In the news

■ Tammy StumbrisCzachor of Ashwaubenon, Wis., says a wild turkey named Smoke, referred to by some locals as “the mayor,” stands out from the usual turkey crowd, chasing after cars as if on patrol and standing in a four-way intersection every day during rush hour as if directing traffic. ■ Lindy Anderson of Savannah, Mo., started an initiative to keep stray cats warm during the winter by giving away temporary shelters she built out of Styrofoam coolers that are stuffed with straw and fitted with a cat-sized cutout entryway. ■ Jamie Sams, a New Mexico writer known for books on spirituality, is suing a Santa Fe hospital, saying doctors gave her a painkiller after she told the staff she was allergic to it, which caused her to go into cardiac arrest, and that she was revived even though she had signed a “do not resuscitate” form.

■ Mike Dunleavy, the Republican governor-elect of Alaska, will become the state’s first elected official to be sworn in above the Arctic Circle when he takes the oath of office in Noorvik, a tiny Inupiat Eskimo village more than 1,000 miles from the state capital of Juneau. ■ Crystal Gaylene Edwards, 33, of Pearl, Miss., was arrested on kidnapping and other counts after authorities said she traveled to Josephine, Texas, and abducted two girls, ages 8 and 11, from an acquaintance’s home and took them to Jackson, Miss.

■ Jim Furkin, a Missouri substitute teacher, said he was banned from St. Louis County’s Parkway School District after he thanked students in his class for standing while they said the Pledge of Allegiance, which drew a complaint from a student who had chosen not to stand.

■ Nicholas Ivy, who was involved in the armed robbery of a restaurant in Madison, Wis., was sentenced to 25 years in prison for causing the death of bystander Chris Kneubuehl, 56, by refusing to let others call for help when Kneubuehl suffered a heart attack during the robbery.

■ Travis Sauder, who works with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said a mountain lion kitten that fell ill after residents of a southern Colorado home fed it bratwurst appears now to be in good health, adding that it was sent to a wildlife rehabilitation center.

■ Heather Wilson, secretary of the Air Force, said Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City was selected to oversee the maintenance of the branch’s new long-range strike bomber, the B-21 Raider.