USA TODAY International Edition
50 ★ States
ALABAMA Florence: An organization that has staged dozens of protests against a Confederate monument filed suit contending the city is trying to limit the demonstrations in violation of free- speech guarantees.
ALASKA Juneau: U. S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Wednesday visited King Cove, a community at the center of a long- running dispute over a proposal to build a road through a national wildlife refuge.
ARIZONA Phoenix: Republican House Speaker Rusty Bowers on Thursday was named one of five recipients of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award for his refusal to consider overturning the 2020 election results despite massive pressure from ex- President Donald Trump and his supporters.
ARKANSAS Fort Smith: A local agency says it’s been seeing an uptick in calls for help since the end of a statewide rent relief program April 1.
CALIFORNIA Sacramento: Parents of middle and high school students in the state would be warned about the dangers of firearms every year under a measure that advanced Wednesday.
COLORADO Aurora: Daniel J. Oates, the police chief who led the force when a gunman killed 12 people in a movie theater a decade ago, is returning to the post temporarily following the firing of a reform- minded chief.
CONNECTICUT Westport: Emergency responders rescued 50 dogs and cats from a fire at a pet boarding facility after three people escaped the flames by jumping from a second- floor window, authorities said Thursday.
DELAWARE Wilmington: A federal lawsuit filed against officers involved in the shooting of a man sleeping in an SUV lists years of departmental procedures claiming city police are unable to handle many situations.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Thursday that the city’s annual count of individuals experiencing homelessness showed a decline for the sixth straight year, WUSA- TV reports.
FLORIDA Tallahassee: Black lawmakers staged a sit- in on the Florida House floor Thursday to protest a congressional map pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that they say will diminish Black representation.
GEORGIA Atlanta: Democrat Stacey Abrams’ gubernatorial campaign asked a federal judge Wednesday to shut down unlimited contributions to a committee controlled by Republican incumbent Brian Kemp.
HAWAII Honolulu: Public school students must keep wearing masks in classrooms despite lifted state mandates for airports and public transit.
IDAHO Boise: Two men have been sentenced to jail time and banned from hunting for years after pleading guilty to poaching a grizzly bear near Yellowstone National Park. A cub was also found dead in the bear’s den.
ILLINOIS Springfield: The city will have a starring role in the state’s latest marketing campaign, with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Cozy Dog Drive- In, and other sites featured in spots directed by Illinois native Jane Lynch.
INDIANA Indianapolis: Democratic U. S. Senate candidate Thomas McDermott Jr. released a video ad Wednesday of him smoking marijuana in honor of cannabis holiday 4/ 20.
IOWA Dyersville: This year’s Major League Baseball Field of Dreams game between the Reds and Cubs will have a minor league opening act two days prior, with the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Quad Cities River Bandits playing at the site Aug. 9.
KANSAS Atchinson: Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10- E airplane – named “Muriel,” after her sister – will be the centerpiece of the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum being created in her hometown.
KENTUCKY Frankfort: Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday that he will form an advisory team as he weighs whether to take executive action to legalize medical marijuana.
LOUISIANA New Orleans: A federal judge and court- appointed monitors hired to oversee reform of the city’s police department said Wednesday that the long- troubled agency could reach full compliance this year.
MAINE Augusta: Gov. Janet Mills signed off on a $ 1.2 billion supplemental budget Wednesday that sends more than half the money to residents via $ 850 relief checks.
MARYLAND Annapolis: Gov. Larry Hogan signed bills into law Thursday aimed at increasing public safety, jobs, environmental stewardship and mental health resources.
MASSACHUSETTS Martha’s Vineyard: A local family will go to court Friday in its fight over a piece of land in Aquinnah that the Kennedy family donated to the Vineyard Conservation Society in 2013.
MICHIGAN Lansing: Democratic state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, targeted in a Republican’s fundraising email and accused of wanting to “groom” and “sexualize” kindergartners and teach “that 8- year- olds are responsible for slavery” responded Tuesday with an impassioned floor speech that resonated nationwide.
MINNESOTA St. Cloud: An English professor has helped to create a new comic book reviving early Black superhero Lion Man, with an eye toward using it to teach literacy skills, critical thinking and selfreflection to kids this summer.
MISSISSIPPI Gulfport: Volunteers planted several types of grasses along a stretch of Gulf Coast beach Thursday to help restore habitat for newly hatched Least Tern chicks.
MISSOURI St. Louis: City leaders announced plans Thursday for an institute aiming to make the area a key player in geospatial technology.
MONTANA Helena: Lawmakers have rejected an attempt to call a special session to investigate the state’s election processes amid continued false claims by ex- President Donald Trump and his supporters.
NEBRASKA Lincoln: Former U. S. Sen. Ben Nelson endorsed state Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks in her U. S. House campaign Thursday.
NEVADA Las Vegas: Most of the five leading GOP candidates for governor who gathered Wednesday for a forum offered dire assessments of the state’s tourism- dependent economy, rising crime and schools.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: The state House approved a resolution Thursday in support of New Hampshire’s first- in- the- nation presidential primary before advancing a bill critics said would threaten it.
NEW MEXICO Carlsbad: Habitat for about a million bats will be spared from human impacts in a deal by a nonprofit and the U. S. government.
NEW YORK Olive: New York City is under fire for sometimes releasing hundreds of millions of gallons of water a day from a reservoir. Some downstream claim ecological harm.
NORTH CAROLINA Asheville: The fight over a downtown Confederate marker is not over, according to the attorney challenging the city’s removal of Vance Monument.
NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that dismisses a lawsuit that could have resulted in construction of more roads in parts of the Badlands.
OHIO Columbus: A lawsuit has been filed targeting protections for health care providers that let them deny treatment on the basis of conscience or religious beliefs.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Plans to fully legalize marijuana can proceed to the signature- gathering stage, the state Supreme Court ruled.
OREGON Portland: A Native American tribesaid it is assessing its legal options after learning the U. S. government plans to release water from a reservoir to downstream farmers amid a historic drought.
PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia: Prosecutors said Thursday that they will not re- try a man whose 2012 murder conviction was overturned this month, citing weak evidence and the involvement of a disgraced former detective now charged with sexually assaulting witnesses in other cases.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: Democratic former state lawmaker David Segal has joined the race to succeed U. S. Rep. Jim Langevin.
SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: The state’s highest court on Wednesday issued a temporary stay blocking the state from carrying out its first- ever firing squad execution next week.
SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: A leadership shake- up and shorter wait times for service are welcomed changes for disgruntled veterans who say the federal health care system is failing them, but those who attended the South Dakota Veterans Council’s quarterly meeting Wednesday still want more systematic improvements.
TENNESSEE Nashville: The state would impose harsh penalties on doctors who violate new, strict regulations dictating the dispensing of abortion pills under a proposal headed to Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s desk.
TEXAS Houston: A prominent conservative activist has been charged with unlawful restraint and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon over an October incident involving a contractor the activist hired.
UTAH St. George: The Washington County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to apply new water restrictions to new developments.
VERMONT Montpelier: Property owned by Vermont- recognized Native American tribes will be exempt from property taxes under a law signed by Gov. Phil Scott on Wednesday.
VIRGINIA Westlake: Officials at Booker T. Washington National Monument are asking for help determining who was buried in a cemetery that predates much of the known history of the former plantation.
WASHINGTON Olympia: The state Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously ruled an Edmonds city ordinance requiring that guns be locked up and kept out of unauthorized hands is preempted by state law.
WEST VIRGINIA Morgantown: Mon Health System has partnered with West Virginia Junior College on a program aimed at addressing the shortage of nurses in the state.
WISCONSIN Madison: The work of an investigator looking into the 2020 election generated fresh criticism Thursday from a memo describing one elections worker as “probably” a Democrat in part because she loves snakes and “has a weird nose ring.”
WYOMING Casper: The state’s senior population grew at the nation’s second- fastest rate in the second decade of the millennium, the Casper StarTribune reports.