Synagogue fight, celebrity burglaries, fast food workers: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Montgomery: Corrections officials apparently botched an inmate’s execution last month, an anti-death penalty group alleges, citing the length of time that passed before the prisoner received the lethal injection and a private autopsy indicating his arm may have been cut to find a vein. Joe Nathan James Jr. was put to death July 28 for the 1994 shooting death of his former girlfriend. The execution was carried out more than three hours after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request for a stay. “Subjecting a prisoner to three hours of pain and suffering is the definition of cruel and unusual punishment,” Maya Foa, director of Reprieve US Forensic Justice Initiative, a human rights group that opposes the death penalty, said in a statement. “States cannot continue to pretend that the abhorrent practice of lethal injection is in any way humane.” The Alabama Department of Forensic Science declined a request to release the state’s autopsy of James, citing an ongoing review that happens after every execution. Officials have not responded to requests for comment on the private autopsy, which was first reported by The Atlantic. At the time of the execution, Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Hamm told reporters that “nothing out of the ordinary” happened. Hamm said he wasn’t aware of the prisoner fighting or resisting officers. The state later acknowledged that the execution was delayed because of difficulties establishing an intravenous line but did not specify how long it took.

Alaska

Juneau: Police in the city are trying to get DNA samples from people with certain past convictions to help fulfill the governor’s push to reduce a backlog of missing evidence across the state, Alaska Public Media reports. The ACLU of Alaska has raised concerns about DNA collection efforts and said it’s monitoring the situation.

Arizona

Phoenix: Democratic attorney general candidate Kris Mayes is calling to investigate and potentially cancel the leases the State Land Department signed with a Saudi Arabian company that is pumping from Phoenix’s backup water supply in western Arizona. Mayes is also calling for the company to pay the state approximately $38 million for using the water in La Paz County, which sits in a basin that could be tapped as future water source for the Phoenix metro area. Mayes said the leases should be put on hold while they are investigated because they potentially violate the Arizona Constitution’s gift clause, as well as a clause that requires state land and its products to be appraised and offered at their true value. The Arizona State Land Department gave a sweet deal to a Saudi Arabian company called Fondomonte to farm areas in Butler Valley near Bouse, growing alfalfa to ship it back to the Middle East to feed its cows. Fondomonte pays only $25 per acre annually, which is about one-sixth of the market price for farm land in that area, according to experts and the state’s own mass appraisal for areas in and around Butler Valley. In addition, the water that is being pumped by Fondomonte is located in what’s called a transfer basin, meaning water sucked from the ground can be shipped to areas of the state where groundwater is regulated.

Arkansas

Little Rock: A man who was beaten and held down by law enforcement officers during an arrest that was caught on a widely circulated video has filed a federal lawsuit against the officers. Attorneys for Randal Worcester filed the lawsuit Monday over the Aug. 21 arrest outside a convenience store in the small town of Mulberry that’s prompted state and federal criminal investigations. A bystander’s video shows one officer hold Worcester down as a sheriff’s deputy repeatedly punches and knees the 27-year-old man in the head before grabbing his hair and slamming him against the pavement. At the same time, a third officer also kneed Worcester repeatedly. All three officers – Mulberry Officer Thell Riddle and Crawford County deputies Zachary King and Levi White – are white. Worcester is also white, according to jail booking information. Worcester’s lawsuit accuses the officers, all of whom have been suspended, of violating his constitutional rights. The lawsuit also names the city of Mulberry, its police chief, Crawford County and its sheriff as defendants. “Any reasonable law enforcement officer should have known that his conduct violated clearly established federal law and was a direct violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” the lawsuit said.

California

Sacramento: State lawmakers on Monday approved a nation-leading measure that would give more than a half-million fast food workers more power and protections, over the objections of restaurant owners who warn it would drive up consumers’ costs. The bill will create a new 10-member Fast Food Council with equal numbers of workers’ delegates and employers’ representatives, along with two state officials, empowered to set minimum standards for wages, hours and working conditions in California. A late amendment would cap any minimum wage increase for fast food workers at chains with more than 100 restaurants at $22 an hour next year, compared to the statewide minimum of $15.50 an hour, with cost of living increases thereafter. “We made history today,” said Service Employees International Union President Mary Kay Henry, calling it “a watershed moment.” “This legislation is a huge step forward for workers in California and all across the country,” she said as advocates offered it as a model for other states. The Senate approved the measure on a 21-12 vote, over bipartisan opposition. Hours later the Assembly sent it to Gov. Gavin Newsom on a final 41-16 vote, both chambers acting with no votes to spare.

Colorado

Denver: Two minors and an adult face charges after a teenager was fatally shot in the head while filming a video for the popular social media platform TikTok earlier this month. Three minors were filming dance videos to post on TikTok in the southern Colorado town of Monte Vista when a Glock 19 pistol discharged Aug. 7, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by KRDO-TV. The victim’s identity has not been released. Emiliano Vargas, 21, has been arrested for allegedly permitting or providing a minor with a firearm. The two other minors who were at the scene were arrested for alleged reckless manslaughter and possession of a handgun by juveniles, according to a statement by the Monte Vista Police Department. According to the affidavit, one of the minors told police that she saw the other juvenile point and shoot the gun at the victim before throwing the pistol on a nearby bed. When asked if it seemed like an accident, the girl said to police that “it could be.” Vargas told police he was not at the scene when the shot was fired, according to the affidavit.

Connecticut

Killingly: A high school assistant principal this month was charged with bringing a handgun onto campus – more than a year after the incident occurred and three months after state police were directed to reopen the case. Rolando Navarro, 43, was charged Aug. 16 with possession of a weapon on school grounds, a felony, and released on a $1,000 non-surety bond pending his scheduled arraignment Wednesday at Danielson Superior Court, according to a state police criminal information summary. Navarro and Principal Rafael Calixto were placed on administrative leave in February, weeks after the state Department of Children and Families and state police announced an investigation into a report of a gun discovered at Harvard H. Ellis Technical High School last year. State police from the Central District Major Crime Squad in August interviewed a former student who said he was tasked June 8, 2021, with performing a tire rotation on Navarro’s personal vehicle inside the school’s automotive shop. The student and his shop teacher said they found a gun box in the vehicle’s rear tire well containing an unloaded semi-automatic pistol and magazine. Soon after the weapon was reported, Navarro retrieved the gun box and left, police said.

Delaware

Dover: State health officials announced Monday that they will soon include fentanyl test strips in naloxone overdose-reversal kits distributed to the public. The effort is aimed at preventing accidental overdoses due to fentanyl consumption, the Division of Public Health’s Office of Health Crisis Response said in a news release. Fentanyl is now the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in Delaware, found in more than 80% of fatal overdoses, officials said. There were 515 overdose deaths in Delaware last year, an increase of 15% from 2020, according to Division of Forensic Science data. Fentanyl was found in 83% of those deaths. The test strips are highly sensitive, and marijuana, cocaine, meth, ecstasy and other substances can be tested for the presence of fentanyl, officials said. Most overdoses are unintentional, officials said, and people may not realize how strong a drug is or that it contains fentanyl, which cannot be detected by sight, taste, smell or touch. The Division of Public Health also distributes 10-pack fentanyl test strip kits through a free mail-order program.

District of Columbia

Washington: During her show at The Anthem concert hall Monday, New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde caused a stir by telling the crowd she swam in the Potomac River, WUSA-TV reports. “The crowd is in SHAMBLES,” concertgoer Natalie Escobar said in a tweet. Escobar said the Grammy-winning artist told fans she did it to get a feel for D.C. Another Lorde fan said many in the venue booed. In video from the show, Lorde says she was lying in the river contemplating what to say to the crowd. “I love swimming in water where I’m playing,” said Lorde, 25. “It makes me feel like I know you a bit better.” The reaction on social media has been mixed. “She did what?!” one user wrote. Another joked that the musician is going to grow an extra limb. Others praised her gutsiness. Earlier this year, local leaders celebrated the progress made in cleaning the Potomac. “I think a lot of people still think that this river is not clean enough to swim, but we’ve been doing the testing for three straight years, every single week,” Potomac Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks said back in March. “And we’re finding that there’s plenty of days, and a lot of places more than 85% of the time, where it is safe to swim in this river. I swim in this river; my daughter swims in this river.” Swimming in the Potomac without a permit has been banned since 1932.

Florida

Fort Lauderdale: Four school board members appointed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in one of the state’s most Democratic counties were sworn into office Tuesday. They replace the elected Broward County board members DeSantis suspended after a grand jury investigating the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School found widespread wrongdoing. The Florida Department of Education on Monday voiced “significant concerns” about the school system’s actions before, during and after the shootings of 17 people by Nikolas Cruz, a troubled former student who attacked the high school’s campus on Valentine’s Day in 2018. In a letter sent to Superintendent Vickie Cartwright, the state cited the grand jury’s finding of mismanagement of the $800 million voter-approved bond to renovate schools, the underreporting of criminal activity to the state, the district’s “almost fanatical desire to control student data” and use it to manipulate public perception, and the practice of allowing students with serious felonies back on school campuses. “Due to the gravity of the issues outlined above, the Florida Department of Education and the Office of Safe Schools will contact you to arrange an in-person meeting this week to investigate these major concerns,” wrote Tim Hay, who directs the state’s Office of Safe Schools.

Georgia

Atlanta: A prosecutor on Monday announced a sprawling indictment against members of what she said is a violent street gang that has been targeting the Atlanta-area homes of famous athletes, entertainers and others who flaunt expensive possessions on social media. Singer Mariah Carey, Marlo Hampton of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” Atlanta United player Brad Guzan and the Atlanta Falcons’ Calvin Ridley all had their homes broken into, the indictment says. The 220-count indictment filed Aug. 22 charges 26 people, most of whom are accused of violating Georgia’s anti-gang and racketeering laws. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said the crimes alleged in the indictment – carjacking, kidnapping, armed robbery, shootings, home invasions – were committed by members of the Drug Rich gang, which she said began to emerge in 2016 in a neighboring county. In addition to the celebrity targets, social media influencers were also victimized in home invasions and burglaries, Willis said. “What they do is target people who show their wealth on social media,” she said. “So I do have a message for the public: Where it is kind of fun to put your things on social media and show off, unfortunately these gangs are becoming more savvy, more sophisticated in the way that they target you.”

Hawaii

Honolulu: The Hawaii State Capitol remained closed Monday after a power outage over the weekend. On Saturday morning, one of three high-voltage circuit breakers at the Capitol shorted, officials said. The cause is unknown. The Department of Accounting and General Services has been working with contractors to restore power as soon as possible, officials said in a statement Monday. Until the damaged equipment is repaired, the downtown Honolulu building will remain closed. The Hawaii Legislature adjourned in May. The 2023 session starts in January.

Idaho

Boise: The University of Idaho wants to build the nation’s largest research dairy and experimental farm in south-central Idaho, the geographical heart of the sector. University President Scott Green and school officials said in a presentation to Gov. Brad Little and other members of the Idaho Land Board this month that the proposed Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment will help support growth of the dairy and other industries. “CAFE will be a leader (for) water usage and environmental quality challenges while supporting the continued growth of the dairy, livestock, cropland and food processing industries,” Green told the board. The dairy industry is Idaho’s top agricultural sector and ranks third in the nation behind California and Wisconsin. Idaho’s main dairy products are milk, cheese and yogurt. The school wants the Land Board to use $23 million from the 2021 sale of 282 acres, in Caldwell, of endowment land benefitting the University of Idaho’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to buy roughly 640 acres of farmland in Minidoka County north of Rupert. The $23 million is in a fund controlled by the Land Board. The presentation was informational, and the board is expected to take action on the plan in September.

Illinois

Rockford: A federal judge sentenced a man to 55 years in prison Monday for the shooting death of a deputy U.S. marshal serving an arrest warrant for a series of downstate burglaries. U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly imposed the sentence on Floyd E. Brown, 43, of Springfield, for his April 8 conviction on charges of second-degree murder of a federal officer, attempting to kill additional federal officers, assault of federal officers and multiple firearm counts. Brown was acquitted of first-degree murder. Special Deputy U.S. Marshal Jacob Keltner, 35, was a McHenry County deputy working with a Marshal’s Service fugitive task force when he was killed March 7, 2019, at a Rockford hotel. When task force officers attempted to gain access to Brown’s third-floor hotel room, he fired 10 shots through the door and nearby walls, narrowly missing three deputy marshals, U.S. Attorney John Lausch said. Brown then jumped out a window and fired a shot that killed Keltner, who was positioned outside. Brown was arrested several hours later near Lincoln after a high-speed pursuit.

Indiana

Indianapolis: Abortion clinic operators filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block the state’s near-total ban on abortions. The lawsuit filed in a Monroe County court claims the ban, set to take effect Sept. 15, “strips away the fundamental rights of people seeking abortion care” in violation of the Indiana Constitution. It argues the law “will infringe on Hoosiers’ right to privacy, violate Indiana’s guarantee of equal privileges and immunities, and includes unconstitutionally vague language.” Indiana’s Republican-dominated Legislature approved the tighter abortion restrictions Aug. 5, making it the first state to do so since the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated federal abortion protections for abortions by overturning Roe v. Wade in June. The Indiana law includes exceptions, allowing abortions in cases of rape and incest within 10 weeks of fertilization; to protect the life and physical health of the mother; and if a fetus is diagnosed with a lethal anomaly. Under the law, abortions can be performed only in hospitals or outpatient centers owned by hospitals, meaning all abortion clinics would lose their licenses. Any doctors found to have performed an illegal abortion would be stripped of their state medical licenses and could face felony criminal charges punishable by up to six years in prison.

Iowa

Des Moines: Police are investigating a burglary from some unusual victims – endangered primates. Bonobos are considered humanity’s closest living animal relative, and a wooded research site in southeast Des Moines is home to seven of them out of only 250 alive in captivity. On Saturday morning, a staff member at the Ape Initiative reported an overnight burglary to Des Moines police. According to the organization’s Facebook page, the burglars did extensive damage and took a “considerable amount of tools and equipment that we use every day to keep the bonobos safe and healthy.” The investigation is active, and neither the group nor Sgt. Paul Parizek, the Des Moines Police Department’s spokesman, could share specifics of what was taken or how burglars gained access. Neither the bonobos nor the institute’s human staff were put at risk, and the animals remained safe, said Jared Taglialatela, the group’s director. The bonobos seem to be unaffected, Taglialatela said. As for the reported break-in, he said none of the scientific equipment or data on site was taken. Staff are now working on cleanup, repairs and paperwork, away from their normal responsibilities.

Kansas

Burlington: Builders of a proposed electric line taking nuclear energy from Kansas to Missouri now have eminent domain power, but they will have to wait to use it until the final route is approved. Regulators say electricity consumers in the state will be better off in the long run from cost savings, despite having to help foot the bill for sending Kansas-produced electricity out of state. The Kansas Corporation Commission granted public utility status to NextEra Energy Transmission Southwest, which plans to build a 94-mile, 345-kilovolt transmission line from the Wolf Creek nuclear power plant, near Burlington, to the Blackberry Substation in Missouri, north of Joplin. Now that NextEra has a certificate of convenience and necessity, it has eminent domain powers. But it can’t use them until it gets approval for the route, expected to run through Coffey, Anderson, Allen, Bourbon and Crawford counties. Instead of a longer route following highways in southeast Kansas, the proposal crosses large swaths of farmland, making it a shorter distance to the station. Several landowners objected to the power lines, which would require a 150-foot easement, during the regulatory proceedings. Anderson County farmer Mike Welding testified that he has no intention of allowing NextEra agents onto his property or to sign the easement contract.

Kentucky

Frankfort: The state has received a $5 million federal grant to help prevent wrong-way crashes on interstates, officials said. The funding will go toward implementing a pilot program that will use new technology to detect when someone goes the wrong way and then alert the wrong-way driver, other drivers and emergency responders, according to a statement Monday from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. “Wrong-way driving is a major safety challenge,” Gov. Andy Beshear said. “These funds will allow us to use innovative video technology to help monitor and bolster safety on corridors prone to these types of incidents.” Kentucky’s Wrong Way Driving and Integrated Safety Technology System will include digital and roadway signs, cameras and sensors. Locations in Fayette and Jefferson counties – home to Lexington and Louisville, respectively – will be chosen based on crash history and interstate ramp designs, and the system could expand into other counties, officials said. “In addition to implementing this new technological system, we’ll continue researching statewide opportunities to address wrong-way crashes, such as striping and signage,” Transportation Secretary Jim Gray said.

Louisiana

New Orleans: Nearly 100 calls to report rapes this year have been quickly downgraded from emergency status, leaving survivors to wait hours for police – and, increasingly, to leave before officers arrive, a New Orleans newspaper and TV station report. The change is highlighted in a report that City Council crime analyst Jeff Asher plans to present to the council this week, WWL-TV and The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate report. Other serious crimes, including armed robberies, carjackings, aggravated assaults and domestic disturbances, are also often being shifted from high to low priority before police arrive, Asher wrote. Advocates and officials are worried that the long waits raise the emotional cost for rape survivors and the chance that the reports won’t be investigated. The changes come at a time when the department has fallen from 1,300 officers to about 950. The reasons are not clear, but authorities appear to be trying to keep lights-and-siren treatment for still-unfolding emergencies, the news agencies report. So far this year, 98 aggravated rape reports – 40% of the total – have been reclassified from emergencies to nonemergencies while the call was being dispatched. The same happened with 1,486 domestic disturbances, 431 domestic batteries, 252 aggravated assaults and 74 armed robberies or carjackings, Asher wrote.

Maine

Portland: Parents of children enrolled in religious schools fought for years – all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court – for the state to treat tuition reimbursements the same as other private schools. But only one of the religious high schools that stood to benefit has signed up to participate this fall, after Maine’s attorney general warned that the schools would have to abide by state anti-discrimination laws, including those that protect LGBTQ students and faculty. That development has frustrated the families who sued. “Their hands are tied. The state said you can take the money, but we’ll tie your hands,” said David Carson, whose daughter was a sophomore at Bangor Christian Schools when his family and two other plaintiffs sued in 2018. The Supreme Court ruled in June that Maine can’t exclude religious schools from a program that offers tuition for private education in rural towns where there are no public schools. Last year, 29 private schools participated in the tuition reimbursement program, enrolling more than 4,500 students, officials said. Those schools that meet the state’s criteria can get about $12,000 per student in taxpayer funding. So far, only one religious school has signed up to participate, and that application will go through a review process, said Marcus Mrowka, a state education spokesperson. Mrowka declined to identify the school. The deadline for applications is Thursday.

Maryland

Annapolis: Eva Cassidy may be the most famous musical artist ever to live in Annapolis, but it took 26 years and a mural dedication for the city to mount a tribute concert in her honor. Cassidy died in 1996 of metastatic melanoma. She was 33, beloved locally, with one solo album and countless gigs at Annapolis bars to her name. That album, “Live at Blues Alley,” has since sold more than 12 million copies, landing atop record sales charts around the world. No other artist who spent her recording career in the Washington area has enjoyed that level of success, with the caveat that Cassidy did not live to see it, the Capital Gazette reports. “That’s the thing about Eva: All of her success was posthumous,“ said fan Doug Gibson, who attended the recent dedication along with his girlfriend, an artist who knew Eva Cassidy through Annapolis art circles. Acquaintances, co-workers, friends, family, bandmates, roommates and even ex-boyfriends all were among the crowd of several hundred who attended the official dedication of “Maryland Songbird,” a portrait of Eva Cassidy painted on the rear of a Cathedral Street building in Annapolis. The mural was created by artists Jeff Huntington and Julia Gibb with help from local students and supported by their nonprofit Future History Now. More than 30 musicians performed at a tribute concert in the Eva Cassidy Lot.

Massachusetts

Worcester: The Worcester Housing Authority held a groundbreaking Monday for “A Place to Live,” a $7.7 million, 24-unit building that will provide permanent, supportive housing and wraparound care for people experiencing homelessness. “This will not only help people to achieve long-term housing,” Alex Corrales, executive director of the WHA, said during the ceremony Monday morning at the building site. “It will improve residents’ wellness.” The building is the first of its kind in the state and is based on the “A Place to Live” model first developed by the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance. The model offers permanent, supportive, micro-housing units for those who have been chronically homeless. The three-story, 13,340-square-foot building will include 24 fully furnished studio apartments – two of which are wheelchair accessible – as well as a unit for a resident manager and space for group meetings and individual meetings with service providers. Residents will be selected through a lottery system. “This is a sacred moment in which we are announcing and groundbreaking a project and, even more than that, a home,” Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said at the ceremony. “This supportive housing is loving and beautiful.”

Michigan

Traverse City: A judge began hearing evidence Monday to determine if five men will face trial for their alleged roles in a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The proceedings in state court came six days after two men who were described as leaders of the scheme were convicted in federal court. Michael Null, William Null, Eric Molitor and Shawn Fix, all from Michigan, are each charged with providing material support for terrorist acts as well as a gun crime. Brian Higgins, of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, faces the same material support charge. Judge Michael Stepka must decide if there is probable cause to send the men to trial in Antrim County, a low bar at this stage of the case. The county is the location of Whitmer’s Elk Rapids vacation home. Fourteen people – six in federal court, eight in state courts – were arrested in 2020 and charged in relation to the kidnapping plot. Federal authorities said there was support to abduct Whitmer and spark a civil war, known as the “boogaloo, before the 2020 election. It’s a “version of anarchy,” FBI agent Hank Impola testified Monday. The Null brothers, Higgins and Molitor participated in trips to see Whitmer’s home, according to evidence.

Minnesota

Minneapolis: Preparing for an unprecedented strike, hundreds of University of Minnesota service workers protested on campus Tuesday to demand an end to what they called poverty wages and abusive employment practices. “It’s shameful that the University of Minnesota has a billion dollars left over at the end of the year, coming off the backs of workers who are homeless and don’t have enough money for food,” Brian Aldes, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 320, said in a statement. “The State of Minnesota, UMN President Joan Gabel, and the Board of Regents need to understand that if our brothers and sisters at the university are forced to strike, the Teamsters are ready to take up this fight, no matter the cost.” The protesting service workers were joined by student and environmental groups, faculty members, community leaders and elected officials, including Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman. Local 320 represents 1,500 workers at UMN who clean buildings, service dormitories, maintain grounds, prepare food, maintain HVAC systems, care for research animals, drive trucks, and perform other activities across the university’s five campuses. Many of the workers are Black, including immigrants from Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and other East African countries.

Mississippi

Jackson: Hunters have set a new state record after killing a female alligator that measures more than 10 feet long, state wildlife officials said Monday. A pair of hunters killed the gator Sunday on the Pearl River near the Ross Barnett Reservoir northeast of Jackson, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks said in a news release. It measured 10 feet, 2 inches long from head to tail, making it the longest female alligator harvested on record in the state. The catch would have tied a 1984 world record, but that record fell last year after a female alligator taken in Florida measured 10 feet, 6.75 inches, said Ricky Flynt, the department’s alligator program coordinator. Flynt said it’s possible the Mississippi alligator was 75 to 100 years old. The hunting season for alligators in public waters opened Friday and ends Sept. 5.

Missouri

Jefferson City: The state Supreme Court on Tuesday reprimanded St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner for mistakes made in the 2018 prosecution of then-Gov. Eric Greitens but agreed with an advisory counsel’s decision that suspension of her law license or disbarment was not merited. The brief ruling from the state High Court echoed a “joint stipulation” agreement reached in April by Gardner and the Missouri Office of Disciplinary Counsel. In that agreement, Gardner conceded that she failed to produce documents and mistakenly maintained that all documents had been provided to Greitens’ lawyers in the criminal case that played a pivotal role in the Republican’s decision to resign in June 2018. The agreement, stating that Gardner’s conduct “was negligent or perhaps reckless, but not intentional,” called for a written reprimand, but it was ultimately up to the Missouri Supreme Court to issue a ruling. In addition to the reprimand for violating rules of professional conduct, the court fined Gardner $750. Messages seeking comment from Gardner’s office weren’t immediately returned. She told the disciplinary panel in April that the mistakes were due to the fast-moving nature of the Greitens case. “Yes, we had a process. But unfortunately, that process came up short,” she said at the time.

Montana

Kalispell: Authorities say a man shot two people, killing a woman and seriously injuring her husband, during a weekend altercation at a bar near Glacier National Park. Whisper Dawn Mari Sellars, 28, of Hungry Horse, died at the scene of the shooting outside of the South Fork Saloon in Martin City, the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office said. A 40-year-old man from Kila was arrested at the scene and booked into the county jail for suspected deliberate homicide and attempted deliberate homicide. He was due to make an initial appearance Tuesday afternoon in Flathead County Justice Court, officials said. Deputies responded early Saturday morning to a reported shooting at the saloon and found a woman had been killed and a man injured, the sheriff’s office said. Just before the shooting, Sellars and another woman allegedly got into an argument with the suspect after he found them taking pictures in a golf cart that he’d driven to the bar from a nearby party, the Hungry Horse News reports, based on accounts from witnesses. After the suspect pushed Sellars, her husband pushed the suspect, who fell, got up and allegedly started shooting, the newspaper reports. The victims had five children. Martin City has about a population of 460 people and is located about 20 miles northeast of Kalispell.

Nebraska

Tecumseh: A death row inmate who strangled his cellmate after complaining he talked too much died Monday at the state prison in Tecumseh. Officials said they have not determined how Patrick Schroeder, 45, died. Schroeder died about four years after he was sentenced to death for the strangulation death of his prison cellmate, Terry Berry. Schroeder admitted to killing Berry in 2017, saying his cellmate was too talkative. After Berry’s death, the state paid his family $479,000 to settle a lawsuit that alleged the state was responsible for Berry’s death because officials put in him a cell with Schroeder, who had been convicted of murder in the 2006 killing of a 75-year-old farmer from Pawnee City. Berry, 22, of Scottsbluff, was nearing parole after being convicted of forgery. As is the case whenever an inmate dies in state custody, a grand jury will conduct an investigation of the death.

Nevada

Reno: The historic Sinai Mansion – also called the Howell House – will likely be torn down despite a proposal made last November to move it to a new location on the Truckee River. The Nevada Museum of Art, which owns the 106-year-old building, has started construction on a $60 million, 50,000-foot expansion that requires a commitment to move the house by October. It can be moved anywhere, but it can’t stay where it is next to the museum. “We know people who lived here and who grew up here at the Sinai Mansion – the Howell House – and I can tell you there’d be a lot of broken hearts in this community if this didn’t end up on its feet somewhere else,” museum executive director David Walker said by phone from the Sinai Mansion, where administrative staff are temporarily located during construction. One proposal to save the mansion comes from Reno attorney Nancy Gilbert, who submitted it to the city Nov. 2. Gilbert’s proposal would move the building 1.5 miles from its current spot to a city-owned property that’s been abandoned for over a decade. The plan is supported by the museum, the Historic Reno Preservation Society and the 1200 Riverside Drive Community Association. Gilbert envisions a coffeehouse, restaurant and event space incorporating both old buildings.

New Hampshire

Portsmouth: City officials have received a number of complaints from residents about supporters of ex-President Donald Trump who have been appearing regularly at Prescott Park. The complaints have prompted at least two City Council discussions about the issue, an investigation by the city’s Legal Department, and plans to implement more rules about the designated public forum area of the city-owned park that has long been dedicated to freedom of speech and expression. Robert Sullivan, an attorney for the city, said the complaints from citizens started last summer but “have been continuous all summer long” in 2022. He emphasized the group’s First Amendment rights to free speech, but there are questions about rules regarding the park’s designated public forum area. The pro-Trump group has also appeared downtown in front of North Church – a traditional public forum area that has seen countless political speeches, rallies and protests over the years. “We have been led to believe they are in the park nearly every day,” Sullivan said. “There’s a public forum area at Prescott Park in which constitutionally protected speech is not only allowed but encouraged. John McCain announced his candidacy for president in that very same location.”

New Jersey

Trenton: The state is using $6.5 million of federal aid to help collect and digitize school blueprints for first responders, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday. The American Rescue Plan funds will help the state’s Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness and the state police devise maps for about 1,500 schools public and private schools. An additional 1,500 schools already have such digital graphics available, according to the administration. The maps are critical to help police and other responders react to emergencies in what could be unfamiliar environments, officials say. “With the epidemic of gun violence reaching every part of our communities, including our schools, we offer our families not empty promises, but concrete investments in tools and resources that will keep our students safe,” Murphy said in a statement. The announcement comes nearly a month after Murphy signed legislation requiring the state’s nearly 600 school districts to set up threat assessment teams aimed at stemming any violence in schools. The bill was introduced two days after the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting. That measure goes into effect in the 2023-2024 school year.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday pardoned six people for convictions ranging from fraud and larceny to burglary and drug trafficking. The pardons represent another round of clemency decisions for the first-term Democratic governor who is seeking reelection. She has pardoned 56 people overall. The governor’s office said nearly all of the pardoned offenses stem from crimes committed a decade or more ago, and all but one involved nonviolent offenses. Among those pardoned was Cynthia Jaramillo, who escaped from serial killer David Parker Ray in 1999. The governor’s office said Jaramillo, who had a drug trafficking conviction on her record, has since dedicated her life to supporting women facing homelessness and addiction. The others were Bridgette Yvette Tabor, Jack Ferguson, Travis Earl Gatling, Randall E. Johnston and Kathleen Woerter. The governor’s pardoning power extends to all crimes committed under state law except for impeachment and treason. A pardon restores certain rights, such as the right to vote and the right to hold public office.

New York

New York: Amid the bright lights and electronic billboards across Times Square, city authorities are posting new signs proclaiming the bustling crossroads a “Gun Free Zone.” The sprawling Manhattan tourist attraction is one of scores of “sensitive” places – including parks, churches and theaters – that will be off limits for guns under a sweeping new state law going into effect Thursday. The measure, passed after a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June expanded gun rights, also sets stringent standards for issuing concealed carry permits. New York is among a half-dozen states that had key provisions of its gun laws invalidated by the high court because of a requirement for applicants to prove they had “proper cause” for a permit. The quickly adopted law, however, has led to confusion and court challenges from gun owners who say it improperly limits their constitutional rights. Under the law, applicants for a concealed carry permit will have to complete 16 hours of classroom training and two hours of live-fire exercises. Ordinary citizens would be prohibited from bringing guns to schools, churches, subways, theaters and amusement parks – among other places deemed “sensitive” by authorities. Applicants also will have to provide a list of social media accounts for the past three years as part of a “character and conduct” review.

North Carolina

Durham: U.S. Senate candidate Cheri Beasley pitched herself Monday as a bridge between law enforcement and the Democratic Party, appealing to moderate voters in one of the nation’s most competitive races for a seat in the narrowly divided chamber. Joined by more than a dozen current and former law enforcement officers at a news conference in Durham, Beasley announced new legislative priorities to strengthen public safety and mend the frayed relationship between her party and the police force. The Democrat committed to working with Republican lawmakers to secure funding for local law enforcement to train officers on deescalation techniques, mindful responses to behavioral health crises and alternatives to using force. She also told sheriffs she would fight for federal funding to help rural departments address officer shortages and the ongoing opioid crisis. With the Senate in a 50-50 deadlock, North Carolina is one of the few states where Democrats have strong potential to flip a seat this November. Beasley, former chief justice of the state Supreme Court, will face off this fall against Republican U.S. Rep. Ted Budd, who is endorsed by ex-President Donald Trump. Beasley distanced herself Monday from the “defund the police” movement – a progressive push to divest funds from police department budgets and reallocate them to social services and other community resources.

North Dakota

Fargo: A Fargo police officer was justified in fatally shooting a man at an apartment complex in July, state Attorney General Drew Wrigley said Monday. Wrigley said Officer Adam O’Brien, a more than 10-year veteran of the department, fired his gun at 28-year-old Shane Netterville, of Jamestown, after Netterville ignored commands of officers and sped out of a garage in a stolen van, narrowly avoiding officers. Netterville suffered a chest wound and died at a hospital several hours later. The shooting came after a citizen report of three “possibly deceased” people in the van, Wrigley said. The men were alive and may have been sleeping in the van. When police arrived, Netterville “failed to company with lawful orders,” he said. Wrigley said the two passengers in the van said they heard police commands and were trying to convince Netterville to comply. Wrigley and Fargo police Chief David Zibolski showed dash and bodycam video of the incident during a press conference in Fargo. Wrigley previously rejected calls to release camera footage of the shooting. O’Brien was placed on paid administrative leave while the case was being reviewed by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Zibloski said O’Brien will return to full duty Sept. 7.

Ohio

Columbus: The state Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would not take up an appeal of a $25 million judgment against Oberlin College in a business’ lawsuit claiming it was libeled by the school after a shoplifting incident involving three Black students. The court did not say why it would not hear the appeal. The 9th District Court of Appeals in Akron upheld the judgment in late March. Oberlin College said in a statement that officials are disappointed the high court did not hear the school’s appeal. “The issues raised by this case have been challenging, not only for the parties involved, but for the entire Oberlin community,” the statement said. Store owners Allyn Gibson and his son, David Gibson, sued Oberlin College in November 2017 claiming they had been libeled by the school, and their business had been harmed. The lawsuit was filed a year after David Gibson’s son, also named Allyn, chased and tackled a Black male student he suspected of having stolen a bottle of wine. Two Black female students who were with the male student tried to intervene. All three were arrested and later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges. The arrests triggered protests outside Gibson’s Bakery, where flyers were handed out, some by an Oberlin College vice president and dean of students, accusing the Gibsons of being racist.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has reinstated the murder conviction and life sentence of a man featured in the book and television series “The Innocent Man.” The court overturned a lower court decision that said prosecutors and police withheld evidence that could exonerate Tommy Ward, 61, of the 1984 murder of Donna Denice Haraway in Ada. The ruling, dated Friday, said the withheld evidence, which included witness interviews and police reports, had been available to Ward’s defense since 2003 and was not included in Ward’s direct appeal after his 1999 conviction. “Raising the same general categories on post-conviction that one raised on direct appeal, even if the basis is different, will result in a procedural bar,” according to the state court’s opinion. “He’s very disappointed that he’s still in prison for a murder he didn’t commit,” Ward’s attorney, Mark Barrett, said Tuesday. “We are pressing forward… exploring the possibility of going to federal court” with additional appeals. Barrett noted that the appeals court ordered the lower court to consider an additional claim regarding new evidence discovered in 2019. That evidence includes previously undisclosed suspects and whether police provided Ward with information about the victim’s blouse, which prosecutors said he had described.

Oregon

Portland: A federal judge has ruled that the Oregon State Hospital must impose strict limits on the length of time it treats patients accused of crimes who need mental health treatment. Judge Michael W. Mosman’s ruling seeks to ease the psychiatric hospital’s overcrowding, speed up patient admission and stop people waiting for admission from languishing in jail, The Oregonian/OregonLive reports. Effective immediately, the hospital must release “aid-and-assist” patients accused of misdemeanors within 90 days of admission and those accused of felonies within six months of admission. Aid-and-assist patients are those found by a judge to be unable to participate in their own defense at trial. The judge’s decision overrules an Oregon law that says the hospital can hold an aid-and-assist patient for up to three years, or the maximum amount of time that a person could have been sentenced to prison for their alleged crime, whichever is shorter. Disability Rights Oregon and Metropolitan Public Defenders requested the order after protesting the hospital’s lengthy admission delays. Disability Rights Oregon in 2002 won a court order that required the hospital to admit aid-and-assist patients within seven days so they can begin mental health treatment quickly.

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia: The state may not keep a cache of weapons seized from the parents of a gunman who killed one state trooper and permanently disabled another eight years ago, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The parents of Eric Frein sued after authorities refused to return 25 rifles, 10 pistols and two shotguns that were taken from their home in September 2014, days after Frein ambushed the troopers outside a state police barracks in the Pocono Mountains. Eugene Michael Frein and Deborah Frein were not charged in their son’s crime – for which he was convicted and sentenced to death – and none of their weapons were used in his deadly late-night assault. The Pike County district attorney, who was named as a defendant in the parents’ suit, had argued that authorities had the right to hold the seized weapons, saying they might be needed as evidence during Eric Frein’s state and federal appeals. The Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, saying in its ruling Tuesday that state authorities never used Michael and Deborah’s weapons as evidence at their son’s trial and violated the parents’ constitutional rights by holding on to the guns indefinitely.

Rhode Island

Newport: A Jewish congregation in New York City has moved to evict Rhode Island congregants who worship at the nation’s oldest synagogue as part of a long-running dispute over control of the historic building. The New York-based Congregation Shearith Israel on Monday filed a motion in state District Court to take control of Touro Synagogue by removing its current tenants, the Newport-based Congregation Jeshuat Israel. Congregation Shearith Israel said in court documents that it sent a notice in October demanding that Congregation Jeshuat Israel leave the premises as of Monday. “CJI, and any others still in possession of the premises, must vacate the premises as of midnight on the termination date,” Shearith Israel wrote. Members of Congregation Jeshuat Israel released a statement Friday saying their goal was to have a long-term lease so the congregation could have the security of knowing they and future generations can continue to worship in the synagogue. They said they are willing to take full responsibility for maintaining the building and maintaining orthodox services, with the hope of expanding the congregation. “Touro Synagogue is our home, and the place where we have worshipped and been the sole caretakers, for almost 140 years,” members of the congregation wrote.

South Carolina

Columbia: “Cocky” will now be joined by “The General” at University of South Carolina football games this fall. The school announced Monday that its live, crowing rooster mascot will have a new name going forward. The bird had previously been called “Sir Big Spur,” but a dispute between its old and new owners led to the name change. Neither the university nor the athletic department owned rights to the former name. The rooster has had a perch at football and baseball games at South Carolina the past two decades. “The General” will be alongside human-sized mascot “Cocky” when the Gamecocks open the season against Georgia State on Saturday night. The new name comes from Revolutionary War general Thomas Sumter, who was known as “The Fighting Gamecock.” South Carolina deputy athletic director Eric Nichols said when officials realized they’d have to change the name, it seemed fitting to go back to the Gamecock nickname’s origin. “We know Gamecock fans are passionate about our traditions, and seeing the live mascot at games and other athletics events is something they look forward to,” Nichols said. The athletic department worked with the rooster’s new owners, Beth and Van Clark, in picking a name. The school’s legal department discouraged keeping any part of the old name.

South Dakota

Aberdeen: Avera Health has announced plans to resize its organization, including eliminating jobs, in response to rising expenses. The higher costs for items that include paper products, common medical supplies, software technology and more mean a reduction is coming to the workforce across the Avera network, according to a statement released by the company Monday evening. “We are resizing our organization with an even greater focus on delivering high-quality patient care while redefining our core business focus around patient care. Sadly, this will mean a reduction in our nonclinical workforce across the Avera footprint, restructuring in areas and changes in services,” the statement said. Details were not shared about how many positions are being eliminated or what specific changes are in the works. While Avera is caring for more patients, inflation is a big reason for the change, per the statement. Because of those rising expenses, Avera said it is challenging itself to “be more efficient, focused and creative in looking at health care differently and less expensively, while leveraging innovation.”

Tennessee

Nashville: A South Korean tire manufacturer plans to add almost 400 jobs in a third expansion of its Tennessee operations. The state Department of Economic and Community Development said Hankook Tire & Technology Co. is planning to add the jobs over five years at its Clarksville campus. The company plans to finish a previous expansion to double U.S. production of passenger car and light truck tires. Hankook will invest $612 million in the third expansion, which will add the company’s first U.S. production line of truck and bus radial tires. Tire production at the new phases of the plant is expected to begin in the last quarter of 2024, then reach full capacity by early 2026. The company broke ground on the Tennessee facility in 2014. Hankook has relocated its North American headquarters to Nashville. The new Clarksville expansion will bring the company’s workforce to about 2,300 people across Tennessee.

Texas

Uvalde: The Associated Press and other news organizations are suing local officials after months of refusal to publicly release records related to the May massacre at Robb Elementary School. The lawsuit filed Monday in Uvalde County asks a court to force the city, school district and sheriff’s department to turn over 911 recordings, personnel records and other documents. Newsrooms have requested them under Texas open records laws since a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers May 24. More than three months after one of the deadliest classroom shootings in U.S. history, news organizations have turned to courts in an effort to obtain information and records that Uvalde officials and state police have argued they cannot release because of ongoing investigations. The Texas Attorney General’s Office has also ruled that Uvalde officials cannot withhold all records. Misleading and outright false statements by authorities about the police response in the initial hours and days after the attack on a fourth grade classroom – which lasted more than 70 minutes – have sowed distrust that remains among many Uvalde residents. “The obfuscation and inaction have only prolonged the pain of victims, their families and the community at large, all of whom continue to cry out for transparency regarding the events of that day,” the lawsuit says.

Utah

Salt Lake City: The state reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 3,143 new cases. That’s down 11.2% from the previous week’s tally of 3,539 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19. Utah ranked 46th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States increased 10.8% from the week before, with 654,873 cases reported. With 0.96% of the country’s population, Utah had 0.48% of the country’s cases in the last week. Across the country, 16 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before. Across Utah, cases fell in five counties, with the best declines in Davis County, with 351 cases from 446 a week earlier; in Salt Lake County, with 1,294 cases from 1,376; and in Utah County, with 470 cases from 512. Within Utah, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in San Juan County with 157 cases per 100,000 per week; Tooele County with 116; and Salt Lake County with 112. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Vermont

Burlington: The state will spend $3 million in the coming year to attract more workers, continuing an effort that began in 2019 when the state offered to cover up to $10,000 in moving expenses for people willing to move to the Green Mountain State to work remotely. In 2020, the Legislature added a program offering up to $7,500 in moving expenses to workers who accepted jobs with Vermont companies in targeted positions such as cooks and servers, child care workers, registered nurses, construction laborers, delivery drivers, elementary school teachers and retail salespeople. In 2021, the state offered both incentives again. The $3 million commitment this year comes despite widespread opposition in the Legislature – especially in the state House – and a review by the Legislative Joint Fiscal Office that rejects the conclusions of a third-party study claiming the programs paid for themselves within two years. The review stated, among other things, that the report relied on “unrepresentative and misleading data to derive its most important conclusions.”

Virginia

Richmond: Hazing charges against five former members of a now-expelled Virginia Commonwealth University fraternity in connection with a freshman’s death from alcohol poisoning after a party have been dropped. Six of the 11 former Delta Chi members charged in the death of Adam Oakes, 19, have pleaded guilty or no contest, but a prosecutor in the case declined to say why the charges against the remaining five were dropped last week, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. Last year, 11 former members of the fraternity were charged with hazing and seven of them with serving alcohol to a minor. VCU suspended the students, a defense attorney said last year, and the university permanently removed the fraternity from campus. Three of the six who pleaded guilty or no contest are eligible to have their charges dismissed if they meet the terms of their plea agreements. Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Mike Hollomon declined to comment on the dropped charges, citing the open case status of three defendants. Both charges in these cases are misdemeanors and carry no more than a year in jail and a fine of $2,500. None of the six received jail time. The police investigation found Oakes was told to drink a large bottle of whiskey in February 2021, and the freshman from Loudoun County was found dead the next morning.

Washington

Seattle: Members of the Chinook Indian Nation rallied Monday on the steps of a federal building in Seattle to raise awareness for their long fight to get federal recognition. Chairman Tony Johnson, whose tribal name is Naschio, told KNKX Public Radio that his great-great-grandfather and other leaders first hired lawyers to sue for their lands back in the 1890s. Federal recognition would mean access to federal dollars for health care and housing for this group of tribes, which are based in southwestern Washington, particularly Pacific County. The rally was the start of a campaign by Chinook leadership, they said, to pressure U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell to use their influence in Congress to get the Chinook recognized. For a brief time twenty years ago, the Clinton administration recognized the Chinook Indian Nation, but the Bush administration revoked that decision in 2002 after another Indigenous nation in Washington state, the Quinault, appealed to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Johnson said during a speech Monday that the Chinook nation, which is made up of five tribes – the Cathlamet, Clatsop, Lower Chinook, Wahkaikum and Willapa – refused to sign a treaty that would force them to lose their land and therefore was never moved to a reservation.

West Virginia

Charleston: Two former teacher’s aides have been charged with failing to report the abuse of special needs students at an elementary school, the Kanawha County Prosecutor’s Office said. The charges were announced Monday in connection with a case involving former special education teacher Nancy Boggs, officials told news outlets. Boggs pleaded guilty in May to 10 misdemeanor counts of battery and was sentenced this month to 10 years in prison stemming from incidents in September 2021. The aides were charged under a state law that requires school employees to report to authorities when they have “reasonable cause” to suspect abuse or neglect or witness “conditions that are likely to result in abuse or neglect.” One aide pleaded not guilty during an initial court appearance Monday, and the other postponed the arraignment until her lawyer could be present.

Wisconsin

Madison: Gov. Tony Evers is allocating $90 million more in federal pandemic funding for schools. Evers said the funds are aimed at helping school officials recruit and retain teachers, combatting staffing shortages that have emerged since the coronavirus pandemic began in early 2020. “Yes, they are federal funds, I understand that, but until there is a (state) budget, we need to make sure that the people that stand behind me can do the good work,” the Democratic governor said at a news conference at Leopold Elementary School in Madison. Evers is a former state superintendent and public school educator. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, both Republicans, did not react to the governor’s plan. Republican candidate for governor Tim Michels, who is challenging Evers in November, said the plan was political. “The fact that self-proclaimed ‘education governor’ Evers needs to make news on education with 70 days until Election Day shows that his anti-parents, pro-special interest education agenda isn’t resonating with Wisconsin voters,” Michels said. “Evers wants his big checks to make people forget his big failures, but his disastrous record speaks for itself.”

Wyoming

Jackson: At the Jackson Cupboard food bank, Ash Hermanowski oversees the distribution of about 1,200 free meals a day from a commercial garage after being forced from a previous site by a malfunctioning sprinkler. The food bank couldn’t afford any other place in town. Just across the street, The Glenwood, a collection of townhomes that will sell for millions, is nearing completion. “Unparalleled luxury,” its website says, in a “truly relaxing oasis.” It’s the “ultimate irony,” Hermanowski said. “The staff and I, we talk about it all the time. We all struggle to live here, and they’re building high-end residences. That dichotomy exists all over town, but people refuse to see it.” Inflation is particularly high in the town of Jackson and the surrounding Teton County, which, even before the pandemic erupted two years ago, was the wealthiest and most unequal place in the nation. The state of Wyoming has calculated that the cost of living in the county at the end of 2021 was 68% higher than in the rest of the state – with housing costs 130% higher. Roughly 85% of the food bank’s recipients have a job, often more than one, said Sharel Lund, executive director of one22, a nonprofit that includes Jackson Cupboard.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Synagogue fight, celebrity burglaries: News from around our 50 states