In the news

■ John Wisniewski, a New Jersey assemblyman, has introduced a bill to let the public rent a house on Island Beach State Park that is now reserved for the state’s governors, including Chris Christie, who vacationed there with his family during a state government shutdown that had otherwise blocked public access to the park.

■ Florence Bearse of Bangor, Maine, who celebrated her 100th birthday this week, credited her longevity to her love of wine and suggested that people shouldn’t “take any baloney” if they, too, want to live to be 100.

■ Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, the head of the Georgia Department of Public Health, was named by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the federal government’s top public-health agency.

■ Charles Payne, the host of Fox Business Network’s Making Money who according to the Los Angeles Times was suspended after he was accused of sexual harassment, wrote on Twitter that he will fight the allegations “like a lion armed with truth.”

■ Nina Baccala, 44, who was convicted of breach of peace and sentenced to 25 days in jail after verbally assaulting a grocery store manager in 2013, was acquitted of the misdemeanor by the Connecticut Supreme Court, which ruled her profanity-laced tirade was constitutionally protected free speech as “fighting words.”

■ Adames Benitez, 52, who is accused of trying to impersonate a U.S. senator to get inside Trump Tower in New York while carrying two knives, was arrested on charges of criminal possession of a weapon and possession of a forged instrument.

■ Terri Lynn Rote, an Iowa woman charged with voting twice for Donald Trump because, she said, she believed Trump’s claims that the election was rigged and thought that her first ballot would be altered, pleaded guilty to election misconduct.

■ Alexis Tsipras, 42, Greece’s prime minister, underwent hernia surgery at an Athens hospital and should be released this weekend, Deputy Health Minister Pavlos Polakis said.

■ Jerry Lynn of Ross Township, Pa., who 13 years ago lost an alarm clock behind a wall during a home project, no longer will suffer daily beeping at 6:50 p.m., or 7:50 p.m. if it’s daylight saving time, thanks to the owners of Low-Cost Heating and Air Conditioning, who saw his story on TV and offered to remove the clock for him.