Across the nation
News from every state.
ALABAMA Montgomery: Event promoter Mac “Dukie” Hopkins is hosting his fourth Christmas shoe drive, hoping to give at least 100 new pairs of shoes to children in need through the Brantwood Children’s Home.
ARIZONA Phoenix: A state commission has unanimously approved a partnership between the University of Arizona and Tucson Electric Power to run the campus primarily on renewable energy.
ARKANSAS Conway: A police officer on military leave inadvertently shot an 18-year-old when his gun accidentally discharged, authorities say.
CALIFORNIA San Diego: A white rhino born last month at San Diego Zoo Safari Park has been named Future for what it represents to rhino conservation worldwide, officials say.
COLORADO Colorado Springs: The city is anticipating the arrival of the new U.S. Space Force under a defense policy bill making its way through Congress. The Gazette reports the bill also earmarks $322 million for construction at military bases in the city.
CONNECTICUT Hartford: Gov. Ned Lamont and Democratic legislative leaders are planning to vote early next month on a proposal to upgrade the state’s infrastructure.
DELAWARE New Castle: The director of a state agency that oversees food stamp benefits and determines Medicaid eligibility has been placed on administrative leave with pay.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: A man attacked two guards at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on Tuesday, authorities said, in what’s believed to be a domestic dispute.
FLORIDA Orlando: In a first-of-itskind agreement, the University of Central Florida says it’s partnering with the state parks system to open a research facility for anthropology, civil engineering and biology students at Econfina River State Park.
GEORGIA Atlanta: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and its parent corporation aren’t happy with how one of their late reporters is portrayed in the upcoming film “Richard Jewell,” which depicts Kathy Scruggs as using sex to get information from sources about the 1996 Olympics bombing.
HAWAII Wailuku: Visitor entrance fees at Haleakala National Park on Maui will increase by $5 on Jan. 1, the National Park Service says.
IDAHO Boise: Prison officials have changed their administrative rules to ensure secrecy surrounding the source of the state’s lethal injection drugs.
ILLINOIS Chicago: The city’s interim police superintendent is discontinuing a so-called merit promotion system that rank-and-file cops have long complained rewards officers for who they know and not what skills they have to do the job.
INDIANA Indianapolis: Up to 20 lowand middle-income homes in the city could be running on solar power free of charge by the end of next year with the help of a new city initiative, the first of its kind in the Midwest.
IOWA Des Moines: A state-run family planning program that excludes Planned Parenthood from accessing funds has seen a nearly 75% drop in the number of people using its services since 2017, according to a new agency report.
KANSAS Lawrence: The state Department of Agriculture is offering stressed farmers a place to find support and resources with a new website, kansasagstress.org.
KENTUCKY Louisville: A national group that focuses on issues common to Muslims and Jews in the U.S. has launched a chapter in the city. The Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council held an event at the Muhammed Ali Center over the weekend. Lonnie Ali, widow of Muhammad Ali, says she is looking forward to being an active member.
LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: The health department says 10 Walmart locations around the state will offer free screenings for hepatitis C on Wednesdays through Feb. 1.
MAINE Jonesport: Fishing regulators are implementing emergency closures in the state’s scallop harvesting industry.
MARYLAND Upper Marlboro: Racist memes poisoned the mind of a white man who fatally stabbed a black college student at a bus stop on the University of Maryland’s campus after a night of drinking, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday.
MASSACHUSETTS Holyoke: A wheelchair van once used to transport a judge with ALS to work and doctor’s appointments has been donated to a police chief battling the same condition. Rose Boyle, the wife of late Springfield District Court Judge William Boyle, turned over the keys to Lee Police Chief Jeffrey Roosa on Tuesday, according to Masslive.com.
MICHIGAN Lansing: Internet gaming and sports betting are soon expected to be legal in the state, as the Legislature was giving final passage Wednesday to a package of bills.
MINNESOTA St. Cloud: A baby Jesus statue has been missing from a nativity scene downtown for a year. The manger is currently filled by a swaddled toy doll.
MISSISSIPPI Jackson: Legislative leaders are recommending the state spend $94 million less, or about a 1.5% decrease, during the coming year than the current year.
MISSOURI Kansas City: The Kansas City Zoo is now home to eight fluffy new macaroni penguin chicks.
MONTANA Missoula: A council at the University of Montana has recommended the removal of a swastika-like tile arrangement. The tiles show a mirror-image swastika called an aristika designed within Corbin Hall in the 1920s, when swastikas were not yet adopted by the Nazis, university officials say.
NEBRASKA Lincoln: The school board has scheduled a special election Feb. 11 so voters can decide whether to issue $290 million in bonds to build two high schools.
NEVADA Las Vegas: Conservative advocacy group NevadansCAN wants quick action from a judge to block a statewide red flag gun law allowing firearms to be taken from people deemed to be a threat to themselves or others.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: A school board has voted to remove a Native American mascot from certain Merrimack Valley High School logos after facing controversy.
NEW JERSEY Upper Saddle River:
A deer seen wandering around town with its head stuck in a plastic pumpkin was rescued, police say.
NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: A public hearing has been delayed on a petition to open up the state’s medical marijuana program to ailing pets.
NEW YORK Albany: The governor says he’s put state police in charge of park police at a time of soaring attendance at state parks.
NORTH CAROLINA Shelby: Barrels of raw pork shoulder were hiding a secret in a tractor-trailer pulled over by deputies. Approximately $3 million in cash was recovered from the barrels Saturday, the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office says.
NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: An anti-abortion group has filed a brief in defense of a state law that requires doctors to inform women they can reverse the procedure when it is carried out with medication, even though the science behind that claim is disputed.
OHIO Columbus: Voting-rights advocates have urged the state’s top lawyer and the elections chief to do more to assure immigrants understand the voting process.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma has filed a federal classaction lawsuit against court officials in Canadian County, alleging its bail system unconstitutionally discriminates against the poor and disabled.
OREGON Salem: The City Council has agreed to spend up to $213,000 to open 140 warming shelter beds at two local churches.
PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: Faculty at state universities will go without a pay raise this year but see their salaries climb at least 12% over the next three years.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: The state is offering $5 million in grants for projects that protect publicly owned wastewater treatment facilities from storm surge, winds and other natural hazards.
SOUTH CAROLINA Charleston: Mobs of kangaroos can roam largely unrestricted in the state, where laws don’t regulate ownership of the creatures. Most other states have taken a harder stance on the chaotic marsupials, The Post and Courier reports.
SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: A Minnehaha County disaster recovery center has opened to assist survivors of severe storms, flooding and tornadoes in September.
TENNESSEE Memphis: Singer Bettye LaVette, piano man Eddie Boyd and 1920s star Victoria Spivey are among the performers named to the Blues Hall of Fame this year.
TEXAS Dallas: A new judge will consider if a hospital can take a 10month-old off life support despite her family’s opposition after the previous judge’s impartiality was questioned.
UTAH Salt Lake City: A legislative task force has voted to recommend a tax reform plan to the Legislature that would reduce state taxes by $160 million, double the amount in a previous proposal, officials say.
VERMONT Rutland: About 470 miles of trails in Green Mountain National Forest will be ready for the opening of the 2019-2020 snowmobile season, National Forest officials say.
VIRGINIA Virginia Beach: Regent University, a private Christian school founded by Pat Robertson, will remain accredited for another 10 years.
WASHINGTON Seattle: Mayor Jenny Durkan says the city will invest a record $110 million into affordable housing this year.
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: The House of Delegates will reconvene next week to continue its special legislative session, officials say.
WISCONSIN Madison: The state will no longer categorically deny Medicaid coverage for medically necessary gender-confirming surgery, a practice a federal judge found violated civil rights and federal health care law.
WYOMING Cheyenne: The state faces more tough times ahead but isn’t headed off a fiscal cliff, offering time for a thoughtful approach to delivering government services without running up deficits, Gov. Mark Gordon told lawmakers this week.