News from across the USA

ALABAMA Falkville: Authorities say a man who was talked out of jumping off an Interstate 65 bridge later leaped from an ambulance that was taking him to Decatur Morgan Hospital’s psychiatric unit, AL.com reports.

ALASKA Juneau: Alaska’s marijuana industry has brought in $1.2 million in tax revenue since commercial sales began last October, The Juneau Empire reports.

ARIZONA Phoenix: Health officials say the flu is lingering longer than usual in Arizona. The Department of Health Services says the state had nearly 1,300 lab-confirmed cases in June, compared with 200 typically.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: Two Persian Gulf War veterans from Arkansas, Jeff Kurczek and Brenten Byrd, are leading a campaign to build a Desert Storm war memorial in Washington, D.C., The

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports.

CALIFORNIA San Francisco: The University of California has offered admission to nearly 70,000 state undergraduates, a slight dip from last year’s historic high. Officials say a total of 106,011 students, including nonresidents, were accepted.

COLORADO Colorado Springs: Wildlife officers killed a bear that broke into a home and tore through the place looking for food as the owner slept upstairs, The Colorado Springs Gazette reports. The bear spent six hours trashing the kitchen, even managing to open the refrigerator door.

CONNECTICUT Groton: The University of Connecticut and Mystic Aquarium have announced a research partnership. The five-year agreement will allow Mystic Aquarium’s researchers to use lab and office space at the UConn Department of Marine Sciences.

DELAWARE Dover: The Delaware Supreme Court has upheld a ruling in favor of a disabled man who came under attack from Sussex County neighbors for tinkering with cars. Charles Williams, a double-leg amputee, built a hobby auto shop next to his house. Neighbors complained about noise and odor.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Howard University is getting a new executive vice president and chief operating officer. The historically black District of Columbia school has hired Shaw University President Tashni-Ann Dubroy.

FLORIDA Fort Lauderdale: The Broward County School Board is challenging a new Florida law that steers more money to privately-run charter schools, The

Sun Sentinel reports. Other school boards may join the case.

GEORGIA Brookhaven: Authorities are investigating a suspicious fire at St. Martin’s Episcopal School in DeKalb County. The school is in Fields Episcopal Church in Brookhaven. Surveillance video captured someone breaking into the church just before the fire early Tuesday.

HAWAII Honolulu: Researchers are seeking a remedy for a fungal disease that’s attacking and killing ohia, the most abundant tree native to Hawaii, The Hawaii

Tribune-Herald reports.

IDAHO Boise: Authorities say a woman on a hike in Idaho with her two dogs was attacked and bitten by a black bear with a cub. The woman was able to call relatives for help, and they scared off the bear by yelling.

ILLINOIS Plainfield: Eighteen horses died and two people were

injured in a barn fire last week in this Chicago suburb. The barn, which had about 30 horses inside, was declared a total loss.

INDIANA Columbia City: A misspelled “terrorism” has been fixed on a bench at the new Vietnam War memorial in Columbia City, WANE-TV reports. The memorial was put in place last month outside the Whitley County courthouse.

IOWA Muscatine: City officials say treated wastewater that hasn’t been disinfected is being discharged into the Mississippi River from the Muscatine Water Pollution Control Plant. The

Muscatine Journal reports that a plant disinfection system broke down.

KANSAS Wichita: The latest government report shows the winter wheat harvest is wrapping up in many parts of Kansas, with about 73% harvested.

KENTUCKY Williamsburg: An inmate mistakenly left alone overnight at a Kentucky courthouse was returned to jail. James Thomas Adkins was found Tuesday morning locked in a Whitley County Judicial Center holding cell.

LOUISIANA New Orleans: Twenty-one turtles were returned last week to the Louisiana barrier island where their mothers laid the eggs from which they hatched. The diamondback terrapin nests were dug up to protect the eggs during restoration of Cheniere Ronquille after a 2010 oil spill.

MAINE Clinton: After a nearly 50-mile chase, Maine State Police arrested a driver who called himself Santa Claus. They learned his Jeep — there were no reindeer involved — was stolen. The suspect was jailed on charges of eluding and criminal speed, among others.

MARYLAND Sharpsburg: President Trump’s salary, which he promised to give away, will go toward restoration projects at

Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland.

MASSACHUSETTS Boston: A wax sculpture of President Trump, like the man himself, drew mixed opinions last week,

The Boston Globe reports. The sculpture was visible through the windows of the Dreamland Wax Museum on City Hall Plaza. The figure had been put on display for Independence Day.

MICHIGAN Macomb: The conservative student group Turning Point USA is challenging Macomb Community College’s policy of requiring permission for public speech, saying it violates First Amendment rights.

MINNESOTA St. Paul: Walleye fishing on Mille Lacs Lake is closed until July 28 to give fisheries managers a chance to revive the walleye population. But the lake remains open for other species, including bass fishing.

MISSISSIPPI Hattiesburg: The University of Southern Mississippi has laid off three employees and eliminated 33 vacant jobs because of state budget cuts of about $8 million, The Hattiesburg

American reports.

MISSOURI Mountain Grove: A Missouri native and University of Missouri alumnus is the new president of the American Medical Association, The Springfield

News-Leader reports. The selection of Dr. David Barbe of Mountain Grove marks the first time in 90 years that a small-town doctor has led the AMA.

MONTANA Billings: A mandatory evacuation was ordered last week for the historic Montana mining town of Landusky as a wildfire approached within a mile when the winds shifted, The

Billings Gazette reports.

NEBRASKA Grand Island: A Nebraska man has recovered his prosthetic arm after his family paid a $200 reward for its return, The Grand Island Independent reports. Terry Fishell’s arm was stolen from his truck July 1.

NEVADA Reno: A fugitive who led Washoe County sheriff ’s deputies on a high-speed chase has sued the pursuers, claiming they used excessive force by turning a dog on him after he surrendered, The Reno Gazette-Journal

reports.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Durham: Police are investigating a kayaker’s discovery of human bones on an island in New Hampshire’s Great Bay. The Portsmouth Her

ald reports that investigators have a good idea who the deceased is but are awaiting confirmation from the state Medical Examiner’s office.

NEW JERSEY Monroe Town

ship: Rescue crews in New Jersey spent more than an hour to free a skydiver who got stuck in a tree. WPVI-TV reports that the skydiver was dangling 70 feet above the ground.

NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: Police are crediting bystanders with stopping an intoxicated woman who tried to drive away with her infant granddaughter dangling outside the rear door of a pickup truck, The Santa Fe New Mexican reports. The 9-month-old girl, strapped in a safety seat, was not injured.

NEW YORK Rochester: A woman faces child endangerment charges for leaving her 10-yearold child in a Lego Store while she shopped elsewhere in the Eastview Mall.

NORTH CAROLINA Asheville: Two police officers called to investigate a noise complaint found that the sound of children playing at a block party was acceptable. Not only did they issue no citations, they joined in the fun on a makeshift water slide.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: North Dakota coal companies are looking into supplying rare earth elements, The Bismarck Tribune reports. Rare earth elements, make up a $7 trillion market.

OHIO Toledo: The Ohio Air National Guard’s 180th Fighter Wing could get new hangars under a proposal before Congress, The Blade reports. A House committee has voted in favor of $15 million to replace the temporary shelters built in 2008.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: State Labor Commissioner Melissa McLawhorn Houston says the workplace safety grade of “F” that the National Safety Council gave

Oklahoma is inaccurate and unfair, The Oklahoman reports.

OREGON Ashland: Authorities say a patch of land intentionally set on fire burned hotter than intended, resulting in a scorched forest canopy, The Mail Tribune reports.

PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: The Pennsylvania Turnpike is offering an incentive for drivers with unpaid tolls. The agency says it will waive additional fees if the tolls are paid before a new law takes effect Aug. 4 that allows suspensions of motor vehicle registrations.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: The Division of Motor Vehicles has launched a computer system that may temporarily inconvenience some Rhode Island residents. Through July 17, the DMV will only accept customers who make reservations in advance.

SOUTH CAROLINA Myrtle

Beach: Police say two 18-yearold women face burglary charges after sending Snapchat videos bragging about trespassing at the Myrtle Waves Water Park in Myrtle Beach.

SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: A former executive board member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Tribe was sentenced to 20 months in prison for embezzlement from a tribe subdivision. Authorities say Thomas Adams and co-defendants wrote checks to themselves for payroll, travel and other reasons.

TENNESSEE Chattanooga: Three kayakers were rescued from the Ocoee River in Tennessee after losing their boats. West Polk County Fire and Rescue Chief Steven Lofty says the three hung onto tree limbs until rescue crews could pull them out.

TEXAS Houston: An auto shop technician is accused of faking more than 700 vehicle inspections in Houston. Damien Deon Oliver is charged with two felony counts of tampering with a governmental record, The Houston

Chronicle reports.

UTAH Salt Lake City: A police dog was shot and killed during the chase and arrest last week of a Utah fugitive. Police say the suspect, Torey Chase Massey, fired several shots at the K-9, Dingo, as he ran.

VERMONT Brattleboro: Emergency crews responded to 11 opiate overdoses in a 24-hour period last week. Police said the overdoses occurred in a downtown alley, residences, hotel rooms and a gas station bathroom.

VIRGINIA Richmond: Shoppers will have the chance Tuesday to scoop up furniture, electronics and other odds and ends from a soon-to-be-demolished state office building next to the Virginia Capitol, The Richmond

Times-Dispatch reports. The sale of items from the General Assembly Building will raise funds for preserving Capitol Square.

WASHINGTON Skamokawa: A Panamanian-flagged tanker ran aground on the Columbia River last week. There were no reports of injuries aboard the Argent Cosmos, and a Coast Guard helicopter flying over the vessel found no signs of pollution.

WEST VIRGINIA Wheeling: West Virginia Business College will remain open while it appeals a state order to close, The Intelli

gencer reports. The state Council for Community and Technical College Education ordered the school to close by June 30 after it lost accreditation.

WISCONSIN Madison: Health officials say Wisconsin’s Medicaid budget will finish the 2015-17 biennium $325 million in the black. The result is attributed to several one-time factors, including slower enrollment growth than expected.

WYOMING Jackson: A halfmillion-dollar bail is set for a man charged with aggravated vehicular homicide in a fatal wrong-lane crash, The Jackson Hole News &

Guide reports. Court records show that Rudy Isla-Mejico has two DUI convictions as well as misdemeanor convictions for speeding and driving without a license or insurance.