In the news

Natasha Fuller, 8, of Oakfield, Wis., who was born with chronic kidney disease, got a new kidney from her first-grade teacher, Jodi Schmidt, who said she was inspired to help Natasha because of the girl’s upbeat spirit and attitude.

Kevina Freeman, 23, of Milwaukee, faces felony charges after authorities said she was being stopped for speeding when she pulled off the interstate, then suddenly threw her vehicle into reverse and rammed it into the front of the squad car and fled, leaving a deputy injured.

Gia Barss, barn manager at Nevins Farm in Methuen, Mass., said the animal rescue farm is overloaded with goats and is looking for people to adopt the nearly 50 alpine, pygmy and angora mix animals that an owner surrendered because he could no longer care for them.

Karla Banegas-Banegas, 29, of Honduras was arrested in a drug smuggling bust in Arizona and also faces an animal cruelty charge after U.S. Border Patrol agents said she punched a Border Patrol horse in the face with her fist.

Gregg Rector, a police captain in Hoover, Ala., said masked thieves who found themselves unable to cut a hole in an electronics-store roof turned to sledgehammers and cutting tools to smash through a wall and steal laptops, iPads, iPods and other devices worth at least $100,000.

Brent McElwee, a California man who owns dozens of blighted Memphis apartments, faces jail time if he ever again sets foot in the city after Environmental Court Judge Larry Potter cited him for contempt for ignoring court orders dealing with more than 40 properties.

Joshua Yaska, 20, used a bicycle to escape from a halfway house in Fairbanks, Alaska, then returned three hours later with an SUV to try to help other inmates flee, according to Alaska state troopers.

Roger Causey, fire chief of Meadville, Miss., said a crane had to be called in to rescue a man who had been working inside an empty elevated water tank when he hurt his back and was unable to climb out, adding that the man was taken to a hospital and is expected to be OK.

Charles Gussett, 66, of Kenner, La., pleaded guilty to firearms and other counts, and will spend 10 years behind bars for choking his wife and firing a shotgun at her during an argument that began when she said she hadn’t planned on cooking anything for dinner.