News from across the USA

ALABAMA Mobile: Students for Concealed Carry plans an empty holster protest during the week of Oct. 3-7, AL.com reported. Participants are to wear empty holsters as “a token symbolizing that disarming all law-abiding citizens creates defense-free zones which are attractive targets for criminals,” according to the group’s Facebook page. ALASKA Fairbanks: Starting next month, a state driver’s license won’t count as valid identification to enter Fort Wainwright and some other federal facilities, newsminer.com reported. ARIZONA Phoenix: Former freeway shooting suspect Leslie Merritt filed a lawsuit seeking damages from state and county officials, The Arizona Republic reported. ARKANSAS Madison County: A police dog died after being left in a hot patrol car by his handler, Sheriff Phillip Morgan said, according to ArkansasOnline. CALIFORNIA Los Angeles: In response to rumors of impending wrecking ball doom, Amoeba Music in Hollywood took to social media to assure fans that the multilevel mecca to independent retail would not be the latest casualty of a struggling industry. “We’re going to remain in our building for the duration of our lease — which is several years,” the indie giant posted on Twitter, according to the Los Angeles Times. COLORADO Durango: Two pack llamas stranded for a month in the Weminuche Wilderness were still on the lam. The llamas, named Dawson and Chai, were with two women who became lost for two cold nights northeast of Vallecito Reservoir. The women were rescued by helicopter, but they had to set the llamas free, the Durango Herald reported. CONNECTICUT Hartford: Railroad cars equipped with bars for serving alcohol are returning to commuter trains running between New York City and Connecticut, officials said. DELAWARE Dover: Federal prosecutors charged the former chief operating officer at Family Foundations Academy charter school in New Castle with three counts of theft. Sean Moore allegedly stole and misappropriated more than $150,000 in funds belonging to the charter school from 2012 through 2014. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Three families filed a lawsuit alleging negligence and an attempted coverup in the cremation of unidentified cadavers used to train future doctors at George Washington University, The Washing

ton Post reported. FLORIDA Sunrise: A Wal-Mart employee fatally shot a man who attempted to rob him, the Sun

Sentinel reported. GEORGIA Cobb County: Police investigated an attempted child abduction, in which the person accused of trying to force a child into a car is 10 years old, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. HAWAII Honolulu: The federal government is paying a $4.2 million settlement after a man went to Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center with a sore throat and ended up dead. Antonio Marrero died in 2013 after complications from being sedated. IDAHO Mountain Home: Two police officers rescued a sleeping woman from a burning home while responding to a reported family fight. ILLINOIS Chicago: The developer of McDonald’s new $250 million headquarters received final approval to build a bigger building on the site of Oprah Winfrey’s former Harpo Studios, the Chicago Tribune reported. INDIANA Indianapolis: The state recorded a decrease in the number of drownings last year compared with 2014. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources said that there were 54 drownings in 2014. That number fell to 43 drownings last year. So far this year there have been 37 drowning deaths in Indiana. IOWA Des Moines: Iowa’s farmland values dropped 8.7% over the past year and have fallen about 25% from peaks in 2013,

The Des Moines Register reported. KANSAS Ellis: The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a magnitude-3.5 earthquake centered 4.3 miles north of Ellis. KENTUCKY Covington: The IRS is consolidating processing facilities and closing a sprawling facility in northern Kentucky, meaning a loss of 1,800 jobs, The

Kentucky Enquirer reported. LOUISIANA New Orleans: Shipbuilding philanthropists Boysie Bollinger and his wife, Joy, donated $5 million to fund a new habitat for African lions. The donation marks the largest single gift the Audubon Zoo has received from an individual or family. The lions’ home is slated to be finished as early as 2018. MAINE Portland: Administrators of Maine Medical Center proposed an expansion project that stands to become the largest undertaken by the hospital. If approved, the $512 million expansion would add 300,000 square feet to the hospital’s main campus. MARYLAND Baltimore: An 81-year-old woman died after being struck by a motorcycle in Baltimore, police said. MASSACHUSETTS Gloucester: Police Chief Leonard Campanello, who was honored at the White House for his work battling opioid addiction, was placed on paid leave, pending the completion of an internal city investiga- tion. Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken did not disclose what initiated the investigation. MICHIGAN Detroit: The Detroit Federation of Teachers said its members have ratified a deal with the city’s new school district. MINNESOTA St. Paul: The Interstate 35 West bridge will glow blue for 11 days in honor of Jacob Wetterling. Gov. Dayton ordered the bridge to be cast in blue light starting Friday. Jacob was 11 when he disappeared near his home on Oct. 22, 1989. After nearly 27 years of cold leads and mystery, Danny Heinrich recently confessed to abducting, sexually assaulting and killing him. MISSISSIPPI McComb: Four years after Hurricane Isaac forced the closing and draining of Lake Tangipahoa at Percy Quin State Park, the lake will reopen to fishing Saturday. The Enterprise

Journal reported the lake will be open to children 15 and under from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The general public can wet their hooks starting Sept. 21. MISSOURI Hazelwood: A suburban St. Louis police officer who was critically injured in a crash was flown to a rehabilitation facility in Colorado, KSDK-TV reported. MONTANA Kalispell: The west side of Glacier National Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road is open again, three days after snow and ice forced crews to close the route, the Flathead Beacon reported. NEBRASKA Plattsmouth: The Plattsmouth Police Department is warning businesses and the public to be on the look out after fake $100 and $20 bills have been found at local businesses recently, WOWT-TV reported. NEVADA North Las Vegas: Hometown Kitchen, a restaurant in the Silver Nugget Casino, reopened after a customer posted on Facebook that she was bitten by bedbugs while dining there. NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: There were 1,800 more people in the workforce last month than in July, the New Hampshire Union

Leader reported. NEW JERSEY Atlantic City: The city’s eight casinos saw their revenue decrease by 4.9% in August, compared with a year ago. Figures show the casinos won $245.8 million in August, down from $258.5 million in August 2015. NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: KRQE-TV reported that the city’s “Safe City Strike Force” recently took control of the Desert Sands Motel following a third fire since May. The abandoned Route 66 motel and apartment complex was made famous in the 2007 movie No Country for Old Men. NEW YORK New York: United Parcel Service said it will add about 95,000 seasonal workers to meet the demand from increased online shopping. Many of the full-time and part-time jobs will be package handlers and drivers. UPS said it expected to add at least 10,900 workers in five of its biggest markets: New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago and Washington. NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: The Assembly, a place where design-based businesses can rent space, aims to foster a studio atmosphere that will encourage creative people to move in, The

News & Observer reported. NORTH DAKOTA West Fargo: A group of entrepreneurs from Angola were among the hundreds of farmers and business leaders gathered this week to learn about agribusinesses, WDAY-TV reported. The international farmers participated in the annual Big Iron International Visitor’s Program, which is aimed at helping promote state manufacturers, producers and supplies. The program is part of the Big Iron Farm Show at the Red River Valley Fairgrounds in West Fargo. OHIO Akron: Several Akron police officers were charged with drunken driving in the past two months and Police Chief James Nice said he’s determined to solve the problem, the Akron Beacon

Journal reported. OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: A provision of a highly touted 2013 workers compensation reform law allowed employers to opt out of traditional workers compensation insurance if they provided a separate plan with benefits. The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled it was an impermissible special law, Tulsa World reported. OREGON Warrenton: Coast Guard crews rescued a man found clinging to pilings after his kayak capsized. PENNSYLVANIA Greensburg: Houston-based Spectra Energy said faster-than-expected corrosion caused a natural gas pipeline blast that scorched 40 rural acres in April and badly burned a man whose home was destroyed. RHODE ISLAND Burrillville: Officials are trying to stop an application for a 900-megawatt gas-fired power plant, The Provi

dence Journal reported. SOUTH CAROLINA Mauldin: Laurens Electric Cooperative commemorated the state’s first community solar farm, the Green

ville News reported. “Members get a credit on their bill for solar energy generated without installing solar panels on their property,” LEC’s Jim Donahoo said. SOUTH DAKOTA Aberdeen: A rash of violent crimes prompted the city’s police department to open a satellite office in a former mall, the Aberdeen American

News reported. Police Chief Dave McNeil said the goal of the new office is to encourage communication between law enforcement and residents, particularly the Somali community that lives in the area. TENNESSEE Nashville: The Tennessee Registry of Campaign Finance launched an investigation into an education advocacy group’s actions during Nashville school board elections. The Ten

nessean reported that the panel decided that there were enough questions raised in a complaint to proceed with the probe. TEXAS Austin: The state hasn’t executed a death row inmate in more than five months, the longest gap since 2008. Six inmates have been executed this year, The

Texas Tribune reported. UTAH Payson: Three teenage boys were accused of vandalizing a Mormon church in Utah County, causing more than $20,000 of damage. VERMONT Burlington: American Airlines will offer a direct flight from Burlington to New York’s LaGuardia Airport beginning Dec. 15, giving competition to Delta Air Lines, the only airline offering that flight, Burlington

Free Press reported. VIRGINIA Henrico County: Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor intends to pursue the death penalty against William Roy Brissette, 23, who is accused of killing both of his parents on Easter Sunday, the Richmond

Times-Dispatch reported. Taylor said her decision was based on the “vileness” of the crime. WASHINGTON Seattle: Speed limits downtown and in residential areas will probably be reduced this year. The Seattle

Times reported the City Council is set to consider a proposal this month that would reduce speed limits downtown to 25 mph from 30 mph. The residential speed limit would drop to 20 mph from 25 mph. If approved, officials say the changes could take effect as soon as November. WEST VIRGINIA Weirton: Stephen Mader was fired from the police department for not shooting a man who had a gun, according to a lawyer for the family of the man, who was shot and killed by a different officer, the Charles

ton Gazette-Mail reported. WISCONSIN Rock County: The Department of Natural Resources said researchers discovered a species of bat new to the state — known as an evening bat — living in the hollow of trees in Avon Bottoms State Natural Area, the Milwaukee Journal

Sentinel reported. It’s the first discovery of a new bat species in the state in more than 60 years. WYOMING Casper: State transportation officials will use new technology on the Interstate 80 corridor in an effort to prevent crashes, the Casper Star-Tribune reported. The state Department of Transportation received a $4.4 million federal grant to cover most of the $5.7 million project. The new technology will allow truck drivers to learn about updates on roadside infrastructure. Compiled from staff and wire reports by Tim Wendel, with Jonathan Briggs, Carolyn Cerbin, Linda Dono, Mike Gottschamer, Ben Sheffler, Michael B. Smith, Nichelle Smith and Matt Young. Design by Tiffany Reusser. Graphics by Alejandro Gonzalez.