Obamas break ground, missing zebras, Planet Word bathrooms: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Brighton: Police have recovered a horse-drawn carriage that was stolen from a church parking lot near Birmingham ahead of a funeral. The carriage and the trailer it was on were found Monday behind a home about 20 miles from the church in Brighton where it was taken, al.com reported. Brighton Police Chief Larry Woods told the news site multiple people are in custody in connection with the theft. The owner of the carriage, Frank Tate, said it was valued at more than $15,000. His company, Magic Tours, provides carriages for funerals, downtown Birmingham tours and other special occasions. Tate told al.com he left the carriage in the parking lot of St. Mark AME Church to pick up horses. He planned to use it later on Saturday to take a family to a funeral, but when he returned about 9 a.m., it was gone. He said the carriage would be hard to hide. “It’s a distinctive carriage,’’ Tate said. “Nobody else around here has carriages.”

Alaska

Anchorage: U.S. prosecutors have charged three men with leaving a special viewing platform and getting too close to bears in Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve. The U.S. attorney’s office filed charges last week in the August 2018 incident. Spokesperson Lisa Houghton said the office doesn’t discuss the timing of cases. “Every case is unique, and it takes varying amounts of time to bring forth criminal charges,” she said by email. The remote park on the northern Alaska Peninsula protects some of the highest densities of bears in the world and requires visitors to abide by special rules. Mature male brown bears at Katmai can weigh up to 900 pounds, the park said. The charges alleged the men entered a closed area of the park by leaving an authorized viewing area and wading into the Brooks River when bears were feeding on salmon in the nearby falls. The U.S. attorney’s office said two of the men are from Alaska and one is from New Mexico. An online court records system did not show attorneys for the men who could comment on their behalf.

Arizona

Phoenix: Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday endorsed former television broadcaster Kari Lake in the Republican race for governor. Trump retains a strong following among many Republicans and his endorsement catapults the former news anchor into clear front-runner status in the crowded GOP primary field. Lake is a political newcomer who left her job in March and launched her bid for the Republican nomination for governor in 2022 in June. She had been widely seen as a possible candidate and has criticized a media landscape that she contends needs more balance.Trump announced his endorsement via email because he remains banned from Twitter and other social media sites following the Jan. 6 incidents at the U.S. Capitol. He said Lake is strong on crime, the border and supports gun rights. He also took a shot at Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who is term-limited. Using the expression for “Republican in name only,” Trump said “she will do a far better job than RINO Governor Doug Ducey.” Ducey certified President Joe Biden’s victory in Arizona over Trump last year despite pressure from the former president to overturn the election results.

Arkansas

Little Rock: Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday said he allowed the state’s public health emergency for the coronavirus pandemic to end, saying he didn’t need any additional powers to respond to it. Hutchinson told reporters he didn’t seek an extension from the Legislature for the emergency, which expired Monday. But Hutchinson cautioned that the state is still feeling the effects of COVID-19, which the Health Department on Tuesday said had claimed another 21 lives in the state. “I need to emphasize that we are still in a pandemic. We still have 20 plus people dying every day because of COVID,” Hutchinson said at his weekly news conference. “Just because the technical emergency was not extended does not mean we’re not still in a very serious situation with the pandemic and the actions we need to take.” Arkansas lifted most of its virus restrictions, including a statewide mask mandate, and ended its emergency declaration last spring. But Hutchinson in July reinstated the emergency as the state saw a surge in cases due to the delta variant of the virus. The Health Department said the state’s death toll from COVID-19 now totals 7,651. The state reported its cases rose by 800 to 493,920 total since the pandemic began.

California

Sacramento: State Treasurer Fiona Ma repeatedly shared hotel rooms with employees, a practice she said saved money but that business experts contend crosses an ethical line and can lead to lawsuits like one Ma now faces, the Sacramento Bee reported Tuesday. Judith Blackwell, the former head of the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, sued Ma in July, alleging sexual harassment, racial discrimination and wrongful termination. Ma said the allegations are without merit. Records obtained by the Bee show Ma shared a hotel room with her chief of staff, Genevieve Jopanda, 13 times over two years. She also stayed with four other aides at a three-bedroom property on a trip. There’s no policy in the state’s human resources manual on whether managers and staff can share hotel rooms. Ma said her work as state treasurer frequently requires her and aides to travel across the state and that the hotel rooms were shared to save money.

Colorado

Silverthorne: The residents of several hundred homes have been evacuated or warned to be ready to leave because of a wildfire burning in Colorado’s north-central mountains. Evacuations were first ordered Monday night near Silverthorne shortly after the fire was reported on U.S. Forest Service land. The Ptarmigan Fire was burning on about 60 acres around midday Tuesday, after growing about 40 acres overnight, an amount which surprised officials, Dillon District Ranger Adam Bianchi said, the Summit Daily News reported. Air tankers and a helicopter were initially used to try to slow the fire’s growth and prevent it from moving downhill toward residential areas because it was considered too dangerous to send in firefighters on the ground. Officials have some hope that forecasted cooler weather in the mountains, where it has been dropping below freezing at night, and possible rain and snow in the coming days will also help.

Connecticut

Hartford: The state Senate voted Tuesday to extend Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont’s emergency powers for the sixth time during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite pushback from Republican lawmakers who argued the state is no longer in crisis. “It all needs to end,” said Sen. Rob Sampson, R-Wolcott. “No one can deny that there’s no public health emergency and that individual, local and legislative powers must be restored.” Yet Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said state legislators have a “much stronger reason” to extend the public health and civil preparedness emergencies than back in July, the last time Lamont’s powers were extended until Sept. 30. He noted how the state’s COVID positivity rate and number of hospitalizations have increased since then because of the delta variant. The resolution to extend the governor’s powers until Feb. 15 passed 18-15 on Tuesday with two Democrats joining the Republicans in opposition. Three senators were absent. The vote came day after the House of Representatives voted 80-60 in favor of extending Lamont’s renewed declaration of public health and civil preparedness emergencies until early February, when the General Assembly’s regular legislative session is scheduled to open. Democrats control both chambers.

Delaware

Wilmington: All teachers and school staff in Delaware will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing, Gov. John Carney said Tuesday. The requirement announced by Carney, the Division of Public Health and Department of Education will be formally issued by emergency regulation and takes effect Nov. 1. The requirement also applies to contractors and volunteers who work in K-12 public and private schools. The top priority has been to get all students back in school this fall and the mandate will help minimize disruptions, Carney said in a statement. “There’s no better way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and keep all Delaware children in their classrooms, than to get vaccinated,” Carney said. “These vaccines are safe and extremely protective against COVID-19 infection and serious illness. I encourage all Delawareans to get your shot and help us finally put an end to this pandemic.” The Delaware State Education Association, the state’s largest teacher’s union, supports the decision and urges members to get vaccinated, according to a statement from President Stephanie Ingram. The union’s goal is to keep educators and students in school while protecting their health, Ingram said. Since some have concerns about the vaccine, weekly testing is a “reasonable alternative,” she said.

District of Columbia

Washington: The city’s new Planet Word museum is being lauded for its lavatories, WUSA-TV reported. Cintas, the cleaning product and services company, selected 10 places across the country for the cleanest, most innovative commodes, and Planet Word is among the finalists. “Planet Word is flush with bathroom humor,” said founder Ann Friedman, reading a slogan from one of the walls. She has a bit of a potty mouth. “Here’s our take on Shakespeare. ‘Farting is such sweet sorrow,’” she said, opening a stall and revealing the slogan painted behind a porcelain throne.The toilets on the second floor of the downtown museum are ripe with ribald literary references. “To pee or not to pee, that is the question,” is emblazoned in another stall. Then there’s “If at first you don’t succeed, flush, flush again.” and “I stink, therefore I am.” The museum has five floors, with restrooms on each, each with its own theme. “Here we have euphemisms for No. 1 and No. 2,” she said on the main floor. They include: “Take a whiz”...and others maybe we shouldn’t mention. Even Friedman’s a little embarrassed by some of the bathroom humor. Although when she was looking for donors, the phrase, “Take the Browns to the Super Bowl,” may have helped her close the deal with a guy from Ohio.

Florida

Tallahassee: A group of South Florida businessmen sued the federal government Monday in hopes of overturning a gambling agreement Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed with the Seminole Tribe. The suit filed against the Department of the Interior in federal court in Washington claims the agreement illegally expands gambling in Florida. Among the plaintiffs are developer Armando Codina and car dealer Norman Braman. The department approved the deal in August. It allows the Seminole Tribe to operate sports betting and add roulette and craps to its seven Florida casinos, with the state potentially receiving $20 billion over the next 30 years. But the lawsuit claimed that the state constitution requires voters approve an expansion of gambling. The state Legislature approved the deal in May. It is the second suit filed challenging the gambling compact.

Georgia

Atlanta: Logistics company Radial Inc. plans to hire 4,000 entry-level workers outside Atlanta this year ahead of the busy holiday season, the company announced Tuesday. The new employees will work out of two Atlanta-area fulfillment centers – one in Locust Grove and one in Buford – to process online orders from various different brands, Radial said in a news release. The company then plans to promote more than one-third of the seasonal employees to full-time positions, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. According to the statement, research conducted by Radial shows that 65% of shoppers plan to spend either increased or similar amounts of money on online purchases this year compared to 2020. The site director of the Locust Grove fulfillment center, Eric Narvaez, did not disclose how much the positions would be paid but said the pay would be similar to that of other large companies like Home Depot and Amazon, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said.

Hawaii

Honolulu: U.S. regulators on Tuesday banned swimming with Hawaii’s spinner dolphins to protect the nocturnal animals from people seeking close encounters with the playful species. Swimming with dolphins is a popular tourist activity in Hawaii. Several companies offer tours that take swimmers to areas frequented by dolphins with the aim of giving them an opportunity to get in the water with the animals. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration rule under the Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits swimming with or getting within 50 yards of a spinner dolphin that is within 2 nautical miles of the shore of the main Hawaiian Islands. The rule applies to boats, canoes, stand-up paddleboards, drones or other objects. NOAA also is proposing a regulation that would prohibit entering certain areas between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. in parts of the Big Island and Maui that are considered essential daytime habitats for spinner dolphins. Spinner dolphins hunt in offshore waters at night. During the day, they use areas close to shore that have optimal environmental conditions to socialize, nurture their young, hide from predators and rest in preparation for nightly hunting. Hawaii’s spinner dolphins get their name from their habit of leaping in the air and spinning around. Some scientists say such behavior is not always playfulness and can instead be an attempt to alert others to danger.

Idaho

Boise: Schools should set up confidential tip lines that can be used by students and others to report concerning behavior as a way to prevent school shootings, a report reviewing an eastern Idaho school shooting said. That’s one of 29 recommendations in the report released Monday by the Idaho State Board of Education following a school shooting at Rigby Middle School in May. Authorities said a sixth grade girl injured two other students and a custodian after pulling a handgun from her backpack and firing multiple rounds inside and outside the school. She was ultimately disarmed by a teacher. The report said students saw behavioral changes in the accused attacker, but that didn’t come to light until after the shooting. The report, made by the School Safety and Security Program, noted that the behavior change was not apparent to school staff because the girl was in her first year at Rigby Middle School after moving up from elementary school. The same school had another incident last week when authorities said a 13-year-old girl brought a gun to school, but was disarmed by a school resource officer in the bathroom, and no one was injured. Immediately after that incident, Jefferson School District Superintendent Chad Martin banned backpacks at two middle schools and two high schools.

Illinois

Chicago: After five years of legal fights, gentrification concerns and a federal review, Barack and Michelle Obama dug shovels into the ground Tuesday during a celebratory groundbreaking on the Obama Presidential Center. Construction on the center along Lake Michigan, near the Obama family home and where the former president started his political career on Chicago’s South Side, officially began last month. Standing near an excavator and other heavy equipment, Obama described how the city’s South Side shaped him, first as a community organizer, then as a husband, father and elected official. He said the center was one way of giving back and he hoped it would bring an economic boost to the area and inspire a future generation of leaders. “We want this center to be more than a static museum or a source of archival research. It won’t just be a collection of campaign memorabilia or Michelle’s ballgowns, although I know everybody will come see those,” he joked. “It won’t just be an exercise in nostalgia or looking backwards. We want to look forward.” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and several city aldermen were among the few people allowed at the event, which was streamed online to limit crowds amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The presidential center will sit on 19 acres of the 540-acre of Jackson Park, named for the nation’s seventh president, Andrew Jackson.

Indiana

Terre Haute: A historical marker has been dedicated in western Indiana in remembrance of a Black man lynched about 120 years ago by a white mob. George Ward’s descendants, Terre Haute residents and Mayor Duke Bennett were among those at Sunday’s ceremony in Fairbanks Park, the (Terre Haute) Tribune-Star reported. George Ward was arrested in 1901 in the slaying of a white teacher, Ida Finkelstein. The mob took him from the Vigo County Jail and struck him in the head with a sledgehammer, said Terry Ward, adding that the attackers grabbed his great-grandfather along a bridge and bystanders pelted him with sticks. “Imagine the pain and the fear and no one comes to your aid,” Terry Ward told those at the dedication. George Ward then was hanged from a former wagon bridge. His body later was cut down and burned. “George Ward was denied due process for a crime for which he was accused,” Terry Ward said. “He was killed by a mob that acted as judge, jury and executioner.” The dedication was part of the national Community Remembrance Project, which recognizes lynching victims.

Iowa

Des Moines: The longtime president of the Des Moines police officers’ union sent explicit photos to four female colleagues but retired before he could face discipline and wasn’t criminally charged, the city confirmed late Tuesday. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, four Des Moines Police Department employees alleged that they were sent unsolicited photos by Des Moines Police Bargaining Unit Association President Stew Barnes in 2019 and 2020, including many of himself naked. The department let Barnes, 61, retire in August 2020 with full benefits despite “overwhelming evidence” of his harassment of co-workers and employees of a tanning salon and a credit union, the lawsuit claimed. Department leaders recognized him at a retirement banquet in October 2020. Iowa law allows the state pension system to deny retirement benefits to members who are not “in good standing,” including those who face pending disciplinary proceedings for misconduct. The lawsuit argued that Barnes should have been disqualified from benefits and faced a criminal investigation, alleging he was using police resources “to find and stalk women” and that his victims were ready to cooperate. A statement through the city manager’s office defended the department and the city’s handling of the internal investigation but did not explain the lack of a criminal investigation. Barnes confirmed to have sent the inappropriate photos and resigned his job before the inquiry concluded, the statement said. Police Chief Dana Wingert later determined the misconduct occurred and that it would have been a fireable offense.

Kansas

Santa Fe: John Freeman Colt, a convicted sex offender who escaped June 30 from Larned State Hospital, was captured Monday night in Wayne County, Utah. Colt’s arrest came after residents recognized him from a wanted poster they saw on TV and contacted the U.S. Marshals Service and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, the marshals service said in a news release Tuesday. “As sheriff’s deputies were staging in a parking lot near the target house, they saw Colt roll by on his blue motorcycle and gave chase,” the marshals service said. “Colt eventually decided to give up.” Colt was being held Tuesday in Utah awaiting his return to Kansas, according to the news release.

Kentucky

Frankfort: State police said new regional driver testing branches have been created in Madisonville and Owensboro. The Madisonville office serves Caldwell, Crittenden, Hopkins, McLean, Muhlenberg and Webster counties, and the Owensboro site is for residents of Daviess, Hancock, and Ohio counties. Gov. Andy Beshear said the regional testing locations offer more efficient services. Driver testing was offered starting Monday in both locations. Appointments can be made online and are available Monday through Friday at the state police website. Appointments are required for a permit, driver’s license or commercial driver’s license test. Officials are working to open the remaining regional offices statewide by June 30.

Louisiana

Lake Charles: Five people were injured in an explosion at a chemical plant, news outlets reported. The explosion at the Westlake petrochemical plant near Lake Charles was reported late Monday night, Louisiana State Police spokesman Derek Senegal said. He said five workers were taken to a hospital, but their conditions were not immediately known. A fire at the site is now out, and the cause of the blast is under investigation. KPLC-TV reported that the unit where the explosion occurred is used in the production of ethylene and was undergoing maintenance at the time.

Maine

Portland: The owner of four hydroelectric dams on the Kennebec River sued two Maine agencies alleging they improperly cooperated on fish passage regulations that impact the future of the dams and fish populations. The lawsuit filed in Kennebec Superior Court is the latest brought by Brookfield Renewable Power, a subsidiary of a large Canadian company that owns many of the dams in the state, the Portland Press Herald reported. The lawsuit contended the Department of Marine Resources improperly helped the Department of Environmental Protection draft fish passage policies, claiming that the cooperation between state agencies violates a 1993 settlement between the dams’ then-owners, environmental groups and state and federal bodies. The company argued under that settlement, disputes about fish passage standards related to the dams must be resolved through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which licenses dams. The Shawmut dam is under review for FERC relicensing and must get water quality approval from Maine as part of that process.

Maryland

Upper Marlboro: Five zebras that escaped from a farm nearly a month ago are still on the loose. They got away Aug. 31 from a private farm near Upper Marlboro, about 20 miles southeast of the nation’s capital, The Washington Post reported. Prince George’s County animal control officials told the newspaper the caretakers have been trying to lure the animals into a fenced feeding area ever since. Zebras have to be corralled to be captured, not chased. Three of the animals have been traveling together while the other two have been in a pair, officials said. Residents have been sharing stories of zebra sightings on social media. Joshua DuBois, who worked for the White House during the Obama administration, tweeted Sept. 19 that he and his wife dressed up their three children in zebra-print outfits to go “zebra hunting.” He shared a video and photos of when they found the animals. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton – who represents Washington in Congress – joked in a Sept. 10 statement that despite her general support for freedom and her recent opposition to fences, referring to the fences around the U.S. Capitol, she was not responsible for setting the zebras free.

Massachusetts

Melrose: A home seriously damaged by fire has been listed on the market with an asking price of $399,000. WBZ-TV reported Monday that the listing for the home in Melrose, a suburb of Boston, is evidence of how hot the housing market is. In August, industry groups listed the median sale price of single-family homes in the state to be between $535,000 and $552,000. The online listing for the burned three-bedroom, 1,857-square foot home starts with a call out to contractors, and continues: “House is in need of a complete renovation or potential tear down and rebuild. Buyer to do due diligence. House being sold as is.” The house suffered an intense fire in August that blew out the front windows, which are now boarded up. The Boston Globe reported that firefighters had to tear out parts of the walls and ceiling of the home to extinguish the blaze.

Michigan

Detroit: A young Detroit-area man who snapped a photo of a gang chart while cleaning an FBI office and posted it on social media was sentenced Tuesday to probation. Publicizing the chart could have caused a “bloodbath,” said U.S. District Judge Linda Parker. Parker said it was a serious case, but she turned down the government’s request that Anthony Cassani be locked up for three months. “I don’t think you need to be incarcerated to understand the gravity of what you’ve done here,” the judge said. In 2020, Cassani, 22, was cleaning an FBI office to reduce the risk of COVID-19 when he saw a chart of Detroit gang members. He admits taking a picture of the chart with his phone and posting it on Snapchat. It could have gone “horribly wrong” if “search warrants were executed and the targets of the search warrant were prepared for the agents to come in,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Eaton Brown said. “We’re thankful that’s not what happened.” Cassani pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. He apologized and acknowledged the potential harm.

Minnesota

Chaska: Tensions at a suburban Twin Cities school board meeting over a new mask mandate escalated to a physical scuffle. The Eastern Carver County Schools said Monday all students would need to wear a mask through at least the middle of next month because of a rise in coronavirus cases. At a meeting Monday night in Chaska, speakers lined up to talk about their support or opposition to the mandate. A couple of men got physical over what appeared to be a disagreement about someone taking a photo. Several other men intervened to separate the two and police were summoned, video from WCCO-TV showed. Some parents said the mask mandate is causing bullying concerns on both sides of the issue. Many parents said they want some sort of protocol about what they should do if their child is exposed, and if there is a required quarantine period.

Mississippi

Bay St. Louis: Three Mississippi cities and Birmingham, Alabama have been awarded grants to improve their train stations ahead of the planned return of Amtrak service to the Gulf Coast. Bay St. Louis, Gulfport and Pascagoula received a little more than $700,000 total, and another $250,000 went to Birmingham, the Biloxi Sun Herald reported. The newspaper said the grants were announced Monday by the Southern Rail Commission. The money will fund improvements to amenities such as lighting, sidewalks and parking areas. The grants require an equivalent matching contribution from local officials. Amtrak said it hopes to resume operating between New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama in January. The region has been without passenger service since Hurricane Katrina badly damaged tracks and equipment in 2005. Before that, passenger trains ran between the cities three times a week. The start of service is still pending a decision by the federal Surface Transportation Board on Amtrak’s right of access to freight lines.

Missouri

Stockton: A southwest Missouri prosecutor said he has charged five employees of a private Christian boarding school with abusing students – far fewer than the number of charges recommended by state investigators. The five employees of the Agape Boarding School near Stockton were charged with a total of 13 third-degree felony assault counts, Cedar County Prosecuting Attorney Ty Gaither said. The charges came after the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated allegations of abuse at the school. Based on that investigation, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt recommended prosecuting 22 employees with 65 counts on behalf of 36 victims, including felonies for abuse of a child and tampering with a victim, and misdemeanors for endangering the welfare of a child and failure to report child abuse. After Gaither said last week that he planned to charge far fewer employees than recommended, Schmitt asked Gov. Mike Parson to remove his office from the investigation because he didn’t believe Gaither intended to “seek justice” for all the victims. Gaither said this office believed “these to be the appropriate charges under the fact of the investigation,” The Kansas City Star reported. Although Gaither asked for the attorney general’s assistance in the case, Missouri law gives county prosecutors sole authority in deciding what charges are filed.

Montana

Billings: Federal authorities are investigating a small plane crash that killed a couple and critically injured their son in southern Montana on Sunday, authorities said. Robby and Pam Stephens died at the crash south of Billings and son Riley was taken to a hospital with critical injuries, officials said. Responders arrived to find the plane on fire in a wooded area near the Blain Airstrip, Yellowstone County Sheriff Mike Linder said. According to preliminary information, the Beech 35S plane crashed at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday, National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson Keith Holloway said. The investigation will include looking at any air traffic communications, radar data, weather reports and a review of the plane’s maintenance records and medical and flight history of the pilot, Holloway said. A typical NTSB investigation can take between one and two years to complete, he said.

Nebraska

Maywood: A woman was arrested over the weekend in southwestern Nebraska after being accused of pulling a gun after a store clerk refused to sell her beer, authorities said. The incident happened shortly before noon Saturday, when a business in the village of Maywood called the Frontier County Sheriff’s Office to report that a woman who appeared to be high on drugs pulled a gun when she wasn’t allowed to buy beer, KRVN reported. Deputies and the Nebraska State Patrol later stopped a vehicle on Highway 23 in which the woman was believed to be riding. Officers arrested Dixie Kaiser, 39, of Wellfleet, on suspicion of making terroristic threats. Kaiser was being held in the Seward County Jail on $15,000 bond.

Nevada

Reno: Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe is launching the largest capital improvement project in the history of the resort with a $7.5 million expansion that includes a new high-speed chairlift and trail additions to help skier traffic patterns. Resort officials said the expansion including the new chairlift in the Lakeview mountain zone near the Mount Rose Highway connecting Reno to Lake Tahoe is expected to be completed ahead of the 2022-23 winter season. Mike Pierce, the resort’s marketing director, said strong ridership combined with COVID-19 related lift restrictions made it necessary to increase Lakeview’s lift capacity last season. The old lift has been accessing a part of the mountain with views of the alpine lake for 41 years. Improvements already under way include a $1 million investment in snowmaking infrastructure, and slope grading to reduce obstacles and allow opening of terrain with as little as a foot of packed snow, Pierce said. A 60-year-old domestic water system serving the main lodge base area also is being replaced.

New Hampshire

Concord: A judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging a decision by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu’s administration to end unemployment benefits under the federal CARES Act early, saying the claims are based on flawed interpretations of state law. The pandemic-related benefits were scheduled to run out on Sept. 6. The lawsuit filed in Hillsborough Superior Court in Nashua against the state of New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Employment Security and its commissioner asked a judge to reinstate the benefits dating to June 19, when they were ended. In her ruling, Judge Jacalyn Colburn wrote “the plaintiffs have not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims because neither of the statutes on which they rely require the defendants to act.” New Hampshire was among the first to expand eligibility for unemployment benefits when the pandemic first struck. Thousands of people were collecting unemployment benefits, including $300 per week supplemental payments either from the state or a federal program created during the pandemic. The state decided to end the extra payments early because the unemployment rate had dropped and given the abundance of available jobs, Sununu said.

New Jersey

Galloway Township: A man who apparently tried to break into a restaurant in a southern New Jersey strip mall died after he got trapped in an exhaust fan on the roof of the building, authorities said. The body was found shortly before 10 a.m. Monday at the restaurant in Galloway Township. It’s not known how or when the man became trapped, police said, and officials are still working to determine his identity. Authorities have not said how the body was discovered or who found it. A similar robbery had occurred at the business a few weeks ago, and authorities are trying to determine if the episodes are connected.

New Mexico

Albuquerque: The family of a passenger on a hot air balloon that crashed and killed five people in Albuquerque in June is suing the estate of the deceased pilot and the companies that operated the commercial balloon. The estate of Martin Martinez, 62, filed a lawsuit in state district court last week against Hot Air Balloonatics LLC, Sventato LLC, and the estate of the pilot, Nicholas Meleski. The suit accuses Meleski, who had drugs in his system, of piloting the balloon in a reckless manner. Martinez’s family is seeking unspecified monetary, punitive and other damages. A Federal Aviation Administration report showed that Meleski, 62, had marijuana and cocaine in his blood and urine. The National Transportation Safety Board hasn’t ruled on the cause of the crash. According to the lawsuit, Meleski was an employee of Hot Air Balloonatics and one of the organizers of Sventato, which owned the balloon that crashed June 26. The balloon struck a power line and the basket toppled about 100 feet onto a busy street. Hot Air Balloonatics declined to comment on the lawsuit. Also killed in the crash were Martinez’s wife, Mary, 59; Georgia O’Keeffe Elementary School assistant principal Susan Montoya, 65; and her husband, John, 61. Co-workers had chipped in to purchase the balloon ride for Susan Montoya as a going-away gift because she planned to transfer to another school.

New York

New York City: Pope Francis accepted the resignation of the Catholic bishop of Brooklyn, Nicholas DiMarzio, weeks after a Vatican investigation cleared him of sexual abuse allegations, and appointed a native New Yorker to replace him. DiMarzio is 77, two years beyond the usual retirement age for bishops. Francis accepted his resignation and appointed Bishop Robert Brennan of Columbus, Ohio, to take over in Brooklyn, the Vatican said. On Sept. 1, the New York church announced that the Vatican had closed its case against DiMarzio after an investigation concluded that the allegations against DiMarzio didn’t have “the semblance of truth.” Two men had separately claimed DiMarzio abused them a half-century ago, when he was a priest in New Jersey. DiMarzio denied the allegations. The accusers’ attorney, Mitchell Garabedian, has said the men will press forward with civil cases against DiMarzio. In a tweet Wednesday, DiMarzio welcomed Brennan to Brooklyn and said he had “great confidence in his ability to lead” the diocese. Brennan, 59, was educated at St. John’s University in Queens, ordained in Rockville Centre, Long Island, and made an auxiliary bishop there before being sent to lead the Columbus diocese in 2019.

North Carolina

Carolina Beach: The town’s council terminated the contract of Reef Parking because of defective parking meters and the need for new ideas. Reef Parking manages 1,200 parking spaces in Carolina Beach, including spots in 20 surface lots and 165 metered on-street spaces. Parking fees account for more than $1.9 million of the town’s $16.5 million general fund revenue for fiscal year 2022. This summer, the town fielded complaints about inoperable parking meters, Mayor LeAnn Pierce said. Pierce said she received more complaints about meters not working than about the town’s parking rates. The town will be accepting requests for proposals, which will include reviewing past proposals submitted by other parking companies, Pierce said.

North Dakota

Bismarck: The developer of an oil refinery planned near Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota has a new contract with a company that will buy and market all diesel and gasoline produced at the facility. Developer Meridian Energy Group said its 10-year contract with Musket Corp. covers 360 million gallons of diesel and 280 million gallons of gasoline produced annually. The fuels make up 90% of the volume of refined products at the plant. Meridian first proposed the refinery just 3 miles from the park in 2016, with the goal of having it operating by next year. Meridian says the Billings County project has faced delays from the pandemic and litigation from environmental groups, and the company has struggled to secure financing. Environmentalists objected to the permitting process and have concerns about the refinery’s proximity to the national park, the Bismarck Tribune reported. The company announced last November that it had entered into an agreement with Utah-based Kiva Energy, which will purchase propane and butane from the refinery.

Ohio

Cleveland: Ohio’s utility commission said it has asked an independent auditor to examine whether FirstEnergy Corp. used customer money to pay for naming rights at the stadium where the Cleveland Browns play. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio announcement follows a request on Tuesday by Democratic lawmakers. They want FirstEnergy’s name removed because of its involvement in secretly funding a $60 million bribery scheme to win legislative approval in 2019 for a $1 billion bailout for two nuclear plants operated by a wholly owned FirstEnergy subsidiary. Akron-based FirstEnergy in 2013 agreed to pay $102 million over 17 years for naming rights to the stadium that was called Cleveland Browns Stadium when it opened in 1999, cleveland.com reported. FirstEnergy spokesperson Jennifer Young said the corporation pays for the naming rights deal and not customers of its three Ohio electric companies.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: The Cherokee Nation and three opioid distributors reached a $75 million settlement to resolve opioid-related claims against the companies. The Tahlequah, Oklahoma-based tribe announced the settlement, the largest in Cherokee Nation history, with McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation. The settlement will be paid out over 6¹/₂ years. The tribe sued the three companies, along with several pharmacy companies, in 2017, alleging they contributed to “an epidemic of prescription opioid abuse” within the tribe and have not done enough to prevent tribal members from acquiring illegally prescribed opioid painkillers. The three companies said in a joint statement that the settlement is a step toward “a broader settlement with all federally recognized Native American tribes across the country.” The Cherokee Nation’s claims against Walmart, Walgreens and CVS are pending.

Oregon

Salem: After more than a year of renovations – and a much-anticipated reopening delayed by rising COVID-19 cases — the Salem Public Library is set to open Friday with limited in-person services. Residents can visit the library for Express Service, which includes browsing, pickup of holds and limited public computer use. The services will be available 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday. Curbside services will continue by appointment, and the outdoor book return is available 24 hours a day. The library closed its downtown location in February 2020 to undergo $18.6 million bond-funded seismic retrofits and cosmetic renovations. It relocated its collection to a temporary location on Broadway Road NE, but the location was only open a few weeks before the pandemic hit Oregon and closed libraries and indoor services. There will be a number of rules in place, including masks being worn over the mouth and nose at all times inside the library and a maximum of 200 visitors in the building at one time.

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh: Allegheny County government employees will be required to submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination by Dec. 1 or face termination under a policy announced Wednesday by County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. About 5,000 employees are subject to the new mandate, of whom more than 75% are already vaccinated. The rest will need to get the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine or their second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines on or before Dec. 1 to be considered in compliance, officials said. Government workers who remain unvaccinated and who do not obtain an exemption will face termination beginning Dec. 2, the county said. County officials cited the rise of the highly contagious delta variant, which has led to increased COVID-19 caseloads, hospitalizations and deaths, and the need to protect workers and the public.

Rhode Island

Providence: The Rhode Island Foundation has awarded another $450,000 in grants to several more nonprofits that are helping state residents cope with and recover from the pandemic. Centro de Innovacion Mujer Latina, Rhode Island Rescue Ministries and The Samaritans of Rhode Island are among the organizations that benefited from the latest round of grants. Centro received $30,000 to provide community mental health services and other assistance to the Spanish-speaking community. Rescue Ministries received $20,000 to purchase cold storage and nonperishable food containers for its homeless shelter, food pantry and soup kitchen. Samaritans received $20,000 to improve the responsiveness of its digital suicide prevention services. The foundation has now awarded more than $21 million in pandemic relief since March 2020.

South Carolina

Columbia: A federal judge suspended South Carolina from enforcing a rule that banned school districts from requiring masks for students. Parents of disabled children, helped by the American Civil Liberties Union, sued the state saying the ban discriminated against medically vulnerable students by keeping them out of public schools as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. The mask ban has been forcefully backed by Republican Gov. Henry McMaster and GOP lawmakers who said parents should decide whether students wear masks, not school officials. U.S. District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis compared the General Assembly preventing mask requirements to telling schools they can no longer install wheelchair ramps. McMaster’s spokesman, Brian Symmes, said the ruling isn’t the last word in the case. “The governor strongly disagrees with the court’s decision and will defend a parent’s right to decide what’s best for their children up to the United States Supreme Court, if necessary,” Symmes said in a statement,

South Dakota

Black Hawk: More than 150 homeowners in a development outside Rapid City are suing Meade County over risks to their properties after a sinkhole exposed an abandoned gypsum mine. The federal complaint filed Monday by Hideaway Hills residents in Black Hawk seeks damages to be determined by a jury and other relief “allowed by law or equity.” The sinkhole forced about 40 residents from 15 homes in April 2020. Geotechnical studies showed there could be water flowing through the abandoned mine and toward Interstate 90 and there is the potential for future sinkholes, the Rapid City Journal reported. The complaint alleged several violations of the state Constitution. It said the decision to approve the subdivision by the county Planning Commission and the Meade County Commission put homeowners at risk. Developers allegedly informed the county in 2001 of an underground gypsum mine and discussed taking steps to determine if it was safe to build on. The commission approved the subdivision proposal in 2003. Katelyn Cook, an attorney for the county, said her legal team does not comment on pending litigation.

Tennessee

Franklin: A house in downtown Franklin that belonged to the grandparents of country comedy legend Minnie Pearl, who performed at the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years, is for sale for $2.75 million. The home on West Main Street is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It belonged to Ophelia and William House,the grandparents of Sarah Colley Cannon, better known by her stage name of Minnie Pearl. The Queen Anne-style home was built in 1873 and sits in Franklin’s historic downtown district. Many of the original furnishings and fixtures remain, including mantels for the six fireplaces. The distinctive home has glass doorknobs and intricately designed door handles. The nearly 6,000 square foot residence sits on a little more than an acre, and has four bedrooms and five bathrooms. Outdoor space includes a wraparound front porch, sunroom, back porch and patio. Hardwood floors are throughout the home.

Texas

Huntsville: Rick Rhoades, 57, was executed Tuesday night for fatally stabbing two Houston-area brothers during a robbery in their home more than 30 years ago. Rhoades was executed by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was condemned for the September 1991 killings of Charles Allen, 31, and Bradley Allen, 33. The brothers were killed less than a day after Rhoades had been released on parole after serving a sentence for burglary. Rhoades, strapped to the death chamber gurney, turned his head and looked briefly at relatives of his victims as they walked to a window in a witness area a few feet from him. Asked by the warden to make a final statement, he declined. He was pronounced dead at 6:29 p.m. CDT, 17 minutes after the lethal injection began. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to delay Rhoades’ execution over claims his constitutional right to due process was being violated because he was being prevented from pursuing allegations that some potential jurors at his trial might have been dismissed for racially discriminatory reasons. Rhoades was the third inmate put to death this year in Texas and the sixth in the U.S. Four more executions are scheduled for later this year in Texas, the nation’s busiest capital punishment state.

Utah

Moab: The police chief in the tourist town where officers stopped Gabby Petito and her boyfriend weeks before her death has taken a leave of absence. Moab Police Chief Bret Edge requested a leave of absence that began Monday, city spokesperson Lisa Church said. It is unknown if his request is related to criticism the department has faced over the past week after Petito’s body was discovered in a remote area in northwestern Wyoming. Petito and her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, got into a physical altercation Aug. 12 in Moab that led to a police stop for a possible domestic violence case. Ultimately, police there decided to separate the quarreling couple for the night but no charges were filed and no serious injuries were reported. Last week, the city of Moab said it would conduct a formal investigation into the police department’s handling of the dispute. Petito was reported missing Sept. 11 by her parents after she didn’t respond to calls and texts for several days while she and Laundrie visited parks in the West. Petito’s death has been classified as homicide, meaning she was killed by another person, but medical examiners in Wyoming haven’t disclosed how she died pending further autopsy results.

Vermont

Montpelier: A food box program with its roots in the early days of the pandemic is ending after distributing tens of thousands of meals to people across Vermont. In June, the Full Plates Vermont program run by the Vermont Foodbank took over the Farmers to Families Food Box program that was begun by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The original USDA program was designed to feed people left hungry by the pandemic and give those in the food industry, notably farmers, a place to sell their products. The food bank, working with private, state and other partners, coordinated food distribution events where people’s vehicles were loaded with boxes of food containing poultry, fruit, vegetables and dairy items. The Rutland Herald reported that after the original program ended in May, the Vermont Foodbank continued with its version of the program, which has distributed 40,000 meals since June. Sayles said after the program ends Thursday, people who benefited from it can check with the Foodbank to learn where they can get help.

Virginia

Richmond: Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin clashed Tuesday night over vaccinations, tax policy, education and their respective records in the second and final debate in Virginia’s closely watched gubernatorial election. The event quickly got off to a combative start and neither candidate let up over the course of the hour, with each accusing the other of lying to voters. Five weeks from Election Day and with early voting already underway, recent polls suggested a tight race between McAuliffe, who is seeking a second term after his first ended in 2018, and Youngkin, a former business executive and political newcomer. Democrats made huge gains in Virginia while President Donald Trump was in office, taking full control of state government, but Republicans are more energized and optimistic about their chances this fall than they have been in years. The contest, one of only two regularly scheduled governor’s races this year, is also drawing national attention as a possible indicator of voter sentiment heading into next year’s midterms.

Washington

Renton: A woman has filed a lawsuit against King County Metro claiming a bus driver ran over her leg while she was laying on a sidewalk and then drove away. Jessica Chapel’s injuries were so severe that doctors had to amputate one of her legs, her attorneys said. The bus driver, who is no longer with King County Metro, is facing hit-and-run charges, KOMO-TV reported. Chapel was homeless in March and decided to lay down on the sidewalk to take a nap, her attorneys said. The bus pulled out of the South Renton Park & Ride lot and turned right, cutting the corner short. The rear tire of the bus ran on top of the curb and drove over Chapel’s leg, her attorneys said. “The injuries were gruesome,” said attorney Kirk Bernard. According to the complaint filed Tuesday, the King County bus driver initially stopped to check on Chapel before returning to the bus and pushing the response button to get help from law enforcement. The lawsuit alleged that the driver left Chapel on the road side and canceled the help that was supposed to be on the way. A passerby called for help.

West Virginia

Wheeling: A new program launched by West Virginia’s Supreme Court that uses technology to promote safety and access in cases involving sexual assault and domestic violence is expanding to Ohio County, officials said. The new system allows victims of domestic violence and sexual assault to file petitions for protective orders without going to a courthouse. Ohio County is the second community to pilot the program, which was introduced last month in Cabell County as a way to address safety concerns. The only option before the program was for victims to appear in person at the courthouse. “This new system will provide an option to victims to help keep them safe from the people they allege assaulted them. We also are ensuring every person’s constitutional rights are protected,” Chief Justice Evan Jenkins said.

Wisconsin

Wausau: The city could soon be home to up to 85 refugees, including some of the thousands of evacuees who fled the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Ethiopian Community Development Council announced Wednesday that it is preparing for the first 10 individuals to be resettled into the central Wisconsin city by December, and that another 75 could be received from January through September of 2022. The organization said among those resettled in the community could be Afghans, through the Afghan Placement and Assistance program. The organization received authorization for the resettlement from the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, but no costs have yet been completed for the effort. Before the refugees can be resettled, the organization is working to hire a director for its Multicultural Community Center and raise funds to hire other local staff members, according to a release. As soon as staff members are in place, the group will work with local partners to prepare for the first arrivals.

Wyoming

Jackson: Widespread news coverage of Gabby Petito helped searchers in an unrelated case find a man’s body not far away, officials said. A team with a search dog looked for four hours Tuesday before finding the body of a man matching the description of Robert ‘Bob’ Lowery, according to a Teton County Search & Rescue statement. Lowery, 46, of Houston, went missing Aug. 20. The man’s body was found on a steep, wooded slope in the area of Teton Pass in western Wyoming. How the man died wasn’t immediately known. Authorities notified Lowery’s family while awaiting confirmation the body was his. News coverage of Petito, 22, who went missing on a cross-country road trip and whose body was found near Grand Teton National Park on Sept. 19, sometimes mentioned Lowery’s disappearance. That prompted at least two people to call authorities with information about Lowery, searchers said Tuesday. Lowery was wearing a black baseball cap with a gold letter “P” and spotted in hotel camera images carrying a black duffel bag with the Nike logo. Searchers in the area of a popular canyon trail said they found a bag matching that description with the body, far off the trail. The bag contained a tent and sleeping bag, Lowery’s sister, Leigh, told the Jackson Hole News & Guide. The Teton Pass-area canyon where the man’s body was found is about 45 miles from where Petito was found. Petito’s parents reported her missing Sept. 11 after she didn’t respond to calls and texts while she and boyfriend Brian Laundrie visited national parks in the West.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 50 States