Around the nation
News from every state.
ALABAMA Brundidge: Sims Foods Inc. says it’s moving the production of Wickles Pickles to Alabama by the end of the year.
ALASKA Douglas: Reber Stein set out to learn how to play guitar but instead discovered how to make amplifiers. Dave Galanin, who makes music under the name Strummin Dog, says he’s particularly partial to the tube amps Stein makes.
ARIZONA Tucson: A statue of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa will remain downtown despite an effort by a conservative watchdog group to remove it.
ARKANSAS Conway: Authorities say all passengers were safely rescued after a Ferris wheel malfunctioned.
CALIFORNIA Los Angeles: Artist Shepard Fairey will insist that one of his murals be removed from an L.A. school if officials follow through on plans to cover up another artist’s mural, the Los Angeles Times reports. Fairey told the Times that seeking removal of his mural of Robert F. Kennedy is the only leverage he has to defend the disputed mural by Beau Stanton, which depicts actress Ava Gardner’s face against a backdrop of sun rays. Korean activists contended the rays resembled those of the Japanese imperial battle flag.
COLORADO Denver: The Transportation Security Administration at Denver International Airport is using a new technology that allows travelers to keep their hands at their side when screened at security checkpoints.
CONNECTICUT Hartford: Judges in this city this year have decided the most asylum cases since 2003 and denied most of the requests.
DELAWARE Wilmington: The mostGoogled term in Delaware last year from Dec. 24 to Dec. 26 was “NFL scores,” according to a report from SatelliteInternet.com.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washing
ton: City Dogs Rescue is asking locals to give its animals a gift: a foster home. The organization says during the holiday season, many of its usual foster families are traveling.
FLORIDA Palm Bay: A “massive” female hog weighing nearly 400 pounds was captured by a team of dogs and trappers.
GEORGIA Atlanta: A study by environmental groups says 11 coalpowered plants in the state are leaking chemicals into groundwater.
HAWAII Honolulu: Authorities say a 27-year-old man has died after falling from near the top of Manoa Falls.
IDAHO Boise: The state has signed an agreement with federal authorities to increase logging and restoration work on millions of acres of U.S. Forest Service lands that experts say are increasingly plagued with insect infestations and destructive wildfires.
ILLINOIS Galesburg: Communities across the state are getting $13.7 million to reduce hazards from leadbased paint in low-income housing.
INDIANA Indianapolis: Kool & the Gang will perform “Too Hot” before Foreigner performs “Cold as Ice” at the 2019 Carb Day concert on May 24 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
IOWA Fort Dodge: The City Council has approved a plan to use a portion of fireworks fines to help pay for a professional pyrotechnics show on Independence Day.
KANSAS Wichita: Lawmakers are likely to face renewed debate in the next legislative session about how or whether to hold oil and gas companies accountable for property damage caused by earthquakes.
KENTUCKY Louisville: The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has disclosed its ties to slavery, detailing decades of racism and how its four founders owned more than 50 slaves.
LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: A new federal report says homelessness in the state dropped this year.
MAINE Augusta: The party’s over for Maine Libertarians. The Maine Office of the Secretary of State says the Libertarian Party is no longer recognized as a qualified party in the Pine Tree State.
MARYLAND Ocean City: A crimethriller film, “To Avenge,” is set to film in this beachside town and is looking for extras.
MASSACHUSETTS Lynn: More than three months into a new program that allows Lynn Public Schools to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students, regardless of income status, results show an increase in the number of kids who eat at school, The Daily Item reports.
MICHIGAN Lansing: Communities, college campuses and utilities interested in earning a Tree City USA designation should apply by the end of the month.
MINNESOTA St. Paul: Outgoing Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton says his proudest accomplishments in his 40 years of politics came late in his career: restoring state government to financial health and funding all-day kindergarten.
MISSISSIPPI Jackson: Get ready for days and days of music fun as Jackson Indie Music Week 2019 kicks off next month. Concerts, showcases, panels, parties and more will be featured at the music event scheduled to run Jan. 13-20.
MISSOURI St. Louis: The ninebanded armadillo is settling into the St. Louis area after marching from Texas across the country for the past 169 years, according to wildlife experts. The armadillo comes from South America, but only one species has made it to the U.S.
MONTANA Great Falls: The Missouri River and Flathead River in Montana are among a dozen bodies of water that will be featured on forthcoming U.S. postage stamps marking 50 years since the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968.
NEBRASKA Lincoln: State prison and parole officials say they’re forging ahead with state-mandated plans to reduce overcrowding in the correctional system, but some lawmakers worry the agencies will miss a looming deadline.
NEVADA Reno: Staff at Working Class Tattoo found what seems to be a box of cremated human remains outside the shop, employee Audrey Richards says. It’s labeled “incinerated remains of Sharon McQueen.” The shop is looking for family members.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: The American Civil Liberties Union has challenged the state’s criminal defamation law in the arrest of a man who wrote online that a police chief “covered up” for a “dirty cop.”
NEW JERSEY Matawan: Like a lot of kids his age, 8-year-old Ryan Buggle asked for toys this holiday season. But Ryan wasn’t asking for himself. The child actor from Matawan, who portrays Noah Benson on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” was holding a toy drive to benefit less fortunate peers.
NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: Officials say the state’s debt to the film industry could hit $250 million by summer and reach $700 million in four years.
NEW YORK Lake Placid: A new campaign touting the Adirondack Mountains as an Alpine ski destination is underway. Representatives from seven ski areas in the region are using the hashtag #SkiADK.
NORTH CAROLINA Asheville: Rappelling in Polk County is depicted on one of three covers for the new “Official 2019 North Carolina Travel Guide.”
NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: Last winter’s darkhouse spearfishing season in the state was record-setting.
OHIO Cincinnati: The city is ranked No. 4 in the nation for beer drinkers, according to Smart Asset.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: A group of Girl Scouts and the government of a nearby city have handed over landscaping duties to goats.
OREGON Salem: State lawmakers will soon consider making it illegal for businesses to fire employees who flunk drug tests for using marijuana off the clock.
PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: Bob Swaim, a retired math teacher, is trying to persuade the state legislature to make the Slinky the state toy. The springy, walking wonder became an overnight sensation in the 1940s – thanks to shoppers in Philadelphia.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: The University of Rhode Island is ending its partnership with the controversial Confucius Institute.
SOUTH DAKOTA Rapid City: The city’s Public Works Committee is recommending a big boost to the annual urban deer harvest.
TENNESSEE Nashville: Country musicians Amy Grant and Vince Gill re-create the wintertime thrill of a snowball fight at Ryman Auditorium each week during their “12 Days of Christmas at the Ryman” residency – even when there’s no snow to be found, Grant and friends stuff tube socks with paper towels. The series of shows at the Ryman ends Dec. 23.
TEXAS Devine: Wilbur the hedgehog leads a charmed life, with a strong online presence, little custom-made crocheted hats and only the best in Target fruit strips for nibbles. And to think just this summer he nearly died by his mother’s own teeth, The San Antonio Express-News reports. Now he nestles in the cupped hands and online posts of Melissa Schreiner.
UTAH Cedar City: Christmas music filled the air Sunday as guests took in the sight of more than 450 Nativity scenes on display at the Cedar City Creche Festival.
VERMONT Burlington: Once again this Christmas, throngs of people are visiting Pine Tree, Vermont. Try to find Pine Tree on a map, though, and you’re out of luck. The town is fictional. As the setting for the 1954 holiday movie classic “White Christmas,” the town lives only inside the Vistavision musical.
VIRGINIA Charlottesville: Students at Albemarle High School are trying to get the school board to approve an anti-racism policy they crafted.
WASHINGTON Bremerton: Design work is underway for a $5 million public square. City leaders hope they’ll soon have an endorsement from the man they plan to name it after: music icon Quincy Jones.
WEST VIRGINIA Madison: If you want to understand why U.S. life expectancy is declining, West Virginia is a good place to start. The state is a bellwether of bad health.
WISCONSIN Manitowoc: Retired Sheriff ’s Office Lt. Andrew Colborn is suing Netflix and the producer of “Making a Murderer” for defamation.
WYOMING Cheyenne: Lawmakers are looking for new ways to invest money from the state’s rainy day account.