USA TODAY International Edition
HIGHLIGHT: PENNSYLVANIA
ALABAMA Maxwell Air Force Base:
The Glenn Miller Holiday Concert, a central Alabama tradition presented by the “Airmen of Note” of the United States Air Force Band, is coming back Wednesday at Troy University’s Davis Theatre. This free concert marks the original event’s 76th anniversary.
ALASKA Wasilla:
With sizable shockwaves still emanating from last week’s powerful earthquake, authorities are urging the selfie-taking public to stay away from a road that was badly mangled. Some photos on social media show people even climbing into large cracks on the buckled road in Wasilla, Alaska State Trooper spokesman Jonathon Taylor says.
ARIZONA Phoenix:
More than 31,000 pets later, “Pets on Parade” is turning 60. The Arizona Humane Society’s weekly television show on KTVK will celebrate the milestone Saturday.
ARKANSAS Little Rock:
A banking executive and former highway commissioner won Tuesday’s runoff for mayor, becoming the first African-American elected to lead Arkansas’ capital six decades after it was the center of a school desegregation crisis. Frank Scott, 35, defeated Baker Kurrus in the runoff election for the nonpartisan, open seat.
CALIFORNIA Oxnard:
On Saturday, the Channel Islands Harbor will host its annual Parade of Lights at 7 p.m. Visitors can see about 40 boats parade along the waterway to the sound of holiday songs.
COLORADO Fort Collins:
Colorado State University has closed the pay gap among its tenured and tenuretrack professors, according to an internal analysis.
CONNECTICUT Newtown:
The father of a boy killed in the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School has filed another defamation lawsuit against conspiracy theorists who accused him of being an actor. Lenny Pozner’s 6-year-old son Noah was among 26 people shot to death in the school Dec. 14, 2012.
DELAWARE Middletown:
While officers were growing their beards, they also were growing the coffers of a local charity that gives kids with cancer the opportunity for a week of camping. Middletown Police and members of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 20 gave up their razors for No Shave November. The fundraising effort resulted in $1,540 for Kay’s Kamp, according to the police department.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington:
The Metro Fare Evasion Decriminalization bill has passed in D.C. Council. The legislation makes the $300 criminal fine for skirting the $2 fare now a $50 civil fine.
FLORIDA Tallahassee:
Republican Gov. Rick Scott will delay his swearing-in ceremony as a U.S. senator so he can complete his term. Scott’s office said Tuesday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has agreed to hold Scott’s ceremony Jan. 8, the day his term ends. Other senators elected in November will be sworn in Jan. 3.
GEORGIA Atlanta:
An audit has found Atlanta police officers failed to turn body cameras on and off at required times in more than half of cases, news outlets report.
HAWAII Lihue:
A fungal pathogen that kills trees native to Hawaii has been discovered in two more areas on Kauai. The Garden Island reports three more trees have tested positive for rapid ohia death after it was found for the first time on the island in 14 trees in the Moloaa Forest Reserve in early May.
IDAHO Pocatello:
Computer software developed at Idaho State University to aid in post-wildfire recovery efforts is now being used by some fire managers during active fires.
ILLINOIS Chicago:
The Salvation Army says it has collected several valuable gold coins in the Chicago area.
INDIANA Muncie:
Muncie Animal Care and Services is holding a 24hour “Twelve Strays of Christmas” adoption event beginning midnight Friday, continuing through midnight Saturday. All dogs will be $5 to adopt; cats and kittens will be $1.
IOWA Des Moines:
The annual 80/35 Music Festival returns July 12-13, organizers said this week via social media.
Hamilton Township:
Jeff Asper’s holiday tradition is building an eerie sculpture based on folklore from other countries and displaying it on his front yard. Out front now is Krampus, a horned Christmas devil; Jolakotturinn, a giant Icelandic Yule cat; and this year’s installation, a German Christmas witch, Frau Perchta. As legend has it, Frau Perchta would roam the countryside for the 12 days leading up to Christmas. She’d leave a silver coin to nice children. But for the naughty, she’d cut open their bellies and replace all their organs with straw and pebbles. Asper uses only repurposed or recycled materials to make his unsettling sculptures.
KANSAS Lawrence:
The University of Kansas has signed an agreement with Westar Energy to have its Lawrence campus powered nearly 100 percent by wind energy by 2020.
KENTUCKY Lexington:
A police horse got stuck in a manhole Tuesday night and couldn’t quite giddyup. It took two hours for crews to free Yoder, who was galloping to the Lexington Christmas parade about 6:30 p.m. when he fell.
LOUISIANA New Orleans:
A famed music club has been bought by a funk band that has performed there for more than two decades. The New Orleans Advocate reports the five members of Galactic closed a deal to buy Tipitina’s.
MAINE Brunswick:
A landmark fast food drive-in restaurant is now up for sale. The Fat Boy, which has been selling burgers, fries and lobster rolls since the 1950s, had previously announced it was closing for the season in August.
MARYLAND Salisbury:
The federal government has moved to authorize the use of seismic airguns to find oil and gas formations on the East Coast, drawing bipartisan ire from activists and lawmakers.
MASSACHUSETTS Westborough:
State wildlife officials say the number of bald eagles in Massachusetts continues to grow. The state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife announced this week that it had identified 76 territorial pairs of bald eagles this year, up from 68 pairs last year and 59 seen in 2016.
MICHIGAN Yale:
Michael Morris first turned his hobby of making custom knives into a business. Morris Knives has taken him from Yale to the bright lights of cable television. Morris will be featured on a Discovery Channel show called “Master of Arms.” He and two other weapons makers will appear in an episode airing at 10 p.m. Friday.
MINNESOTA St. Cloud:
According to a report by GetCenturyLink, Minnesota is among the “Grinchiest” states in the union. The state ended up near the bottom of the list when it comes to Christmas spirit, ranking 44th out of all 50.
MISSISSIPPI Jackson:
The state’s Medicaid program will soon start covering more doctors’ office visits for its recipients. Starting Jan. 1, most recipients can see a physician 16 times a year, vs. the current 12.
MISSOURI Springfield:
For artist Ron Campbell, nostalgia is a powerful human experience – and one of the key reasons the Beatles “Yellow Submarine” animator will be in Springfield next week. He’ll appear 4-8 p.m. Dec. 11-12 at a temporary gallery set up at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.
MONTANA Great Falls:
Montanans favor a “Frozen” princess from among all the Disney princesses. And it’s not the ice princess. Instead of Elsa, Montanans are most likely to search for Elsa’s sister Anna on Google. That’s the result of analysis by CableTV.com, which released the “study” in conjunction with the release of Disney’s “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” which incorporates the princesses.
NEBRASKA Norfolk:
A meteorologist says steam from one or more plants on the east side of Norfolk helped generate recent snow that blew south to Seward and Lincoln.
NEVADA Reno:
The U.S. Interior Department has announced a $282,975 research grant for the state to study migration corridors of pronghorn antelope.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Durham:
The town’s human rights commission is looking at a decision to deny a 10foot-tall menorah next to a tree decorated annually at a local park. Town administrator Todd Selig says officials were concerned about vandalism and not “comfortable” leaving the menorah on display for the eight nights of Hanukkah.
NEW JERSEY Robbinsville:
Authorities say 24 workers at an Amazon warehouse have been taken to the hospital after a can of bear repellent was punctured and released fumes.
NEW MEXICO Santa Fe:
The New Mexico Environment Department has issued a notice of violation to the U.S. Air Force for failing to properly address groundwater contamination at a base near Clovis. Chemicals associated with firefighting foam once used at Cannon Air Force Base have been detected in groundwater on and near the military installation.
NEW YORK New York:
The city’s Apollo Theater plans to build two new performance spaces to incubate works by up-and-coming artists. Executives at the Harlem institution say the new Apollo Performing Arts Center will feature one space with 99 seats and another with 199.
NORTH CAROLINA Gastonia:
The makers of Moonpie have sent condolences to a North Carolina man who lost his horse of the same name in a shooting. Travis Walden tells WBTV-TV that he received an unexpected delivery of a box full of Moonpies, calling the move “classy.”
NORTH DAKOTA Fargo:
Need a little warm-up? City commissioners have approved a law allowing alcohol consumption on the streets of downtown Fargo during certain events.
OHIO Cincinnati:
The around-theclock watch of Anana the polar bear continues in anxious anticipation. Will she or won’t she give birth to cubs? That’s the million-dollar question that no one can answer. On Wednesday the zoo posted a video to Twitter of the polar bear lazily lounging in her den. She has been under 24/7 observation for more than a month. There’s currently no pregnancy test for polar bears, something the scientists in the zoo’s research center are working to change.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City:
The $8 million sale of the campus of bankrupt St. Gregory’s University in Shawnee to Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. is final. Documents filed in federal bankruptcy court completed the sale of the more than 70-acre campus that includes six buildings and other property. Hobby Lobby will lease the campus to Oklahoma Baptist University, a private Christian college in Shawnee, for an undisclosed amount.
OREGON Bend:
The state’s trumpeter swan breeding program has a new pair of the elegant white water birds as part of its ongoing bid to restore the population of the species after it was hunted to near-extinction.
RHODE ISLAND Bristol:
A group of Roger Williams University students, faculty and staff says the opioid overdose antidote naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan, will be placed in buildings around campus.
SOUTH CAROLINA Clemson:
A confirmed case of mumps has been identified in connection to Clemson University, according to a release from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls:
South Dakota is the place to go if you want a cheap date. The state has the cheapest average date, according to a Match.com survey and an analysis from 24/7 Wall Street.
TENNESSEE Memphis:
Willy Wonka would be proud of The Peabody’s pastry chefs. This year’s annual gingerbread display is an homage to the classic movie “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory.” Oompa Loompas, a chocolate factory, a chocolate fountain and even Charlie’s house are part of the 20-foot-wide-by-7-foot-deep display in the iconic hotel’s lobby.
TEXAS Fort Worth:
In an effort to combat “porch pirates” this holiday season in the age of Amazon, the Fort Worth Police Department recently announced it would provide “baited” packages with GPS tracking for participants, who will then put the packages on the porch, visible from the street. Police will monitor the packages, and if they are taken out of the area, officers will move in. The department is calling the effort “Operation Grinch Pinch.”
UTAH St. George:
You may have read the Nativity story in books, listened to it in song and seen it performed on stage – but have you ever seen it told through dance? Mother-daughter duo Lisa and Andrielle Clements are making this possible for Southern Utah residents. “Hope of the World,” a dance concert, will debut Saturday at the Eccles Fine Arts Center in St. George.
VERMONT Brattleboro:
A Vermont man has been nominated to serve as the ambassador to Cambodia. WCAXTV reports W. Patrick Murphy, of Brattleboro, thanked the president and the secretary of state for the nomination during a meeting with the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee. Murphy is a longtime State Department employee and a University of Vermont graduate.
VIRGINIA Chincoteague:
Rain Dancer, one of seven Chincoteague ponies with “swamp cancer,” died this week. She is the second pony to die of the disease this year.
WASHINGTON Bremerton:
The Navy is working on a plan to encourage a pair of ospreys to make their homes somewhere other than at the top of Bremerton’s fleet of inactive mothballed Navy vessels.
WEST VIRGINIA Morgantown:
A former interim president of West Virginia University is leaving nearly $1 million to the school in his will. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that C. Peter Magrath announced the gift Nov. 14 during the university’s second annual Day of Giving.
WISCONSIN Madison:
As Wisconsin lawmakers were busy changing laws this week during a lame duck session, writers at The Onion were busy poking fun at them. The satirical news website, which started in Madison in 1988, published three spoof stories about the state’s messy week.
WYOMING Cheyenne:
Spotting a mountain goat perched high on a cliff might thrill many of the millions of tourists who visit Grand Teton National Park every year, but park officials say it might be time for the agile, bearded animals to go and are taking public comment on a plan to kill or relocate the mountain goats. The problem, according to the park, is that Grand Teton’s 100 or so mountain goats threaten a herd of about 80 bighorn sheep, who numbered as many as 125 just a few years ago.