’s 1994 “A Question of Color” series.

Oklahoma

Norman: The University of Oklahoma says a student was found dead at a campus student housing building, but there was no threat to the area. An OU statement says the body was reported to campus police about 8 a.m. Saturday, and officers determined there was no threat to others in the area. OU spokeswoman Kesha Keith said in a text message to the Associated Press that the body was that of a student but that no other information was being released. The university statement said that the body was being sent to the state medical examiner to determine the cause of death and that it is “deeply saddened” by the death. The school said counseling services will be available.

Oregon

Portland: A rash of attacks on paramedics in recent months has led the city’s ambulance provider to begin mandatory training in defense tactics for all its employees. The training by American Medical Response for more than 500 paramedics in greater Portland began over the summer and will continue through December. The private 911 contractor says it has seen a 3% to 5% increase in calls for mental health and drug-related crises each year since 2016. That’s the same year the ambulance company, instead of police, began transporting patients on a mental health hold to the hospital. The change in transport policy came about because of a federal investigation that found Portland police used excessive violence against the mentally ill.

Pennsylvania

Monroeville: The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is about to be the proud owner of a swimming pool. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the turnpike has agreed to pay the town of Monroeville nearly $1 million for its public swimming pool at Bel-Aire park. Motorists won’t be able to take a refreshing dip, though. The turnpike is planning a major widening project on Interstate 76 between the Irwin and Monroeville exchanges, and the pool will need to go. Monroeville Council approved the sale last month. The pool opened to the public more than four decades ago. Monroeville residents will still have several other public swimming options.

Rhode Island

Providence: A new exhibition about the history of the census has opened at the Rhode Island State Archives. Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea says with the 2020 census approaching, she’s inviting the public to explore the “why” and the “how” of the decennial count. The “Count Me In!” exhibition opened Thursday and runs through March. Visitors will learn how both the data collected and the methods for gathering it have changed and see examples of why the data is important. The 2020 census will help determine how many congressional seats each state gets, as well as the allocation of hundreds of billions of dollars in federal spending. The state archives in downtown Providence is free and open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.

South Carolina

Myrtle Beach: A new segment of the freeway bypassing Myrtle Beach has opened. The South Carolina Department of Transportation says the segment of the Carolina Bays Parkway between state Highway 707 and state Highway 544 opened Thursday. The segment of what is also called state Highway 31 was supposed to open in 2017, but bad weather and later cracks in a bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway delayed the project. The 4 miles of new freeway mark the southernmost segment of the Carolina Bays Parkway, which now connects North Myrtle Beach to Socastee. The project cost more than $200 million.

South Dakota

Wind Cave National Park: An elevator problem preventing tours of Wind Cave in southwestern South Dakota is entering its fifth month. The elevator that brings people down into the cave was shut down June 29 and remains closed. Last week, Tom Farrell, chief of interpretation for Wind Cave National Park, said the park’s elevator service company said that it was having problems getting parts and that delivery was still two weeks out. The company, Thyssenkrupp, told the Rapid City Journal in an email that the company is working to fix the elevator issues at Wind Cave and “will return the elevators back to service when all necessary work has been completed.” While the elevator is shut down, the park is losing visitors and revenue. Farrell says the park will have to absorb the revenue losses.

Tennessee

Memphis: Free screenings are available for students at public schools in Shelby County where elevated lead levels have been detected. The Shelby County Health Department says student lead screening and testing will be available starting Tuesday at its clinics during regular business hours. County health officials say 39 samples tested last month from 24 schools had results above the EPA threshold in one or more fountains. Officials say most of those fountains aren’t frequently used but still have been shut off and removed. The health department says 3,500 total samples were taken at all water sources in each of the district’s schools, including faucets, drinking fountains and ice machines, and the overwhelming majority of schools showed minimal to no traces of lead. Results from about 30 Shelby County schools are pending.

Texas

Houston: Researchers say they’re uncertain about the environmental impact of the chemicals used to extinguish a massive fire in March at a Houston-area petrochemical storage facility. The blaze at the Intercontinental Terminals Company facility in Deer Park burned for three days in March. Foam used to control the spread of the fire was accidentally released into the Houston Ship Channel when a dike failed. The Houston Chronicle reports that researchers with the Galveston Bay Foundation and Texas A&M Superfund Research Center have been testing water samples from the channel. They found traces of chemicals known as PFAs, which have been linked to cancer and other illnesses. Researchers say they don’t know what impact the chemicals could have on aquatic life and people fishing in the area.

Utah

Salt Lake City: Two groups in the scientific community have removed job postings at Brigham Young University from their websites because of the school’s LGBTQ policies. The Salt Lake Tribune reports the Washington, D.C.-based American Geophysical Union and the Colorado-based Geological Society of America took down job ads from BYU. The groups say the jobs require applicants abide by the school’s honor code, which includes a ban on “homosexual behavior.” The Utah university is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and mandates students follow a code that prohibits premarital sex and the consumption of alcohol among other rules. Several BYU science professors say dropping the job posts fails to maintain “ideological diversity” and conservative voices.

Vermont

Montpelier: A new shared-use path is open. A nearly 2-mile section of the Siboinebi Path in Montpelier was dedicated at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday. The completed $6 million project connects to an existing 2-mile, shared-use path, creating a 4-mile recreational path for pedestrians, bike riders and skiers. The Times Argus reports the newly opened path has an Abenaki name, Siboinebi, which means “river water” and was chosen after consultation with the Abenaki Tribal Council. Montpelier Mayor Anne Watson says the paths will provide easier, more scenic access for commuters and businesses and make the city a destination for recreation. The Siboinebi Path will connect to another trail through East Montpelier expected to break ground in the spring.

Virginia

Newport News: Four black women who gained national attention in a recent book and movie for groundbreaking NASA work in Virginia during space-race years will receive special awards from Congress. The Daily Press of Newport News reports President Donald Trump signed into law on Friday the “Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal Act,” which will recognize Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden, as well as the late Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. Johnson is known for calculating trajectories for famous flights by astronauts Alan Shepard and John Glenn. Vaughan became a computer programming expert, while Jackson and Darden were pioneering engineers working at the Langley Research Center. Bill backers include Virginia U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. They say the four failed to receive their deserved recognition for far too long.

Washington

Seattle: Seismologists have used Major League Soccer’s championship as an opportunity to study information collected while fans shook the stadium. KING-TV reports the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network installed seismic monitors at CenturyLink Field on Sunday for the championship match between the Seattle Sounders and Toronto FC. Researchers from the network based at the University of Washington recorded vibrations during the game to help interpret data registered by seismographs. The instruments measure seismic waves from earthquakes or other events that cause ground shaking. “We know a lot about how earthquakes look, but there are other signals that show up on the seismograms that we don’t know what they are,” seismologist Steve Malone says. Researchers found the biggest vibrations occurred when the Sounders scored during the team’s 3-1 win.

West Virginia

Huntington: An annual memorial service this week will honor the 75 lives lost in a 1970 plane crash involving Marshall University’s football team. The service is set for noon Thursday in Huntington. Each year, the water at the Marshall Memorial Student Center’s fountain is turned off to remain silent until spring. On Nov. 14, 1970, 36 football players and 39 coaches, administrators, community leaders, fans and crew died when the team’s chartered jet returning from a game at East Carolina crashed into a hill just short of the airport. It remains the deadliest crash involving a sports team in U.S. history. Next year will mark the crash’s 50th anniversary.

Wisconsin

Madison: Officials in southwestern Wisconsin have dropped a resolution warning journalists they would face prosecution if they edit an upcoming news release. The Lafayette County Land Conservation Committee was set to vote on the resolution at an emergency meeting Tuesday. But the county’s attorney, Nathan Russell, said Monday that the meeting won’t happen, and he doesn’t believe the resolution will come before any county committee “in the near future.” The resolution centers on the upcoming release of findings from a water quality study in Grant, Iowa and Lafayette counties. The resolution calls for the county chairmen, county conservationists and the Lafayette County conservation committee chairman to craft a news release on the findings. Journalists who alter or edit the release would be prosecuted. Media law experts say the resolution is clearly unconstitutional.

Wyoming

Cheyenne: An interim state legislative panel has rejected proposed legislation that would have prevented some people with mental illnesses from buying guns. The Joint Judiciary Interim Committee voted 9-5 against a proposal that would have required the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation to submit certain mental health records to a federal database used for background checks while purchasing firearms. The proposal also would have set up an appeals process for those who lost their gun rights in order to regain the rights. Proponents liked the idea of giving people a way to regain their gun rights. However, the proposal met with much opposition, including some concern that it was overly broad and could lead to more restrictive regulations on guns.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

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