In the news

■ Steven Reed, who recently became the first black mayor of Montgomery, Ala., said the new statue of civilrights pioneer Rosa Parks that was unveiled in the state’s capital city on the anniversary of her arrest will inspire people “to push toward the path of righteousness, strength, courage and equality.”

■ Ken Nix, a retiring jail supervisor in Hall County, Ga., said he was not involved but accepts responsibility for misconduct among county employees after eight workers at the jail resigned or were suspended when an investigation discovered some engaged in sexual activity with one another while they all worked the same night shift.

■ Jonelle Jade Dare, 33, was arrested in Sandy Springs, Ga., accused by police of becoming verbally abusive to staff at a fastfood restaurant in Kentucky when she did not get a fork or napkin with her meal and then firing a handgun into the drive-thru window before speeding off in her car.

■ Rick Mercier, spokesman for Garner, N.C., said the town canceled its annual Christmas parade after online chatter about a float sponsored by the Sons of Confederate Veterans led officials to conclude that the event could be targeted for disruption.

■ William L. Gossett, 37, of Southaven, Miss., was sentenced to 371 years in prison for five aggravated rapes and 21 other felonies in a dozen break-ins across Memphis.

■ Harold Eugene Denson III, 37, who was accused of yelling “go back to your country” and spitting on a Ukrainian immigrant, was ordered by a judge to write a 500-word essay about the challenges people face when moving to the United States.

■ Lisa Farbstein with the Transportation Security Administration said a Florida man was arrested after he was caught in New York trying to smuggle a gun through an airport for the second time in a month, claiming both times that he didn’t know he was carrying the weapon.

■ Nathan Crews, 15, who is being charged as an adult, faces burglary, aggravated assault and other counts, accused by authorities of knocking a woman in her 80s unconscious and stealing her car after she refused to give him a ride and some water.

■ Kenneth Board, who lost his high school ring on a beach the day after the 1970 senior prom, said he “can’t fathom” that a man with a metal detector discovered the ring nearly 50 years later on a different beach about 20 miles from where he lost it.