Across the nation

News from every state.

ALABAMA Montgomery: In celebration of the city’s bicentennial, officials in the capital plan to open a 50-year-old time capsule Tuesday.

ALASKA Juneau: A new study of environmental threats to Alaska Native communities has found the greatest challenges include erosion, flooding and thawing permafrost.

ARIZONA Phoenix: The administration of Gov. Doug Ducey has developed a pattern of delaying or withholding public records requests, the Arizona Republic finds.

ARKANSAS Fayetteville: State records indicate the Piney Ridge youth mental health treatment center broke federal rules by using chemical injections to restrain young people.

CALIFORNIA Fresno: Residents are trying to save a struggling deodar cedar tree that lies at the heart of a century-old tradition. The Fresno Bee reports homeowners have hired an arborist to tend to the first tree of what today is known as Christmas Tree Lane, a stretch of Van Ness Boulevard first decorated in solidarity with grieving parents in 1920.

COLORADO Keenesburg: Ten grizzly bears from a zoo in Argentina are adjusting to their new home at Colorado’s Wild Animal Sanctuary. After an adjustment period, sanctuary officials plan to move the bears to a 50-acre habitat near Springfield.

CONNECTICUT Hartford: U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal is pushing legislation aimed at what he describes as “cyber Grinches.” The bill aims to block so-called bot technology that he says lets people scoop up large batches of the season’s hottest toys and resell them at inflated prices.

DELAWARE Wilmington: City officials have moved to repeal laws that restrict the times, places and ways people can ask for money in public.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: Jack Evans, a D.C. councilman accused of violating board ethics, is fighting an attempt to have him recalled from office, alleging more than a third of the collected signatures on a recall petition are invalid.

FLORIDA Orlando: White Castle has announced plans to open its first fast food restaurant in the state since closing its Miami burger joint decades ago. The new Orlando location could be open in about 18 months.

GEORGIA Cairo: Grady County officials tell the Thomasville TimesEnterprise the courthouse’s elevator needs major repairs after three people got stuck in it last month.

HAWAII Honolulu: Gov. David Ige plans to announce support Tuesday for pay increases to help recruit and retain teachers in special education, rural schools and Hawaiian language immersion.

IDAHO Coeur d’Alene: Gov. Brad Little is calling for a third-party review of Lake Coeur d’Alene water quality, as the Coeur d’Alene Tribe has expressed frustration with management plans.

ILLINOIS Chicago: A screening of WTTW’s yearlong initiative on gun violence and a discussion on the topic are scheduled for Wednesday. WTTW and Leadership Greater Chicago will co-host the event.

INDIANA Indianapolis: Construction is moving ahead on a permanent stage at the White River State Park amphitheater downtown.

IOWA Sioux City: After 11 years, work is finally nearly complete on an Interstate 29 expansion project.

KANSAS Kansas City: Discussions following vandalism at a historic site linked to abolitionist John Brown and the Underground Railroad may help generate support for preservation efforts.

KENTUCKY Frankfort: Gov.-elect Andy Beshear’s administration has announced plans for his inauguration celebration and swearing-in Dec. 10. His transition team says all inaugural events, including balls, will be free and open to the public.

LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: The state’s coastal protection agency says a marsh creation project on the eastern shore of Calcasieu Lake has been completed.

MAINE Bangor: The organizers of the popular American Folk Festival have decided to discontinue the event for financial reasons.

MARYLAND Baltimore County:

Anglers will soon get new warnings about fishing in polluted waterways. The Baltimore Sun reports the state Department of the Environment is providing signs to Baltimore County that indicate fish could have mercury, PCBs and pesticides.

MASSACHUSETTS Boston: State lawmakers are returning from Thanksgiving with one big leftover on their plate – what to do with a $1.1 billion surplus in tax revenue.

MICHIGAN Ann Arbor: Recreational marijuana sales have begun in the state. The first sale at Arbor Wellness was to legendary cannabis activist John Sinclair, whose 1960s plight attracted the attention of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. They headlined a concert in Ann Arbor in 1971 to bring attention to his arrest.

MINNESOTA Duluth: The Diocese of Duluth says Bishop Paul Sirba has died after a heart attack. He was 59.

MISSISSIPPI Gulfport: An oceanographic research ship will be named for Gilbert R. Mason Sr., a physician who filed one of the Deep South’s first school desegregation lawsuits and led beach wade-ins.

MISSOURI Clayton: An alarming string of deaths inside St. Louis County’s jail this year led to a slew of changes that county leaders believe are paying off. They cite personnel moves, disciplinary actions, and reforms designed to improve professionalism, accountability and collaboration.

MONTANA Missoula: Federal land officials have closed on a $5.6 million property purchase north of the Blackfoot River.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: A new course at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will focus on the world’s religions and ask students to use their newfound knowledge to propose a common worship space on campus.

NEVADA Las Vegas: State law allows smoking at casinos, but some longtime card dealers, bar employees, health advisers and researchers are calling attention to the health effects of secondhand smoke.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: Mayors in Concord and Manchester, which take in the most refugees in the state, say they continue to support such resettlements. Under an executive order issued by President Donald Trump, state and local governments both must consent to receive refugees.

NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: A beloved snowman made of tumbleweeds is returning to the city. The scarf-wearing structure goes up along Interstate 40 the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, called Tumbleweed Tuesday.

NEW YORK New Rochelle: The Freemasons will purchase the former College of New Rochelle campus for $32 million after placing the winning bid approved in a bankruptcy auction.

NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: Significant changes to the state’s justice system for young offenders and sex-related offenses began Sunday.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: Sanford Health has implemented visitor restrictions in the neonatal intensive care unit at its Bismarck hospital because of influenza and respiratory illnesses.

OHIO Celina: Immigrants from the Marshall Islands who’ve settled over the years in this rural area are sharing their culture and history with neighbors. The Marshallese Culture Club plans to meet once a week.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Positive Tomorrows, the state’s only school exclusively serving children and families experiencing homelessness, has moved into a new school building.

OREGON Klamath Falls: Authorities at Crater Lake National Park say someone driving off road damaged plants and other resources.

PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: The Pennsylvania Game Commission says it is investigating a video circulated on social media showing two males apparently beating an injured deer.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: The Rhode Island State House Christmas tree will be artificial this year. The governor’s office says the 18-foot California baby redwood replica will be more manageable than a real tree.

SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: Winter weather preparedness week is kicking off in the Palmetto State, with officials asking residents to check supplies now.

SOUTH DAKOTA Rapid City: The city canceled its Festival of Lights Parade on Saturday because of poor road conditions and high winds. KELO-TV reports parade organizers will instead hold a “static parade” next Sunday evening at the Rushmore Mall.

TENNESSEE Nashville: The state has the fifth-largest number of rural students in the country, but it’s the seventh-lowest in funding for instruction, says a report by the nonpartisan Rural School and Community Trust.

TEXAS El Paso: Father Harold Joseph Rahm, a Jesuit priest who graces a mural in the Segundo Barrio for his positive influence, died Saturday, according to the El Paso Catholic Diocese. He was 100 years old.

UTAH Salt Lake City: Parents say a substitute teacher berated their fifth grader after he said he was thankful that he’s finally going to be adopted by his two dads. The substitute was escorted from the building after three girls walked out to get the principal.

VERMONT Dummerston: The nonprofit Green Mountain Conservancy has proposed a nature preserve that would protect more than 1,100 acres.

VIRGINIA Charlottesville: The University of Virginia and William & Mary have announced collaborative plans to become carbon neutral.

WASHINGTON Mount Vernon: Wildlife rehabilitation facilities are seeing an increase in owls being hit by vehicles north of Seattle.

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: Hunting and fishing licenses for next year have gone on sale in the state.

WISCONSIN Madison: The Wisconsin Elections Commission wants the Legislature to get involved with a dispute that could result in 234,000 people being made unable to vote. The commission voted 5-1 Monday to ask that the GOP-controlled Legislature provide guidance for when voters who may have moved should be deactivated from voter rolls.

WYOMING Casper: The state collected over $1 billion in sales and use taxes in fiscal year 2019, up 12%.