News from across the USA

ALABAMA Montgomery: A statement issued by the governor’s office said the state’s unemployment rate in July was 5.7%, down three- tenths of a percent from June, AL. com reported.

ALASKA Fairbanks: Seneca Loyal Neal, 39, of Anchorage could face 20 years to life in prison after a federal jury convicted him of supplying large amounts of heroin to a drug dealer, newsminer. com reported.

ARIZONA Scottsdale: In October, the JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort and Spa will introduce Lincoln Restaurant and Bar 1936, a pair of refined establishments to take the place of BLT Steak, which will close in September, The Arizona Republic reported.

ARKANSAS Hazen: Two students were taken to a hospital after a school bus was hit from behind by a commercial truck, ArkansasOnline reported.

CALIFORNIA Sacramento County: Officials appealed a multimillion- dollar discrimination verdict awarded a quartet of female sheriff’s deputies in May, The Sacramento Bee reported.

COLORADO Fort Collins: Hundreds of people attended a memorial service Saturday at Colorado State University to honor Tom Sutherland, a professor who was held captive in Lebanon for more than six years until he was freed in 1991, the Coloradoan reported. Sutherland died July 22 at age 85.

CONNECTICUT Bridgeport: Thirteen people were shot early Sunday by at least two shooters who hid behind hedges outside a house party. Most of the victims were shot in the legs, the Hartford Courant reported.

DELAWARE Rehoboth Beach: A Canadian man was charged after his daughter allegedly lured a seagull to a hole in the sand and killed it with a plastic shovel. The 13- year- old was accused of putting food into a hole in the sand and trying to hit birds with the shovel. She allegedly hit and killed one seagull, which police found in a trashcan.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: A cable broke loose from the elevator car at the Washington Monument, causing it to stop between the 490- and 500- foot levels, The Washington Post reported.

FLORIDA Orlando: A man suspected of posting a series of message on Twitter threatening to shoot students and put pipe bombs inside schools was arrested. Orange County Sheriff’s spokesman Jeff Williamson said in an email that Jesus Kong, 23, was taken into custody on a warrant while trying to cross the border into Canada.

GEORGIA Dunwoody: East 48th Street Market, an Italian eatery, failed its routine health inspection after a county inspector observed raw eggshells stored near ready- to- eat foods, among other violations, The Atlanta Journal- Constitution reported.

HAWAII Hilo: Six scientists are close to wrapping up a year of near isolation in a Mars simulation on a mountain. The scientists are housed in a dome on Mauna Loa and can go outside only in spacesuits, the Hawaii Tribune- Herald reported.

IDAHO Caldwell: A police officer shot and killed a dog after it acted aggressively toward him.

ILLINOIS Chicago: The friendly faces who man the doors at many apartment buildings celebrated after ratifying a tentative contract that would give them big pay bumps and better health care options, the Chicago Tribune reported. The three- year contract, which would go into effect Dec. 1, covers more than 1,200 doormen.

INDIANA Indianapolis: Overall attendance at this year’s State Fair was down 19.4% compared with last year. Fair officials cited heat indexes of higher than 87 degrees and nine days of rain for the drop.

IOWA Des Moines: Falala, the Blank Park Zoo’s 19- year- old African lion, was euthanized last week after her quality of life diminished because of her old age, The Des Moines Register reported.

KANSAS Topeka: A motorcyclist who fled from law enforcement at speeds of more than 130 mph was taken into custody after a 10minute pursuit that ended at the man’s home, The Topeka CapitalJournal reported.

KENTUCKY Lexingon: Precious Jewels School of Excellence day care, where a 3- year- old boy was left in a van for more than nine hours this month, had its license revoked, the Lexington HeraldLeader reported. The boy showed signs of dehydration but was otherwise unhurt.

LOUISIANA New Orleans: Buckwheat Zydeco, who has won Grammy and Emmy awards, is battling lung cancer, and his friends and family set up a gofundme account to help him pay for treatments, The Times- Picayune reported.

MAINE Westbrook: Police warned the public that a large snake spotted this summer may still be around after a large snakeskin was found in Riverbank Park along the Presumpscot River.

MARYLAND Baltimore: Police looked for men posing as officers and robbing motorists. The four men have been seen wearing black tactical vests with the word “AGENT” on them and driving a gray Dodge Caliber.

MASSACHUSETTS Boston: The 37- foot Cape Ann Harbor Cruise, a tour boat that began taking on water, was safely towed back to shore, along with its 34 passengers, the Coast Guard said.

MICHIGAN Detroit: Stroh’s Bohemian- style Pilsner, brewed in the Corktown neighborhood, went on sale Monday for the first time since the city’s Stroh Brewery closed in 1985, the Detroit

Free Press reported. Pabst acquired the brand in 1999, but Brew Detroit makes the beer.

MINNESOTA Minneapolis: A fox suspected of biting two people on the south side of Lake Harriet tested positive for rabies. The fox was captured soon after an attack on a jogger and was euthanized for testing.

MISSISSIPPI Tupelo: Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker announced that the Tupelo Airport Authority will receive a $ 948,223 grant, the Daily Journal reported. The money will be used to repair the airport’s taxiway.

MISSOURI Kansas City: The Kansas City Star reported that the Kansas City Public Schools school district dropped Daye Transportation Services as its busing provider for Lincoln College Preparatory Academy after its vehicles fared poorly in an inspection.

MONTANA Billings: Park High School football coach Bruce Knerr was fired after a player was seriously injured while boxing during a “leadership camp,” and school officials discovered inappropriate texts purportedly between the coach and players.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: The works of cats, camels, chickens and more are on sale at the Children’s Zoo’s semiannual Animal Art event. The Lincoln Journal Star reported that the one- of- a- kind critter creations on canvas feature the works of dozens of animals. All the money raised will go toward caring for zoo animals over the winter.

NEVADA Reno: Officials mulled options to make over the downtown arch at a cost of about $ 175,000. Improvements under discussion include programmable letters and lights and new electrical wiring.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: Because of drought conditions, the state’s apple crop could be only 60% of what it is normally. The crop was valued at more than $ 12 million in 2015, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported.

NEW JERSEY Ocean Township: Joseph Palaia, a longtime state lawmaker who was a leading voice for children with disabilities, died. He was 89. The Republican lawmaker was a teacher and school administrator for several years before he first sought elected office in the late 1960s.

NEW MEXICO Las Cruces: Swainson’s hawks, a species under federal protection, are nesting at New Mexico State University for a fourth year in a row. That is causing concern about safety for the public and the birds, the Las Cruces SunNews reported.

NEW YORK New York: A 55year- old stepmother faced second- degree murder charges in the death of her child who was found strangled in the bathtub of her Queens home. Shamdai Arjun was arrested after Ashdeep Kaur, 9, was found dead. Arjun’s exhusband, Raymond Narayan, 65, was arrested on charges of obstructing governmental administration.

NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: The state Department of Transportation plans to install traffic signals on four onramps on Interstate 540 early next year to break up the long lines of vehicles that pour onto the freeway during rush hour, The News & Observer reported.

NORTH DAKOTA Gwinner: Dollar General is building five stores in the southeastern part of the state. Stores are under construction in Oakes, Ellendale, Hankinson, Hillsboro and Gwinner.

OHIO Parma Heights: Police considered charges against a 74- year- old woman who hit the gas instead of her brakes and crashed into a crowd at an outdoor community concert, injuring herself and eight other people, WKYCTV reported. The woman, whose name was not released, drove onto a small, packed dance floor Sunday night, Det. Sgt. Steve Scharschmidt said.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: About 88% of state residents would support a federal law requiring background checks for all gun purchases, according to the survey conducted by SoonerPoll in cooperation with The Oklahoman.

OREGON Portland: Lead concerns at Portland Public Schools had officials warning against eating produce from campus gardens, KGW- TV reported. Water tests showed elevated lead levels at 99% of public schools.

PENNSYLVANIA East Berlin: A mother and daughter were killed in a four- vehicle crash in Washington Township.

RHODE ISLAND Warwick: State officials advised residents to avoid contact with water in Warwick Pond, where a toxic bluegreen algae bloom was detected. Pet owners should not allow pets to drink the water or swim in it.

SOUTH CAROLINA Myrtle Beach: Myrtle Beach International Airport is the second airport in the USA to help families with autistic children by offering a quiet space to decompress after a flight, The Sun- News reported. The room in the airport’s baggage- claim area features pillowed and cushioned cubicles and seats marked with the words “Quiet Room” on its glass- paneled door.

SOUTH DAKOTA Yankton: The Yankton School District is set to open a food pantry at an elementary school, the Yankton Press & Dakotan reported. The pantry will run at Lincoln Elementary School from 6 to 8 p. m. on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month, beginning Sept. 14.

TENNESSEE Lenoir City: A woman found dead west of Knoxville may be Diana Guzman, 20, an East Tennessee State University student missing since Aug. 10. The woman’s car was found in the woods near the Interstate 40- 75 interchange, and her body was nearby.

TEXAS Austin: A study revealed that the number of pregnant women who died from complications doubled at the same time funds to Planned Parenthood were cut dramatically in 2011, the San Antonio Current reported.

UTAH Salt Lake City: A vote on a plan to lure a Facebook data center with up to $ 240 million in tax breaks will be postponed at least a week. The suburb of West Jordan is competing with Los Lunas, N. M., to attract the facility.

VERMONT Burlington: German artists Viktoria Strecker, Vesko Goesel and Peter Miller transformed the derelict, vacant Moran coal plant into an exhibit titled “Modes of Construction,” which features approximately 15 works that interact with the building, the Burlington Free Press reported.

VIRGINIA Petersburg: The city temporarily averted the threat of suspension of curbside trash collections by making a monthly payment just before a deadline set by a contractor, the Richmond Times- Dispatch reported.

WASHINGTON Kingston: Health officials indefinitely suspended the license of a former EMT for North Kitsap Fire and Rescue who drove recklessly with a patient who’d had a possible stroke, the Kitsap Sun reported.

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: Toyota, the Education Alliance, the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation and the United Way announced seven additional Born Learning Academies at the Capitol. The schools are free and teach parents and caregivers of children up to 5 years old to use regular daily moments as learning opportunities.

WISCONSIN West Bend: Guitarist Matt Roberts, a founding member of the rock band 3 Doors Down, died before he was to perform at a benefit concert. He was found unconscious.

WYOMING Chey

enne: The Office of Tourism launched a page on www. travelwyoming. com/ eclipse, a website dedicated to the total solar eclipse that will occur Aug. 21, 2017. The eclipse will be visible from a 60- mile band through the center of the state.