50 ★ States

ALABAMA Montgomery: The U.S. Department of Justice said that it has entered into a settlement agreement with the state’s Medicaid program to end a sobriety requirement for treatment of people with Hepatitis C.

ALASKA Anchorage: Amazon plans to make a former Sears warehouse into a sorting facility, Anchorage Daily News reports.

ARIZONA Phoenix: The trial of a man accused of fatally shooting nine people over an 11-month span has been pushed back again, this time to February 2024. Aaron Saucedo, 28, was arrested in April 2017 in connection with serial street shootings that began in 2015.

ARKANSAS Fort Smith: There are more people hospitalized in the city from the flu than from COVID-19, healthcare officials report.

CALIFORNIA Los Angeles: Eighteen people were arrested when police busted an organized crime ring that targeted clothing and shoe stores, authorities said.

COLORADO Pueblo: The police department is warning the community that if they leave their vehicles running unattended to warm up, they’re creating an easy target for car thieves.

CONNECTICUT Plainfield: The superintendent hopes to have the second of two new school security guards on the payroll by Christmas, a hire that would meet a school board goal of having a total of six such unarmed guards in place throughout the school district.

DELAWARE Newport: The man killed by police following multiple carjackings and several shootouts last week had a number of previous run-ins with the law, court records show.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: A group of activists has organized a “No Homicides For The Holidays” initiative as a push to reduce violence in the area, WUSA-TV reports.

FLORIDA Palm Bay: A deputy mistakenly shot and killed his roommate, who was also a deputy, as the two took a break from playing an online game with friends while they were off duty, a sheriff said.

GEORGIA Decatur: A sheepdog is recovering at home after killing a pack of coyotes that attacked his owner’s flock of sheep, farmer John Wierwiller said.

HAWAII Kalea: Federal officials investigating a helicopter crash in Hawaii are urging U.S. and Canadian regulators to require immediate inspections of Bell helicopters that are commonly used by air tour operators, law enforcement and air ambulances.

IDAHO Smiths Ferry: Officials are monitoring the Idaho 55 highway project for avalanche risk as construction pauses for winter, the Idaho Statesman reports. The project aims to widen a stretch of the highway and work will continue in the spring, according to the news outlet.

ILLINOIS Chicago: Twelve people were hospitalized after a carbon monoxide leak at a church on the South Side, fire officials said.

INDIANA Columbus: A fire downtown destroyed a commercial building containing offices and a photo studio and left three firefighters with minor injuries.

IOWA Des Moines: East High School students will see improvements to their sports and activities complex following a multimillion dollar donation from alumni.

KANSAS Topeka: Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay has concluded nine police officers and one county sheriff ’s deputy acted justifiably when they fired gunshots during a Sept. 29 vehicle chase and shootout downtown, he announced.

KENTUCKY Glendale: Ford Motor Co. and a South Korean partner company showed off their progress in developing a massive battery production venture, where they have laid the groundwork for one of the “big bets” the automaker is making in its electric vehicle business.

LOUISIANA New Orleans: A man is in custody after he allegedly entered a hotel room and fatally beat an elderly man who was visiting the city with his wife, police said.

MAINE Augusta: A special council set up to review the Maine National Guard’s response to sexual assault and harassment is focusing on how to improve the coordination of state and local law enforcement, prosecutors and the guard’s response to individual cases, said a report.

MARYLAND Washington County: State police have closed their investigation into a drug lab discovered a month ago because the sole suspect in the case is dead, a police spokeswoman said.

MASSACHUSETTS Boston: An extown official seen on surveillance video marching through the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced to 15 days in prison for her role in the riot.

MICHIGAN Portage: Pfizer announced a $750 million project toward expanding capacity at the pharmaceutical plant where the company first mass produced its COVID-19 vaccine.

MINNESOTA Scott County: Officials might revoke the permit of the Renaissance Festival after parking and traffic issues at this fall’s event, the Star Tribune reports.

MISSISSIPPI Jackson: The Mississippi Department of Human Services changed its demands against retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre in a lawsuit that seeks repayment of misspent welfare money. The department dropped its demand of $1.1 million, but made a new demand of up to $5 million.

MISSOURI Springfield: City Utilities told the News-Leader that it recently discovered more than 500 customers had either a faulty gas or water meter that didn’t account for usage over the past three to 16 months, accounting for an estimated $400,000 in missed revenue for the public utility company. Customers won’t be charged for the previously unbilled usage until March.

MONTANA Helena: The state’s public schools saw a slight increase in enrollment this fall, Montana Free Press reports.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: Police say they found a stolen car submerged in Holmes Lake, the Lincoln Journal Star reports. The SUV had been reported stolen from a gas station.

NEVADA Las Vegas: A new student fee has been approved that will fund the student newspaper at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: The state’s four-member Democratic congressional delegation is asking for federal funds for a sex education program offered in counties with higher-than-average teen pregnancy rates.

NEW JERSEY Brick Township: Some 180 dogs and cats were removed from a home after officials reported the animals were being kept in “horrible and inhumane conditions,” authorities say.

NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: The city has set a record for the most homicides in one year at 115 and counting, according to authorities.

NEW YORK New York City: Bribery and fraud charges against former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin were tossed out by a federal judge, leaving Benjamin to face only records falsification charges.

NORTH DAKOTA Wilton: Voters have approved a multimillion-dollar measure to upgrade Wilton Public School, the Bismarck Tribune reports.

OHIO Butler County: Two townships – West Chester and Fairfield – are joining a growing list of southwest Ohio communities that are adding automated license plate readers to their arsenal of crime-solving tools.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: State Sen. Roger Thompson wants to give the state’s tourism commission more control over the agency.

OREGON Gates: The city has received a $400,000 rural development grant to install a backup power source at its reservoir, U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced.

PENNSYLVANIA Pottsville: Authorities say a sanitation worker has died almost three months after he was struck in the head by a street sign during an accident.

RHODE ISLAND Narragansett: On Jan. 1, the seaside town will become the latest community in the state to ban single-use plastic bags.

SOUTH CAROLINA Greenville: Philanthropists and entrepreneurs Thomas and Vivian A. Wong donated $1 million to the Honor Tower in Unity Park, marking a major milestone for the project and one of the park’s largest donations to date.

SOUTH DAKOTA Aberdeen: Several people were rescued from a fire inside an apartment building, and four people were taken to the hospital.

TENNESSEE Johnson City: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says agents are looking into the fatal shooting of a man during a confrontation with deputies.

TEXAS San Antonio: Jurors in the capital murder trial of a former U.S. Border Patrol agent have heard a taped interview in which he confesses to the 2018 killings of four sex workers in South Texas.

UTAH West Jordan: West Jordan Elementary School will be closing at the end of the school year, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

VERMONT Burlington: Police are investigating a fatal stabbing, the fifth homicide in the city this year.

VIRGINIA Chesapeake Bay: Four people, including a child, were rescued from a sinking boat near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, the U.S. Coast Guard reported. No injuries were reported.

WASHINGTON Bainbridge Island: Fort Ward’s historic parade grounds will soon be home to a new neighborhood playground.

WEST VIRGINIA Huntington: Two food banks will each receive $500,000 from the state. Facing Hunger Foodbank in Huntington and Mountaineer Food Bank in Gassaway are getting a total of $1 million, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported.

WISCONSIN Madison: State Rep. Janel Brandtjen, who was kicked out of the Assembly GOP caucus by fellow Republicans who said they lost trust in her after she pushed election conspiracy theories, is running for an open state Senate seat.

WYOMING Jackson: A man accused of stealing a bottle of scotch worth more than $7,000 has been arrested, Jackson Hole Daily reports.