USA TODAY International Edition
50 ★ States
ALABAMA Montgomery:
Gov. Kay Ivey is remaining uncommitted on whether the state will accept new refugees, a spokeswoman says.
ALASKA Anchorage:
Negotiations between the Anchorage School District and the federal government over earthquake damage relief could result in the district turning down tens of millions in funds, an official says.
ARIZONA Tucson:
Teaching vacancies throughout the state have increased by more than 150 positions compared to last year, a report says.
ARKANSAS Little Rock:
An attorney is suing local officials for denying him access to a courthouse while carrying a handgun, testing a state law allowing “officers of the court” to possess firearms on court premises.
CALIFORNIA Oakland:
Four homeless women who were ordered by a judge last week to leave a vacant house were evicted before dawn Tuesday by heavily armed sheriff ’ s deputies in a case that highlighted the state’s severe housing shortage.
COLORADO Denver:
A park across from the Capitol where homeless people have been camping was being shut down Wednesday because officials say it has become rat- infested.
CONNECTICUT Hartford:
Two University of Connecticut students arrested for shouting a racial slur outside a campus apartment complex sued the school Tuesday, citing free speech rights as they fight attempts to remove them from school housing.
DELAWARE Dover:
Hours before the General Assembly convened for its 2020 legislative session – and to the surprise of lawmakers – State House staff announced plans to unionize.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington:
A photo of D. C. Fire and EMS recruits apparently holding “white power” symbols is circulating across social media, WUSA- TV reports. The department is investigating.
FLORIDA Panama City Beach:
Officials hoping tourists will help rebuild a neighboring beach town devastated by 2018’ s Hurricane Michael have introduced a program that allows visitors to help build homes and plant sea oats in the sand dunes of neighboring Mexico Beach.
GEORGIA Atlanta:
Two GOP state lawmakers from Savannah say they won’t support a bill that would create a new coastal city, Chatham Islands.
HAWAII Honolulu:
State House and Senate leaders, with Gov. David Ige’s support, have unveiled a long list of measures to boost housing, early childhood education and incomes, with a focus on alleviating the struggles of working families and the poor.
IDAHO Boise:
New legislation introduced Tuesday would require voters who want to participate in a closed presidential primary to affiliate with that party 90 days before the state primary.
ILLINOIS Chicago:
State regulators say they are investigating apparent violations of a rule intended to prevent marijuana shops from stockpiling weed from a single cultivator.
IOWA Ames:
A man who was sentenced last month to 16 years in prison after he burned a church’s gay pride banner argued before his trial that the lawyer appointed to represent him had a conflict of interest because she is a lesbian, newly released court records show.
KANSAS Topeka:
The state began issuing new personalized license plates Wednesday that emphasize Kansas’ growing wind energy use.
KENTUCKY Mammoth Cave:
Mammoth Cave National Park is offering free tours Monday in honor of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
LOUISIANA New Orleans:
The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing fees for using eight national wildlife refuges in southeast Louisiana and is also considering lottery alligator hunts on six of its refuges.
MAINE Augusta:
Proposed changes to a decades- old settlement between the state and American Indian tribal groups could give tribes more authority in subjects such as gambling and fishing rights.
MARYLAND Annapolis:
Gov. Larry Hogan has announced the awarding of nearly $ 9 million in tax credits for residents with student loan debt.
MASSACHUSETTS Boston:
Prosecutors say a police officer was so infuriated after a confrontation with another driver that he sent the man a fake $ 790 citation and a note that read, “Try fighting this… I dare you!”
MICHIGAN Detroit:
Six weeks into the legal pot business in the state, sales have exceeded $ 10 million.
MINNESOTA Duluth:
Union snowplow drivers have gone on strike in St. Louis County.
MISSISSIPPI Starkville:
A rainswollen lake rose at least a foot overnight amid forecasts of more downpours, keeping heavy pressure on a dam Wednesday that officials said was in danger of failing.
MISSOURI St. Louis:
Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner has filed what she calls an unprecedented federal civil rights lawsuit, accusing the city, the local police union and others of a coordinated and racist conspiracy aimed at forcing her out.
MONTANA Helena:
Lawmakers and the public weighed in Tuesday on whether the Legislature should switch to annual 45- day sessions rather than meeting every other year for 90 days. The 2019 Legislature passed a bill to study the idea.
NEBRASKA Omaha:
The state suffered more than $ 3.4 billion in losses from disastrous weather last year, according to a federal report.
NEVADA Las Vegas:
MGM Resorts International is selling the real estate assets of the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas Strip to a joint venture for about $ 2.5 billion.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Portsmouth:
The Pease Greeters organization that welcomes troops passing through Portsmouth International Airport has announced plans to change its operations because of elevated threats at airports.
NEW JERSEY Jersey City:
Three police officers who have been credited with preventing further bloodshed during last month’s fatal attack on a kosher market are being promoted. Mayor Steven Fulop appointed Kendric Jackson, Mariela Fernandez and Raymond Sanchez to the rank of detective at a ceremony at City Hall on Wednesday.
NEW MEXICO Albuquerque:
The state’s largest water utility has started operating its first aquifer storage well. Testing of the new system began this week.
NEW YORK Albany:
The comptroller says the state once again is paying much more in federal taxes than it receives in federal spending, with a $ 26.6 billion gap in the fiscal year ending in 2018.
NORTH CAROLINA Asheville:
A local advocacy group, Help Asheville Bears, has started a petition to try to get Amazon to stop selling an animal trap that can injure bears.
NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck:
Bismarck Public Schools is believed to be the first district in the state to own an airplane. The school board has given administrators the goahead to buy a Cessna 150, singleengine plane for the Career Academy’s student aviation program.
OHIO Cleveland:
A union representing the white police officer who shot and killed Tamir Rice, a 12year- old black child playing with a pellet gun outside a recreation center, will ask an appeals court to overturn the officer’s firing.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City:
Gov. Kevin Stitt says he wants the state’s school superintendent to be appointed rather than elected, which would give the governor more power over public education.
OREGON Salem:
Widespread snowstorms have boosted the Pacific Northwest’s previously anemic snowpack to almost normal levels statewide in just two weeks.
PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg:
The state House voted Tuesday to force public agencies to post agendas on their websites at least a day before the meetings at which related votes are held.
RHODE ISLAND Providence:
The governor has set an aggressive timeline to power the electric grid completely by renewable energy, but it’s an attainable goal, the state’s acting energy commissioner says.
SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia:
Supporters of a bill that would ban almost all abortions want some leaders in the state Senate to know they won’t let the proposal quietly die. Hundreds packed a Statehouse lobby Wednesday to call for a vote on the bill whose only likely obstacle to becoming law is passing a two- thirds procedural vote in the Senate, which appears unattainable.
SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls:
The City Council has passed an ordinance denouncing acts of hate and racism.
TENNESSEE Nashville:
Amtrak is in discussions to bring passenger rail service back to the capital and to expand routes in Memphis.
TEXAS Bellaire:
A minor has been charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a 16- year- old high school student Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors said.
UTAH Salt Lake City:
Personalized license plates that spark multiple complaints will get extra scrutiny amid questions about how a plate with the phrase “DEPORTM” could be on the road despite strict state rules and previous objections.
VERMONT Montpelier:
Advocates held a homelessness awareness day and memorial vigil Wednesday at the Statehouse.
VIRGINIA Rocky Mount:
The Franklin County school board has decided not to update its dress code to ban displays of the Confederate flag amid free speech concerns.
WASHINGTON Seattle:
One year after Microsoft announced it was committing $ 500 million toward affordable housing in the area, it’s upping that amount by half.
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston:
The House of Delegates on Wednesday approved a bill that would penalize physicians who don’t provide medical care to a baby born after an abortion attempt. Lawmakers passed the bill 93- 5 despite questions about what use it would serve, since existing laws protect newborns, and the state bans abortions after 20 weeks.
WISCONSIN Wausau:
City officials voted Tuesday night to make it legal to throw snowballs on city property once again.
WYOMING Laramie:
The University of Wyoming has requested $ 12 million from the state to fund more than half of a renovation and expansion project for its College of Law.