In the news
■ Christopher Rockwell of the Salvation Army says, “the Grinch will not have this victory” thanks to “a massive blessing beyond comprehension,” with people around Farmington, N.M., donating more than enough gifts and money to compensate for the theft of the charity’s van that held $6,000 worth of toys.
■ Jason Crites of the Missouri Department of Conservation encouraged people “to refrain from dumping, especially in these locations,” after volunteer cavers, Boy Scouts and other community members removed 3½ tons of garbage from a sinkhole cave in Ste. Genevieve County.
■ Charles Lemon, sheriff of Marlboro County, S.C., was indicted and suspended, and he faces up to 20 years in prison on allegations that he ordered a deputy to shock an inmate with a Taser three times because Lemon said the prisoner attacked him while trying to escape.
■ Matthew Amos Burke, 35, convicted of kidnapping and bank fraud in Birmingham, Ala., is the focus of a manhunt after officials say missing paperwork led to him being mistakenly released from jail.
■ Terry O’Donnell, Oklahoma’s House speaker pro tempore, was indicted on five felony and three misdemeanor charges after reportedly using his authority to change state law so his wife could become a tag agent, taking over for her mother.
■ Derrick Felton, 43, of Alexandria, La., was sentenced to 15 years and 8 months in prison after authorities found his fingerprints on cooking pans packed in boxes mailed from Los Angeles that also contained 18 pounds of methamphetamine.
■ Burl Cain, a Mississippi corrections commissioner, and his staff unveiled a mobile welding training center with eight high-tech simulators, the heart of a program designed to give inmates a chance at high-paying careers after they leave prison.
■ Christian Pinnen, an associate history professor at Mississippi College, won the state Historical Society’s award for best state history book of the year featuring his study titled “Complexion of Empire in Natchez/Race and Slavery in the Mississippi Borderlands.”
■ Billy Nungesser, lieutenant governor of Louisiana, said “We knocked it out of the park” as the state placed its first float in the New Year’s Day Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif., building on what he called a marketing bonanza since the state’s alligator float entry in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.