50 ★ States

ALABAMA Prattville: A sheriff says inmates were caught making some truly “disgusting” vegetables alcohol at the out Autauga of fermenting Metro Joe Sedinger Jail. Autauga says the County jail stopped Sheriff serving because fruit they to made inmates wine years with ago it. He says contraband; they won’t he just be punished wants to for remind the them he’s watching the jail closely.

ALASKA Anchorage: Wildlife officials and residents of a remote island are cheering the death of a wild rat after 10 months of eluding capture. The Anchorage Daily News reports St. James Island is a breeding habitat for millions of birds, and the Norway rat, likely carried by ship, could have devastated the bird population had an infestation occurred.

ARIZONA Phoenix: Six tiny blackfooted ferrets have been born through the Phoenix Zoo’s recovery program.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: Finance officials say the state has ended the fiscal year with a $295 million budget surplus, nearly $74 million of which will go toward highway needs.

CALIFORNIA Los Angeles: A gigantic mansion, the city’s largest, that was built in 1991 for late producer Aaron Spelling and his widow has been sold for $119.75 million. The Los Angeles Times says it’s the highest home price ever in Los Angeles County.

COLORADO Steamboat Springs: Wildlife researchers say an elk traveled more than 250 miles across the state, over the Continental Divide, to give birth. The Steamboat Pilot and Today reports she was equipped with a GPS collar as part of a study tracking the survival of elk calves.

CONNECTICUT Stafford Springs: American Woolen Company Inc., a recently reopened mill, is helping the military bring back old-school Army uniforms by providing the high-quality green woolen fabric used in their manufacture.

DELAWARE Newark: At the Robot Captain Crabs Cajun Seafood & Bar, new hostess Charlotte seems eager to show customers to their seats. This seemingly perfect employee with a polite, girlish voice is a robot, one of five “working” at the new restaurant near Newark. Owner Guang Chen says he believes the establishment could be one of the first in the nation to use robot servers and hosts.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: City officials are pushing back against an unsubstantiated claim by President Donald Trump that he orchestrated a purge of homeless people here to shield visiting foreign dignitaries from having to see them.

FLORIDA Miami Shores: A couple whose front-yard vegetable garden prompted a six-year legal battle with their village has held a ceremonial replanting of veggies under a new law legalizing such gardens statewide. Hermine Ricketts and husband Tom Carroll planted jalapenos, green bell peppers and other vegetables this week when the bill went into effect.

GEORGIA Atlanta: Nearly two years ago, state lawyers in a closely watched election integrity lawsuit told the judge they intended to subpoena the FBI for the forensic image the agency made of a crucial server before state election officials quietly wiped it clean. But a new email says state officials never did follow through in issuing the subpoena.

HAWAII Lihue: Officials say the state’s last remaining native lowland bog is thriving again following a more than decadelong restoration effort. The Garden Island reports conservation groups have worked to restore native plants to the Kanaele Bog on Kauai after it became overrun with nonnative weeds and feral pigs.

IDAHO Boise: Federal officials are revising a 1999 plan as part of a strategy to recover endangered white sturgeon in the Kootenai River.

ILLINOIS Springfield: The state saw an eighth straight year of record tourism growth in 2018.

INDIANA Indianapolis: State wildlife officials say an Asian carp species, the black carp, that poses a serious threat to mussel populations ismoving closer to the state’s waterways.

IOWA Newton: Biofuel plants in the state are adding milkweed and other native plants to their properties so monarch butterflies can fuel up during the annual migration.

KANSAS Wichita: Drivers can no longer be charged with a crime for refusing a field sobriety test under a new state law, though the Wichita Eagle reports refusal to comply comes with a yearlong license suspension, the same as the max suspension for failing a breathalyzer.

KENTUCKY Frankfort: A fire destroyed a massive Jim Beam warehouse filled with about 45,000 barrels of aging bourbon, sparking worries that runoff whiskey seeping into waterways could kill fish.

LOUISIANA New Orleans: State wildlife officials are upping the price they’ll pay hunters who catch a large aquatic rodent known for harming marsh ecosystems. Louisiana’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has increased the bounty from $5 to $6 after fewer nutrias have been caught than in the past.

MAINE Harpswell: Some parts of the state are finding relief from a rash-causing species of moth thanks to the cool, rainy spring. The Portland Press Herald reports damp weather helped spur the spread of a fungus that kills browntail moth caterpillars.

MARYLAND Salisbury: A local minister is a top finalist in a nationally recognized singing competition. Joshua Copeland, 37, a praise and worship leader and minister at United Faith Churches of Deliverance, joins 19 other talents from across the nation and world on BET’s gospel-themed show, “Sunday Best.”

MASSACHUSETTS Aquinnah: The Martha’s Vineyard estate of former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis is on the market for $65 million. Red Gate Farm in Aquinnah was a sheep farm and hunting cabin when Kennedy Onassis bought it in 1979. She added a more than 6,000square-foot, five-bedroom main residence and a two-story, fourbedroom guest house. The estate includes more than a mile of private beachfront and other buildings.

MICHIGAN Detroit: Contemporary Motown artist Ne-Yo will join the Temptations, Martha Reeves and others from the label’s classic era during a concert marking the 60th anniversary of the recording company. The Motown Museum has set Sept. 22 for Hitsville Honors: Celebrating Berry Gordy & 60 Years of Motown, at Detroit’s Orchestra Hall.

MINNESOTA St. Paul: Norie, a 2year-old golden retriever, is the newest staffer at the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. Officials hope the so-called courthouse dog can take some of the stress out of the place and help people work through the legal system.

MISSISSIPPI Jackson: A federal lawsuit says the state is violating free-speech rights by banning makers of plant-based foods from using terms such as “meatless meatballs” and “vegan bacon.”

MISSOURI Kansas City: The Kansas City Public Library has forgiven $250,000 in overdue fines and will no longer charge late fees. Mayorelect Quinton Lucas says the decision was made to give more people access to the city’s libraries.

MONTANA Bozeman: A nonprofit foundation that raises money for projects in Yellowstone National Park has about $4.35 million in debt. John Walda, interim CEO of Yellowstone Forever, told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle it made faulty revenue projections when it was formed by combining the Yellowstone Association and the Yellowstone Park Foundation in 2016.

NEBRASKA Beatrice: A biodiesel plant is ceasing production. Flint Hills Resources announced this week that the Duonix Beatrice plant is being idled indefinitely.

NEVADA Las Vegas: Nevada Highway Patrol says passengers must be alive in order to be counted as occupants in cars using the high-occupancy vehicle lane. The reminder was prompted by a traffic stop Monday involving a hearse traveling on the carpool lane on Interstate 15.

NEW HAMPSHIRE New Durham: Partnership efforts have resulted in the preservation of 2,000 acres overlooking Merrymeeting Lake. The Birch Ridge Community Forest in New Durham rises over the lake with views of Mount Molly and Mount Bet. It filters clean water to the lake and Coldrain Pond, provides critical habitat for wide-ranging species, and offers 13 miles of trails for hikers, cross-country skiers, hunters and birders.

NEW JERSEY East Rutherford: Officials have finally set an opening date for a massive retail and entertainment center in the Meadowlands. The long-delayed American Dream project will open Oct. 25.

NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: State health officials are predicting one of the worst mosquito seasons in decades thanks to wetter weather earlier this year.

NEW YORK Vernon: A key local official says hosting the Woodstock 50 festival on short notice “could pose a significant challenge.” Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente released a statement Tuesday noting the challenge of preparing for the health and safety of residents and concertgoers with the event just over a month away.

NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: Vehicle owners now have another option when it comes to the state’s regularly priced license plate. The Division of Motor Vehicles began offering a third standard plate this week. Previously motorists could choose between the “First in Flight” background or the “First in Freedom” theme, which refers to pre-Revolutionary War events. Now they can pick a plate with the national motto “In God We Trust” at the top and the state motto “To Be Rather Than to Seem” near the bottom.

NORTH DAKOTA Jamestown: The National Buffalo Museum says the herd’s white bull bison has died from injuries suffered in an accidental fall into a ravine. Dakota Miracle was 13 years old. The museum says the bison’s health was compromised due to a genetic condition resulting in lack of pigmentation. That caused Dakota Miracle to have poor eyesight, a factor believed to have led to his fall.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The state’s Medicaid agency is warning its SoonerCare members to keep current their address on file with the agency or risk losing their health care benefits. The Oklahoma Health Care Authority sent out a public reminder Wednesday of the new rule.

OREGON Salem: Despite broad support, a measure that would have put the state’s controversial jury system before voters died in the Oregon Senate during the final days of the 2019 legislative session. Oregon is the only state in the country that allows for convictions via non-unanimous juries in criminal felony cases.

PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: Gov. Tom Wolf has signed legislation that his office says clarifies the options for whom school districts and private schools can hire as armed security guards, although Wolf’s administration says it bars districts from allowing teachers to be armed.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging the constitutionality of a statute that punishes inmates serving life in prison with “civil death.” The ACLU’s Rhode Island chapter filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of two inmates. Rhode Island is one of the few places where inmates serving life in prison are deemed dead with respect to property rights, marriage and other civil rights, as if their natural death took place when they were convicted.

SOUTH CAROLINA Greenville: The Greenville Zoo’s newest Masai giraffe has arrived. Autumn, the mother, went into labor Sunday night and gave birth to a 6-foot-1-inch male calf, a release from the city says.

SOUTH DAKOTA Pierre: A new state law eliminates the need for a permit to carry a concealed pistol. South Dakota is the 14th state to enact such a law for both residents and visitors.

TENNESSEE Nashville: The Tennessee State Library & Archives has launched a digital project, Patriot Paths, that uses pension records to map out where soldiers lived before and after the Revolutionary War.

TEXAS Houston: The legalization of hemp in the state is creating problems for authorities that will likely cost millions of dollars to fix and has temporarily stopped the prosecution of some misdemeanor cases involving marijuana, hemp’s plant cousin. Officials say most Texas crime labs can’t test for exact amounts of THC.

UTAH Orem: Several environmental groups are working together to shut down unauthorized trails and formalize new ones near a wildlife area in northern Utah. The Daily Herald reports dozens of volunteers gathered June 29 at the Timpanogos Wildlife Management Area to begin rehabilitating parts that have become overrun by unauthorized bike trails.

VERMONT Montpelier: The Vermont State Colleges System is planning for its future as it faces reduced enrollment, underfunding and other challenges and as a number of private schools go out of business.

VIRGINIA Upperville: Three new historical markers aim to remember the philanthropic efforts of Paul Mellon, heir to the massive fortune of his father, Andrew W. Mellon. He supported universities, civic improvement projects, conservation efforts and fine-arts institutions.

WASHINGTON Seattle: The City Council has voted unanimously to enable the construction of more and bigger backyard cottages in all neighborhoods while removing requirements that property owners live on site and provide off-street parking.

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: Gov. Jim Justice says the state saw more revenue growth this fiscal year than any other year in state history.

WISCONSIN Madison: Scientists with the state Department of Natural Resources are searching for snakes infected with snake fungal disease. DNR officials are encouraging anyone who sees a wild snake to send photos to the agency and report any snakes with unusual lumps, lesions or scabs.

WYOMING Cheyenne: The state’s first-quarter economic report shows a modest recovery, but the news came out just a day after the unexpected closure of two coal mines put nearly 600 people out of work.