News from across the USA

ALABAMA Montgomery: The Alabama Senate has added $ 1 million to the state tourism department’s proposed budget for grants that will be doled out at lawmakers’ recommendation. The Montgomery Advertiser reported that each House district will get $ 5,000 and each Senate district will get $ 15,000.

ALASKA Anchorage: Fifty years ago today, electric clocks on walls shut down at 5: 36 p. m. Time stopped at the start of the ’ 64 Great Alaska Earthquake, the second largest ever recorded at magnitude 9.2. Overall damage was estimated at $ 2.3 billion in 2014 dollars.

ARIZONA Phoenix: The state is changing from a single drug for executions to a two- drug combination already used in Ohio because it is no longer able to obtain the previous drug, pentobarbital.

ARKANSAS Hot Springs: Federal agents with the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General raided the administrative offices of the Hot Springs Housing Authority. Police Capt. Jason Stachey said the agents are looking into allegations of misconduct.

CALIFORNIA Sacramento: The severe drought is prompting wildlife officials to launch an unusual rescue operation involving millions of 6- month- old salmon at risk of dying in depleted rivers and streams. The young salmon normally rely on currents to get downstream and out to sea.

COLORADO Greeley: JBS USA meat- packing plant has promised to take steps to prevent cruelty after a worker struggled to kill an injured cow.

CONNECTICUT Hartford: Revenue at Indian casinos in 2012 slowed to 2%, to $ 28.1 billion, down from 3.4% the previous year, according to the Indian Gaming Industry Report.

DELAWARE Newport: New Castle County reported that WX Delaware Real Estate Holding, an affiliate of Wanxiang America, has purchased the Fisker Automotive plant for $ 18 million, the same price Fisker paid in 2010.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: The National Park Service announced the Washington Monument will reopen to visitors May 12 after being closed for nearly three years because of a 2011 earthquake. Remaining scaffolding around the monument will begin to come down this week.

FLORIDA Tallahassee: A bill is advancing through the Legislature that prohibits minors 15 or younger from being able to get permission to marry. If approved Florida would join 13 other states that totally ban marriage for someone under 16.

GEORGIA Bainbridge: State officials said Bainbridge Manufacturing plans to invest $ 10 million in a new headquarters in Decatur County. Bainbridge, which supplies major automotive manufacturers, expects to create 100 jobs in the first year and 240 jobs total over the next decade.

HAWAII Honolulu: A new dating app designed to provide proof someone is free from sexually transmitted diseases is drawing criticism from Native Hawaiians.

IDAHO Boise: Idaho no longer holds the dubious distinction of the state with the highest share of workers earning the minimum wage. The Gem State slipped to No. 2 in 2013 as workers making the nationally mandated minimum fell to 7.1%, according to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In Tennessee, which rose to No. 1, 7.4% of workers earn $ 7.25 an hour or less.

ILLINOIS Springfield: In his budget address, Gov. Quinn, a Democrat, wants to make the income tax increase permanent to prevent drastic budget cuts and help pay down the state’s backlog of unpaid bills.

INDIANA Indianapolis: Engine maker Cummins Inc. announced plans Wednesday to build a $ 30 million headquarters for its global distribution business in downtown Indianapolis

IOWA Des Moines: U. S. Rep. Bruce Braley is pushing to protect a federal grant program aimed at testing schools and homes for cancer- causing radon. Braley, a Democrat who is running for U. S. Senate, distributed a letter to other lawmakers Wednesday in an effort to maintain the State Indoor Radon Grant Program, which helps states implement radon-reduction efforts.

KANSAS Dodge City: The Dodge City Community College Board of Trustees approved a proposal that would eventually give administrative control of the school to Fort Hays State University, a first step in a process that could take several years.

KENTUCKY Frankfort: A bill that would create an adult protection registry has passed the state House, which voted 99- 0 on Tuesday for the legislation that seeks to provide assurances that the elderly and disabled are receiving proper care.

LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: State police say they confiscated more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana valued at about $ 1.5 million in three traffic stops over the weekend between Baton Rouge and Lafayette.

MAINE Portland: A powerful storm has forced the Coast Guard to delay ice- breaking operations in Maine. The Coast Guard said the annual spring operation on the Kennebec River was postponed until today because of the storm that’s packing hurricaneforce winds off the coast.

MARYLAND Annapolis: The fourday Annapolis Film Festival begins today. All- festival passes are $ 95; individual tickets to screenings or panel discussions with filmmakers are $ 12.

MASSACHUSETTS Tewksbury: Authorities said two men and a woman were flown to Boston hospitals with serious burns after an explosion inside a home here.

MICHIGAN Detroit: Five new U. S. flags were raised to the top of five new flagpoles at Hart Plaza downtown, as veterans saluted. Michael Soviak of Revolution Flag Group noticed the empty poles during a visit to the bankrupt city. Fundraising is ongoing to install 20 flags by Flag Day, June 14.

MINNESOTA Minneapolis: Fewer security screeners and increased peak time travel prompted Minneapolis- St. Paul International Airport to issue an advisory: Travelers are urged to arrive 2 ½ hours before their domestic flight.

MISSISSIPPI New Albany: Tourism officials in New Albany and Oxford want to name the state highway between the two cities as the William Faulkner Scenic Byway. Highway 30 joins New Albany, the city of the Nobel Prize- winning author’s birth, with Oxford, where he spent most of his life.

MISSOURI Maryville: A tree turned out to be the wrong hiding place for about $ 12,000 stolen in a bank robbery last week. “It really was in the middle of nowhere. This is just my assumption, but I’m sure they were thinking they could get away and come back later and recover it,” Nodaway County Sheriff Darren White said.

MONTANA Billings: A bankrupt Montana electric cooperative announced a tentative deal with creditors Wednesday that would keep customer rates at current levels. Southern Montana Electric Generation and Transmission Cooperative serves more than 11,000 customers.

NEBRASKA Omaha: Senior U. S. District Judge Richard Kopf caught some heat for referring to himself as “a dirty old man” and suggesting in his personal blog that young women attorneys need to dress more conservatively in court. Kopf apologized on the blog to those he offended.

NEVADA Carson City: A conservative group that supports Republican candidates has agreed to pay a $ 40,000 civil penalty and disclose the source of funds used in 2010 ad campaign supporting Brian Sandoval in his inaugural bid for governor. The settlement announced Wednesday ends a fouryear legal battle between Democratic Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller and Alliance for America’s Future.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Keene: A man who was supposed to turn himself in for sentencing for a Maine store robbery has been found in New Hampshire. A federal warrant was out for Robert Pecora, 25.

NEW JERSEY Trenton: Republican Gov. Christie’s administration wants a new Superstorm Sandy recovery fund created for low- income families who did not previously apply for money to repair damaged homes.

NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: A new report shows revenue at New Mexico’s Indian casinos was up 7% in 2012 as tribes increased slot machines but reduced table games. The annual Casino Cities Indian Gaming Industry Report released Wednesday shows revenue at New Mexico’s 25 Class III gaming facilities increased to $ 864 million in 2012.

NEW YORK New York: Police have removed the barricades surrounding the Charging Bull sculpture on Wall Street. The bull had been penned in since September 2011, when police feared the sculpture would be targeted by Occupy Wall Street protesters.

NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources said Duke Energy has repaired a crack in a dam at a coal ash pit near the Cape Fear River.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: The Game and Fish Department cautioned hunters and anglers to be wary of ground conditions during early spring. Wildlife Chief Randy Kreil said people should avoid driving on soft, muddy roads and trails.

OHIO Columbus: Columbus Public Health said 52 of the 69 mumps cases confirmed in an outbreak have been linked to Ohio State University.

OKLAHOMA Shawnee: Body ink will be on display next month when a tattoo festival stops here. The Ink Life Tour will feature more than 200 tattoo artists.

OREGON Medford: A $ 20 bill from the Confederacy is among the unclaimed property from abandoned safety deposit boxes that will be up for bid at a state auction April 4.

PENNSYLVANIA Canonsburg: A man has been jailed on charges that he fatally shot his wife, then tried to hide the gun in the pocket of a pool table. Scott Edmonds, 50, was arraigned Wednesday on charges of criminal homicide and tampering with evidence.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: The newly elected House speaker said his choice for chief of staff is the clerk of the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal. House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello told WPROAM that Leo Skenyon will be his top aide.

SOUTH CAROLINA Myrtle Beach: Myrtle Beach City Council banned large beach tents between Memorial Day and Labor Day. A similar ordinance was approved in North Myrtle Beach last week.

SOUTH DAKOTA Rapid City: Judge Wally Eklund ordered Martha American Horse, 29, who admitted slapping a 9- year- old child, to write the child a letter of apology.

TENNESSEE Nashville: The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service is conducting five- year status reviews of 33 Southeastern species. The review includes 25 endangered and eight threatened species in one or more of the 10 southeastern states and Puerto Rico.

TEXAS Tyler: Kimbrick Bernard Jones, 39, a former sheriff’s deputy who dealt drugs while on duty, was sentenced to six years in federal prison.

UTAH Salt Lake City: Utah students and families are getting close to sharks and other sea creatures at a new aquarium in Draper. The $ 24 million Loveland Living Planet Aquarium opened to the public on Tuesday.

VERMONT Burlington: A University of Vermont fraternity has been banned for five years for violating the terms of an interim suspension for a drinking incident last fall. Alpha Epsilon Pi was suspended following allegations of excessive drinking and hazing violations in November.

VIRGINIA Virginia Beach: The City Council voted to change a long- standing ban on dogs on the boardwalk from Memorial Day to Labor Day. People can walk leashed dogs on the boardwalk and on nearby grassy areas between 6 a. m. and 10 a. m. during the high tourism months. The beach will still be off- limits to dogs during tourist season.

WASHINGTON Tacoma: As the state prepares to open its first retail marijuana stores, military servicemembers were warned not to shop in any of them.

WEST VIRGINIA Morgantown: Local police issued 60 citations for seatbelt violations during a recent patrol blitz. Police issued a total of 143 citations, including one for a child safety restraint violation. Another 221 warning citations were issued, including 46 for seatbelt violations.

WISCONSIN Madison: Corrections records show six prison wardens got raises of 8%- 13% beginning this week, while the officers who work for them received a 1% pay hike.

WYOMING Jackson: The number of elk killed in the area is up over last season. Data from the Game and Fish Department show hunters killed 1,437 animals from the herd last fall, a 30% increase.