Around the nation

News from every state.

ALABAMA Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama gave back philanthropist Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr.’s $26.5 million donation and took his name off its law school Friday, a week after he called on students to boycott the institution over the state’s newly passed abortion ban.

ALASKA Fairbanks: Wildlife authorities are warning residents in the state’s interior to beware of hares. Alaska Department of Fish and Game veterinarian Kimberlee Beckmen says tularemia is showing up in hares. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports it can be transmitted to dogs and cats that mouth or catch sick hares.

ARIZONA Phoenix: Gov. Doug Ducey vetoed legislation Friday that would have tripled the amount of a stipend that state lawmakers receive for each day they work in the capital.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: The state Supreme Court has cleared the way for an 88-year-old bridge to be demolished. The Arkansas DemocratGazette reports the court’s 6-1 decision dismissed an appeal Thursday to save White River Bridge in Clarendon.

CALIFORNIA Los Angeles: Three architect-led teams will compete for the job of leading master planning for renovation of the city’s famed La Brea Tar Pits. The Tar Pits are an active Ice Age excavation site that has yielded millions of fossils including saber-toothed cat, dire wolf and mastodon skeletons.

COLORADO Colorado Springs: Fort Carson officials say they are working to improve housing at the military installation after a report documented poor maintenance and squalid conditions.

CONNECTICUT Newtown: A festival was held Saturday to raise money for an animal sanctuary being built to honor the memory of a 6-year-old Sandy Hook School shooting victim. The 5th annual Catherine’s Butterfly Party included children’s activities, wildlife demonstrations, food trucks, music and pet adoptions. It was hosted by the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary.

DELAWARE New Castle: Separation Day commemorates the state’s independence from Great Britain and Pennsylvania, but over the weekend it also brought the community of New Castle together with visitors and local nonprofits. “Is a very important patriotic event for Delaware. It is almost like the Independence Day,” said Cindy Snyder, site manager of the New Castle Courthouse Museum.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: Tourists may find it harder to get that perfect snap of the White House after construction begins on a new 13-foot fence, almost double its current height, to help keep intruders out. The Secret Service says a

$64 million construction project will begin soon and will also include wider and stronger pickets.

FLORIDA Tallahassee: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Friday that creates more hurdles for citizens to change the state Constitution through petition drives.

GEORGIA Rome: Classes are optional but free for hundreds of seniors expected to transfer to the serene campus of Berry College next summer, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The private liberal arts institution is leasing land to a nonprofit for a retirement complex now under construction.

HAWAII Wailuku: State officials say an introduced caterpillar and moth native to Southeast Asia is eating indigenous plants on Maui that provide important habitat for native species. The Maui News reports a biologist looking for native snails in October noticed signs of unfamiliar caterpillars feeding on mamaki leaves. The caterpillar and moth turned out to be the Ramie moth.

IDAHO Boise: The U.S Air Force says a federal lawsuit seeking to halt coordinated urban air- and ground-training exercises over nine cities in southern Idaho should be dismissed.

ILLINOIS Champaign: A group is recommending the University of Illinois erect a plaque or monument to commemorate the history of Chief Illiniwek, the mascot dropped amid criticism in 2007. The Chancellor’s Commission on Native Imagery says the site outside Memorial Stadium, as well as a public retirement, could provide “healing and reconciliation.”

INDIANA Albany: The former headquarters of the company that oversees licensing for the lasagna-loving cartoon cat Garfield will be auctioned off this month. Garfield creator Jim Davis donated PAWS Inc.’s former headquarters to the Ball State University Foundation, which will receive the proceeds from the June 24-26 online auction.

IOWA Dubuque: Dubuque, Fort Dodge and Oskaloosa have been awarded federal grants to clean up and redevelop contaminated sites. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last week that the cities had been selected to get $1.6 million in brownfield grants.

KANSAS Topeka: The state is asking anyone who bought a rhododendron plant at Walmart stores in the state since April to destroy them. The Kansas Department of Agriculture says confirmed cases of the sudden oak death disease have been found in rhododendrons sold at 60 Walmarts in Kansas and one Home Depot in Pittsburg.

KENTUCKY Louisville: Officials have unveiled new branding for the city’s airport to go along with a renaming to honor Muhammad Ali. The logo shows a silhouette of the boxer and civil rights icon with arms raised against a butterfly.

LOUISIANA Shreveport: From a falling facade to broken windows, the historic Arlington Hotel downtown has been vacant since 1990. But the old building will soon see new life. KTBS-TV reports the Metropolitan Planning Commission has voted to approve a special use permit for the Larsen Family LP to turn the former hotel into a distillery, a French-style restaurant and a speakeasy bar.

MAINE Augusta: The state now has an official ballad that commemorates a unit that fought during the Civil War. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills signed into law on Friday legislation that designates the “Ballad of the 20th Maine.”

MARYLAND Annapolis: Four top executives of the University of Maryland Medical System’s board have resigned amid the continuing investigation into board financial arrangements that led Baltimore’s previous mayor to resign.

MASSACHUSETTS Boston: Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has signed a bill providing $200 million to cities and towns for local infrastructure projects.

MICHIGAN Eau Claire: The polar vortex that enveloped much of the Midwest early this year nearly wiped out the peach crop in southwestern Michigan, according to experts. Some of the region’s apricot, plum and apple crops may also be affected.

MINNESOTA Thief River Falls: Rural communities in the state are scrambling to recruit and retain workers as baby boomers reach retirement age. Minnesota Public Radio News reports that electronic component distributor Digi-Key is among the companies testing innovative strategies to attract workers at all stages of their lives.

MISSISSIPPI Jackson: The governor is asking that the federal government declare a fisheries disaster as water from a Mississippi River spillway gushes into what’s normally a saltwater estuary. The unprecedented second opening of the Bonnet Carre spillway last month also has an increasing number of Mississippi officials demanding a voice in when the spillway is opened.

MISSOURI Kansas City: Voters in the city will decide Nov. 5 whether to keep a historic city boulevard named for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The City Council on Thursday approved an initiative petition seeking to change the nearly 10-mile boulevard’s name back to The Paseo, which it has been called since 1899.

MONTANA Helena: Federal, state, local and tribal fire managers say they’re ready for the upcoming fire season.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: Visitors to two state historical parks can see a reenactment of the Pony Express this week. The rides will take place Tuesday and Wednesday at Rock Creek Station and Fort Kearny state historical parks.

NEVADA Las Vegas: A new state law allowing the Silver State to test out a limited marijuana banking system is expected to bring some relief to the state’s booming cannabis industry, where dispensaries and other businesses are forced to deal in cash. The measure was signed into law Wednesday by Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Littleton: Fans of Pollyanna have something to be extra glad about this year – a state law recognizing the eternally optimistic fictional character. Gov. Chris Sununu signed a bill last week designating the second Saturday in June “Pollyanna of Littleton New Hampshire Recognition Day.” Eleanor H. Porter, author of the 1913 book “Pollyanna,” lived in Littleton.

NEW JERSEY Salem: A 600-yearold oak tree known as the tallest in the state has uprooted. The Salem oak came down Thursday evening, drawing people to mourn its loss. It is believed Quaker John Fenwick, who brought the first English settlement to West Jersey in 1675, brokered a treaty with a Native American tribe under the tree’s branches.

NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: Police are investigating damage to a rainbow-colored crosswalk created in honor of Albuquerque Pride after videos emerged of several motorcyclists trying to deface it.

NEW YORK New York: Puerto Rican pride was on full display Sunday along Fifth Avenue, as the National Puerto Rican Day Parade stepped off for its 62nd annual event.

NORTH CAROLINA Wilmington: The Coastal Land Trust has completed the purchase of one of its “Top 40” priority conservation projects on the state’s coast. Trust officials say the group purchased more than 700 acres along the banks of the Neuse River, then transferred the property to the state for management by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

NORTH DAKOTA Fargo: The idea for the next “Fortnite” or “Risk” could come from a group of game developers meeting at a video game store here. KVRR-TV reports Kyle Weik started the group Fargo Game Makers to help other game designers develop their ideas into products. Members meet once a month at Replay Games.

OHIO Columbus: An arts district that Ohio State University envisions as the new “front door” to its campus is a step closer to reality. A committee of university trustees late last month approved $147 million for design services and construction for a project estimated to cost $162 million.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Medical marijuana sales are continuing to climb in the state, topping $23 million in May and marking the eighth straight month of growth for the new industry.

OREGON Salem: Wildlife commissioners have approved the state’s long-overdue Wolf Management Plan after years of contentious talks.

PENNSYLVANIA Fort Indiantown Gap: Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is opening the pool in the official residence he doesn’t use to children who typically wouldn’t have access to one. The residence is on National Guard property, about 25 miles from Harrisburg. Any group can request to swim there, but it must provide its own transportation and lifeguard.

RHODE ISLAND Warwick: Rhode Islanders have commemorated their ancestors’ role in helping spark the American Revolution. The annual Gaspee Days celebration began Saturday with a road race and a parade marking the 247th anniversary of the burning of a British ship – a daring act of rebellion more than a year before the Boston Tea Party.

SOUTH CAROLINA Charleston: The state is warning beachgoers to beware after a small number of Portuguese man-of-wars were sighted on Sullivan’s Island and in Hilton Head.

SOUTH DAKOTA Rapid City: An area farmstead is raising animals more accustomed to the cold, high-altitude areas of Tibet. The Rapid City Journal reports Julie and Jim Smoragiewicz are raising 10 yaks at Yak Ridge Cabins and Farmstead. Julie Smoragiewicz says the yaks enjoy climbing the Black Hills, where they can cool down in creeks and under trees.

TENNESSEE Clarksville: One father might not know what his 19-monthold son is saying, but he seems to know what he means. A video showing local comedian DJ Pryor and his son Kingston has gone viral. The child’s words are mostly gibberish as the pair talk on the couch, but Pryor infers meaning to create a conversation about a TV program.

UTAH Magna: A gathering at the Great Salt Lake in hopes of making it into the record books fell way short. Utah park officials had invited people to a beach Saturday in an attempt to set the world record for the largest number of people floating together, unassisted, in a line at one time.

VERMONT Springfield: The state Fish & Wildlife Department is urging anglers and others not to disturb spawning sea lamprey in the Connecticut River and some tributaries.

VIRGINIA Richmond: The governor has set a July 9 start date for a special legislative session on gun-related legislation after a recent, deadly shooting rampage in Virginia Beach.

WASHINGTON Seattle: The city has commissioned a study looking at the future of its municipal golf courses, the Seattle Times reports.

WEST VIRGINIA Morgantown: A West Virginia University robotics team has won a NASA competition for the second time in three years. The college on Friday announced the team’s win in NASA’s Moon to Mars Ice & Prospecting Challenge.

WISCONSIN Madison: Flying a gay pride rainbow flag over the state Capitol for the first time Friday drew backlash from conservatives, while Democrats hailed the moment as a sign of inclusivity.

WYOMING Yellowstone National Park: The park has recorded its third-busiest visitation during the month of May as the park began opening up for the busy summer tourist season. From USA TODAY Network and wire reports