News from across the USA

ALABAMA Huntsville: Veteran Bob Nore discovered through DNA analysis that he unknowingly fathered a son with a young Vietnamese woman in Saigon during the war, AL. com reported. That child, a working musician in Los Angeles, had been searching for his dad for years when Ancestry. com sent Nore the following message: “We have found a very high probability of a father- son relationship between you and Son Vo.”

ALASKA Fairbanks: Anthony Jenkins- Alexie was arraigned in a courtroom and charged with attempted murder in the shooting of police Sgt. Allen Brandt, newsminer.com reported.

ARIZONA Phoenix: People who hoard animals will face a Class 1 misdemeanor and have to undergo a mental health evaluation under an animal cruelty ordinance approved by the City Council, The Arizona Republic reported.

ARKANSAS Conway: A teenager charged with murdering a couple last year filed a letter asking if she and an imprisoned co- defendant can get married, ArkansasOnline reported. Anastasia Roberts, 18, wants to marry Connor Atchley, 18, who is serving a 25- year prison sentence for first- degree murder and theft.

CALIFORNIA Huntington Beach: Jeffrey Scott Jones, 56, slit his throat with a razor in a courtroom after a jury found him guilty of raping a girl when she was 13, the Los Angeles Times reported. His injuries were not life- threatening.

COLORADO Vail: Arapahoe Basin was scheduled to be the first Colorado ski resort to open for the season. The ski area, which sits at 10,780 feet, stayed open last season until mid- June and starting making snow Oct. 3.

CONNECTICUT Storrs: The University of Connecticut said a false fire alarm resulted in the death of a student who was run over and killed by a vehicle for the campus fire department.

DELAWARE Wilmington: A report by state leaders made several safety recommendations for schools following the deaths of two high school students. The committee recommended that schools increase the number of resource officers and give school personnel more tools to stop cyber bullying.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: The love story between the city and giant panda Bao Bao will have to come to an end in a few months. Bao Bao will leave the Smithsonian’s National Zoo for China in early 2017, WUSA9 reported.

FLORIDA Clearwater: Coast Guard officials rescued four boaters by helicopter after their boat capsized in southwest Florida.

GEORGIA Marietta: A Halloween display depicted a decapitated Hillary Clinton. Albin Blomkvest, the man behind the display, told Fox 5 Atlanta, “It’s really just a gag for Halloween, people are taking it too seriously.”

HAWAII Honolulu: A judge has ruled in favor of a group of Honolulu property owners who challenged the city’s residential tax on homes valued at $ 1 million or more. Tax Appeal Court Judge Gary Chang determined that the Residential A tax classification is unconstitutional, The Honolulu Star- Advertiser reported.

IDAHO Boise: Crews worked to remove Idaho’s largest sequoia tree from where it sits next to a hospital, the Idaho Statesman reported. Environmental Design Inc. began work to move the 104- year- old tree because of construction from its place next to St. Luke’s to a new site at Fort Boise Park.

ILLINOIS Flossmoor: Ming Te Lin, a longtime pediatrician, could face disciplinary action — including losing his medical license — after admitting he added cat saliva and vodka to patients’ vaccines as a treatment for pet allergies, the Chicago Tribune reported.

INDIANA Evansville: Police and fire unions in Evansville have asked a judge to block higher health insurance premiums from taking effect for city workers. A lawsuit filed in Vanderburgh Superior Court by the Fraternal Order of Police and the International Association of Fire Fighters seeks an injunction to prevent the changes from taking effect Jan. 1.

IOWA Iowa City: It took more than six decades, but the first black student to be named “Miss State University of Iowa” received official recognition — and an apology — from the university. Dora Martin Berry was 17 when her fellow students elected her in the annual contest in 1955, the Iowa City Press- Citizen reported. The university at that time was called the State University of Iowa. But university officials denied Berry representation as Miss SUI at official school events, including that year’s Rose Bowl parade.

KANSAS Salina: Health officials said only about half of the 33 cases of elevated lead levels reported in Saline County children were investigated because some people were reluctant to allow officials into their homes, The Salina Journal reported.

KENTUCKY Louisville: Jim Beam employees voted in favor of a new contract that will end a week- long strike and is expected to improve working conditions at two Kentucky facilities, The Courier- Journal reported.

LOUISIANA Covington: Police officers will soon get body armor that will give them protection from bullets fired from highpowered rifles, The Times- Picayune reported.

MAINE Bangor: The U. S. Department of Agriculture offers federal programs to farmers and livestock producers to help them recover from a drought that has impacted the state. The USDA’s Maine Farm Service Agency offers disaster assistance and lowinterest loans to help food producers.

MARYLAND Landover: The non- profit Hope Connections for Cancer Support opened a facility to bring free support groups, educational workshops and social activities to people dealing with cancer in Prince George’s County.

MASSACHUSETTS Boston: Preliminary estimates show the state gained more than 5,000 jobs in September while the unemployment rate dropped to 3.6% — the lowest it’s been since June 2001.

MICHIGAN Marquette: Heavy rains of up to 4 inches in four hours last week that caused widespread damage to roads, bridges, culverts and other infrastructure have led to a disaster declaration for Marquette County in the Upper Peninsula. One road, Michigan 94, had 90 feet of roadway washed out.

MINNESOTA St. Paul: George E. Lowe, 45, broke into a stranger’s apartment and held the woman captive while he drank a beer and smoked a cigarette, according to charges filed against him. Lowe has been charged with kidnapping and first- degree aggravated robbery, and two counts of firstdegree burglary, the Star Tribune reported.

MISSISSIPPI DeKalb: Kemper County supervisors this week banned people from wearing any clown costume, mask or makeup in public. The local law carries a $ 150 penalty, and it will be lifted Nov. 1, the Kemper County Mes

senger reported.

MISSOURI Spanish Lake: Coyotes are attacking residents’ pets, KTVI- TV reported. Residents said they have seen coyotes lurking around Birmingham Court subdivision.

MONTANA Bozeman: A parasite that caused a major die- off of mountain whitefish in the Yellowstone River was found in seven other rivers in Montana, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported.

NEBRASKA Weeping Water: A family of six was killed in an early morning house fire northeast of Weeping Water, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.

NEVADA Sparks: Police said a teenager was run over by a pickup truck after riding behind it on a skateboard, KRNV- TV reported.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Salem: The $ 500 million Rockingham Park project will add an estimated 5,000 new jobs and $ 10 million a year in property taxes, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported.

NEW JERSEY Atlantic City: The state Senate approved a measure to punish billionaire Carl Icahn for shutting down the Trump Taj Mahal casino by prohibiting him from holding a casino license for that casino for five years.

NEW MEXICO Las Cruces: The Las Cruces Sun- News reported that this year, 71.3% of last year’s freshmen returned to NMSU compared to 73.1% in the Fall 2015 semester.

NEW YORK Port Washington: Officials said nine members of a high school rowing team were rescued after a powerboat with no lights passed them at a high rate of speed, causing their vessel to overturn, Newsday reported. Glen Cove Harbor Patrol officers pulled the members of the Manhasset High School girls’ rowing team out of Hempstead Harbor.

NORTH CAROLINA Cary: A Wake County prosecutor wanted higher bail for a man charged with hitting two bicyclists, The News & Observer reported.

NORTH DAKOTA St. Thomas: A man accused of shooting a man he found in his home with his wife faces charges, but the wife will not be charged with shooting her husband, WDAZ- TV reported.

OHIO Columbus: A federal judge last week sentenced Karen Findley, former chief executive of Redflex Traffic Systems red- light camera vendor, to 14 months in federal prison for her role in a bribes- for- contracts scheme, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Oklahoma has turned down a request from Russia to have personnel in the state to study the Nov. 8 election, Tulsa World reported.

OREGON Astoria: Two people were injured after an explosion and fire at a marijuana- extraction company, The Daily Astorian reported.

PENNSYLVANIA Kingston: Wyoming Valley West Middle School started cleanup of an extensive mold problem that shuttered the school last month.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: Members of the Narragansett Indian Tribe will be allowed to use their tribal identification cards when voting. The state Board of Elections approved a directive ordering election boards to accept the cards.

SOUTH CAROLINA Abbeville: Descendants of a man lynched 100 years ago are erecting a downtown memorial to him and other black men killed by white mobs after the Civil War. Anthony Crawford was beaten, dragged out of town with a noose around his neck and hanged from a tree where his body was riddled with bullets.

SOUTH DAKOTA Pierre: Gov. Daugaard declared an emergency disaster in southwestern Jackson County after a prairie fire burned 64 square miles of grassland and killed scores of livestock. About 300 firefighters from 10 western counties fought the Cottonwood Fire at its peak. The blaze was fully contained.

TENNESSEE Memphis: The Tennessee Historical Commission blocked a plan from city leaders to move a statue honoring a Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader, Nathan Bedford Forrest, out of the downtown area, The Commercial Appeal reported.

TEXAS Austin: Police sought an armed man who faked being a law enforcement officer to pull over a school bus and quiz the driver about routes.

UTAH Salt Lake City: Officials announced the final four candidates in the running to become the next president of Utah State University. They include Montana Tech Chancellor Don Blackketter, Utah State University Provost Noelle Cockett, Boise State University Research and Economic Development Vice President Mark Rudin and Keith Miller, the former president of Virginia State University.

VERMONT Stowe: A Mount Mansfield stone cabin that was gutted by an accidental fire caused by the sons of the Burton Snowboards founder in 2015 has been rebuilt. The state- owned stone hut was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps and has been rented out by lottery in the winter, accessible by a chairlift at Stowe Mountain Resort.

VIRGINIA Henrico County: A skunk that attacked domesticated ducks tested positive for rabies, the Richmond Times- Dispatch reported.

WASHINGTON Port Angeles: Officials said the U. S. Highway 101 bridge over the Elwha River could need replacement or retrofitting now that two dams have been removed, the Peninsula Daily News reported.

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: U. S. Education Secretary John King visited Piedmont Elementary and the headquarters of the state Department of Education to recognize the state’s early learning system and publicize how the new, overarching federal education law supports early education efforts, the Charleston GazetteMail reported.

WISCONSIN Milwaukee: Laffy Taffy is the top candy for Wisconsinites, according to Influenster, which surveyed more than 40,000 people across the country to determine each state’s Halloween candy of choice, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

WYOMING Jackson: The annual elk hunt in Grand Teton National Park will run through Dec. 11, the Jackson Hole News & Guide reported. This year, 625 hunters were awarded permits authorizing the harvest of a cow elk.