Teacher strike, eagle paradox, forest restoration: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Birmingham: City leaders complained, yet agreed to a $5 million bailout to help the World Games 2022 reduce a roughly $15 million debt from the sporting event held in the city last month. Mayor Randall Woodfin said the metro area did benefit from the 11-day Olympics-style competition. But he also joined council members in criticizing a lack of transparency about the finances of the event, which featured sports ranging from parachuting to billiards. “I know each of you enough to know this sucks,” Mayor Randall Woodfin told the council at their meeting Tuesday. “I feel the same way you feel.” The World Games lost $2.5 million in expected sponsorships in May, and ticket sales fell about 200,000 short of projections, said Nick Sellers, chief executive of the World Games Organizing Committee. While expenses were lower than projected, the lack of revenue still caused a budget crunch, he said. More than 100 companies or individuals, many of them from Alabama, are owed about $15 million, officials said. Some area companies also complained about a decline in business during the event, which didn’t draw the expected number of international visitors during its run July 7-17. The Birmingham games marked only the second time a U.S. city played host to the World Games in its four-decade-long existence.

Alaska

Juneau: Republican U.S. House candidate Tara Sweeney said Tuesday that she plans to end her campaign, saying she does not see a path to victory or to raise the resources needed to be successful in the November general election. Sweeney was positioned in fourth place after last week’s U.S. House primary as elections officials continued to count ballots. But she was far behind the top finishers, Democrat Mary Peltola and Republicans Sarah Palin and Nick Begich, who were already poised to advance to the November general election. An election process approved by voters in 2020 calls for the top four vote-getters in a primary to advance to the general election, in which ranked-choice voting will be used. Tiffany Montemayor, a spokesperson with the state Division of Elections, said if a candidate who advances from the primary withdraws 64 or more days before the general election, the fifth-place candidate would advance instead. She said that determination would come after the Sept. 5 withdrawal deadline. Peltola, Palin and Begich also were the three candidates competing in last week’s ranked-choice special election that will determine who serves the remainder of the late U.S. Rep. Don Young’s term, which ends early next year. The results of that election aren’t expected until Aug. 31.

Arizona

Marana: A massive, beloved cactus has fallen. “Strong-Arm,” a saguaro that stood in the Tortolita Preserve in Marana near Tucson, fell Aug. 4 after living for roughly 150 to 200 years, the town said on its website. The 40-foot-tall saguaro, marked with its own metal sign proclaiming its name, had 34 arms in all and was home to many birds, including a great horned owl and some woodpeckers. In the memorial post on Marana’s government website, Jason Grodman, natural resources supervisor with the Marana Parks and Recreation Department, called it a “saguaro motel” to its many animal residents. “It saw all of the development grow up around us, and it’s really a sentinel for the preserve,” Grodman said in a tribute video for the plant. Marana’s recreation superintendent Bob Stinson said his predecessor had given the saguaro its name since it was one of the largest cacti in the area, and the trail went right by it. “It was just a beautiful specimen,” Stinson said. He said, gauging from the many people he had spoken to about it, Strong-Arm would be missed in the community. Grodman said in the video that the trunk of the saguaro, which remains upright, will likely stand for the next few years, while the arms will likely decompose of the course of about five years.

Arkansas

Mulberry: The attorney for a man seen on video being punched and kneed by officers said Tuesday that the violent arrest is part of an alleged pattern of excessive force by a sheriff’s deputy, and policing experts said some of the blows appeared to be unjustified or even criminal. A bystander’s video of 27-year-old Randal Worcester’s arrest Sunday in the small town of Mulberry sparked outrage after it was posted online. All three officers were later suspended, and state and federal authorities have opened criminal investigations into their actions. It’s the latest case in which increasingly omnipresent cameras have led to consequences for officers and raised questions about what level of force police are justified in using and when. A deputy was caught in the video repeatedly punching and kneeing Worcester in the head before grabbing his hair and slamming him against the pavement. As that was happening, another officer was holding Worcester down as a third also kneed him over and over. Carrie Jernigan, an attorney for Worcester, said the deputy who punched him, Levi White, used excessive force against other people she’s representing. “There’s something going on, and we just need to get it addressed,” she said during a Tuesday news conference with the two other clients.

California

Sacramento: Victims who receive unsolicited sexually graphic material by text, email, app or other electronic means could sue the sender under a bill that lawmakers sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday. The bill targets what’s known as “cyber flashing,” when victims receive such unwelcome surprises, often from strangers. “Just as individuals suffer sexual harassment and abuse in their physical, non-digital lives, there’s a growing incidence of individuals being harassed by receiving unsolicited, sexually explicit images and videos including from people they do not know,” Democratic Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry said when the Assembly approved the bill. The Assembly passed the measure 76-0 last Thursday, and the Senate sent the bill to Newsom on a 37-0 roll call Monday. There was no recorded opposition. The most common recipients are young women, Aguiar-Curry said. The Pew Research Center in a report last year on online harassment found that 33% of women under 35 had been sexually harassed online – three times as often as men. In a 2017 report, the center said more than half of women ages 18-29 had been sent unsolicited explicit images, as had 37% of men in the same age range. The bill would allow recipients to recover at least $1,500 and as much as $30,000 from senders of obscene material.

Colorado

Denver: A Colorado businessman charged in a “We Build the Wall” fraud case that once included former presidential adviser Steve Bannon among defendants wants his October retrial moved from New York to Colorado to save money and spare him from what his lawyer says is bias from political polarization he’ll otherwise face. Attorney John Meringolo wrote in papers submitted to a Manhattan federal court judge late Monday that Timothy Shea cannot get a fair and impartial retrial in New York. He also asked that the retrial be moved from Oct. 24 to early December, saying prosecutors have recently produced a previously seized laptop computer taken from Shea’s Castle Rock, Colorado, residence that contains an email exchange not introduced at the first trial, which ended in June with a deadlocked jury. In requesting a change of venue, Meringolo cited what he called the “obviously politically charged atmosphere of the jury room” at the first trial and said the effect of “political polarization” became obvious when the trial ended in a mistrial after 11 jurors tried to force one juror off the panel, saying he possessed political bias. A similar venue-change request was denied before Shea’s first trial. Meringolo said the first trial was an immense financial burden for his client, and a move would enable him to have witnesses who live closer to Colorado testify on his behalf.

Connecticut

Manchester: A department store security guard who was shot outside a mall was wounded when he struggled with an alleged shoplifter who pulled a handgun on him, according to an arrest warrant affidavit released Monday. The affidavit was released as Richard LaPlante was arraigned in court on attempted murder and other charges in connection with Friday’s shooting outside The Shoppes at Buckland Hills in Manchester. A judge kept the 30-year-old Windsor resident’s bail at $1 million. Tirso Polanco, a 27-year-old loss prevention officer at the Macy’s store at the mall, was shot in the abdomen and remains hospitalized, police said. According to the affidavit, LaPlante fled the mall after the shooting and took a transit bus home. Police said they were able to track and identify him through mall and bus security cameras. LaPlante turned himself in to police Saturday. His next court date was set for Sept. 7. His lawyer, Ronald Johnson, said after Monday’s court hearing that LaPlante “feels bad” about the shooting.“We’re praying for the victim and hope that the victim is OK, and we’re praying for his family,” Johnson said. “And the most important thing is let the judicial process go through its process.”

Delaware

Wilmington: A group of prisoners has sued the state’s prison system and its private health care contractor, claiming they’ve been left to suffer chronic and sometimes debilitating pain after officials banned certain pain medicines. Aside from complaints involving the pandemic, the lawsuit is the first large-scale litigation filed against Centurion of Delaware, the private health care provider for the state’s prison system. Centurion won a $47 million contract to provide health care for those imprisoned by the state starting in 2020, taking over after years of complaints and scandals involving the prisons’ prior health care provider. The lawsuit names 24 plaintiffs. All but one are currently in a Delaware prison. They each claim that they suffer from chronic pain or nerve damage caused by a range of issues from gunshot wounds to things like degenerative joint and spinal conditions, pain that was treated by medications that were effectively banned by the prison in 2019, the lawsuit says. The suit claims that after that, inadequate alternatives were provided. In some cases, they were given psychiatric drugs or alternative methods such as “distraction” and yoga, which leave the prisoners suffering behind bars.

District of Columbia

Washington: A homeless encampment in Northwest D.C. was cleared Wednesday morning, leaving many people looking for a new location to live, WUSA-TV reports. The National Park Service closed Reservation 70 about 7 a.m. The closure was due to imminent threats to public health and safety from unsheltered encampments in the parks, National Mall and Memorial Parks Chief of Communications Mike Litterst said. The closure will allow for turf rehabilitation, cleaning and maintenance of the park area, and removal of rodent infestation. Fencing will enclose the park and will remain closed while the park is under restoration. There was no information on how long the people who were living there were notified ahead of the closure to make arrangements to relocate. The site is one of many encampments that have been closed to homeless residents in the district this year. Once an encampment is closed, the unhoused people who were living there typically migrate to a different one, which can cause overcrowding.

Florida

Fort Lauderdale: Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz as a toddler was intellectually and physically behind other children, which caused him to isolate himself and hit and bite to get what he wanted, a day care administrator and former neighbor testified Tuesday at his penalty trial for mass murder. He remained socially and behaviorally stunted through elementary school, a special education counselor also testified. Cruz’s attorneys began the second day of their defense by building on testimony that his birth mother’s cocaine and alcohol abuse during pregnancy left him severely brain-damaged, putting him on a road that led to him murdering 14 students and three staff members at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018. They are trying to persuade his jury to sentence him to life without parole instead of death. Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty in October to the murders, and the trial is only to determine his sentence. Prosecutors say no drugs were found in Cruz’s system at birth. The defense says that’s because his birth mother was put in a residential drug rehab program when she was six months pregnant, but the damage had been done. The defense is trying to overcome the prosecution’s case, which featured surveillance video of Cruz mowing down students and staff as he stalked a three-story building for seven-minutes, photos of the aftermath and a jury visit to the building.

Georgia

Morrow: Two white Atlanta police officers who clashed with Rayshard Brooks acted reasonably during the 2020 encounter that ended with the 27-year-old Black man’s fatal shooting, a specially appointed prosecutor said Tuesday in announcing his decision not to pursue charges against them. Officer Garrett Rolfe, who shot and killed Brooks in June 2020, and Officer Devin Brosnan faced a “quickly evolving” situation when Brooks lunged and grabbed one of their Tasers during an arrest attempt, said Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia. “We did not look at this with 20/20 hindsight. Given the quickly changing circumstances, was it objectively reasonable that he used deadly force? And we conclude it was,” Skandalakis said. The shooting happened against the backdrop of heightened tensions and protests nationwide after the death of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer less than three weeks prior. Sometimes-violent protests had largely subsided in Atlanta, but Brooks’ killing set off a new round of demonstrations against police brutality and racial injustice. Skandalakis said he believes context is important and acknowledged encounters between police and the African American community are sometimes “very volatile,” but he said he doesn’t believe race played a role in this instance.

Hawaii

Honolulu: A food distribution company has agreed to pay $90,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging a Black employee was subjected to racial slurs and racist references to slavery, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Wednesday. According to the lawsuit, a supervisor at Suisan Co.’s Hilo warehouse shouted racial slurs at the worker, who was fired after complaining to management. A manager who investigated also used a racial epithet during a meeting with the employee, the lawsuit said. During a second meeting, the manager and another supervisor made jokes about slavery, the lawsuit said. The commission alleged in the lawsuit filed last year in U.S. District Court in Honolulu that the man was later fired in retaliation for reporting the harassment. In addition to the money, Suisan agreed to measures to address and prevent discrimination, the commission said, including outlining an internal complaint process and providing anti-discrimination training. “Even though Hawaii is a racially and culturally diverse state, we continue to see race discrimination and harassment complaints filed with our agency in this region,” said Anna Park, regional attorney for the commission.

Idaho

Boise: Gov. Brad Little on Tuesday called a special session of the Legislature beginning Sept. 1 to use the state’s projected $2 billion budget surplus for a record $500 million income tax rebate this year to help residents deal with increased food and gas prices due to inflation. The Republican governor also proposed an ongoing tax cut of more than $150 million annually by creating a corporate and individual flat tax rate of 5.8% starting next year. The first $2,500 of income for individuals and $5,000 for those filing jointly would be exempt from taxes. Finally, Little wants to bolster K-12 public schools and ongoing education with $410 million annually from sales taxes starting next year. Language in Little’s proclamation calling the special session cites high inflation, currently about 8.5%. “Idaho taxpayers and the education system are especially imperiled by the consequences of historic inflation,” Little’s proclamation said. The proposed bill already has enough co-sponsors in the 70-member House and 35-member Senate to make it to the governor’s desk for his signature. The Legislature would decide when it meets in regular session in January how to spend the education money. Of the $410 million, $330 million is proposed for K-12 and $80 million for ongoing education.

Illinois

Springfield: A former prison guard could face life in prison after a jury convicted him Tuesday of violating the civil rights of a 65-year-old inmate who died after correctional officers beat him in a lockup more than four years ago. The jury of six men and six women deliberated about three hours before returning guilty verdicts on five counts against ex-correctional Lt. Todd Sheffler, 54, of Mendon. Sheffler is the second ex-guard convicted in the death of Larry Earvin in May 2018. A separate jury convicted Alex Banta, 31, of similar charges in April. That jury could not reach a verdict on Sheffler, so the government tried him again. “The defense made a statement about the long, cruel arm of government,” assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene Miller said in his closing statement. “Todd Sheffler violated his training, violated the U.S. Constitution and allowed, participated in and covered up the brutal beating of a 65-year-old man, defenseless, a fellow citizen, handcuffed behind his back and lying on the cold, hard concrete floor. He was the long, cruel arm of government.” Like Banta, Sheffler was convicted of depriving Earvin of his civil rights, conspiracy to deprive civil rights, tampering with a witness, destruction or falsification of records and intimidation or force against a witness. The civil rights charges alone carry sentences of as much as life in prison.

Indiana

Lakeville: Democrat Paul Steury has been confirmed as the party’s candidate for the special election to complete the congressional term of Republican U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski following her death in a highway crash. Democratic precinct committee members from Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District confirmed Steury’s selection during a caucus vote Tuesday evening in Lakeville. “With Paul Steury, Democrats have an educator and proven community leader who is ready to fight climate change, create more good-paying jobs, and build a better tomorrow for Hoosiers across Indiana’s Second Congressional District,” Indiana Democratic Party Chair Mike Schmuhl said Tuesday night in a statement. Steury is a high school science teacher from Goshen and will face Republican Rudy Yakym and Libertarian William Henry. Yakym won a Republican caucus Saturday to replace Walorski on the November ballot after gaining the endorsement of Walorski’s husband. Yakym, an executive with Elkhart distribution company Kem Krest, will be a heavy favorite to win in the solidly Republican district. All three candidates are running both in the special election to complete Walorski’s term that ends in early January and the regular election for a full two-year term. Both elections will be on the November ballot.

Iowa

Des Moines: The city is undertaking an ambitious project to survey the condition of every house in Des Moines. The Property Condition Survey intends to survey more than 50 neighborhoods and 96,000 houses across the city, officials said. The initiative employs coordinators to evaluate properties with a focus on safety, according to SuAnn Donovan, the city’s deputy director of Neighborhood Services. As a part of the survey, coordinators will survey the condition of each property’s roof, siding, windows, fence and gates, porch and balconies, and foundation. Properties are then ranked on a scale of one to five, with one indicating the property is in good condition and five indicating it is in need of repair, according to Donovan. The overall score will help the city and Invest DSM, a neighborhood revitalization project, decide where to invest in next, she said. The survey is being used in the development of a voluntary neighborhood assistance program coined “Improving Our Neighborhoods,” Donovan said. Between 2011 and 2021, developers, homeowners and businesses have invested $2.1 billion in the city’s downtown, supplemented by government tax breaks and incentives. She emphasized that the initiative is voluntary and that the city will not be issuing any violations in regard to the findings of the survey.

Kansas

Wichita: An anti-abortion activist is now suing for a complete hand recount of an election in which voters soundly rejected a proposal to remove abortion rights from the state’s constitution. Mark Gietzen is representing himself in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Sedgwick County District Court after a nine-county hand recount that his supporters largely funded wrapped up over the weekend. Fewer than 100 votes changed out of more than 500,000 cast in those counties. The measure failed by about 165,000 votes statewide. Republican Secretary of State Scott Schwab said in a news release that the recount results should “put to rest the unfounded claims of election fraud.” In the lawsuit, Gietzen alleges without evidence that votes statewide might have been vulnerable to the same type of programming error that initially switched results in a county commission race. The suit also seeks a revote “where necessary.” A judge quickly dismissed a lawsuit Gietzen filed before the election seeking to have ballot drop boxes removed across the state.

Kentucky

Jackson: In the wake of the worst flooding in eastern Kentucky memory, 59 Breathitt County residents have signed onto a lawsuit against Blackhawk Mining and a contracted company, Pine Branch Mining, alleging nearby strip mining operations amplified the flood damage. Ned Pillersdorf, a local attorney representing the plaintiffs, said a majority of those 59 residents are now homeless, and those who aren’t won’t have access to clean water for months. The mining operations were a “ticking time bomb ready to explode with any type of heavy rainfall,” the filing in Breathitt County Circuit Court alleges. Following the late July flooding, residents said they found fish on their property that would normally reside in the silt ponds of coal mining operations, which the plaintiffs say indicates failure on the part of the coal companies to properly maintain its silt ponds and overall operation. Kentucky Administrative Regulation 20:060 requires coal companies to keep any debris or water from its operation from escaping its property into non-permitted areas, such as the residences below. The filing also accuses the coal companies of failing to continuously reclaim strip mined land, as required under Kentucky Revised Statute 350.100, damaging residents’ water supply, and causing property damage.

Louisiana

Baton Rouge: About two dozen juvenile inmates at a troubled detention center won’t be moved to the notorious state penitentiary at Angola until at least the middle of next month, as a legal battle over their transfer plays out, officials said Tuesday. The juveniles are currently being held at the Bridge City Center for Youth in Jefferson Parish. Officials have long acknowledged issues at the center, which wasn’t designed to house certain high-risk inmates. There have been at least four escapes this year, as well as a riot in which 20 juveniles took over parts of the complex. But the plan to move them to Angola has been sharply criticized by criminal justice advocates, former officials and parents of children currently held at the center, The Times-Picayune/The News Orleans Advocate reports. A federal lawsuit to block the state from moving forward with the transfer was filed Friday on behalf of a teenager currently held in Bridge City who is set to be transferred to Angola, the newspaper reports. The defendants in the case – which include Gov. John Bel Edwards and the Office of Juvenile Justice – and their attorneys said Tuesday that they would not transfer any of the inmates until at least Sept. 15. A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for Sept. 6.

Maine

Augusta: The state’s public defender system wants to more than double its budget to better represent people who can’t afford an attorney. The Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services voted to recommend a $62.1 million budget next year. The proposal would open four public defender offices in the state and raise the hourly fee from $80 to $150 for court-appointed lawyers. Maine is the only state in the nation without a public defender’s office for people who cannot afford to hire a lawyer. The state relies on private attorneys who are reimbursed by the state, but the number of lawyers willing to take court-appointed cases has declined in recent years. The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine is suing the state, contending there’s a failure to train, supervise and adequately fund a system to ensure the constitutional right to effective counsel. The budget request, which will be considered by lawmakers, comes against a backdrop of states grappling with public defender systems across the country.

Maryland

Baltimore: A Texas man was sentenced to six months in federal prison Tuesday for threatening a Maryland doctor who has been a prominent advocate for COVID-19 vaccines, a federal prosecutor said. Scott Eli Harris, 52, of Aubrey, Texas, pleaded guilty in February to threats transmitted by interstate communication. U.S. Attorney for Maryland Erek L. Barron announced the sentence, which will be followed by three years of supervised release, in a news release Wednesday. “While we are all entitled to our own opinion, no one has the right to threaten the life of someone because of race, national origin, or because of holding different views,” Barron said in a statement. “Threats like these will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” According to Harris’ plea agreement and statements made in connection with the plea hearing, Harris sent a threatening message from his cellphone to the doctor. Court documents identify the doctor only as “Dr. L.W., who had been a vocal proponent of the COVID-19 vaccine.” Harris’ message included violent statements such as: “Never going to take your wonder drug. My 12 gauge promises I won’t. .… I can’t wait for the shooting to start.” Harris’ message also made reference to the doctor’s Asian American background and national origin.

Massachusetts

Kingston: A project underway in the woods of coastal Massachusetts seeks to restore a 32-acre former Catholic summer camp on the banks of the Muddy Pond in Kingston to something closer to what it might have looked like before European colonization transformed it. Through the Wampanoag Common Lands, the Native Land Conservancy – the local Native group that received the donated forestland this year – envisions a natural environment filled with indigenous plants and animals where Wampanoags can practice cultural ceremonies and educate new generations in traditional ways. Ramona Peters, a Mashpee Wampanoag who founded the conservancy, said the effort is all the more meaningful because the land is some 5 miles from where Pilgrims arriving on the Mayflower established the English colony of Plymouth, near the remnants of a Wampanoag community wiped out by European disease. “This is basically where the first impact of colonization of this country happened,” she said. “It’s very significant that it’s been returned to us.” The Wampanoag Common Lands is part of a growing movement of Indigenous-led conservation efforts helping to preserve and reinvigorate Native culture and identity, said Beth Rose-Middleton, a professor at the University of California, Davis, focused on Native American environmental policy and conservation.

Michigan

Ann Arbor: University of Michigan researchers are studying how well people with autism spectrum disorder can detect road hazards, and they plan to assist the young motorists in sharpening their driving skills. The upcoming effort will be the second phase of a project funded by Ford Motor Co. that teams the Ann Arbor university with a local driving school. During phase one of the study, researchers found that students with autism spectrum disorder detected fewer hazards than control participants during simulated drives. But lead researcher Elise Hodges said some extra work behind the wheel did the trick. “Those folks that underwent training improved in two-thirds of hazards in the simulated drive,” said Hodges, a clinical associate professor in the University of Michigan’s neuropsychology program. Ann Arbor Academy, a school for students with learning and social differences, hosted driving lessons. Hodges designed the simulated drives and oversaw the study. Ford footed the bill. The goal, in part, was to provide an opportunity for those with autism spectrum disorder to improve their driving skills. “Many of them … would like to drive, but getting from wanting to drive and being able to drive are two different things,” she said. The individualized driving sessions planned for phase two are expected to start in a month or two, Hodges said.

Minnesota

Eden Prairie: A suburban Minneapolis mall resumed normal business hours Tuesday after a fatal shooting that had earlier locked down the shopping complex. Police responded to the Eden Prairie Center mall Monday night and found a man dead of what they said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The shooting happened in the Scheels sporting goods store, which also sells firearms. Police Chief Matt Sackett said it’s not clear whether the man brought a weapon to Scheels or accessed one of the store’s guns. “It’s obviously an active and fluid investigation, but again, we do believe it to be an isolated incident. There is not a threat to anybody else in the public,” Sackett said at a briefing. Will Dammann was shopping in Scheels when he heard an alarm sound and a commotion near a door. Seconds later a store announcement told people to evacuate immediately. “So then it was, you know, the hustle bustle of getting out. Then everyone was just standing out in front, and that’s when the police just started rolling in,” Dammann said. He said people seemed calm, including store employees. He did not hear a gunshot, Minnesota Public Radio News reports.

Mississippi

Lorman: The Honors Curriculum Program at Alcorn State University is being renamed in honor of Myrlie Evers-Williams. The program will be renamed the Myrlie Evers-Williams Honors Program in recognition of the civil rights leader, author and journalist who spent over three decades seeking justice for the 1963 murder of her former husband, Medgar Evers, the university said in a news release. Evers-Williams attended Alcorn A&M College for a year, and there she met and fell in love with Medgar Evers. The two later married in 1951. Alcorn said the honors program attracts academically successful and socially conscious students and assists the university in cultivating global citizen scholars. Evers-Williams expressed her appreciation to the school for recognizing her. “This designation is a special recognition that I hold close to my heart, acknowledging my time on Alcorn’s campus, my life’s work, and my dedication to furthering the fight for equality and human rights,” she said. Alcorn President Dr. Felecia M. Nave praised Evers-Williams’ achievements and said she was proud to recognize the civil rights leader on campus. “She’s an ideal example of the strength, courage, and character that Alcornites exude. We’re thrilled to recognize her for extraordinary contributions and ongoing activism,” Nave said.

Missouri

St. Louis: John Wood, a Republican running as an independent for U.S. Senate, announced Tuesday that he was withdrawing from the race. Wood said on Twitter that he decided not to challenge Republican Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Democratic nominee Trudy Busch Valentine in the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt. Wood said he has significant differences with Schmitt and Valentine, but “it has become evident there is not a realistic path to victory for me as an independent candidate.” Wood, a lifelong Republican, former U.S. attorney and most recently a top investigator for the U.S. House committee examining the Jan. 6 riot, said he entered the race when disgraced former Gov. Eric Greitens was the front-runner for the Republican nomination. He said it would have been “unacceptable” for Greitens to be Missouri’s new senator. Schmitt soundly defeated Greitens in the Aug. 2 GOP primary. Greitens resigned as governor four years ago after a sex scandal, two criminal charges that were eventually dropped and a legislative investigation that could have led to impeachment hearings. This year, his ex-wife accused him of abuse. Wood’s candidacy was backed by a political action committee led by retired Republican Sen. John Danforth, which spent millions on his campaign.

Montana

Great Falls: Visitors to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Great Falls will have the unique opportunity Monday to get close to some of Montana’s most powerful predators: hawks, falcons and owls. Educational staff from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will be in the city with two or three live “ambassador birds” in conjunction with FWP’s Montana WILD program. Three 40-minute programs will give attendees an up-close encounter with the birds, along with insights into what makes raptors unique from other types of birds, why they are so important to our ecosystems, and simple things property owners and recreationalists can do to protect and conserve raptors. “The mission of the ambassador bird program to educate and hopefully get people interested in the outdoors and what we’re doing in terms of conservation,” said Ali Pons, of FWP’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. The Montana WILD program is an outgrowth of the work being done at the center in Helena, which takes in injured and orphaned raptors for rehabilitation and release. Montana WILD cares for 15 ambassador birds too injured to be released on their own. “They wouldn’t make it,” Pons said of raptors who’ve become stars of the educational program. “They also have a personality and a demeanor that makes them good education birds.”

Nebraska

Lincoln: A judge has dismissed the discrimination lawsuit of a former Lincoln Police Department spokeswoman, saying her allegations did not sufficiently prove a hostile work environment. Erin Spilker said in her lawsuit that she faced years of discrimination and that the department not only mishandled allegations of sexual assaults by male officers but also disciplined the women who complained. “She is under a microscope, and has been subjected to assaults, harassment, intimidation, threats and retaliation, which affect her ability to do her job,” Spilker’s attorney, Kelly Brandon, said in the complaint. In his order issued Monday, District Judge Kevin McManaman acknowledged Spilker’s string of allegations, from male colleagues making sexualized remarks about female colleagues to suffering various acts of retaliation after she complained, the Lincoln Journal Star reports. But McManaman said, citing case law, that the allegations amounted to “an amalgamation of discrete incidents … and not one unlawful employment practice.” The allegations “are not so similar in nature, frequency and severity as to be considered part and parcel of a hostile work environment,” McManaman wrote. Spilker, who was a 20-year veteran of the department before she resigned earlier this year, is among several female Lincoln police officers who have sued, alleging sex-based discrimination in the department.

Nevada

Reno: A new herd of wild horses is descending on the Black Rock Desert for 2022’s Burning Man festival. The Wild Horses of the American West project is rounding up more than a dozen life-size sculptures from local and international artists to bring awareness to environmental concerns surrounding the West’s wild horses. “Everyone loves horses. Wild horses are beautiful,” said organizer Adrian Landon. “But the bottom line is they need to be managed.” A longtime metalwork artist, Landon’s career has largely focused on equine sculptures. In 2019, he created “Wings of Glory,” a giant, flying Pegasus with moving parts now on display in England. This year, Landon had a vision of creating a herd of horses to bring awareness to the plight of Western ecosystems and the need to bring wildlife, plant life and water resources into balance. He put out a call to other artists interested in creating equine art and received dozens of replies. He selected 10 artists and used a grant from Burning Man to help fund their pieces. Now, the herd includes a sculpture from British artist Simon Bellamy, who fashioned a galloping steel piece based on the work of pioneering motion photographer Eadweard Muybridge, and Turburam Sandagdorj, a paper-cutting artist who learned the ancient art from his dad.

New Hampshire

Concord: Continuing with its efforts to close gaps and recover from missed learning, the state Department of Education has selected Tutor.com to provide 24/7 online tutoring for every middle and high school student in the state. Through the partnership, more than 100,000 middle and high school students will gain unlimited access to Tutor.com – anytime, anywhere, from any internet-connected device. The service will be available to students at all New Hampshire schools (public, non-public and charter), as well as students in Home Education and Education Freedom Account programs. “This tutoring will not only facilitate and enhance learning but serve as a tremendous resource for students hoping to enhance their educational experience, or those students in need of individualized instruction. This partnership will also support teachers in their ongoing efforts to assist students who may be struggling and seeking additional guidance,” said Frank Edelblut, the state education commissioner. School districts are being encouraged to register for Tutor.com’s free access for their students; students outside those districts will be able to register individually.

New Jersey

Edison: Mayor Sam Joshi said symbols of hate and discrimination are not welcome in the township, after a piece of construction equipment, viewed as a symbol of hate by the Muslim community, was featured in the Aug. 14 India Day Parade. The parade, from Edison to Woodbridge, marked the 75th anniversary of India’s independence and the division of the South Asian subcontinent into two nations, Hindu-oriented India and Muslim-oriented Pakistan, after years of civil strife. In a statement Monday, Joshi said Edison is committed to celebrating and working in harmony with people from all cultures. But an American-Islamic relations group said it’s disappointed the mayor has not gone further in rebuking the parade organizers, whom the group called to apologize. The parade, organized by the Indian Business Association, featured a piece of construction equipment with the photos of political leaders in India, who are described as proponents of hate against Muslims and other minorities, according to Azra Baig, chair of the South Brunswick’s Human Relations Commission. In India, Baig noted, homes, businesses and houses of worship are being bulldozed because of people’s faith and when they stand up for their rights. “Something this hateful should never be included in a parade in Edison,” she said.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: The state will no longer deny licenses to practice law solely because of an applicant’s citizenship or immigration status, including some aspiring law students who arrived in the U.S. as children and don’t have a clear path to citizenship. Announced Monday, the rule change from the New Mexico Supreme Court is scheduled to take effect Oct. 1. Several states already have provisions that disregard residency or immigration status in licensure decisions. “The change in the licensure rule is grounded in the fundamental principle of fairness, and is consistent with New Mexico’s historical values of inclusion and diversity,” Supreme Court Chief Justice Shannon Bacon said in a statement Tuesday. She said the shift aligns New Mexico with recommendations by the American Bar Association and provisions in at least eight other states that provide attorney licensing to some immigrants. All applicants are still required to graduate from law school, pass the bar exam and undergo further character vetting by a board of bar examiners. The rulemaking drew immediate criticism from state Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce, at a time when GOP candidates are challenging two incumbent state Supreme Court justices in the November general election.

New York

New York: Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is headed to Harvard this fall as a teaching fellow at the university’s schools of government and public health. De Blasio, a Democrat who served as mayor from 2014 to 2021, will take part in “a variety of discussions, events, and programming” at the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School and will teach classes on leadership and public service at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the schools said in separate announcements Wednesday. Dean Michelle A. Williams cited the former mayor’s time grappling with public health crises including COVID-19, homelessness and the opioid epidemic. Setti Warren, interim director of the Institute of Politics, said de Blasio’s “decades of experience in local government, federal agencies, national campaigns, and running the largest city in the country will provide invaluable insight to our students and the Harvard community.”De Blasio, who grew up in Massachusetts and is a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan, was prevented by term limits from seeking a third four-year term as mayor. After an unsuccessful campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, de Blasio flirted this year with running for governor of New York and later mounted a brief run for a congressional district that includes his Brooklyn home.

North Carolina

Raleigh: A federal appeals court on Tuesday blocked a local district attorney from prosecuting state Attorney General Josh Stein or anyone else for his 2020 campaign ad through a criminal libel law. The majority of a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, granted the request by Stein’s campaign committee and others associated with his campaign to prevent enforcement of the law while they sue to attempt to have the law overturned as unconstitutional. The 2-1 decision came the day after a Wake County grand jury formally asked the Wake district attorney’s office to submit an indictment against Stein and two of his advisers or any one of the three for jurors to consider. Wake County DA Lorrin Freeman said Monday that could have happened as soon as next month. Any formal charges could harm the political future of Stein, a Democrat and possible 2024 gubernatorial candidate. The law, which dates back to at least 1931, makes it a misdemeanor to circulate “derogatory reports” about a candidate with the intent of hurting that candidate’s chances in the election. Stein’s Republican opponent in 2020, Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill, cited the law while demanding that the board investigate a political ad that accused the Republican of letting more than a thousand rape kits go untested. O’Neill said the ad was false because police agencies, not prosecutors, are responsible for testing the kits.

North Dakota

Fargo: A school board reversed course on its decision to stop reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at its monthly meetings, following complaints from conservative lawmakers and an angry backlash from citizens around the country. Seven of the nine members of the Fargo Board of Education, including four newcomers who took office in June, voted earlier this month to cancel a previous board edict that was approved a couple of months before the election. The new board agreed with member Seth Holden, who said the pledge did not align with the district’s diversity and inclusion code in part because the phrase “under God” does not include all faiths. Republican Gov. Doug Burgum last week promoted new legislation that would require public schools and governing bodies to administer the pledge without mandating that people recite it. Republican state Rep. Pat Heinert, a retired county sheriff, is suggesting that sanctions be put in place for public boards and commissions that don’t require the patriotic oath. Angry emails and voicemails dominated Thursday’s special meeting to reconsider the vote. Nyamal Dei, a refugee who fled war-torn Sudan, played a profanity-laced voicemail from a man who called her a slave, racist and Nazi. Several board members apologized to Dei, the lone Black member on the board, for taking the worst of the abuse. Dei said reversing the decision would be giving in to hate. She paused for several seconds before casting the lone “no” vote to reinstate the pledge.

Ohio

Columbus: A strike by teachers in the state’s largest school district entered its third day Wednesday – the first day of school for some 47,000 students, with some of those students and their parents rallying to their sides. Parents, students, teachers and other employees gathered at schools across the Columbus School District with plans to picket for hours, advocating for safer buildings, better heating and air conditioning, smaller class sizes, and a more well-rounded curriculum that includes art, music and physical education. It’s the union’s first strike in the district since 1975. Picketers blasted music on the sidewalks outside Whetstone High School in Columbus and waved to honking drivers. Some held up signs reading:“Columbus schools deserve working air,” “a history lesson in progress,” and “my feet hurt but I’ll walk as long as it takes.” The school district and the union resumed bargaining Wednesday afternoon. The school board said its offer to the union put children first. The Ohio Education Association said more than 94% of the Columbus Education Association members voted to reject the school board’s final offer late Sunday. The union represents more than 4,000 teachers, librarians, nurses and other employees, though it isn’t clear how many of those 4,000 members were not on the job Wednesday.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: Gov. Kevin Stitt on Wednesday rejected clemency for a man facing execution Thursday for the 1997 hammer killing of a Choctaw man, despite a recommendation from the state’s Pardon and Parole Board that his life be spared. James Coddington was convicted and sentenced to die for the beating death of a friend and co-worker, 73-year-old Albert Hale, inside Hale’s Choctaw home. Prosecutors say Coddington, who was 24 at the time, became enraged when Hale refused to give him money to buy cocaine. Coddington’s execution is scheduled for Thursday morning. “After thoroughly reviewing arguments and evidence presented by all sides of the case, Governor Kevin Stitt has denied the Pardon and Parole Board’s clemency recommendation for James Allen Coddington,” Stitt’s office said in a statement. During a clemency hearing this month before the state’s five-member Pardon and Parole Board, an emotional Coddington, now 50, apologized to Hale’s family and said he is a different man today. “I’m clean; I know God; I’m not … I’m not a vicious murderer,” Coddington told the board. “If this ends today with my death sentence, OK.” Coddington’s attorney, Emma Rolls, said Coddington doesn’t have any pending appeals that would delay or stop his execution Thursday.

Oregon

Klamath Falls: The Klamath Irrigation District in southern Oregon plans to defy a U.S. government order issued last week for a halt to water deliveries to farmers in the drought-stricken basin. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation manages the Klamath Project, which includes Klamath Irrigation District and serves 266 square miles of farmland around the Oregon-California border. A limited allocation of water was allowed for irrigators from Upper Klamath Lake this year because of extreme drought. The bureau has said the project is now out of water and ordered a shutdown last week, but irrigation district directors met Monday and authorized the district’s manager, Gene Souza, to continue operations, the Capital Press reports. The district operates a canal that provides water to nine irrigation districts encompassing about 191 square miles. Souza said in a letter to Alan Heck, acting area manager for the U.S. agency, that it has not provided a legal basis for shutting down the project and that doing so would deny farmers of the water they have legal rights to receive. “I am not doing my duty if I just comply because I do not have a legal justification to deny the people I serve their property,” Souza told the Capital Press.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: State elections officials said Wednesday that a push last week to recruit new poll workers produced more than 1,100 applicants, including at least one in 58 of 67 counties. The effort tied to Help America Vote Day, organized by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, brought in the most applicants in some of the populous suburbs of Philadelphia – 221 in Montgomery County, 132 in Chester and 91 in Delaware. Allegheny County, which encompasses Pittsburgh, drew 100 applicants, while Philadelphia brought in 47. In central Pennsylvania, Lancaster received 71 applications, Dauphin 40 and Cumberland 39. Poll workers, often older people, are paid to help run elections in some 9,000 polling places across the state, but it has been a challenge to recruit and train sufficient numbers of them during the COVID-19 pandemic. Poll worker shortages predate the pandemic, however, in part because their work can require 14- or 16-hour days. Lisa Schaefer, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, said the influx of 1,146 new candidates was a welcome boost. Some counties promoted the recruitment drive last week.

Rhode Island

Providence: A new report suggests ways the city can atone for its extensive ties to the trans-Atlantic slave trade and centuries of racism and discrimination by, among other things, establishing home repair funds, launching financial literacy programs, and boosting aid to Black and Indigenous organizations. The report, issued Monday by the Providence Municipal Reparations Commission, notably doesn’t recommend giving out direct payments to Black and Native American residents, as some had called for. Instead, it defines “reparations” as efforts that close the “present-day racial wealth and equity gaps,” and it outlines 11 areas for the city to focus its reparations work, including criminal justice reform, neighborhood development, health equity, and improving educational and cultural opportunities. Providence’s reparations effort was launched the same year Rhode Island voters approved a ballot referendum getting rid of the words “and Providence Plantations” from the state’s formal name because of its slavery connotations. The new report suggests creating a dedicated fund to support residents touched by urban renewal policies that displaced and negatively affected communities of color. It also calls for forgiving certain municipal court debts; ending police use of so-called no-knock warrants; decriminalizing consumption of alcohol in public; and creating a school curriculum based on the city’s research into its racist and discriminatory policies.

South Carolina

Columbia: A showdown between defense attorneys for disbarred lawyer Alex Murdaugh who say prosecutors are unfairly withholding evidence and prosecutors who want the defense to agree to secrecy rules first is heading for a courtroom next week. In their latest court filing, defense lawyers said the secrecy rules as Murdaugh awaits a murder trial in the shooting deaths of his wife and younger son are hypocritical because prosecutors are leaking evidence to media outlets, including a video the leaker said was taken not long before the killings. Prosecutors, including South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson himself, denied the leaks last week. A hearing about the matter is scheduled for Monday at the Colleton County courthouse, where defense attorneys want the murder trial to take place in January. The cellphone video from Murdaugh’s son included Murdaugh talking to his wife outside the family’s Colleton County home where the killings happened, said defense lawyers, who said they hadn’t been given the video, but it was shown to Murdaugh’s family by state agents. The leaked media reports did not include that the conversation was friendly and about dogs, the defense said. Defense lawyer Dick Harpootlian said the state contends that Murdaugh killed his wife and son “for no apparent reason” within minutes of the light-hearted conversation.

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota is joining other states in filing an amicus brief in defense of the Indian Child Welfare Act. The friend of the court brief involves the U.S. Supreme Court case Brackeen v. Haaland, which challenges the act that establishes federal standards for placement of Native American children in foster of adoptive homes. The act seeks to give the child’s family and tribe the opportunity to be involved in decisions from which they previously may have been excluded, including placement and services. Arguments in the case are scheduled before the high court this November. Stephanie Amiotte, legal director for the South Dakota ACLU, said if the court overturns the law, it could be devastating for tribes. “ICWA was enacted by Congress to address a situation where disproportionate numbers of Indian children were being removed from their homes, and eventually a disproportionate number of them were being adopted into white families,” Amiotte told South Dakota Public Broadcasting. The act’s opponents say the race-based policy is unconstitutional. Amiotte said keeping Indigenous children connected to their culture improves outcomes. “Native American Children have been essentially invisible within the American society,” Amiotte said.

Tennessee

Memphis: The superintendent of the state’s largest school district has resigned as he was being investigated by an outside attorney for allegations that he abused his power and violated policies. The Shelby County School Board accepted the resignation of Joris Ray during a specially called meeting Tuesday evening, officials said in a news release. Ray was appointed to lead Memphis-Shelby County Schools in 2019, and he had worked in the district for more than 24 years. The board had suspended Ray during an investigation stemming from allegations made in divorce proceedings between Ray and his wife, who is also a school district employee. A board resolution says it took action “to review the allegations to determine whether Superintendent Ray, during his tenure as Superintendent, engaged in relationships with District employees violative of MSCS policies.” The investigation was being led by former U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton III. In a statement posted on Twitter, Ray thanked colleagues for their “many, many small but powerful acts of devotion and commitment.”

Texas

Houston: Texas officials have accused the state’s most populous county of defunding some of its law enforcement agencies in violation of a new law that prevents such funding cuts. In a letter sent Monday, Texas Comptroller Glen Hegar alleged leaders in Harris County, where Houston is located, reduced funding for the offices of its constables in the current fiscal year and would again reduce funding next year. Harris County officials pushed back against the claims they were defunding law enforcement, saying they have actually increased funding, proposing a budget for the next fiscal year that would allocate $1.4 billion for justice and safety – which is 75% of the county’s budget and the most ever allocated by the county for public safety. Hegar accused the county of ending a policy that would have let the constables’ offices automatically roll over unspent departmental funds from one fiscal year to the next, resulting in a loss of more than $3 million. He also accused the county of reducing funding for the constables by up to $12 million for the 2022-23 fiscal year. Constables and their deputies are licensed peace officers who have the same powers as regular police officers but also have the added responsibility of civil law enforcement.

Utah

Salt Lake City: Republican state leaders sued the Biden administration Wednesday over the president’s decision last year to restore two sprawling national monuments on rugged lands sacred to Native Americans that ex-President Donald Trump had downsized. The lawsuit over Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments alleges President Joe Biden’s action violates the authority granted in a century-old law that allows presidents to protect sites considered historically, geographically or culturally important. The legal argument has been repeated for years by Republicans, and the legal challenge had been expected since Biden made the move in October 2021. The lawsuit is the latest twist in a years­long debate spanning three presidential administrations about proper protections of lands that include ancient cliff dwellings and petroglyphs. Trump’s decision to cut them in size opened them for mining and other development, although market dynamics kept that in check. “President Biden made no attempt to explain how 3.23 million acres constituted the ‘smallest area compatible with the proper care and management’ of these supposed monuments,” the lawsuit claims, citing the 1906 Antiquities Act outlining rules for designating national monuments.

Vermont

Strafford: A woman was attacked by a black bear over the weekend while walking her two dogs on trails on her Strafford property, the state Fish and Wildlife Department reported Tuesday. The 61-year-old woman was treated at Gifford Medical Center in Randolph on Saturday for non-life-threatening injuries, including a bite wound on her leg and multiple scratches, the department said. Fish and Wildlife game wardens and a bear biologist visited the site and concluded that the bear was a female with cubs who was likely provoked when the woman and her dogs surprised the group. They were unable to find the bear and say such attacks are extremely rare in the state. At the time of the attack, the woman had called her two dogs, who were out of sight, when she heard a large noise and realized a bear was charging her, officials said. She told game wardens that she tripped on a stone wall as the bear was charging her and then realized the animal was on top of her and had bitten her. The woman said her Jack Russell terrier barked at the bear, prompting the animal to get off her. She said she left with her dogs without seeing the bear again and called 911 when she got home. She also texted a neighbor to take her to the hospital.

Virginia

Richmond: A ratepayer protection that state regulators included in a recent order approving Dominion Energy Virginia’s application to build and recover the costs of a massive offshore wind farm would force the utility to scrap the project, Dominion said in a filing this week. The State Corporation Commission granted approval this month for the 176-turbine, multibillion-dollar project off Virginia Beach. Dominion immediately raised concerns about the commission’s inclusion of a performance guarantee for the wind farm and in a petition Monday asked the regulators to reconsider that element of their order. Dominion “shares the Commission’s concern, as expressed in the Final Order, that the Project be constructed and operated in a way that reasonably mitigates risk for its customers. The Commission’s unprecedented imposition of an involuntary performance guarantee condition on its approvals, however, is untenable,” the filing said. “As ordered, it will prevent the Project from moving forward, and the Company will be forced to terminate all development and construction activities.” The commission’s Aug. 5 order included three “consumer protections,” including the performance guarantee, which it said would protect customers who are paying for the wind farm “from also having to pay for replacement energy if the Project does not generate the amount of electricity upon which Dominion bases its request and its cost estimates.”

Washington

Seattle: An analysis of Washington State Ferries data shows ferries are running behind schedule this year more than they have in the past decade, with a consistent decline in on-time performance. Ferries spokesperson Ian Sterling told The Seattle Times that with 50% more passengers traveling by ferry in the summer, it is not unusual to see a dip in on-time performance from June to September. But the delays are more pronounced this year, and passengers on the Anacortes/San Juans route face particular problems, according to WSF data. While this route usually records more delays than others, in June, nearly half of all sailings on this route ran behind schedule. The newspaper reports that was a 40 percentage point gap from WSF’s target to run on time for 95% of trips. WSF attributes the lower on-time performance to a staffing shortage and a higher number of passengers on busy routes. On weekends, especially holiday weekends like Labor Day, passengers on popular tourist routes such as Anacortes/San Juans and Port Townsend/Coupeville are more likely to face delays on Thursday and Friday afternoons leaving the Seattle area and returning on Sunday and Monday afternoons. As of July this year, WSF had a 6% decline in staffing since 2019, when it was running at full capacity.

West Virginia

Charleston: A cleanup project is planned for the Kanawha River next month. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan is sponsoring the 32nd annual Great Kanawha River Cleanup from 8 a.m. to noon Sept. 10. Cleanup sites will be in Kanawha, Putnam and Fayette counties. Anyone who wants to volunteer should register with the department at (800) 322-5530 or christopher.j.cartwright@wv.gov. Bags and gloves will be provided for volunteers, and REAP will arrange for the trash to be hauled away. Volunteers will receive a T-shirt. Last year, 59 volunteers helped remove 1.9 tons of litter and 301 tires from five sites along the Kanawha River.

Wisconsin

Milwaukee: A federal judge has rejected a motion by the Milwaukee Police Department that sought to dismiss a case brought by two city residents who claimed their constitutional rights were violated when they were arrested near a memorial site for a Black man fatally shot by an officer in 2016. The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin is representing the residents, including Jarrett English and a plaintiff who did not wish to be named. They were arrested Aug. 30, 2016, in Milwaukee’s Sherman Park neighborhood, where police killed Sylville Smith approximately two weeks earlier. The 23-year-old Smith, who was armed, was running from police who suspected him of dealing drugs. The officer who killed Smith, also Black, was acquitted in the fatal shooting. Smith’s death touched off days of rioting in which businesses were burned, including a gas station, an auto parts store and a beauty supply shop. Firefighters were held back from the gas station blaze because of gunfire. The two plaintiffs, in their 2019 lawsuit, said their rights to the freedoms to assemble and to express themselves were violated when police in riot gear cleared Smith’s memorial site and arrested each of them at separate locations in the neighborhood.

Wyoming

Cody: The rush to build wind farms to combat climate change is colliding with preservation of one of the West’s most spectacular predators – the golden eagle – as the species teeters on the edge of decline. Ground zero in the conflict is Wyoming, a stronghold for golden eagles that soar on 7-foot wings and a favored location for wind farms. As wind turbines proliferate, scientists say deaths from collisions could drive down golden eagle numbers considered stable at best. Yet climate change looms as a potentially greater threat to the species: Rising temperatures are projected to reduce golden eagle breeding ranges by more than 40% later this century, according to a National Audubon Society analysis. That leaves golden eagles doubly vulnerable – to the shifting climate and to the wind energy promoted as a solution to that warming world. “We have some of the best golden eagle populations in Wyoming, but it doesn’t mean the population is not at risk,” said Bryan Bedrosian, conservation director at the Teton Raptor Center in Wilson, Wyoming. “As we increase wind development across the U.S., that risk is increasing.” Turbines blades hundreds of feet long are among myriad threats to golden eagles, which are routinely shot, poisoned by lead, hit by vehicles and electrocuted on power lines.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Teacher strike, eagle paradox: News from around our 50 states