In the news

■ Tom Wiedmeier, utilities director in August, Ga., said a sinkhole opened up near a storm drain and gave a motorcyclist the ride of his life when the hole swallowed him and his bike, leaving the biker with minor injuries.

■ Megan Barry, mayor of Nashville, Tenn., has apologized to her husband and the city after accepting full responsibility for having an extramarital affair with the former head of her security detail, and said she plans to continue serving in office.

■ Chris Thomas, chief operator at a Midwest City, Okla., water center, says the city has saved about $7,000 in wages and equipment upkeep by using goats as groundskeepers, and that the city plans to expand the herd to manage overgrowth at railroad rights of way and remove weeds.

■ Jim Freund, principal at a Connecticut high school, said students are reporting higher grades and more focus in the classroom since the school instituted a blanket ban on cellphone use after instances of mean-spirited behavior through text messages and social media.

■ Dijanelle Fowler, 25, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for leaving her 1-year-old daughter, Skylar, in a hot car for five hours while getting her hair done in DeKalb County, Ga., last June, resulting in the baby’s death.

■ Alexander Sperber, 26, who told investigators in Florida that a chip in his head compelled him to rob a bank, strip naked and run down the street throwing money, was found innocent by reason of insanity by a federal judge and will remain in jail while receiving mental-health treatment.

■ Mike Chitwood, sheriff of Volusia County, Fla., says a 16-year-old stole a 76-year-old man’s car at gunpoint and planned to trade the man’s Corvette for marijuana, resulting in the teen being charged with felony armed carjacking.

■ Rong Ni, an acrobat who goes by the name “Red Panda,” is offering a $2,000 reward after her 7-foot unicycle, which she has had for 30 years and is worth $25,000, was stolen at the San Francisco airport, leaving her heartbroken, her agent said.

■ Zachary Hoffman, 14, a Little League player who was hit in the head by a foul ball in the dugout on the day before his 12th birthday and suffered a traumatic brain injury, was awarded $1.7 million by a Pennsylvania jury after it ruled that the dugout had not been properly protected by a fence.