News from across the USA

ALABAMA Tuscaloosa: A former space shuttle commander has pleaded not guilty in a fatal wreck that killed two girls in Alabama. James Halsell Jr., 60, is charged with reckless murder. Halsell’s lawyers have blamed the other driver for failing to yield. ALASKA Bethel: A University of Alaska Fairbanks study says climate change is having significant impacts on subsistence hunting and travel in communities across Alaska. KYUK-AM reports that a lack of snow has many people using all- terrain vehicles instead of snow machines to get around. ARIZONA Phoenix: City officials have agreed to allow an undecorated Christmas tree atop Phoenix’s Camelback Mountain. A group of hikers has carried a fully decorated tree up the mountain as a holiday tradition for several years. But this year, someone cut the tree in half and stole the top. ARKANSAS Fayetteville: University of Arkansas student leaders are working on a scooter safety program after a student died from a head injury suffered in a September accident. The Arkansas Democrat- Gazette reports that over 1,300 scooter parking permits have been issued at the campus. CALIFORNIA San Francisco: A state appeals court has revived a lawsuit challenging a California law that requires all semi- automatic handguns to be equipped with technology that stamps identifying information on bullet casings. COLORADO Denver: The slow start to Colorado’s ski season doesn’t seem to have any impact on resort bookings, The Denver Post reports. CONNECTICUT East Hartford: Public schools in East Hartford violated civil rights law by failing to provide adequate language services to parents and guardians with limited English, the U. S. Department of Education says. DELAWARE Wilmington: The Wilmington Fire Department plans to take one of its fire engines out of operation when staffing levels aren’t met. Fire Chief Anthony Goode says that’s in place of rotating fire station closures. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld says the District of Columbia transit system will double the number of new cars in service by next year, Capital News Service reports. FLORIDA St. Augustine: Flagler College has named St. Johns County’s superintendent of schools as its new president. Joseph G. Joyner will succeed William T. Abare Jr. GEORGIA Atlanta: A free mobile app has been released to help protect Georgia- based military service members, veterans and their families. Attorney General Chris Carr says the “Basis Training” app covers financial issues from buying a car to understanding credit reports and payday loans. HAWAII Honolulu: Witnesses who saw a helicopter before it crashed on Molokai tell investigators that it looked like the pilot was lost amid rain with low visibility. Attorney Gary Galiher and his female passenger were killed. IDAHO Idaho Falls: A $ 6,000 reward is being offered for information leading to whoever killed a grizzly bear on or about Oct. 21 in the Caribou- Targhee National Forest in Idaho’s Fremont County. ILLINOIS Springfield: Up to 2,000 older adults in Illinois will

enroll in a demonstration project in which a pharmacist visits them at home to review their medications. The program launched last week will run for a year. INDIANA Terre Haute: Indiana State University placed a fraternity chapter on probation following the accidental drowning of a freshman. The ( Terre Haute) Tribune- Star reports that Sigma Chi’s probation runs to May 2018.

IOWA Waterloo: A former Waterloo businessman who tried farming in Brazil has been imprisoned for bank fraud. The Waterloo- Cedar Falls Courier reports that Kelly Freese was sentenced last week to three years and told to repay more than $ 1 million to Lincoln Savings Bank. KANSAS Herington: The Environmental Protection Agency has reached a proposed settlement with Union Pacific Railroad over a sulfuric acid spill. The Salina Journal reports that two tank cars collided in January 2012, spilling 11,000 gallons of acid into Lime Creek. KENTUCKY Frankfort: A group promoting Kentucky bourbon producers has hired its first- ever director of social responsibility. Ali Edelstein will take the lead in the Kentucky Distillers’ Association of spreading the word about responsible consumption. LOUISIANA New Orleans: The autumn babies at New Orleans’ Audubon Zoo include a pair of threatened piglets native to Indonesia. Babirusa piglets lack a nose bone for rooting, so they only root in mud and swamps. MAINE Augusta: The state government is giving money to a pair of groups to tackle invasive forest pests. Maine agriculture commissioner Walt Whitcomb says the effort will help with early detection of pests such as the emerald ash borer. MARYLAND Baltimore: An American Civil Liberties Union report says Maryland is one of four states where more than 10% of prisoners serving parole- eligible life sentences were juveniles when they committed their crime, The Daily Record of Baltimore reports. MASSACHUSETTS Petersham: A woman whose horse was injured in June says DNA testing has confirmed that a mountain lion visited her property. But state wildlife officials determined the horse scraped against a gate latch. MICHIGAN East Lansing: Michigan State University is getting up to $ 122.5 million over five years from the National Science Foundation for its National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. MINNESOTA St. Paul: The state’s legislative auditor says he’s investigating the use of two luxury suites in the new Minnesota Vikings stadium. Auditor Jim Nobles says he hopes to complete the investigation in January. MISSISSIPPI Tupelo: The Mississippi flag with the Confederate battle emblem won’t fly outside the new Tupelo Police Department building — at least for a year. The city council voted to fly a state bicentennial banner, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports. MISSOURI Farmington: The small Missouri town of Iron Mountain Lake could soon be gone. The Daily Journal reports that a petition is asking the St. Francois County Commission to dissolve the town of about 740 residents. MONTANA Missoula: University of Montana President Royce Engstrom is stepping down effective Dec. 31. Former state Commissioner of Higher Education Sheila Stearns will serve as interim president. NEBRASKA Omaha: Health officials have confirmed that a Benson High School student has tuberculosis. Douglas County officials say 193 students and 12 staffers were exposed to the contagious lung disease. NEVADA Elko: A medical flight that crashed in Elko Nov. 18, killing all four people aboard, appeared to lose power immediately after takeoff, investigators say in a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report. NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: A circus operator has agreed to pay $ 24,000 in federal fines for a tent collapse that killed two people last year during severe weather. NEW JERSEY Trenton: Gov. Chris Christie has signed legislation that allows people previously convicted of drug offenses to more easily receive state benefits. Under the new law, people can complete an inpatient or outpatient treatment program. NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: The U. S. Department of Energy is preparing to treat dozens of radioactive waste containers that were improperly packed. A similar container from Los Alamos National Laboratory ruptured in 2014, forcing the federal government’s only underground nuclear waste repository to shut down. NEW YORK Rochester: Police officers shot and killed a pit bull that was mauling a woman outside a Rochester home. Deputy Police Chief Scott Peters say the officers probably saved the woman’s life. NORTH CAROLINA Fayetteville: A city public works employee died when his excavating machine toppled into a lake last week. James Ivey’s machine slid into the water and overturned after the ground beneath it collapsed. NORTH DAKOTA Fargo: Opponents of a Red River diversion channel want a North Dakota judge to halt the project until supporters get permits to build an upstream dam in Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has said it won’t grant a permit because there are better flood control options. OHIO Cleveland: The Cleveland- area medical examiner says heroin and fentanyl overdoses killed at least 42 people in Cuyahoga County in October. So far this year, the county has had at least 446 overdose deaths from heroin or fentanyl. OKLAHOMA Tulsa: In a consolidation move, the Williams Cos. will close its Oklahoma City office and move most of those 400 jobs to its headquarters in Tulsa. OREGON Portland: Portland State University and other regional schools are offering students “instant admission” in hopes of luring more seniors to campus. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports that admissions counselors are visiting high schools to recruit students. PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia: Temple University officials say the Philadelphia school’s endowment has surpassed $ 500 million for the first time. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that university leaders credit an increase in donations and better investment strategies as the reason. RHODE ISLAND Providence: A man who streamed himself on Facebook Live speeding and weaving in and out of traffic was seriously injured when he crashed into a garbage truck and a concrete barrier. State police say Onasi Olio- Rojas lost control while driving at speeds over 100 mph. SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: The state’s environmental agency is requesting more than $ 5 million for dam safety following Hurricane Matthew. The State reports that the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control wants $ 2.3 million to stabilize or tear down about two dozen damaged dams and about $ 3 million to inspect other dams. SOUTH DAKOTA Fort Pierre: Stanley County has sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency over demands that the county give back money used on a project following record Missouri River flooding in 2011. FEMA wants the county to pay back $ 145,000 for a box culvert that was installed on War Creek after the flooding, the Argus Leader reports. TENNESSEE Nashville: The U. S. House has voted to name the new federal courthouse in Nashville for actor- politician Fred Thompson, who died last year. Thompson starred in the “Law & Order” TV series. TEXAS Houston: A wounded alligator snapping turtle is recovering at a Texas wildlife rehabilitation center after crews rescued it from a rural drainage pipe. Crews used a spreader to open the pipe enough to get the turtle out. UTAH Salt Lake City: An independent report finds the number of state- run liquor stores in Utah lags significantly behind demand from a growing population. Utah currently has 44 liquor stores— 19 fewer than allowed under a state law based on a one- per- 48,000- residents formula. VERMONT Rutland: A jury awarded $ 750,000 to a hiker who was stuck for five hours on a gondola at the Killington ski resort that had closed early because of bad weather. The Rutland Herald reports that Nadine Price’s lawyer said she suffered post- traumatic stress disorder from “the torture” of being stuck on the gondola in October 2011. VIRGINIA Richmond: Virginia has started awarding new business development grants to farmers. The grants are designed to help farmers manage risk and broaden income sources. WASHINGTON Port Angeles: A new report finds that the population of non- native mountain goats in the Olympic Mountains has more than doubled over the past 12 years. WEST VIRGINIA Daniels: A doctor who ran a Raleigh County drug clinic has been accused of illegally distributing oxycodone to three patients who later died. The Register- Herald reports that Dr. Michael Kostenko was arrested last week on numerous federal charges. WISCONSIN Seymour: Gov. Scott Walker wants lawmakers to allocate about $ 35 million to expand broadband and technology in rural Wisconsin areas. WYOMING Cody: Yellowstone National Park’s superintendent predicts the number of park visitors will keep growing after two straight years of record attendance, The Cody Enterprise reports.