News from across the USA

ALABAMA Jefferson County: A 31- year- old Graysville man suspected in a carjacking was in critical condition after he crashed while trying to elude lawmen, AL. com reported.

ALASKA Fairbanks: Ryan Middle School moved its academic wing to a new 67,000- square- foot, two- story building during the summer, and about 400 seventhand eighth- graders are the first inhabitants of the $ 30 million state- of- the- art structure — the most modern school in the North Star Borough School District, Principal Heather Stewart told newsminer.com.

ARIZONA Phoenix: Five firefighters were injured after inhaling chlorine gas, and another had a knee injury as they tried to put out a fire at a pool supply store, The Arizona Republic reported.

ARKANSAS Hot Springs: Defense expert David Diamond, a scientist and professor at the University of South Florida-Tampa, presented four common causes for leaving children unattended in vehicles during the negligent homicide trial of Wade Naramore, Arkansas Online reported.

CALIFORNIA Los Angeles: A proposal to move the northernmost runway at Los Angeles International Airport closer to homes will be shelved indefinitely under an agreement that ended a lawsuit challenging the planned modernization of LAX, the Times reported.

COLORADO Denver: The city has stepped up public safety efforts by adding security guards to patrol downtown. The Denver

Post reported that the guards, who are employed by Allied Universal Security, will monitor Denver’s 16th Street Mall 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

CONNECTICUT Hartford: Riders on the New Haven Line will soon be able to purchase their commuter rail tickets using a smartphone. The application is available for download and will become functional for stations along the New Haven Line and its New Canaan, Danbury and Waterbury branch lines beginning Monday.

DELAWARE Lewes: A Sussex County Council candidate in the GOP primary for the county’s 3rd District seat, Mark Schaeffer, was charged with driving under the influence, The News Journal reported. Schaeffer, 57, told Delaware 105.9 FM he had been knocking on doors to campaign all day and said he was “completely exhausted when stopped by police.”

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: The Vintage on 16th apartment building will feature a waiting room for those using ride- hailing services, The Washington Post reported.

FLORIDA Miami: Environmentalists and recreational divers filed a lawsuit in U. S. District Court here, challenging plans to dredge Port Everglades, arguing the project will harm coral reefs. The groups argue that the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers approved the project without using the latest science to determine effects on coral reefs.

GEORGIA Pickens County: A high school student was charged as an adult after he allegedly offered an undercover officer $ 12,000 to kill two classmates and their families, The Atlanta Journal- Constitution reported. HAWAII Honolulu: The University of Hawaii opened nine more all- gender restrooms on its Manoa campus.

IDAHO Idaho Falls: Seven police officers sued the city and Police Department. The officers said Chief Mark McBride didn’t follow rules set up to govern the hiring, firing and disciplinary procedures for police and firefighters, the Post Register reported.

ILLINOIS Zion: A Cancer Treatment Centers of America patient died after she was attacked outside the facility, the Chicago Tri

bune reported. Shannon Vincel, 46, of Springfield, Mo., was hit in the head with an unidentified object as she sat on a folding chair with another person outside the hotel facility about a mile from the hospital.

INDIANA Terre Haute: A Vigo County Health Department official says volunteers have counted 84 bats flying out of Sarah Scott Middle School, where the flying mammals have hit a custodian in the head and another worker in the chest.

IOWA Des Moines: Some senior residents at the Jacobs Place apartment building have been trapped in the upper floors of the building for weeks because of a broken elevator, KCCI- TV reported.

KANSAS Topeka: A statue was unveiled of native son Charles Curtis, who served as vice president under Herbert Hoover. Curtis’ mother was a member of the Kaw Nation. Historian Deb Goodrich said that when Curtis ran for vice president, much was made of the fact that he was descended from both pilgrims and Indians.

KENTUCKY Harlan: Police have found two more improvised explosive devices in the woods of Harlan County a week after the man accused of placing the explosives was killed during a search for them, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.

LOUISIANA Lake Charles: Police started using their recently acquired body camera systems. Police Chief Don Dixon told the American Press the department has 110 Watch-Guard body cameras.

MAINE Augusta: Officials approved new rules for animal owners who collect and sell wildlife in the state. The rules allow the department to impose steeper fines on those who keep wildlife illegally and give third party contractors the ability to inspect wildlife facilities.

MARYLAND Baltimore: The city will get more than $ 20 million in grants to help prevent sanitary sewer overflows. The Maryland Department of the Environment said the grants will help Baltimore improve the existing sanitary sewer infrastructure in the Patapsco and Herring Run sewer sheds.

MASSACHUSETTS Dartmouth: Police tried to figure out how a 6- foot- long boa constrictor ended up in town. The snake was grossly underweight, starving and possibly suffering from a respiratory issue.

MICHIGAN Novi: A suburban shopping center was evacuated following a smash- and- grab robbery, the Detroit Free Press reported.

MINNESOTA St. Paul: Gov. Dayton has concluded he will not call a special legislative session to pass tax breaks and millions of dollars in statewide construction projects after a meeting with legislative leaders failed to lead to a breakthrough, the Star Tribune reported.

MISSISSIPPI Columbus: Economic development officials are promoting a new industrial site in the Golden Triangle area of eastern Mississippi. Golden Triangle Development LINK and the Tennessee Valley Authority on Friday unveiled the new 1,144acre Infinity Megasite.

MISSOURI Farmington: A county commissioner race will get a do- over after the contest ended in a tie. After a recount, incumbent St. Francois County District 1 Associate Commissioner Gay Wilkinson and challenger Linda Black were deadlocked. MONTANA Billings: A trailer hauling hazardous materials burst into flames and exploded, causing a grass fire along Interstate 94. NEBRASKA La Vista: The natatorium at La Vista’s $ 125 million Nebraska Multisport Complex will be named for C. L. Werner after the trucking company founder and his wife, Rachel, gave the lead donation to build the complex, the Omaha World- Herald reported. NEVADA Las Vegas: For the second year, the state is having issues with online standardized tests taken by public school students. The state attorney gener- al’s office accused Data Recognition of breach of contract.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Salem: A woman escaped injury after a tree fell on her car while she was driving. WMUR- TV reported the tree struck the woman’s Honda CRV as she was driving south on Lawrence Road. Police say she was able to duck out of harm’s way at the last moment.

NEW JERSEY Trenton: Gov. Christie rejected legislation calling for automatic voter registration when residents apply for or renew their driver’s license.

NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: KOAT- TV reported that some trucks transporting green chile are dropping peels in South Valley. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office said it is a misdemeanor crime for any truck to spill loads.

NEW YORK New York: Five of the city’s largest parks will get new soccer fields, hiking trails and other improvements thanks to $ 150 million in new funding Mayor Bill de Blasio announced.

NORTH CAROLINA Fayetteville: The City Council signed a memorandum of understanding with the Houston Astros to bring a Class A team to the city. Under the plan, the team could play as early as next season, although the memorandum calls for the city to have a new stadium ready for the 2019 season.

NORTH DAKOTA Minot: The Ward County Jail’s proposed $ 4.4 million jail budget includes $ 8,000 a month for a Corrections Department monitor, the Minot Daily News reported.

OHIO Cleveland Heights: Authorities have given the owner of a naked Donald Trump statue 30 days to claim it along with a minor misdemeanor citation, The ( Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported.

OKLAHOMA Tulsa: The Foundation for Tulsa Schools raised more than $ 1 million through the Together for Tulsa Campaign launched in June, Tulsa World reported.

OREGON Portland: Seven companies offered millions of dollars to buy property slated to become a large homeless shelter, The Oregonian reported.

PENNSYLVANIA Scranton: A second employee at a county jail was charged with extorting money and drugs from inmates in return for special privileges and agreed to plead guilty.

RHODE ISLAND South Kingstown: Internal auditors investigated several complaints regarding the University of Rhode Island’s Department of Housing and Residential Life.

SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: State Department of Transportation commissioners approved U. S. Rep. Jim Clyburn’s request to reallocate $ 21.5 million of unused federal money to four road projects in his district.

SOUTH DAKOTA Sturgis: Traffic at this year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was down nearly 40% from last year’s landmark 75th anniversary event. Data from the state Transportation Department show 508,610 vehicles attended the event Aug. 3- 14, down from 830,503 last year.

TENNESSEE East Ridge: Police killed a man, reportedly wielding a knife, in front of a home here, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.

TEXAS San Antonio: The 4th Court of Appeals threw out Laredo’s 15- month- old ban on store-provided plastic checkout bags.

UTAH Ogden: A brush fire forced firefighters to evacuate hikers from Waterfall Canyon.

VERMONT Burlington: Six Chittenden County residents and the Stop the F- 35 Coalition planned to file an appeal to a recent federal court decision that cleared the way for the U. S. Air Force to base F- 35 fighter jets in the city, the Burlington Free Press reported.

VIRGINIA Chesterfield County: Nya Tamoi Reynolds, 36, was arrested after allegedly setting fire to her father’s home, according to the Richmond Times- Dispatch.

WASHINGTON Yakima: Mayor Avina Gutierrez stepped down from the largely ceremonial position, saying she no longer has the support of the council.

WEST VIRGINIA Lewisburg: The state will offer kiosks in malls, grocery stores and elsewhere as another option to renew car registrations without going to the DMV. Gov. Tomblin unveiled the booths last week at the State Fairgrounds.

WISCONSIN Green Bay: Weeks after more than 100 American Red Cross volunteers helped with flood recovery, 37 state staffers and volunteers are among 1,100 disaster workers sent by the Red Cross to aid those disrupted by deadly floodwaters in Louisiana, the Green Bay Press- Gazette reported.

WYOMING Cheyenne: Officials pushed back the construction of a passenger terminal at Cheyenne Regional Airport to next year, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported. The project had been planned to start in July. Now construction will begin in April.