Face masks come back to forefront amid triple threat of Covid-19, flu ...

CNN —

Months after most mask requirements have come to an end and many people have stopped wearing them, some of the nation’s leading health experts are encouraging people to put their face masks back on – but this time, it’s not just because of Covid-19.

As a triple threat of respiratory illnesses – flu, RSV and Covid-19 – sweeps the nation this holiday season, health officials are urging people to take precautions to protect themselves: get vaccinated, wash hands frequently and even mask up in certain circumstances.

“There’s been a lot of attention directed to patients at higher risk of the complications of all of these illnesses – older persons, people who have any underlying illness, anyone who has immune compromise – I think, during this surge of this tridemic, if you will, there’s been a lot of ‘dust off your mask. Put your mask back on,’ ” said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

At this phase in the Covid-19 pandemic, even with other types of respiratory viruses circulating, masking recommendations based on an individual’s risk have been at the center of public health discussions, “rather than saying everyone in a community has got to put their masks back on,” Schaffner said.

“I don’t want to go to mandates because I think over much of the United States, you will get a lot of pushback, and people will ignore it. Public health recommendations have to be acceptable,” he added.

“The notion that during these kinds of viral surges, that people at risk should be wearing masks and being more cautious seems entirely reasonable – and I add to that, particularly in this part of the country, that we should be accepting, tolerant and indeed supporting people who do that, because they have a reason,” said Schaffner, who is based in Nashville.

“Don’t look at this as a political statement or a social statement. This is a purely health-related statement.”

Some communities across the country are considering bringing back certain masking recommendations as the wave of respiratory illnesses worsens.

Local officials mulling over masks

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers specific guidance on when masking is recommended based on its Covid-19 community levels.

The agency says that people may choose to wear masks at any time but that a “high-quality mask or respirator” is recommended for everyone when a county has a “high” Covid-19 community level.

As of Thursday, about 5.66% of US counties have high community levels, including some places in Arizona, Wyoming, Oregon and the Dakotas.

Los Angeles County is at a high Covid-19 community level, but it hasn’t hit all three indicators that would trigger a mask mandate, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Thursday.

The county has 258 new Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people and 14.8 hospitalizations per 100,000 people but continues to stay below the “high” level of staffed Covid patient beds, at 6.9%, she said.

Officials will consider masks again if that level goes over 10%, Ferrer said, but she’s hopeful that metrics might improve before then.

Even without a mandate, she emphasized community efforts like wearing masks inside when possible and getting Covid-19 vaccines or boosters.

“We haven’t reached that super dangerous threshold where CDC has said ‘you really need to start worrying about your hospital system,’ but we’ve reached a threshold, and all of the data shows this, where there is too much transmission, and it’s creating a lot of risk. And the time to mitigate the risk is actually now,” Ferrer said.

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Los Angeles County has been at the forefront of implementing mitigation measures. In this case, officials would be following CDC guidance about masking and community levels.

“What L.A. County is doing is, they’re looking at their uptick in cases, hospitalizations and deaths, and they’re seeing a trending upwards toward that high community transmission level, and they’re preparing to reimplement the guidance that goes along with high community transmission, and that is to reimplement universal masking,” said Lori Tremmel Freeman, chief executive officer of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.

Every community has been looking at the same guidance, considering whether they are approaching high levels and might have to consider universal masking again, Freeman said.

“Now, I say all that based on the pure facts of the guidance, but I do think that has the possibility again of turning into a political divide in community by community where elected officials and others may or may not wish to see universal masking reimplemented. But we will have to see if that legal divide enters the picture again,” she said. “There’s not a lot of appetite for some of these original mitigation efforts to be reimplemented.”

In New York, state officials have encouraged schools and communities to take precautions such as indoor public masking as RSV, Covid-19 and the flu circulate, according to a letter from Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett and Education Commissioner Betty Rosa.

The letter, issued Monday, warned of the multiple respiratory viruses that are straining the state’s health-care facilities.

Over the past three weeks, New York’s flu hospitalizations have more than doubled, and lab-confirmed flu cases have nearly tripled, according to the letter.

“In response, we are urging a community-wide approach, inclusive of schools, to again take precautions this holiday season and winter that can prevent the spread of respiratory viruses and protect young children, older individuals, and those with underlying health conditions,” the commissioners wrote.

The letter said schools and communities should encourage indoor public masking, vaccination and frequent hand-washing, among other measures.

“We encourage schools to utilize their local departments of health as a partner and resource in this work,” the commissioners said. “Together, we will ensure that all students in our state have a healthy and safe holiday season.”

‘We do encourage people to mask’

The CDC’s Covid-19 community level metrics for US counties are based on three things: new Covid-19 hospitalizations, hospital capacity and new Covid-19 cases. But the agency is looking into revisiting these community levels, possibly to include data on other respiratory viruses such as flu and RSV, Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Monday.

“It’s something that we are actively looking into at CDC. In the meantime, what I do want to say is, one need not to wait for CDC action in order to put a mask on,” she said.

“We do know that 5% of the population is living in places with a high Covid-19 community level. We do encourage people to mask,” she said, adding that people should stay home when sick, practice good hygiene like washing hands frequently and improve air ventilation in indoor spaces.

Covid-19 hospitalizations are starting to tick up after Thanksgiving: More than 34,000 people were admitted to the hospital with Covid-19 in the past week, up 20% from the week prior, according to the CDC. Ensemble forecasts from the CDC predict continued increase over the next month or so.

About 1,800 Covid-19 deaths were reported to the CDC in the last week of November, and ensemble forecasts that predict Covid deaths will remain steady for the next month or so.

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Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is stepping down this month as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he is not afraid to recommend a return to masking in some circumstances as the nation faces a triple threat of Covid-19, flu and RSV.

“I’m not talking about mandating anything,” Fauci said Wednesday on “NBC Nightly News.” “I’m talking about just common sense of saying, ‘You know, I really don’t want to take the risk of myself getting infected and, even moreso, spreading it to someone who’s a vulnerable member of my family.’ “

EU formally adopts law requiring Apple to support USB-C chargers ...

Washington CNN Business —

A landmark law requiring Apple and other electronics makers to adopt USB-C as a universal charging standard in the European Union has cleared its final procedural hurdle, after EU member states voted to approve the legislation on Monday.

The new law, which is targeted at smartphones, tablets, digital cameras, portable speakers and a wide array of other small devices, is the first of its kind anywhere in the world. It aims to streamline the number of chargers and cables consumers must contend with when they purchase a new device, and to allow users to mix and match devices and chargers, even if they were produced by different manufacturers.

Apple could be among the most affected by the legislation. The iPhone maker has historically required users to charge its mobile devices using a proprietary charging connector known as Lightning; under the new rules, Apple would be forced to migrate away from Lightning in its devices sold in the EU. That change, which Apple is reportedly testing for iPhones, could potentially extend to devices Apple sells in other markets as well.

The EU law must still be signed by the presidents of the EU parliament and European Council, according to a release, but those are considered formalities. Earlier this month, the legislation received final approval from EU lawmakers.

In addition to covering new, small electronics going on the market at the end of 2024, the rules will also extend to larger electronics such as laptops beginning in 2026. It will also commit European officials to streamlining standards for wireless charging, a technology that is only just becoming more widespread.

Photos: The January 6 hearings | CNN Politics

The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol held its last public meeting on Monday, laying out its findings, approving its final report and outlining criminal referrals for former President Donald Trump and other officials.

"Evidence has led to an overriding and straight-forward conclusion: the central cause of January 6th was one man, former President Donald Trump, who many others followed," the committee wrote in a summary of its final report. "None of the events of January 6th would have happened without him."

The committee voted to refer Trump to the Justice Department on multiple criminal charges, including obstructing an official proceeding, defrauding the United States, making false statements and giving aid or comfort to an insurrection. While the referrals are largely symbolic in nature — as the panel lacks prosecutorial powers and the Department of Justice is already conducting its own investigation — committee members have stressed the move serves as a way to document their views for the record. Attorney General Merrick Garland will make the ultimate call on charging decisions.

The committee's final report will be released to the public on Wednesday, marking the end of an expansive investigation that has spanned more than 17 months, encompassed more than 1,000 interviews and culminated in accusations that Trump and his closest allies sought to overthrow the 2020 presidential election and stop the peaceful transfer of power.

The committee held a series of public hearings this year regarding the Capitol attack. Throughout the hearings, there was live testimony from more than a dozen witnesses and recorded depositions of more than 40 others. Much of the recorded testimony was from members of Trump's inner circle, including former Attorney General William Barr and Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump.

50 states

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Alabama

Birmingham: The state’s busiest airport is partnering with a company that can identify passengers through eye scans and fingerprints. Al.com reports that Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport recently added kiosks offering the technology for a fee. CLEAR offers a $15 per month membership, paid annually, with various discounts for family members. After the biometric identification, passengers move to the front of physical security screening. The company says its technology is available at more than 60 airports, stadiums and other locations.

Corrections & clarifications: In a previous version of this story, it erroneously stated what CLEAR members do in the security line. CLEAR is not involved with physical security. The article also incorrectly stated the number and types of locations where CLEAR is available. The program is available at more than 60 airports, stadiums and other locations.

Alaska

Kodiak: Alaska has become the only state without an arts council following a loss of funding through state budget cuts. The Kodiak Daily Mirror reports that the closure of the Alaska State Council on the Arts last week means a $2.8 million loss of arts funding in the state. Although only $700,000 is state funding, another $2.1 million consists of federal funds through matching grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and private foundation support. Officials say those funds will no longer be available without the state council as a connecting vehicle. Officials say Alaska residents’ federal taxes will still help pay for the arts in other states through the NEA, but those funds will not contribute to the arts in their own communities.

Arizona

Tucson: A program that prioritizes drug treatment over jail time is credited with keeping people out of jail and saving taxpayers some money. The Arizona Daily Star reports more than 500 people struggling with opioid addiction were sent to a grant-funded Pima County “deflection” program in the past year. Based on jail booking costs, taxpayers saved $178,000 in the fiscal year that ended June 30. The effort began a year ago as a six-month pilot program in two divisions of the Tucson Police Department. Officers could recommend a suspect caught with 2 grams of opioids or less for treatment instead of arrest. Authorities say the program proved successful with nearly 120 people getting “deflected.” The county has since received $1.4 million in federal funds to expand the program.

Arkansas

Fayetteville: Northwest Arkansas cities are figuring out how to handle the arrival of electric scooters, and the process will be evolving, officials say. A state law set to take effect Wednesday authorizes electric scooters vendors to set up shop in any Arkansas city. The scooters are battery-powered, have two wheels and a T-shaped handlebar and a floorboard. Riders pay to unlock them through a mobile app. The law says riders must be at least 16, and scooters have a maximum speed of 15 mph. The law allows municipalities to establish reasonable regulations for the safe operation and presence of the scooters on public property, but not ban them from the public right of way. Fayetteville’s City Council first took up a draft of an ordinance to regulate the devices July 2. Scooter companies will have to apply for a permit, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

California

Santa Rosa: The Sonoma County Fair has eliminated the pig scramble from Farmers Day because of rising public concern and protests over animal welfare. In the long-running event at the fair, youngsters chased and tried to capture piglets weighing 40 to 60 pounds. Officials say this year’s event Aug. 4 will instead include elementary school children carrying watermelons slicked with vegetable oil around an obstacle course in a timed race. The board president says the decision reflects a “heightened awareness” toward calls for humane treatment of farm animals at the fair 55 miles north of San Francisco.

Colorado

Loveland: State wildlife officials are telling people near the Rocky Mountain foothills to keep an eye on their children and pets after a series of mountain lion sightings. Donna Kendrick says she and a neighbor saw a mountain lion recently in their backyards in west Loveland. Kendrick told the Loveland Reporter-Herald on Friday the big cat saw her and “vanished like a ninja.” Kendrick called the Colorado Parks and Wildlife department, where spokesman Jason Clay says wildlife managers are aware of the sighting. Clay says Loveland-area residents reported mountain lions twice previously this year. People have reported mountain lions six times this year in nearby Masonville.

Connecticut

Hartford: State Insurance Commissioner Andrew N. Mais is urging homeowners to review their insurance policies before the upcoming tropical storm season. Peak hurricane season in Connecticut begins in mid-August and runs through late October. Mais says policyholders should discuss with an agent or insurance company if they have appropriate and adequate coverage. Although homeowners, condo and renters insurance cover many types of storm damage, he notes that damage from flooding is excluded. Separate policies can be purchased from the federal National Flood Insurance Program or a private insurer. He says now is the time to buy those policies, considering there’s a 30-day waiting period before the policy takes effect.

Delaware

Wilmington:From 2006 through 2012, nearly 300million painkillers were shipped into Delaware according to a Drug Enforcement Administration database published this week by The Washington Post. If those 276,177,276 pills were distributed equally, that would be 286 for every Delawarean. The data set, known as ARCOS, tracks the journey of every prescription painkiller in the United States, starting with the manufacturer that produced it all the way to the pharmacy that purchased it. In 2006, 29 million prescription painkillers landed in Delaware communities. In 2011, the year with the highest volume, that number was nearly 48 million — a 68% increase. In 2012, the most recent year of data available, the number was 41 million. More than half of the pills — nearly 150 million — arrived in New Castle County. Sussex County had the highest per capita rate in the state at 361 pills per person. Kent County saw the greatest increase in pills delivered between 2006 and 2012, going from 4.5 million to 7.1 million respectively — a 57% increase.

District of Columbia

Washington: Developer Adrian Washington, CEO and founder of Neighborhood Development Company, has apologized for padlocking Little Jewels Daycare and Nooks Barbershop citing environmental concerns last week, WUSA-TV reports. To make amends, Washington has offered the barbershop and daycare spots in a new building paying the same rent. “We did the right thing (where) there was a clear health emergency, but we did it in the wrong way. We didn’t communicate well, we came in suddenly and people rightly felt disrespected,” Washington says. He adds it served as a valuable learning lesson even for a developer who has been in the business for more than two decades.

Florida

St. Augustine: An alligator that eluded capture for days in a Chicago lagoon is settling in its new home. The St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park said in a Facebook post Friday that it welcomed the reptile known as Chance the Snapper with a banner, pizza and the band Chicago’s greatest hits. The park that now houses Chance recommended the Florida trapper Chicago officials flew in to capture the gator. The 4-foot, 18-pound American alligator became an instant sensation from the day he was spotted in the Humboldt Park lagoon and photos popped up online. Investigators don’t know why the animal was in the lagoon, but experts say it wouldn’t have survived the winter. Park director John Brueggen says Chance will stay alone for 90 days to make sure he is illness-free, and then join other gators.

Georgia

Atlanta: Georgia Power intends to rely more on solar power than in past years to deliver energy to homes and businesses. It will also close a coal-fired power plant in the northwest part of the state. WABE-FM reports that it’s part of the company’s long-range energy plan, which was recently approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission. Under the plan, Georgia Power will close its coal-fired power plant near Rome. Also part of the plan: the company says it will add more wood burning to its energy mix. Georgia Power has proposed an increase in rates by about 7 %. Hearings on that matter are scheduled to begin later this year.

Hawaii

Wailuki: The governing authority for Maui’s water utility plans to study the feasibility of buying and maintaining an irrigation system that diverts stream water from east Maui and delivers it other parts of the island. The county Board of Water Supply voted Thursday to establish a subcommittee to study the issue, The Maui News reported. Alexander & Baldwin developed the East Maui Irrigation system a century ago to supply water to its sugar cane fields in central Maui. The company last year sold the cane fields to Mahi Pono, which is growing a variety of crops on the land. The system, which is today owned by A&B and Mahi Pono, has also supplied 35,000 residents in Upcountry with water. These water users have been in limbo after a bill that would have authorized the state to extend A&B’s water permits failed at the state Legislature in May. A&B’s diversion permit expires in December. The bill’s failure raises questions about the permit’s renewal and the delivery of water to end users after that date.

Idaho

Boise: In February, Idaho Fish and Game drastically cut the number of moose tags because of population declines across the state. In 2019-2020, there will be only 634 moose tags available each year, a 22% decrease from 2017-2018, which also saw an 8% reduction compared to 2015-2016. The Panhandle region of Idaho saw a 45% reduction in moose tags, the largest in the state, and the elimination of antlerless tags. Wildlife biologists do not have clear answers for the drop in moose population, but the likely suspect is a combination of habitat loss, ticks and predators. Idaho Fish and Game does not know exact moose population numbers but estimates there are 10,000 to 12,000 in the state. To estimate populations, Idaho Fish and Game relies on harvest information.

Illinois

Springfield: Thousands of people have visited the governor’s mansion since it reopened last year after renovations that cost $15 million. The State Journal-Register reports that the governor’s office says more than 29,000 people have toured the mansion. Former Gov. Bruce Rauner spearheaded the renovations because maintenance had been neglected. Recent former governors rarely used the mansion before the renovations. But Rauner lived there and now Gov. J.B. Pritzker has moved in. The mansion offers exhibits highlighting the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago and life during the Civil War. An “Art of Illinois” project also showcases 80 pieces of fine and decorative art. The mansion has hosted free weekly concerts this summer. The mansion is open daily from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for guided tours.

Indiana

Burns Harbor: The Navy is planning to commission its new USS Indianapolis combat vessel at a northwestern Indiana port this fall. The ceremony marking the ship’s entry into the Navy’s active fleet is set for Oct. 26 at Burns Harbor along Lake Michigan. It is the fourth military vessel carrying the Indianapolis name. The second USS Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese submarine in July 1945 while returning from a Pacific island where it delivered key components for the Hiroshima atomic bomb. Only 317 of its nearly 1,200 crewmen survived the sinking and days in shark-infested waters. The ship was built at a Marinette, Wisconsin, shipyard and will be based near Jacksonville, Florida. It is a Freedom-class littoral ship designed to be highly maneuverable for missions such as mine-clearing and anti-submarine warfare.

Iowa

Coralville: Iowa State University is dropping claims of wrongdoing against a former employee and paying her $225,000 to resolve a legal dispute over its popular outdoor sculptures made from Legos. As part of the settlement, Iowa State has also taken several steps to restore the reputation of Teresa McLaughlin. Iowa State President Wendy Wintersteen has written her a glowing letter of recommendation calling her an honest, innovative employee. The school also will dedicate a bench for McLaughlin in Reiman Gardens, the campus landmark that McLaughlin spent most of her career building as its director. Those steps will resolve a contentious three-year legal dispute that derailed Nature Connects, the traveling Lego art program conceived by McLaughlin. McLaughlin had accused the university of failing to pay her commissions. The university accused her of working to market competing exhibits.

Kansas

Garden City: A local zoo says two of four red panda cubs born last week have died. Officials with the Lee Richardson Zoo say one of the male cubs died of injuries “of an unknown origin” shortly after he was born. Another female cub died while being cared for by her mother. The cubs were among quadruplets born last Wednesday to Ember, a 9-year-old red panda. The zoo says only 1% of red panda litters are quadruplets. Ember and the cubs are expected to be on public display in late September or early October. Until then, footage of mom and cubs will be available on the zoo’s social media accounts.

Kentucky

Newport:The city’s plans to install a SkyWheel at the Newport on the Levee can move forward, the city announced Monday. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved the permit for construction of SkyWheel, the observation wheel planned for the riverfront, according to the city. Construction on the 230-foot tall SkyWheel will start as soon as possible. It will feature 30 climate-controlled gondolas and will be built at Newport on the Levee, right next to the Newport Aquarium, by Koch Development of St. Louis.

Louisiana

New Orleans: The Mississippi River is finally low enough again to let the Army Corps of Engineers begin closing a huge spillway after a record-breaking run diverting water into Lake Ponchartrain. The corps says Monday in a news release that about 10 of the 168 open bays in the Bonnet Carré spillway would be closed by day’s end. Spokesman Matt Roe says full closing is expected to take about a week, with daily checks to make sure the river remains low enough to avoid stressing the city’s levees. The spillway was created to limit the river’s rush past New Orleans, keeping it below 1.25 million cubic feet per second – an amount that would fill the Empire State Building in 30 seconds. The spillway was opened May 10 for the second time this year.

Maine

Stonington: A group of Maine lobstermen that has the backing of the state’s Congressional delegation is pushing back at a plan to protect endangered whales with new fishing regulations. A federal team has called for the removal of half the vertical trap lines from the Gulf of Maine to reduce risk to North Atlantic right whales. Lobstermen from the Maine coast gathered with three members of the delegation and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills in Stonington on Sunday to make the case the new rules would put an unfair burden on a key state industry. Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree, who attended the rally, says right whales need help, but the government’s “one-size-fits-all risk reduction” approach might not be the best way. The whales number about 400 and have experienced high mortality recently.

Maryland

Baltimore: Several hundred people gathered outside Johns Hopkins Hospital to protest the hospital’s practice of suing patients over unpaid medical bills. The Baltimore Sun reports the Saturday demonstration also promoted the efforts of Hopkins nurses to join the National Nurses United union. The Sun reported in May that Hopkins has filed thousands of lawsuits since 2009 against patients with outstanding bills. It reported a large portion of those lawsuits targeted residents of low-income areas. Hopkins emailed a statement to employees Saturday saying it supports its nurses right to unionize, but the union released false information about Hopkins’ debt collection practices. Spokeswoman Kim Hoppe says the court is only called on when patients stop responding and all points of contact are exhausted. She says patients can apply for medical or financial hardship.

Massachusetts

Boston: Lawmakers are weighing a ban on the practice of declawing cats. Supporters of the measure say declawing is cruel and painful. They say cats rely on their paws and claws to groom themselves and to help protect and defend their bodies. The practice involves amputating a cat’s toes to the first knuckle. A bill that would prohibit declawing is scheduled for a public hearing at the Statehouse on Monday before the Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure. Lawmakers in New York last month voted to approve a bill banning the declawing of cats. The bill was sent to Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Declawing a cat is already illegal in much of Europe and in several Canadian provinces, as well as in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver.

Michigan

Arcadia:An exclusive golf course no longer encourages players to hit balls into Lake Michigan after a diver found hundreds in the water. A description on the Arcadia Bluffs website of the 12th hole overlooking the lake had said, “Go ahead and do it, everyone does,” in reference to hitting a ball into the water before striking a tee shot. The Detroit Free Press says Arcadia Bluffs removed that reference last week after inquiries from the newspaper. Golf course president William Shriver says he doesn’t want to encourage the practice. Experts say golf balls are made of plastic and rubber and aren’t good for the Great Lakes. A beverage cart employee says she was fired for discouraging players from hitting balls into the lake. Arcadia Bluffs declined to comment.

Minnesota

St. Cloud:About 400 butterflies filled the sky on Sunday afternoon to celebrate lost loved ones at the eighth annual butterfly release event organized by Quiet Oaks Hospice. More than a thousand people were in attendance to listen to music, send off a butterfly, sip on root beer floats and enjoy a summer breeze by the river. In previous years, the event organizer would read off the names of those who were being celebrated during the butterfly release. But this year, attendees were invited to speak the name of the person they were celebrating and take a moment of silence to reflect.

Mississippi

Columbus: A group petitioning to legalize medical marijuana in the state says it needs about 28,700 more signatures to put the initiative on the November 2020 ballot. Jamie Grantham is communications director for Medical Marijuana 2020. She says organizers have gathered more than 86,000 signatures. That’s about two-thirds of what’s needed. The Commercial Dispatch reports Grantham spoke to a civic club Tuesday in Columbus. She says the state Department of Health would regulate every facet of the program, including overseeing treatment centers where products would be sold. She says only Mississippi licensed physicians could prescribe marijuana products to people with “debilitating medical conditions.” State Public Safety Commissioner Marshall Fisher says he opposes easing marijuana laws because of concerns the drug could be abused. He was a longtime narcotics agent.

Missouri

Kansas City: Lobbyist spending in Missouri has dropped by 94% since voters approved a $5 cap on lawmaker gifts last year. A KCUR analysis of state data concludes that lobbyists spent less than $17,000 on lawmakers in this year’s legislative session compared with last year’s spending of about $300,000. Peverill Squire, a University of Missouri political science professor, says financial gifts don’t buy votes, but they can buy lawmakers’ effort and time. Squire says most of the spending is on larger events that all lawmakers can attend, which adheres to the cap rule. Kelly Gillespie, a lobbyist who heads Missouri Biotech Association, says the new rules limit educational possibilities. Gillespie’s group funded a program last year to teach lawmakers about drug discovery and health care affordability. That is no longer an option.

Montana

Missoula: Glacier National Park officials are teed off over a report that tourists were hitting golf balls off Going-to-the-Sun Road during a traffic delay. NBC Montana posted a video Thursday taken by a tourist during a road construction delay that shows two men teeing off with golf clubs on the side of the steep mountain road. On Friday, Glacier spokeswoman Lauren Alley told the Missoulian the incident is under investigation. She says throwing or hurling things over Going-to-the-Sun Road has the potential to hurt or kill people or wildlife. She says anyone who spots such activity should try to record the person’s license plate number or remember their face if it can be done safely. Alley says law enforcement calls at Glacier are up 40% over last year.

Nebraska

Omaha: Two king penguin chicks that hatched in March are now on display at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. The first chick hatched March 14 and now weighs 26 pounds. The second hatched March 16 and weighs 32 pounds. Their genders are not yet known. The chicks will remain in a segregated “chick pen” in the Antarctic penguin habitat until they molt their nonwaterproof down feathers. It also allows the chicks to get acclimated to the habitat and the other penguins. The chicks were raised by adult males – not typical for this species. Generally, an adult female shares that responsibility. The Zoo’s Aquarium Birds staff only intervened during select feeding times to get the chicks used to accepting food by hand. The zoo has 24 king penguins: 13 males, nine females and the chicks.

Nevada

Fernley: The second-largest commercial land sale in state history is expected to bring thousands of new jobs to a northern Nevada industrial park covering nearly 7 square miles about 30 miles east of Reno. A California-based real estate firm, Mark IV Capital, outlined details of the $45 million purchase along Interstate 80. The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada estimates more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created as a result of the potential development at what will be called the Victory Logistics District. Mark IV Capital cited location and infrastructure as reasons for its decision to acquire the property. In addition to easy railway access, it sits at a crossroad near I-80 and U.S. Highways 50 and 395.

New Hampshire

Loudon: The state Department of Transportation will be implementing a traffic control plan for fans attending Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 Race in Loudon. The race starts at 3 p.m., with maximum traffic congestion occurring in the late afternoon and early evening. There will be ramp closures and other changes affecting Route 106, Interstate 93 and Interstate 393. In some areas, extra temporary lanes will be created.

New Jersey

Newark: Passengers traveling between New Jersey and New York have experienced rail delays of five hours or more about 17 times per year in recent years. That’s the conclusion of a review conducted on behalf of New Jersey Transit and Amtrak. The study’s findings were released Monday by the overseers of a multibillion-dollar project to build a second Hudson River rail tunnel and a new rail bridge over New Jersey’s Hackensack River. The study covered 2014 through 2018 and says the delays cost commuters almost 2,000 hours in extra transit time. They were mostly caused by mechanical problems and an aging infrastructure. The $13.7 billion tunnel project has been stalled by disputes between New York and New Jersey and the federal government over how the cost will be divided up.

New Mexico

Albuquerque: In what’s expected to be a long, contentious process, a few dozen people gathered recently for the first public meeting hosted by Public Service Co. of New Mexico on the planned shutdown of its coal-fired power plant. The utility says it wants feedback on four proposed options for replacing the power that will be lost when the San Juan Generating Station closes in 2022. The proposals are outlined in a filing made earlier this month with the Public Regulation Commission. Regulators will review the options in public hearings over the next nine to 15 months. The Albuquerque Journal reports PNM also will hold meetings in August with organizations that want to test potential changes in the different scenarios using modeling tools to determine costs and feasibility.

New York

Alexandria Bay: The St. Lawrence River has been named the best bass fishery in the nation. It’s a first for the river, which borders Canada to the north and was ranked in the top 10 twice in the past four years by Bassmaster Magazine. The average weight of the entire 149-team field during a June tournament was 20.3 pounds, topped by the winning team from Sam Houston State University, which averaged 24.4 pounds a day. The Big Bass Award for that event was a 6-pound, 7-ouncer. Bassmaster Magazine editor James Hall says in some years there was internal debate over No. 1, but not this year. New York’s Lake Erie out of Buffalo was 10th.

North Carolina

Asheville: Housing prices in Buncombe County have never been higher, outpacing even that of prices in Asheville city limits for the first time in nearly six years, data compiled by area real estate agencies show. The county's median sale price for the year's second quarter was $319,500, up more than 10% from the same time in 2018 and its highest figure on record, according to Mosiac Community Lifestyle Realty. The rise is being driven by more homes selling for more than $300,000 and fewer selling below $300,000 compared to the same time in 2018, Mosaic said. Buncombe had 732 home sales during the quarter, a roughly 8% boost from the previous year's totals. The same time period yielded 453 home sales in Asheville, also a record number for a quarter, says Mosiac.

North Dakota

Bismarck: The state Game and Fish Department says its workers have just completed one of the largest fish stocking efforts in the history of the agency. Crews have stocked 140 lakes across the state with more than 11 million walleye fingerlings from the Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery. Fisheries production leader Jerry Wiegel says the Garrison Dam hatchery had to step up this year because of fish production that couldn’t be used at the Valley City National Fish Hatchery. Its source of water is Lake Ashtabula, where zebra mussels were recently discovered. Walleye already produced at Valley City here used only to stock Lake Ashtabula. Some were also sent to other states for use in lakes where zebra mussels exist.

Ohio

Rossford: Amazon says it will open two new distribution centers in Ohio. The company announced Monday that the two sites in Akron and near Toledo will bring a combined 2,500 full-time jobs. The new facility in Akron will be built on the site of a former shopping mall. The one in Rossford near Toledo is going up at the intersection of Interstate 75 and the Ohio Turnpike. Each of the two distribution centers will cover more than 700,000 square feet. Both centers will employ workers to pack and ship small items. Amazon has five other distribution centers in the state. They employ a total of roughly 8,500 workers.

Oklahoma

Chickasha: One of the last remaining Democrats from a rural district in the state Legislature says he won’t seek re-election in 2020. Rep. David Perryman announced Monday that he won’t seek a fifth-consecutive term for House District 56. The southwest Oklahoma district includes the towns of Anadarko, Chickasha, Fort Cobb, Minco and Pocasset. A minority floor leader, Perryman says it’s a “frustrating time” to be a Democrat from rural Oklahoma and that he’s disappointed with the lack of bipartisanship in the Legislature. Republicans have a 77-24 advantage over Democrats in the House. Perryman says that when he completes his term in November 2020, he plans to resume his full-time law practice in Chickasha.

Oregon

Salem:The state’s iconic Douglas firs are declining as the state’s summers have grown hotter and drier. Drought also is killing grand fir and might be contributing to declines in Western red cedar and bigleaf maple. Oregon has experienced drought each summer since 2012, peaking in 2015. Although rainfall and snowpack have been close to average the past two years, temperatures in many areas still were above normal. Climate change is expected to increase drought in Oregon. Oregon Department of Forestry scientists conduct statewide aerial and ground tree surveys across 30 million acres each year, recording the number of dead and dying trees from all causes, including drought, storms, disease and insect damage. In 2018, about 680,000 acres contained damaged or dead trees attributed to all causes. That’s fewer than at the peak of the drought but still higher than historic levels.

Pennsylvania

Wilkinsburg: Pogopalooza, known as the World Championships of Pogo, bounced into the city last weekend. Extreme pogo stick athletes from around the world came to town to show off their huge tricks and flips to compete for world titles in such categories as High Jump and Best Trick. The events on Saturday and Sunday weren’t just for the grown-ups. Pogo users under the age of 15 entered a “bounce off” competition and those who bounced the longest got a free pogo stick. Visitors tried their hand at pogo-sticking in a free jump area that had pogo sticks of all sizes. In addition to the main competitions, the pogo athletes attempted to break three Guinness World Records over the weekend.

Rhode Island

Newport: A Titanic survivor’s walking stick with an electric light she used to signal for help from a lifeboat has sold for $62,500 at an auction of maritime items. Guernsey’s auction house held the auction in Newport on Friday and Saturday. Guernsey’s President Arlan Ettinger says the top bid on Ella White’s cane was $50,000, plus the surcharge added by the auction house. The preauction estimate had been $300,000 to $500,000. The walking stick was consigned to Guernsey’s by the Williams family in Milford, Connecticut. Ettinger says some family members contested the sale. The issue was resolved before the auction, but the dispute might have made potential bidders nervous. Ettinger says the winning bidder said he was there on behalf of a friend in the United Kingdom.

South Carolina

Orangeburg: A family owned plant in Orangeburg County that makes machines for textile mills is closing after nearly 50 years. Mayer Industries Inc. CEO George Fischer says the company is consolidating its work making braiding machines at plants in Germany. Fischer told The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg that its 59 employees were told of the closing two years ago and the company has been working to help anyone find a new job. Fischer says Mayer Industries did a similar consolidation of its knitting machine business nearly 20 years ago. Mayer Industries built the Orangeburg plant in 1970 and created a course at the nearby technical college to teach workers metric measurements they would need to make machines for the European market.

South Dakota

Rapid City: A National Guard unit has been welcomed home after a nearly year-long deployment to the Middle East. A ceremony was held Sunday afternoon for the 26 members of the 935th Aviation Support Battalion at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Rapid City. KOTA-TV says community members showed their appreciation with prayer and applause. Gov. Krisit Noem told the guard members their dedication did not go unnoticed because of their exemplary work. The Rapid City-based unit provided aviation maintenance and repair support for the Army.

Tennessee

Memphis: The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office says six corrections officer have resigned after an internal investigation into accusations of inappropriate conduct. The Commercial Appeal reports that the identities of the deputies were not provided. A social media post from the sheriff’s office says the investigations focused on inappropriate relationships with inmates at the Shelby County Jail. The deputies were suspended with pay in mid-June while an investigation was conducted. One of the deputies resigned in June after being charged with a personal conduct violation and consorting with persons of bad or criminal reputation, which are administrative charges. Sheriff’s Office Captain Anthony Buckner says in a video release that the investigation was halted because the deputies left the department and the office’s General Investigation Bureau did not find sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges.

Texas

Deer Park: The cleanup of millions of gallons of waste and polluted water is far from over four months after a large fire burned for days at a Houston-area petrochemical storage site. The Houston Chronicle reports that Intercontinental Terminals Company, the facility’s owner, must abide by a 31-page management plan that underscores how waste is sampled and identified, stored and discarded. The March 17 fire at the company’s Deer Park site, located southeast of Houston, triggered air quality warnings. More than 21 million gallons of potentially hazardous waste and contaminated water have since been collected from the tank farm and Houston Ship Channel. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office filed water pollution charges in April against Intercontinental Terminals Company, alleging the fire caused chemicals to flow into a nearby waterway.

Utah

Alpine: Police in northern Utah were surprised to learn the suspect in a reported burglary was a wild turkey. Dave Ventrano with Lone Peak police says they received a call on Saturday from a resident who heard a window break in the house next door. The family that lives there was out of town. Officers searched the house and found a dead turkey lying in a pile of broken glass underneath a window on the first floor of the home. Ventrano said the turkey died after flying through the window. He said there are a lot of wild turkeys in Alpine. Police gave the turkey carcass to a resident who owns a local barbecue restaurant.

Vermont

Stowe:The once-endangered common loon is making a comeback in Vermont, but not without the help of humans across the state who build islands for the birds. Eric Hanson, a loon biologist with the state Center for Ecostudies has been leading the group's efforts to manage loon populations in the state. On July 15, Hanson, volunteers from the conservation group Friends of Waterbury Reservoir and Park Ranger Chad Ummel met at the northern part of Waterbury Reservoir to grab some canoes and kayaks and paddled out to build a nesting raft for the two loons that call the artificial lake home. The raft the crew put together on the reservoir was made from a base of cedar logs. Hanson sawed notches on the logs so they fit together like Lincoln Logs.

Virginia

Richmond:The state Department of Health has issued a warning to residents that there has been an increase in respiratory illnesses across the state. The health department received increased reports of respiratory, or breathing, illnesses across the Commonwealth greater than observed in previous summers. Most of the reports have occurred among older adults and those with chronic medical conditions in assisted living and long-term care facilities, the VDH said. The reports involve different regions of the state and different diseases, including pertussis (whooping cough), influenza, haemophilus influenzae infection, Legionnaire’s disease and pneumonia caused by rhinovirus or human metapneumovirus.

Washington

Bremerton:The Kitsap Pride in the Park 2019 event emphasized unity: among law enforcement, churches, elected officials and community members. The Bremerton Police Department, City Council members and Mayor Greg Wheeler were among the hundreds of community members in attendance at Evergreen Park on Saturday. The Police Department took to the main stage following Wheeler's address to announce its “Safe Place” program. The program, operated by Officer and LGBTQ liaison Mitchell Chapman, will allow the department to offer a safe haven at the station for victims of hate crimes while police resolve the issue. Chapman says he will be working closely with local businesses and social services to train them on the protocols to serve as safe spaces.

West Virginia

Vivian: Crews have begun clearing the scene of a train derailment, where up to 20 cars went off the rails, some of which had carried hazardous materials at one point. No one was injured. The Bluefield Daily Telegraph reports Kimball Fire Chief Jimmy Gianato says the hazardous material train cars were empty during the Saturday crash, but will still be continually monitored becauese of possibility of a leak. After the Norfolk Southern train cars derailed near Vivian, some toppled onto their side. Others fell into the neighboring creek. The newspaper reports one was labeled “Carbon Dioxide Refrigerated Liquid.” Crews with Norfolk Southern, Emergency Railroad Services and Cranemasters worked to clear the scene Sunday.

Wisconsin

Appleton:In the midst of a sweltering heatwave that scorched more than half of the U.S., there was some good news for Appleton residents: It apparently has been worse. A Seattle news station reported Friday that Appleton is home to the hottest "feels like" day in U.S. history, when the temperature hit a high point of 101 degrees with a dew point of 90 degrees on July 13, 1995. That combination produced a heat index — or made it feel like — 148 degrees that day, KOMO News reported. Friday wasn't quite that hot — Appleton saw a high temperature of 90 degrees and dew points ranged from the low-to-mid 70s, says Scott Berschback, a meteorologist out of the National Weather Service office in Green Bay. Berschback couldn't confirm Friday's peak heat index, nor could he confirm the purported record.

Wyoming

Rock Springs: Two residents are trying to end the use of a gas chamber for euthanasia at an animal shelter. The Humane Society of the U.S. says Wyoming is one of just four states where shelters still use gas chambers rather than lethal injection to euthanize animals; the others are Missouri, Ohio and Utah. Animal welfare advocates say gas chambers are cruel because death often doesn’t happen quickly. The Rock Springs Rocket-Miner reports Madhu Anderson and Eve Waggoner have been protesting the use of gas at the Rock Springs animal shelter. Anderson says lethal injection is more humane and not difficult to implement. Rock Springs Police Chief Dwane Pacheco says the shelter only euthanizes feral cats and aggressive dogs and has one of Wyoming’s few free spay-and-neuter programs.

News from around our 50 states

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Alabama

Florence: The University of North Alabama is opening a new center to help students, including those from the LGBTQ community. The Mitchell/West Center for Social Inclusion will open this fall on the campus in Florence. An announcement from the university says the center will address multiple challenges including suicide prevention, food insecurity and LGBTQ issues. It will also serve as a link to The Point Foundation, which grants scholarships for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. The center is being funded with donations by Elliott Mitchell and Clark West, who also funded a scholarship for the first Point scholarship recipient to attend North Alabama. The school is the only Southern institution with a student who received a scholarship through the program this year.

Alaska

Anchorage: Residents of two northwest Alaska villages say large numbers of dead mussels and krill have washed up on their shores. The Anchorage Daily News reports the discoveries are contributing to fears of record-warm waters causing ecosystem changes, including unusual wildlife deaths. Scientists say they are working to pinpoint what has caused a string of unusual mortality events this season and whether the deaths are related. An official in the village of Teller estimates there were 2 million dead mussels in a channel on the Seward Peninsula in late June. A high school teacher says he found “millions” of dead krill stretching for several miles along beaches near Shishmaref. In addition to mussels and the shrimp-like krill, seabirds, seals and whales have also died along Alaska’s shores recently.

Arizona

Flagstaff: Before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin knew they’d be the first to walk on the moon, they took crash courses in geology in northern Arizona. They hiked the Grand Canyon and visited a nearby impact crater to learn about layers of rocks and taking samples. Astronauts on later Apollo missions studied volcanic cinder fields east of Flagstaff where hundreds of craters were blown from the landscape intentionally to replicate the lunar surface and tested rovers. Today, astronaut candidates still train in and around Flagstaff. The city is joining others nationwide in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing July 20, 1969, with tours, exhibits, talks, and moon-themed food and art. Apollo 17 astronaut Charlie Duke will be the keynote speaker at a Flagstaff science festival in September.

Arkansas

Little Rock: The state Game and Fish Commission has launched a three-year study to track aquatic turtles in the Mississippi River Delta. Researchers have been trapping, marking and releasing nearly 100 turtles a day since May. They notch the turtles’ shells so they can be identified if caught again. Brett DeGregorio, who heads the Fish and Wildlife Cooperative Research unit of the U.S. Geological Survey, tells the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that the count will provide the commission with data so it can determine if restrictions on turtle harvesting are needed in Arkansas. Commercial harvesting is allowed in the Delta. DeGregorio says regulation ensures the turtle population is in good condition. The study is funded by a $107,963 grant from the commission. The University of Arkansas is contributing $97,243 to the study.

California

Chester: A fungus that causes a deadly disease in bats has been detected in the state for the first time. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wildlife refuge specialist Catherine Hibbard said Friday that samples collected this spring from bats on private land in this Northern California town tested positive for the fungus. The fungus causes white-nose syndrome, which can lead to dehydration or other conditions that kill bats. Hibbard says there is no sign the disease is currently affecting bat populations in California. She says the fungus was first detected in New York in 2006 and has spread incrementally. Bats that have contracted the disease have now been confirmed in 33 states and seven Canadian provinces. Another five states, including California, have bats that have tested positive for the fungus.

Colorado

Aspen: Avalanche debris in the state’s high country could provide fresh breeding grounds for the forest-destroying bark beetle, but a U.S. Forest Service supervisor says there’s little the agency can do to mitigate the threat. Heavy snowpack unleashed a series of avalanches during the winter that downed spruce and aspen trees in numerous areas – a collective event that White National Forest supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams says may occur once every 300 years. “I understand from entomologists that blown-down spruce trees are the perfect breeding ground for spruce beetles,” Fitzwilliams told The Aspen Times. “It’s definitely a concern, but there’s not much we can do about it.” Spruce trees and spruce beetles are the major concern in the White, Rio Grande and Gunnison national forests, he said. The beetle previously had caused large spruce losses in the latter forests.

Connecticut

Hartford: Ambulance personnel across the state want to become a political force at the state Capitol by forming a new association. They’re upset that a new law providing post-traumatic stress disorder benefits to certain first responders does not include thousands of paramedics and emergency medical technicians. Robert Glaspy, a paramedic from Milford, says there are roughly 20,000 paid and volunteer emergency medical responders in Connecticut, and they need to be aware of what’s happening in Hartford, especially when bills like the PTSD legislation are debated. The new law extends up to 52 weeks of workers’ compensation benefits for PTSD only to police and firefighters for certain on-the-job events, such as witnessing the death of child. It stems from an agreement reached between the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and police and firefighter unions.

Delaware

Wilmington: The average amount of debt for students graduating from Delaware colleges has increased at a rate higher than any other state over the past decade. Between 2008 and 2016, the average college debt burden for graduates in the state has grown from $20,511 to $36,276, a 77% increase, according to data compiled by the Institute for College Access and Success. The average amount of debt held by Delaware graduates is $36,276, the fifth-highest in the country, according to the institute. Delaware also saw a large increase in the proportion of students with college debt over the same period, jumping from 44% to 62%. And the state has an above-average number of out-of-state students, according to the Institute for College Access and Success. These students pay higher tuition, resulting in more student debt. Compounding the issue, Delaware has the sixth-highest average out-of-state tuition, according to the College Board.

District of Columbia

Washington: The International Ink Library at the U.S. Secret Service contains more than 15,000 samples dating back more than 85 years. The collection is the result of one man, Antonio Cantu, a renowned investigator and former chief chemist at the Secret Service who started picking up samples decades ago. Cantu died unexpectedly last year, and the Secret Service recently dedicated the lab in his honor. The lab is one of several under the Secret Service’s questioned documents branch, including handwriting analysis and document authentication and ID, and handles as many as 500 cases a year. Together, they work on Secret Service investigations and help law enforcement agencies around the nation and worldwide with their own investigations.

Florida

Orlando: Walt Disney World is reviving an animation class that teaches people how to draw their favorite characters. The drawing class was shut down four years ago, but the Orlando Sentinel reports it will be coming back starting this week. The classes are called the Animation Experience at Conservation Station and will be held at Animal Kingdom to honor “The Lion King” reboot, released later this month. Eight animation artists will teach visitors how to draw characters from the movie, such as Simba and Pumbaa. The animation class was shut down in 2015 to make way for the Star Wars Launch Bay. Disney hasn’t told the artists how long this program is scheduled to last.

Georgia

Atlanta: State records show the number of families in the state receiving welfare benefits has dropped by more than two-thirds in the past 14 years. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the numbers have decreased as Georgia has applied constant pressure to drive down the rolls. The number of households receiving aid from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program has consistently dropped. It even happened during the Great Recession. State officials say the decreasing rolls are a sign that the program is working. The newspaper reports that the trend in Georgia mirrors what has happened nationally.

Hawaii

Lihue: A local group is counting vehicles approaching a state park with the intention of regulating visitor traffic. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports Kuhio Highway Regulation intends to monitor the number of rental cars on the highway. The Kauai residents formed the group due to frustration with state and county efforts to reduce harmful effects of visitor traffic around Haena State Park. The group says not enough tourists have been informed of the need for advance reservations to enter. Kuhio Highway reopened to the public in June, more than a year after devastating floods struck. The group says 400 rental cars headed to the park July 4, while only about 100 of those had park parking passes. Kauai Police Department officials were unavailable to comment Saturday.

Idaho

Post Falls: The former executive of a senior center who admitted to embezzling thousands of dollars has been sentenced to a month in jail. The Coeur d’Alene Press reports 49-year-old Alison McArthur pleaded guilty Friday to a misdemeanor charged over stolen funds that prosecutors said were used for a car repair, personal telephone bills and a trip to Disneyland. McArthur, who was executive director of the Post Falls Senior Center for six years before being fired in 2017, said she made a mistake and wanted to rebuild her life. First District Judge Cynthia K.C. Meyer ordered jail time and $3,500 for restitution. McArthur said the senior center’s board chairman allowed her to use the organization’s credit card, but it was not authorized by the entire board, as required.

Illinois

Chicago: A new study that challenges stereotypes about homeless people estimates that in 2017, about 18,000 of Chicago’s homeless had graduated college, and more than 13,000 were employed. The report, released last week by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, examined census data from that year. The Chicago Tribune reports that data shows about 86,000 people experienced homelessness in Chicago at some point that year. Supporters say Chicago’s homeless population is considerably higher than the annual point-in-time tally the city conducts because the count doesn’t include people who are “doubled up,” or residing in other people’s homes. The latest point-in-time tally, from January 2018, revealed more than 5,000 people living in shelters or in places not suitable for human occupancy. The coalition indicates 4 out of 5 homeless people are “doubled up.”

Indiana

Hope: Plans are moving forward on a new, permanent home for the Indiana Rural Letter Carriers Association Museum. The (Columbus) Republic reports the building slated to house the museum is in the town of Hope, about 40 miles southeast of Indianapolis. For several years, the museum was housed in a small, wood-frame building on the town square to commemorate Hope’s longest continuous rural mail delivery service in the state, which dates to October 1896. That building was demolished in 2015, and the Yellow Trail Museum became caretaker of its artifacts. The Yellow Trail Museum acquired the new building, a former photography studio, and efforts are underway to raise money for improvements.

Iowa

Dubuque: For more than 3,000 years, the tri-state area was dominated by oak savannas. The grand prairies of grasses, wildflowers, bushes and small flowering trees were dotted intermittently by great, sprawling oaks. European colonizers quickly molded that landscape into the mosaic of agricultural, prairie, urban and closed-canopied forest that dominates today. But the City of Dubuque has joined a regional movement toward the restoration of the historic oak savanna, hoping to glean the benefits the unique landscape provides. Dubuque has targeted swaths of Eagle Point Park and the Four Mounds site, which encompasses more than 220 acres, for these restorations. Both are in the design phase, the Telegraph Herald reports. The return to the historic landscape should better mitigate soil erosion and runoff than the manicured lawns and closed-canopy woods at both sites now.

Kansas

Lenexa: A suburban Kansas City man has accomplished his goal of completing marathons in all 50 states before the age of 50. The Kansas City Star reports that the final stop on Austin Braithwait’s quest was a June 22 race in Duluth, Minnesota. It almost didn’t happen. The Lenexa man was 26 when he ran his first marathon, during an ice storm. The experience was so miserable that he waited another eight years before running another. But eventually he was hooked, fitting in races around his work travel schedule at UMB Bank. On a couple of trips, he squeezed in back-to-back races, running in Mississippi on a Saturday and Alabama on a Sunday. On another trip he ran in Pennsylvania and New Jersey during a single weekend.

Kentucky

Carrollton: The runoff that resulted from last week’s Jim Beam warehouse fire reached the Ohio River early Monday morning, but those living along the Kentucky River aren’t finished dealing with the aftermath. Dead fish continue to fill the Kentucky River, which flows into the Ohio River near Carrollton. The worst is nearly over. State officials said the runoff would affect some fish at the point where the two waterways meet once it reached the Ohio River but would likely dissipate quickly after it reaches the much larger body of water separating Kentucky and Indiana. The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet said in a statement Sunday, though, that those along the Kentucky River would likely continue to see and smell dead fish as the plume of alcohol makes its way north through the region.

Louisiana

Baton Rouge: Rescue shelters in the state are facing new restrictions on how and when they can give animals to facilities that use them for research. A law recently signed by Gov. John Bel Edwards will ban shelters from taking in stray or unwanted animals solely to euthanize them for research facilities and will prohibit shelters from selling animals for research or experimentation. Any shelters that give living animals to research facilities will only be allowed to do so if they tried to find other placement for the animals first, if precautions are taken to minimize pain and only under limited research circumstances. The new law, sponsored by Houma Republican Rep. Jerome “Zee” Zeringue, takes effect Aug. 1. Violators can face fines up to $1,000 for each violation.

Maine

Auburn: Workers are going to be putting aluminum sulfate in Lake Auburn this week to fight algae. The Auburn Water District and Lewiston Water Division agreed to apply an algaecide to the lake last September. The aluminum sulfate will be applied to three-quarters of the lake starting Wednesday. The treatments follow an algae bloom last summer that was caused by phosphorus from stormwater runoff and higher-than-average temperatures. The public water supply remained safe to drink, but there were complaints about the taste and odor of the water. Auburn Water & Sewer Superintendent Sid Hazelton said the treatment will buy time to implement additional watershed protection efforts.

Maryland

Salisbury: State wildlife officials say they’ve euthanized nearly 400 geese in an effort to curb the excessive population. U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesman Kevin Sullivan says his team “humanely euthanized” the Canada geese last week at the request of city officials. Sullivan says the goose overpopulation has inundated the city, leaving messy droppings, over-grazing plants, damaging the habitat and polluting the water. He says the geese were captured, and a waterfowl processor humanely euthanized them with carbon dioxide gas before providing the meat to food shelters. Sullivan says he believes this is the first time the city has turned to killing the geese in almost 15 years of population monitoring. In the past, officials used a slower method of poking holes in eggs.

Massachusetts

Boston: The city is literally digging its Chinatown. Mayor Marty Walsh says city archaeologist Joe Bagley has launched the first historical excavations in the neighborhood. Bagley says he expects the dig to turn up artifacts that will shed new light on immigrants not only from China but also from Syria, Ireland and England who sought a new life in Boston from 1840 to 1980. Work began Monday at a vacant lot near the ornate gate to the colorful neighborhood. It’s expected to continue until early autumn. Walsh says the dig makes sense because Boston is a city of immigrants, “and this is an important piece of Boston’s history.” Over the years, Boston has unearthed hundreds of archaeological sites.

Michigan

Lansing: A McLaren Greater Lansing executive says the hospital has rethought its requirement that patients reschedule medical procedures until they can pay a portion of estimated out-of-pocket costs. One patient was forced to postpone his cardiac catheterization two days before the scheduled procedure in May. It took Al Herring two weeks to raise the required $1,105, during which time he was at heightened risk of suffering a heart attack. Herring says the delay could have killed him. Chief financial officer Dale Thompson says the hospital has tweaked its point-of-sale policy since the Lansing State journal informed him of Herring’s plight. Thompson says patients may go ahead with their procedures after merely acknowledging anticipated costs, rather than having to wait longer while they raise 50% of the amount.

Minnesota

Avon: Several cities are seeking more time to reduce the amount of chloride, or salt, in their wastewater. About 100 Minnesota cities discharge too much chloride from their wastewater plants, and 15 plants need to reduce their chloride discharge levels in order to meet current state limits. But about six cities want more time. One of those cities is Avon. State regulators say Avon’s wastewater treatment plant is releasing too much chloride into nearby Spunk Creek, which empties into the Mississippi River. Minnesota Public Radio News reports that Avon is the first city to ask for a variance to chloride limits under the federal Clean Water Act. They city is seeking an additional 15 years to come up with a solution to the chloride pollution, which is likely caused by home water softeners.

Mississippi

Hattiesburg: Work is underway on a memorial to honor a voting rights activist killed when the Ku Klux Klan firebombed his home. WDAM-TV reports that a statue of Vernon Dahmer, who died in 1966, will be the centerpiece of a new plaza at the Forrest County Courthouse to honor him and other local civil rights leaders. The television station says the bronze Dahmer sculpture was recently cast. Landscaping work at the plaza and the construction of a base for the statue are to begin soon. Forrest County Board of Supervisors president David Hogan says a short wall that will double as a bench will feature a Dahmer quote: “If You Don’t Vote, You Don’t Count.” A total of $120,000 in public and private funds has been contributed for the project.

Missouri

Kansas City: The American Civil Liberties Union is asking an appellate court panel to let it begin collecting signatures that would put a new state law banning abortions at eight weeks of pregnancy to a public vote. The Missouri branch’s acting executive director, Tony Rothert, told a three-judge panel of the state’s Court of Appeals on Monday that it had been premature for GOP Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft to reject petitions by it and prominent Republican donor David Humphreys to put the law on the 2020 ballot. Rothert wants to begin the process of collecting the more than 100,000 required signatures by July 18. He says the petition-gathering process needs to be completed before most of the new law, including the eight-week abortion ban, takes effect Aug. 28.

Montana

Helena: State officials say they confiscated more than 800 bottles and cans of alcohol in a raid just days after the Yellowstone Club signed a deal to settle charges of serving booze at unlicensed bars at the private ski resort for the ultra-rich. A Department of Revenue notice says officials took the alcohol June 25 from a terminal that serves Yellowstone Club members and others who fly into Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport on private jets. Agency spokesman Sanjay Talwani said Monday that state officials believe the alcohol belongs to a company owned by two club executives. The company was part of the $370,000 settlement agreement signed six days earlier that allowed Yellowstone Club bars to continue serving alcohol at the resort.

Nebraska

Omaha: The city says it will use a new device called a “barnacle” to immobilize vehicles with unpaid parking tickets. The Omaha World-Herald reports the city was slated Monday to begin using the device, which is a panel that attaches to a vehicle’s windshield, blocking a driver’s view. The barnacles will be attached to vehicles with three or more past-due parking tickets or with more than $108 in parking fines. Motorists can release the device themselves with a code they’ll get by calling a number on the barnacle to pay the fines. Motorists must then take the barnacle to a drop-off location within 24 hours. Also starting Monday are new parking violation fees. Most parking violations bring a $16 fine. But blocking a fire hydrant will cost $32, and driving with expired license plates will cost $100.

Nevada

Reno: A new 3-mile-long bicycle and pedestrian trail hugging the northeast shore of Lake Tahoe is providing new access to hidden beaches and a bird’s-eye view of the cobalt waters never available before. The Tahoe East Shore Trail that opened Friday includes an 810-foot-long bridge overhanging the lakeshore between Incline Village and a state park at Sand Harbor. The $40.5 million highway project is designed to improve safety on a dangerous, congested stretch of State Highway 28 while providing hikers and bikers better access to the lake. It’s also designed to prevent runoff from the road that reduces lake clarity. The 10-foot-wide paved trail includes 17 designated vista points and 11 designated shoreline access points. It also has eight bear-proof trash stations, three dog waste bag stations, five bathrooms and more than 30 bike racks.

New Hampshire

Concord: Groups representing municipalities and businesses are trying to put the brakes on the state’s efforts to impose some of the nation’s toughest drinking water standards for a class of toxic chemicals that have caused widespread contamination in the state. Last month, the Department of Environmental Services filed a proposal to set maximum levels for several compounds known as per- and polyfluoroalykyl substances, collectively called PFAS. New Hampshire is proposing a maximum of 12 parts per trillion for one of the contaminants called PFOA and 15 parts per trillion for another called PFOS. Opponents say they lack the resources to comply with the standards and argue they shouldn’t be held responsible for addressing the problem because they are not the source of the contaminants. A legislative committee is expected to take up the proposed standards this month.

New Jersey

Manasquan: After Superstorm Sandy whacked the state, most shore towns had to build or rebuild protective sand dunes. But three areas got a pass. That could change soon. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it will study whether dunes need to be built in places where they don’t exist now. Nearly seven years after Sandy, Manasquan and Belmar do not have dunes protecting their coast. And a privately owned part of Point Pleasant Beach, owned by Jenkinson’s Boardwalk, negotiated a deal with state and federal officials to build its own steel retaining wall under the sand in return for not having a dune. The Army Corps will begin a study in October, carrying out a request the state Department of Environmental Protection made in 2015.

New Mexico

Roswell: Police are searching for whoever cut locks and fencing on zoo exhibits, allowing four animals, including a bobcat, to escape before they were quickly found nearby. Roswell police say they discovered the vandalism after a visitor noticed cut fencing at the red-tailed hawk exhibit Sunday. The zoo was evacuated as staff discovered that other vandalized enclosures had freed a raccoon, two raccoon-like coatimundis and a bobcat. Officials say the animals were all found within 20 minutes in non-public zookeeper areas. Spring River Park and Zoo staffers believe only the raccoon might have ventured into a visitor area. Authorities say they’re glad the animals stayed in their “comfort zones,” but the vandalism could have put people and animals in danger.

New York

Walkill: Going a step beyond eating and buying locally, some Hudson Valley residents support local electricity. They purchase production credits produced by a hydro site along the Wallkill River. Green-minded customers support a local renewable resource, while operators have a way to keep their turbines spinning. Hydro proponents hope arrangements like these can help keep these older energy sites competitive in the 21st century. Natural Power Group sells power under New York’s “community-distributed generation” program. The policy allows electricity customers to collectively invest in renewable projects, mostly solar, in their utility service territory. The hydroelectricity still flows into the grid. But customers reserve a percentage of the power generated by a hydro project. Officials in nearby Woodstock say their hydro purchases help keep the town government meet its carbon-neutral goals.

North Carolina

Concord: A sheriff’s office says one of its K-9s that ran from its handler when some fireworks went off nearby has been found safe. The Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office says Igor was outside with his handler and without a leash Thursday. Chief Deputy James Bailey said at the time that some fireworks went off near the handler’s home, and Igor ran away despite the handler’s verbal commands. The sheriff’s office said on its Facebook page that a person going to work in Concord found the dog Monday morning about a mile away from where he ran off. According to the sheriff’s office, Igor appeared to be in good shape and was being examined by a veterinarian.

North Dakota

Bismarck: Hunters killed more pheasants in the state last fall than they did the previous year, although the numbers are tempered by the fact that drought and declining habitat continue to affect the odds of a successful outing. The Bismarck Tribune reports that about 58,200 hunters killed 327,000 roosters in 2018. That was up just 6% from the dismal 2017 hunt, when the harvest was the smallest in 16 years at just 309,400 pheasants. Recent numbers have also been lower than normal in neighboring South Dakota and Minnesota. Neither year approached the state Game and Fish Department’s benchmark for success, which is 500,000 pheasants. Wildlife officials attribute the numbers to less grassland due to farmers putting idled Conservation Reserve Program land back into crop production, along with drought conditions.

Ohio

Cleveland: A toy company known for its yo-yos is marking 90 years in operation and plans to celebrate with a yo-yoing contest and other events in the city next month. Cleveland.com reports Middlefield-based Duncan Toys also wants to try to break a Guinness world record for most players simultaneously yo-yoing. The company is inviting the public to join in the attempt Aug. 9 at Cleveland’s downtown Public Square, where attendees also will have a chance to meet impressive yo-yoers and Duncan employees. The four-day yo-yoing contest occurs that weekend, too. Expert yo-yo enthusiasts from around the world are expected to participate in the four-day competition, which begins Aug. 7 at a Cleveland hotel.

Oklahoma

Tulsa: Gov. Kevin Stitt and three Tulsa-area mayors want the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to expedite its study of the region’s levee system following severe flooding along the Arkansas River this spring. Stitt, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, Bixby Mayor Brian Guthrie and Jenks Mayor Robert Lee sent a letter to Corps officials Friday requesting a study of the 75-year-old Tulsa-West Tulsa Levee System be completed by the end of the year. The Corps is required to complete a study of the nation’s levees by September 2020, but the letter says Oklahomans can’t wait that long. While Tulsa-area levees held back water for weeks, the letter says a breach would have caused catastrophic flooding over a wide area. The letter says the Corps rated the region’s levees “unacceptable” in 2008.

Oregon

Salem: The state Department of Transportation has expanded its road usage charge program, OReGO. The voluntary program charges motorists based on how many miles they cruise along Oregon’s roads and highways instead of through fuel taxes. It’s intended to equalize what participants pay the state based on their actual road usage, not through fuel consumption, which can vary based on the vehicle’s efficiency. Owners of any vehicle can enroll in OReGO if it gets 20 miles a gallon or better. That’s the “break-even point” where fuel taxes cost the same as OReGO. But the biggest changes are for any vehicle getting more than 40 miles per gallon and electric vehicles. Those drivers will have to choose between paying higher registration fees in 2020 or enrolling in OReGO.

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh: The iconic Fallingwater home built over a western Pennsylvania waterfall by Frank Lloyd Wright has been designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO announced on its site that during a Sunday World Heritage Committee meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, the organization added Fallingwater and seven other U.S. buildings designed by Wright in the first half of the 20th century to its World Heritage List. Wright designed Fallingwater in 1935 for Pittsburgh department store magnate Edgar Kaufmann Sr. and his family, placing the home on top of Bear Run, a mountain stream. It now receives about 180,000 visitors per year. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Fallingwater director Justin Gunther called the designation “a tremendous honor, one reserved for the world’s most treasured places.”

Rhode Island

Providence: The governor has signed legislation to allow domestic violence protective orders to include pets. Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo signed the legislation introduced by Senate President Dominick Ruggerio and Rep. William O’Brien, both North Providence Democrats. Ruggerio said in a statement that there’s a strong correlation between domestic abuse and animal abuse, and the new law, which takes effect immediately, ensures pets are protected. It expands the Family Court’s jurisdiction to allow it to enter protective orders to provide for the safety and welfare of household pets in domestic abuse situations. Many other states, including neighboring Massachusetts and Connecticut, already have laws that include pets in domestic violence protection orders.

South Carolina

Fort Mill: An alumni group is helping pay students’ lunch debt. Fort Mill School District spokesman Joe Burke says as of June 18, the most recent information available, students had about $12,000 in combined student lunch debt. The Herald reports the Fort Mill Ol’ School Crowd is gathering donations to cover that balance. Each school has an Angel Fund, in which community members can donate to ease students’ negative lunch balances. Jean Deese, an alumna who helped start the debt relief effort, says people have been donating to that fund for about two years now. She says students with balances are given an alternative lunch that makes the kids feel different and can lead to bullying. Deese says they’ve raised more than $5,000 since starting the effort.

South Dakota

Rapid City: The state’s Unified Judicial System is piloting a program that will eventually allow the public access to court records from any computer. The public can now view public court records on computers at state courthouses during work hours from Monday to Friday. This means that some people face long drives to access records. The new website, set to go live late 2019 or early 2020, will charge people 10 cents per page viewed from any computer. People will be able to look up cases by entering names, date of birth or county, and date range of the alleged offense. Complete criminal backgrounds cost $20. Greg Sattizahn, administrator of the Unified Judicial System, tells the Rapid City Journal the fees will help cover enhanced technology within the UJS.

Tennessee

Memphis: Hattiloo Theatre, the only black repertory theater in the Mid-South, has won a grant to produce a new play about the removal of the city’s Confederate statues in 2017. The theater, which is adjacent to Overton Square in Midtown Memphis, was awarded a grant of $18,725 to develop “Take ’Em Down 901,” a one-act play about the grassroots movement that pushed for the uprooting of statues of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, President Jefferson Davis and Capt. J. Mathes from two downtown parks. The play is one of 42 original, live-performance projects selected to receive part of the $1.3 million in funding available this year from the New York-based MAP Fund.

Texas

Dayton: A fence that for decades divided two historic Houston-area cemeteries into plots for white people on one side and black people on the other has been taken down. The Houston Chronicle reports that a white, 85-year-old maintenance volunteer, Henry Buxton, in April dismantled the chain-link fence that divided the Linney Cemetery from the Acie Cemetery in Dayton. The change comes after a new president took over the Linney Cemetery, where white people are buried. He saw the division as inappropriate and inefficient. Lynda Young, who ran Acie Cemetery where black people are buried before the merger, says seeing the fence come down feels like freedom. She says the community can now move forward.

Utah

Salt Lake City: Thousands of families in the state rely on free summer meal programs to feed their children once school food becomes unavailable. But despite high demand, there’s a shortage of the programs statewide. The Salt Lake Tribune recently reported that state data shows most counties have fewer than 10 summer meal sites, and the programs don’t exist in several counties with high child food-insecurity rates. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says nonprofits and government agencies can apply to open a site and get federal reimbursement for meals they serve. Some advocates say that approach can exclude cash-strapped school districts and other groups from operating programs. They cited Utah’s sparse population and transportation as other barriers to expanding meal programs but hope speaking out encourages school districts to better address food insecurity.

Vermont

North Bennington: A small library has been recognized by a national group for overcoming adversity and creating lasting, innovative service programs. The Bennington Banner reports the John C. McCullough Free Library in North Bennington is one of five runners-up in a new national award from the American Library Association’s Penguin Random House Library Award for Innovation Through Adversity program. Library director Jennie Rozycki nominated the library for the inaugural program with an essay. In April, she learned the library won a runner-up award of $1,000 worth of materials. She says the McCullough library has made tremendous strides in increasing programs for all ages on a “shoestring” budget. She says the library would use the funds that come with the award to replace some of their classic editions, “which have been well-loved.”

Virginia

Harrisonburg: More than 100 employees at James Madison University have received a pay increase after the school adopted a minimum wage of $12 an hour. The school announced last week that it was adopting a living wage for all full-time employees and set the minimum wage at $12 an hour after determining that a living wage in Rockingham County is $11.38 an hour. In all, 109 employees who were earning less than $25,000 a year received the pay increase. The raises will cost the university about $75,000 a year. James Madison, like all public universities in Virginia, froze tuition rates for the upcoming school year in exchange for additional state funding.

Washington

Seattle: Researchers have confirmed a new calf born to a pod of endangered orcas in the Pacific Northwest is female. Scientists believe the whale was born in late May. They have designated her J56. She is the second calf born in the past five months to southern resident killer whales that frequent Puget Sound and other waters around Washington state and British Columbia. In January, researchers identified another orca calf in the L pod, L124 or Lucky. That calf was last seen back in March and appeared to be in good health. The births are welcome news for a southern resident population that dropped to more than a 30-year low last year. Declining prey, pollution and boat noise all threaten the whales.

West Virginia

Morgantown: Researchers at West Virginia University are testing an idea to help save freshwater resources by combining wastewater from power plants with wastewater from fracking. The Dominion Post reports the power industry is the biggest water user in the state. Nationally, it is the second biggest, behind agriculture. Thermoelectric plants use water in heat exchangers. As it evaporates, natural salts concentrate to the point where they could foul the cooling system. Meanwhile, water from fracking contains other substances that could harm the cooling towers, like magnesium and strontium. But when the two are mixed together, the chemicals combine in a way to precipitate out of the water. This produces clean water to recirculate. The project, still in its early stages, is funded by a $400,000 Department of Energy grant.

Wisconsin

Milwaukee: The era of electric scooters in the Badger State has arrived. During a ceremony Monday at the Milwaukee Public Market, Gov. Tony Evers touted the importance of different modes of transportation and stressed that local governments would have the power to regulate scooters. The legislation now bearing his signature allows local governments to regulate electric scooters. The law’s signing came days after Bird and the city finished hashing out the terms of a settlement agreement in a lawsuit filed last summer – and on the eve of a Milwaukee Common Council vote on a measure allowing dockless mobility systems, including scooters, only if companies participate in a city pilot study that sets rules for their use. The city stood ready to start accepting applications to the program as soon as the state law changed.

Wyoming

Cheyenne: The Capitol will reopen to the public Wednesday after a four-year, $300 million renovation project. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports the building suffered from crumbling concrete, disintegrating plumbing and aging electrical wiring hanging loose inside walls. The project included construction of a new utility plant for the Capitol complex, rebuilding parts of an adjacent office building, and renting temporary space for the Legislature and other officials. Renovation workers discovered historic features that had been covered up by earlier remodeling, included murals, dishes, bricked-up windows and opera posters on ceilings. Gov. Mark Gordon says the renovation was a good investment. He says it’s appropriate that the Capitol is reopening in 2019, the 150th anniversary of when Wyoming became the first state to recognize women’s right to vote.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Mammoth Cave sharks, waterfall chasing: News from around our 50 ...

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Alabama

Montgomery: Gov. Kay Ivey fractured her shoulder after being tripped by the state’s “first dog,” her office said Wednesday. Ivey spokeswoman Gina Maiola said the governor is in an arm sling after being tripped by her mixed-breed dog named Missy. The rescue pooch unintentionally tripped the governor at home Tuesday night, Ivey’s office said. The 75-year-old Republican governor issued a statement about the injury, saying, “You’ll see me in a sling, but this won’t slow me down one bit.” “I’ll keep you posted on the recovery, but most importantly, Missy is also doing just fine.” Ivey is scheduled to deliver Alabama’s annual State of the State address Tuesday night to mark the opening of the legislative session. Last year, the governor announced she had been diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer and was being treated with radiation. Her office said in January that medical scans showed a good response to treatment and that her doctor considered her cured.

Alaska

Anchorage: State officials have forecast poor returns for Kenai River king salmon in the upcoming spring and summer fishing season. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game released the estimates Monday. This year’s forecast of salmon during the early run through June 30 is just 4,794 large fish, which would rank as the eighth-lowest return in the past 35 years but higher than last year’s run of 4,216 fish, state biologists said. The department classifies large fish as those greater than 34 inches in length. The average return over the past 35 years is more than 9,100 king salmon in the early run. The department predicts a similar result – 22,707 large king salmon – during the late run that lasts through August. The return would be about 60% larger than last year’s escapement of just 12,780 fish, which failed to meet the department’s sustainable escapement goal of 13,500 to 27,000 fish.

Arizona

Supai: Reservations to hike to the idyllic green waters of Havasupai Falls don’t come easy. Those who hope to reserve a 2020 hiking permit and campground reservation when they go on sale at 8 a.m. Saturday can take some steps in advance to improve their odds of getting one of the 350 spots available each day. Hopeful hikers can make an account at havasupaireservations.com and pre-enter credit card information to save time when the permits go on sale. Phone reservations are not accepted. Available trip dates start March 1, and it’s best to have a first choice and a few backup dates in mind before sales begin. Last year, the reservations were mostly gone within five hours of going on sale. New this year, reservation-holders can list potential alternative trip leaders beforehand to make it possible to transfer a reservation to someone on that list free of charge.

Arkansas

West Memphis: A casino has debuted sports betting in its soft opening this week, officials said. Southland Casino Racing began accepting wagers Tuesday for the upcoming Super Bowl, as well as on NBA games, college basketball, NASCAR racing, PGA tournaments and more, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports. Approved by voters in November 2018, Amendment 100 to the state Constitution authorized Southland Casino Racing to expand into a full-fledged casino. It is the third Arkansas casino to win the commission’s approval to begin sports wagering. “We have been working toward this for a while,” said Jeff Strang, Southland’s senior marketing director. International Game Technology announced Tuesday that it signed a multistate sports betting agreement with Southland’s parent company – Delaware North Cos. Gaming and Entertainment – to power retail sports betting in Arkansas and West Virginia.

California

Calexico: Strong winds gusting across Southern California blew down several panels of a new barrier being installed along the U.S.-Mexico border, a newspaper reports. The U.S. Border Patrol said the panels fell into Mexican territory Wednesday about 100 miles east of San Diego where the border runs between the U.S. city of Calexico and the Mexican city of Mexicali, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The 30-foot-tall panels had just been anchored in concrete that had not yet cured when the gusts hit, the newspaper says. The panels fell onto a road. “Luckily, Mexican authorities responded quickly and were able to divert traffic from the nearby street,” U.S. Border Patrol Agent Carlos Pitones said. U.S. Customs and Border Protection was working to retrieve the panels from Mexico, the Union-Tribune reports.

Colorado

Denver: The state has launched two pilot programs focused on reducing carbon emissions and improving energy efficiency at cannabis cultivating businesses, officials said. The programs started Wednesday and support Democratic Gov. Jared Polis’ mission to cut greenhouse gases 50% by 2030, The Denver Post reports. The Carbon Dioxide Reuse Project partners Denver Beer Co. with the Clinic cannabis dispensary to recycle carbon emissions. Denver Beer Co. plans to use a a carbon-capturing machine to provide carbon dioxide produced during the brewing process to the clinic, which will use the gas to stimulate plant growth. The brewery expects to recycle more than 150,000 pounds of carbon dioxide – enough to meet all the clinic’s needs, Earthly Labs CEO Amy George says. The Colorado Cultivators Energy Management pilot will enable cannabis businesses to enlist the help of local electric cooperatives and utility companies to examine their energy use and ways to become more efficient.

Connecticut

Hartford: A Rembrandt portrait that hasn’t been exhibited in the U.S. in more than half a century is coming to a local museum starting this weekend. “Titus in a Monk’s Habit” will be on exhibit at Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford from Saturday through April 30, the museum said in a statement. The portrait depicts the Dutch artist’s teenage son in 1660. It’s on loan from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Rembrandt van Rijn created the artwork “at a crucial moment in his late career when he was revamping his business as a painter and recovering from bankruptcy,” the museum said. “It opens questions about the artist’s career, his use of traditional subjects and the bold technique that has won him enduring fame,” Oliver Tostmann, curator of European art, said in a statement. “With his son in the role of a poor monk, it is a heart-wrenching interpretation of the human condition and an echo of the family’s humbled economic state.”

Delaware

Newark: A University of Delaware program that starts this fall will allow high school students to get an early start on their college studies. The Early College Credit Program will be free and open to juniors and seniors in all 74 public, charter and private high schools throughout the state, the Delaware State News reports. The introductory courses – which will be in subjects such as astronomy, philosophy, art history and more – will be transmitted via video from UD’s Newark campus and streamed to the students’ high schools. The high school students will be enrolled alongside college students. “One of the things we are excited about with this new program is that high school students have the opportunity to interact with regular undergraduates on campus, virtually,” says Lynn Okagki, deputy provost for academic affairs at the university. Participation will allow students to earn both high school and college credits.

District of Columbia

Washington: Attorney General William Barr on Thursday nominated Timothy Shea, one of his closest advisers, to be the next top prosecutor in the nation’s capital. Shea will lead the largest United States attorney’s office in the country, one that has been historically responsible for some of the most significant and politically sensitive cases the Justice Department brings in the U.S. He is a senior counselor to the attorney general and was Barr’s right-hand man helping institute reforms at the federal Bureau of Prisons after Jeffrey Epstein’s death at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City. As the U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia, Shea would oversee some of the lingering cases from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, along with a number of politically charged investigations.

Florida

Tallahassee: Cities and counties wouldn’t be able to ban sunscreens containing ingredients that some researchers say harm coral reefs, under a bill passed by the state Senate on Wednesday. The Senate voted 25-14 in favor of the bill after no discussion or debate. If it becomes law, a Key West ordinance to ban the sale of sunscreens containing oxybenzone or octinoxate would be nullified. The Key West ban is set to go into effect next year. Research has shown the chemicals can cause coral bleaching, and the reefs around Key West attract divers, snorkelers and fishing enthusiasts. But Republican Sen. Rob Bradley has said previously that he sponsored the bill because protecting people is more important, and the research hasn’t proven the chemicals actually harm reefs. An identical House bill has been making its way through committees.

Georgia

Atlanta: After trying last year to place restrictions on electric scooters all across Georgia, a state Senate committee now wants the state to keep its hands off. The Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved a new version of Senate Bill 159, which would define electric scooters in state law. But it would do nothing else, leaving other regulations up to local governments. State Sen. Steve Gooch, a Dahlonega Republican, told committee members Tuesday that’s how the scooter companies and local governments both want it. “Local governments should be doing backflips and cartwheels,” Gooch said. “They’re getting everything they asked for.” The cities of Atlanta, Brookhaven and Decatur have authorized scooters, as has Georgia Southern University. But a Senate study committee report filed last year found 12 other cities had banned or placed temporary moratoriums on scooters.

Hawaii

Hilo: Thurston Lava Tube in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park could reopen within a month if a final repair project is successful, an official said. A park spokeswoman said the tube will be reopened to the public after a nearby restroom facility is restored to working order, The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports. Thurston Lava Tube was one of several attractions at the park that were closed indefinitely after the Kilauea volcanic eruption, which began in May 2018 and destroyed more than 700 homes on the Big Island. Also called Nahuku, the lava tube remained closed after Hawaii Volcanoes National Park reopened in September 2018. Scientists and engineers wanted to confirm the tube was structurally sound after thousands of earthquakes rattled the park during the eruption. The park must repair and bury an electrical line, which could take two to four weeks, spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said.

Idaho

Boise: The state’s prisons are overcrowded and dilapidated, the inmate population is rapidly growing, and taxpayers could save millions by building a prison, state auditors told a panel of lawmakers this week. The findings came from the Office of Performance Evaluations’ report on managing the state’s correctional capacity, which took a close look at staffing levels, inmate populations, the condition of the actual prison buildings themselves and how those factors will likely affect Idaho in years to come. “Idaho is at a critical juncture in planning how it will house inmates,” an office evaluator, Lance McCleve, told members of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee. “Just since 2016, we’ve seen about an 18% increase of inmates incarcerated in prisons.” That dramatically outpaces the state’s population growth of about 6% in the same period, McCleve said.

Illinois

Chicago: Elections officials disclosed fresh problems Wednesday with the state’s automatic voter registration program, including at least one eligible voter who said she registered to vote but ended up on an opt-out list. The program is already under fire for mistakenly registering more than 500 people who indicated they weren’t U.S. citizens, of whom 15 people voted in 2018 and 2019 elections. Election officials said at least eight of the people have long voting histories and were likely U.S. citizens, leaving seven voters in question. The individuals involved were applying for standard driver’s licenses at secretary of state’s offices. Details were scarce on the new issues, disclosed at a State Board of Elections meeting. Brenda Glahn, an attorney with the secretary of state, said registrations of eligible voters who appeared to decline to be registered were still sent to election officials.

Indiana

Muncie: Hundreds of Ball State University students gathered for a rally to demand the early retirement of a white professor who called police on a black student who refused to change seats last week during a class. A crowd of 200 to 300 students, some carrying protest signs, converged Tuesday outside the Whitinger Business Building. It’s where Sultan “Mufasa” Benson, a senior business-administration major, left marketing professor Shaheen Borna’s class after the tenured faculty member called police on him. Benson, who is from Chicago, recounted how he felt when Borna asked him to move to the front row from the back of the class. “Why am I being moved?” Benson said he asked the Iranian-born professor. “No answer. ‘You can move or we can call the police.’ ” Though Benson said he feels like “another statistic” that Ball State is using to advertise its black student enrollment, he thanked school President Geoffrey S. Mearns for attending the rally and listening to them.

Iowa

Des Moines: A bill proposed by a group of Republican lawmakers that would have amended the Iowa Civil Rights Act by removing protections against discrimination for transgender people is dead, a powerful committee chairman said. Nine Republican House members sponsoring the bill introduced it Wednesday morning, but by evening Republican Rep. Steven Holt, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee to which the bill was assigned, said he wouldn’t allow it to move forward to a subcommittee hearing. “It’s dead,” Holt said. “It just would have had a lot of unintended consequences.” Iowa law currently prohibits discrimination based on gender identity, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, ancestry and disability. Gender identity was added in 2007 when Democrats regained control of the Legislature and held the governor’s office with the election of Gov. Chet Culver.

Kansas

Wichita: The Kansas Highway Patrol has a practice of unlawfully targeting motorists based on their out-of-state license plates or Colorado travel plans, due to that state’s legalization of marijuana, according to a federal court filing Thursday. Among the allegations contained in the new filing are statistics showing that drivers with out-of-state plates made up 93% of all the agency’s traffic stops in 2017. The case began as a hand-scrawled complaint filed last December by two irate drivers themselves in federal court. It got some significant legal firepower when the American Civil Liberties Union and Kansas City, Missouri, attorney Sam Diederich filed an amended complaint on their behalf. The revised complaint references a serious imbalance in people of color in targeted vehicles. It also challenges a law enforcement practice known as “the Kansas Two Step,” a maneuver used to detain drivers for canine drug searches after a traffic stop.

Kentucky

Mammoth Cave National Park: Paleontologists have found remarkably intact fossils from ancient sharks in Mammoth Cave. The discovery hundreds of millions of years in the making began when Mammoth Cave specialists Rick Olson and Rick Toomey came across fossils as they explored and mapped the cave system and sent photos to Vincent Santucci, senior paleontologist for the National Park Service in Washington, D.C., for help identifying them. Santucci then sent John-Paul Hodnett, a paleontologist and program coordinator at Dinosaur Park in Maryland, to help with what became the Mammoth Cave National Park Fossil Shark Research Project. The fossils were parts of a head that belonged to a Saivodus striatus shark, about the size of a great white. Thanks to the slow erosion of the limestone in the cave, the shark’s teeth are mostly intact and extremely detailed. More than 100 individual specimens have been discovered so far during the project.

Louisiana

Baton Rouge: The state’s new legislative leaders quickly signed off Thursday on plans to borrow up to $350 million to replenish the account that pays for state-financed construction work, the first major financial decision for the latest House and Senate term. The Bond Commission, a panel of state officials that oversees publicly financed construction spending, agreed to the March general obligation bond sale without objection. The proposal provoked no discussion from the House’s and Senate’s new budget and tax committee chairmen, sitting on the panel for the first time in their new roles. The borrowing will keep cash flowing to a long list of projects, including coastal restoration work, state park improvements, road and bridge projects, college building repairs and local projects favored by lawmakers.

Maine

Augusta: Maine lobsters need to arrive alive at their destinations, and a proposal before the Legislature is aimed at making it more certain that happens. Democratic Sen. Eloise Vitelli of Arrowsic has introduced a bill that would exempt truck drivers transporting live lobsters from some hours-of-service restrictions. Vitelli said the proposal would extend an exemption already granted to transporters of potatoes, broccoli and livestock. “Getting lobsters quickly to market in Boston is essential for Maine lobster dealers to maintain and grow this iconic industry,” Vitelli said. Vitelli introduced the bill Tuesday, and it will face votes in committee before moving on to the full state Senate and House of Representatives. Virginia Olsen, a lobster fisherman from Stonington and board member of the Maine Lobstering Union, said members of the industry are at “an economic disadvantage when trying to bring our live product to market under the current time restraints.”

Maryland

Baltimore: A rarely open U.S. House seat has drawn a crowded field of 24 Democrats and eight Republicans in a special primary for the office held by the late Rep. Elijah Cummings. Candidates in the majority-black district’s Tuesday primary include Cummings’ widow, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings; and Kweisi Mfume, a former NAACP head and one of three men who’ve held the seat in the past 49 years. Republicans on the ballot include Kimberly Klacik, an activist whose social media video of trash and run-down buildings in Baltimore caught President Donald Trump’s attention before he described the district in a tweet as a “rodent-infested mess.” Mfume, who stepped down in 1996 to lead the NAACP after serving five terms as a congressman, is telling voters in the heavily Democratic district his experience separates him from the crowd.

Massachusetts

Boston: The state is pushing ahead with efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution to restore limits on political spending by corporations. A commission charged with weighing potential constitutional amendments aimed at countering the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision released an interim report Wednesday updating its progress. Members of the Massachusetts Citizens Commission said the goal of the amendment would be to give Congress and states the power “to regulate contributions and expenditures in our federal, state, and local elections to secure the free speech and representation rights of all Americans, combat corruption and protect the integrity of elections.” A ballot question approved by Massachusetts voters in 2018 created the commission. The report pointed to a sharp rise in spending in elections, most concentrated in the hands of a small slice of the electorate, the commission said.

Michigan

Detroit: Marie Woo, who’s earned a reputation as “the potter’s potter” and as an educator, researcher and curator who’s played a major role in spreading awareness of Chinese folk pottery, was announced Thursday as the 2020 Kresge Eminent Artist. The lifetime achievement award, which comes with a $50,000 prize, is given annually to a metro Detroiter for distinguished contributions to the arts and the community. Known both for her mastery of clay and her continuing commitment to experimentation and innovation, Woo, 91, joins 11 other past winners. It’s a collection of Detroit luminaries that includes the late jazz trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, photographer and activist Leni Sinclair, painter and sculptor Charles McGee, and the late Michigan Opera Theatre’s artistic director David DiChiera. Woo is the first Kresge Eminent Artist to represent the art of ceramics.

Minnesota

Lonsdale: A local Roman Catholic priest apologized Wednesday for saying in a sermon that Islam was “the greatest threat in the world” to the United States and Christianity. The Rev. Nick VanDenBroeke apologized in a statement issued by the St. Paul-Minnesota Catholic archdiocese. He had made the comments in a Jan. 5 sermon at the Lonsdale church where he serves as pastor. The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights group, had called on the state’s Roman Catholic church leaders to repudiate the sermon after the newspaper City Pages published an article about the sermon. In the statement from the archdiocese, Archbishop Bernard Hebda said the church’s teaching is clear, and he quoted Pope Benedict XVI as saying the church looks with esteem to Muslims, who worship God through prayer, fasting and the giving of alms.

Mississippi

Jackson: A proposal to give most teachers at least a $1,000 pay raise is starting to move forward at the state Capitol. The plan won approval Thursday in the Senate Education Committee. It will go to the Senate Appropriations Committee another day, and it must pass there before it can go to the full Senate. Senate Bill 2001 would give $1,000 across-the-board raises to most teachers and teachers’ assistants. Teachers in the first two years of their careers would receive slightly larger raises of $1,100. That’s an effort to boost the beginning salaries. Mississippi has long had some of the lowest teacher salaries in the nation. Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and several other officials said during the 2019 campaign that increasing teacher pay would be a priority this year.

Missouri

Jefferson City: Republican state senators put forth a new plan Wednesday that would scrap “partisan fairness” and “competitiveness” from the criteria used to draw state House and Senate districts – reversing a key part of a ballot initiative approved by voters just two years ago. Senators began debating the newly proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday. If approved by the Legislature, it would go to a public vote later this year. In addition to changing the redistricting criteria, it also would abolish a voter-approved state demographer position to draw districts and return the task to a bipartisan commission used in the past. Like the successful “Clean Missouri” initiative on the 2018 ballot, the new GOP proposal would package the redistricting changes with other potentially popular ethics reforms. “If you like Clean Missouri, you’re going to love Cleaner Missouri,” said Sen. Denny Hoskins, a Republican from Warrensburg.

Montana

Great Falls: Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians Chairman Gerald Gray will be Sen. Jon Tester’s guest of honor at the State of the Union address Tuesday. “I’ve worked with many leaders in the Little Shell Tribe over the past 20 years, and Chairman Gray is right up there at the top,” Tester, D-Mont., said Thursday in a news release. “He is a relentless advocate for his people who built strong coalitions but wasn’t shy about putting the screws to me and the rest of the delegation when he needed to.” Gray said that he was “grateful” to be invited and that Tester “was so instrumental in the restoration of my tribe’s federal recognition.” Each senator is allowed one guest. After more than 100 years of efforts by the tribe, federal recognition was signed into law Dec. 20 as a part of the National Defense Authorization Act. The Little Shell Tribe is based in Great Falls and has nearly 5,400 members.

Nebraska

Lincoln: Families in the state who want access to high-quality child care may be out of luck depending on where they live or how much they make, according to a report released Thursday. The Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Commission’s report found access to child care varies widely, with 11 of the state’s 93 counties having no licensed child care facilities. The report also found a high turnover rate among early childhood care providers, driven in part by low pay. The median wage for early childhood professionals teaching in community-based child care centers was $18,706 in 2016, according to the report. That’s nearly $1,400 below the federal poverty line for a family of three. The commission is a part of the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska.

Nevada

Las Vegas: McCarran International Airport says a jump in the number of travelers in December pushed it to a record 51.5 million passengers in 2019. An airport year-end report made public Wednesday came more than a month after officials held a ceremony marking the arrival of a record 50 millionth passenger in one year. The previous 12-month record was 49.7 million in 2018. The Clark County Department of Aviation counted nearly 4.25 million arriving and departing passengers in December, up 9% from the same month in 2018. Airport chief Rosemary Vassiliadis said domestic passenger volume grew 3.9% for the year, with big increases by low-cost carriers Sun Country, Frontier and Spirit airlines. Southwest Airlines is by far the busiest airline, accounting for more than 17 million passengers last year. But the airline was down 3.7% from its total of more than 18 million in 2018.

New Hampshire

Concord: The state Senate on Thursday gave preliminary approval to a bill to establish and then gradually increase the minimum wage. The state currently defaults to the federal minimum wage of $7.25. Lawmakers last year approved the creation of a state minimum wage, but Republican Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed it. The vote Thursday in the Democrat-led Senate was 14-10 to raise the state minimum wage to $10 an hour in 2021 and $12 an hour in 2023. Supporters noted that New Hampshire continues to fall behind its New England neighbors. On Jan. 1, Vermont, Maine, and Massachusetts all raised their minimum wages. Opponents said the bill would push small businesses to reduce hours and increase automation of jobs.

New Jersey

Trenton: Nine hospitals in areas with some of the state’s highest rates of shootings will share $20million in an intervention program designed to reduce violence, particularly related to guns. The distribution of federal money is a nationally unique approach to “disrupt the cycle of violence,” Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said. New Jersey is now making the biggest investment of federal Victims of Crime Act funding for such a program, he said. “This is not a garden variety, ‘Every state’s doing this,’ ” Gov. Phil Murphy said. “We’re the only state doing this.” The money will help establish “hospital-based violence intervention programs” to support victims but also try to prevent future incidents. The idea is to intervene at a crucial moment in an individual’s life – after being shot, for example – and provide services such as counseling, case management or even removing a tattoo that could be used to identify them for retaliation.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: Legislators could receive state salaries for the first time as the result of a newly proposed constitutional amendment. A panel of legislators led by state Democratic Sen. Linda Lopez of Albuquerque endorsed the proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday that would give the recently founded State Ethics Commission authority to set salaries for lawmakers and other elected official including the governor. New Mexico runs the only unsalaried legislature in the nation, though members receive a $162 daily stipend during sessions and reimbursement for some travel expenses. Amendment sponsor Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, an Albuquerque Democrat, said that handing over salary decisions to the ethics commission would depoliticize the matter and avoid the taboo against lawmakers approving their own pay.

New York

Albany: The state has set some of the nation’s most ambitious goals on fighting climate change, but some activists say it isn’t moving fast enough. Lawmakers holding budget hearings this week faced protests from environmental and left-leaning groups who criticized the lack of new solar and wind projects breaking ground in the state. Protesters filled rows at a hearing to call for the state to do more to boost electric vehicles and energy efficiency and block construction of infrastructure for natural gas, which contributes to global warming. “Six months ago, Gov. Cuomo signed the nation’s most aggressive climate legislation, promising that New York would ‘lead the way forward’ and ‘set a new standard,’ ” said Conor Bambrick, director of climate policy for the environmental group Clean Water for Environmental Advocates of New York. But New York needs to do much more to match the “urgency of the climate crisis,” he said.

North Carolina

Charlotte: A car dealer is opening up his sales lot to homeless people whose cars are their only means of shelter. James Charles made the move after a member of his sales team went to repossess a woman’s car, WBTV reports. “The gentleman who was repossessing the car said, ‘We can’t take the car, there’s somebody living in the car,’ ” said Charles, manager at Kiplin Automotive Group in west Charlotte. Charles said he looked for a shelter for the woman, but all of them were full. So he put her up in a hotel for a few nights, until she had a more permanent solution. That, Charles said, was the sign he needed to launch his plan. His dealership now offers space for other families, with security cameras, bright lights and an open invitation. “You can come here,” Charles said. “We will allow you to stay on our property, and of course, we’re going to help you find a place if we can.”

North Dakota

Bismarck: The state should reinvest half of the earnings from its voter-approved oil tax savings account to grow the fund’s principal by billions more dollars over the next decade, Gov. Doug Burgum said Wednesday in his State of the State speech. The state is “strong, growing and full of boundless opportunity,” but “there’s a lot more we can do,” the first-term Republican said during his nearly two-hour speech at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. Burgum’s speech was somewhat unscripted and largely fell short on policy specifics, including his plan to spend earnings from the state’s Legacy Fund, which voters enacted in 2010. How and when earnings from the fund should be spent has long been point of contention even among Republicans in the GOP-led Legislature.

Ohio

Columbus: The nation’s oldest civil rights organization has endorsed a ballot initiative aimed at streamlining the state’s voting process. The NAACP’s Ohio Conference announced its backing for the Ohioans for Secure and Fair Elections measure Wednesday. In a statement, conference president Tom Roberts said the NAACP sees the campaign as “a necessary step” to modernizing Ohio elections. If voters approve the proposal, Ohioans would be automatically registered to vote when conducting business at state Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices, and early voting locations would have to be open on the two weekends prior to Election Day. That would allow eligible voters to register and vote on the same day. The requirement that voters be registered during BMV trips unless they opt out is also part of pending House and Senate legislation.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: The body of a woman found in central Oklahoma nearly 40 years ago and known only as “Lime Lady” has been identified as a missing Las Vegas woman, authorities said Thursday. DNA testing with the help of the DNA Doe Project identified Tamara Lee Tigard as the woman whose body was found April 18, 1980, on the banks of the North Canadian River in Jones on the outskirts of Oklahoma City. Tigard, who was shot to death, was found on what would have been her 21st birthday, Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Capt. Bob Green said. Tigard was known for decades only as “Lime Lady” because her body had been covered in lime in a possible attempt to destroy it, but instead the lime helped preserve her remains. It is not known how long she was in Oklahoma, according to Sheriff P.D. Taylor. Investigators have also determined she was in the U.S. military, serving in the Army, Green said.

Oregon

Salem: Democrats in the Statehouse are seeking to have voters change its quorum rules so that walkouts by lawmakers can no longer stymie legislation. The joint resolution, filed this week before the Legislature starts its short 2020 session Monday, would ask voters to change quorum rules, allowing the Statehouse to convene with only a simple majority of lawmakers present instead of the current two-thirds requirement. Senate Democrats say all but three other states require a simple majority for a quorum. Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick, a Democrat from Portland, had been expected to introduce the proposed constitutional amendment. “Stopping the work of the people by denying a quorum is unconscionable and undemocratic,” Burdick said last year. If the Legislature approves the resolution, voters would then decide on the proposed change in the 2020 election.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: A $45 million project to upgrade the state’s emergency radio communications system is on time and within the budget, but the purchasing process has encountered some glitches, the state auditor general said Thursday. A report released by Democratic Auditor General Eugene DePasquale identified errors in the bidding process but concluded they would not have changed the 2016 contract award. It also said there was inadequate documentation about the qualifications of people involved in awarding the contract. The statewide radio project, known as PA STARNet, began with a $179 million expenditure in 1996 that developed into a massive boondoggle, eventually costing the state more than $850 million. It produced a system that was badly flawed, with poor reception, software problems, short battery life and reliability shortcomings.

Rhode Island

Providence: The state Department of Correction is failing to comply with a court order limiting the time an inmate can be held in solitary confinement to 30 days, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Court Chief Judge John McConnell faulted the department for not seeking court approval after an inmate serving life was held in disciplinary segregation for 60 days in 2014, the Providence Journal reports. McConnell ruled the department “unilaterally and substantively” changed the so-called Morris Rules in 2005, when it instituted a policy that prisoners could be held in disciplinary segregation for 31 days to a year on a single offense. The judge’s ruling received praise from the American Civil Liberties Union in Rhode Island, which agreed to represent the inmate and others who find themselves in similar situations in the future.

South Carolina

Columbia: A bill that would bar anyone using a cellphone while driving from holding the phone in their hands appears to be dead for the year. The Senate Transportation Committee decided Wednesday not to vote on the bill. It could still come up later in the session, but often that action sends a bill into a limbo from which it does not return. The bill would require anyone making a cellphone call to use a Bluetooth device or have the phone in a dock and use the speaker. It does not prohibit one swipe to get the function to work. Text by voice would also be legal if the phone isn’t held. Opponents of the bill said the state already has a distracted driving law. Supporters said that usually only kicks in after a crash, and the bill would prevent wrecks. The House has passed a similar bill, and sponsor Rep. Bill Taylor said he thinks if the Senate ever gets on board, it can become law.

South Dakota

Pierre: Proponents of creating schools focused on Native American language and culture have two weeks to rework their proposal after Gov. Kristi Noem opposed the initiative. A state Senate committee on Thursday deferred a bill that would create Oceti Sakowin schools that teach Lakota, Dakota and Nakota language and culture. Several teachers are trying to open schools in Native American communities that would attempt to address educational achievement gaps among Native American students. “I see a system that isn’t working, and we’re looking for something that is working,” said Sage Fast Dog, an educator who is planning to open a school on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. Parents testified about how children had struggled with their identity after facing teachers and schoolmates who were insensitive to the culture of the Oceti Sakowin, which is commonly known as Sioux.

Tennessee

Murfreesboro: An attorney is giving away free divorce representation to one client for Valentine’s Day. W. Scott Kimberly said in a news release that for many people Valentine’s Day is “another reminder that they remain trapped in a relationship that they cannot leave because of financial problems, because of a spouse who refuses to agree to a divorce, or for some other reason.” This is the third year the Murfreesboro divorce attorney will give away his services. Last year, Kimberly selected two winners, saying he had a hard time narrowing down the entries. Applicants are asked to share the story of why they want a divorce. Applications are accepted through Valentine’s Day, with a winner selected on Feb. 17. Although Kimberly won’t charge for his services, the winner will be responsible for court costs and filing fees. “This giveaway is a chance to help someone move on with their life,” Kimberly said.

Texas

Austin: A state historical review panel delayed a vote this week on whether to move the Alamo Cenotaph, a memorial to the 200 Alamo defenders killed by the Mexican army in an 1836 assault during the war for Texas independence. The Texas Historical Commission put off its vote for at least two months, saying commissioners want more information on where the monument might be moved and what restoration work it may need. It’s a key piece in a major renovation of the Alamo. The 58-foot-tall marble slab has been a focal feature of Alamo Plaza in downtown San Antonio since 1939. Planners of a $450 million Alamo renovation project have proposed moving the monument to a place about 500 feet to the south of its longtime home, a proposal that has drawn fierce opposition from descendants of the Alamo’s 1836 defenders.

Utah

Springdale: Against the towering, red cliffs of Zion National Park, Provo native band The National Parks will be holding their first music festival April25. The indie-pop band says the Superbloom Music Festival will be held at the O.C. Tanner Amphitheater in Springdale. The National Parks will headline, and other local Utah and West-based bands will perform as well – Joshua James, The Strike, Tow’rs, The Federal Empire, Ellee Duke and Brother. The National Parks lead vocalist and guitarist Brady Parks said many of the bands and artists performing at the festival are people he’s been friends with and fans of for a long time. “Zion holds a special place in our heart,” Parks said. The festival will be an all-day “destination” event, he said. Local vendors and food trucks will be at the festival, and a VIP campfire concert will be held nearby the night before. Tickets are on sale now.

Vermont

Montpelier: State legislators are reviewing a bill that would ensure rights for the homeless. The House bill would seek to establish “a homeless bill of rights and prohibiting discrimination against people without homes,” the Times Argus reports. Rep. Tom Stevens, a Democrat, has twice submitted the bill since 2017 to the House General, Housing and Military Affairs Committee, without it being approved. The bill’s intent is to ensure that no person would be subject to civil or criminal sanctions “for soliciting, sharing, accepting or offering food, water, money or other donations in public places.” Under the bill’s provisions, an aggrieved person would also have the right to petition in civil court for appropriate relief against damages suffered and costs incurred as a result of violations of their rights. The resolution notes that a count of the state’s homeless population last January found 1,089 lack secure housing, 23% of whom are children.

Virginia

Richmond: Democrats in the state House are advancing a package of gun-control measures they say are needed to improve public safety. The new Democratic majority in the House voted Wednesday to advance a package of gun measures over vocal opposition from Republicans, who said the measures infringe on law-abiding gun owners’ rights. The bills include limiting handgun purchases to once a month; universal background checks on gun purchases; allowing localities to ban guns in certain areas; and a red flag bill that would allow authorities to temporarily take guns away from anyone deemed to be dangerous to themselves or others. A final vote is expected Thursday to pass the measures and then send them to the Senate, which has already passed its own versions gun-control bills. So far neither chamber has approved a proposed assault weapon ban, a top priority for Gov. Ralph Northam and one that’s drawn fierce resistance from gun-rights advocates.

Washington

Olympia: Republican state legislators have introduced a bill – which includes a pilot hatchery project in Bellingham – that they believe will help increase the salmon population and help the orca whales. The Bellingham Herald reports the Salmon Repopulation Act, Senate Bill 6509 and House Bill 2741 were recently introduced and referred to committees. The bills would attempt to bring a public-partnership in state-approved hatcheries and potentially build a new hatchery on Bellingham’s waterfront. In a news conference in Olympia on Tuesday, several GOP legislators talked about the need for this public-private model to get more fish in local waters. “This is about acting now for the orca,” said Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center. “What the orca need more than anything else is food to eat, and we can’t wait on this.”

West Virginia

Charleston: State officials are trying to find someone interested in preserving a historic bridge connecting West Virginia and Ohio. The Aetnaville Bridge, also known as the Georgia Street Bridge, was built in 1891. It lies over the back channel of the Ohio River from Wheeling Island, West Virginia, to Martins Ferry, Ohio. The bridge was originally part of the streetcar system in Wheeling and later converted to a toll road for automobile traffic. It became toll-free in 1953 and was part of U.S. 252 until it was closed in 1988 due to deterioration. Anyone interested in the bridge must submit a preservation and financial plan as well as information about the intended use of the bridge, the Division of Highways said in a news release. If no one is interested, the bridge will be demolished, the agency said. Requests to assume ownership of the bridge must be submitted by April 15.

Wisconsin

Madison: Gov. Tony Evers signed an executive order Wednesday creating a task force on student debt, fulfilling a pledge he made during his State of the State address last week. The task force will consist of a number of state officials or their designee, including the governor, the state schools superintendent, and the presidents of the University of Wisconsin System and the Wisconsin Technical College System, according to the order. Two state senators and two state representatives from each party will also serve on the the panel. State Department of Financial Institutions Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld will serve as chairwoman. The order directs the task force to study student loan debt and its causes, evaluate current policies, and provide recommendations on how the state can best address the problem and improve families and students’ financial situations.

Wyoming

Casper: Preliminary numbers show a sharp increase in traffic deaths in the state in 2019. The 147 people killed on roads in 2019 was up by 36 compared with 2018 and the most since 2015. The reason for the increase isn’t clear. The Wyoming Department of Transportation hasn’t yet analyzed its numbers for 2019. One reason could be more deaths per wreck, department spokesman Jeff Goetz told the Casper Star-Tribune. Generally most crashes are attributable to driver distraction, alcohol or drug use, or driving too fast for conditions, Goetz said. Wyoming road deaths have largely declined since the early 2000s, when close to 200 people died on Wyoming roads annually.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Paytm to Zomato, India's tech IPO boom has rapidly turned to bust ...

New Delhi CNN Business —

In November last year, one of India’s most prominent tech entrepreneurs stood at the Bombay Stock Exchange and cried with joy.

I am “just overwhelmed,” said Vijay Shekhar Sharma, while wiping tears from his eyes. He was addressing an audience at the listing ceremony of One97 Communications, the parent company of digital payments giant Paytm.

Sharma founded the company nearly two decades ago. In the last five years, Paytm has become the darling of India’s booming fintech sector, and is backed by big-name global investors such as SoftBank (SFTBF) and Warren Buffett. In 2021, One97 raised $2.5 billion in the country’s biggest ever initial public offering (IPO).

During November’s listing ceremony, Sharma called the company’s purpose of bringing millions of Indians into the mainstream economy “pious.”

Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma breaks down while giving a speech during his company's IPO listing ceremony at the Bombay Stock Exchange in Mumbai on November 18, 2021. Punit Paranjpe/AFP/Getty Images

Investors, however, appear to disagree — Paytm’s stock crashed 27% on its first day of trading.

Four months later, things have only gotten worse. The firm’s stock is now trading close to 560 rupees ($8), more than 70% below its offer price, according to data from Refinitiv.

It is not the only Indian internet company that has soured on the stock market this year. While Paytm has been a flop since day one, other Indian tech giants whose debuts were red-hot in comparison have also plunged in recent months.

Food delivery company Zomato — the first Indian unicorn to go public — is down over 36% from its first day of trading last July.

E-commerce site Nykaa, whose debut late last year made its founder India’s wealthiest self-made female billionaire, is also trading 36% below the highs it saw on listing day. Online insurance marketplace Policybazaar has fallen more than 40% since it began trading in November.

While technology stocks are suffering globally, the plunge in India is particularly painful for investors and companies who were hoping for a coming-of-age period for one of Asia’s fastest-growing startup ecosystems.

Instead, it has turned into a big, fat reality check for tech companies, with retail investors questioning their huge valuations. The steep plunge in those stocks has also likely thwarted IPO plans for other Indian companies — at least for the foreseeable future.

“Last year, there was an IPO frenzy and people were willing to pay the aggressive valuations these companies demanded,” said Piyush Nagda, head of investment products at Mumbai-based brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher. “But those retail investors were looking for immediate listing day gains.”

“Other investors who got on the bus after the IPO may be repenting now,” he added.

Paytm’s flop

India’s tech IPO party — which started with Zomato last year — came to a screeching halt with Paytm’s debut.

While the stock has trended lower for most part since its listing, March has been particularly difficult for the payments company.

Earlier this month, India’s central bank barred the company’s banking arm from signing up new customers. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also directed the bank to “appoint an IT audit firm to conduct a comprehensive System Audit of its IT system.”

Paytm launched its Payments Bank in 2017 as a joint venture with Sharma. It can accept deposits and issue debit cards but cannot lend money to customers.

The RBI said it would allow Paytm’s Payments Bank to add new customers “after reviewing [the] report of the IT auditors.”

Paytm stock plunged further after the RBI’s notice, even though the company tried to reassure existing customers by informing them that they can continue using that bank’s services “without interruption.”

A Paytm logo can be seen in Kolkata, India, in November 2021. Indranil Aditya/NurPhoto/Getty Images

“We believe RBI’s direction will not materially impact Paytm’s overall business,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.

But the damage had been done. To complicate matters further, China’s Ant Group and Alibaba (BABA) own more than 30% of Paytm, according to recent filings, and that investment has become problematic since border clashes in 2020 soured relations between India and China and led New Delhi to ban dozens of Chinese apps.

In a note last week, Macquarie analysts predicted a bleak future for the company.

The RBI ban and Paytm’s “Chinese ownership” make it “significantly” harder for the bank now to get a license from the regulators to upgrade and start lending, they wrote.

“Given this, and competition from other fintechs in the payments space, we remain skeptical about Paytm’s longer-term ability to generate free cash flow,” they added, slashing Paytm’s target price to Rs 450 ($6).

All this bad news for Paytm comes on top of its lack of clear path to profitability, which has perturbed analysts since its IPO launch. Paytm reported a loss of $104 million for the December quarter.

And it is not just Paytm that has failed to impress investors with latest earnings.

Zomato — which remains a loss-making company — had scored big with its IPO in July last year, but its stock has fizzled lately, declining over 40% alone since the start of this year.

The company said Tuesday that it will start a 10-minute food delivery service, but the stock remained near its all-time low even after that announcement.

A Zomato food delivery partner is seen on a road in Kolkata, India, on July 14, 2021. Debarchan Chatterjee/NurPhoto/Getty Images

“Venture capitalists have the stomach to digest these numbers,” said Nagda, while talking about lack of profits among Indian tech giants. “But retail investors react immediately once they see quarterly numbers.”

Zomato has also disappointed investors with its relative lack of transparency, as it holds only one earnings call a year. Most public companies do four calls a year, usually after every quarterly result.

Zomato did not respond to a request for comment.

Mihir Vora, senior director and chief investment officer at Max Life Insurance called this moment a “reality check” for India’s cash-guzzling tech firms, which need to participate in more “regular investor communications.”

“The cash burn is too large,” he said. Markets want to know “where the next round of funding is coming from.”

What’s next?

Paytm’s nosedive, followed by the battering other tech stocks have received in India lately, may be forcing other companies to reconsider their IPO plans.

In October last year, Softbank-backed hotel chain OYO confirmed plans to raise nearly $1 billion through its debut. But, according to a recent Bloomberg report, the company is now considering “slashing its fundraising target by half or even shelving the debut.”

“It’s considering also halving its expected valuation from the $12 billion originally targeted,” Bloomberg added, citing unnamed sources.

An OYO hotel is seen in Kolkata, India on June 8, 2021. Debarchan Chatterjee/NurPhoto/Getty Images

In an email to CNN Business, OYO “strongly” denied the assertions made in the report. “OYO continues to receive investor interest as we await approval from the regulator,” it added, but declined to disclose any specific details.

Paytm’s smaller rival Mobikwik has said it would defer its IPO, originally planned for November last year, by a few months. The company told CNN Business last year it would “list at the right time,” without sharing any other details.

Despite the current turmoil, most global investors say that India remains attractive for them, provided companies coming to market are more realistic about their valuations.

“There is no emerging market that offers the growth opportunities that India does,” said Nuno Fernandes, portfolio manager of the emerging wealth strategy at GW&K Investment Management. But he also said that he found most valuations by Indian tech giants last year “completely unwarranted” and hopes other startups would be more cautious now.

“My recommendation to the management is that it is better to be modest and be successful in the IPO, rather than have it falter.”

Corrections & Clarifications 2018

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December 2018

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Sports: A Sportsline item in the Dec. 11 edition misstated the elected office of Nancy Pelosi. The Democrat from California is a U.S. representative.

News: We are removing a Humankind video because the subject of the story is a minor, and his family confirmed that he has been bullied at school as a result of the story, where the student uses his bike for therapy. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/humankind/2015/08/03/humankind-biking-entrepreneur/31069959/

Sports: A previous version of this story include incorrect references to the gender of an MMA fighter and a boxer. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/boxing/2018/12/09/first-transgender-male-boxer-pro-debut/2256858002/

Sports: An item in the Dec. 7 Army-Navy section included an incorrect NCAA subdivision for Liberty. The Flames compete as an independent in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Life: An earlier version of this story mischaracterized the concentration camps located in Nazi-occupied Poland. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2018/12/06/steven-spielberg-schindlers-list-more-relevant-today-than-1993/2225228002/

Sports: Two incorrect graphics were shared on the Twitter sports accounts and one to the Facebook sports account on assistant college football coaches compensation stories. All three have been corrected.

https://twitter.com/usatodaysports/status/1070415840187744258

https://twitter.com/usatodaysports/status/1070413964981473280

https://www.facebook.com/usatodaysports/posts/2244906612208155

Sports: Alabama plays Oklahoma on Dec. 29 in the Orange Bowl. Alabama’s opponent was incorrectly identified in the Odds list in Dec. 4 editions.

Life: Because of a production error, puzzle answers were omitted in some editions of the Dec. 2 Life section.

November 2018

Money: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the year in which bitcoin hit its previous low. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/11/25/bitcoins-and-other-cryptocurrencies-get-hammered-post-thanksgiving/2108033002/

Money: A previous version of this article included incorrect and incomplete information on standard deductions for 2018. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/11/29/money-moves-2018-before-year-end/2065915002/

Tech: A previous version of this column incorrectly stated that only one size of solid state drives was available on iMac models. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2018/11/28/new-macbook-air-and-mac-mini-show-apple-tax-storage-lives/2056256002/?asdfa

Sports: An earlier version of this story misidentified the victim. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2018/11/21/usa-volleyball-star-danielle-scott-seriously-injured-stabbing/2083897002/

News: A previous version of this story misstated the U.S. Postal Service’s holiday schedule. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/11/21/thanksgiving-day-2018-whats-open-and-closed-federal-holiday/2076648002/

Sports: An incorrect graphic was shared on the Twitter and Instagram sports accounts for the NFL playoff picture. Both have been corrected. https://twitter.com/usatodaysports/status/1067073749407711232 https://www.instagram.com/p/BqpfhB_AzZV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Sports: A previous version of this story incorrectly implied that Mike Ditka's 1985 Super Bowl title was the franchise's only championship. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2018/11/24/mike-ditka-hospitalized-after-suffering-heart-attack/2100512002/

Life: An earlier version of the story misstated where Oprah Winfrey is from. She was born in Mississippi. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/11/14/michelle-obama-becoming-moments-chicago-tour-stop-oprah/1997163002/

Facebook: An earlier version of this post had the wrong name in the caption. It has been updated. https://www.facebook.com/usatoday/posts/10156602682270667?business_id=10152397388295667&__tn__=-R

Life: A previous version of this story mischaracterized Viggo Mortensen’s nationality. He is Danish-American. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2018/11/14/viggo-mortensen-just-may-win-oscar-last-green-book/1993984002/

Sports: West Virginia was No. 3 in the College Football Fox Fan Index best quarterback poll. A helmet icon was incorrect in the Nov. 16 edition.

Travel: An earlier version of this story misstated the location of American Airlines’ headquarters. The company is based in Fort Worth, Texas. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2018/11/11/american-airlines-sued-over-2016-flight-attendant-brawl/1971453002/

News: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the last member of Congress to be indicted while in office. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., was indicted on corruption charges in April 2015. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/07/duncan-hunter-chriscollins-indicted-lawmakers-win/1918092002/

News: An earlier version of this story misstated the spending by member countries. The U.S. spends the largest portion of its economy on defense and Luxembourg the least. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/12/donald-trump-nato-complaints/1974593002/

News: A prior graphic mischaracterized Michelle Lujan Grisham’s win. She will be New Mexico’s first Democratic Latina governor. The prior photo used of her was mislabeled by AP.

News: This story was originally published in February after the deadly high school shooting in Parkland, Florida. It was updated after the mass shooting at a bar in Thousand Oaks, California. It has since been corrected to reflect that Australia had a mass shooting in May. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/11/08/thousand-oaks-shooting-australia-no-mass-shootings-since-1996/1934798002/

News: A Page One story on Nov. 5 about the impact of the 2018 elections on gerrymandering misspelled the last name of Adam Kincaid, executive director of the National Republican Redistricting Trust.

Money: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified a brand as being owned by TJX Cos. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/11/01/2018-holiday-shopping-retail-debt-results-season/1816910002/

News: The last name of Billy Michael Honor, organizing pastor at Pulse Church in Atlanta, was misspelled in a Page One story Nov. 2 about faith leaders using the pulpit to urge voting.

Tech: A previous version of the story misstated a measurement of Internet speed. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/komando/2018/11/01/how-can-check-my-internet-speed-ways-measure-how-fast/1830188002/

October 2018

Sports: An earlier version of this live video used incorrect chatter language. https://www.facebook.com/usatodaysports/videos/256653691635241/

Sports: A photo on 1C of Oct. 31 editions of the U.S. gymnasts who won gold at the Gymnastics World Championships in Doha, Qatar, misidentified the athletes. They are from left, Ragan Smith, Simone Biles, Riley McCusker, Grace McCallum, Morgan Hurd and Kara Eaker.

Life: An earlier version of this story misstated the line of succession to Japan's throne, leaving out Emperor Akihito's second son, Prince Fumihito. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/10/29/japans-princess-ayako-must-leave-royal-family-after-marrying-commoner/1804881002/

News: A previous tweet wrongly identified a victim of the Kroger shooting. https://twitter.com/USATODAY/status/1057399616331751424

The City podcast: A Facebook post, tweet and previous version of Episode 6 of The City podcast misidentified the number of silver pieces Judas received for betraying Jesus. It was 30 pieces of silver. https://www.thecitypodcast.com/podcast_episode/operation-silver-shovel-episode-6/

Sports: A previous version of this story misstated when the Texas Rangers first went to the Karolyi Ranch. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2018/10/18/former-usa-gymnastics-ceo-accused-removing-files-karolyi-ranch/1680089002/

News: A story and posts on Twitter and Facebook mentioned the wrong date for the Melania Trump plane incident. The incident occurred on Wednesday. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/10/17/melania-trump-plane-returns-airport-after-mechanical-issue/1668508002/

Money: An earlier version of this list incorrectly identified one Kmart location as a Sears. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/10/15/sears-holdings-bankruptcy-store-closures/1645971002/

News: A graphic in some editions Oct. 11 misstated the year that Hurricane Andrew struck Florida. The hurricane occurred in 1992.

Money: A previous version of this timeline misstated the date Sears sold its credit portfolio to Citibank. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2018/10/10/sears-bankruptcy-2018-rumors-retailer-timeline/1591710002/

Money: Because of a production error, the Oct. 9 Markets page list of S&P 500 biggest gainers/losers contained wrong information under the headings for Tyson Foods and Nordstrom stocks.

Video: On Oct. 2, a video titled "Basket of baby sloths? Yes please." was posted to USA TODAY’s website, Facebook and Instagram that incorrectly sourced the video. The correct source of the video is Sloth Relief & Shelters. The posts have been updated where possible. https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/animalkind/2018/10/03/basket-baby-sloths-yes-please/1508057002/

Photo gallery: A previous version of this caption misspelled the owner's name. https://www.usatoday.com/media/cinematic/gallery/1480161002/who-let-the-dogs-out-to-surf/

Money: A previous version of this story misstated the value of Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods in 2017. Amazon paid $13.7 billion for the grocery chain. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2018/10/02/amazon-minimum-wage-increase-15-all-its-employees/1495473002/

September 2018

Sports: A previous version of this video had the incorrect credit. This video was provided by BreAnna Boon, Coupeville Cheer coach. https://www.usatoday.com/media/cinematic/video/1484832002/runaway-deer-outshines-high-schoolers-90-plus-yard-touchdown/

News: This version clarifies how many African-Americans are in the Senate. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/09/30/midterms-mike-espy-seeks-local-votes-national-cash-senate-upset/1381142002/

Twitter: A prior tweet misidentified Jemele Hill’s new position. It’s with The Atlantic. https://twitter.com/usatodaysports/status/1046776074200383493

Twitter: A previous tweet contained a statement that has since been edited out of a sports column. That tweet has been deleted. The updated opinion column and editor’s clarification are here: https://twitter.com/USATODAY/status/1046161602133848065

Opinion: Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh has told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee he loves coaching his daughters' girls basketball teams, but said in testimony Thursday “thanks to what some of you on this side of the committee have unleashed, I may never be able to coach again.” The intent of this commentary was to address that question. The column was re-edited to more closely reflect that intent and labeled to reflect it as the writer’s opinion. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/erik-brady/2018/09/28/brett-kavanaugh-right-he-can-no-longer-coach-girls-basketball/1459496002/

Money: An earlier version of this story misstated the number of chairmen Tesla will add to the company board. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/09/29/tesla-elon-musk-settle-sec-over-musk-bid-take-company-private/1474270002/

Life: An earlier version of this story misidentified Robert Wu, the actor who will appear as Tam on “The Big Bang Theory.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2018/09/26/best-big-bang-theory-crossovers-young-sheldon-final-season/1417975002/

News: The name of Sen. Ted Cruz's wife, Heidi, has been corrected. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/09/26/brett-kavanaugh-senate-judiciary-committee-members-watch/1422267002/

News: This story has been corrected to say The New York Times reported Rod Rosenstein suggested he secretly record Trump. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/09/26/rod-rosenstein-testimony-mccabe-memos/1430710002/

Money: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of Rob Popovic. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/09/26/counteroffer-workers-risks-accepting-job-market/1349717002/

News: Facebook and Twitter posts on Sept. 26, 2018, used emoji inappropriately and did not meet our editorial standards. The Facebook post has been updated and a statement appended, and the Twitter post was removed. https://www.facebook.com/usatoday/posts/10156461952480667

News: A previous version of this video misidentified Ford's scholastic association with Kavanaugh. https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/2018/09/25/6-people-you-should-know-before-kavanaughs-sexual-allegations-hearing/1417024002/

Opinion: A prior version of this editorial cartoon by Ed Wexler misspelled the name of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/opinion/2018/07/31/the-elephants-in-the-room-todays-toon/37232557/

Opinion: An earlier version of this column incorrectly identified who was invited to meet with Attorney General Jeff Sessions. It was a bipartisan group of state attorneys general. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/09/25/jeff-sessions-attorneys-general-facebook-google-twitter-column/1413271002/

Sports: A chart in the Sept. 25 editions listing Heisman Trophy favorites included an incorrect class for West Virginia quarterback Will Grier. He is a senior.

The City: A previous tweet used an incorrect title for Gladys Woodson. https://twitter.com/thecitypod/status/1042541112391544834

Sports: A correction in Sept. 18 editions misstated the position for Oklahoma State’s Justice Hill. He is a running back.

Money: An earlier version of this story misstated Julie Rice’s title, her time on the corporate leadership team compared with other members and the focus of her job. It also misstated the number of months she had been on the job and gave an incorrect number of WeMRKT locations. The story was published accidentally. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/09/17/wework-spreads-its-wings-some-say-may-forgetting-its-roots/755608002/

Money: A video published on Sept. 11 was incorrect on China and Boeing planes. The video was provided by Time and has been removed from the site.

Sports: A previous version of this story had an incorrect score for the Texas-Southern California game. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/columnist/dan-wolken/2018/09/15/college-football-observations-week-3/1325866002/

Social media: In a Sept. 14 tweet we misidentified when Hurricane Florence had made landfall in North Carolina. https://twitter.com/USATODAY/status/1040550644103479296

Opinion: A previous version of this column misstated the number of the flight hitting the North Tower of the World Trade Center. It was Flight 11. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/09/11/remember-sept-11-attacks-9-11-tsa-transportation-security-terrorism-airlines-column/1254851002/

Sports: A previous version of the story misidentified the number of NBA championships Stephen Curry has won. He has won three. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2018/09/12/serena-williams-us-open-steph-curry-praise/1276969002/

Life: An earlier version of this story misstated the number of years since the death of Natasha Richardson, who died in 2009. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2018/09/11/natasha-richardson-dennis-quaid-talks-parent-trap-co-stars-death/1275282002/

News: This is a corrected version of the graphic, which fixes a misspelling and a mislabeled city.https://twitter.com/USATODAY/status/1039902733225086976

Life: An interview with Brian Henson in the Aug. 21 Life section incorrectly described the broadcast of “The Muppet Show.” The TV series aired on various channels in syndication. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2018/08/20/brian-henson-proud-raunchy-puppet-world-happytime-murders/1024310002/

Opinion: Information provided by Kids Count initially misstated the proportion of children in Michigan living in poverty with a single mother; the correct figure is 50.9 percent. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/nation-now/2018/09/11/single-moms-census-column/1255814002/

News: A prior version of this story misstated the ban on semi-automatic weapons. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/09/07/parkland-survivor-testifies-supreme-court/1224915002/

Sports: In an earlier version of this story, Mookie Betts' run total was miscategorized. Betts had 110 runs through Sept. 3. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2018/09/04/mlb-awards-mookie-betts-javier-baez-al-nl-mvp/1194385002/

Social media: A story on former Papa John’s chairman John Schnatter was shared on Facebook and Twitter with the wrong language. The language has been corrected on Facebook and a new post has been tweeted. https://twitter.com/USATODAY/status/1038072720875913216

Social media: A previous tweet and Facebook post had an incorrect photo for "The Longest Yard." https://twitter.com/USATODAY/status/1037839496430186497

https://www.facebook.com/usatoday/photos/a.100797840666/10156413201290667/?type=3&theater

Social media: Headline and chatter in a Facebook post on Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries weren’t clear in indicating when she died. The post has been corrected. https://www.facebook.com/usatoday/posts/10156411765595667?__tn__=-R-R

News: An earlier version of this story has been updated to note that during the ceremony, four fighter jets flew overhead in the traditional "missing man" formation to honor Sen. John McCain, a former fighter pilot. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/09/02/john-mccain-buried-naval-academy-after-weekend-tributes/1180358002/

August 2018

News: A previous version of this story stated that the federal government sent only Japanese immigrants to internment camps during World War II. Most held were Japanese-Americans who were U.S. citizens. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/08/24/iowa-murder-casts-spotlight-farms-hiring-undocumented-immigrants/1075320002/

News: An earlier version of this report misstated Stephen Willeford's actions after the shooting. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/06/29/autopsy-sutherland-springs-texas-church-gunman/745951002/

Life: An earlier version of this story misidentified the prize for winning “America’s Got Talent.” It’s $1 million and a short-term Las Vegas gig. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2018/08/14/americas-got-talent-enduring-appeal-explained-nbc-simon-cowell-reality-tv/955906002/

News: Jackson Butler will resign from the Tybee Island, Georgia, council, effective Sept. 13, and Jason Buelterman will continue as mayor. The information was incorrect in the State-By-State feature Aug. 27.

News: A prior version of this story had the incorrect state for Dakota County, Minnesota. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/08/24/lip-sync-battle-seattle-police/865716002/

News: A prior version of this story misspelled the name of Tom Mangelsen. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/08/28/grizzly-hunt-pits-tourists-against-sportsmen-wyoming/1065854002/

Twitter: An earlier tweet in a Twitter thread misstated the landfall of Hurricane Katrina. It was Aug 29. https://twitter.com/USATODAY/status/1034480094683774976

Money: An Aug. 27 article on businesses feeling the effects of the trade war incorrectly stated the country in which boat dealers have received millions of dollars from a Florida boat maker to partly offset the cost of tariffs. The boat maker, Correct Craft, is rebating the money to dealers in Canada, Mexico and Europe. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/08/27/trump-trade-war-takes-growing-toll-american-businesses/1045792002/

Life: This story has been updated to reflect that both boys and girls watched the dress-code video though only girls were featured in the video. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/allthemoms/2018/08/20/questionable-school-dress-code-video-goes-viral-principal-apologizes/1043770002/

Money: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated who gets a percentage of transactions made through Apple Pay. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/08/23/costco-walmart-apple-pay/1071330002/

Money: A story on Aug. 21 about animal trainer “Sled” Reynolds incorrectly identified the title of a film he worked on. The movie was “The Ghost and the Darkness.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/careers/getting-started/2018/08/14/sled-reynolds-how-became-animal-trainer-film-tv/973306002/

Life: A photo caption in an earlier version of this report gave the wrong year for Betty White's 93rd birthday. The actress turned 93 in 2015. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2018/08/20/betty-white-gets-pbs-tribute-first-lady-television/1026883002/

News: Long Nook Beach is located in Massachusetts. The state was misidentified in the State-by-State feature on Aug. 17.

News: An Aug. 16 story about gun control ads misstated the location of the National Rifle Association’s headquarters, which are in Fairfax, Virginia.

Money: An earlier version misstated the number of 401(k) millionaires from a year earlier. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/08/16/number-401-k-millionaires-hits-new-record/1000228002/

News: An earlier version incorrectly stated the number of ads aired from January to July by Democratic candidates and outside groups. The figure should be nearly 56,000. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/08/07/2018-election-exclusive-health-care-trump-dominate-political-ads-senate-races/914978002/

Tech: A previous version of this story misstated the title of AI4All's CEO Tess Posner. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/08/10/google-gives-1-million-help-more-young-blacks-latinos-and-women-create-artificial-intelligence/915627002/

Tech: On Aug. 14, we posted a headline that incorrectly stated the number of seats on the Crew Dragon. It can seat up to seven. https://www.usatoday.com/videos/tech/2018/08/15/blue-origin-says-itll-start-selling-tickets-space-tourists-2019/37491385/

Money: An earlier version of this story misspelled the first name of Jon Reidy. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/08/14/home-prices-midsize-more-affordable-markets-have-become-pricier/941147002/

Life: In a story Aug. 14 about Stevie Wonder and Rev. Jesse Jackson visiting Aretha Franklin at her home, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Jackson visited Franklin on Tuesday. Jackson was originally scheduled to visit Tuesday but later rescheduled for Wednesday. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/08/14/aretha-franklin-stevie-wonder-jesse-jackson/987590002/

Tech: Clarifies the countries in which you can use your phone to make payments. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2018/08/06/apple-google-samsung-mobile-phone-payments-still-need-work/897025002/

Life: Because of a production error, the Aug. 7 Puzzles section was repeated in some editions Aug. 8. We regret the error.

Money: An earlier version of this story conflated Apple's stock market valuation with its ability to make purchases and should have been clearer about the difference between stock market value and GDP. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/08/02/1-billion-iphone-xs-what-apple-can-buy-1-trillion/889009002/

Money: A previous version of this story misstated the state in the United States where Rolls-Royce cars were once built. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2018/08/03/rolls-royce-goodwood/888039002/

Sports: An earlier version of this column included incorrect information about the manner in which former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel left the school. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/bigten/2018/08/03/urban-meyer-zach-smiths-defense-shifts-focus-ohio-state-gene-smith/902467002/

News: Mike Abatti grows melons, broccoli, beets and alfalfa. https://twitter.com/USATODAY/status/1025187604432646144

July 2018

Sports: Of all the Packers inside linebackers, Jake Ryan best fit the mold of the old 3-4 defenses. Now he's lost for the season. https://twitter.com/usatodaysports/status/1024674508492427265

Sports: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the tournament as an AAU event. https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/07/lebron-james-jr-son-bronny-aau-game-canceled-heckling-fan-video-basketball

News: In the July 30 State-by-State page, the city of Wichita, Kansas, was misspelled.

News: A previous alert incorrectly stated that the CBS board suspended CEO Les Moonves. That decision has not been made. https://twitter.com/USATODAY/status/1023960031375577089

News: An earlier version of this article misstated the location of Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. The story has been updated with the correct information. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/07/19/artificial-light-dark-sky-park-night-sky/773451002/

News: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated George Zimmerman's title. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/07/13/trump-queen-elizabeth-theresa-may-supermoon-wimbledon-blacklivesmatter/774441002/

News: An earlier version of this article contained the incorrect name of an Air Force veteran. The name should have been Daniel Bliss. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/militarykind/2018/07/11/veteran-shows-little-boy-how-brave/772537002/

Money: Story updated to indicate Jeffersonville is in Indiana. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2018/07/16/papa-john-schnatter-rich-wealthy-papa-johns/788005002/

Sports: A previous version of this story described the actions of a referee inaccurately. That has been corrected. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2018/07/09/players-officials-fight-boys-basketball-brawl-atlanta/767447002/

Sports: A story about the Boston Red Sox’s Mookie Betts in the July 11-17 edition misstated the number of major leaguers who had at least 20 homers and 15 stolen bases at press time. It was Betts and the Cleveland Indians’ Jose Ramirez.

Life: The USA TODAY airplay charts that appeared in the June 29 Life section were based on outdated data. The July 6 charts reflect current numbers.

Life: An earlier version of this story misstated the number of David Foster's children. He has five biological children and six stepchildren. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/07/03/katharine-mcphee-and-david-foster-engaged/755277002/

Life: An earlier version of this story misidentified Smoke Dawg in a wire service photo. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/07/01/drake-tourmate-toronto-rapper-smoke-dawg-shot-dead/749557002/

Life: An earlier version of this report gave an incorrect title for Shailene Woodley's HBO series “Big Little Lies.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2018/07/01/shailene-woodley-drank-cope-hunger-goes-viral-again/749433002/

News: An earlier version of this story had the incorrect maker for “Wave Gliders.” It is Liquid Robotics. Also, Roger Hine’s title was incorrect; he is the CEO. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/06/28/kilauea-volcano-robots-dive-into-hawaiis-lava-filled-ocean/734127002/

June 2018

Travel: An earlier version of this story misidentified the employer of the flight attendant shown in the video. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/nation-now/2018/06/28/delta-attendant-kicks-passengers-off-plane-over-airplane-mode-dispute/741161002/

Life: An earlier version of this report incorrectly characterized the origins of the study of identical siblings. The experiment was conducted by the Child Development Center in New York, which later merged with the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2018/06/26/three-identical-strangers-true-story-triplets-separated-birth/727003002/

News: An earlier version of this story incorrectly characterized the therapy performed on the patient. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/humankind/2018/06/26/burn-victim-finds-strength-through-music/731973002/

Twitter: An earlier version of this graphic incorrectly quoted Apple CEO Tim Cook. Here’s why he’s speaking out about immigration. https://twitter.com/USATODAY/status/1011595651216494592

Opinion: A previous version of this opposing view misstated Peter O’Rourke’s title. He is acting secretary of Veterans Affairs. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/06/20/va-usa-today-article-misleading-editorials-debates/36223067/

Life: An earlier version of this story mislabeled the episode as the second-season finale. It is the10th installment in a longer, 13-episode season. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2018/06/20/handmaids-tale-season-2-finale-recap-review-how-much-more-can-we-take/715075002/

Tech: An earlier version wrongly characterized the timing of the American Psychiatric Association's position on gaming disorders and the date when it included it in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders appendix. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/nation-now/2018/06/18/gaming-disorder-who-classifies-video-game-addiction-health-disorder/709574002/

News: A June 17 story on Seattle’s housing crisis misstated the amount raised by the No Tax on Jobs group that opposed a Seattle corporate head tax. The group raised $350,000 to fight the tax. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2018/06/17/after-amazon-tax-fails-seattle-has-no-clear-path-help-homeless/698575002/

Money: An earlier version of this story misstated the name of Verizon's Above Unlimited plan. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/06/14/verizons-latest-unlimited-plan-targets-data-heavy-users/698452002/

Opinion: Dr. Colleen Kraft's name was misspelled in an earlier version of this column. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/06/14/donald-trump-immigration-puerto-rico-policies-lethal-nonwhites-column/697856002/

Opinion: A prior version of this column misspelled Halle Berry's name. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/06/09/kate-spade-suicide-anthony-bourdain-depression-culture-success-column/687388002/

Sports: A previous version of this story incorrectly said Steve Spurrier coached Tim Tebow at the University of Florida. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/mets/2018/06/11/tim-tebow-has-shown-signs-hes-improving-baseball-player/690807002/

News: An earlier version of this story misstated where Rickie Vargas-Garcia worked. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/06/06/disney-world-legoland-employees-arrested-child-porn-bust/676131002/

Sports: An item in some June 7 editions included an incorrect name for the Baltimore Ravens coach. He is John Harbaugh.

Money: A 1B story on June 6 misstated ex-Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich's position on a California gay marriage ban. He supported the ban. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2018/06/05/google-employee-activism-diversity-pentagon-shakes-up-internet-giant/665423002/

Money: A previous version of this story misspelled Beacon Wealth Solutions. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/lifestages/2018/06/04/wills-power-attorney-strategies-end-life-planning/652066002/

News: A previous version of this video incorrectly stated the office Nathan Larson is seeking. https://www.usatoday.com/media/cinematic/video/35590637/pedophile-and-white-supremacist-running-for-congress/

May 2018

Opinion: An earlier version of this column mischaracterized the legal status of 1,475 undocumented migrant children who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without their parents. Those children were placed in the custody of sponsors screened by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. They are no longer in federal custody. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/nation-now/2018/05/25/immigration-children-separated-families-lost-column/643793002/

Life: An earlier version of this report included a photo of Ty Hardin, who replaced Clint Walker as the star of Cheyenne. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/05/22/clint-walker-cheyenne-dies-91/635248002/

Sports: A previous version of this story included the wrong night for Game 5 of the series. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/columnist/sam-amick/2018/05/22/warriors-rockets-game-4-western-conference-finals/635873002/

Tech: An earlier version of this story indicated Siri's answers pertained to WWDC 2018. They were from last year. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2018/05/21/apple-teasing-new-smarter-siri-new-voice-new-look-wwdc/630725002/

News: Amy McGrath is running for Kentucky's 6th congressional district. An earlier version of this story stated the incorrect race. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/05/22/president-trump-south-korea-facebook-youtube-music-stephen-king/628354002/

Opinion: A previous version of this opposing view misstated the subject of one of special counsel Robert Mueller’s indictments. The indictment did not include charges related to hacking of Democratic Party computers. The article also misstated the status of Justice Department disclosure of a memo describing the extent of Mueller’s authority. The memo has been disclosed to a federal judge. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/05/20/end-robert-mueller-investigation-michael-mukasey-editorials-debates/35157745/

News: An earlier version of this video misidentified the wrong animal as a squirrel. https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/have-you-seen/video/2018/05/18/sneaky-squirrels-stash-pine-cones-car-engine/34961443/

Opinion: A prior version of this column misspelled Aptiv. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/05/17/ceos-real-wages-pay-gap-column/612615002/

Life: An earlier version of this report incorrectly characterized Adam Driver’s background. His character in ‘BlacKkKlansman’ is Jewish. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2018/05/16/adam-driver-cant-avoid-star-wars-cannes-promoting-blackkklansman/615248002/

News: An article May 11 about moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem misspelled the last name of Jerusalem resident Daniel Jonas.

Tech: An earlier version of this story misspelled the first name of Afton Heitzenrater. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/nation-now/2018/05/08/opioid-pill-dispenser-electronic-timer/589906002/

Tech: A prior version of this story had the wrong date of the fatal Uber crash in Tempe. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2018/05/07/uber-hires-senior-safety-official-after-deadly-arizona-self-driving-car-crash/587222002/

Tech: A prior version of this story had the wrong date of the Windows 10 update. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2018/04/27/microsoft-windows-10-update-new-features-boost-productivity/557312002/

Money: A previous version of this story misstated the unemployment rate. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/05/04/labor-department-expected-report-191-000-job-gains-april/579411002/

April 2018

Tech: Amazon's smart speakers with displays are the Show and Spot. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/baig/2018/04/25/amazon-echo-dot-kids-alexa-thanks-them-saying-please/547911002/

News: A previous version of this story misstated Elliot Rodger's weapons. He used both a knife and a gun. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/03/31/masculinity-traditional-toxic-trump-mens-rights/99830694/

Video: A previous version of this video misstated the number of Americans living with unhealthful levels of pollution. https://www.usatoday.com/media/cinematic/video/33952141/8-of-americas-10-most-ozone-polluted-cities-are-in-this-state/

Opinion: Because of an editing error, a headline in an earlier version of this column incorrectly described Amy Wax's job status. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/04/20/black-students-law-school-amy-wax-column/510510002/

News: A previous version of this article had the wrong date for Barbara Bush’s quote at the Houston Astrodome. It was Sept. 5, 2005. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/04/17/barbara-bush-quotes-memorable-famous/518489002/

Video: This video has been corrected to reflect that Netflix does not share viewing data with movie studios and to clarify the types of data Netflix lets users delete. https://www.usatoday.com/media/cinematic/video/33954049/what-netflix-knows-about-you/

Opinion: A previous version had the wrong year for when Bennett College became all-women. It was 1926. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/nation-now/2018/04/17/spending-mothers-day-barbara-bush-column/526704002/

News: A previous version of this story misstated the number of pardon requests pending with the Office of the Pardon Attorney as of March 31. That number is 2,197. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/04/13/trump-pardons-scooter-libby-bush-cheney-aide-convicted-lying-fbi/513953002/

Life: Destiny's Child last performed together in a brief appearance at Beyoncé's 2013 Super Bowl halftime show. An earlier version of this report gave the wrong year for their most recent reunion. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2018/04/15/beyonce-brings-destinys-child-back-coachella-and-internet-wasnt-ready/518416002/

Money: An earlier version of this article misstated the plant number and Julian date range of the eggs possibly contaminated with salmonella. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2018/04/14/200-million-eggs-recalled-over-salmonella-fears/518245002/

Life: Marc J. Seifer is the author of Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla. His name was misspelled in USA TODAY’s Best-Selling Books list of April 12.

News: Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was House speaker for four years starting in 2007. Some April 5 editions listed incorrect years.

Opinion: An earlier version of this column misidentified a writer affiliated with Little Green Footballs. He is Charles Johnson. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/04/06/kevin-williamson-atlantic-fired-hanging-women-who-have-abortion-column/491590002/

Life: Because of technical difficulties, A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking was listed at No. 38 on USA TODAY’s Best-Selling Books list of March 22. It should have been No. 18, and the books listed that week at No. 18 through 37 drop by one rank each.

Life: A previous version of this video misidentified Jenna Dewan. https://www.usatoday.com/media/cinematic/video/33508907/5-celeb-couples-that-shattered-our-faith-in-love/

Money: A story on April 2, 2018, in our print edition misstated the rate of Tesla vehicle sales in comparison to DeLorean Motor Co. sales. Tesla sells about as many cars monthly as DeLorean sold during its operational history.

Money: An earlier version of this story attributed data about women's salaries to the wrong year and provided an incorrect comparison of black women's salaries. Also, the shaving products company Billie was actually founded in 2017. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/03/29/pink-tax-women-pay-more/417648002/

March 2018

Money: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated how spouses who receive alimony are taxed. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/taxes/2018/03/12/divorce-under-new-tax-law-may-get-more-complicated-getting-divorced-how-new-tax-bill-may-complicate/376837002/

Money: An earlier version of this story cited the wrong source for GDP growth data. That information came from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/economy/2018/03/27/9-states-with-the-fastest-growing-economies/33169983/

Digital: The length of Emma Gonzalez’s moment of silence at the March for Our Lives was misstated in posts on Facebook and Twitter on March 24. The entire speech, including the moment of silence, was about six minutes long. The posts were updated, with corrections appended, and the language in the accompanying article was clarified. https://twitter.com/USATODAY/status/977699688550891521

https://www.instagram.com/p/BguZb7GlF9R/?taken-by=usatoday

Digital: A 2014 article about Hunter Biden failing a drug test was posted to USA TODAY Facebook and Twitter on March 23. It should not have been shared. The posts were corrected, and then removed.

Opinion: This editorial was updated to reflect the fact that Kentucky, not New Jersey, has the strictest limit on the length of initial opioid prescriptions. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/03/19/doctors-can-help-cure-opioid-crisis-editorials-debates/439628002/

Opinion: This column has been updated to reflect a major correction from Pro Publica and The New York Times about Gina Haspel's role in the CIA torture program. She did not oversee the waterboarding of Abu Zubayda. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/03/14/gina-haspel-nomination-welcome-u-s-where-torture-rocket-fuel-your-career-jonathan-turley-column/423619002/

Life: Some editions of the USA TODAY Best-Selling Books List for March 15 misidentified the publisher for The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition by Jason Frey. The publisher is Del Rey.

News: An article in some March 12 editions about the worst countries for women misrepresented the U.S. ranking. The United States was listed as the 22nd best place to be a woman.

Video: A previous version of this video contained deals that were no longer being offered. https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/2018/03/13/celebrate-pi-day-these-delicious-deals/32891387/

News: An earlier version of this story misidentified the home state of the pygmy rabbit and wolverine and misnamed the yellow-billed cuckoo. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/03/11/endangered-species-recovering-americas-wildlife-act-oil-gas-royalties/410636002/

Sports: An earlier version of this report misidentified the winner of the women's 200. Gabrielle Thomas of Harvard set a collegiate record. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2018/03/10/world-collegiate-records-highlight-ncaa-indoor-track-and-field-championships/414025002/

News: The organization that runs the annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics meeting was misidentified in a March 9 story. The conference is put on by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation.

Tech: A previous version of this story misstated the amount Amazon Prime members are estimated to spend annually on Amazon. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/03/07/amazon-offers-low-cost-prime-memberships-those-medicaid/401601002/

Tech: Luke Cage was the first original series for Netflix with a black superhero. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2018/03/06/netflixs-reed-hastings-no-interest-inclusion-riders-diversity/401606002/

February 2018

News: An article about President Trump’s ambassador appointments that ran in February misstated how ambassadors and other senior foreign service officers are chosen. Most are department veterans with years of experience. Some ambassadors and other senior appointee positions are chosen from outside the State Department.

Sports Weekly: Chase Headley’s home run total for 2017 was incorrectly listed in a photo caption on the San Diego Padres page of the Feb. 14-20 issue. He hit 12 homers for the New York Yankees last season but 31 for the Padres in 2012.

Money: An earlier version of this story cited the wrong source for data about anxiety Americans face over finances. The original data came from MoneyLion.com.https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/budget-and-spending/2018/01/23/more-americans-feel-anxious-than-optimistic-about-their-finances/109729020/

News: An earlier version of this story should have said Daniels’ wife identifies as a woman. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/02/08/massachusetts-elementary-school-principal-announces-she-transgender/318946002/

Money: An earlier version of this story misidentified the $3.7 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/02/20/albertsons-and-rite-aid-plan-merger-creates-u-s-supermarket-and-healthcare-giant/353958002/

Money: A Feb. 19 Ken Fisher column about homes as investments omitted some data and used the wrong time frame in the example given. As a result, the annual return listed for the home investment appeared smaller than it would have actually been. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/2018/02/18/why-your-home-lousy-investment-when-you-think-its-great/340516002/

Sports: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported on how far Lindsey Vonn finished behind gold medal winner Sofia Goggia. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/winter-olympics-2018/2018/02/20/lindsey-vonn-father-bronze-medal-downhill/357662002/

Tech: Wired did not include Lewis Bernstein in its tally of advisers who took funding from Facebook. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/02/16/facebook-isnt-backing-off-messenger-kids-despite-critics/346513002/

Sports: The Jeff Sagarin college men’s basketball ratings in Feb. 22 editions were the final ones for the 2016-17 season. The current ratings may be found on 4C in today’s edition.

Opinion: Because of an editing error, Jonesboro, Ark., was mislabeled. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/02/19/parkland-school-shootings-not-new-normal-despite-statistics-stretching-truth-fox-column/349380002/

Life: An earlier version of this report incorrectly credited the 1996 Summer Olympics performance of The Power of the Dream. Celine Dion sang the theme at the opening ceremony; the song was performed again at the closing ceremony by Rachel McMullin and a choir of other children. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2016/08/04/olympics-theme-songs-katy-perry-whitney-houston/87968806/

Sports: A previous version of this graphic incorrectly located hockey player Megan Keller's hometown on the map. https://www.usatoday.com/pages/interactives/sports/winter-olympics-2018-team-usa/#/profile/megan-keller/

Sports: An earlier version of this story misidentified the U.S. hockey player who is quoted in the third paragraph. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/winter-olympics-2018/2018/02/17/ilya-kovalchuk-hockey-olympics-usa-russia/348011002/

Opinion: An earlier version of this column mischaracterized who could receive a tax credit for campaign donations. It would be refundable and available to all Americans who file taxes. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/02/14/paul-ryan-tax-cut-how-start-fixing-democracy-1-50-week-jason-sattler-column/332739002/

Sports: A photo in some editions Feb. 8 incorrectly identified the person next to New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. The person was special teams coach Joe Judge.

Sports: A headline in some Feb. 12 editions had an incorrect result of Serena and Venus Williams’ doubles match in the Fed Cup. The sisters lost.

Twitter: On Feb. 11, a previous tweet misidentified Olympic gold medalist Jamie Anderson. https://twitter.com/USATODAY/status/962907261801783296

Life: This story makes a correction to remove Touch of Grey and Brown Eyed Woman, which John Perry Barlow did not write. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/02/08/internet-pioneer-songwriter-john-perry-barlow-dies-at-70/110215684/

Crossword: Because of a production error, the answers to the Feb. 11 crossword puzzle were not printed in some editions.

Money: An earlier version of this story misidentified one of Bon-Ton's two corporate headquarters. It should have been York, Pennsylvania. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/02/05/bon-ton-stores-chapter-11-bankruptcy-department-stores-reel/306299002/

News: A previous version of this story misstated the gender of the lawmaker who introduced the new bill and did not make clear that the previous Canadian flag only featured Britain's Union Jack. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/02/01/o-canada-bill-passed-make-national-anthem-gender-neutral/1086282001/

Life: An earlier version of this report incorrectly characterized Uma Thurman’s award-winning work. She was nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar for Pulp Fiction. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/02/03/uma-thurman-harvey-weinstein-alleges-he-made-unwanted-advances/303597002/

Tech: A graphic in a previous version of this story had an incorrect classification for Washington, D.C. The graphic has been updated. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2018/02/01/amazons-second-headquarters-gay-groups-say-amazon-should-avoid-these-9-cities/1082126001/

YouTube: Dylan O'Brien sat down with USA TODAY to share what it was like to see his completed movie 'Maze Runner: The Death Cure' for the first time, along with the scene that led to his production-stopping injury. A previous version of this video incorrectly spelled O'Brien's name. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjhpUAZ9BNs

Money: A previous version of this video included an incorrect wing count. https://www.usatoday.com/videos/money/2018/02/02/1.35-billion-chicken-wings-consumed-during-sblii/110027640/

January 2018

News: An earlier version of this story contained a photo that has been removed. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/01/30/indian-man-dies-after-being-sucked-into-mri-machine-while-carrying-oxygen-cylinder/1078114001/

Money: An earlier version of this story listed the incorrect national average for the price of a gallon of gas. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/energy/2018/01/30/gas-prices-no-sign-falling-gasbuddy/1078191001/

News: This story originally misidentified who will give the Democratic rebuttal to President Trump's State of the Union address. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, D-Mass., will deliver the response. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/01/30/5-things-you-need-know-tuesday/1074168001/

Money: A quote on "range anxiety" in the original version of this story was attributed to the wrong executive at TE Connectivity. It should have been attributed to Steven Merkt, president of Transportation Solutions for TE Connectivity. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2018/01/25/new-electric-cars-2018-spark-need-more-charging-stations/810137001/

Life: A previous version of this video misidentified one of Elston John's Tony-winning musicals. https://www.usatoday.com/videos/life/2018/01/25/farewell-sir-elton-john-announces-final-tour/109786340/

Opinion: The previous version misidentified Opposing View writer Michael Stumo’s organization. He is CEO of the Coalition for a Prosperous America. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/01/24/trade-predators-destroy-american-jobs-editorials-debates/109779496/

News: A previous version had the wrong first name for Jeffrey Trout. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/01/19/fish-kill-cold-weather/1048984001/

News: A Jan. 22 Facebook Live event of former gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar's sentencing hearing was deleted from the USA TODAY Sports Facebook page. A victim who wished to remain anonymous was named during the hearing, which counters USA TODAY's standard of protecting the identity of sexual abuse victims.

News: A Jan. 17 Page One story about bitcoin stated the wrong year for the cryptocurrency’s peak. It took place in December 2017.

Opinion: An earlier version of this column overstated the farm subsidies received by former congressman Stephen Fincher. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/01/22/medicaid-work-requirements-who-judge-character-judges-jill-lawrence-column/1052270001/

Butterfly: Because of a production error, answers to the crossword puzzle were omitted from some editions Sunday.

News: A previous version of this article misstated the number of Democratic and Republican congresswomen expected to run for re-election. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/01/17/5-major-wins-womens-rights-across-world/1040353001/

Tech: An earlier version of this story had incorrect details about access to Amazon Video. It's included for monthly Prime subscribers. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/01/19/amazon-raises-monthly-prime-rate-annual-rate-stays-99/1046646001/

News: An accident involving a driver for Performance Team Freight Systems was included in a Dec. 29, 2017, graphic showing potential time violations by truckers. The company was not contacted before publication and later provided evidence that its driver had not been behind the wheel for excessive hours. https://www.usatoday.com/pages/interactives/news/rigged-asleep-at-the-wheel/

Sport: A previous version of this story included an incorrect name for the president of Robert Morris University. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2018/01/17/college-football-playoff-names-six-new-selection-committee-members/1040668001/

News: Former CNN producer Teddy Davis has been removed from this list. He was accused of inappropriate behavior, according to CNN. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/11/22/weinstein-aftermath-all-men-accused-sexual-misconduct/884778001/

Money: An earlier version of this story was incorrect about RMDs as they relate to Roth 401(k)s. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/retirement/2018/01/15/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-required-minimum-distributions/109182364/

News: A USA TODAY story that ran Jan. 12 should have said that Rep. Katie Hall was the first African American from Indiana to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Sports: A previous version of this story included incorrect information about funding for TRACK-TBI. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2018/01/05/nfl-commits-another-16-43-million-concussion-research/1007405001/

News: An earlier version of this story overstated the amount of money the IRS may need to implement the tax bill. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/01/10/irs-may-need-extra-1-billion-implement-new-tax-law-over-next-two-years/1020393001/

Money: An earlier version of this story erroneously included a Sears Auto Center location that is not closing. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/01/04/your-local-kmart-sears-closing/1005274001/

News: A prior version of this story misstated House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's title. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/01/09/trump-meets-congressional-leaders-immigration/1016369001/

News: A photo of Jenny Qaqundah at the Grateful Desert Herb Shoppe & EcoMarket in Joshua Tree was used incorrectly to illustrate a Jan. 1 story on the legalization of marijuana in California. Neither Qaqundah nor the store are involved in the marijuana industry.

Tech: A Jan. 9 photo gallery about robot pole-dancing entertainment at CES was removed because it did not meet USA TODAY’s editorial standards.

Money: An earlier version of this story misspelled the first name of Nasir and didn't make clear the date of the Gates-edited issue of Time. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/01/04/buffett-time-u-s-kids-live-better-than-parents-he-writes-gates-edited-issue/1001218001/

News: The previous headline had the wrong year. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/12/08/south-texas-snow/933790001/

News: A previous version of this story misstated the name of the supreme leader who made the comments. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/01/02/six-days-iran-protests-least-20-dead-450-arrested/995096001/

Opinion: An earlier version of this column should have disclosed that the author, Ed Rollins, is chairman of Kelli Ward's Senate campaign. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/01/03/trump-outsiders-like-kelli-ward-republican-revolutionaries-2018-ed-rollins-column/997358001/

News: A previous version of this column mischaracterized the Marist Poll results. “Being a better person” tied with “losing weight.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/12/26/most-popular-new-years-resolution-2018-better-person-but-what-does-mean/981680001/

Opinion: An earlier version of this column mischaracterized changes to the state and local tax deduction. The deduction was capped at $10,000. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/01/03/trumps-tax-bill-destined-failure-thanks-gop-trying-get-even-democrats-melvyn-krauss-column/997785001/

Life: An earlier version of this report incorrectly characterized when Carolyn Bryant Donham made her confession. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2017/12/31/dave-chappelle-addresses-trans-joke-backlash-goes-trump-voters-special/987371001/

2016:Corrections & Clarifications 2016

2017:Corrections & Clarifications 2017

2019:Corrections & Clarifications

Virus-sniffing dog, Vegas boom: News from around our 50 states

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Alabama

Montgomery: Vaccines for COVID-19 are now widely available, but some people remain hesitant to take the shots, State Health Officer Scott Harris said Friday. After months of struggling with getting an adequate supply into the state, Harris said health officials are now trying to battle some people’s reluctance to sign up for doses. While people can be reluctant to take the vaccine for a variety of reasons, one is the false belief that the vaccine is more dangerous than the coronavirus, he said. “If you can identify one single issue that is a problem, it’s that there are people who are just convinced that the vaccine is somehow more dangerous than the disease,” Harris told reporters. “That’s a false belief we have to try to combat as often as we can. It’s simply not true.” Nearly one-third of Alabama’s population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. However, that figure ranks the state third from last in the nation, ahead of Mississippi and Louisiana, and Alabama is last nationally in its overall rate of vaccination. Harris said health officials are conducting media campaigns and asking doctors to contact their patients about the benefits of getting vaccinated. He emphasized that vaccination “is the fastest way to get back to normal.”

Alaska

Anchorage: Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Friday ended the state’s COVID-19 disaster declaration, saying the state is in such a good position he doesn’t need emergency powers bestowed by the Legislature. “Alaska is in the recovery phase where an emergency declaration is no longer necessary,” Dunleavy said in a statement. “Our systems are fully functioning with vaccine distribution, adequate testing, and health care capacity. It is important our focus remains on getting Alaska’s economy back on track and welcoming summer tourism throughout our great state.” Dunleavy acted on the recommendation of health commissioner Adam Crum, who concluded the emergency disaster declaration is no longer necessary. “While COVID-19 is still present in Alaska, the urgent nature of the pandemic has passed and we are no longer anticipating the widespread emergency that Alaska faced earlier in this pandemic,” Crum wrote in a memo to Dunleavy. The Republican governor also signed a bill that his office says ensures the continuation of COVID-19 federal relief to affected Alaskans and liability protections for businesses in the state.

Arizona

Phoenix: Numerous doctors’ offices and clinics will be able to directly obtain COVID-19 vaccines starting this week, state health officials said Friday. Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, announced eligible physicians and local health care providers will no longer have to rely on allocations from their county public health department. That means nearly 1,200 providers registered with the state can order up to 200 doses within a two-week period from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They will receive the Moderna vaccine because it has less complex storage requirements. The hope is that being able to go to a primary care doctor for a shot will “be a major driver,” Christ said. “Based on our community listening sessions, people indicated that a recommendation from their health care provider, that would be one of the things that would drive them to get vaccinated,” Christ said. State officials are expecting 100,000 doses to be available for these smaller providers to order directly during the first week. As vaccine demand declines, state health officials have been working with community groups on pop-up vaccination events in underserved areas like Yuma and south Phoenix. Strategies include telephonic town halls, door-to-door canvassing and targeted social media posts.

Arkansas

Little Rock: Gov. Asa Hutchinson has signed into law legislation banning state and local mask mandates for preventing the spread of the coronavirus, even though the prohibition will not take effect until later this summer. Hutchinson dropped the state’s mandate in March, but cities including Fayetteville and Little Rock were allowed to keep their requirements in place. The bill is the latest measure the Republican governor has signed to curb Arkansas’ pandemic-related restrictions. On Wednesday he signed bills prohibiting the state and local governments from requiring vaccinations against COVID-19 or “vaccine passports” to access services. The mask mandate ban does not prevent businesses from imposing their own requirements, unlike an earlier version of the bill Hutchinson had said he would veto. The new law doesn’t take effect until late July at the earliest. Hutchinson cited the delay in the prohibition taking effect and its exemption of private businesses. “It is important to respect the individual decisions made by private businesses,” Hutchinson said in a statement. “It also does not have an emergency clause, so the law will not go into effect until the current school year ends.” The measure doesn’t apply to state-owned or state-controlled health care facilities, state prisons or facilities operated by the Division of Youth Services.

California

Los Angeles: Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Friday that the COVID-19 mass vaccination site at Dodger Stadium will close by the end of May, part of a trend in California to bring doses closer to where people live as appointments in some places go unfilled. Winding down operations at the stadium marks the transition of the city’s vaccination efforts to appointment-free options and putting more doses into walk-up centers and mobile clinics, the mayor said in a statement. Dodger Stadium became one of the nation’s most prominent sites for coronavirus response, first for testing and then for delivery of vaccines to people waiting in long lines of cars. “Dodger Stadium set the standard for sports franchises and community institutions playing a starring role in our COVID-19 response for the country,” Garcetti said. More than 1 million people were tested at the stadium, and the number of vaccine doses administered there has topped 420,000, according to the city. Orange County’s big vaccination site at Disneyland closed Friday as the theme park reopened to visitors for the first time in more than a year. Similarly, a major site at Six Flags Magic Mountain in northern Los Angeles County recently closed as that park welcomed visitors back. North of San Francisco, Marin County will close two mass vaccination sites in San Rafael by the end of May.

Colorado

Fort Collins: A little more than a year since schools and all their events shut down, some traditions, like prom, are returning – or, as some schools called them, “prom-like events.” Poudre School District’s four comprehensive high schools – Fort Collins High School, Fossil Ridge High School, Poudre High School and Rocky Mountain High School – hosted proms Saturday night, with a few stark differences from those of years past. At this year’s events, students could choose to wear formal or informal attire, food was not served for safety reasons, and the dances were all hosted outside to allow for social distancing and airflow. Tickets had to be bought ahead of time through an application that allows a school’s COVID-19 response team to perform contact tracing if a student who attended tests positive for the coronavirus. Students also had to register for the dance in a “pod” of no more than 10 and be limited to hanging out with that group for the evening. The district said by having students register in groups, kids within a pod were able to be less than 6 feet away from each other. Students were unable to attend if they had “any illness symptoms or are probable/positive for COVID-19.”

Connecticut

Hartford: Several of the state’s best-known museums have signed on to a proposal by Gov. Ned Lamont designed to combat some of the learning lost during the pandemic by allowing children to visit for free this summer. Mystic Aquarium, Mystic Seaport Museum, Beardsley Zoo, the Connecticut Science Center and the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk have all expressed interest in participating, Lamont said Friday. Under the initiative, all Connecticut children 18 and under and one accompanying adult can visit the museums free of charge from July 1 to Sept. 6. “By participating in this program, we hope to provide more children access to a fun and educational destination and instill a love of the ocean that motivates young audiences to make a difference in our world,” said Dr. Stephen M. Coan, president and CEO of Sea Research Foundation Inc., the nonprofit that operates Mystic Aquarium. The governor’s plan would fund the program with $15 million from the state’s federal recovery funds. “Connecticut has some of the best museums in the region, and they were significantly impacted by the pandemic,” Lamont said. “Investing these recovery dollars into our museums just makes sense.” The Legislature must sign off on the proposal.

Delaware

Wilmington: The state had the highest foreclosure rate in the country so far this year, according to a nationwide realty data analysis. One in every 1,705 housing units in Delaware had a foreclosure filing in the first quarter of 2021, according to the report from ATTOM Data Solutions. Of the state’s three counties, Kent County saw the highest foreclosure rate at the start of this year, with 1 in every 1,281 housing units seeing a foreclosure filing. New Castle County saw 1 in every 1,691, and Sussex County saw 1 in every 2,094. While the First State ranked first in terms of its foreclosure rate this past quarter, it was 31st in the total number of foreclosure filings, according to the data. The state had 254 filings, showing that even a small change in the small state can have a big impact on its ranking. And some state officials questioned the data. The Delaware State Housing Authority launched a mortgage assistance program in August to help people struggling to make their payments during the COVID-19 pandemic. That program was paused at the end of last year because the state was unsure if the federal government would continue to help fund the program, according to Jessica Eisenbrey Welch, a spokeswoman for the Delaware State Housing Authority.

District of Columbia

Washington: Fully vaccinated people may do more without wearing a mask under a new order from Mayor Muriel Bowser, WUSA-TV reports. People who are fully vaccinated – meaning at least two weeks have passed since their final dose of a COVID-19 vaccine – may now gather outdoors with a small group of vaccinated and unvaccinated people without wearing a mask, but social distance must be maintained, and people in the group who are not fully vaccinated must continue to wear masks. Fully vaccinated people can visit with a small group of fully vaccinated people only at a private indoor setting without wearing a mask. They may travel within the United States without getting tested for the coronavirus before or after their trip. Those flying into the U.S. from another country still need to show a negative test before boarding and get tested three to five days after their return. Fully vaccinated people may also continue activities after being exposed to someone with COVID-19 without needing to get tested or quarantine, unless they have symptoms or live in a group setting. Businesses and other institutions may ask to see a person’s vaccine card or other proof of inoculation. Employers are also required to provide masks for their employees and can implement mask mandates at the office, according to the order.

Florida

Sarasota: Three days a week, Buffy greets visitors at the entrance to Doctors Hospital of Sarasota. If they grant permission, she sniffs their feet, seeking a whiff of active COVID-19 infection. Few decline the offer when they see the yellow Labrador retriever with a wagging tail. People generally don’t love going to a hospital, said CEO Robert Meade, but “who doesn’t love labs?” Buffy was trained by Palmetto-based Southeastern Guide Dogs as part of a four-dog pilot program for scent detection. The original plan was to train dogs to detect heightened levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. The coronavirus pandemic derailed that plan but opened the door to another. Small, early studies on dogs trained to detect the virus in Europe – though still unproven – showed promise. Southeastern decided to give it a shot. The four dogs selected had flunked out of Southeastern’s guide dog training, seen as easily distracted or “a little high-energy,” trainer Laska Parrow said. But “they were dogs that never gave up when a treat was hidden somewhere.” Saliva samples were collected from Doctors Hospital patients with active COVID-19 infections and “inactivated,” rendering them noninfectious. The dogs trained for three months. At the end, Buffy was 95% accurate at detecting the virus samples. Meade said he believes Doctors Hospital of Sarasota is the first hospital in the U.S. with such a pooch.

Georgia

Atlanta: Gov. Brian Kemp is removing many remaining requirements for social distancing and masked employees from businesses, saying the state’s efforts to control COVID-19 have been successful – even as its vaccination rate lags and as federal officials continue to warn that infection rates remain relatively high. While Kemp was touring the Mexican border in Texas on Friday, the Republican’s office released a new executive order that took effect Saturday and runs through May 30. “Businesses across the Peach State have followed COVID-19 restrictions for over a year to keep their employees and customers safe and will now be able to make informed decisions about how their business operations move forward,” said Mallory Blount, a spokesperson for Kemp. “Georgians know best how to protect themselves and their families, and they deserve to be able to return to normal.” But public health experts fear another surge, possibly driven by more infectious variants of the coronavirus. “Too soon,” Emory University infectious disease expert Carlos del Rio wrote on Twitter, pointing to federal statistics. “We still have ‘substantial transmission’ and our percent of population fully vaccinated is low.” More than 6 million doses of vaccines have been given in Georgia, but the state ranks 44th in doses per capita to people 18 and up.

Hawaii

Honolulu: Gov. David Ige says the state’s mask mandate will remain in place for now. Ige urged people to continue wearing masks despite the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about vaccinated people not having to wear masks in certain outdoor situations, Hawaii News Now reports. “We believe that the basic mask mandate is still appropriate, and we won’t be making changes, or making significant changes, at this time,” Ige said. He said said it would be difficult to determine who has been vaccinated against COVID-19 when it comes to enforcement. Some people at a beach park agreed. “It’s great that he’s not going to change it because how can you tell if somebody’s vaccinated or not?” said Terry Kakazu. “For my own protection, I’m gonna wear it anyway.” And beachgoer Claire Nakamua-Rochon asked: “What are we gonna do, put a ‘V’ on everybody’s arm to let everybody know you’re the vaccinated one?” Ige said he believes masks have helped keep the coronavirus in check in the state. “Hawaii continues to have amongst the lowest per capita infection rates and fatality rates in the country,” he said. “I do believe that our mask mandate is part of that success.”

Idaho

Boise: Lawmakers hesitant to leave the governor in charge of pandemic decisions after the legislative session are delaying their adjournment, a move that analysts say could cause a government shutdown by threatening the start date of some 200 pieces of legislation. A measure intended to change the effective date of the legislation should be amended to avoid a potential government shutdown starting in June, a legal analysis has determined. The Idaho attorney general’s office sent the analysis Thursday to the Idaho Legislative Services Office, a nonpartisan government entity that supports state lawmakers. The document obtained by the Associated Press said the legislation as written could pass a court challenge, but the consequences for failing could be severe. The 200 bills include 65 critical appropriations bills. They would typically not take effect until at least 60 days after the Legislature adjourns. But the Legislature still being in session pushes their effective date past the start of the new fiscal year, starting July 1. If the bill is found unconstitutional, “some 200 bills, including appropriations bills to fund parts of state government, would not take effect on July 1, 2021,” wrote Chief Deputy Brian Kane, and “there could be funding issues for parts of state government as early as June 12.”

Illinois

Springfield: Consistent statewide procedures and ongoing drills that target infection response and other emergencies will be routine at Illinois veterans’ homes after COVID-19 caught the LaSalle Veterans’ Home unprepared and claimed 36 lives last fall, said the newly appointed director of the state Department of Veterans Affairs. Terry Prince, a 31-year Navy veteran and former senior adviser to the U.S. surgeon general, has issued a six-point plan for improving readiness at the state’s veterans’ homes in Anna, Manteno, Quincy and LaSalle. The plan follows a blistering investigative report that laid out a string of miscommunications, lax policy and missed opportunities when the pandemic hit the home in LaSalle, 94 miles west of Chicago. The report by the inspector general of the Illinois Department of Human Services, released Friday, noted that despite escaping all traces of the deadly respiratory illness for eight months after it entered Illinois, little was done to devise protocols for preventing or managing infections. After the first four cases were reported Nov. 1, the virus spread to 60 residents and 43 employees as confused staff operated in an environment that was “inefficient, reactive and chaotic,” the report said.

Indiana

Indianapolis: Gamblers will have to keep wearing face masks inside the state’s casinos at least through the end of May. Updated health guidelines issued by the Indiana Gaming Commission said operators of the 13 state-licensed casinos decided to keep the mask rule in place to stem COVID-19 spread even though Gov. Eric Holcomb lifted the statewide mask mandate as of April 6. The casino rules require customers to wear masks except when eating, drinking or smoking while seated at a slot machine, bar or restaurant table. Gamblers must wear masks at table games, and employees are required to have masks on at all times. The gaming commission said casinos will review whether to continue the mask requirement past June 1. The state guidelines direct casinos to obtain permission from local health officials before holding any events involving large crowds and continue extra spacing between slot machine players.

Iowa

Des Moines: Gov. Kim Reynolds said she rejected $95 million in federal money for coronavirus testing in schools because she didn’t think there was a need for the funding. Reynolds, a Republican, announced her decision on a Thursday night Fox News show and criticized President Joe Biden’s administration for offering the money aimed at expanding testing. “I think he thinks that COVID just started,” Reynolds said on the show, which was televised from a forum with other Republican governors in Florida. ”I just returned $95 million because they sent an additional $95 million to the state of Iowa to get our kids back in the classroom by doing surveillance testing. And I said we’ve been in the classroom since August. Here’s your $95 million back.” Kelly Garcia, director of the Iowa Department of Human Services, confirmed later that Iowa had turned down the funding. The Republican Party of Iowa praised Reynolds’ decision, saying the Biden administration had failed in its efforts to return students to in-person classrooms, but “Gov. Reynolds fought back against the teachers unions and succeeded.” Democratic state Auditor Rob Sand questioned the rejection of federal money that would have assisted testing at schools and funded Iowa jobs.

Kansas

Overland Park: A Kansas City-area high school athletic director is pleading with families to take pandemic safety protocols seriously after instructing about 200 students to quarantine last week. John Johnson, who oversees athletics at Shawnee Mission South High School, said in a message to parents and athletes that “there are more students with positive tests, and that is causing an extreme domino effect of COVID transmission concerns.” He also warned that post-season play could be affected, The Kansas City Star reports. Elected officials in Johnson County voted Thursday to switch the mask mandate to a recommendation, although the decision doesn’t affect schools. Health officials in the county, which is the state’s largest, have warned that while the number of new coronavirus cases is down, the drop in testing makes it more difficult to know how widespread transmission of the virus has become. And they are urging eligible residents to get vaccinated, saying demand has slowed. District spokesman David Smith said it is typical for student-athletes to be quarantined from playing sports after a potential exposure but still be allowed to attend class. “At school, we have protocols, including mask-wearing and social distancing. But when you’re participating in sports, it’s not always possible to do those things,” Smith said.

Kentucky

Louisville: Thousands of spectators gathered in the infield at Churchill Downs on Saturday for the Kentucky Derby, many not wearing face masks required amid the coronavirus pandemic. Hundreds stood in lines that were not spaced out to use ATMs or buy food. Unlike some Derby tickets this year that are all-inclusive, infield tickets don’t include drinks or food, so fans have to use cash to make purchases. Sydney Lowe of Columbus, Ohio, said she and her friends were fine with not wearing masks because they were outside and had been vaccinated. “We’re outside; I feel like it’s not that big a deal,” Lowe said. “I wish there were more ATMs and that it wasn’t only cash, that’s one thing,” added her friend Halle Vozar. A recording played over a loudspeaker at the entrance said guests were required to wear masks over their mouths and noses. Ticket-takers reminded people coming in the front gate: “Please have your mask on! Masks on! Masks on!” A sign posted indoors by the wagering windows reminding spectators to wear masks largely went ignored. Others had masks pulled down covering their chins. The crowd at the Downs reportedly topped 50,000 people, which would make the Derby the biggest gathering for a U.S. sports event since the pandemic began.

Louisiana

Baton Rouge: Gov. John Bel Edwards has proposed spending $1.6billion of the state’s $3.2billion in federal funding from the latest pandemic relief package on Louisiana’s bankrupt unemployment trust fund, tourism and infrastructure to help stand up the economy. “It’s my belief that these are the three most important things we can do right now ... to have a transformative, positive impact on Louisiana,” Edwards said at a Thursday press conference. Edwards, who will need approval from the Legislature, wants to direct $230 million to repay federal loans that have propped up the state’s unemployment trust fund and another $400 million to replenish the trust fund to avoid triggering tax hikes on businesses. “I don’t believe it’s a good thing to increase taxes on businesses when we’re trying to grow the economy coming out of a pandemic,” he said. Edwards is proposing $750 million go toward infrastructure – $400 million to roads and bridges, $300 million to upgrade dilapidated water systems and $50 million for ports. He’s also recommending $125 million for Convention and Visitors Bureaus and other tourism venues and $20 million for the Office of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. “That’s incredibly important to jump-start our economy,” he said.

Maine

Augusta: Cities and towns would be able to get access to federal coronavirus aid under a pandemic law change. The Legislature on Wednesday passed a proposal to set up an account for the state to receive and distribute federal funds for the municipalities via the American Rescue Plan. The proposal, which was a governor’s bill, is now before Democratic Gov. Janet Mills. Democratic Senate President Troy Jackson said the money is important for Maine cities and towns to “work to rebuild local communities and economies.” The American Rescue Plan allocated funds to Maine municipalities based on their populations, the Maine Legislature Office of the Presiding Officers said. Every town in the state will receive money, Democratic Rep. Teresa Pierce said. That will result in more than $600 million going into the communities, she said.

Maryland

Annapolis: Preliminary data from 2020 reveals a dramatic increase in deaths linked with opioids in the state, particularly fentanyl, and health officials blame the pandemic. The number of unintentional intoxication overdoses – those involving all drugs and alcohol – rose 18.7% to 2,773 in 2020 from 2,379 in 2019, according to data collected by the Maryland Department of Health. In more than 90% of cases, opioids were detected in bodies postmortem. That’s the highest rate recorded in the state’s history of collecting this data. While too early to formally determine the extent to which COVID-19 has influenced this increase, experts agree the pandemic is likely to blame for the widespread increase in drug use. Dr. Aaron Greenblatt, medical director of the University of Maryland Medical Center Addiction Treatment Programs, said pandemic-induced stress is likely a major factor in drug users’ relapses, but COVID-19 restricted treatment options, too. “I think that access to treatment – particularly access to psychosocial treatments – was really significantly impacted by COVID … we haven’t had groups,” Greenblatt told Capital News Service. Outpatient addiction treatment programs are intense and may require patients to visit an office or a clinic to get supervised therapeutic medication dosing up to six days a week.

Massachusetts

Boston: The state is pouring $70 million into summer educational programs to benefit students who have fallen behind academically and socially while learning remotely during the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Charlie Baker said Friday. “Studies continue to show that amid the school closures, many students did miss out on some fundamental issues around math and reading,” the Republican governor said after touring a Canton middle school. The programs designed for every grade level – including high school seniors graduating this spring – will feature a mix of academic and recreational opportunities at schools, after-school providers, community colleges and recreation sites, he said. Many students were out of school for longer than a year during the pandemic, and some high school students continue to learn remotely. The programs include so-called Acceleration Academies, which will offer intensive instruction in one subject with smaller classes, longer instructional blocks and individualized attention. Under the Summer Acceleration to College program, class of 2021 high school graduates will be able to take math and English courses for credit at no cost at 14 community colleges. Another program is aimed at incoming kindergartners.

Michigan

Lansing: Republican legislative leaders on Friday welcomed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s metric-based approach to further relaxing coronavirus restrictions, but they questioned what will happen if Michigan’s COVID-19 vaccination rate falls below targets. Their comments came a day after the Democratic governor announced four benchmarks that will trigger additional economic reopening – when 55%, 60%, 65% and 70% of people ages 16 and up get at least one shot. About half have done so to date. The state, where the seven-day infection rate remains highest in the U.S. but is dropping, now needs at least 2 of every 5 unvaccinated residents to receive a dose. “I think that we need a little more of a discussion on this metric of vaccines alone. I believe there’s a little more breadth that needs to be taken into consideration there, especially if we run into resistance and reluctance that causes us to plateau below the numbers that have been indicated,” Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, said during a virtual event sponsored by the Detroit Regional Chamber. It included all four legislative leaders. House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Clare, applauded Whitmer for providing people “some sense of hope” and said both the vaccination rate and vaccine accessibility are important.

Minnesota

St. Cloud: About 100 people gathered at Lake George on Saturday morning to memorialize the nearly 400 area residents who have died from COVID-19 in the past year and to share messages of resilience and hope for the future. The event was organized by St. Cloud Times journalists Nora Hertel and Sarah Kocher. “I had the idea to do something like this in January,” Hertel said after the memorial. “I just thought, how are we honoring these people?” Each death has added to a “huge community loss,” Hertel said, and “I just felt like we needed to reckon with it.” The memorial took place on the deck on the east side of Lake George. Guests were invited to tie strips of cloth, donated by Gruber’s Quilt Shop in Waite Park, to the railing, where they will remain until Friday. Those ribbons fluttered in the breeze behind each speaker during the event. The Rev. James Alberts, of the Higher Ground Church of God in Christ, was the first guest to speak, opting to use his “pastor voice” instead of a microphone. “It’s good to see your faces, in a shared space and to be able to do this together,” Alberts said, before leading the group in prayer. “It’s so important that we recognize the loss of nearly 400 people in our area,” Mayor Dave Kleis said. “I hope there’s a day not too distant in the future where we will celebrate the last case of COVID.”

Mississippi

Jackson: Gov. Tate Reeves on Friday erased most restrictions he had set to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The Republican governor left one rule in place: a mandate for students 6 or older to wear masks in schools for the rest of the current academic year. The school year ends within the next few weeks in most parts of the state. Reeves’ new executive order removes capacity restrictions for sports events. Previously, indoor arenas could only fill two-thirds of their seats to allow for social distancing. School sporting events and other activities were limited to 50% capacity for both indoor and outdoor events. Now, both indoor and outdoor school activities are no longer under capacity restrictions. “Getting our kids back in school last August was one of the most important decisions of the pandemic and keeping them in the classroom is one of my top priorities,” Reeves said in a statement Friday. “Even so – our class of 2021 has not been afforded a normal senior year. I want every one of them to attend their graduation and I want everyone in their family to be able to join them!” Reeves had already removed mask requirements in public spaces and all capacity restrictions for restaurants, bars and other businesses.

Missouri

Reeds Spring: A southwest Missouri school district that dropped its mask mandate last month has decided to reinstate it after several students became infected with the coronavirus, leading to dozens of quarantines. The 1,700-student Reeds Spring district had gone weeks without a case when it decided to make masks optional beginning April 22. Several other districts in the Springfield area also have ditched mask orders in recent weeks. “It’s getting harder and harder to even get kids to keep those masks on as they are seeing people, adults and everyone in the community, not wearing masks,” Superintendent Cody Hirschi said in a video at the time. The change didn’t last long, though, before the district decided to reinstate the mandate starting Friday. “The cases of quarantine are really our biggest concern,” said district spokesman Ben Fisher, noting that six positive tests led to 95 quarantines in several buildings. “We really think it is essential for kids to be able to participate in end-of-year activities, so we decided this was the best option to keep kids in school.” Statewide, the percentage of Missouri residents receiving at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine barely budged Friday, remaining a little above 37% of the state population, KMIZ-TV reports.

Montana

Great Falls: The state posted 169 new COVID-19 cases Saturday, bringing Montana’s total to 108,985 confirmed reports. Of the 108,985 cases, 106,324 are recovered, and 1,087 remain active. There are 53 people who are now hospitalized out of 5,021 total COVID-19 hospitalizations since the pandemic began, according to the state website covid19.mt.gov. Montana added two deaths overnight, bringing the total to 1,574 fatalities related to the respiratory illness. The state has thus far administered 1,302,221 tests for the coronavirus. The first case of COVID-19 in Montana was reported March 11, 2020. The state’s highest daily total of newly detected cases came Nov. 12, when 1,429 new cases were reported.

Nebraska

Omaha: A community college is using federal COVID-19 relief funds to pay for tuition and books for high schoolers from the state to take courses this summer. The Omaha World-Herald reports officials at the Metropolitan Community College hope their newly approved offer will pull in thousands of students. The college saw about a 15% drop in summer enrollment from 2019 to 2020, said Bill Owen, the college’s vice president for strategic initiatives. “If we’re truly in recovery mode, and we hope we are, we think we’ll see a return to those numbers,” he said. Typically, high school students pay $33 per credit hour – half the full rate – if they enroll in a program called CollegeNow that is designed for high school students to jump-start their college education. While those students will be allowed to attend courses for free this summer, they will be responsible for tools and other required supplies.

Nevada

Las Vegas: The city has been almost elbow-to-elbow lately with pandemic-weary tourists looking for excitement and entertainment, after casinos rose from 35% to 50% occupancy March 15 under state health guidelines. Capacity limits in Las Vegas casinos dropped again Saturday – allowing 80% occupancy – while person-to-person distancing went from 6 feet to 3 feet. Masks are still required. “People were just yearning to go someplace and let loose,” said Alan Feldman, a former casino executive who is now a fellow at the International Gaming Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Among the first arrivals were people ages 60 and older who were recently vaccinated with time and disposable income, he said. Analysts said pent-up demand, available hotel rooms and $1,400 federal pandemic recovery checks have contributed to the rush. “People are feeling more comfortable traveling as science appears to be getting ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Jeremy Aguero, principal analyst at Applied Analysis in Las Vegas. And every Sunday, a nearly 20-mile line of vehicles jams southbound Interstate 15 near the Nevada-California state line. “You have visitors coming throughout the week, all leaving at the same time,” Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Travis Smaka said. “It’s very busy every Sunday.”

New Hampshire

Concord: Gov. Chris Sununu says state health officials and private agencies have begun a number of initiatives to encourage residents to get vaccinated. Officials warn that New Hampshire, which has been leading the nation in the percentage of the population that’s received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, is starting to see growth in the number of fully vaccinated residents slow down. WMUR-TV reports many people who are eligible to receive a shot have not signed up for an appointment. Data from the Department of Health and Human Services shows more than 790,000 New Hampshire residents have received their first dose, about 60% of the population, while more than 351,000 of those people are fully vaccinated, or about 26% of the population. The state says a series of public service announcements and electronic billboards will encourage people who may be hesitant to get vaccinated. Experts say it is important for everyone to get inoculated. “They may not become ill. They may be a transmitter and simply part of an asymptomatic transmission,” said Martha Wassell, director of Infection Prevention at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital. “That could in turn spread this to someone who either was vaccinated, and it didn’t work well, or for whatever medical reason could not be vaccinated.”

New Jersey

Atlantic City: Business, casino and political officials called on Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday to ease coronavirus regulations enough to allow conventions and trade shows to resume in the city. Saying the convention industry generates nearly $2 billion in annual revenue for Atlantic City, the groups asked the Democratic governor to allow meetings to utilize available space at 50% of capacity, as is permitted on the gambling floors of the city’s nine casinos. Michael Chait, president of the Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce, praised Murphy’s handling of the pandemic but said state-imposed rules are inconsistent and are hurting the convention industry. “I can only have 25 people in a meeting room, but I can have 225 people in a banquet hall,” he said at a press conference on the Boardwalk as workmen attended to the facade of Boardwalk Hall in anticipation of the summer tourism season. “I can have 50% capacity on the casino floor, but I can only take 25 of them and put them into an adjacent meeting room.” Chait said the city would like to be able to host conventions and trade shows at 50% of capacity, using the same safety and distancing protocols the casinos have been using since they were allowed to reopen last July. He said the casino industry has proven it is possible to operate at higher levels without compromising safety.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: A judge has ordered education officials to provide computers and high-speed internet to students who still don’t have them in a landmark ruling that for the first time in the state has set a standard for internet speeds for public school children. The ruling requires state officials to immediately determine which students covered by the sweeping lawsuit are still lacking quality internet or devices and to provide them with what they need, including transportation if they can’t get fast internet from home. “Children who are lacking access to internet and technology for remote learning are not getting much of an education, if at all, let alone one that is sufficient to make them college and career ready,” state District Judge Matthew Wilson said in the ruling Friday morning. It’s unclear how the court might compel state officials to act on the ruling or when it might hold them in contempt. The vast majority of New Mexico schools are open to in-person learning. But school districts serving tribal areas, which were particularly hard-hit by COVID-19 cases and deaths, are still under lockdown orders, and some are still in remote or partially remote learning. About 10% of New Mexico children are Native American and often confront major barriers to online and in-person learning.

New York

New York: Restaurants in New York City can increase their indoor dining to 75% of capacity starting Friday, May 7, in line with the rest of the state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday. That will let city eateries fill more of their tables on Mother’s Day, May 9. Cuomo on Friday also said personal services including hair salons and barbershops could expand to 75% capacity starting May 7 as well. Gyms in New York City can go to 50% capacity starting May 15. Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio both spoke Thursday about wanting to see coronavirus-related restrictions lifted in the next couple of months. Infection rates throughout the state have continued to fall at a steady pace in recent weeks as more people have become vaccinated against COVID-19. The number of new infections reported daily in New York has dropped 56% since the start of April, even as more and more social activity has resumed. Still, the crisis isn’t over yet. A majority of New Yorkers have yet to receive even a single dose of the vaccine. The state recorded 25,000 positive coronavirus tests in the prior seven days, more than it did in the entire month of September.

North Carolina

Raleigh: Some low-income families missed out on getting coronavirus relief grants last year because of administrative and qualifying hurdles required by the General Assembly, a state audit concluded last week. The legislature in September approved using federal COVID-19 relief funds to give families one-time $335 payments. The “Extra Credit Grant” money was designed to assist with virtual schooling and child care costs during the pandemic but could be used for any purpose. Lawmakers tasked the Department of Revenue with managing the program. More than 1.1 million payments had been sent by the department through December totaling about $375 million, according to State Auditor Beth Wood’s office. They were sent automatically to families who were 2019 tax filers and reported having at least one child age 16 or under. But parents or guardians who didn’t make enough money in 2019 to file a return were required to fill out an application to obtain payments. By the end of 2020, about 25,000 payments had been made to those who had applied, the performance audit said. Wood’s report found that other low-income families didn’t receive payments because of the additional steps the Revenue Department had to complete within a matter of weeks to accept applications and award payments.

North Dakota

Bismarck: The 2021 Legislature reached its finale early Friday in a session marked by a record-high state budget, the first expulsion of a lawmaker and pandemic protocols that greatly dampened public participation at the state Capitol. Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford, the state Senate’s presiding officer, hit the final gavel at 12:26 a.m. Friday. House members officially completed their work at 12:18 a.m. after finishing a brief chorus of “Auld Lang Syne.” Lawmakers from both sides exchanged handshakes and hugs after a marathon day that came to an end after approval of the spending bill for the Office of Management and Budget, which also serves as Legislature’s last-minute catchall measure. Thursday was Day 76 for the Legislature, just short of the 80-day maximum set by the North Dakota Constitution. The Legislature will use the remaining days later in the year to approve new legislative districts. The Republican-led Legislature has passed record-setting budgets in most of the past several sessions, but the spending plan for the next two-year budget cycle is particularly eye-popping, due in part to federal coronavirus aid. As the session wound down Thursday, lawmakers completed work on a nearly $17 billion, two-year budget, about $2.1 billion more than the current budget cycle ending June 30.

Ohio

Cincinnati: Teens have been trickling into COVID-19 vaccination clinics ever since Gov. Mike DeWine opened up eligibility to everyone 16 and older March 29. Soon, experts say it’s possible a vaccine will be allowed for children as young as 5. Dr. Robert Frenck, director of the Gamble Vaccine Research Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, said that could happen by August or September. Until then, public health officials are working to get more and more eligible teens vaccinated. In some cases, that means bringing clinics to school buildings. Milford High School in Clermont County hosted a vaccination clinic in partnership with Clermont Public Health last month. District spokesperson Wendy Planicka said about 200 people came to the clinic, 150 of whom were students. Milford senior Jack McKenney, 18, said he caught the coronavirus in the fall. He said he didn’t feel very sick, and a sinus infection he had last March was much worse. Still, he went to Milford’s clinic because he’s worried about spreading COVID-19.“I mean, I know if I were to get COVID again, I would most likely be OK, but it’s just I’m relieved that I wouldn’t give it to someone else as easily,” he said. Other school districts are considering hosting vaccine clinics or at least encouraging students to get shots if able.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: Mask mandates intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus are ending in the state’s two largest cities, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The requirement ended Friday in Oklahoma City and Saturday in Tulsa, although the mandate continues at places such as city offices. Mayors David Holt in Oklahoma City and G.T. Bynum in Tulsa both credited COVID-19 vaccinations for lowering the number of virus cases and hospitalizations. “It is possible we are taking the miracle vaccinations for granted,” Holt said during a Friday news conference. “These proven, safe vaccines are remarkable.” Bynum said residents should also continue wearing masks when in groups of people outside their family. “While we’re in a position to end the city’s mandate that people wear masks in public, that doesn’t mean everyone should have a mask-burning party over the weekend,” Bynum said Thursday. In both cities, private businesses can continue requiring masks if desired. The Oklahoma State Department of Health on Friday reported 448,305 total virus cases since the pandemic began. The seven-day rolling average of new cases in the state has declined from 314.4 daily to 240.7, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Oregon

Bend: A vaccine clinic set up inside a high school attracted anti-vaccine protesters who heckled teenagers as they entered the site Thursday, prompting the church that provided a parking lot for the event to call police. The Bend-La Pine School District plans to offer COVID-19 vaccines at six different clinics at Central Oregon high schools through June 3 in hopes of stemming an outbreak that’s sickened at least 95 students and staff, The Bulletin reports. Before the school clinics began, Bend-La Pine School Board members received hundreds of angry emails from anti-vaccine activists, said board member Julie Craig. Most had the exact same copy-and-paste wording, but a few were especially nasty, she said. Board member Carrie McPherson Douglass shared emails with The Bulletin that called the school board Nazis for allowing vaccine clinics. In one, a parent promised to “exact cruel and inhuman revenge” if their child was harmed by the shot. “I’m frankly so done with it,” Craig told the newspaper. “I’m so disappointed in community members who feel that is the best way to try and have a conversation, when they don’t agree with something that we’re doing.” In Oregon, teens 15 and up can agree to medical services – including immunization – without parental consent, according to the Oregon Health Authority.

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh: Light of Life Rescue Mission’s plans to hold a vaccine clinic for homeless people last month were upended about three hours before the event was supposed to start, when news broke that use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine had been paused, the Tribune-Review reports. The shelter quickly shifted gears and administered the Moderna option instead, said Jerrel Gilliam, executive director. But the development altered Light of Life’s vaccine strategy, as clinicians had to inform patients without consistent housing that they needed to return for a second dose. “It is very frustrating,” Gilliam said. “This was part of our strategy to use in the camps because of the one shot.” U.S. health officials later lifted the 11-day J&J vaccine pause, but many of the challenges facing shelters and the homeless during the pandemic will remain. More than 70% of residents in Light of Life’s long-term program have been fully vaccinated, which provides some peace of mind, Gilliam said. But in a population with so much transience and turnover, he said the shelter can’t let its guard down. Barriers to health care, mental health care, food and other basic needs will remain, even after COVID-19 is resolved. “There is some concern that this population will once again go to the back burner,” Gilliam said.

Rhode Island

Providence: The state Department of Health is partnering with nine colleges and universities to make getting a COVID-19 shot as easy as possible for all students, faculty and staff before the end of the spring semester. Under the program announced Thursday, schools will either hold on-campus vaccination clinics or provide free shuttle service from campus to vaccination sites. “Now that vaccine eligibility is open to all people 16 and older who live, work, or go to school in Rhode Island, it’s important that we get our young people who live in congregate settings vaccinated,” Gov. Daniel McKee said in a statement. For example, Brown University is participating at a designated day at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence by providing shuttle service to the clinic. Roger Williams University is partnering with the town of Bristol to host an on-campus clinic. Bryant University, the University of Rhode Island, Providence College, Community College of Rhode Island, New England Institute of Technology, Rhode Island College and the Rhode Island School of Design are also participating in the program. Many colleges are requiring students to be vaccinated before returning to campus for the fall. There is no cost to get a shot, and participants do not need health insurance.

South Carolina

Greenville: Masks continue to be important in schools and many other crowded public settings, state health officials said Friday, after Gov. Henry McMaster last week called masks in schools the “height of ridiculosity.” McMaster criticized the requirements Wednesday, and in a Twitter post he also urged cities and towns to remove mask requirements. Other state officials, from education and health departments, have voiced concern about the Republican governor’s mask recommendations. The South Carolina Department of Education and state Department of Health and Environmental Control have both issued statements saying mask usage is critical to preventing the spread of the coronavirus. South Carolina’s assistant state epidemiologist said Friday in a media briefing that mask mandates in cities and towns continue to be important. Even in cities that have taken away those orders, Dr. Jane Kelly said, “I would urge you to protect yourself, your family and your community by wearing a mask.” She said masks work and likened wearing a mask to wearing a seat belt because once traffic fatalities began to drop, and seat belts were widely adopted, the belts remained, and the fatalities stayed low.

South Dakota

Sturgis: The 2020 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally caused “widespread transmission” of the coronavirus across the United States, finds a new study released Thursday. More than 463 COVID-19 cases across 30 states were directly connected to the Sturgis Rally in August and September 2020. Seventeen patients were hospitalized, and one person died, according to the report by the Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. The information was reviewed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including members of the CDC COVID-19 Response Team, though a disclaimer in the study says the findings “do not necessarily represent the official position.” A total of 649 primary and secondary cases were attributed to the South Dakota event in the study. About 56% of the Sturgis-associated cases were reported in South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska and Wyoming. “While the number of cases identified is sizable – 140 cases per 100,000 attendees – it is likely that the true national impact of the Sturgis event is underestimated,” the report says. Some attendees could have been asymptomatic or hadn’t been tested when they returned home from the rally, leading to untraceable infections.

Tennessee

Knoxville: For the second year in a row, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville has recommended no increase in tuition or fees for students. It’s a purposeful decision to help students in a challenging time as families continue to recover from the economic effects of COVID-19, UT Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman said Friday. “The proposed budget with no increase in tuition and fees represents our commitment to provide affordable access to a world-class education, especially as students and families continue to recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic,” Plowman said. “We are also grateful for the state support we receive, which helps us keep tuition flat and continue to offer the academic opportunities and college experiences that make our university special.” The chancellor’s advisory board approved the flat tuition and fees for the 2021-22 school year Friday morning, as part of the budget recommendation for the next fiscal year. The budget and tuition recommendations still needs to be approved by the board of trustees later this year. Last year, tuition and fees were kept flat at all UT campuses because of financial hardship caused by the coronavirus. The year before that, tuition increased by 2%. There was no tuition increase in 2018.

Texas

Arlington: A runoff for a U.S. House seat is set between Republican Susan Wright, whose husband was the first member of Congress to die after being diagnosed with COVID-19, and Republican Jake Ellzey. Democrat Jana Lynne Sanchez was narrowly locked out of the runoff in Texas’ 6th Congressional District, which has long been GOP territory. With nearly all votes counted, Sanchez had trailed Ellzey by 354 votes. She said in a statement Sunday that her campaign “came up short.” “Democrats have come a long way toward competing in Texas but we still have a long way to go,” Sanchez said in a statement. Ellzey is a state lawmaker who narrowly lost the GOP nomination for the seat in 2018 and carried the backing of former Gov. Rick Perry. Susan Wright had already been seen as a favorite in a crowded race to fill the seat of her late husband, who died in February after being diagnosed with COVID-19. He was 67. The date of the runoff has not yet been set. Wright will enter the runoff with the backing of former President Donald Trump, who waited until just days before the election to endorse Wright.

Utah

St. George: In the past year, lifestyle changes sparked by society’s reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic have led to more time at home, more time in front of a screen and a propensity for more frequent snacking. “We call it the COVID diet,” said Dr. Daniel Cannon, a pediatrician with Red Rock Pediatrics in St. George. “We’ve seen a real uptick in weight gain in a lot of kids.” Although the problem may have increased due to factors related to pandemic-era lifestyles, it’s definitely not the first time medical professionals have seen this problem. “Childhood obesity is basically an epidemic,” Cannon said. The problem stems from an increasingly unhealthy lifestyle in children and adolescents and from behaviors sometimes learned from generations of family obesity, he said. Other causes may include a lack of education on the topic of health, poverty, home environment, and accessibility of health care and healthy nutrition. “We call these ‘social determinants of health,’ ” Cannon said, adding that these determinants and others are screened for and discussed at each well visit in order to identify concerning trends before they become a problem. When it comes to increasing activity in children and young adults, Cannon said it’s best to find something the child is interested in and build activity around that.

Vermont

Montpelier: The state relaxed its guidance on mask-wearing outside Saturday while also moving to the second phase of reopening that allows larger gatherings, lifts industry-specific guidance for most businesses, and requires them to all follow the same rules about wearing masks, distancing and staying home when sick, Gov. Phil Scott said Friday. Vaccinated and unvaccinated Vermonters will no longer be required to wear masks outdoors if they are able to physically distance themselves. The new rules follow updated guidance last week from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Scott said during his twice-weekly virus briefing. Masks will only be required in crowds or with multiple households when distancing isn’t possible, said Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine. “The science and data show that outdoor transmission is rare; it poses little risk if you follow our guidance,” the Republican governor said. Municipalities and businesses can have stricter policies if they want, Scott said. More than 60% of adult residents are vaccinated, meeting the state’s goal to move to the second phase of reopening, Scott said. If the state reaches 70% of adults vaccinated by June 1, it will be able to take its final step to turn mandates into recommendations in July, he said.

Virginia

Falls Church: Republican candidates for governor touted plans to reopen schools and lift pandemic restrictions as they made videotaped pitches to the tens of thousands of party delegates who will choose a nominee at a convention next Saturday. Pandemic restrictions on mass gatherings have prevented the GOP from holding a traditional convention, so the party has instead opted to hold an “unassembled convention” in which delegates who preregistered to participate will cast ballots at more than 30 locations to choose a nominee. The convention will use ranked-choice voting to more closely mimic the balloting at a traditional convention, where the field is winnowed in successive votes until one candidate gets a minority. And because the candidates won’t be able to make traditional convention speeches to assembled delegates, the GOP arranged for candidates to submit videos touting themselves on the party’s website, which were posted Saturday night.

Washington

Republic: About 10% of the population of this small city in north-central Washington has tested positive for the coronavirus in an outbreak traced to large indoor events last month at the local Fraternal Order of Eagles hall. Ferry County Memorial Hospital officials have confirmed more than 100 cases, with one reported death, since the April 9-11 events, including a membership drive that featured dinner, live music and a 1980s-themed karaoke night. Some patients have had to be transferred to Wenatchee and Yakima because of a lack of capacity at the 25-bed hospital – the only hospital in a 50-mile radius – and other closer facilities. “In Ferry County especially, we’re seeing really sick young people showing up in the emergency room to get care,” Northeast Tri County Health Officer Dr. Sam Artzis said, according to The Spokesman-Review. The county previously had relatively few COVID-19 cases, and many in the conservative, rural community saw mask mandates as infringing on their liberty. Less than one-quarter of the county’s residents have received a vaccine to date, according to the health district, but officials said the outbreak has increased interest in it. The situation should serve as a warning to other communities about the danger of large indoor events with unvaccinated people, they said.

West Virginia

Bluefield: Signs featuring the words “Now Hiring” and “Help Wanted” are an increasingly common sight outside restaurants locally, but surprisingly few people are stepping forward and taking those jobs, business owners and hiring managers say. The COVID-19 pandemic put many people out of work as restrictions kept diners out of restaurants. Adjustments such as more drive-thru traffic, deliveries and limited seating helped, but restaurants cut back on wait staff and other employees. Restrictions are starting to relax, but now they are having trouble bringing new employees in. Jamie Null, executive director of the Mercer County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said local restaurants and service industries have been looking for new employees, but they are not receiving many applicants. Some area restaurants are seeing people ask about jobs, but few are taking the next step from applicant to employee. The Corner Shop in downtown Bramwell has been hiring for months, manager Mandy Fink said. She said she believed some of the people who apply but never follow through are listing applications so they can keep receiving unemployment benefits. “Right now, there’s a lot of people who are able to work,” she said.

Wisconsin

Madison: The state Capitol, closed to the public since late March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, will reopen Monday, Gov. Tony Evers’ administration announced Friday. It will be opened for limited hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and only on weekdays. Before the pandemic, the building stayed open until 6 p.m. during the week and was also open on weekends. There will be no public tours of the Capitol, but the tour desk will be staffed for visitors to get information. Only one entrance to the building will be open to the public. Capitol staff, including those who work for Evers, lawmakers and the state Supreme Court, have been working out of the building for months. The Legislature has also been holding hearings and floor sessions, which are open to the public. State office buildings that surround the Capitol remain closed, but Evers has said he’s targeting a return to work for many this summer. Republicans have been pushing Evers to move faster to open the offices. As of Friday, more than 43% of people in Wisconsin had received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, while nearly 34% were fully vaccinated, according to the state Department of Health Services.

Wyoming

Cheyenne: Telephone scammers are trying to take advantage of an accidental Wyoming Department of Health data release affecting over a quarter of the state’s population, agency officials said Friday. Scammers request insurance, Medicare, Medicaid or other financial information and in some cases look like they’re calling from state government numbers, department administrator Jeri Hendricks said in a statement. “No one representing the department will ask you for insurance, Medicare, Medicaid or personal financial information. No one representing the department will call you about the breach unless they are returning a call you made to us first,” Hendricks said. The scammers appear to be targeting residents at random and not through access to phone numbers inadvertently released, department spokeswoman Kim Deti said. A department employee working with computer code accidentally posted coronavirus test results as well as associated names, addresses, birth dates and other information on GitHub.com, an internet-based software development platform. The employee released coronavirus plus flu test results for 145,698 Wyoming residents. Also posted were blood alcohol test results for 18,312 people, mainly from Wyoming but also other states, dating to 2012.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports