50★ States

ALABAMA Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama announced two new initiatives honoring the legacy of recently retired U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby – the Shelby Endowment for Distinguished Faculty and the Shelby Institute for Policy and Leadership.

ALASKA Anchorage: A state agency that represents Alaskans who cannot afford their own attorneys intends this month to stop taking clients facing serious felony charges in parts of southwest and western Alaska due to staffing shortages.

ARIZONA Tucson: The University of Arizona has failed to implement an effective risk management system to assess and communicate threats to safety on campus, according to a faculty committee looking into the fatal shooting of a professor and other allegations of harassment and intimidation.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: A former lawmaker who admitted to accepting thousands of dollars in bribes and filing a false income tax return was sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison.

CALIFORNIA Los Angeles: A water main burst under a Hollywood street, creating a sinkhole that almost swallowed a fire engine and showering a home with so much water the roof collapsed, the fire department said.

COLORADO Jackson County: Two wolves − one the North Park pack’s breeding male − were captured and collared, according to a Colorado Parks and Wildlife news release.

CONNECTICUT Hartford: The state needs safeguards on state government’s use of artificial intelligence including algorithms at child welfare and other agencies to prevent discrimination and increase transparency, an advisory panel to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights said.

DELAWARE Dover: Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long shared a major announcement for families still feeling the strain of baby formula shortage. Delaware is gearing up to provide thousands of canisters of formula for families in need, she told a gathering at the Food Bank of Delaware.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: A new study says Washington D.C. is the most “luxury-obsessed” area in the U.S., based on Google Trends data, WUSA-TV reports.

FLORIDA High Springs: Two abducted children who had been missing from Missouri for almost a year were found in a Florida grocery store with their non-custodial mother, who was taken into police custody, authorities said. The High Springs Police Department said the children were turned over to the Florida Department of Children and Families and would be reunited with family.

GEORGIA Atlanta: Bunnie JacksonRansom, a former first lady of Atlanta and ex-wife of former Mayor Maynard Jackson, has died, city leaders said. Current Mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement that JacksonRansom “was an incredible force of her own.”

HAWAII Maui: A 24-year-old firefighter who was swept into a storm drain and carried by floodwaters into the ocean has died, Hawaii News Now reports.

IDAHO Caldwell: A teacher was arrested and a tort claim has been filed after school resource officers said they discovered a video of the teacher encouraging students to fight, the Idaho Statesman reports.

ILLINOIS Joliet: A fire at the historic Haley Mansion caused $1.25 million in damage, authorities said. The cause is still under investigation, but the Joliet Fire Department says the fire was accidental and began on the mansion’s third floor. No one was in the mansion at the time.

INDIANA Mitchell: Two law enforcement officers were shot and wounded during an exchange of gunfire with a suspect who fled a traffic stop on foot and fired at the officers before he was fatally shot, police said.

IOWA Des Moines: A continuing care home has been fined $10,000 after a funeral home discovered a woman sent to it in a body bag was still alive.

KANSAS Topeka: Taxpayers will give $3 million in economic development incentives to Hill’s Pet Nutrition as part of the company’s relocation of its headquarters from Topeka to Overland Park.

KENTUCKY Frankfort: A group of lawmakers called for new leadership in the state’s troubled juvenile justice agency, saying someone from outside the system should be brought in to make changes to quell violent outbursts in the youth detention centers. The legislators also pushed for independent reviews of the juvenile detention system .

LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: A

$45 million funding bill to address soaring homeowner insurance rates in the hurricane-battered state was overwhelmingly approved by lawmakers and sent to Gov. John Bel Edwards for his signature.

MAINE Bangor: Two men from England pleaded guilty to federal charges that they interfered with a flight crew during a tussle that resulted in a flight from Mexico being diverted to Maine. The men became unruly and made racist remarks after they were told they would not be served any more alcohol, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

MARYLAND Baltimore: Gov. Wes Moore has pledged to work closely with city leaders to reduce gun violence by addressing the complex social forces underlying the city’s struggle to improve public safety.

MASSACHUSETTS Boston: The former leader of a Native American tribe sentenced to prison for accepting exercise equipment, a luxury hotel stay and other bribes from an architectural firm working with the tribe on a casino has to pay back nearly $210,000, a judge ordered.

MICHIGAN Romulus: Customs agents say they discovered a dolphin skull in luggage left at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that agents found the skull when they conducted a routine x-ray scan of the luggage, which had been inadvertently separated from owners during transit.

MINNESOTA St. Paul: Two 16-yearolds face juvenile charges after social media posts showed them flashing handguns at their school.

MISSISSIPPI Gulfport: Five people have been arrested following a confrontation between police and protesters over the October death of a Black teenager who was shot by police. Demonstrations have taken place for months in response to the killing of Jaheim McMillan, a 15year-old who died days after police shot him outside a discount store.

MISSOURI Jefferson City: Recreational marijuana sales in the state officially began last week after the state health department unexpectedly began approving dispensary permits early. Medical marijuana has been legal in the state since a ballot measure passed in 2018, but voters went a step further this November by approving a constitutional amendment legalizing the drug for anyone 21 or older.

MONTANA Great Falls: The Calumet Montana oil refinery has completed the multi-million dollar expansion project it began more than a year ago and is now poised to become the largest producer of sustainable aviation fuel in the nation.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: A United Airlines flight headed from Chicago to Las Vegas made an unplanned stop in Nebraska after the pilot reported engine problems. United Airlines described what happened in a news release as a “technical issue” and said another plane was sent to Lincoln to pick up the passengers of Flight 1888 so they could finish their trip.

NEVADA Eureka: Two miners were trying to remove a water pipeline at a gold mine last month when the pipe burst, killing one and injuring the other, according to a preliminary report issued by federal safety investigators. NEW JERSEY Monmouth County: A person who made an Open Public Records Act request may have spotted the discrepancy in the votes in one town that led county officials to uncover a wider error that impacted the elections in four towns in November’s general election. Now a judge has ordered a recount in the four towns, one of which could upend an election result.

NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: The police department is making no apologies for official tweets that have been criticized by some, including city officials, as inappropriate. The department’s Twitter account has been questioned over biting responses such as “Calling out your b.s. is public service” and “You only complain and never offer solutions,” KOAT-TV reported.

NEW YORK White Plains: A small plane that crashed last month as it approached an airport, killing two people on board, had a damaged engine that led the aircraft to bleed oil, according to an investigation by National Transportation Safety Board.

NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: North Carolina has joined a growing list of states considering bans on gender-affirming medical procedures for transgender minors. A bill filed last week in the state House would ban hormone treatments and surgeries for anyone younger than 18 and make it illegal for medical professionals to help a minor “present or appear in a manner that is inconsistent with the minor’s sex.”

NORTH DAKOTA Williston: Two police officers who wounded a suspect in an exchange of gunfire have been cleared of any wrongdoing. The Bismarck Tribune reports that the decision allows officers Tyler Iwen and Jordan Patton to return to active duty. They had been on paid administrative leave since the Dec. 9 shooting of 30-year-old Eric Obregon.

OHIO Cincinnati: Police officers who shot a man while responding to a report of a possible burglary used lethal force appropriately and won’t be charged, a prosecutor said.

OKLAHOMA Midwest City: A gun store owner has been accused of improperly disposing of 236 shotguns in a dumpster. The mystery emerged Jan. 19 when a sanitation worker discovered the weapons and alerted authorities, Insider.com reported, citing court filings and a news report.

OREGON Astoria: A man who was saved by a Coast Guard rescue swimmer at the mouth of the Columbia River as a massive wave rolled the yacht he was piloting was wanted for a bizarre incident in which police said he left a dead fish at the home featured in the classic 1985 film, “The Goonies.”

PENNSYLVANIA Hershey: Pennsylvania Republican Party officials voted Saturday to endorse a Montgomery County judge, Carolyn Carluccio, to be the party’s nominee in this year’s election for an open state Supreme Court seat.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: High winds shattered several windows at the Cranston Street Armory – one of several warming centers open as the state weathers a cold snap – causing temperatures to drop. Gov. Dan McKee’s spokesman Matt Sheaff said the building, which was housing about 180 people on Friday night, was preheated, but extreme winds broke the panes, bringing a chill into the main drill hall.

SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: The state Senate Corrections and Penology Committee approved a bill that would shield the identities of the companies that dispense the drug cocktail used to execute people on death row. The full Senate must now take up the latest effort in the state’s search for a method of capital punishment.

SOUTH DAKOTA Pierre: Lead Republicans are advancing a package of bills that they say would strengthen security of 2024 elections, with hearings that began last week. The bills address issues such as runoff elections, recounts and ballot legitimacy. While lawmakers say they believe South Dakota elections are among the most secure in the country, they also say the system could be made stronger, and they are hoping the proposals will help alleviate distrust.

TENNESSEE Nashville: Gov. Bill Lee announced that he’s selected his predecessor’s one-time lead legal counsel, Dwight Tarwater, to serve on the state’s highest court. Tarwater will replace outgoing Justice Sharon Lee upon her retirement on Aug. 31.

TEXAS Austin: Some residents who are still without power days after a winter storm struck say they are frustrated that no answers are being offered as to when their electricity will return.

UTAH Salt Lake City: The Main Library downtown has reopened after shutting down due to a sewer line failure, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

VERMONT Burlington: Burlington police will no longer be paid to provide private security in uniform for an apartment complex after a news story exposed a contract Mayor Miro Weinberger has criticized as “problematic.”

VIRGINIA Richmond: Senate Democrats voted down a priority measure for Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin that would have required student and parental notification about certain scholastic awards. Youngkin sought the legislation in response to concerns about how some school districts delayed recognizing student achievements on a standardized test.

WASHINGTON Seattle: A man was sentenced to 16 months in prison for stealing a high-powered rifle from a police vehicle during protests after George Floyd was killed in 2020.

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: The state’s Republican supermajority House of Delegates passed a bill banning gender-affirming surgery and hormone therapy for minors, a day after crowds descended on the state Capitol to decry the proposal.

WISCONSIN Milwaukee: A man convicted of shooting at a group of children who threw snowballs at his car in 2020 received a 16-year prison sentence. WITI-TV reports that prosecutors had asked for a 25-year prison sentence after jurors found William Carson guilty of two counts of first-degree reckless injury and five counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety in November.

WYOMING Cheyenne: A proposed budget amendment to defund the gender studies program at the University of Wyoming failed in the House, the Casper Star-Tribune reports.