In the news

■ Ted Cruz, senator of Texas tweeted “Government propaganda … for your 5 year old!” as Big Bird of “Sesame Street,” who’s perennially 6, announced he’d gotten a covid-19 shot just days after it was approved for young children, saying, “My wing is feeling a little sore, but it’ll give my body an extra protective boost.”

■ Toshiaki Nakamura, a restaurant owner in Echizen, Japan, says he cast the winning bid of 5 million yen — $44,000 — for a 4-pound snow crab certified to be of the highest quality, kicking off fishing season for the winter delicacy, so he could welcome customers with his “head held high.”

■ Pandora Redmond of Hearty Helpings Food Pantry & Soup Kitchen in the Mississippi Delta says the pandemic has increased demand, but the nonprofit will no longer have to rent vehicles after a health care company, grocery store chain and food company teamed up to donate a refrigerated truck.

■ Skip Henderson, mayor of Columbus, Ga., has a host of projects lined up, including retirement of the 51-year- old Government Center, after voters approved a 1% sales tax that’s projected to raise $400 million over 10 years.

■ John Schroder, treasurer of Louisiana, advises state taxpayers that “If you haven’t checked your name in our database in a while, there’s no better time than today,” as $ 5.6 million in income tax refunds are unclaimed, “up to six figures.”

■ Jim Proctor, sheriff of Camden County, Ga., says he may resort to suing county leaders because they won’t increase his budget despite “unprecedented challenges” recruiting and retaining “the best and brightest men and women to patrol your streets, secure your courts, and answer your calls for help.”

■ Harold Franklin Jr. will be on hand as Alabama’s Auburn University honors his father, who in 1964 became the school’s first Black student, with the dedication of a marker on a new plaza.

■ Cameron Harrelson of PRIDE in Athens, Ga., notes “Our mission statement talks a lot about safe spaces,” so the parade was canceled by a resurgent coronavirus, but a week of events will include a pageant, trivia night, karaoke, variety show, drag show, a queer prom and movie screenings.

■ M.J. “Sunny” Eberhart, 83, of Alabama started walking when he retired, never stopped and just strode into the record books as, under the trail name Nimblewill Nomad, the oldest hiker to complete the Appalachian Trail.