The Fed may have to blow up the economy to get inflation under ...

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New York CNN Business —

The Federal Reserve is most likely going to raise interest rates by three quarters of a percentage point again on Wednesday, its fourth straight supersized hike. And it’s still possible another rate increase of that magnitude could come in December.

But the big question for many investors – and American consumers – is whether the Fed will send the economy into a recession with these massive rate increases.

There are hopes that any downturn would be mild, but this is uncharted territory for the Fed. Former central bank chairs Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke and current Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen never had to raise rates this many times in a row by such large amounts.

It’s unclear what all this tightening will do to the economy. The housing market is already starting to show some signs of strain. Bond yields have spiked due to the Fed. And mortgage rates, which tend to move in tandem with the benchmark 10-year Treasury, have skyrocketed this year as a result.

There is also a growing chorus of Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill who are warning Fed chair Jerome Powell and other Fed members to slow down the rate hikes because they fear even tighter monetary policy will lead to a recession.

But as long as the jobs market remains healthy the Fed is probably going to continue to focus solely on its price stability mandate and ignore all that stuff about maximum employment.

“The Fed has got more work to do,” said Steve Wyett, chief investment strategist at BOK Financial. “Inflation pressures take longer to come out of the system.”

The solid rebound in gross domestic product, or GDP, in the third quarter following two straight quarters of economic contraction may also quiet some (but not all) recession worriers. That could also prompt the Fed to continue its aggressive rate hiking stance…even if such a policy risks causing a recession down the road.

Too many hawks?

The worry is that the Fed may be choosing to look more at current economic data and isn’t thinking enough about the lag effect of its existing rate hikes. Inflation in the US economy may not have peaked yet, but there is a growing sense that we’re pretty darn close to that.

“It is critical that policymakers…prepare for a slowdown in demand as the lagged impact of rising interest rates and inflation begins to exert a powerful downward pull on economic activity,” Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM US, said in a report. He added that the economy “clearly is at risk of falling into recession in the near term.”

There’s another factor at play that could lead the Fed to raise rates sharply at its next two meetings and then slow down its pace.

Every year, there is a rotation of regional Fed presidents who get votes at the central bank’s policy meetings. The next change will take place before the Fed’s first meeting in 2023, which concludes on February 1. Experts point out that some of the new voting members may not be as inclined to support such large rate increases as the current roster of regional presidents on the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee.

So there could be a shift from a more hawkish stance, (one likely to support higher rates) to another that is more dovish, (inclined to caution against future hikes.)

“The policy temperament of the committee turns less hawkish in 2023. Sensing a closing window of opportunity, the more hawkish voting roster of this year may seek to do more while they still can, i.e. more front-loading,” said BNP Paribas Securities US economists Carl Riccadonna and Andy Schneider in a report.

Jobs report also on tap

The Fed meeting takes place just two days before the nation will get its next report card on the labor market. Economists are forecasting a slowdown in job growth, but not a substantial one.

According to estimates from Reuters, experts predict that 200,000 jobs were added in October, down from jobs gains of 263,000 in September. (That September figure will likely be revised, however.)

The unemployment rate, which fell to 3.5% in September, is expected to have ticked up to 3.6% this month. But that’s still near a half-century low.

The numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics count both private sector and government jobs. Another jobs report, from payroll processor ADP, is also due out next week, and this one looks just at Corporate America.

According to forecasts, economists expect the ADP numbers will show a further slowing down of hiring among businesses, with 190,000 jobs in September added compared to 208,000 a month earlier.

Even if the pace of hiring is starting to slow, it’s clear that the labor market remains tight. Wages have grown at an above average pace, albeit not as fast as inflation.

The government said in the September jobs report that average hourly earnings rose 5% in the past 12 months. The Fed typically prefers to see wage growth in the 2% to 3% annual range as a sign that inflation is under control.

According to figures released Friday, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, the so-called personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, showed that prices were up 6.2% in the past 12 months through September.

So a more dramatic slowdown in wage growth seems unlikely as long as the job market remains robust and consumer prices keep shooting higher.

“The pace of hiring is very high, unsustainable, and is pushing up wages and inflation,” economists at The Hamilton Project, a policy research group at the Brookings Institution, said in a recent report.

Up next

Monday: EU GDP; Eurozone inflation; earnings from Goodyear (GT), Aflac (AFL) and Avis Budget (CAR)

Tuesday: US ISM manufacturing index; earnings from BP (BP), Pfizer (PFE), Uber (UBER), Eli Lilly (LLY), Fox (FOXA), Prudential (PRU), Mondelez (MDLZ), AIG (AIG), AMD (AMD), Caesars (CZR), Clorox (CLX) and Electronic Arts (EA)

Wednesday: Fed rate decision; ADP jobs report; Germany PMI; earnings from CVS (CVS), Humana (HUM), Paramount, Yum (YUM), Ferrari (RACE), MetLife (MET), Allstate (ALL), Qualcomm (QCOM), Booking (BKNG), eBay (EBAY), MGM (MGM), Roku (ROKU) and Etsy (ETSY)

Thursday: Bank of England rate decision; US weekly jobless claims; US ISM services index; earnings from Cigna (CI), ConocoPhillips (COP), Marriott (MAR), Kellogg (K), Moderna (MRNA), Royal Caribbean (RCL), Wayfair (W), CNN owner Warner Bros. Discovery, Starbucks (SBUX), PayPal (PYPL), Amgen (AMGN) and Block (SQ)

Friday: US jobs report; earnings from Cardinal Health (CAH), Duke Energy (DUK) and Hershey (HSY)

Gun violence keeps supercharging America's Second Amendment ...

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Washington CNN —

“There was blood on the floor. There was a lot of blood trailing on the floor,” one eyewitness said.

“We heard a lot of loud pops,” another recalled.

“There was police coming in. There was emergency vehicles pouring in,” an additional eyewitness recounted.

Tuesday morning’s Brooklyn subway shooting, which left 10 commuters with gunshot wounds, is the latest entry in America’s shameful tradition of gun violence.

“We’re facing a problem that is hitting our entire nation right now and that is why this is a national response,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams told CNN’s Dana Bash. “We need a national response to this issue.”

It’s hard not to view this incident as yet another result of America’s polarized gun debate.

Many Americans hold their right to bear arms, enshrined in the US Constitution, as sacrosanct. But critics of the Second Amendment say that right threatens another: the right to life.

Each shooting seems to entrench everyone’s respective convictions.

A most American problem

While there’s a roiling debate over how to handle gun violence in the US, there’s no question about its prevalence.

A rash of shootings over the weekend underscored the nationwide issue: Four people, including two teens, were shot near Nationals Park shortly after a Major League Baseball game in Washington, DC, on Saturday night, police said. In Illinois, six people were found injured after a shooting in a residential neighborhood early Sunday morning.

Police are investigating a shooting at a weekend birthday party in Indianapolis where six people were shot and one was killed. And two people were killed and 10 injured after a “targeted attack” at a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, nightclub, police say.

The head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention even deemed gun violence a “serious public health threat” last year.

“Something has to be done about this,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in an exclusive interview with CNN in August. “Now is the time – it’s pedal to the metal time.”

Unlike the Covid-19 pandemic, which has spread through populations worldwide, or the opioid epidemic gripping countries near and far, gun violence is a uniquely American tragedy.

From a detailed CNN report late last year: The US has more deaths from gun violence than any other developed country per capita. The rate in the US is eight times greater than in Canada, which has the seventh highest rate of gun ownership in the world; 22 times higher than in the European Union and 23 times greater than in Australia, according to Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) data from 2019.

Deadly division

In an all too familiar cycle, a shooting will prompt some to push for more gun control and others to lobby for less firearm regulation. A tense debate plays out before the issue fades from the national conversation.

Then another shooting occurs – and we start the cycle over again.

Underscoring this trend on Tuesday was Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who signed a new law that allows eligible residents to carry concealed guns in public without licenses.

The move makes Georgia the 23rd state to not have a policy that requires a permit to carry concealed guns in public, per data compiled by Everytown for Gun Safety, a non-profit that focuses on gun violence prevention.

Overall, a narrow majority of Americans are in favor of stricter laws on gun sales, and recent polling suggests broad support for measures that would restrict access to guns – but about half of the public says that neither stricter laws nor stricter enforcement would reduce the amount of violent crime in the US.

Gallup’s polling in October found that 52% of Americans think the laws covering the sales of firearms should be more strict, while just 11% said they should be less strict and 35% say they should remain as they are now.

That represents a decline in the share supporting stricter laws in recent years: About two-thirds said they favored stricter laws in Gallup polling conducted in 2018 and 2019.

Support for stricter gun laws tends to spike after high-profile mass shootings, such as the one at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, which had occurred a few weeks before Gallup measured its recent high of 67% support for stricter laws in March 2018.

A Pew Research Center analysis of polling on gun laws in 2021 showed more than 8 in 10 in favor of preventing people with mental illnesses from purchasing guns (87%) and of making private gun sales and sales at gun shows subject to background checks (81%).

Smaller majorities backed creating a federal database to track gun sales (66%), “banning high-capacity ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds” (64%) and “banning assault-style weapons” (63%). (Note that the results of polling on gun laws can be sensitive to question wording. Phrases noted in quotes here represent the exact wording of the poll’s questions).

An ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted in June 2021 found that 46% of Americans thought stricter gun laws would reduce the amount of violent crime in this country, while 53% said they would not. Slightly more, 51%, said stricter enforcement of gun laws would reduce the amount of violent crime, with 47% saying that would not reduce crime.

What is Biden doing?

President Joe Biden has made modest progress on gun control, but major steps like banning assault weapons or closing background check loopholes would require congressional action.

With those steps remaining long shots, the Biden administration has turned its attention to so-called “ghost guns,” announcing on Monday a new regulation addressing the government’s ability to track the unregulated, untraceable weapons made from kits.

The regulation specifically requires background checks before kit purchases and the inclusion of serial numbers on some components used to assemble weapons.

“If you buy a couch you have to assemble, it’s still a couch. If you order a package like this one over here that includes the parts that you need and directs the assembly of a functioning firearm, you bought a gun,” Biden declared from the Rose Garden, striding over to the kit and demonstrating the ease of constructing the weapon.

“It doesn’t take very long,” he said. “Anyone can order it in the mail.”

Calls for something to be done about ghost guns have grown as their use in shootings across the US has proliferated, with the weapons recovered at crime scenes in some big cities more frequently.

While ghost guns make up a relatively small percentage of the guns recovered by law enforcement, officials in several cities have reported sharp increases in those tallies, a CNN analysis of 2021 data found:

In San Francisco, for example, about 20% of the nearly 1,100 guns seized in 2021 were ghost guns, police there told CNN.

New York is on pace to again shatter the previous year’s total, according to data shared with CNN. Since the start of this year, the New York Police Department has recovered 163 ghost guns, compared with 29 over the same period in 2021, Adams said Monday. In 2021, New York authorities seized 4,497 firearms – 375, or 8.33%, were ghost guns.

Of the 12,088 guns recovered in Chicago last year, 455, or 3.76%, were ghost guns, according to data from the city, up from 130 recovered in 2020, when ghost guns made up 1.15% of the 11,343 guns recovered.

The President has also named Steve Dettelbach, a former US attorney from Ohio, as his nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The President’s previous nominee was forced to withdraw amid opposition in the Senate.

What we can learn from other countries

Countries that have introduced laws to reduce gun-related deaths have achieved significant changes, CNN’s detailed report found last year:

A decade of gun violence, culminating with the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, prompted the Australian government to take action.

Less than two weeks after Australia’s worst mass shooting, the federal government implemented a new program, banning rapid-fire rifles and shotguns, and unifying gun owner licensing and registrations across the country. In the next 10 years gun deaths in Australia fell by more than 50%. A 2010 study found the government’s 1997 buyback program – part of the overall reform – led to an average drop in firearm suicide rates of 74% in the five years that followed.

Other countries are also showing promising results after changing their gun laws.

In South Africa, gun-related deaths almost halved over a 10-year-period after new gun legislation, the Firearms Control Act of 2000, went into force in July 2004. The new laws made it much more difficult to obtain a firearm.

In New Zealand, gun laws were swiftly amended after the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings. Just 24 hours after the attack, in which 51 people were killed, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the law would change. New Zealand’s parliament voted almost unanimously to change the country’s gun laws less than a month later, banning all military-style semi-automatic weapons.

Britain tightened its gun laws and banned most private handgun ownership after a mass shooting in 1996, a move that saw gun deaths drop by almost a quarter over a decade.

But America’s relationship to gun ownership is unique, and our gun culture is a global outlier. For now, the deadly cycle of violence seems destined to continue.

Book bans move to center stage in the red state education wars ...

CNN —

The escalating red-state efforts to ban more books mark a new stage in the struggle to control the educational experience of America’s kaleidoscopically diverse younger generations.

Since 2021, more than a dozen Republican-controlled states have passed laws or approved executive branch policies that restrict how public school teachers can talk about race, gender and sexual orientation, as in the case of the bill critics call “don’t say gay,” which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law last week. But now, even as National Library Week arrives this week, the attempt to limit what materials are available to young people is spilling out from the classroom into the library.

Though battles over access to controversial titles traditionally have been fought district by district, and even school by school, Republican-controlled states including Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas are now pushing statewide rules that make it easier for critics to remove books they dislike from school libraries in every community.

At the same time, although none have yet passed, more red states are seriously debating proposals that would make it easier for critics to force the removal of books even from public libraries serving the adult population.

“The primary target still is school libraries and school librarians, K-12 teachers, but we are seeing this bleed over to public libraries,” says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association.

To the conservatives pushing this agenda, these new restrictions on libraries – like the parallel red-state laws limiting certain discussions in the classroom – are a means of protecting parental rights.

“Parents want education for their kids: They are not interested in indoctrination through the school system,” DeSantis argued late last month when signing a bill facilitating efforts to remove books from school libraries.

But to a wide array of civil rights, civil liberties and free expression groups, these restrictions represent an effort to enshrine the values of one particular group of parents – conservative Whites – over the priorities and experiences of an increasingly diverse society in which kids of color now compose a clear majority of the public school student body nationwide.

There is an overarching trend here of interference with the right to learn and the right to access information. Vera Eidelman, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project

The parallel battles over how teachers address race, gender and sexual orientation and how libraries regulate access to books represent the broadest attempt to limit what students are taught since the “loyalty oath” demands on teachers during the red scare period of the 1950s, or even the “Scopes trial”-era laws banning the teaching of evolution during the 1920s.

“There is an overarching trend here of interference with the right to learn and the right to access information,” says Vera Eidelman a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. On both fronts, she says, critics are “targeting the same set of viewpoints and experiences and aspects of education,” primarily materials relating to race, gender roles and the experiences of LGBTQ individuals.

‘Parallel movements’

The torrent of laws approved in Republican-controlled states since 2021 to limit how teachers can discuss race, gender or sexual orientation has been part of a much broader current. Since the 2020 election, the 23 states in which Republicans control both the governorship and the state legislature have approved a surge of statutes restricting abortion rights, making it more difficult to vote, barring transgender girls and women from participating in grade school or college sports, banning transgender care for minors and increasing penalties for public protest. Cumulatively, as I’ve written, these proliferating red-state measures constitute an attempt to reverse what legal analysts call the “rights revolution” of roughly the past 60 years, in which Congress and the Supreme Court have generally expanded the circle of basic civil rights and liberties guaranteed to all Americans and reduced the ability of states to curtail those rights.

Critics of the new wave of red-state measures see an especially powerful through line connecting the laws that make it more difficult to vote and increase the legal penalties for disruptive public protest with the bills that censor classroom instruction or empower critics to ban books in school libraries. All three thrusts make it more difficult for opponents to mobilize opposition to the agenda the red-state Republicans are advancing.

“There are parallel movements across voting rights and protest rights and education rights,” says Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education at PEN America, a free-speech group founded by prominent authors. “In each case, you have a kind of flowering of experimentation of legislation to see what kind of things can fit to make it harder for people to vote, to make it more costly to protest and what would make it harder to access information in school.”

The restrictions on classroom teaching have exploded across the red states since 2021. Jeffrey Sachs, a political scientist at Acadia University in Nova Scotia who tracks these proposals for PEN America, counts at least 13 Republican-controlled states that have approved laws censoring how teachers talk about “divisive concepts,” such as systematic racial inequity, and five more states with GOP governors that have imposed administrative limits on such teachings through state boards of education or other bodies.

The conservatives pushing these bills portray them as a necessary barrier against liberal attempts to “indoctrinate” students through concepts such as critical race theory, an academic analysis of systemic discrimination, or the 1619 Project, a New York Times project that stressed the impact of slavery on American society. At a recent event with DeSantis, Alicia Farrant, a mother and school board candidate in Orange County, Florida, described her state’s version of these proposals as proof that parents “will not cower to the divisive agendas that are infiltrating our public schools in order to corrupt and destroy the educational foundations of our great nation.”

This wave does not appear to have crested. The Florida legislation barring discussion of sexual orientation in the youngest grades and limiting it in older grades has spawned copycat bills in other Republican-controlled states. More states are also considering laws that would extend the classroom censorship to public colleges and universities. Other GOP-controlled states, including Missouri, are considering their own bills on race and gender, and some of the states that have already passed such laws are doubling back with new proposals – such as a proposed amendment to the state constitution in Arizona to ban the teaching of critical race theory.

“The level of focus and unity of language that we are seeing across all of these different bills is pretty extraordinary,” Sachs says. “There is an incredible amount of overlap, down to the punctuation of these bills, so we can definitely consider this a national campaign and not one that is responding to the specific context of each state.”

Public libraries are not immune

This campaign has developed so much momentum that it has overflowed the classroom to reach the library – particularly those in schools, but now also, for the first time, lapping at the doors of those that serve the public.

In recent decades, these fights have unfolded mostly locally, with challenges to specific books at individual libraries. Those fights are clearly intensifying: On Monday, the American Library Association reported that in 2021 it had recorded 729 such efforts to ban books at school or public libraries, the most since it began cataloging these efforts in 2000. The most-challenged books, the group reported, were from Black or LGBTQ authors or centered on characters from those communities.

But this struggle is also expanding to a new level, with multiplying red-state efforts to create statewide policies designed to lead to the removal of more books. In Texas, for instance, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is pressuring school boards to remove what he calls “pornography” from school libraries. Abbott’s letter followed a more detailed complaint from a Republican state legislator who sent districts a letter inquiring about the presence of 850 books, including several by prominent Black or LGBTQ authors.

In Florida, DeSantis signed a bill late last month that requires school libraries to post more information about their collections and seek community input on materials they acquire. Most importantly, the new law requires the state Department of Education to collect and publish a report on which books have been removed in any district across the state.

At the bill-signing ceremony, DeSantis said these provisions would ensure that students are exposed only to age-appropriate books. The new measures will increase schools’ “ability to choose what is appropriate for different age groups,” he argued. “Parents are going to have the ability to have their voices heard.”

But opponents of the legislation say the requirement for the state Education Department to publish a list of books removed in any district provides a road map for critics to demand the removal of such books in all districts.

Florida, as is the case with many of the cultural flashpoints now dominating red-state legislatures, has moved fastest and furthest. But Georgia’s Republican-controlled legislature last week passed its own bill facilitating challenges to books in school libraries; measures targeting school libraries have also passed one chamber in the GOP-controlled legislatures in Kansas and Tennessee, though they face uncertain prospects of final approval. Similarly motivated bills have surfaced in Nebraska and Oklahoma as well.

In another escalation to the book wars, red state proposals are now emerging to ease the removal of books even in public libraries serving the adult, as well as the youth, population. These proposals generally would strip away the protection for librarians (and educators) from state obscenity laws, allowing officials to criminally charge librarians if they stock materials that a prosecutor considers obscene.

We all live in diverse communities these days … and we firmly believe that as public institutions, both public libraries and public school libraries need to serve the needs of everyone and reflect everyone’s lives in the library collection. Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association

Republican legislators have introduced bills to eliminate those protections in more than half a dozen states, according to the American Library Association’s tracking. None have yet passed into law, though one has cleared the state House in Idaho. Yet given the pace at which ideas once on the fringe, such as bans on gender-affirming health care for transgender minors, are advancing through the red states, Caldwell-Stone says the library association is “deeply concerned that one of these bills will eventually pass and will be used as a means of both intimidating librarians or actually charging them with crimes – based on this falsehood that mainstream materials, published by mainstream publishers, are somehow illegal speech unprotected by the First Amendment.”

Last fall, a library faced such an investigation in Campbell County, Wyoming, after a local church complained about the presence of LGBTQ and sexual education materials there; a special prosecutor appointed by the county ultimately decided not to press charges.

All these confrontations underscore the cultural chasm between increasingly diverse younger generations and the socially conservative, predominantly White and Christian, Republican coalition that holds power in the red states. Children of color have constituted a majority of the public school K-12 student body since 2014, according to federal statistics, and now make up nearly 55% of the total. Gallup recently reported that 1 in 5 members of Generation Z, as well as 1 in 10 millennials, identify as LGBTQ, far more than in older generations. And the Public Religion Research Institute has found that more than a third of young adults identify as secular, without affiliation with any organized religion.

Supporters of the efforts to restrict classroom teaching and/or ban books, by contrast, often cite a threat to “traditional” morality as a justification. When DeSantis signed the bill easing challenges to school library collections, one of the speakers he brought to the podium was a mother who had been prominent in protests against school masking requirements in Volusia County. She said her concern about school libraries was prompted in part by a picture book called “Red: A Crayon’s Story,” in which a crayon labeled red discovers that it’s really blue. The mother, Rebecca Sarwi, said she objected to “subliminal messaging for kids that young” that “normalizes them to believe” that they may be “something other than the unique individual that God created them to be.”

Serving ‘the needs of everyone’

Such arguments highlight what may be the core issue in this intensifying dispute: Though the classroom and library restrictions are being portrayed as an effort to strengthen “parents’ rights,” in practice they mean giving one set of parents a veto over educational content not only for their own kids, but others’ as well.

Librarians “don’t disagree with parents who want to guide their children’s readings … but they stand firmly opposed to one family dictating what is available to everyone else in a school library or a public library,” Caldwell-Stone told me. “We all live in diverse communities these days … and we firmly believe that as public institutions, both public libraries and public school libraries need to serve the needs of everyone and reflect everyone’s lives in the library collection.”

Polls have generally found broad skepticism about the new classroom and library restrictions. A recent CBS survey found that more than four-fifths of Americans opposed banning books because they criticized American history or discussed race. A recent Grinnell College national poll found more than 70% of Americans trusted school officials to decide what materials were appropriate for their libraries. In a recent CNN poll, only about 1 in 6 adults thought parents should have the principal say on how race is taught in schools.

One element is these (conservative) parents vs. all the other parents, and the other is the parents vs. the students. I don’t think it’s at all clear parents have rights to prevent their children from being exposed to the world. Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education at PEN America

Opponents of the restrictive measures are trying to organize greater resistance to them. Red Wine and Blue, a nationwide group of suburban Democratic-leaning women fighting the red-state proposals, has organized a nationwide “read-in” of banned books on Thursday hosted by Dolly Parton’s sister Stella that features the authors of targeted books such as “I Am Rosa Parks” and “Heather Has Two Mommies.” That same day, a House Oversight and Reform subcommittee is holding a hearing on the book ban efforts, which could signal a turn toward greater attention to the issue from national Democrats.

“After a long time of banging my head on the kitchen counter, I do feel like there’s progress and we are seeing some results,” says Katie Paris, Red Wine and Blue’s founder.

Paris says thousands of women have gone through the group’s training, which is designed to counter the organizing of the conservative organizations supporting the restrictions, such as Moms for Liberty. Though the number of proposed book bans continues to rise, Paris says, a smaller share of them have been approved in recent months by districts or school administrators, according to the group’s figures. In several cases, others note, students themselves are taking a more visible role in opposing these measures – as in the widespread walkouts in Florida against the “don’t say gay” bill and a lawsuit brought by Missouri students against a book ban in their school.

“One element is these (conservative) parents vs. all the other parents, and the other is the parents vs. the students,” says Friedman. “I don’t think it’s at all clear parents have rights to prevent their children from being exposed to the world.”

Still, even with occasional setbacks, the drive to control the flow of information to young people is demonstrating enormous energy in red states. With Congress unlikely to pass any national legislation combating this trend, opponents’ best chance to slow the tide are legal challenges, some of which are already working through the courts. In the 1982 Pico decision upholding the First Amendment rights of students, the Supreme Court ruled, as the ACLU’s Eidelman puts it, “schools cannot remove books from their shelves merely because they disagree with the ideas expressed in those books.”

Yet many observers note it’s unclear whether this more conservative Republican-appointed Supreme Court majority would uphold that standard. What is clear is that more of the red states appear intent on testing the boundaries of what the Supreme Court will allow through new laws facilitating the banning of books from school, or potentially even public, libraries.

“This is one of the key characteristics of the era in which we live,” says Paris. “I think we’ve had to learn there are no bounds. That is what makes this a fight for democracy. This isn’t just a culture war sideshow.”

Another race row has engulfed Buckingham Palace. Does the ...

London CNN —

Britain’s royal hierarchy has changed dramatically in the past several weeks, after King Charles III became the country’s first new monarch for seven decades and several of his relatives stepped into new roles.

But there is a troubling familiarity to the first major crisis to grip the newly reorganized institution.

The royals are once again battling serious allegations of racism inside palace walls, after an honorary aide resigned and apologized following complaints that she repeatedly asked a Black British charity boss where she was “really from.”

“It was like an interrogation,” Ngozi Fulani, who runs the domestic violence charity Sistah Space, told BBC Radio 4. “Although it’s not physical violence – it is an abuse.”

The aide, identified as Lady Susan Hussey in British media, served as the late Queen Elizabeth II’s lady in waiting for more than 60 years and is a godmother to the Prince of Wales.

Fulani was attending an event hosted by Camilla, Queen Consort, intended to highlight what she called a “global pandemic” of violence against women, and to celebrate the work of campaigners and charities who tackle the issue.

But the experience Fulani endured has overshadowed that message. “I have to really question how this can happen in a space that’s supposed to protect women against all kinds of violence,” she told the BBC.

The timing of the controversy couldn’t have been worse, erupting as it did on the first day of Prince William and Catherine’s visit to the United States for the Earthshot Awards ceremony, their first overseas trip in their new positions. Keen to draw a line under the situation playing out at home, Kensington Palace condemned the remarks of William’s godmother as “unacceptable,” adding that it was “right that the individual concerned has stepped aside with immediate effect.”

Now, the royal institution is facing a fresh round of uncomfortable questions.

“I was shocked. It’s 2022, and somebody can speak like that and think like that,” Diane Abbott, a Labour MP who represents Fulani and the first Black woman elected to the House of Commons in 1987, told CNN. Abbott said the suggestion that a Black person is not truly British is less prevalent today then decades ago, but still exists generationally.

“King Charles III and a lot of people around him are very committed now to modernizing the monarchy. They want to modernize it, they want to keep it relevant,” Abbott said. “But this sort of incident takes them back.”

“Meghan Markle talked about this, and she got roundly abused – and she’s still the target of negativity in the British press,” Abbott added, referring to the Duchess of Sussex. “I think this incident shows that what Meghan Markle was trying to indicate is true.”

Ngozi Fulani said the exchange was "like an interrogation." Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock

An increasingly familiar debate

A swell of goodwill surrounded the royals following the Queen’s death, but that sentiment was not limitless and the simple truth remains that the late monarch outshone all of her descendants, including King Charles, in terms of popularity among the public.

In the wake of his mother’s death, King Charles told religious leaders he felt he had a personal duty to “protect the diversity of our country.” But without the Queen’s unifying presence at the top of “The Firm,” the royals must now respond to serious questions about whether their institution adequately represents a multicultural Britain.

This was, after all, an aide previously at the heart of the royals’ inner circle. Hussey frequently accompanied Queen Elizabeth II to official engagements, riding alongside her to the funeral service for Prince Philip in 2021. She welcomed prime ministers and dignitaries to Buckingham Palace, stood by the throne at State Openings of Parliament, and was often pictured laughing alongside the matriarch, Charles and other royals at horse-racing events.

But now, Hussey’s comments have dragged the royal family back into a debate it has sought to dissociate itself from.

Questions of how robustly the palace confronts racism have swirled since Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, told Oprah Winfrey last year that someone in the family questioned her on the skin tone of her unborn baby.

CNN was told last year that the Queen dispatched Hussey, along with her Dresser Angela Kelly, to offer advice, guidance and tutelage to Meghan after her entry into the royal family – an institution that the duchess has since said ignored her pleas over her mental health and made her feel unwelcome and isolated.

And later last year, Britain’s Guardian newspaper unearthed documents, buried in the UK national archives, which revealed that the Queen’s courtiers had banned ethnic minority immigrants and foreigners from holding clerical positions at Buckingham Palace until at least the late 1960s.

Lady Susan Hussey was at the very center of the royals' inner circle. Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

When this emerged, the palace didn’t confirm when this practice had ended but told CNN: “The Royal Household and the Sovereign comply with the provisions of the Equality Act, in principle and in practise. This is reflected in the diversity, inclusion and dignity at work policies, procedures and practises within the Royal Household.”

Such stories have forced royals to go on the defensive. Prince William told reporters in the aftermath of the Winfrey interview that the royals are “very much not” a racist family; months later, a senior royal representative later said Queen Elizabeth II supported the Black Lives Matter movement.

And royals have since tentatively approached the thorny issue of the monarchy’s historic links to slavery, with then-Prince Charles saying in June that the “time has come” to confront the legacy of the practice. Many activists want more, such as a formal apology from the institution.

Incidents like these recall a number of previous controversies and threaten to undo the efforts of the senior royals to present themselves as in-touch and relevant ambassadors for Britain – a particularly dangerous proposition in the early months of Charles’ reign.

There is progress – but it’s ‘not fast enough’

Hussey’s swift departure, and Kensington Palace’s immediate response, has been noted by some onlookers as a sign that the monarchy is learning from past mistakes.

“A few years ago this incident would have been dismissed and Ngozi would have been regarded as too sensitive,” Abbott told CNN.

“The speed of response this time, and the fact there was an apology and [William’s spokesperson] made a statement, does show that there is some progress on race issues in the royal family,” she said.

“It’s not fast enough,” Abbott added. “I would like to see them have more Black people in the royal household, I would like to see them genuinely open their arms to Meghan Markle, and I would like to see them use their role to try and encourage a genuinely multiracial society.”

Others have also called for the monarchy to look inward. “There are clues here that this is a pattern; that it’s institutional,” Mandu Reid, the leader of the Women’s Equality Party who was present at the event and said she witnessed the conversion, told the BBC on Wednesday.

“It really left its mark on me. It left its mark on Ngozi,” she said of the exchange, urging the royal family not to frame the incident as a one-off. “Don’t minimize, don’t deflect,” she said.

And however much change is happening inside palace walls, the country is changing faster. On the same day of the Palace reception, results from last year’s national census revealed that people who described themselves as Christian in England and Wales fell from 59% to 46%, the first time it has dipped below half of the population. There was a huge surge in those who said they had no religion, while the number of Muslims rose to 6.5%.

The Christian faith has legal status in England, with the Church of England as the established church and the monarch as its titular head, the “Defender of the Faith.” The figures provide another example of how cultural attitudes in Britain are shifting away from those in which the monarchy is steeped.

The palace will hope that public anger over Hussey’s comments will subside following her resignation, but there are more roadbumps ahead. An immaculately timed trailer for the much-hyped Netlix documentary about Harry and Meghan was released on Thursday, with Meghan telling viewers they will “hear our story from us.”

And, more significantly, the incident has hinted towards a question that may reappear during Charles’ reign, just as it did at times during his mother’s tenure: Can the royals adapt, or is the institution simply too archaic to represent Britain today?

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the year of Prince Philip’s funeral. It took place in 2021.

In the ballpark, more vax lottos: News from around our 50 states

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Alabama

Montgomery: There will be new rules in place for street drinking in the city’s two entertainment districts when bigger crowds return later this summer. The Montgomery City Council unanimously approved the changes Tuesday, authorizing a new approach that Mayor Steven Reed said is geared toward creating a safer, more pedestrian-friendly environment. “It may not all happen tomorrow or this weekend, but those are some of the measures that we plan to implement going forward,” he said. People are currently allowed to drink from open containers in portions of downtown and in Cloverdale, but only after buying those drinks within those designated areas. Starting Aug. 1, they’ll need to drink from a standard cup provided by restaurants and bars, described in the ordinance as “an apple green disposable cup of any size.” They’ll also need to carry a receipt, part of an effort to stop people from bringing their own alcohol to the districts. City leaders said the details could still change before it goes into effect. “This is a work in progress as we deal (with) coming out of COVID,” Reed said. But he said the city wants to roll out improvements along the way and mentioned the possibility of big crowds by Independence Day. “That’s the hope, and we certainly want to be prepared for that,” Reed said.

Alaska

Anchorage: Norwegian Cruise Line has resumed ticket sales for voyages to the Last Frontier after the U.S. Senate passed a bill last week that could help save the state’s upcoming cruise season. The Alaska Tourism Restoration Act that passed unanimously would temporarily allow large cruise ships to skip required stops in Canadian ports while traveling between Washington and Alaska. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also last week issued updated guidance on mask mandates for vaccinated people, allowing them to go without masks and distancing in most places. “We remain optimistic that by working with the CDC and local port and government authorities in the destinations we visit that we will be able to resume safe cruising in the U.S. this summer,” a Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson said in an email to Alaska’s News Source. Tickets are on sale for trips on the company’s Norwegian Bliss ship for August through the end of the season. The statement from the cruise line did not specify what the end of the season would be. Ships in past have visited southeast Alaska into September. Tourism is an important industry in Alaska, particularly for many southeast Alaska communities heavily reliant on cruise ship passengers. The tourism sector was hard hit by the pandemic last year, with sailings canceled.

Arizona

Phoenix: Health officials are hoping for a spike in COVID-19 vaccine demand with doses now available for children ages 12-15. A pop-up vaccination clinic for children is planned Saturday near downtown Phoenix, including much of the largely Latino Maryvale neighborhood. The Arizona Department of Health Services said people also will be going door-to-door to educate residents about vaccines and distribute yard signs. More than 5.6 million vaccine doses have been administered in Arizona. Nearly 3.2 million people, or 44.3% of the state’s eligible population, have received at least one dose. Nearly 2.7 million are fully vaccinated. Arizona reported 590 new cases of the coronavirus and 12 new deaths. The data posted on the state dashboard Thursday brings the totals since the pandemic began to 875,195 cases and 17,509 deaths. The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 deviated little from the past few days at 591. Of those, 174 were in intensive care units.

Arkansas

Little Rock: Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Thursday that he won’t seek another extension of the emergency he declared because of the coronavirus pandemic, allowing it to expire at the end of the month. Hutchinson said the declaration that he first issued March 11, 2020, will expire May 30. “The public health concerns remain, and everyone in Arkansas needs to continue to take the virus seriously and to act accordingly,” Hutchinson said at a news conference. “The fact that I’m ending the public health emergency should not diminish anyone’s intensity on the need to get a vaccination or the need to protect from the virus that is still remaining in parts of our communities.” The Republican governor had already lifted the restrictions he’d issued because of the virus, including a mask mandate. Lawmakers this year also placed new limits on his emergency powers, expanding their ability to end his declarations and orders. Hutchinson noted that several executive orders he had issued in response to the pandemic, including loosened restrictions on telemedicine, were written into law by the Legislature this year. Meanwhile, he announced a $6.4 million ad campaign and another $2 million campaign aimed at minority communities in a bid to increase the state’s COVID-19 vaccination rate, one of the lowest in the U.S.

California

Simi Valley: After being closed for 14 months due to the coronavirus pandemic, the museum portion of the Reagan Presidential Library will reopen to the public next week. “We couldn’t be more pleased to reopen our doors to the community,” John Heubusch, executive director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, said in a statement Monday. “When President Reagan opened his library thirty years ago, I’m sure he never imagined it would be shut down for one day, let alone for 14 months.” The museum is scheduled to reopen May 26, initially with limited hours: Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be open Monday, May 31, for Memorial Day. The library, which archives documents for researchers, remains closed with no scheduled reopening date, said library spokesperson Melissa Giller. In keeping with the latest federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, museum visitors who are fully vaccinated will not need to wear masks, museum officials said. People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second shot in a two-dose series or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, according to the CDC. Proof of vaccination will not be required; the museum will work on an honor system, Giller said.

Colorado

Fort Collins: After a COVID-19 pause, the adult mental health diversion program has resumed in the 8th Judicial District, with the goal of directing people with mental health needs away from the criminal justice system and toward treatment. Since March, the program has added flexibility on who can qualify and an expanded referral program in hopes of making a bigger impact in the community, 8th Judicial District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin said. A pilot of the adult mental health diversion program in Larimer County launched in June 2019. In March 2020, due to COVID-19 restrictions on the courts, the program stopped accepting new referrals while still working with people who were already undergoing treatment, said Carrie Bielenberg, 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office diversion coordinator. The state funding for the program was cut in June 2020. A grant from the county’s Behavioral Health Services reopened the program to new referrals March 1. Without the state funding restrictions, the program was able to expand who qualifies for the program, giving it the potential to serve more people.

Connecticut

Hartford: On a bipartisan vote, the state Senate passed wide-ranging legislation Tuesday that declares racism a public health crisis, an issue proponents contend was exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and needs to finally be addressed given the long-standing health care disparities in Connecticut. The legislation, designated Senate Bill 1 to underscore its importance to the Senate’s majority Democrats, passed on a 30-5 vote. It now awaits action in the House of Representatives. “This past year illuminated the inequities within our health systems,” said state Sen. Marilyn Moore, D-Bridgeport. “And I intentionally used the word ‘illuminate’ because they’ve always been there. But perhaps they existed because they were acceptable practices. But COVID-19 was the equalizer. And when we address these inequities, we make the systems better for all.” The bill creates a new state commission that will be charged with documenting the effect of racism on public health in Connecticut and coming up with its first strategic plan by Jan. 1, 2022 to begin eliminating health disparities and inequities in areas ranging from access to quality health care to air and water quality.

Delaware

Wilmington: The state’s first lawsuit seeking to hold long-term care facilities accountable for how they cared for patients in the early days of the pandemic has been filed against a Wilmington nursing home. It’s likely to be the first of several lawsuits in Delaware that claim wrongful death and gross negligence against a long-term care facility. In the early weeks of the pandemic, about one-third of nursing homes in the state failed to follow protocols to slow the coronavirus’ spread. More failed inspections in recent months. Americans have been grappling with how the virus ravaged nursing homes. Unlike other states, Delaware has not granted long-term care facilities immunity during the pandemic, so they are not protected from lawsuits. This suit was filed March 23, nearly a year after the first Delaware nursing home resident died of COVID-19. At the center are two Brandywine Nursing and Rehabilitation Center residents who were considered high-risk for COVID-19 and died in April 2020. The facility, according to the lawsuit, provided “sub-standard care by allowing an environment to be created which exposed the Plaintiffs to an extremely dangerous and infectious disease, after being put on notice by (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid) that there was an imminent threat to the wellbeing of its residents.”

District of Columbia

Washington: The Washington Nationals announced Wednesday afternoon that starting June 10, Nationals Park will be open to 100% capacity, and starting this Friday, fully vaccinated fans will not be required to wear masks at games, WUSA-TV reports. The Nats’ announcement comes just after D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the loosening of mask restrictions, following last week’s change in guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The health and safety of our fans will remain our top priority as an organization, and our close collaboration with health experts and the Government of the District Columbia to maintain a safe ballpark environment will continue,” the organization said in a release. Ticketed fans who are not fully vaccinated will be required to wear an approved face covering at all times, except when actively eating or drinking in their seats.

Florida

Miami: Baseball fans won’t be required to wear masks the next time they watch the Miami Marlins or the Tampa Bay Rays play at their home fields. Both teams updated their coronavirus mask policies Wednesday following recent changes to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations. The Marlins’ new policy says no fans will be required to wear masks, though those who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19 are strongly encouraged to wear one. Vaccinated fans attending Rays games can leave their faces uncovered, but the team’s announcement says unvaccinated fans must wear masks at the ballpark. It wasn’t clear how park staff would determine who was vaccinated or how the rule would be enforced. The CDC last week said people who are fully vaccinated no longer need to wear a mask indoors or outdoors and can stop social distancing in most places. The next Marlins home game is Friday against the New York Mets. The Rays return to Florida on Tuesday to face the Kansas City Royals.

Georgia

Augusta: Rural counties in general have had a tougher time getting residents vaccinated against COVID-19 compared to urban or suburban counties, a recent study found. But the Augusta area is bucking the trend, with most of the surrounding counties outperforming the urban center in Richmond County. Rural counties have been hit especially hard by the pandemic and surpassed urban counties in terms of cases per population last September, in part because of lower levels of health insurance coverage and higher rates of comorbidities that put people at greater risk, according a report this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But in terms of getting people vaccinated against the disease, urban counties fared better across the nation, with 45.7% receiving at least one dose of vaccine compared to 38.9%, the CDC study found. In Georgia, it was 20.7% in urban areas vs. 12.9% in rural counties, according to the study, which included data through April 10. In the Augusta area, it is almost the opposite. According to an analysis of Georgia Department of Public Health data, only Glascock and Jenkins counties among those surrounding Augusta had lower vaccination rates and a smaller number of vaccines given per 100,000 population than Richmond County. Most in fact, fared far better.

Hawaii

Honolulu: Retailers say the state’s mask mandate is creating confusion and conflict among customers, many of whom come from different states to vacation in the islands. Hawaii still requires people to wear masks – whether vaccinated or not – at all indoor public places as well as outdoors when physical distancing is not possible. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its mask recommendations for vaccinated people, state laws still apply, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports. Tina Yamaki, president of Retail Merchants of Hawaii, said enforcement has been a struggle throughout the pandemic, but it’s becoming harder now. “Now we’re having more visitors who say, ‘Well, we don’t have to wear masks in our state, and the CDC said,’ ” Yamaki said. “The CDC offers guidelines. It’s not the law. It’s a recommendation, and we have to follow the state law.” She said it puts retailers in a tough spot. “People are confrontational now,” Yamaki said. “We’ve had confrontations, and that’s the sad part about it. No. 1: We’re not doing it because we want to make your life harder. It’s the law. No. 2: We want to make sure everybody is safe.” Violations of the mask mandate can result in fines for the violator as well as for the retail business, Yamaki said.

Idaho

Idaho Falls: Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin announced Wednesday that she is running for governor, aligning her campaign with an emphasis on individual liberty, state sovereignty and traditional conservative values sure to play well in the deeply conservative state. McGeachin has strongly contested fellow Republican Gov. Brad Little’s coronavirus mitigation strategies throughout the pandemic and took them on again in her campaign announcement. “You will certainly not be required to wear a mask” in the governor’s office if she wins. “Simply put, the status quo has got to go,” McGeachin said. “Idahoans are tired of being ignored, shut out of the process, declared nonessential and discriminated against by the state.” Little never issued a statewide mask mandate, but early last year he issued a stay-at-home order and declared some jobs nonessential as COVID-19 patients threatened to overwhelm the state’s hospital system. The move was credited for bringing down the coronavirus caseload, but unemployment rose. Infections then surged again in the summer after Little lifted the restrictions. In her speech, McGeachin frequently criticized those orders as evidence of an out-of-control government. She did not mention the 190,000 Idaho residents who have been infected with the virus or the more than 2,000 who have died.

Illinois

Springfield: COVID-19 cases in the state are continuing to decline, another sign of progress as Illinois nears full reopening in June. The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 1,542 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, a decrease of 20% over the previous week and 61% since April 9, when the spring spike hit a high of 4,004 cases. The statewide coronavirus test positivity rate remains steady at 2.7%, while the rate as a percentage of total tests has ticked down to 2.2%, the lowest since March 15. IDPH also reported 42 deaths. Illinois vaccination numbers, meanwhile, continue to increase. IDPH reported 47% of all adults – 4.9 million people over age 18 – have been fully vaccinated, and 64% of adults – 6.3 million people – have received at least one dose. Thursday’s numbers weren’t at the peak levels of March and April, but IDPH reported 89,832 new doses, with the seven-day average moving up to 65,998 vaccinations per day. Overall, the state has provided 10,640,990 doses of the vaccine since beginning the vaccination program in December, with 4,935,680 people having been fully vaccinated, making up 38.74% of the total population.

Indiana

Indianapolis: The National FFA Organization is bringing its annual convention back to Indianapolis this fall – another sign of the city’s return to normalcy amid the coronavirus pandemic. The organization, which promotes and supports youth education in agriculture, announced Wednesday that it will host its 2021 convention and expo in person Oct. 27-30 at the Indiana Convention Center. The 94th convention and expo also will have a virtual component. The National FFA annual convention has traditionally drawn 65,000 attendees and is one of the larger tourism events held in Indianapolis. “We are excited to come back to the great city of Indianapolis that has been such a gracious host to us in years past,” Mandy Hazlett, associate director of convention and events at the National FFA Organization, said in a news release. “We know the convention will look a bit different this year, but we are excited to offer this opportunity to our student members once again.” A spokeswoman for the organization said the National FFA is working with local health officials and the venue on capacity limits. “We are estimating more than likely half of the normal attendance,” said Kristy Meyer, communications manager. “The health and safety of our members are always at the forefront of our decisions.”

Iowa

Des Moines: A new law barring local governments and school boards from enacting mask mandates stricter than what the state has in place shows “the willful ignorance” of its backers, an infectious disease doctor said Thursday. Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the bill, introduced on the final day of the session, into law in the middle of the night as witnesses to the ceremony clapped, according to video posted by Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley. Des Moines infectious disease Dr. Rossana Rosa, who has been critical of Reynolds’ pandemic response, said the law makes no sense for coping with public health during the COVID-19 pandemic or other threats that may arise. The coronavirus spreads through community interactions, and a mask primarily protects other people, not the person wearing it. “What happens to one individual is actually linked to what happens to other people in the community,” Rosa said. The new law “is completely wrong. It is so wrong, so unscientific to say that (this is about individuals). It just shows you the willful ignorance of those who put this into law.” In a statement about the bill signing, Reynolds wrote that the law “is putting parents back in control of their child’s education and taking greater steps to protect the rights of all Iowans to make their own health care decisions.”

Kansas

Topeka: Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is facing increasing pressure from companies, business groups and prominent Republicans to have the state stop paying an extra $300 a week in benefits to unemployed workers. The top three Republicans in the Kansas House on Wednesday called on Kelly to end the additional benefits. Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr., of Olathe, Speaker Pro Tem Blaine Finch, of Ottawa, and Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, of Wichita, issued a joint statement calling the extra benefits “counterproductive,” in response to a letter Tuesday to Kelly from the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and 180 organizations arguing that many businesses forced to restrict operations during the pandemic now are having problems hiring enough workers “to return to full capacity.” Many Republicans argue that the additional benefits discourage people from accepting employment. An analysis by Bank of America economists found that people who had earned $32,000 or less at their previous jobs can receive as much or more income from jobless aid, and some unemployed workers say the extra benefit has allowed them to take more time to look for work and puts pressure on employers to raise wages. In Kansas, the minimum wage has remained at $7.25 an hour since 2009, or about $15,000 a year full time.

Kentucky

Louisville: Louisville Metro Government plans to begin requiring city employees to provide their COVID-19 vaccination status as it prepares to fully reopen all its facilities. Proof of vaccination won’t be required, but if a worker does not have a vaccination card on file, they must provide a declination form “without exception,” according to a memo sent to city employees Friday, said Jean Porter, spokeswoman for the Mayor’s Office. Ernestine Booth-Henry, Louisville Metro’s human resources director, said the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office reviewed the possibility of mandatory vaccinations and said there are “significant legal concerns” that should be resolved before Metro considers such a mandate. “Our focus is on encouraging all Metro employees to receive the vaccine, removing barriers that might keep them from it, including education and greater access, along with the vacation incentive we discussed,” Booth-Henry said in a statement. About 47% of Jefferson County residents were vaccinated as of Tuesday, according to state data. That’s slightly higher than the statewide rate, with 44% of Kentuckians having received at least the first dose of a vaccine. Just under 48% of the entire United States population has received at least a first vaccine shot, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Louisiana

Lafayette: The state’s vaccination rates largely mirror 2020 voting patterns and education lines, with parishes that voted for President Donald Trump in 2020 and where residents have low rates of college degree attainment less likely to get vaccinated, data shows. About one-third of Louisiana residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, data from the Louisiana Department of Health shows. But in some parishes, less than a fifth of residents have received a dose. COVID-19 vaccination has been politically polarized since the shots began rolling out. The 2020 Louisiana Survey found a significant difference in the number of people willing to get the vaccine along party lines. “There is a stark partisan divide in thinking about vaccination against COVID-19,” the survey said. In early March, 17% of adults in Louisiana had received a COVID-19 vaccine, the survey found, with another 41% saying they would get the vaccine when it became available. But there was a wide gap between Republicans and Democrats, the survey found. About half of Republicans – 49% – said they had gotten the vaccine or intended to, but another 43% said they would not get the vaccine. Among Democrats, 78% said they had been or intended to be vaccinated, and 13% said they would not get the vaccine.

Maine

Augusta: The Legislature gathered Wednesday for what could be the final time at the Augusta Civic Center as legislative leaders contemplated moving business back to the State House. Lawmakers have been meeting at the civic center because there is plenty of space to distance themselves as a precaution against the coronavirus. But Democratic Gov. Janet Mills is easing restrictions on indoor gatherings effective next week, and legislative leaders are considering moving back to the State House. There has been no session at the State House since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. There’s no shortage of work to be done. With less than a month before the session ends, lawmakers face a Friday deadline for finishing committee work. Lawmakers who are meeting in special session still have to address the governor’s second budget proposal and a bond package, along with bills targeting a hydropower corridor in western Maine and a proposal to create a consumer-owned electric utility. The goal is to wrap up work by the statutory deadline of June 16, though that date is not set in stone because lawmakers are in a special session.

Maryland

Annapolis: The Maryland Lottery is giving away $2 million in 41 consecutive lottery drawings for people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 – the state’s latest promotion to encourage people to get inoculated. Starting Tuesday, the Maryland Lottery will hold the first of 40 consecutive daily drawings for a $40,000 prize. On July 4, the drawing will be for $400,000. “Get your shot for a shot to win,” Gov. Larry Hogan said on the lawn of the governor’s residence, with a man dressed as a large lottery ball standing by him. To be eligible, a participant must be a Maryland resident who is 18 or older and has been vaccinated in the state. Everyone who has gotten a shot will be automatically entered into the drawing. “If you’ve not been vaccinated yet, the sooner you do so, the sooner you get your shot, the more lottery drawings you will be eligible for,” Hogan said. “All winners will be notified by the Maryland Department of Health, and all funding is being provided from the Maryland lottery’s marketing fund.” Gordon Medenica, Maryland’s lottery director, emphasized that privacy will be maintained. Maryland does not require lottery winners to publicly disclose their identity.

Massachusetts

Pittsfield: A man claims that a national addiction treatment program with offices in Pittsfield and Cummington failed to take precautions to protect him, fellow staff members and residential clients from COVID-19 infection. Stephen Seward and four co-workers filed a lawsuit in Hampshire Superior Court against Vertava Health LLC alleging that prior to February 2021 the company had no clear protocols on how to prevent or manage a COVID-19 outbreak, the Berkshire Eagle reports. Michale Aleo, the attorney representing the five employees, told the publication that when the plaintiffs would raise concerns about how the company is handling a potential outbreak, “they were either ignored or, worse, fired.” “Given this last year that we have collectively struggled through, such conduct by the facility, as the plaintiffs have alleged, is simply unconscionable,” Aleo wrote in an email. A Vertava executive declined to comment on the lawsuit and said that the company is “committed to the safety and well-being of our staff and maintaining the highest level of quality and care for our patients.”

Michigan

Lansing: The state’s health department will urge schools to continue making students, teachers and other staff wear masks for the rest of the academic year even if they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration recently lifted a mask mandate for people who are outdoors – regardless of their vaccination status – and exempted those who are fully vaccinated from an indoor mask requirement. The move came a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidelines that essentially work on the honor system, leaving it up to people to do the right thing. Whitmer spokesman Bob Wheaton said the forthcoming state guidance will “keep students and families safe.” About 31% of residents ages 16 to 19 have gotten at least one COVID-19 shot. Roughly 7% of those ages 12 to 15 have received one dose of a vaccine since that group became eligible nearly a week ago.

Minnesota

St. Cloud: There were eight new COVID-19 deaths reported across the state Thursday and 874 new cases, according to a report from the Minnesota Department of Health. Statewide, the number of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic reached 597,052 on Thursday, and 7,333 people have died, according to the health department. Over that same time, 31,642 people have required hospitalization for COVID-19 in the state, and 6,434 have required intensive care, according to the report. As of Tuesday, more than 2.7 million people in the state have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and over 2.4 million have completed all doses in their series, according to the health department.

Mississippi

Jackson: Campbell’s Bakery in the Fondren neighborhood is still open for business, but back in February, owner Mitchell Moore wasn’t sure how long that might be the case. The COVID-19 pandemic that ravaged the American economy in 2020 had come home to roost, and it had already closed two of his other bakeries in the Belhaven neighborhood and Madison. It was only thanks to the kindness of strangers and the local community that he made it through the worst of it. A GoFundMe campaign helped Moore raise thousands, and more customers came by with checks to help support him even as the pandemic forced some in the restaurant business into dire straits. According to an April report from the Federal Reserve System, economists believe there may have been a 25%-30% increase in business closures in 2020 due to the pandemic. Though Moore said he doesn’t have the same level of business he once enjoyed, the fact that he’s able to work at all is something he’s thankful for. “Business is still weird,” he said. “We’re certainly busy where we’re doing as many cakes as we possibly can; the cakes are all just smaller. But things are definitely looking up.” And thanks to a new federal fund aimed at helping struggling restaurant owners, more help could be on the way.

Missouri

St. Louis: Busch Stadium will return to full capacity starting June 14, the St. Louis Cardinals announced Wednesday. The news came a day after the cross-state rival Kansas City Royals announced that Kauffman Stadium would go to full capacity May 31. Major League Baseball reduced its regular season to 60 games last season due to the coronavirus pandemic, and no fans were allowed in the stands. Stadiums reopened this season with limited capacity, but the increasing numbers of vaccinated Americans combined with declines in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths have prompted ballparks to gradually increase the number of fans allowed at games. The Cardinals announced May 14 that fully vaccinated fans were no longer required to wear masks inside the stadium. Some protocols will remain in place. The Cardinals will use mobile-only ticketing. Concession stands and kiosks will not accept cash. No bags will be permitted inside the stadium, with some exceptions such as diaper bags.

Montana

Helena: The state’s head of public instruction wrote a letter to school superintendents Wednesday strongly recommending that districts end their mask mandates and make face coverings a personal choice starting in the fall. State Superintendent Elsie Arntzen’s letter also offers support to schools that decide to lift mask requirements for the remainder of the school year and for summer programs, KULR-TV reports. “We cannot enter another school year subjecting our students to any additional loss of instruction time,” Arntzen wrote. “We also cannot perpetuate the notion that masks will be a permanent feature in our state’s classrooms.” In February, Gov. Greg Gianforte issued an executive order urging schools to make reasonable efforts to follow guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Montana Office of Public Instruction, Arntzen noted in her letter. The CDC still recommends wearing face coverings in schools. The Montana Federation of Public Employees, which has teachers among its members, said masking decisions should be made locally. “MFPE celebrates the fact that many Montanans are ready to get vaccinated and unmask,” MFPE President Amanda Curtis said in a statement. “It’s unfortunate that our superintendent of public instruction either doesn’t understand or doesn’t honor the local control system of Montana public education established in our constitution.”

Nebraska

Omaha: Mask mandates are expiring in several of the state’s largest cities as more people get vaccinated against COVID-19. Lincoln’s mask mandate was set to expire at the end of Thursday, Omaha’s will disappear at the end of next Tuesday, and in the Omaha suburbs, Ralston ended its mandate earlier this week, the Omaha World-Herald reports. The state has seen infection rates come down as vaccinations have become ore widely available. “Overall, we’ve been winning the race between infections and injections,” Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Director Pat Lopez said. The end to several mask mandates in Nebraska comes after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased its mask-wearing guidance for people who have been fully vaccinated, allowing them to stop wearing masks in many settings. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska decreased over the past two weeks, going from 198.71 new cases per day May 3 to 100.14 new cases per day Monday. In another sign that coronavirus infections are going down, the state said the number of people hospitalized with the virus in the state slipped below 100 over the past week and hit 91 on Wednesday. Nebraska health officials also said 52.4% of the state’s population over age 16 has now been fully vaccinated.

Nevada

Las Vegas: The Malaysia-based owner of one of the biggest casino projects ever on the Las Vegas Strip won regulatory approval Thursday to deal cards, roll dice and welcome gamblers when Resorts World Las Vegas opens June 24. With praise for the $4.3 billion development and the boost it could provide in a pandemic-battered economy, the Nevada Gaming Commission granted licenses to Genting Group, based in Kuala Lumpur, and its publicly traded subsidiary, Genting Malaysia Berhad. “We look forward to seeing it open and running,” Commission Chairman John Moran Jr. said after the unanimous vote. Scott Sibella, president of Resorts World Las Vegas, said the project six years in construction was being completed “on time and on budget.” “We want to be the most sophisticated, state-of-art casino in the world,” Sibella declared as he spoke about technological advances built into what will be the first new resort to open in more than a decade on the Strip. It will incorporate natural outdoor light in many restaurant and convention areas and a ventilation system that Sibella said was designed to produce “the best air quality money can buy.”

New Hampshire

Littleton: A celebration in honor of an orphan girl who remains optimistic in spite of the many challenges she faces is back on schedule after it was canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. “Pollyanna Glad Day” is a go for June 12 in Littleton, paying tribute to classic 1913 children’s book “Pollyanna” and author Eleanor Porter, who was from Littleton. “We’re mostly celebrating that we made it through a rough year,” Veronica Francis, owner of Notch Net and the Go Littleton Pollyanna Glad Shop on Main Street, told the Caledonian-Record. “There will be a celebration all around downtown. We’re ready. It’s been a tough year, and it’s fine to celebrate.” There will be music, food and souvenirs, such as a “Pollyanna Power” T-shirt depicting Pollyanna as a superhero in a cape. “We are stressing the fact that Pollyanna Day is a good day to reset gladness and reset your optimism,” said Karen Keazirian, executive director of Pollyanna of Littleton Inc.

New Jersey

West Orange: The state’s largest private employer, the RWJBarnabas Health system, will require supervisors and higher-level staff to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by the end of June – a decision it said Thursday will eventually be extended to all 35,000 members of its staff. The 11-hospital system is “committed to providing a culture of safety,” said Barry Ostrowsky, its president and CEO. “We have an obligation to do all we can to protect our patients and the communities we serve.” About 500 members of the supervisory staff are currently unvaccinated, an RWJBarnabas spokeswoman said. The policy for those who do not comply “is being finalized over the next several days,” she said. The health system appears to be the first major employer in New Jersey to require at least some of its staff to be vaccinated. No other major New Jersey company has made such a requirement, said Tom Bracken, CEO of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. “Our position is if employers want to do it, they can do it,” he said. “We’re very much in favor of getting the workforce vaccinated. It creates a safer work environment. It helps open the economy up and gets us back to where we want to be.” Gov. Phil Murphy was pleased with the decision as well, according to a spokeswoman.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: State education officials are budgeting up to $10 million in pandemic relief money to create internships for high school students, while nonprofits and school districts are bringing back summer enrichment opportunities to meet rising demand. As many as 2,600 students across New Mexico could participate in the internship program, according to the Public Education Department, which announced the program Tuesday. The agency started developing the program last year and is in the process of hiring up to 150 part-time adult coordinators. Seven tribal and 18 county governments have signed up to coordinate internships in their offices or at partner nonprofits, including summer camps. “I think there’s a lot that they can do in our summer program setting,” said Colby Wilson, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Central New Mexico, which is planning on placing some of the interns through a partnership with county officials. Some parents are unsure about sending kids to group activities, and Wilson said registrations have been a little slower. Summer program sign-ups coincide with a vaccine rollout for children 12 and up, and demand could return to normal. On Wednesday, state officials said that more than 50,000 residents ages 12-18 registered for COVID-19 vaccines during the first week of May.

New York

Albany: Anyone who gets vaccinated at select state-run sites next week will receive a lottery scratch ticket with prizes potentially worth millions, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo tries to boost slowing vaccination rates. The pilot program will offer prizes from $20 up to $5 million and run from Monday, May 24, to Friday, May 28, at the 10 state-run sites, Cuomo said Thursday. “It’s a situation where everyone wins,” he said at a press conference in Buffalo. The governor said there’s a 1 in 9 chance of winning a scratch ticket prize in New York, which is joining other states, including Ohio, with similar lottery incentives. Only residents 18 and older are eligible, according to a press release. New York also plans to set up pop-up vaccination sites at seven airports across the state for U.S. residents, including airport workers. New York has fully vaccinated about 43% of its 20 million residents, above the national average of 37.8%. Still, Cuomo said the pace of vaccinations has slowed: New York has recorded an average of 123,806 daily shots in arms over the past 14 days. That’s down 43% from 216,040 as of April 12.

North Carolina

Raleigh: Unemployment benefit recipients could get bonuses of $1,500 if they return to work soon under a measure unveiled Thursday by Republican legislators. A Senate committee discussed but did not vote on the proposal, which is designed to get people off unemployment benefits that are boosted by supplements from the federal government. Employers are struggling to fill job vacancies as the post-coronavirus economy surges. Under the measure, the supplements would be used to give $1,500 to benefit recipients who start a new job by June 1, with the bonus lowered to $800 if they begin a job by July 1, according to media reports. “It goes against the grain to me that we got to pay people to go to work,” said Sen. Tom McInnis, R-Richmond County. “But we don’t have a choice.” McInnis said he recently spoke to a factory operator who may be be forced to fill an upcoming order overseas if he can’t find enough workers at home. The proposal also tightens unemployment benefit rules that had been loosened over the past year. Benefits would be eliminated if a person refused to take a job that pays at least 120% of the person’s state benefit, not counting federal supplements. The unemployed also would lose benefits if they fail to make three weekly job contacts or show up for interviews.

North Dakota

Bismarck: The North Dakota Department of Health is partnering with Taxi 9000 to provide free transportation to Bismarck and Mandan COVID-19 vaccination sites. Krissie Guerard, health equity director for the NDDOH, said the initiative “is one more way to increase uptake in COVID-19 vaccinations to individuals that do not have access to other forms of transportation.” The service is available through June 30. To schedule a ride, an individual can call Taxi 9000 at 701-223-9000 between 5 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., seven days a week. “As a business, we want to do our part to protect our patrons,” said Gary Schumacher, proprietor of Taxi 9000. “We are already in the business of transporting our community to and from medical appointments; this is another avenue to help. As a community, we are all in this together to stop the spread of COVID-19.” Those needing assistance scheduling a vaccination can call the NDDoH COVID-19 hotline at 866-207-2880 (press 2) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Hours may vary on holidays.

Ohio

Columbus: The state made about $2.1 billion in unemployment insurance overpayments during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Ohio’s human services agency. That figure includes overpayments that were the result of fraud or errors, Matt Damschroder, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, said Monday. Errors could involve mistakes by businesses – such as late reporting of an employee’s wages – by individuals filing for unemployment, or by the state, Damschroder said. The overpayments came in both the traditional state unemployment insurance program and the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. The largest amount of nonfraud overpayments came in the federal aid program that covers self-employed individuals, at about $1.2 billion. The largest amount of overpayments due to fraud involved the same federal program, with about $440 million. Ohio is working on a program that could establish waivers of the overpayments for individuals who received them through no fault of their own, Damschroder said. In the past 60 weeks, the state distributed more than $9.8 billion in unemployment compensation payments to more than 997,000 Ohioans and more than $10.8 billion in federal pandemic payments to more than 1 million residents.

Oklahoma

Tulsa: The Tulsa Health Department is contacting 1,150 people who received improperly stored doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, according to city and state health officials. The vaccine was kept in cold storage for up to two weeks longer than the recommended maximum of 14 days, Tulsa Health Department Director Bruce Dart said Wednesday. The improper storage does not present a health risk, according to Dr. Gitanjali Pai, chief medical officer at the Oklahoma State Department of Health. “There is no medical risk to the individuals who received a dose of COVID-19 vaccine that had been in storage for longer than 14 days,” Pai said. “However, past this 14-day mark, the vaccine may not be as effective at protecting you from COVID-19. For this reason, we are asking these individuals to receive another dose of the vaccine.” The doses were administered May 3-17 at the James O. Goodwin Health Center, the Central Regional Health Center, the Sand Springs Health Center, and the North Regional Health and Wellness Center. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends pregnant women not receive a third dose because of a lack of data but says all others should get another vaccination.

Oregon

Portland: The city said Wednesday that it will increase the number of urban homeless camps it removes because of public health and safety risks beginning Monday. The “more assertive approach” from the city’s Homelessness and Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program comes after officials said the number and size of the encampments have increased since the coronavirus pandemic began, KOIN-TV reports. Before the pandemic, about 50 campsites were removed every week. But for the past year, amid altered health and safety guidance, the city removed an average of five campsites each week, leaving a buildup of trash, needles and other biohazardous waste, officials said. Eviction notices at campsites could be posted starting Monday for reasons including untreated sewage, biohazardous materials, blocked ADA access, violence, fire risk and impeding school operations, among others. Meanwhile, Gov. Kate Brown signed a measure into law Wednesday that gives tenants facing financial struggles amid the pandemic more time – until Feb. 28, 2022 – to pay their past-due rent. “Everyone deserves a warm, safe, dry place to call home – and during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been particularly critical that Oregonians be able to stay in their homes,” Brown said.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: The state marked a milestone Thursday, with half of adult residents now considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The Wolf administration has said it will lift an order requiring unvaccinated people to wear masks in public once 70% of Pennsylvanians 18 and up are fully vaccinated, meaning at least two weeks beyond the last required dose. That percentage stood at 50% on Thursday, according to federal data, while 68% of adults had at least one shot. The pace of vaccinations has been slowing for weeks, with most people eager to get the shot already having done so. Health Department data shows Pennsylvania ordered only about a quarter of the vaccine doses to which it was entitled last week, signaling a steep drop-off in demand. More than 65,000 people a day are getting vaccinated in the state, according to the Health Department, down from an average of more than 100,000 a month ago. That does not include Philadelphia, which runs its own vaccination program and is also reporting lower demand. The good news: Newly confirmed coronavirus infections are falling rapidly in Pennsylvania – down almost 50% in two weeks – as the weather warms and more people get vaccinated. Hospitalizations are down, too. Gov. Tom Wolf plans to lift nearly all remaining pandemic restrictions on Memorial Day.

Rhode Island

Providence: Brown University will require employees to get COVID-19 vaccinations, the Ivy League school announced Thursday. Brown, which previously announced that students will need to be fully vaccinated to participate in on-campus activities this fall, said all faculty and staff will be required to be fully vaccinated by July 1. In addition, students participating in on-campus summer programs will be required to be fully vaccinated by that date. Evidence shows that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, university President Christina Paxson said. “Based on discussions with Brown’s public health and medical experts, it is clear that our priority should be to achieve near-universal levels of vaccination – 90% or greater – in the Brown community,” Paxson said in a letter to the campus community. “The sooner we can achieve near-universal vaccination, the sooner we’ll be able to lift public health restrictions on campus and return to a more normal environment for teaching and research, with full confidence that the health of the community is being protected.” Medical and religious exemptions will be granted.

South Carolina

Columbia: The University of South Carolina announced Wednesday that it is planning to have full capacity and normal tailgating at Williams-Brice Stadium for the 2021 football season. The school arrived at the decision in consultation with local and university health officials. Masks will no longer be required at home football games. The Gamecocks open Sept. 4 at home against Eastern Illinois. USC previously announced it is allowing full capacity at a home baseball game for the first time this year for Thursday’s start to a three-game series against Tennessee that closes out the regular season. “There is nothing like Gamecock game day and we are excited to welcome back all of our great fans to Williams-Brice Stadium,” athletics director Ray Tanner said in a release. “Fans will be able to enjoy all of the game day traditions as in previous years.” COVID-19 concerns forced very limited attendance this past season. Improvements to the stadium prior to the 2020 season include four new club spaces, which provide access to air conditioning, a full bar and other fan-friendly amenities for more than 8,000 attendees each game. The 2021 ticket plan features “throwback pricing” to the 2010 cost of $320 plus an applicable seat donation.

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: The state’s pandemic death toll surpassed 2,000 on Thursday as health officials reported seven new deaths from COVID-19. The state’s 2,001 total deaths are the eighth-fewest among U.S. states but the eighth-highest in terms of deaths per capita, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers. However, the rate of deaths has slowed significantly since peaking late last year. Health officials said they expect both hospitalizations and deaths to continue to drop as the number of coronavirus cases decreases with widespread vaccination against the disease. “We are looking at seeing those decrease with our decrease in case counts,” state epidemiologist Josh Clayton said last week. Clayton has said there is a lag between when someone dies from COVID-19 and when their death is reported. Health officials also reported 55 people who had tested positive for the virus. The number of new cases has declined steadily in recent weeks, according to the Department of Health. However, the state continued to see severe cases of the virus, reporting that 57 people are currently in the hospital. That was an increase of four from Wednesday, when the state saw the fewest number of people in the hospital since August last year.

Tennessee

Nashville: The Tennessee Department of Correction has announced that it will soon implement pay raises for probation and parole officers after the salary increases were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency announced Wednesday that the 7.5% pay bump will become effective July 1. Gov. Bill Lee and the General Assembly approved the raises in 2019, but the coronavirus outbreak caused significant delays to the approval and implementation. “Our probation/parole staff supervise more than 70,000 people in our communities,” Commissioner Tony Parker said in a staff memo. “Each day, they carry out our mission of effective community supervision by ensuring those under our correctional control are compliant with following directives.” In April, the correction agency began offering $5,000 hiring bonuses for newly hired correctional officers. The agency also began offering a $4,000 retention bonus to correctional officers in order to boost retention in Tennessee’s prisons.

Texas

Austin: The Austin City Limits Music Festival is coming back in 2021. ACL Fest, returning after a pandemic year off from in-person performance, on Thursday morning announced the artists coming for its two October weekends. The lineup includes the first ever appearance of Texas country legend George Strait at the fest, plus young pop phenoms Billie Eilish and Miley Cyrus, Grammy-winning Houston hip-hop act Megan Thee Stallion (who infamously was a no-show for her 2019 set), and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Stevie Nicks. Rounding out the top acts on the bill are Dallas neo-soul queen Erykah Badu, hot hip-hop artist DaBaby and electronic dance act Rufus Du Sol. Other popular music artists set to perform include Texas-bred alt-rocker St. Vincent, viral hitmaker Doja Cat, indie fave Modest Mouse and ascendant indie singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers. Set for Oct. 1-3 and Oct. 8-10 on eight stages in Zilker Park, the fest will be held at full capacity. In a press release accompanying the announcement, organizers noted that they “are in regular communication with local health and public safety officials and will follow current recommendations and guidelines at the time of the festival.”

Utah

Salt Lake City: The Legislature passed a measure Wednesday that would bar public schools and universities from implementing mask mandates, in a move that Democrats and Republicans argued would increase unnecessary governmental oversight. Republican Rep. Val Peterson, who sponsored the bill, said county officials would still be able to invoke mask orders in consultation with local health officials in schools that have coronavirus outbreaks. The legislation only applies to COVID-19 and would not prevent people from wearing face coverings. “At some point this has to end,” Peterson said. “What this bill is really about is making sure we have those assurances to our students that they can go forward next fall and get right into the school year without the thought of masks and what that might mean.” Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost, a Democrat, argued that waiting to require masks until an outbreak occurs could still put children’s lives at risk. “For me, a single dead child is a child too many,” she said. “The problem with the way this is set up is, absent an actual outbreak, we can’t ask students to wear masks, and the whole point of a mask is to prevent an outbreak.” Republican Gov. Spencer Cox announced last week that Utah would not require masks in K-12 schools for the last week of the academic year.

Vermont

Burlington: A new program in the state will replace a federal food assistance program that started during the coronavirus pandemic to help people in need and is ending in two weeks. The USDA Farmers to Families Food Box program supplied tens of thousands of food boxes to Vermonters during the peak of the pandemic, mychamplainvalley.com reports. “A lot of people suffered a pretty big economic shock,” said Vermont Foodbank CEO John Sayles, who estimated the program served one-third of the state’s residents. “A lot of those folks, this is the first time that they’ve really had to access things like food assistance.” Full Plates VT will start in early June and supply individual boxes of federal emergency assistance food to 19 sites around the state. They will contain produce, frozen protein and shelf-stable items. Beneficiaries will be required to meet an income requirement. The program starts June 3 and will run through the end of September. People can start registering Monday on the Vermont Foodbank’s website or by calling 1-833-670-2254. Meanwhile, the state has lifted the residency requirement for people eligible to get COVID-19 vaccines in the state. Now non-residents ages 12 and older can get vaccinated.

Virginia

Richmond: The Virginia Department of Health announced its COVID-19 vaccine data dashboard, at vdh.virginia.gov/coronavirus, has been updated to reflect federal doses administered in the total number and percentage of Virginians vaccinated, as well as the number and percentage of adults vaccinated. The addition could help residents keep track of the slow march toward herd immunity. VDH previously reported the number of vaccines administered by the federal government in Virginia in a separate tab of the vaccine summary dashboard, but those doses were not included in the total doses administered and percentage of the population vaccinated. As of Wednesday, nearly 385,000 doses administered by the Department of Defense, Veterans Health Administration, Bureau of Prisons and Indian Health Service were added to the totals. The federal doses will not be reflected in the locality or demographic data because the federal government does not provide states those details, according to VDH. The department has also added new metrics showing the number and percentage of people 18 and older who are vaccinated so Virginians can track the commonwealth’s progress toward meeting President Joe Biden’s goal of having 70% of adults receive at least their first dose of a vaccine by July 4.

Washington

Seattle: Four counties that had been in a more restrictive second phase of the state’s current COVID-19 reopening plan joined the 35 other counties in Phase 3 as of Tuesday. Cowlitz, Ferry, Pierce and Whitman counties were previously in Phase 2. In Phase 3, restaurants, bars and gyms can operate at 50% indoor capacity. The decision last week to move all counties to Phase 3 and announce the tentative June 30 full reopening plan comes amid declining COVID-19 case counts and a push to increase vaccination rates, Gov. Jay Inslee and health officials have said. State Secretary of Health Umair A. Shah said in a statement Tuesday that about 59% of Washingtonians age 16 and up have now gotten a first vaccine dose. When that number reaches 70%, officials have said the economy can fully reopen. “We are happy to see the beginning of declining disease activity in Washington and more people getting vaccinated,” Shah said. “However, we need to continue to focus on our vaccination efforts.” State health officials have said if statewide intensive care unit capacity reaches 90% at any point, phase rollbacks could happen again. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said Tuesday that in-school vaccinations will be offered at Seattle Public Schools middle and high schools through the end of the school year.

West Virginia

Charleston: The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped slightly to 5.8% in April, officials announced this week. The rate dropped one-tenth of a percentage point to the lowest rate since March 2020’s 5.3%. The rate jumped to a high of 15.6% in April 2020 as employers temporarily closed their doors during the pandemic but has fallen steadily since. In an effort to spur more people to go back to work, Republican Gov. Jim Justice said the state will end its additional pandemic-era boost for unemployment benefits June 19, including the additional $300-a-week federal supplement for those without a job. He said the state is considering a program that would pay a $1,000 bonus for unemployed people who go back to work. It would require the employer agreeing to pay half of the bonus, with the state covering the other half. The number of unemployed West Virginians fell by 1,500 in April, a lower number than in March. There are 45,800 unemployed state residents, WorkForce West Virginia said in a statement. Employment gains were led by 1,400 in leisure and hospitality, up from March. There were employment declines of 200 in construction; 400 in trade, transportation and utilities; and 100 in education and health services.

Wisconsin

Madison: Republicans voted Thursday to reject more than $70 million in funding to combat homelessness in the state, a move that Democrats called a missed opportunity to address a problem worsened by the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Tony Evers had proposed spending about $73 million over two years on a variety of initiatives designed to help homeless people, including more affordable housing. The Republican-controlled budget committee voted 12-4 along party lines to increase funding for a housing assistance program by just $1.2 million over two years. But it turned down spending about $70 million more that Evers and advocates for the homeless had wanted. Before the vote, Joe Volk, executive director of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Homelessness, urged lawmakers to immediately release $5.5 million in available money to combat homelessness. Volk said the coalition estimates that every night 20,000 people in Wisconsin have no adequate place to sleep. Republicans defended their action, saying funding for homelessness initiatives will be considered in separate bills making their way through the Legislature. Republican Sen. Duey Stroebel also noted the $2.5 billion in federal stimulus funding coming to Wisconsin can be used to target homelessness.

Wyoming

Casper: Gov. Mark Gordon has announced plans to allocate recently received federal coronavirus relief aid toward education, health and social services, and economic diversity and development. The Republican governor has accounted for about $1 billion in funding from the American Rescue Plan, the Casper Star-Tribune reports. More than half of the amount was based on unemployment statistics. Wyoming will also receive $360 million for education and $9 million for community health centers that cannot be reallocated. Unlike the federal relief aid from last year that had to be spent within months, states have more than three years to spend funding from the American Rescue Plan. The package provides additional funding specifically for organizations such as schools, child care providers, community health centers and others. The governor’s office said in a statement Monday that a more detailed plan will be released in June that includes “proposals for initiatives or new programs for consideration by the Legislature.”

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Michigan 2020 election live updates: Biden, Peters win in Michigan

With the majority of votes tallied in Michigan, two major races were called Wednesday evening. Joe Biden won the presidential election in the state, giving him a crucial 16 Electoral College votes, while U.S. Sen. Gary Peters narrowly defeated challenger John James.

Peter Meijer defeats Hillary Scholten in west Michigan congressional race

In west Michigan, a Republican is being sent to Congress after Peter Meijer defeated Hillary Scholten in the race for the 3rd Congressional District.

Scholten and Meijer vied for the seat being vacated by Rep. Justin Amash, a former Republican who renounced the party and voted to impeach President Donald Trump.

Read more about the race here.

Peters defeats James in US Senate race, wins reelection

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters defeated challenger John James Wednesday evening, winning reelection to a second six-year term. It was the count of absentee votes that put him over the top. It was a close race, with James leading throughout much of Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Associated Press and Multiple media outlets, including CNN, called the race for Peters.

Peters expands lead over James

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters appeared to take a stronger lead over Republican businessman John James on Wednesday evening. As of 7:45 p.m., Peters had taken a 59,587-vote lead on James, beating him 49.6-48.5% with 98% of the vote counted.

Read more about the race here.

Rival protests shout 'count every vote,' 'stop the count' in metro Detroit

Rival chants of “stop the count” and "count the votes" echoed across Detroit as poll workers tallied absentee ballots Wednesday, in some cases just inside the door from the fevered shouts.

Would-be challengers were denied entry to counting being done at the TCF Center, already filled with 570 challengers of various leanings. They pounded on the windows and chanted in support of a lawsuit President Donald Trump filed to stop the count. Elsewhere in the city, Detroit Will Breathe protesters called for the count to continue as the contentious presidential election gripped the nation.

Detroit Will Breathe, a group developed during the summer in response to the killings of Black people at the hands of police, and other leaders gathered a crowd of about 250 people at 2 p.m. on West Grand Boulevard, near the Detroit Department of Elections, before marching across the city.

“Don’t fall into fascist fears, all your votes are counted here,” they chanted as many residents came out of their homes to wave or put their fists up.

During their gathering, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who cruised to victory Tuesday, commended first-time voters and the mobilization to the polls in Detroit.

“We’re not done. Look at us. The day after the election we’re still working,” Tlaib said to protestors. “We’re not going to let them stop until every vote is counted.”

Earlier in the day, Tlaib and Detroit Will Breathe organizer Tristan Taylor joined dozens of protesters outside Central United Methodist on Woodward Avenue as they marched toward the Spirit of Detroit carrying signs that said, “Count Every Vote.”

In Ann Arbor, community members, grassroots organizations, labor unions and congregations gathered at the University of Michigan Diag, a large open space in the middle of campus.

Speaker Angela Aimson of the Ypsilanti American Friends Service Committee said to the crowd everything that she wants to see from the U.S.: “Love, peace, justice and to be heard.”

Read more about what happened at the TCF Center earlier today here.

— Darcie Moran, Kristen Jordan Shamus, Omar Abdel-Baqui, Chanel Stitt, Detroit Free Press

Absentee vote count almost complete in Detroit

Free Press staff writer Kristen Jordan Shamus reports from the TCF Center that Detroit's absentee vote count is down to military absentee ballots and only four tables still counting.

Joe Biden wins Michigan

Democratic nominee Joe Biden has won Michigan, giving him a crucial 16 Electoral College votes.

The Associated Press called the race in Michigan. With the call, Biden held a 264-214 edge in the Electoral College and needed one more state to clinch the presidency.

Read more here.

Peters has slim lead on James in Senate race

The race for U.S. Senate between incumbent Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Republican businessman John James remains unclear.

At 5 p.m., Peters held a slim 49.2%-49% lead over James with 99% of the vote counted, according to the Associated Press tally, with 11,380 votes separating them.

Read more about the race here.

Rally in Lansing

Antrim County still working on flawed count

Antrim County officials at about 4 p.m. Wednesday updated their vote count problems.

"The Antrim County Clerk’s Office has been working diligently to review the results and identify the source of discrepancies discovered early this morning," their statement read. "It is clear that the unofficial results posted at 4 a.m. this morning were incorrect and have been removed."

The rural, heavily Republican county was showing Democratic Vice President Joe Biden beating President Donald Trump by more than 3,000 votes, with some townships showing only 2 votes for the incumbent Republican president. Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election in Antrim County by more than 30 percentage points.

According to Antrim County officials, vote totals counted by their election software did not match the printed tabulator tapes, which official results are based upon.

"Because of this, the printed tabulated tapes from each precinct will be counted manually and revised unofficial results will be posted," county officials said.

Results will become official once the county board of canvassers verifies results, starting Thursday.

"Antrim County is committed to ensuring that each and every valid ballot cast is accurately counted," county officials stated.

Duggan expects Biden to carry Michigan

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will likely flip Michigan and win the state by “at least 50,000 votes,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said Wednesday afternoon as the city’s poll workers continued to count mail-in ballots.

“I feel very good that Joe Biden’s going to carry Michigan,” Duggan said. “When I saw Ohio go for Trump by eight points, that concerned me. But the fact that Michigan is coming in tells you that we have a great, unified campaign in this state.”

Duggan, whose involvement in Michigan politics goes back decades, offered his assessment of the presidential race during a press conference at Detroit City Hall.

The mayor’s remarks were interrupted briefly by a truck passing city hall on Jefferson Avenue.

The truck was covered with pro-Trump signage and had a loudspeaker blaring a pro-Trump message. “And there are some guys who are in the wrong county,” Duggan quipped as the truck drove by.

Meanwhile, poll workers continued to count the city’s mail-in ballots at the nearby TCF Center. Duggan said he is unaware of any problems with the vote count. He said he expects the count to be finished by the end of the day.

Coupled with the passage of Proposal N — a Detroit bond proposal to authorize $250 million to address blight — the mayor said the city is headed in the right direction.

“This is the kind of city we’re trying to build — a city that can execute an election without any drama, a city that can build blight-free neighborhoods for its families and a city that provides good middle-class job opportunities for its residents.”

Yet the state’s election process can be improved with new laws that would allow officials to begin the mail-in vote-counting process to start earlier, he said.

Duggan suggested laws similar to those in Florida, which allowed election officials to begin processing ballots two weeks in advance. In Michigan, cities with at least 25,000 people can start processing absentee ballots at 10 a.m. on Nov. 2.

“Who would’ve ever thought that Florida would be the model for prompt and drama-free ballot counting? We need to get the laws changed in this state to allow the same thing,” he said.

— Joe Guillen, Detroit Free Press

Trump campaign files legal challenge over Michigan vote count

The Trump campaign filed a lawsuit Wednesday that seeks to stop the counting of ballots in Michigan, despite the vast majority of votes already being unofficially reported by local clerks.

The lawsuit comes as Democratic challenger Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump by approximately 46,000 votes, with 96% of the estimated vote count already tallied. While thousands of votes still need to be counted, many are from absentee ballots in traditionally Democratic strongholds.

The lawsuit was filed a little after 3:50 p.m., according to the website of the Michigan Court of Claims. The suit was assigned to Judge Cynthia Stephens.

Stephens is the same judge who ruled earlier this year that absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day could be counted as long as they were received within 14 days of the election. That ruling was later overturned; only ballots received by 8 p.m. on Tuesday are valid.

Read the full report on the lawsuit here.

— Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press

City of Detroit expects completed absentee vote count by 6 p.m.

The Detroit Department of Elections has counted roughly 162,000 absentee ballots as of 2 p.m. today, department officials announced. Officials anticipate completing the absentee ballot count by 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The city department mailed out 190,000 absentee ballots and 178,000 were returned, shattering previous records for numbers of ballots requested and sent back.

Trump campaign says it will file suit to stop vote in Michigan, but state officials say they haven't seen it yet

The Trump campaign said it will file a lawsuit Wednesday that seeks to stop the counting of ballots in Michigan, despite the vast majority of votes already being unofficially reported by local clerks.

The lawsuit alleges the campaign did not have "meaningful access" to areas where ballots were being counted, according to a statement from campaign manager Bill Stepien. Michigan law allows Republican and Democratic observers to monitor the vote counting process.

As of 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday, no lawsuit had been docketed in the Michigan Court of Claims. The Trump campaign did not specify where they were denied access to watching the vote count.

— Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press

TCF Center in Detroit limits vote challenger access

After scores of challengers converged on the Detroit vote-counting process, election officials shut the doors Wednesday afternoon to any new people seeking to monitor the historic vote tally.

Within hours of Democratic nominee Joe Biden taking the first lead in Michigan, more than 100 challengers showed up at the TCF Center downtown, making security nervous as more than 200 challengers were already roaming the floor, monitoring poll workers as they count the absentee votes that could decide the election.

“We have exceeded the amount of challengers,” an election worker told more than two dozen people who showed up at 1 p.m. to monitor the process. “We are not allowing any more challengers in at this time.”

That includes 227 Republican challengers; 268 Democrat challengers and 75 Nonpartisan challengers, including groups like the ACLU and the League of Women voters.

Republican advocates, meanwhile, believe the process is tilted in the favor of Democrats and are crying foul, saying liberal groups like the ACLU and the League of Women Voters have been allowed to freely roam the vote-counting floor, and far outnumber the Republicans who want to oversee the process as well. At one point, Republican challengers screamed at the entrance to be let in.

Attorney Timothy Griffin, a Republican challenger from Virginia who has been at the TCF all day and was here overnight, says the system is unfair.

“This whole thing is under suspicion,” said Griffin, who is with a group called the Election Integrity Fund. “It’s not equal …. It’s just not fair.”

Meanwhile, Democratic challengers said they were showing up to make sure things were fair.

“I just want to make sure that all Michigan votes are counted,” said Liz Linkewitz, 35, of Harrison Township. “This election is, as Joe Biden says, for the soul of our country.”

As of 2 p.m., Biden had secured a lead on President Trump by about 19,000 votes. Another 100,000 absentee votes are still being counted in Michigan, including 25,000 in Detroit.

— Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press

Explaining that '100% of new votes counted' for Biden error

A since-deleted tweet posted by Matt Mackowiak, a conservative commentator and chair of Texas' Travis County Republican Party, appears to show that during one results update in Michigan, Joe Biden received 100% of newly counted votes.

Attached to the tweet were two election maps appearing to show election results from earlier in the count and one from later. Mackowiak said he took the screenshots early this morning, then later acknowledged that the information was inaccurate.

-- Clara Hendrickson and Kristi Tanner, Detroit Free Press

Up North, Antrim County vote count "apparently skewed," delayed

Look at a Michigan vote count map and you'll see one county in white in Northwest Lower Michigan, with no results in.

Antrim County Clerk Sheryl Guy pulled back a report of the county's unofficial vote tally Wednesday morning after it showed Vice President Joe Biden and other Democrats winning big — eyebrow-raising big — in the typical Republican stronghold.

"Early this morning, the Antrim County Clerk, Sheryl Guy, became aware of apparently skewed results in the Unofficial Election Result tabulations," county officials stated in a release on their Facebook page.

"Since then, the Clerk’s Office has been reviewing the results and the multiple redundancies to search out any possible discrepancies. Staff is currently working with township officials and with Election Source, the company that provides the voting software programs and hardware."

At about 9:30 a.m., Antrim County was reporting Democratic Vice President Joe Biden with a more than 3,000 vote lead on incumbent Republican President Donald Trump. Trump won the rural county over Hillary Clinton 62.4% to 32.8% in 2016.

That got the attention of county resident and state Rep. Triston Cole, R-Mancelona.

“There is no way that we flipped from 62% Trump in 2016 to upside-down this time around,” he told Interlochen Public Radio Wednesday.

Cole specifically cited the results at his polling place, Chestonia Township. Antrim County’s election results earlier showed incumbent U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, with only 2 votes.

“I can guarantee that there were 6 [Bergman votes] in my immediate family alone,” Cole told Interlochen Public Radio.

Guy requested patience.

“By this afternoon, we expect to have a clear answer and a clear plan of action addressing any issue,” she said. “Until then, we are asking all interested parties to bear with us while we get to the bottom of this.”

-- Keith Matheny, Detroit Free Press

Recount questions? We have answers

Oh, we were so prepared for this moment. Exhibit A: This story by Dave Boucher published originally on Oct. 22, exploring the mysteries of election recounts in Michigan.

It's a good primer whether or not Michigan will endure one in the coming days.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin moves toward reelection

With 99% of the expected vote counted, U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, was poised for reelection in the 8th Congressional District race. She led Republican Paul Junge of Brighton, 51%-47%, as of noon Wednesday.

Slotkin isn't "totally certain" about the win, but she has "really strong confidence" in her chances of winning, based on the votes already counted.

Shortly after 1 p.m., 100% of the votes were reported, giving Slotkin the win. She collected 222,121 votes (51.1%) compared to Junge's 204,788 votes (47.1%).

— Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press

Prop 1: Park funding en route to victory

More than 82% of the statewide vote has been counted as of noon Wednesday, and Proposition 1 is well on its way to victory with more than 84% of voters supporting the change. That means changes will be made to how park and natural area money can be spent, how much money is spent and where the money is spent. The proposal does not raise taxes.

Read the whole thing here.

— Keith Matheny, Detroit Free Press

James outperforms Trump in red enclave in Michigan

It wasn't always clear from the campaign this year, especially on television, how John James wanted to align himself - or not - with the top of the Republican ticket.

That strategy may have paid off a bit around Michigan, which is currently leaning Joe Biden's way. James, the Republican candidate challenging Democratic Sen. Gary Peters for one of Michigan's seats in the U.S. Senate, outperformed President Donald Trump in Ottawa County, a traditional GOP stronghold on Lake Michigan's coast.

James, according to Ottawa County's unofficial results, won 105,689 votes, or 63.2% of the ballot. Peters received 59,065, or 35.3% in the county. Trump won 100,511 votes in Ottawa County, 59.8% of the ballot. Democratic nominee Joe Biden took 64,566 votes, 38.4% of the ballot.

While total turnout numbers were much higher in Ottawa County than in the Nov. 2016 election, Trump won the county by fewer points than in that year. In 2016, he took 61.5% of the vote.

James improved on his 2018 run against Sen. Debbie Stabenow in the county, taking 62.5% of the Ottawa County vote.

— Arpan Lobo, Holland Sentinel

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan: Biden by 'at least 50K votes'

Macomb County turning 'purple'

It was once a county that many national political watchers considered a bellwether for recent presidential elections, a home for the Reagan Democrats, where voters have swung from electing Barack Obama (twice) to Donald Trump in the last three presidential elections.

But this week, on the local level, it was the Republican Party that emerged poised to take the majority of the 13-member Macomb County Board of Commissioners, after flipping two seats held by incumbent Democrats, according to unofficial and still incomplete voting results. The GOP is also preparing to take four of the five countywide seats.

Despite the surge for Republicans, Sheriff Anthony Wickersham, who is a Democrat, is expected to remain, but the prosecutor, clerk/register of deeds, treasurer and public works commissioner spots will likely fall to the Republicans with 94% of the votes counted.

"Macomb County is becoming much more two counties," Ed Sarpolus, founder and executive director of Target-Insyght said, adding that he still thinks the county is "purple," a mixture of red (Republican) and blue (Democratic) politics.

— Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press

Free Press editorial board to nation: Count all the votes

Our colleagues on the opinion side of the Free Press - separate from us here in our news department - are weighing in today with an editorial about our state's - and the nation's - slog through a massive vote count.

Read the whole thing here.

25K absentee ballots left in Detroit

About 25,000 absentee ballots from the city of Detroit still need to be counted as of about 11 a.m., said Chris Thomas, a Detroit election official.

Thomas said they have between 170,000 to 172,000 total absentee ballots.

There are challengers on-site, both Republican and Democrat, Thomas said, but there haven't been any major disputes or fights. "Nothing crossing the line." he said.

— Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press

Detroit's vote-counting center picks up steam

Republican and Democratic poll challengers streamed Wednesday into TCF Center in Detroit, where absentee ballots from Detroit are being counted as the nation waits for Michigan’s election results.

Early in the morning, a group of Republican challengers entered the basement of the downtown convention center where hundreds of poll workers were sitting at tables tabulating ballots. One of the GOP challengers, Tim Griffin, is with the Thomas More Society and was helping direct the other challengers.

Griffin said there should be at least one Republican at each table that is tabulating ballots.

“We’re just appalled by what we’re seeing,” he said a bit later, complaining about the lack of inclusion for the GOP.

Later, groups of Democratic challengers stood in line to enter the basement to try and counter the Republicans. Democrats expressed concern that the Republican challengers were slowing down the counting.

Detroit’s voters are largely Democratic.

Detroit Police had a solid presence, with officers and leaders standing near the entrance keeping an eye on the scene. On Monday, two unruly challengers were ejected, but today has not yet seen any similar disruptions.

Meanwhile, two rallies are planned in Detroit today calling for all ballots to be counted and a peaceful transition of power. The first rally and march is scheduled to kick off at noon at Central United Methodist Church in Detroit.

— Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press

Election 2020 - Detroit Free Press - Omny.fm

Stealing the election: A reality check

From Clara Hendrickson of the Detroit Free Press:

Some people are under a false impression: Waiting until now for a final election result in Michigan means there's a problem with the integrity of the process. That's not true. In fact, the large number of absentee ballots to be counted had always been expected to delay a definitive result by days.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has taken to Twitter for the first time since 1 a.m. Wednesday to share his concern, appearing to allude to up-in-the-air states like Michigan:

"Last night I was leading, often solidly, in many key States, in almost all instances Democrat run & controlled. Then, one by one, they started to magically disappear as surprise ballot dumps were counted. VERY STRANGE."

Trump added: "How come every time they count Mail-In ballot dumps they are so devastating in their percentage and power of destruction?"

Tallies in key Michigan counties with outstanding votes

Thanks to our Dave Boucher for putting together his list of the latest results, knowing of course, that these numbers will change as the count continues:

Wayne:

Biden: 447,793

Trump: 211,275

Percentage of precincts fully reporting: 659 of 1,115 (59.1%)

Oakland:

Biden: 428,932

Trump: 321,570

Percentage of precincts fully reporting: 491 of 506 (97%)

Macomb:

Trump: 254,561

Biden: 216,512

Percentage of precincts fully reporting: 324 of 343 (94.5%)

Kent:

Trump: 152,902

Biden: 140,577

Percentage of precincts fully reporting: About 84.5 %

Genesee:

Biden: 102,322

Trump: 97,439

Percentage of precincts fully reporting: 219 of 280 (78,21%)

Secretary of state to update ballot count in Michigan

She's becoming the face of Michigan's closely watched but achingly slow vote count (though it was always forecasted to be this way). And she's about to give an update.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson will hold a virtual press conference this morning at 11 a.m. "to provide an update on the counting process in Michigan," according to her office.

Biden goes ahead of Trump in Michigan as vote count continues in state's largest counties

From Todd Spangler with the Free Press:

With the presidency on the line in a historic election, Democratic nominee Joe Biden Wednesday morning took a slim lead in Michigan which could turn out to be determinative in a tight race with President Donald Trump as millions of votes continued to be counted in key states.

By early Wednesday, the race between Trump and Biden had narrowed with Biden holding a 238-213 edge in the Electoral College and Trump continued to hold a lead in Pennsylvania, which was considered one of the keys to winning.

But in Michigan by 9:30 a.m., Biden had gone ahead of Trump for the first time by 18,080 votes, 49.4%-49.1%, according to the Associated Press count of the state's tally, with 94% of the expected vote in. That's larger than the 10,704-vote margin Trump won the state by over Hillary Clinton in 2016.

If accurate, the 4.99 million votes were still believed to be hundreds of thousands short of the total cast in the historic election, meaning it was possible Biden could add to that that total, with big numbers of ballots remained to be counted in Michigan's largest counties, including Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Kent as of Wednesday morning.

Pandemic politics and our no-show election

It's not a total surprise, but still an amazing phenomenon: In the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, more Michiganders voted by absentee ballot than in-person for the first time in our history.

Read more:The uninvited guest at the Election Day polls: COVID-19

Many had a good reason to stay away from crowded locations. Election Day fell on the same day the state recorded 3,106 new COVID-19 cases and 43 deaths during a pandemic that already has killed 7,400 Michiganders and infected nearly 188,000.

Kristen Jordan Shamus and Omari Sankofa II explore the groundbreaking election and the virus that has yet to recede from our lives.

Michigan's U.S. Senate battle is looking super tight right now

Here's the latest on the effort by Republican challenger John James to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Gary Peters. The Associated Press has yet to call this closely watched race.

Our very own Todd Spangler has the most recent numbers.

Eyes on counting votes in critical Wayne County

Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett said in an early morning interview on CNN there were no problems Tuesday with ballots that were "out of the norm," except for occasional machine jams.

But, as of 6:30 a.m. today, she said, about 55 percent of the county's votes had been counted.

Of the county's 1115 precincts, 617 had been tabulated, she said, adding that there are 43 municipalities in the county. Wayne County, which includes Detroit, could play a key role in the race for president and Michigan's competitive senate seat.

Garrett did not offer an estimate for when all the counting would be finished.

"It's just very important we are accurate," she added. "We will be here until the job is done."

— Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press

Will the presidential election trigger debate over national election rules?

Here's a slightly oldie but a goodie from our own Paul Egan. Sound familiar?

"And if the counting of massive numbers of absentee ballots in battleground states, such as Michigan and Pennsylvania, significantly delays officials from declaring a winner, the ensuing controversy could prompt a renewed debate over national election standards."

Walk with Paul through the debate and what it could mean for our future elections.

Michigan's high court to see return of chief judge

Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget McCormack retained her seat in Tuesday's election, and the balance of power on the seven-member court hinged on results for the other contested seat.

McCormack, a Democratic nominee, was the top vote-getter among seven candidates with close to 1.9 million votes, with about 80% of precincts reporting.

Paul Egan in Lansing has been tracking developments and you can read more about it here.

Sit tight: Roughly 400,000 Michigan ballots still being counted

Whoa, we have a little way still to go.

With roughly 90% of the vote in, President Donald Trump led Democratic nominee Joe Biden by roughly 13,000 votes early Wednesday morning, but there were still hundreds of thousands of ballots that needed to be counted before Michigan knows its final election results.

Those votes are largely absentee ballots, and are expected to help Biden over Trump.

These numbers can change at any minute, as tallies continue to come in.

The Free Press' Dave Boucher explains what's going on with this essential story.

Front pages across Michigan reflect uncertainty

— Amy Huschka, Detroit Free Press

Longtime representative cruises to reelection

U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, on Wednesday easily won election to an 18th two-year term, with the Associated Press calling his race against state Rep. Jon Hoadley, D-Kalamazoo early in the morning.

As of 6:30 a.m., Upton, 67, held a decisive 58%-38% edge over Hoadley, with 93% of the votes counted. Upton had declared victory early Wednesday morning, saying he was grateful for the faith his constituents in southwestern Michigan continued to place in him.

Check out this story.

Political newcomer snags House seat

For the second time in four years, Michigan's 10th Congressional District has a new representative, with Republican Lisa McClain of Bruce Township declared the winner in Tuesday's election.

Read this story for all of the details.

Fierce Trump critic wins reelection

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, cruised to reelection to her second two-year term Tuesday, winning as expected in the heavily Democratic Wayne County-based district.

Here's the full story.

Meet the people who will cast Michigan's Electoral College votes

Presidential elections are won and lost in the Electoral College. Composed of 538 electors from 50 states and the District of Columbia, the institution set up by America's Founding Fathers convenes after the general election to cast its votes for the next president.

The Michigan Democratic Party and Michigan Republican Party have each nominated their slate of 16 electors. Each slate of electors is made up of 14 individuals who each represent one of the state's 14 congressional districts and two at large electors.

If Joe Biden wins more votes than Donald Trump in Michigan, the slate of electors nominated by the Democratic Party will cast the state's electoral votes. If Donald Trump wins more votes than Joe Biden in Michigan, the slate of electors nominated by the Republican Party will cast the state's electoral votes.

Clara Hendrickson and Nushrat Rahman with the Free Press have all of the details.

Democrats hope of grabbing state House fading as Republicans also flip seats

Michigan Democrats' hopes of taking control of the state House were fading early Wednesday as both Democrats and Republicans flipped seats in Tuesday's election, based on unofficial results.

Free Press Reporter Paul Egan in Lansing has the story.

Winners in Michigan congressional races so far

The following is a list of races called by the Associated Press:

Republican Lisa McClain wins election to U.S. House in Michigan’s 10th Congressional District.

Democrat Andy Levin wins reelection to U.S. House in Michigan’s 9th Congressional District.

Republican Bill Huizenga wins reelection to U.S. House in Michigan’s 2nd Congressional District.

Republican Tim Walberg wins reelection to U.S. House in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District.

Republican Fred Upton wins reelection to U.S. House in Michigan’s 6th Congressional District.

Republican John Moolenaar wins reelection to U.S. House in Michigan’s 4th Congressional District.

Democrat Debbie Dingell wins reelection to U.S. House in Michigan’s 12th Congressional District.

Republican Jack Bergman wins reelection to U.S. House in Michigan’s 1st Congressional District.

Democrat Rashida Tlaib wins reelection to U.S. House in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District.

Democrat Brenda Lawrence wins reelection to U.S. House in Michigan’s 14th Congressional District.

Exchanging buckets for ballots as sports arenas aid elections

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson cast her vote at the Detroit Pistons’ training facility. About 12 hours later, she saw metal boxes on wheels with ballots inside roll into Ford Field for double checking.

“I’m grateful for our sports partners in Detroit,” Benson said Tuesday night at the home of the Lions. “They really led the way for sports teams across the country to play a critical role in providing the resources we needed to run the election successfully this year.

“It is something that I hope will continue in the years ahead and really underscores the work that went into today, which was truly a team effort.”

The coronavirus pandemic put stresses on the general election, so professional sports teams stepped up to offer their stadiums, arenas and practice facilities as socially distant spaces to vote and conduct other election-related activities.

Twenty-plus NBA teams and half of the NFL’s 32 franchises provided a place for people to vote or assisted with the process in other ways. Meanwhile, many Major League Baseball and NHL teams also put their stadiums and arenas in play on Election Day.

— Larry Lage, Associated Press

Largest counties in Michigan still counting ballots as presidential race tightens

With the presidency on the line in a historic election, votes continued to be tabulated Wednesday morning with millions still left to be counted in key states, including Michigan and Pennsylvania, to decide the winner of the contest.

Overnight, the race between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden narrowed with Biden holding a 238-213 edge in the Electoral College but Trump maintaining a lead in the count in Michigan and Pennsylvania, two Rust Belt states that appeared poised to determine the election as they did, along with Wisconsin, four years ago.

More:Trump falsely claims he has won election, even though ballots are still being counted

In Michigan, Trump led by about 200,000 votes, 51%-47%, according to the Associated Press count of the state's tally. If accurate, the 4.4 million votes were still as many as 1 million short — or perhaps more — of the total cast in the historic election, however, meaning it was still possible Biden could make up that difference. Huge numbers of ballots remained to be counted in Michigan's largest counties, including Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Kent.

More than 3.2 million votes were cast by absentee ballot in Michigan. Those were the votes that were still largely to be counted and they were expected, according to polling and other modeling done by the candidates, to swing sharply toward Biden, the former vice president.

— Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press

Watching Detroit results

On the vote count in Detroit, from a longtime Free Press political reporter now with The New York Times:

Amash blasted Trump over late-night speech

A retiring West Michigan congressman who left the Republican party in part over President Donald Trump blasted the president after he falsely asserted voter fraud and prematurely declared victory.

Rep. Justin Amash, L-Cascade Township, joined a chorus of commentators from both sides of the political aisle in condemning the president’s late-night speech.

“That was one of the most dishonest and despotic speeches ever given by a president of the United States,” Amash tweeted a little after 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

In the short speech early Wednesday and well before many states finished counting ballots, Trump alleged without evidence that fraud had occurred, he had already won and lawsuits were coming, according to video posted by the Washington Post.

“This is a fraud on the American public. This is an embarrassment to our country,” Trump said, even after elections officials across the nation had warned for weeks the country would need more than one night to count every ballot.

“This is a major fraud on our nation...We’ll be going to the Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop.”

All voting has stopped, in Michigan and elsewhere. Counting absentee ballots takes considerable time, but Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson pledged the process would be fair and accurate.

— Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press

Too early to call winner to replace Amash in western Michigan

The U.S. House race in western Michigan between Republican Peter Meijer and Democrat Hillary Scholten was too early to call Wednesday morning, with many votes still uncounted.

They are vying in what may be Michigan’s most competitive House race after Rep. Justin Amash decided not to seek reelection. A victory in the western Michigan district would make Scholten the first Democrat to represent Grand Rapids in Congress in 44 years. The 3rd District, which the five-term Amash has represented for a decade, stretches south to the Battle Creek area.

More:More than a name: Peter Meijer faces Hillary Scholten in competitive west Michigan race

Meijer is a 32-year-old veteran who served in Iraq and later led humanitarian missions. He works in urban redevelopment and real estate. His family founded the Meijer chain of stores.

Scholten is a 38-year-old immigration lawyer who worked at the Justice Department during President Barack Obama’s administration.

Democrats see an opportunity to flip the seat with the departure of Amash, a Republican-turned-Libertarian who supported the impeachment of President Donald Trump. It has long been a GOP-leaning district but became a toss-up this cycle.

In her closing TV ad, Scholten said she lives on a middle-class street with no millionaires — an indirect reference to Meijer’s wealth. She pledged to protect medical coverage, including for those with preexisting conditions, amid Republicans’ attempts to repeal the Obama-era health care law.

Meijer’s last ad features a Vietnam veteran saying he trusts that Meijer would protect people with preexisting conditions.

The campaign committees for House Republicans and Democrats have spent millions of dollars attacking Scholten on immigration issues and Meijer on health care.

— David Eggert, Associated Press

A contested election in Michigan?

To be sure, in Michigan, the ballots are still being counted today.

But with voters having cast their ballots no later than Tuesday, a big focus could turn to whether election results might be contested in the state or elsewhere in the nation.

In the lead-up to November, a flood of voting rights cases across the country has already made this election the most litigious ever. But the legal challenges mounted so far may be the tip of the iceberg. Amid threats to contest the results levied by President Donald Trump, holes in election law could present challenges.

Unlike congressional contests, presidential elections are won and lost in the Electoral College, and federal law can be interpreted differently on key matters that could determine who wins. For instance, election law experts say federal law is unclear on what happens if states send two different election results to Congress, which has to ultimately certify the results.

Read more about what could happen in the days to come.

— Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press

A breakdown of the elections in Michigan so far

The race between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden was too early to call in our battleground state early Wednesday, with many votes uncounted.

So were the state’s most competitive Senate contest in 20 years and several closely watched House races. Detroit, our state's largest city and a Democratic stronghold, was not expected to finish counting until Wednesday night as it processed a surge of absentee ballots.

LEGISLATURE

Democrats must net at least four seats to control the state House for the first time in a decade. A Democratic majority would set the agenda and ease Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s ability to enact legislation. Whitmer, a first-term Democrat, has campaigned for candidates in places like suburban Detroit, Kalamazoo and Traverse City. The Republican-led Senate is not up for election.

SUPREME COURT

The Michigan Supreme Court’s recent 4-3 decision to strike down a law that underpinned Whitmer’s COVID-19 emergency orders put extra attention on the race for two seats. Justice Stephen Markman, author of the opinion, is retiring.

If Chief Justice Bridget McCormack and Elizabeth Welch win, Democratic nominees will be in the court’s majority for the first time since 2010 and could rule on restrictions that were reinstated by the Whitmer administration after the ruling. Republicans nominated Mary Kelly and Brock Swartzle. McCormack was leading, and while Welch and Kelly were battling for second.

BALLOT ISSUES

Michigan voters were poised to overwhelmingly adopt two amendments to the state constitution. One would change how royalties paid by developers of state-owned minerals — primarily oil and natural gas — can be spent under a popular program that buys land for public use and supports projects such as construction of trails, playgrounds and boat launches. The other would require a search warrant before police examine a wireless phone or other electronic devices.

— David Eggert, Associated Press

Detroit voters favor blight-busting spending measure

In Detroit, Proposal N — a request by the Duggan administration to sell up to $250 million worth of bonds, to demolish blighted homes and secure others for renovation — had drawn controversy and few endorsements. Still, with 65% of precincts reporting, Detroit voters appeared to have passed it with 39,145 yes votes (67%) to 19,539 no votes (33%). The proposal is not expected to increase property taxes.

More:What is Proposal N in Detroit? Here are the basics about the blight demolition measure

With federal funding exhausted for demolition, Mayor Mike Duggan and other city officials cited a strong need to remove more dilapidated housing while preserving the best of its housing stock for renewal. Critics had said that Detroit's demolition program has been fraught with environmental problems and other issues.

— Bill Laitner, Detroit Free Press

Wayne County incumbents poised for reelection

As expected, the roster of familiar Democrats atop Wayne County government were poised for another term in office, including Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree, the only countywide official to withstand a serious challenge in the primary election; as well as County Executive Warren Evans, County Sheriff Benny Napoleon and County Clerk Cathy Garrett.

Check out the full story about the matchups in the county.

— Bill Laitner, Detroit Free Press

Latest Michigan election results from the Associated Press

All of the following results were posted by the AP in about the last hour:

Republican Lisa McClain wins election to U.S. House in Michigan’s 10th Congressional District.

Democrat Andy Levin wins reelection to U.S. House in Michigan’s 9th Congressional District.

Republican Bill Huizenga wins reelection to U.S. House in Michigan’s 2nd Congressional District.

Republican Tim Walberg wins reelection to U.S. House in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District.

More ballots sorted in Detroit convention center

There were 50,000 additional ballots sorted at TCF Center in downtown Detroit, according to an announcement at approximately 4:40 a.m. With the announcement, hundreds of poll workers made their way for the exits to be replaced by a new shift that began to enter the building at 5:15 a.m.

On Monday, police removed two poll challengers. While there are poll challengers present this morning, there hasn’t been any excessive commotion. Absentee ballots have been processed at TCF Center since Monday, with new shifts of people moving in throughout each day.

While many seem worn out, there appeared to be a sense of optimism that the full results could be coming soon. Just after midnight Tuesday, Detroit election official Daniel Baxter said those results could come by this evening.

— Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press

The latest on Oakland County election results

Oakland County’s local races displayed the county’s continuing swing from red to blue as Democrats dominated top offices but — in a high-profile exception — voters returned their popular Republican sheriff to serve a sixth term.

As expected, Oakland voters appeared on pace to make former Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter the first Democrat to be elected Oakland's county executive.

Read more about the results.

— Bill Laitner, Detroit Free Press

Election challengers flood Detroit absentee ballot center

Dozens of election challengers showed up at the TCF Center before midnight in response to concerns that the process for counting Detroit’s absentee ballots was being interfered with.

Challengers aligned with the ACLU, NAACP, organized labor and local grassroots organizations responded to a callout to show up at the TCF Center to counterbalance about 50 challengers from the GOP who were there to monitor the absentee vote count.

“We got a call that they needed more volunteers,” said Branden Snyder, executive director of Detroit Action, an organization that focuses on housing and economic justice. “Our goal is to make sure the process is fair and equal.”

After about 100 challengers responded to the callout, Snyder began turning some away, asking them to come back to the TCF Center in the early morning.

“I think right now it’s under control,” he said. “I feel good. We’ll still be having folks out, basically making sure that all votes are counted.”

— Joe Guillen, Detroit Free Press

What it’s like to vote with COVID-19

Like many Americans, Demetrius Alexander had the Nov. 3 election circled on his calendar.

A positive COVID-19 test nearly ruined his plans to vote.

Alexander, a 41-year-old Detroit resident, tested positive for the virus last Thursday. He isn't sure how he got it. But Tuesday morning, he felt well enough to vote. In its election health and safety guidelines, the Michigan Secretary of State's office encouraged clerks to accommodate curbside voting or separate voting booths for people who have symptoms.

When Alexander arrived at his polling place at Henry Ford High School, he immediately let poll workers know he had tested positive.

A poll worker told Alexander his COVID-19 diagnosis put elderly staff members within the precinct at risk of getting sick. Rather than allowing him to vote curbside, Alexander was told to vote at Wayne County Community College — which was not his assigned polling location. The poll workers were under the impression that at Wayne County Community College, Alexander would be able to take advantage of drive-thru voting. After a two-and-a-half-hour wait, Alexander said that was not the case.

Read more about Demetrius Alexander’s mission to ensure his vote counted.

— Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press

Listen to voters, Free Press journalists break down the news

Indiana killer Paula Cooper: The Executioner Within

Robert King

robert.king@indystar.com

This 13-chapter story, told as a real-life novel, raises questions about race, justice, poverty and abuse. But it is also the story about the human capacity for forgiveness and a young woman’s struggle to find peace.

Still shrouded in darkness, she sat alone in her car, parked between night and day, between this world and the next.

Behind her, a family of teddy bears sat strapped in by a seat belt. In the front seat next to her was a digital recorder. And a gun.

She picked up the recorder and clicked it on.

"This is Paula Cooper."

A short introduction, a simple statement. Even though nothing had been simple about being Paula Cooper.

"I believe today is the 26th; 5:15 will be my death."

She saw it clearly now, even in the pre-dawn gloom. She'd spent so much of her life searching for peace. But early on the morning of May 26, 2015, the end was in sight. She would reach it before sunrise.

She just had a few things left to say.

—

"My sister. My queen. My everything."

Every morning she spoke to Rhonda. Why should this morning be different?

—

"My mother, I felt like you didn't love me. You didn't care about me. You cut me off. You judged me. You didn't want me at your church. You hurt me about the man I loved. But I still love you."

Others had forgiven Paula. Yet she never felt it from the woman who mattered most.

—

"To Monica, I'm so sorry. This pain that I feel every day. I walk around. I'm so miserable inside. I can't deal with this reality."

Monica had been like a godmother in the fairy tales — someone to fill the void in the absence of a mother's love.

—

"LeShon, I love you. … You showed me how to love.You showed me how to be a woman."

LeShon looked beyond Paula's past. As if it had never occurred.

—

"Michael, I'm so proud of you. And thank you for apologizing."

Michael was her first love. She wanted a life with him; he wanted something else.

—

"Meshia … you helped me when I was down, but I explained to you better than anybody how I feel."

Meshia knew Paula's pain; she'd just been unable to stop it.

—

These were the people Paula loved most. And to each one she had revealed part of herself, but never the whole. It was a select list from a life populated by characters: Her brutal father and her innocent victim; the judge who condemned her and the man who forgave her. There were friars and a bishop and a pope; jailers and journalists; people who were zealous to save her life and people eager to end it. There were too many to consider, really. And the sun would be up soon. She could wait no longer.

"Forgive me," she said in a recording that would soon become part of a police investigation. "I must go now."

Her coda finished, Paula stepped out of the car and into the shadows. She took a seat against a blighted tree. She felt the breeze in her hair. She felt the gun in her hand.

She was familiar with death. She'd seen it up close. She'd been condemned to it, resigned to it and reprieved from it. She had debated its merits and come to terms with it. Never had she stopped thinking of it.

But the question that would vex those she was leaving behind was maddeningly simple.

Why, after all she had endured and all she had survived, after all she had done and seemed capable of doing, had she chosen to die now?

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The garden spot in the woods — where her father grew vegetables and beat his daughters — was only an occasional venue of torture.

More often, for Paula Cooper, it happened at home.

As a child, Paula went to bed night after night next to her sister, listening to their parents argue, listening to her father make threats to come after them. Sometimes her mother would talk him out of it. Sometimes the man's wrath ebbed and they fell asleep. Sometimes they would be jarred awake at 3 o'clock in the morning, her father standing over them, ready to beat them.

Paula believed there were other kinds of families out there. She watched the people on "The Cosby Show," and they seemed to have such a nice family. But that was television. This was real. This was her family. And it looked as if there was no escaping it.

—

Paula was born in Chicago to Herman and Gloria Cooper on Aug. 25, 1969. Her sister, Rhonda, was three years older. Early on, the family lived in Michigan City, but by the time Paula was old enough for school they had moved to Gary.

The girls attended Bethune Grade School, a stone's throw from home. They went to nearby New Testament Baptist Church, where Paula sang in the choir and helped with the little children's Bible classes.

By the late 1970s, Gary's downward spiral from a midcentury boomtown was picking up speed. Manufacturing jobs were disappearing. White families were fleeing to the suburbs. Crime was rising. Like many black families still in the city, the Coopers were left in the wake of all this.

Gloria worked as a lab tech at a hospital. She had an assortment of health problems, none of them helped by the drugs and booze she added to the mixture.

"One day my mother be nice, the next day she be angry," Paula would tell Woman's Day, years later, when her story was national news. "And the next day she be real strange-acting."

Herman worked for U.S. Steel and worked construction, but his employment was sporadic. He had a girlfriend on the side and would be gone for long stretches. When he returned, chaos followed. Herman and Gloria were a volatile pair, drinking hard and arguing often, creating an atmosphere that was not just unstable, but dangerous.

The result, as Paula would say later, was that the girls had to "fend for themselves." Sometimes, on evenings when Herman was gone and Gloria worked late, Paula took meals with the next-door neighbors, who allowed her to stick around and watch TV. Most of the time the girls had food and nice clothing. But, as Rhonda would say later, "we hardly ever had any love."

Except from each other.

In the middle of all the darkness, Paula and Rhonda clung tightly to each other. They found moments to giggle together, play pranks together and share secrets.

More than just a sister, Rhonda became Paula's caregiver. Yet, through their early years, they were unaware of an important family secret: Rhonda was the child of a different father. It was a secret Gloria took great pains to hide, even though she allowed Rhonda's father, Ronald Williams, to visit occasionally. She said he was her uncle.

Before Herman came along, Ronald and Gloria were engaged. They broke it off, as Williams would later tell a courtroom, because he felt Gloria had a "split personality." In short, he thought she was crazy.

Living with Herman Cooper didn't help.

Herman beat everyone in the house. He beat Gloria in front of the girls. He beat the girls together. He beat them separately, sometimes in front of their mother. Sometimes Gloria seemed to egg on the violence.

"We did everything we was supposed to do, but it just wasn't never good enough for her," Paula told Woman's Day many years later. "… She get mad at us and he'd beat us. 'Be a man,' she'd tell him. 'Take care of it,' she'd say. And he'd take care of it."

The girls grew up unable to remember a time before the abuse. When they were little, Paula would later say, Herman beat them "for the things little kids do." When they were older, Rhonda remembered, he beat them for forgetting to take out the trash, for not doing the dishes and for skipping school.

Herman employed an assortment of tools for punishment, whatever he could get his hands on — shoes, straps, sticks, a broom. Sometimes he used an electrical cord from an air conditioner.

"He'd triple it up and go to work," Paula would say later. "It got to the point I was so used to it I didn't cry anymore."

To heighten the pain, Herman sometimes ordered the girls to remove their clothes before a beating. Questioned later, he denied that he ever abused the girls at all.

—

This stark picture of Paula Cooper's childhood emerges from several sources; the courtroom testimony from Rhonda and her father; testimony from Dr. Frank Brogno, a clinical psychologist who discussed what he learned from examining Paula. Some of the glimpses into the darkness come from now-yellowed news clippings. Others come from anecdotes Paula shared with friends and loved ones and the few journalists she favored. Finally, there's the freshest source of insight into Paula's world — more than 100 personal letters she wrote to a treasured friend that were reviewed by IndyStar.

Taken together, they amount to a catalog of horrors. Her father's beatings, Paula said, left her "close to death so many times." With no apparent means of escape, she seemed to stop fearing death at all. "I just cried," she wrote, "until all my tears were gone away."

—

In 1978, when Paula was 9, the tears were still flowing. Her parents separated, but it was often fuzzy as to when they were back together and when they were apart. Once, when Herman returned home to find the doors locked, he forced his way in. According to testimony Rhonda gave in court, Herman entered their home, beat up their mother and raped her in front of the two girls.

The incident seems to have been a tipping point. Not long after, Gloria began telling her daughters the world had nothing to offer them. Instead, she said, they'd all be better off going to heaven. On this point, Rhonda would say later, Gloria began pressuring her daughters. Eventually, the girls came to believe, like their mother, they had nothing to live for.

Gloria phoned Ronald Williams, Rhonda's father and steady friend. It was late. She'd been drinking and taking pills. She was crying. Herman had been giving her problems, she said, and things weren't good at work.

She was thinking of killing herself.

Williams had heard this kind of talk from Gloria before. Always, he had been able to console her, to talk her back from the precipice. He reminded her that she had Paula and Rhonda to think about. What would happen to them? His question made Gloria think. But only for an hour.

She called Williams back. Between her tears and her wailing, Gloria said: "I finally found out what I'm going to do with the kids."

Williams was alarmed. He demanded to know what she meant.

"I'm going to take them with me," she replied. "I'm going to let you speak to your daughter and Paula for the last time."

The girls took the phone in turns. They were crying, too. Rhonda said they were going to heaven with their mother.

"Don't do nothing drastic," Williams told them. "Let me speak to your mother, OK."

The phone went dead.

Williams panicked. Gloria and the girls had recently moved. She hadn't shared their new address. He didn't know where to find them, how to stop her.

He called the operator and asked for his last call to be traced; it was no good. He called Gary police. Without an address, they could do nothing.

There was nothing anyone could do. Williams waited. For three weeks, he waited. He feared what had become of them.

Had Gloria killed them all?

—

After she hung up the phone, Gloria decided not to act right away; she'd wait until morning. When she awoke, Gloria took the girls out to the car in the garage. She put them in the back seat and started the engine. The garage door remained closed.

From there, accounts differ. Williams testified that a friend told him neighbors noticed something and called the fire department. Rhonda testified that, as the fumes gathered, the girls drifted off to sleep. They thought they were going to heaven; instead, they woke up in bed. How they got there isn't clear. Rhonda said Gloria had changed her mind. When the girls awoke, she said, their mother was coughing on the lawn.

From then on, Williams tried to coax Gloria into letting him have the girls. Rhonda was his daughter, and he was fond of Paula, too. Gloria would have none of it.

"I'd rather see them both dead," she said.

—

The girls survived their first brush with death. But Paula and her sister were being shaped in a world without hope. And now their mother had planted a seed: The ultimate escape was death.

Rhonda looked around at this nihilist world and began seeking a way out. Several times she tried to run. Soon, she began taking Paula with her. "I couldn't take it no more in that house," she would say, "and I didn't want her to, either."

By 1982, when both girls were teenagers, they made an unsuccessful attempt to run and were sent — together — to the Thelma Marshall Children's Home in Gary. Within a short time, they were returned to the Coopers. For Paula, it was the beginning of a cycle — of running and being returned home. For Rhonda, that cycle ended only when she learned Ronald Williams was her biological father. At her first opportunity, she left the Coopers to live with him.

If the move helped Rhonda, it had grievous consequences for Paula, then 13. Her sister had been the most stable person in her home. Now she was gone. Paula came to believe her parents blamed her for Rhonda's departure. Now that her father's anger had one less target, Paula's beatings grew more frequent and more brutal. Even as her parents divorced, Herman never quite left the picture. And his handiwork began to show.

At school, Paula revealed to an administrator a rash of injuries — a bruise on her thigh, a welt on her arm, a rug burn on her elbow.

When a welfare caseworker visited the Cooper home, Herman and Gloria cursed at her. They blamed Paula's problems on interference from the courts, from the school psychologist and from the welfare department itself. When the caseworker recommended family counseling, Gloria said she'd rather go to jail.

At various times, Gloria and Herman seemed to vacillate between wanting Paula and considering her a curse. Paula began running away on her own. After one attempt, welfare officials wanted to send Paula home, but her mother objected. If Paula returned, Gloria vowed to leave.

On another occasion, when Rhonda made a rare visit to spend a weekend with Paula and her mother, arguments ensued and Williams returned for Rhonda. He couldn't find her there, but he found Paula. She was crying so loudly he heard her without going in. Gloria, who stood in front of the house fuming about Paula, simply said: "I'm going to kill that bitch."

Paula emerged and, seeing Williams, ran to him and jumped into his arms. He asked her if her mother would really hurt her.

"Yes."

Williams told her to get in the car. Gloria charged out toward them and began to threaten Paula. "I'm going to kill you and if I don't (Herman) will."

Williams considered it serious business to take Paula. He lived in Illinois and assumed it would be a crime to take a child across the state line without permission of the parents. He took her anyway. Gloria and other family members threatened to phone the police.

At his home, Williams asked Paula what she wanted to do. They talked about the logistics of her staying with him without her mother's permission. It would be impossible for her to go to school. Then there was the trouble Williams might face. With tears, Paula looked at Williams and said, "It's best for me to go home … I don't want to get you in no trouble." Paula's respite lasted only a few hours.

Even though he wasn't keeping Paula, Williams couldn't fathom returning her home. Instead, he just let her walk away. She was young, no more than 13, but Williams believed she was safer on the streets of Chicago than at home. Under scrutiny for making such a choice, Williams later told a courtroom he thought Paula was in danger there. "I would rather see her in the street as a slut than for her mother to blow her brains out."

For several days, Paula survived on her own. Inevitably, she wound up back home.

—

By 1983, when Paula turned 14, she stayed away from home as much as possible. She was smoking cigarettes and drinking. She smoked marijuana almost daily. Tall, but heavy, she took speed to lose weight. She tried cocaine. She skipped school routinely. She was sexually active. Years later, she would warn others against making similar choices. But for the moment, it was her life.

And it was a rootless life. She spent six months at a children's home in Mishawaka and three months in a juvenile detention center. She was removed from one home after only six days after she threatened a staff member and another resident — with a knife.

With each new address, Paula changed schools. She attended four high schools without ever finishing the 10th grade. Her schoolwork, decent at first, nosedived. She called a teacher "crazy," resulting in a suspension. She struggled to keep friends. She developed a reputation as a bully. All the while, Paula struggled to wake up in the mornings. When she was evaluated for the problem, a doctor at a local hospital asked if she ever thought of killing herself.

"Yes," she replied.

For that answer, she was sent to a mental hospital. Released four days later, she returned home.

"I told people I needed help and to talk, but all they did was move me from home to home," Paula would write a few years later. "I didn't care about life or trouble or consequences at all."

—

Perhaps the pinnacle of Paula's abuse came, ironically, after her father visited Gary police seeking advice on how to deal with a wayward child. Paula was 14, and Herman Cooper couldn't keep her reined in. Frustrated, he asked the police what he should do with her. It was a family matter, they said; he should do what he thought was right.

For Herman Cooper, that meant one thing: another beating. But for what he had in mind this time, he'd need some privacy. He took Paula to a woody patch near a spot where he kept a garden. Paula had been there before; so had Rhonda.

"If you scream where I take you," he told Paula, "no one will hear you."

Several times in her life, Paula thought her father was going to beat her to death. This was one of them. "He just kept beating me and beating me," she would tell the clinical psychologist, for what seemed like half an hour. Instead of the cord or a broom or a stick, this time Herman beat her with his bare hands.

When he was done, Herman put Paula in the car to take her home. But as they drove through the darkening streets of Gary, Paula knew she couldn't go back there. Not when the possibility of more punishment lay ahead in the Cooper house of horrors.

As Herman pulled the car up to the house, Paula jumped out and took off running into the night. Running and screaming. Herman gave chase, but porch lights began to click on. Up and down the street, neighbors stepped out to investigate the commotion. The neighbors had seen this show before; it never seemed to end. This time, though, Herman retreated.

Paula ran until she wound up where the night had begun — at the police station. She told officers there about the beating, told them she couldn't go home. At least not while Herman was around. The state pulled her away from the Coopers. It isn't clear from the record where she was placed. But soon, she was sent back home.

—

In the summer of 1984, when Paula turned 15, she felt as lonely as ever.

Adrift, Paula briefly took up with a guy she hoped might offer her a haven. Later, she would tell others he was a rough character who dealt drugs and treated her poorly. The one thing he did for Paula was leave her pregnant.

Many teenage girls would consider pregnancy a tragedy; Paula saw it as a blessing. She had almost forgotten how to care about anyone. She wanted a family, wanted someone to belong to. The child growing inside her represented someone she could love, someone who would love her in return.

And then it was gone.

Gloria had been dead set against the pregnancy; she wanted Paula to end it. Paula refused and ran off — perhaps to seek help from a woman she knew in Chicago. Her mother tracked her down and, as Paula would write years later in a letter and tell friends, forced her to have an abortion.

Paula was several months into the pregnancy; the procedure nearly killed her. "She took something that would have completed my life," Paula would write later, "and after that I felt I had no one."

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Ruth Pelke was gentle, an old woman with silvery hair and horn-rimmed glasses. As her stepson Robert and his wife pleaded for her to leave Gary, she listened.

Robert pledged to do everything necessary to make her house ready for sale — the legal stuff, the touch-up jobs, whatever. She listened as they talked to her about how dangerous her neighborhood had become.

But Ruth didn't really need reminding. Her Glen Park neighborhood was still one of the better places to live in Gary, although that wasn't saying much, given the city's downward lurch. There were abandoned houses now. There were burglaries. Her own home had been hit five times in recent years, including when her husband, Oscar, was still alive. Now, at 78, she was widowed and alone, and things were only getting worse. But Ruth had been in Glen Park for 41 years; it was home. She still had some good neighbors. Just as important, she had a mission.

For decades, she'd opened her home and heart to the neighborhood children. She'd taught them the Bible using felt cutouts of Bible characters that she stuck to a flannel board. She'd given the kids candy when they memorized Scripture. She'd driven them to church. She believed these were children who needed hope, and they could find it in Jesus. No, she finally said that night after her stepson's plea — she wouldn't be leaving the home in her neighborhood.

"I'll stay here until I go there," she said.

Ruth Pelke was pointing a finger to heaven.

—

The next day, Tuesday, May 14, 1985, Ruth's doorbell rang.

She answered it and found three teenage girls standing on her porch. She didn't recognize them, but she opened her door. One of the girls said, "My auntie would like to know about Bible classes. When do y'all hold them?"

Ruth wasn't up to teaching anymore, but she wanted to help the girls. "Come back on Saturday," she said. And closed the door.

—

The girls — Karen Corder, Denise Thomas and Paula Cooper — walked back across the alley. Sitting on a porch, April Beverly was waiting.

The foursome — all ninth- and 10th-graders at Lew Wallace High School — left school at lunchtime that afternoon with no intention of going back. The girls walked the 10 blocks or so to an arcade near 45th and Broadway where they spent what little money they had on games and candy. When their money was gone, they headed back to the house where April was staying with her sister.

They were a ragtag bunch.

At 16, Karen Corder — known to her friends as "Pooky" — was the oldest. More than two years earlier, she'd given birth to a baby boy whom she'd delivered in a toilet. She'd managed to keep the pregnancy secret from her parents until the child was born, according to court records.

At 15, April Beverly was seven months pregnant. She was part of a divided family with 11 children, and she bounced between two homes, her father's and her sister's. Her mother was dead, her father had remarried. On occasion, April benefited from the kindness of the old lady across the alley. She'd listened to Ruth Pelke's Bible lessons. And the old woman had brought food over to April and her siblings when she was concerned they might be hungry.

At 14, Denise Thomas was the youngest of the four and the smallest. The others were mature young women — at different places on the spectrum of teen motherhood. Denise still looked very much like a little girl. In the context of this group, some would later describe her as a tag-along.

And, of course, there was Paula Cooper. At 15, she was only months removed from an unwanted abortion that had nearly killed her. She was tall, somewhat heavy and had the bearing of a girl beyond her years. She would be described as the "prime mover" of the quartet — the ringleader. But it was a label she'd never cop to.

—

To date, the sum total of their illicit behavior was strictly small-time. Karen had tried her hand at shoplifting. Paula, Karen and April had pulled off a burglary a few days before that netted them $90. Mostly, the girls were truants. And on this Tuesday afternoon away from school, their immediate priority was to raise some money so they could go back to the arcade.

Their first attempt was a harebrained scheme April cooked up to get some cash from a woman up the street. All four girls had gone to the woman's door. April introduced Denise, the small one, as her daughter. April claimed the woman's husband had taken $20 from Denise and they'd come to collect it. For added zest, April threw in this detail: The woman's husband had been naked when he stepped into the street to take Denise's money.

The woman didn't go for it.

After that failure, April turned her focus to Ruth Pelke. She seemed to recall the lady keeping a jar of $2 bills. She thought the woman might even have some jewelry. The question was how to get to it all.

As they sat on the porch at her sister's house, April asked Paula to come inside — she might know where there was a gun. For the girls, a gun crime would be a considerable step up the criminal ladder. But the gun wasn't where April thought it was; she couldn't find it. Then it occurred to April: Something else might do.

"I have a knife you could scare the lady with," she said.

Soon, April produced a 12-inch butcher knife. It was sharp and had a curving blade that graduated to a fine point. It was a cooking tool, but also a potentially lethal instrument. Paula took the knife and hid it in her light jacket. Out on the porch, she and April explained to the other girls: This was their new weapon of choice. And Karen came up with another approach to getting inside the old lady's home: They would ask her to write down the time and place where the Bible classes would be.

In all this planning, Paula and the other girls would forever swear, the subject of killing the old woman never came up. The most they would admit, according to Corder, was that they'd knock out the woman and rob her. Still, the reality of what they were planning — to con their way into her house, pull a knife and take the old woman's valuables — was fraught with danger.

As their scheme unfolded, April stayed back again, resting on her sister's porch; she didn't want the old woman to recognize her. Karen, Paula and Denise crossed the alley.

They rang the bell, and soon Ruth Pelke appeared at the door. This time, when she answered, Karen said: "My auntie wants to know where the Bible classes are held at. Could you write it down for me?"

Ruth said she no longer taught the classes, but she knew of a lady. "I'll look up her telephone number for you." She invited the girls to come in. And she turned to walk to the desk on the far side of the room.

—

Ruth Pelke looked for all the world like the kindly grandmother drawn up in children's books. She was also a woman whose Christian faith was essential to who she was. She went to church on Wednesday nights and twice on Sundays. She visited church members who were too old or too sick to get out. She sang in the choir. She hosted missionaries in her home on their trips back from foreign lands. She took her own missionary journeys, going deeper into the heart of Gary to share her faith with children.

What followed — recorded in statements to police, testified to in court, reported in newspaper accounts and, in brief instances, described in letters Paula would write years later — was a scene that would shock Northwest Indiana and the rest of the state.

As Ruth Pelke crossed her living room to the desk where she kept phone numbers, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her neck.

Paula had put her jacket on the couch and run up on Ruth, grabbing her from behind. For a moment, the teenager and the old woman struggled. Ruth still tended a garden and did a little work outside the house to keep fit, but she was in no shape for a chunky 15-year-old girl who now had her in a headlock.

Paula threw Ruth to the floor.

On a table nearby sat an item some would describe as a vase but others likened more to a triangular snow globe. One of the girls picked it up and hit Ruth Pelke over the head. Prosecutors would allege it was Denise Thomas; Paula took the blame.

Paula demanded to know where Ruth kept her valuables. She threatened to cut her with the knife. "Give me the money, bitch," she said.

Ruth looked up and said simply: "You aren't going to kill me." She began hollering for help. Paula's anger rose now. Then she looked at Ruth's head. Blood was streaming from the place where she'd been hit with the vase. Paula saw the blood and reacted in a way she would struggle to explain for the rest of her life.

To police investigators, she would say she entered "a blackout stage."

To a judge, she would say, "Something clicked in on me."

To a psychologist, she said the sight of the blood altered her perception of whom she was attacking: "I saw somebody else inside of that body."

Several friends and supporters who heard similar explanations from Paula concluded that, in this moment, Paula no longer saw the meek and mild Bible teacher in front of her. They believed Paula saw the woman who watched her suffer so many beatings and did nothing to stop them, the woman who took away the baby she'd wanted to love. They were convinced that, in the defenseless woman pinned to the floor, Paula saw her mother.

Whatever she saw, Paula reached for the knife. She grabbed it by the handle and began slashing. She sliced open the old woman's cheek. She stabbed at her head, without deep penetration. Ruth fell back, flat on the floor. And Paula went to work, cutting her arms and legs.

The other girls stood by in disbelief.

Karen Corder, the oldest, told Paula to stop.

Denise Thomas, the youngest, cried and screamed for Paula to quit. Later, she would claim she yelled, "I'm getting out of here," only to be met with a withering threat from Paula: "Leave and you're dead."

Paula's barrage was relentless. She stabbed the old woman in the belly and, finally, thrust the blade deep into the side of Ruth's chest. With that, Paula stopped; she pulled back from the carnage.

"I can't take it no more," she said.

Paula looked at Denise; she told her to come hold the knife. But Denise refused. She looked at Karen, communicating the same message. Karen knelt beside the wounded woman. The blade remained lodged in her chest. And Karen held it in place.

April Beverly, who concocted the robbery scheme, initially held back. After the others went inside, she had come up to Ruth's porch and acted as lookout. Now she entered the house. The old woman was lying on her back, her dress covered in blood, her arms and legs still moving. Karen, she noticed, held the knife as it protruded from the woman's side. To April, it appeared that Karen wasn't just holding it: She was wiggling the knife back and forth. Out of some morbid curiosity, she would tell police later, Karen pushed the blade farther into the hole to see how deep it would go. At one point, she concluded, "The bitch won't die."

Karen estimated she held the knife in Ruth Pelke's side for upwards of 15 minutes; Paula thought it closer to 30.

Ruth Pelke moaned through most of this. The old woman's torn and tortured face was too much for the girls to bear. One of them went to the bathroom and got a towel to cover Ruth's face — and try to smother the last breaths of life from her. Paula and Denise said it was Karen; Karen said it was Paula.

In her dying moments, Ruth Pelke managed to share a few last words. Denise heard her saying the Lord's Prayer.

"Our Father, which art in heaven …"

Paula had stalked in and out of the room, and the last words she heard from Ruth were something else. Words that would haunt her the rest of her life.

"If you kill me," she heard Ruth say, "you will be sorry."

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Paula and Denise began tearing the house apart, rifling through drawers, ripping items off shelves and upending furniture.

For Paula, it was a mad search for some reward for the awful business she'd just concluded. There had to be some money somewhere. Maybe some jewelry. But as she continued her desperate search, a nervousness began to grow inside her. Whether it was regret for the killing or the chilling final words of her victim, she felt uneasy. And she didn't like it. As they were going through the upstairs rooms, Paula tried to pull herself away. But the only place to go was back downstairs, where the source of her angst lay dead on the floor. She resumed the treasure hunt and soon managed to turn up some cash — all of $10. She came across a key and thought it might start the old woman's Plymouth in the garage. She ran out to give it a try. Nothing.

April joined in the search and quickly turned up another key. This time when Paula tried it, the engine stirred to life. April went inside to fetch the other girls.

By then, Karen and Denise were alone with Ruth Pelke's body. Karen had watched the rise and fall of the old woman's chest until it grew shallower. Finally, it stopped. Maybe April sensed some new panic; she sternly warned the other girls: "If you tell anyone, I'll kill you."

The girls had spent roughly an hour in the old woman's house. They hadn't found a jar of $2 bills. They hadn't found a trove of jewelry. But it was time to go. Someone might come looking. Before they could leave, Karen grabbed one last item.

She knelt down again beside Ruth. The butcher knife was planted firmly in the left side of her chest, just below her breast. Karen grabbed the handle. She pulled it out. As they headed out to the car, Karen carried the knife at her side. She climbed into the back of the car and dropped it to the floor. The blade was still coated in blood.

—

Paula Cooper was 15. She was too young to drive. But with her three accomplices as passengers, she managed to steer Ruth's car out of the neighborhood and onto 45th Avenue. They were just down the street from Lew Wallace High School. School was out now and, almost immediately, they saw a classmate walking along the street. Almost reflexively, they waved to Beverly Byndum. And Beverly waved back.

This was the paradox they now faced. They were teenagers in possession of a car, the apex of adolescence. Yet they had acquired it in the most horrific way imaginable. Years later, Paula would say things just "got out of control." But here she was — a killer. Now that the deed was done, now that they had a few bucks, Paula and the others seemed in no mood to enjoy it.

Before they arrived at the video arcade, Karen asked Paula to let her out of the car; she wanted to go back to April's house. Paula let her go, but not before asking her to perform a little task: Go back to the old lady's house and get the jacket Paula had left inside.

Next, Denise said she wanted to go home. She asked Paula to let her out at a convenience store and she would make her way from there.

When Paula and April pulled up to Candyland Arcade, they were alone. For a few minutes, they just sat there, talking about what they'd done. April hadn't witnessed everything that went on inside the house. It's not clear how many of the missing details Paula shared.

Paula said she needed to use the restroom, and she ventured into the arcade. When she returned, five girls from school were standing around the car. One of them was Beverly Byndum, whom they had passed on the street. Her sister, Latesha, asked where they had come by the car. Paula said it was her sister's.

Within minutes, Karen walked up to the arcade out of breath, as if she had been running to catch up with the crew. Wherever she had been, she hadn't stayed long. Paula pulled her aside and asked if she'd gone back to the house, if she'd picked up the jacket. No, Karen replied. It was probably the last place on Earth she wanted to go. And she didn't hang around long enough to talk further about it. In a few minutes, she caught a bus for home.

Whether Paula remembered it or not, she had left more than her jacket in the house. Inside one of its pockets was a newly filled prescription for birth control pills — her pills. She had picked them up earlier that morning before school. It was just one of the clues she had left for investigators to find.

Paula and April looked around at the girls and asked if anyone wanted a ride home. Eagerly, their friends piled into the Plymouth. Latesha Byndum was among those who jumped into the back. As she did, she felt her foot brush across something on the floor. She reached down to pick it up. It was a knife. And there was blood on it. There was also blood on her shoe. Latesha looked at Paula and April in the front seat and asked, "What you all do? Just kill somebody?"

The girls looked back at Latesha.

No, they replied.

And, in a response that would reverberate across the community, Paula and April laughed.

—

Paula and April dropped off their passengers at various addresses around Gary. But details about where and how they spent their next two days are choppy and imprecise.

Prosecutors would characterize their time in the car as a joy ride. But from this point on, Paula and April seemed to have a different sense of what to do next.

April wanted to go to a park in Hammond; she wanted to see her brother Tony; she wanted to see her boyfriend. When she found $40 in Ruth Pelke's glove box, she wanted to spend it. When they picked up April's boyfriend and he brought some alcohol, she drank it.

Paula wanted to go to a girl's home where she had lived for a time; she wanted to pick up some friends there. But she quickly decided she and April needed some time to focus on what to do next. When April found the money, Paula thought they should save it for gas. While April got drunk, Paula wanted nothing to drink. She was too nervous.

Most symbolic of their division, perhaps, is what happened to the money from Ruth's glove box. The girls wrestled over it, and one of the $20 bills was torn. Paula gave up the fight. April could keep the money and do with it what she wanted.

—

On Wednesday morning, the day after the crime, Robert Pelke phoned Ruth's house to check up on her. She didn't pick up the phone, and he decided to check on her in person. Just three days before, he and a large portion of the extended Pelke family had taken Ruth out for a Mother's Day dinner. Just two days earlier, Robert and his wife had pushed Ruth to think about selling her house and leaving Gary. Robert rang the doorbell, with no idea how prescient that conversation had been.

There was no answer, so Robert opened the mail slot on the door and called inside. There was only silence. But through the mail slot, something caught Robert's eye: The dining room was torn apart. He went to fetch a spare key Ruth kept hidden outside. Looking around the place, he noticed Ruth's car was missing from the garage, and he assumed Ruth must be gone, too.

He found the key, unlocked the door and stepped into the house. The place appeared to have been ransacked. Pictures that had adorned the walls were now scattered about the floor. Cushions from the couch had been pulled up and cast about. And then his eyes turned to the dining room floor.

The cloaked figure of a woman lay there motionless. Her dress was caked in blood. Her arms were slashed. A towel masked her face.

Robert knelt down next to her. He pulled the towel away and called her name. Still, there was no movement. He touched her, and the body was cold. He knew she was dead.

Robert got up and went for the phone. In an age when every phone was a landline, Ruth's had been ripped from its place on the wall. He stepped outside and began going door to door, looking for someone who would let him use their phone. But at house after house, he found nobody. Finally, Robert looked farther up the street and saw a man and a woman getting out of a car. He approached them and asked them to call the police.

His stepmother had been murdered.

—

Robert's son, Bill Pelke, arrived home just after 3 o'clock from his shift at Bethlehem Steel and soon received a phone call. It was one of his uncles. Nana, he said, was dead.

Nana was the term of endearment everyone in the family used for Ruth. Bill had grown up listening to her Bible stories. He'd loved her flannel board tales of the three men in the fiery furnace, of Noah and the ark and his favorite — Joseph and the coat of many colors.

Even as a 37-year-old man, he still loved to go to Nana's house for the holidays, to warm himself beside her fireplace and congregate there with the rest of the family. His grandfather had passed almost two years before, but Nana was still a magnet. She could still bring the family together. And now, suddenly, she was gone.

At such moments of shock, the brain's processor goes into hyperdrive. And some key facts rushed through Bill's head: Nana had been 78; she was the oldest Pelke; she'd had a good life; it must have been her time. But that instant of comfort evaporated quickly. He sensed something else in his uncle's voice that was borne out in his next words: There'd been a break-in at Nana's house. He didn't know if there was a connection.

Bill hung up and turned on the television, wondering if there might be some news about it. Sure enough, his father appeared on camera. He was saying something about it being a terrible murder. For Bill, everything else was a blur; he had to go. He had to be with his family.

As it turned out, Ruth Pelke had been dead for a full day.

—

By that spring of 1985, crime was a painful reality in Gary. Its murder rate was among the highest in the country. It was on its way to becoming the murder capital of the United States.

Gary was a city in decline; poverty was growing like a cancer. But the violence was being spread through an influx of gangs with names such as The Family and the Black Gangster Disciples.

Yet as accustomed to crime as the city had become, the murder of Ruth Pelke shocked and angered people in a whole new way. There was the innocence of Ruth herself — the elderly Bible teacher. As one observer put it, she was a grandma to the neighborhood. The killing's effect also might have been amplified because it happened in Glen Park, which a prosecutor later described as a "last bastion" of the white population in a city from which white residents had disappeared.

On the day after the discovery of Ruth's body, The Post-Tribune in Gary devoted two front-page columns to the story: "Bible teacher, 77, murdered in her home." It had her age wrong, but the dominant image on the page was a picture of Ruth — silver-haired and smiling behind her horn-rimmed glasses from another era.

The newspaper reported that neighborhood children "were visibly upset and shaken by the murder." They spoke of Pelke as "meek and mild," serving cookies during summer Bible classes and giving out boxes of candy to the children who memorized Scripture.

As for who might be responsible, the initial story carried some important nuggets: Police were searching for a 15-year-old girl who'd been seen driving Pelke's blue Plymouth. They weren't releasing her name, but the girl was a student at Lew Wallace High and lived in Gary's Marshalltown neighborhood.

—

Paula Cooper lived in Marshalltown.

As they combed through Ruth's house, police found the jacket with the prescription in the pocket. Eyewitnesses had seen Paula and the other girls in a car that matched the description of Ruth's missing Plymouth. And on the day Ruth's body was discovered, Gloria Cooper phoned police to report her 15-year-old daughter missing; she'd been missing since the day before.

The ink was barely dry on the newspaper stories when Karen Corder, walking around school on Thursday, two days after the crime, began looking for someone on whom she could unload her conscience. She had opted out of the joy ride and gone home and had a couple of restless nights' sleep. She found a gym teacher who'd been nice to her and said they needed to talk; she'd witnessed a murder. Soon, police were at the school. They took Karen and Denise into custody. And Karen was telling her story about the crime.

In the two days since the killing, Paula and April — with April's brother, Tony — had driven aimlessly from Gary to Hammond and to various parts of Chicago's South Side. They'd had no real sense of direction.

Tony pressed on in Ruth's Plymouth until the gas needle dropped well below empty. Then he pushed it some more. Finally, the car died. Their money gone, they found a phone and called April's sister. Thursday night, with the police dragnet closing around them, she took the girls to see the Gary police.

—

Detective William Kennedy Jr. had been looking for Paula Cooper and April Beverly for the better part of two days. When his phone rang around midnight, the news was good: They'd turned themselves in.

In addition to being a cop, Kennedy worked security at Lew Wallace High School. He'd seen Paula Cooper walking the halls. He never knew her name, but they'd exchanged hellos. Now, he was tidying up the loose ends of a case for murder against her.

When he arrived at the station, Paula's parents were waiting. Kennedy asked Herman and Gloria Cooper if Paula could make a formal statement about the crime. Herman, speaking for everyone, declined. They were interested in talking to a lawyer, and he seemed annoyed at the article in the morning paper, which he felt pointed a finger at Paula even if it didn't name her.

The Coopers met briefly with Paula, then returned to the waiting room. Soon, Rhonda arrived at the station. She'd read the papers. She knew Paula was in jail. And she was upset. She wanted to see her sister.

Gloria was OK with that but urged her to persuade Paula to talk about what she'd done. When the police wouldn't let Rhonda see her sister without a parent, Gloria agreed to go with Rhonda.

After so many years of turmoil and strife, Gloria and her two daughters were together again — for a moment alone in a police interrogation room. What they said isn't clear. But when Kennedy, the detective, rejoined them, Gloria gave Paula a nudge.

"Say something," she said.

Paula hesitated. She said she didn't want anyone looking at her. So Kennedy turned 45 degrees and looked at a wall. Paula began to speak. She kept speaking for 15 minutes. She laid out the essential elements of Ruth Pelke's murder, described the girls' desire for money and a car, described how they came up with the Bible class as their way in. She described how she got the knife and stabbed the old woman more times than she could remember. She talked about the aftermath, when they took the car and gave rides to their friends. At one point, according to the account the detective would later make from his "mental notes," Gloria Cooper asked Paula in front of the detective: Were you and Karen basically responsible for the lady's death?

Paula's answer: "Yeah, you could say that."

When Paula was done, Kennedy left the room. Her mother and her sister left, too. As Paula stood alone in the interrogation room, April Beverly was giving a statement in a room nearby. When Kennedy returned to Paula, she was newly animated. She began unloading a rapid-fire addendum to her confession to the detective.

"April is lying. She's lying on me, so I'm going to tell you where the murder weapon is. It's at the McDonald's in Hammond on Calumet Avenue, next to the police station. Her brother threw it out the car right by the drive-thru window side. It was by a tree right there."

For Paula, this was the start of one of the great grievances of her life — her claim that the other girls lied. A few details aside, their stories largely matched up. But in the discrepancies, Paula saw injustice. And correcting the narrative to fit her exact version of the truth would become an obsession.

The legal ramifications of what she'd shared, in her two statements, were that Paula had essentially confessed to the key elements of the murder. She had gift-wrapped a case for the authorities. She also had put herself in the cross hairs of a zealous prosecutor. She had no idea just how precarious her own life had become.

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Jack Crawford — with a swooping, blow-dried haircut that gave him an appearance not unlike the televangelists of the era — came before a bank of reporters with material certain to make a splash.

A rising star in Indiana's Democratic Party, Crawford had swept into the Lake County prosecutor's job years before, having pledged to get tough on crime. Since then, he had pursued the death penalty more than any other prosecutor in the state. In the first five months of 1985, he'd already won four death penalty convictions.

Now, flanked by a pair of cops, Crawford came before the gathered media with an announcement sure to make headlines: For the first time in Lake County, his office was charging four girls with murder. He would seek the death penalty against the oldest — 16-year-old Karen Corder — and if the other girls were moved out of juvenile court, he'd likely seek death for them, too.

"I've been a prosecutor for seven years," Crawford told the media, "and we've never had a case like this before."

As zealous as he was, Crawford privately acknowledged that same day that his chance for death sentences had already taken a big hit. That's because the clerk's office announced that the judge handling the Ruth Pelke cases was Superior Court Judge James C. Kimbrough Jr.

Kimbrough was a former public defender and NAACP lawyer who'd grown up in the civil rights heartland of Selma, Ala. More important than all of that, everyone around the courts — from prosecutors and public defenders to reporters and clerks — knew Kimbrough hated the death penalty. Hated it for its unfairness. Hated it for its inability to deter crime. And in a county where other judges had shown themselves willing to brandish the ultimate weapon, Kimbrough hadn't sent anyone to the electric chair during 12 years on the bench. Only once had he come close: Kimbrough sentenced a man to death who had been convicted of a double murder. Soon, though, the judge reversed himself and gave the man a new trial. Eventually, he was set free.

So, at word of Kimbrough's assignment, Jack Crawford and his team murmured that the path to a death sentence was a steep one. "We certainly thought we had an uphill climb," he would say later.

—

In the Lake County Juvenile Detention Center, Paula Cooper's life behind bars was getting off to a rough start.

She was no stranger to jail, having spent three months in the same detention center two years earlier after she ran away from home. She was a bit weepy then, even tender, the guards remembered. But this 15-year-old version of Paula Cooper was angrier, explosive and cocky. She acted as if she owned the place. She was a handful.

Two weeks after the crime, Paula took a seat next to two of her friends in the jail during "quiet hour." Soon they grew noisy. A guard told them to shut up and disperse; Paula refused. The guard ordered her back to her cell. But as she stepped into the hall, Paula struck the guard across the bridge of the nose. She fought until reinforcements arrived to pull Paula off. As they were dragging her away, Paula issued a warning: They'd better transfer the guard or she would get a knife and come after her.

The dust-up prompted a transfer for the girls — from the juvenile center to the Lake County Jail. It also made the local papers, which didn't help the cause of saving their lives.

By the end of July 1985, the cases against all four girls were formally moved to adult court. Crawford, after sifting through the ample evidence, made his purpose clear: He would seek the death penalty against all four.

The case had pricked the public's consciousness of crime at a new level.

Crawford's decision made news on the Chicago television stations; it made headlines across Indiana. The public defender assigned to represent Paula, Kevin Relphorde, was incredulous. "They must be the youngest females in the country facing the death penalty," he told reporters.

By then, Paula and Karen, sharing a cell in the Lake County Jail, had been locked up two months. They began telling jail staff they were considering suicide. On cards they were given to report health problems, they wrote things such as "Give me the electric chair" and "Give me that shock. I want to die."

As a precaution, jail officers took their personal belongings and stripped them to their underwear; they were on suicide watch.

Paula and Karen responded by banging on the bars and making noise. To calm them, a nurse broke out the oral sedatives. Karen took hers; Paula refused. The guards teamed up to hold down Paula so the nurse could give her a shot. But as they tried to restrain her, Paula jumped up and hit one guard in the shoulder.

"Oh you tough, huh?" the guard replied. "You stabbed an old lady." It was less than professional, but it was a gut reaction.

"Yeah, I stabbed an old lady," Paula replied. "And I'd stab that bitch again. I'd stab your fucking grandmother."

The jail incidents were part of a pattern to be repeated in years to come. Paula didn't respond well to restraints; she bucked authority. In such instances, she could be aggressive and hostile. A psychologist noted her tendencies and something else plain to see: Battered and badgered as a girl, she was now mistrustful and suspicious.

Soon, Paula's interaction with the jail staff would grow more complicated. By August 1985, about the time she turned 16, Paula began receiving a series of private visitors. Two were male corrections officers. Another was a male recreational therapist. They weren't visiting just because of their jobs.

They were coming for sex.

—

Outside the jail, the stories about the angry young prisoners seemed only to add to the public's contempt. And as the details of their crime emerged, they were already easy to hate. Especially the girl who had wielded the knife — Paula Cooper.

Paula had not just killed Ruth Pelke; she had stabbed her 33 times, according to the coroner. Some of the cuts on her arms looked like saw marks, as if the knife had been pulled back and forth. In other instances, the 12-inch knife had been wielded with such ferocity that the tip of the blade went through Ruth's body, pierced the carpet on which she lay and chipped the wood flooring beneath. Worst of all, it appeared Ruth Pelke survived the torturous assault for more than 30 minutes. The Post-Tribune called it "possibly the most brutal killing in Gary history."

If all that wasn't bad enough, two of the girls had bragged about the killing at school. As defendants go, they were about as unsympathetic as they come. With guilt hardly in doubt, letters began appearing in the Gary newspaper debating the punishment. Some asked for mercy; others wanted severe justice. One letter directed at Paula appeared under the headline, "She should pay."

All of it left Kevin Relphorde, Paula's lawyer, searching for a viable strategy to save Paula's life. The evidence was overwhelming, and the prosecutor was determined, which made a plea deal unimaginable. Paula's childhood had been bad, but it didn't seem to add up to an insanity plea. Her youth and relatively clean prior record were assets, but they looked meager compared to the brutality of the crime. Then there was the jury. Any panel drawn from across Lake County would be mostly white. And Paula was a black teenager who had killed an old white woman. All of it added up to a grim outlook.

As best as Relphorde could figure, the only thing Paula had going for her was the judge. Relphorde knew of Kimbrough's opposition to the death penalty. Ultimately, he suggested to Paula a stomach-churning strategy: Plead guilty.

Relphorde was a part-time public defender who'd never handled a death penalty case. But he figured Paula's chances were better in the hands of a liberal judge than with 12 angry jurors.

As risky as it sounded, Relphorde wasn't the only person who sized things up the same way. David Olson, who was Karen Corder's attorney, came to a similar conclusion. He'd had a nightmare about Karen, he told the Post-Tribune in March 1986, and awoke fearful of "losing her." His fears were amplified when he attended the trial of Denise Thomas, the first suspect to answer for the death of Ruth Pelke.

Just before the case against Thomas went to trial, in November 1985, prosecutors withdrew the death penalty charge, concluding she'd been more of a bystander to the crime.

But that didn't stop the jurors from reacting strongly to the horrific details of Pelke's death. They quickly found Denise guilty. Olson didn't want to risk that with death on the line for his client. So in March, 10 months after the crime, Karen went before Kimbrough with a guilty plea. Her sentencing would follow two months later.

How well Paula understood the risks of her plea — and how much say she had in it — is now a matter of dispute. Relphorde said he met with Paula regularly to talk strategy and that the plea was ultimately her decision. Years later, Paula would recall only three brief meetings with her attorney, who she said assured her the judge opposed the death penalty and would be sympathetic to a black girl. If she pleaded guilty, she said she was told, she wouldn't get a death sentence.

On April 21, 1986, Paula appeared in court to plead guilty to murder.

Herman Cooper came to the courtroom that day; so did Paula's sister, Rhonda. But Gloria Cooper, Paula's mother, was nowhere to be found. She had moved to Georgia and stopped answering the calls of Paula's attorney.

When the hearing began, Kimbrough asked Paula more than once if she knew she could be sentenced to death. Each time, Paula answered yes. To the most important question — How do you plead? — she never hesitated: Guilty.

For the record, Paula retold the story of the crime — the scheme to get into the house; what she did to Ruth; how the girls took the car.

"We went to commit a robbery, you know," she told the judge.

Was there any discussion in advance about what you'd do with Mrs. Pelke? he asked.

"No. It wasn't a discussion to go and kill anyone, you know."

Kimbrough accepted the plea. Paula's life was now in his hands. But she would have to wait months for an answer. Relphorde left convinced Paula had made her best play: "We were basically throwing ourselves on the mercy of the court."

Paula's strategy seemed to appear sound when, in May 1986, Kimbrough spared Karen Corder's life, giving her 60 years in prison. In fact, three of the girls had escaped with their lives. Denise Thomas, found guilty at trial, received a 35-year sentence. April Beverly, who conceived the robbery but waited outside during the killing, pleaded guilty in exchange for a 25-year prison term.

Only Paula's fate remained unresolved.

Lost in the news of Corder's reprieve, perhaps, was some language the judge used in reference to Paula. It seemed ominous. Kimbrough said it had been "conceded by all that Paula Cooper was the leader of this group of four young ladies. That Paula Cooper was the dominant factor in the crime." He said Corder was "operating under the substantial domination of Paula Cooper." Despite such words, the prevailing view in legal circles was that Kimbrough would spare Paula's life.

—

As her judgment approached, there were hints that Paula Cooper's case was starting to resonate beyond Indiana. Jack Crawford's first clue came when his secretary stepped into his office with an unusual message: "There's a man outside who says he's from the Vatican. He's dressed like a monk and wants to talk to you about Paula Cooper's case."

Crawford took a look. Sure enough, in a brown tunic bound at the waist with a cord, there stood a Franciscan friar. He told Crawford he was from Rome. He offered a letter validating his credentials. And he brought a simple message: Pope John Paul II and the Vatican weren't pleased with Crawford's decision to seek the death penalty.

Crawford was Roman Catholic. He'd gone to Notre Dame. He knew the church's opposition to the death penalty. But, as he explained to the friar, this was a legal decision, not a religious one. The friar left unsatisfied. He would not be the last Franciscan to stand with Paula.

More surprising than the friar's appearance was the visit Crawford received in June 1986 from Paula's attorney, Kevin Relphorde.

It was just weeks before Paula's sentencing, and Relphorde had few cards to play in Paula's defense. This time, though, it appeared he might have a game changer.

"You can't execute Paula Cooper," he said.

"Well, why is that, Kevin?" Crawford asked.

"She's pregnant."

—

The sex scandal at the Lake County Jail erupted in June 1986.

For months, corrections officers Vernard Rouster, 25, and Parmaley Rainge, 27, had been coming to see Paula for sex, officials discovered. So, too, had Michael Dean Lampley, a recreational therapist from a mental health center. Their encounters occurred even as a 40-year-old female corrections officer and a police patrolman were supposed to be maintaining security for the state's highest-profile murder suspect.

—

One of the guards admitted the sex began when Paula was still a week shy of 16 — the age of consent in Indiana. That people working in the jail were having sex with a captive wasn't illegal in Indiana in 1986. After the revelation, the jail workers resigned their jobs and the therapist was fired, but no one was prosecuted. Supervisors on the jail floor were suspended — for 15 days.

For all of its tawdriness, the scandal had the potential to affect Paula's case. State law prohibited the execution of a pregnant woman; punishment would have to wait. And while a death penalty appeal was certain to outlast a pregnancy, the strange episode raised the possibility of a sentencing delay.

Kimbrough ordered a medical exam for Paula. Quickly, the matter was put to rest: She wasn't pregnant. But, in a sign of the times, public discussion about the scandal seemed to focus less on the culpability of the jailers than on the promiscuity of the 16-year-old girl in jail.

James McNew, a deputy in Crawford's office who prosecuted the case, told the Post-Tribune he suspected Paula Cooper tried to get pregnant to stir up sympathy and avoid death.

However it came about, the sex scandal prompted a change in state law: It became a crime for jailers to have sex with their prisoners. Soon, though, the jailhouse sex scandal would become little more than a footnote before a judgment heard around the world.

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Bill Pelke sat on the wrong side of the courtroom.

His grandmother was the murder victim. Unwittingly, Bill took a seat on the side of the murderer. He was unfamiliar with the trappings of the courtroom. And unlike some in the community — in his own family — Bill carried no blood lust into the chamber. He thought people who committed murder should die. And Paula Cooper had killed his beloved Nana. But he wasn't fuming about it.

Bill had stayed away from the previous court hearings, but decided this was one he shouldn't miss. It was July 11, 1986. And for Paula Cooper, it was judgment day.

Courtroom 3 of Lake Superior Court was a small space. The gallery, oriented outside a circle where the business of the court was conducted, had seats for just 43 onlookers. This day, it was packed to overflowing. People stood, straining to hear, just outside the public entrance. Lawyers and other court personnel did the same just outside the doors normally used by the judge and juries. All wanted to know the fate of a 16-year-old girl who faced a potential death sentence.

Into this cauldron, Paula Cooper entered under the escort of a jail matron. She didn't need to look around to see she had few friends in the room. Her sister and her grandfather were there, but neither of her parents was present. Her mother had moved to Georgia, her father to Tennessee. As Paula entered, the matron said something that made the young defendant smile. The gesture surprised Bill Pelke; it struck him as unbefitting for the moment. When this day is done, he thought to himself, she's not going to be smiling.

Deputy Prosecutor James McNew began the proceedings by calling Bill's father to testify. Robert Pelke hadn't missed a hearing — for Paula or any of the other girls. He had been the family spokesman, and he wanted a death sentence for Paula. He described going to Ruth Pelke's home when she hadn't answered the phone, finding her home in disarray and her body on the floor. He described her bloody dress and the towel wrapped around her head. When the attorneys finished questioning him, Robert asked to read a statement to the court.

This, Robert Pelke said, was a crime that deserved the maximum sentence the law would allow. He quoted the Bible about submitting to authorities and God's vengeance and punishing evildoers. He said Paula gave Ruth no second chance, and he saw no reason to give Paula one.

"Paula reveled in her doings and enjoyed it," he said. He spoke of ridding society of those who would prey upon the innocent. "This is a tragedy that should never have happened," he said, "and a tragedy that family and friends will never forget."

Next, one of the girls from Lew Wallace High School testified about seeing Paula and the others on their joy ride and about finding the bloody knife on the floor of the car.

A crime lab technician discussed grisly photos from the scene — pictures of Ruth Pelke, of the knife-torn carpet and the gouge marks in the hardwood floor.

The prosecution introduced into evidence the autopsy report, which expressed the damage done by the 33 stab wounds. There was also an anatomical diagram noting the points where Ruth had been wounded — so many it looked like a star chart.

Jailers who had been attacked and threatened by Paula detailed her bad behavior; they recounted her admission about stabbing "an old lady."

Entering into evidence the grisly details of the crime and the accounts of Paula's callous behavior was part of the prosecution's effort to build a case that the only just punishment was death.

In Paula's defense, only three witnesses spoke.

Rhonda Cooper gave a picture of how she and Paula grew up terrorized in the home of Herman Cooper. She testified to the beatings, to their father's raping their mother in front of them, to their mother's suicide attempt and to their attempts to run away.

Ronald Williams, Rhonda's biological father, testified that he wanted to take Paula away from the misery, but her mother refused. He spoke of Gloria's threats against Paula and of the suicide attempt.

Dr. Frank Brogno, a Gary psychologist who examined Paula, described how Paula's abuse left her angry and confused, depressed and hostile. He said she was prone to confusion and bizarre thinking, even drifting into fantasies. Still, he said, Paula knew right from wrong. There was still hope for her, but also a real danger she could become a sociopath.

McNew, on cross-examination, ripped into the doctor. He pointed out how Brogno had testified in Karen Corder's case that Paula was the "prime mover" in the crime.

—

Relphorde made a plea for Paula's life, saying she had gone to Ruth Pelke's home to rob, not kill. He said the other girls were intensely involved in the crime and their lives had been spared. The death penalty, he said, was applied at the whim of prosecutors. He said Ruth Pelke, a woman of faith, wouldn't want Paula to die. In the end, he said, Paula was the handiwork of an abusive home and a system that failed her.

"I don't think Paula was born violent," he said. "I think Paula was a product of what was done to her."

McNew, closing the prosecution's case, checked all the boxes needed for a death sentence: Paula wasn't crazy. She wasn't doing someone else's bidding. She'd struck the death blows. She had a criminal record, as far as a juvenile goes, for skipping school and running away from home. And Paula's abusive childhood? To use that for an excuse, McNew said, was to insult everyone who has endured similar treatment and found a way to overcome the horrors. Giving Paula the death penalty, McNew said, would have a sobering effect on others who might be considering crime. But McNew said there was one reason, above all, for a death sentence.

"I am not seeking a deterrence to crime when I ask the death penalty on Paula Cooper. I seek justice for the family of Ruth Pelke."

—

With the attorneys done, Kimbrough asked Paula if she had anything to say. And Paula did not shrink from the moment.

She hadn't wanted a trial, Paula began; she only wanted to tell the truth. "Now my family life, it hasn't really been good. … Nobody understand how I feel."

"This man," she said, pointing to the prosecutor, "sit here and say he want to take my life. Is that right? I didn't go to Mrs. Pelke's house to kill her. It wasn't planned. I didn't go there to take somebody's life. It happened. It just happened. Something. It wasn't planned. We didn't sit up and say we was going to go and kill this innocent old lady. I didn't even know the lady. But everybody put the blame on me."

She said Jack Crawford had described her in the newspaper as the ringleader. "I wasn't the ringleader. I didn't make those girls go," she said. "They went on their own."

Looking around at the people in the courtroom, Paula seemed disgusted. "Well, where was all these people at right here when I needed somebody? Where was they at? They turned their backs on me and took me through all this. All I can say is now, look where I am now, facing a possible death sentence."

She pointed at the Pelke family and repeated her plea that killing wasn't her intention. "I hope you all could find some happiness in your hearts to forgive me. And I know your mother was a Christian lady, and she is in heaven right now. I read my Bible. How do you think I feel? I can't sit here and tell you I understand how you feel because I don't."

She acknowledged that "sorry" would never be good enough.

Paula looked to Judge Kimbrough. But, as Bill Dolan would report in the Post-Tribune the next day, the judge "didn't return her gaze." "I don't know what the decision is going to be today, or whenever you make your decision. I know justice must be done. And whatever the circumstances, or whatever your decision is, I will accept it, even if it is death." She acknowledged she couldn't change what happened: She hoped to get out one day and start life over, maybe even finish school.

"Will I have a chance?" she asked. "Will I get a chance?"

For a couple of minutes, Paula rambled. She repeated that she hadn't forced the other girls to act; she felt it important everyone know she wasn't a gang member. Then she reined it back in for one final thought: "I am sorry for what I did. And I know my involvement in this case is very deep. But all I can ask you is not to take my life. That is all I can ask you. That is all I can ask is to spare my life."

Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the courtroom. There was shouting in the gallery. "My grandbaby, my grandbaby."

Bill Pelke looked at the wailing man near him and saw the tears run down his cheeks; the visage burned into Bill's memory. He watched the man as the bailiff escorted him out of the courtroom.

It was Paula's grandfather, making one final plea on Paula's behalf.

Now it was up to the judge.

—

Judge James C. Kimbrough had been wading through the sordid details of Ruth Pelke's murder for more than a year. He'd parsed the depressing narrative, and people had speculated whether he had a death penalty in him, especially for a girl. Now they were about to get their answer.

There was no doubt about Paula Cooper's guilt. Kimbrough dispatched that with his first breath. The murder had been disturbing: Paula had inflicted the 33 stab wounds in the body of 78-year-old Ruth Pelke.

Those were the strikes against her.

But the defendant had no prior criminal history, and she was 15 at the time of the crime.

Those were factors to consider on her behalf.

The other requirements for the death penalty, Kimbrough said, didn't work in the defendant's favor. She acted of her own free will. She wasn't under the influence of drugs. Her mental problems didn't rise to the level of incompetence. But all those things, Kimbrough said, were legalities. Ultimately, he said, death penalty cases boil down to a "political utterance."

"This case has received an unusual amount of publicity," Kimbrough said. "There is worldwide interest in the outcome of these proceedings today. And the court is certainly aware of that interest."

When he left law school in 1959, Kimbrough said, he had been "totally against" the death penalty — and most of the country shared the view.

Nearly 30 years later, he said, public sentiment had changed, perhaps because of the violent activities of people such as Paula Cooper. Now, the vast majority of the public favors the death penalty, Kimbrough said, Normally, he wrote out his sentences in advance. But this case had challenged him to the point he'd been unable to do so.

Kimbrough praised the deputy prosecutor for speaking "eloquently" — he said McNew brought the matters into focus "better than all of the turmoil that I have been through in the last several months."

He criticized state law for being too general when it came to giving minors the death penalty. It left him unsure what to do on that fundamental question. "I don't know what the right political answer to that question is."

Then Kimbrough, in a moment of vulnerability judges don't always reveal, showed some insight into his restless mind. "I don't believe I am ever going to be quite the same after these four cases. They have had a very profound effect on me. They have made me come to grips with the question of whether or not a judge can hold personal beliefs which are inconsistent at all with the law as they were sworn to uphold. And for those of you who have no appreciation of it, it is not a simple question. It is not a simple question for me."

Kimbrough interrupted his confessional to take issue with something Robert Pelke said: "I do not believe the failure to impose the death penalty today would be unbiblical. … I don't profess to be an expert in religion. But I know the Bible has passages which are merciful, and do not demand or mandate an eye for an eye."

Returning to his inner turmoil, Kimbrough said he'd concluded that a judge must decide a case based on facts, regardless of whether it satisfies him. "I will tell you, very frankly now, on the record, that I do not believe in the death penalty."

This seemed to launch Kimbrough on a rant. "Maybe in 20 years, after we have had our fill of executions, we will swing back the other way and think they are unconstitutional. Maybe."

At about this point, Jack Crawford, sitting at the prosecutor's table, was ready to give up hope for a death penalty. He turned to McNew, he remembered later, and whispered into his ear.

"He's not going to give it."

Then Kimbrough directed his eyes to the girl awaiting his judgment.

"Stand up, Paula."

She had stabbed Ruth Pelke 33 times, he said. He was concerned about her background. She had been "born into a household where your father abused you, and your mother either participated or allowed it to happen. And those seem to be explanations or some indication of why you may be this type of personality that you are."

"They are not excuses, however."

However.

That word caught Crawford's attention. So did the fact that Kimbrough's shoulders seemed to slump, as if the weight of the moment was getting to the judge. Crawford leaned in and whispered again to McNew.

"I think he's going to give it. I think he's going to give it."

Kimbrough continued.

"You committed the act, and you must pay the penalty," Kimbrough said. Briefly, he trailed into some legalese about the charge. Then he gathered himself for the final judgment.

"The law requires me, and I do now impose, the death penalty."

—

The courtroom erupted.

"What did he say?"

Paula Cooper looked at Kevin Relphorde for help; amid the chaos, she wasn't sure what had just happened. She looked back for the judge; he had already left the bench. She asked Relphorde what had happened. He delivered the verdict again: He gave you the death penalty.

The smile Paula wore into the courtroom was gone, indeed. Bill Pelke took note of that. Instead, he saw a river of tears streaming down her cheeks. As she was led from the courtroom, the tears soaked the top of her blouse.

Just like that, Paula Cooper — at 16 years, 10 months and 16 days — became the youngest person ever sentenced to death in Indiana; she was now the youngest female on death row anywhere in the United States. In this age before the cellphone, news reporters from national outlets raced out of the courtroom to the nearest bank of pay telephones. It took a few hours, but the verdict soon circled the globe.

In the hallway outside the courtroom, Rhonda Cooper yelled in anguish at members of the Pelke family and the prosecutors nearby.

"Are you satisfied now?"

They seemed satisfied.

Strangely, one of the most unsatisfied people in the building was the source of the commotion: Judge Kimbrough.

After delivering the verdict, he darted out of the courtroom and into the hallway leading to his chambers. There, between the two rooms, he spotted William Touchette, a public defender who handled appeals. Kimbrough told Touchette to follow him.

Touchette (pronounced TOO-shay) had been among those outside the courtroom straining to hear the proceedings. Like so many local lawyers, he was friendly with the judge; they'd socialized outside of work. He followed Kimbrough into his chambers.

The judge was angry. As angry as Touchette had ever seen him. Angry that the defense hadn't given him enough to spare Paula Cooper's life. Then Kimbrough uttered seven words Touchette would never again hear from a judge.

"I want you to get me reversed."

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Paula Cooper's death sentence was one of Indiana's biggest news stories in 1986. It garnered network television news coverage. Once it hit the international news wires, it was picked up by newspapers in Europe, where it inspired protests.

But Monica Foster, working for a nonprofit death penalty defense group in Downtown Indianapolis, somehow missed all that. To her, it was as if the Paula Cooper case had never happened.

It wasn't that Foster was uninterested in current events or that she was dull. In fact, Foster was a wunderkind. She'd graduated from high school at 16, college at 19 and law school at 22. She'd come to work for the Indiana Public Defender Council, researching and offering advice to lawyers with death penalty cases, even before finishing her law degree. But at 27, she had a tendency to get absorbed in her work. And when that happened, the outside world ceased to exist.

So when William Touchette, the Lake County attorney preparing Paula Cooper's appeal, called the council looking for some help, Foster knew nothing of the case. Without hesitation, Foster agreed to be Touchette's local connection to Paula, who was being held at the Indiana Women's Prison on the city's east side. Foster even said she'd donate her time, seeing the client on evenings and weekends, as a sideline.

Foster didn't realize she'd just signed on to the case that would become the most noteworthy of her career.

When the case file arrived in her office, Foster began reading about Paula Cooper. Right away, she was puzzled.

Here was a black girl from Gary who had been sentenced to death by a black judge whom even Foster knew to be one of the most liberal, anti-death penalty jurists in the state. The girl had brutally murdered an elderly woman during a robbery, but Foster told the people in her office that to get a death sentence from this judge Paula Cooper had to be some kind of rabid animal.

"She must be frothing at the mouth."

Foster decided to go to the prison and see Paula Cooper for herself.

—

Paula had arrived at the Indiana Women's Prison — America's oldest women's prison — five days after her sentencing.

Established shortly after the Civil War, it was originally in the countryside east of Indianapolis. Over time, brick storefronts and wood-frame houses sprang up around the prison's series of boxy brick buildings — situated around a grassy courtyard — and now the prison was landlocked in the middle of an urban neighborhood.

Awaiting Paula was a cell tucked away on the second floor of the segregation unit. It was stark: block walls and tile floor; aluminum sink and toilet; a desk and a chair; all of it packaged in a space slightly bigger than a walk-in closet.

She had one window to the outside world. Depending on which side of the hallway she was assigned at the time, it featured either a view of the courtyard or, just beyond a fence topped by razor wire, the backside of a row of decaying houses.

Paula's cell had two metal doors. One was made of bars, the other was solid. Most of the time, the solid door remained open, allowing her to talk through the bars to passing guards and nearby prisoners. But when the solid door was closed, it was as if she was locked in a vault. Worse, the prison had no air conditioning. As summer temperatures outside climbed into the 90s, the only air moving through the wing was pushed by a floor fan at the end of the hall. Most of the time, the place felt like the inside of a cook stove.

Here, Paula Cooper spent 23 hours a day. In the remaining hour, she had 30 minutes to shower and 30 minutes for recreation, which meant a short walk to a larger room where she could play Ping-Pong or cards with other prisoners. Meals were delivered to her cell.

She was 16 years old and, in the grand scheme of things, set apart from the rest of the human race.

The treatment was harsher than what Paula's three co-defendants in the murder of Ruth Pelke faced. They were housed elsewhere in the prison, with the general population. They had greater freedom of movement, time outdoors and an ongoing interaction with other people. Paula was allotted 10 hours of visits per month, but she wasn't sure who would fill the time. Her sister had moved to Minnesota. Her mother had moved to Georgia. Her father had moved to Tennessee. Paula was as alone as she could be.

Yet she faced a struggle greater than isolation and heat. She lived in fear that the executioner was coming for her any minute. Whatever she'd been told about the appeals process hadn't registered. She thought she was about to be taken away and killed. She existed moment to moment, in dread the guards were about to drag her away to the electric chair. In letters, she would describe her situation in the bleakest of terms — "a mental hell." Paula needed hope. She needed a friend. But who?

—

Monica Foster entered the security checkpoint at the Indiana Women's Prison and was shown to the glass-walled consultation room. In short order, she watched as a guard escorted her client in to meet her.

Paula Cooper was nothing like she expected. Monica came looking for the heartless killer who had murdered an old woman in cold blood, fought the guards at the county jail and been given a ticket to the chair by the most liberal judge in Lake County.

Instead, Foster found a girl, sobbing uncontrollably, who had been on suicide watch. Foster tried to calm her. After some questioning, she gathered the reason for the emotional meltdown: Paula thought they were coming any time now. To kill her.

Foster's blood boiled. She realized that, since the sentencing, no one had explained to Paula the years of appeals; the good chance for a reprieve; and, should all else fail, the notice she would receive well ahead of an execution. Foster felt sorry for Paula. She explained the process. Above all, she told Paula she'd never be ambushed by the executioner.

Paula went back to her cell in a little better shape, but Foster left the prison rattled. She couldn't believe how she had misjudged her client. She realized that her role in this case was about more than legal counsel. She would need to offer her client a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen.

Foster began going to the prison on weekends, sitting and talking with Paula for hours. She listened to Paula talk about being depressed, and she tried to buck her up. She listened to Paula's troubles with the prison administration and offered advice on ways to get along. She listened to Paula describe the abuses of her childhood, and Foster shared some of the tougher aspects of her own. The conversation wasn't always heavy. Sometimes they talked about places they dreamed of going and about men Foster was dating. Paula, in particular, was quick with a jab about Foster's romantic failures. Even in a maximum security prison, with one of them facing death, they spent a good deal of time laughing. And Foster found Paula's laugh to be infectious. That she could laugh at all impressed Foster. The girl seemed to have some kind of resiliency. After a while, Foster could deny it no longer: She liked Paula Cooper.

—

Bill Pelke felt no such affection.

In the 18 months since Paula Cooper killed his grandmother, Bill had lost the ability to think of Ruth Pelke as the sweet person she'd been; he could only see the murder victim. He couldn't remember the warmth of Ruth's home; he could only think of it as a crime scene. When Paula Cooper received her sentence, Pelke felt justice had been served. His father, Robert Pelke, warned him that the justice wouldn't last. On a trip to Florida they took to get away from it all, Robert Pelke said Paula would probably never see the electric chair. "Some do-gooder will probably come along and help get her off death row," he'd said. Bill struggled to imagine it; he just tried to get on with his life.

But moving on wasn't easy. And at 39, Bill already had other things on his mind that bothered him. He'd dropped out of college and wound up in Vietnam during the height of the war. As a radio operator, he was supposed to take cover during the fighting and call in air support. But he still carried shrapnel in his side from the wounds he suffered. Worse than that, he carried memories of the Army buddies who'd never come back. The experience left him sick of death. When he returned home, he'd married and started a family, but his marriage failed. So many things in his life hadn't gone as he'd planned. One afternoon in November 1986, all of this seemed to coalesce in Bill's mind.

Bill worked in a steel mill as a crane operator. He sat 50 feet above the manufacturing floor in the cab of his crane, moving heavy loads as the need arose. But on this Sunday night shift, things were slow; his mind began to drift. He wondered why life was so hard, why God had allowed Ruth to suffer such a horrendous death. He wondered why his family — his good family — was made to suffer in the wake of the crime. It was an unlikely perch for prayer, but Bill closed his eyes and began seeing images in his mind. He saw the courtroom where Paula had been sentenced to death. He remembered the outburst of her grandfather and the tears streaming down the man's face. He remembered Paula's reaction and the tears streaming down hers, how they soaked her blouse.

A hard realization hit Bill: Ruth wouldn't have wanted these things. She had invited Paula and the girls into her home to help them find faith. It occurred to Bill that Ruth would be more interested in Paula's salvation than her execution. He was certain, too, that Ruth would have hated seeing Paula's grandfather in anguish.

Bill thought of the Bible stories Ruth had taught and the lessons he'd learned from a lifetime in church. He remembered Jesus taught that you shouldn't forgive someone just seven times, but 70 times seven — in other words, forgiveness should be a habit. He remembered being taught that the measure of forgiveness we show others is the measure by which we shall be judged. He remembered hearing about Jesus on the cross, offering salvation to the man dying next to him, offering grace to those who sought his death. "Forgive them," Jesus had said, "for they know not what they do."

And then Bill realized something: Paula hadn't known what she was doing. Nobody in their right mind would take a 12-inch butcher knife and stab someone 33 times. It was crazy. Senseless.

In his mind, Bill began to see a new image: It was the picture of Ruth, the one published countless times since her death — silver hair, horn-rimmed glasses, sweet smile. Except now, he saw her face in the picture with tears running down her cheeks. Bill felt certain Ruth wanted someone from her family to show love to Paula and hers. Bill wasn't capable of it right then, but he thought he should try. He was a blue collar guy — a steelworker — and now he was at work crying a river of his own tears. From his seat in the cab of the crane, Bill prayed: "God, give me love and compassion for Paula Cooper and her family." In return, he promised God two things. First, Bill would give credit to God for giving him the ability to forgive Paula whenever success came his way. Second, he'd walk through whatever door opened as a result of forgiving Paula.

Eventually, the sweet memories of Ruth would come back to Bill. He would be able to put aside the horror story. First, though, he felt he had to take a greater leap of faith. He had to get in touch with his grandmother's killer. He had to reach out to Paula Cooper.

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The next day, Bill phoned Paula's attorney. He wanted her prison address, and he was willing to do whatever it took to help save Paula's life. Kevin Relphorde's response wasn't encouraging: "It's kind of late for that."

Undeterred, Bill took the address and sat down at a desk in his Portage home to write perhaps the most intense letter of his life. He told Paula he had forgiven her; he wanted to visit her; there were Bible verses his grandmother would want him to share. He also wanted to meet her grandfather, he of the tearful courtroom outburst.

Bill dropped the letter in his mailbox and, at some level, thought that would be the end of it. But in the days following, he found himself checking his mailbox almost daily. Ten days after he sent his letter, an envelope showed up. The return address said: "Ms. Paula Cooper."

The envelope was thick. Inside, he found a letter dated Nov. 10, 1986, six pages of a teenage girl's loopy cursive, written in pencil, on pink stationery. The contents were far from a schoolgirl's bubble gum dreams. It was a snapshot of Paula's mind on death row. Her thoughts darted back and forth — between apologies and self-pity, between empathy for those who hated her and preachiness about why they should forgive her. Much of the letter was frenetic. Sentences ran on and on like the transcriptions of a nervous talker. Her misspellings and limited punctuation seemed to reflect the erratic schooling of someone who'd been on the run since eighth grade. But it also bore the hallmarks of a mind in overdrive, overloaded with conflicting emotions. Here are some excerpts. Periods have been added for clarity.

Bill 11/10/86

Hello how are you? fine I truly hope. me I'll survive, I received your letter today & it was nice of you to write me. one of Ms Pelkes friends wrote me also, I answered it back also. Im not the mean type of person your family thinks I am but I can except that. I really do. your cousin Robert was something else & what he said about not knowing if Ms Pelke would forgiving me. Ive read my bible & I know it says the way you judge others the Lord will judge you the same way. Ive prayed for your family. a lady in a wheel chair use to visit me at the jail. she said God would be pleased if I prayed for all of you, I am doing fine. They treat me ok & I am always isolated 23 hrs a day. thats how it is on death row, it is a mental hell because no one cares except for themselves. I am thankful to the Lord for them letting the others have a little time, because I've had hell all my life. so it really doesnt matter if I live or die because Im ready any time they come …

In his initial letter, Bill expressed a desire to save Paula from her death sentence. But in her reply, Paula told Bill he need not write, travel or speak on her behalf; she just wanted his forgiveness. She seemed proud of her performance in court — how she looked his family in the face and apologized. She seemed to excuse her parents for missing her sentencing. Although they had beaten and neglected her, Paula said, her actions affected them, too.

At various times, her words ranged from fatalistic to self-pitying:

I cant stay here like this & I don't want to be here, I deserve a chance one that Ive never had before. but one day Ill be free even if its when Im dead…

I cry every time I think of your grand mom. the others think it's a joke because you all let them be free. Im not an evil person, or what ever you think of me to be, Im just some one who is real angry, angry with life & all the people around me …

Ive never done anything wrong before except ask for help, I was turned away & introduced into a life of drugs, sex & crime, but now its too late for help. Im dying inside because of this but I only hope for the best for others.

In closing, she made it clear she wanted more interaction with Bill, even if she was passive about it. She would put him on her list of allowable prison visitors; she would write him whenever he wrote her; she offered her grandfather's phone number and address. In a dark world, it was as if she had seen a flicker of light.

Well, Ill go now, Ill continue to pray for all of you.

Take care

Paula

Their first exchange was the start of a surprising correspondence that would span years and delve into the core themes of Paula's life — searching for forgiveness; grappling with remorse; her closeness with death; her search for peace.

The letters also chart the course of a relationship that many people would struggle to understand, especially Bill Pelke's father.

—

After a second exchange of letters with Paula, Bill felt compelled to share with his parents the news of his surprising correspondence: His father had once warned of a do-gooder who would get Paula off death row. Now it appeared Bill wanted to be that do-gooder.

At first, his parents were speechless. "We don't understand why you are doing this," his mother, Lola, said. Surprisingly, his father acquiesced.

"Do what you got to do," Robert said.

Bill wrote Clarence Trigg, the superintendent of the Indiana Women's Prison, a letter that spent most of a page describing Ruth Pelke's faith and her commitment to sharing it. He concluded with a request:

Clarence, if Ruth Pelke could speak with you right now, I am sure she would say, "Please let Billy see Paula."

Thank you for your consideration

In the name of Jesus and His Love

William R. Pelke

But the prison doors weren't about to open to Bill anytime soon. Corrections officials didn't know what to make of his request — a murder victim's grandson seeking an audience with her killer. They suspected he had another motive, such as revenge.

—

The aftermath of Paula's case was confounding in other ways. Since giving Paula a death sentence, Judge James C. Kimbrough had been very public about his discomfort with his own ruling. Based on the law and the case in court, he said Paula qualified for the death penalty. But he hadn't been able to square it with his own opposition to capital punishment. The decision was costing him sleep. In an interview with the (Gary) Post-Tribune, published Aug. 4, 1986, a reporter noted the judge's nervous appearance.

He fidgeted in his chair. His gaze varied — at times less steady and slanted toward the desktop. He removed his glasses, toying with them.

Friends who knew Kimbrough said the judge was different than he'd been before the Paula Cooper sentencing. The man they knew as friendly and jovial, even gregarious, was more reclusive, less outgoing. "It weighed heavily on his mind," said Earline Rogers, a state legislator and a friend. "That was something he felt legally he had to do but, personally, he would not have taken that path."

Some in the legal community began to think there was a good chance Paula's death sentence would be overturned. But Kimbrough wouldn't live to find out.

On April 30, 1987, less than a year after his judgment of Paula, Kimbrough drove his car into the back of a semi and was killed. He had been drinking. The tragedy cast a pall over the Lake County courts, but it also landed hard at the Indiana Women's Prison. When Monica Foster told Paula her judge was dead, Paula was inconsolable. Days later, in a letter to Bill Pelke, she shared her thoughts about the judge.

"all I could do was cry, even though Kimbrough sentenced me to die. I felt a closeness to him as if he were my father. I have been sentenced to die many times by a lot of people and it's only words. We are all on Death Row and the last day of April his death sentence was completed & it should teach a lot of people we all have a date that is already planned & the way it will happen."

Paula's own father had been cruel; at least Kimbrough had agonized over the punishment he gave.

The letter about Kimbrough was the 20th she'd written to Bill Pelke in less than six months. She was surprising herself at her output: "I didn't even know I had a good handwriting or a great vocabulary until I was locked up."

By then, she was 17 and a condemned killer with hours to contemplate her past, present and future. Several themes recurred in her writing.

Life on death row. She struggled to sleep, to breathe, to deal with the noise. "To be on death row is worst than when I was in a mental hospital. At least it was quiet." She had ailments from toothaches to a bad back. Mostly, she was confused and on edge. Life on the row made her feel like "a walking time bomb."

Memories of the murder. Her thoughts were plagued by it. She described what she did to Ruth Pelke as "awful." She wished she could erase it. "Every day," she said, "I see my nightmare."

Death. It was constantly on her mind, whether by execution or by her own hand. She alternated between dread of the electric chair — "I hope it never happens to me" — and anticipation of it — "sometimes I wish they would just go ahead & do it. They continue to put this death threat on my life and I'm tired of it."

Suicide. She seemed to ponder the merits of killing herself. She wasn't sure what it would solve but, in words that seemed to echo from her mother, she said, "there isn't anything here for me." She talked about hanging herself but acknowledged she couldn't follow through. "I know that if I do that I might go to hell (and) I don't want that to happen."

Meanwhile, people from across the country wrote her. Some, including a death row inmate in North Carolina, wanted a romantic relationship. Some wanted answers to the plague of juvenile crime. Others sent her Bibles and tried to save her soul. Yet her faith — another frequent topic — had grown cold. As a child, she read her Bible often, she said, but "my faith started to shatter because of a lot of feelings, hopes and unanswered prayers. I love the Lord but we aren't rea

Foreign investors are ditching China. Russia's war is the latest trigger

Editor’s Note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter, a three-times-a-week update exploring what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world. Sign up here.

Hong Kong CNN Business —

Investors are ditching China on an unprecedented scale as a cocktail of political and business risks, and rising interest rates elsewhere, make the world’s second biggest economy a less attractive place to keep their money.

China witnessed $17.5 billion worth of portfolio outflows last month, an all-time high, according to most recent data from the Institute of International Finance (IIF). The US-based trade association called this capital flight by overseas investors “unprecedented,” especially as there were no similar outflows from other emerging markets during this period. The outflows included $11.2 billion in bonds, while the rest were equities.

Data from the Chinese government also showed a record bond-market retreat by foreign investors in recent months. Overseas investors offloaded a net 35 billion yuan ($5.5 billion) of Chinese government bonds in February, the largest monthly reduction on record, according to China Central Depository and Clearing. The sell-off accelerated in March, hitting a new high of 52 billion yuan ($8.1 billion).

“China’s support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine was clearly the catalyst for capital to leave China,” said George Magnus, an associate at the China Centre at Oxford University and former chief economist for UBS.

Geopolitical risks

China and Russia proclaimed in February that their friendship had “no limits.” That was before Russia invaded Ukraine. Now, with Russia’s economy being slammed with sanctions from all over the world, Beijing has not rushed to help out its northern neighbor, fearing that it too could get caught up in sanctions. But it has also refused to condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine, seeking to portray itself as a neutral actor and blaming the situation on the United States.

“There is nervousness about China’s ambiguous, but Russia-leaning stance on the Ukraine conflict, which raises worries that China could be targeted by sanctions if it helps Russia,” said Martin Chorzempa, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, who has studied China’s economy and US-China relations.

The war in Ukraine has also heightened concerns about the risk that China could increase its military force against Taiwan, triggering a massive flight of capital from the Asian island.

But geopolitical tension is not the only reason behind the exodus. The rate hike in the United States and China’s strict Covid-related lockdowns have also played a role in scaring investors.

The US Federal Reserve is increasing interest rates for the first time since 2018 to tame inflation, while the People’s Bank of China has entered an easing cycle to bolster its faltering economy. That means China looks less attractive to investors when compared with the United States. Earlier this month, yields on China’s 10-year government bond fell below US Treasury yields for the first time in 12 years. And the yuan hit a six-month low against the US dollar.

“The rise in interest rates, especially in the US, makes the nominal return associated with Chinese fixed income assets less attractive on a relative basis,” Chorzempa said.

Furthermore, Beijing’s unwavering commitment to its zero Covid policy has taken a massive economic toll, and increased uncertainties about future growth.

“The economy is enfeebled and being made worse by government actions and by zero Covid policies,” said Magnus.

China’s economy slowed sharply in March — consumption slumped for the first time in more than a year, while unemployment in 31 major cities surged to a record high — as escalating Covid lockdowns in Shanghai and other major cities severely hit growth and supply chains.

Some economists are even talking about the possibility of a recession this quarter, as Beijing looks determined to hold on to its zero Covid policy despite the hefty price.

A number of investment banks have slashed their forecasts for China’s full-year growth in the past week. The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday cut its growth forecast for China to 4.4%, down from 4.8%, citing risks from Beijing’s strict zero Covid policy. This is well below China’s official forecast of around 5.5%.

Confusion about the future

With these worries mounting, some fund managers and analysts have started questioning whether they should invest in China at all.

“China is seeing deep foreign capital outflows as doubts increase regarding its basic investability,” said Brock Silvers, managing director for Kaiyuan Capital, a private equity investment firm based in Shanghai.

The pandemic is not the only reason behind China’s slowdown. A lot of the country’s current economic pain can be traced back to the sweeping regulatory crackdown on the private sector, which was unleashed by President Xi Jinping in 2020. There are fears that the government will continue to clampdown on sectors ranging from education to technology this year.

“Global investors don’t want to play regulatory guessing games or worry that tomorrow’s news may deplete another otherwise attractive company or business model,” Silvers said.

The speed and ferocity with which authorities have acted against private enterprise have startled even the closest China watchers.

A set of rules unveiled last July essentially shut down the $120 billion private tutoring industry, putting tens of thousands of companies out of business. Another decision by regulators to ban Didi — the country’s biggest ride-hailing app -— days after its US IPO stunned international investors and cost them dearly. The crackdown resulted in a steep sell-off in Chinese stocks worldwide.

The Nasdaq Golden Dragon index, a popular index that tracks more than 90 US-listed Chinese companies, lost 31% in the third quarter of 2021, the worst quarter on record. It then shed another 14% in the final quarter of last year. By comparison, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% and 11% respectively in the third and fourth quarters of last year. The Nasdaq Composite also surged 8% in the final quarter of 2021.

Some of the money flowing out of China may have gone into US dollar assets, while there is also “a notable switch from China to India,” according to Qi Wang, chief investment officer for MegaTrust Investment in Hong Kong.

Shrinking appetite

The crackdown on the private sector has also impacted private equity funds that focus on China.

Funds that raise US dollars to invest in China only attracted $1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2022, down 70% from the previous quarter, according to Preqin, a London-based investment data firm.

A separate survey by Bain & Company showed that Greater China-focused private equity funds attracted $28 billion in new funding for the second half of last year, down 54% from the first half, as global investors are increasingly concerned about political and economic uncertainty in the Chinese market.

“Looking ahead, about 55% of respondents expect the [fundraising] situation to be more challenging in next 12 months,” said Kai Zhong, a manager on the China Private Equity team at Bain & Company.

On the fence

However, while bond and equity funds may be slashing their exposure to China, there’s evidence that global companies are continuing to invest in Chinese businesses.

Foreign direct investment inflows to China hit a record high of $173 billion in 2021, up 20% from the previous year, according to data from China’s Ministry of Commerce.

Chorzempa noted that the record FDI came even though “the regulatory uncertainty and a darkening view among policymakers outside of China was already highly salient.”

“So it is not clear whether the data from the last two months represents a paradigm shift or more of a temporary recalibration to a still very strong investment relationship, especially with Europe,” he said.

According to an annual survey conducted by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China last year, only 9% of nearly 600 European companies operating in China planned on shifting any current or planned investment out of China, the lowest share on record.

Still, there are signs that some of them have become anxious about China’s zero Covid policy.

Earlier this week, China’s commerce minister Wang Wentao met with a few foreign chambers to discuss the impact of the country’s zero Covid policy.

Jens Hildebrandt, executive director of the German Chamber of Commerce in North China, told CNN Business that the participants raised some pressing issues member companies are facing related to the Covid-containment strategy, especially in Shanghai.

An ongoing lockdown in Shanghai — a major business and manufacturing hub — has forced most businesses to shut down for weeks, threatening to disrupt key supply chains for autos and electronics. It has also made port delays worse and forced the suspension of many passenger flights, sending air freight rates soaring and putting even more pressure on global supply chains.

“The current policy with lockdowns leading to productions stops, logistic and supply chain disruptions and restrictions on the movement of people do not only pose a short-term concern, but will leave their marks on the long run,” Hildebrandt said in an emailed response to CNN Business.

“As foreign companies are suffering economically, we are looking for clear signals on how the Chinese government will help to ease the burden through relief programs,” he added.

Theme parks, live music passports: News from around our 50 states

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Alabama

Montgomery: After COVID-19 disrupted two school years, lawmakers are weighing a pause in an upcoming state requirement for third graders to pass a reading test before moving up to the fourth grade. The state House Education Policy Committee on Wednesday debated the Senate-passed bill by Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, that would delay the promotion requirement, now set to take effect next year, by two years. Chairwoman Terri Collins said the committee will vote next week. Opponents argued that it would be a disservice to students to delay the promotion requirement – a part of a broader state program to boost literacy – or that the state should wait until latest test scores are available to make a decision. Smitherman and others said it would be unfair to force the requirement on students who were out of the traditional classroom for long stretches during the pandemic. “The children should not be punished because of what we have right now,” Smitherman told the committee. “That student who has not been able to get there, not been able to study, they are going to flunk.” Lawmakers in both parties described the frustrations of parents and teachers in their districts as schools were closed.

Alaska

Anchorage: The Anchorage Assembly has voted to revoke pandemic-related restrictions on businesses and gatherings and to make them recommendations instead. The changes take effect Monday and were approved unanimously despite concerns raised by the municipality’s health department director. A local mask mandate remains in effect. Assembly member Christopher Constant, who sponsored the motion to revoke gathering limits and business requirements, said the purpose was to send a message “that we recognize it’s time to do what we’ve heard from a number of people, which is trust the people to do the right thing.” Constant said an emergency declaration remains in place, and the mayor could enact restrictions through another emergency order if there is a dramatic change with COVID-19 numbers. The city’s pandemic response has been a flashpoint in the community for months. Anchorage Health Department Director Heather Harris cited concerns with turning the requirements into recommendations. “I’ve seen just a great reduction and a lack of compliance when these types of recommendations or orders are turned into advisories, which has a dramatic impact on our overall success of the community,” Harris said.

Arizona

Vail: A Tucson-area school board ended a study session and then canceled a scheduled regular meeting after dozens of parents protested the district’s refusal to lift its mask mandate aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19. After Gov. Doug Ducey on Aug. 19 lifted a statewide mask mandate for schools, the Vail Unified School District was among many in Arizona that kept its mandate in place, and the board planned to review its policies Tuesday. An afternoon study session was underway when protesting parents, many not wearing masks, pushed their way into the board room, KGUN-TV reports. Pima County sheriff’s deputies were summoned to help keep order before the board adjourned the study session and then canceled the scheduled evening meeting. Many protesters initially refused to leave the district’s headquarters even after the cancellation. Parents who still insisted on speaking said their parental rights had been trampled, and they weren’t given a voice on Vail’s policies, KVOA-TV reports. Before eventually leaving, some protesters held an impromptu unofficial election, selecting their own board that voted to rescind the mask policies, the Arizona Daily Star reports.

Arkansas

Little Rock: Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Wednesday signed into law measures preventing state and local governments from requiring COVID-19 vaccines or proof of vaccination in order to access services. The ban on requiring a vaccine would also prohibit it as a condition of unemployment. The measure includes some exceptions, such as state-owned medical facilities, if approved by Legislative Council. The other measure prohibits “ vaccine passports” in order to access goods or services. Federal officials have said there is no plan to require them broadly, but some Republican governors have issued orders preventing businesses or agencies from mandating them. “These bills confirm my position that there should not be a COVID-19 vaccine requirement as a condition of employment in state government,” Hutchinson said in a statement. “It does make certain exemptions and it specifically exempts private businesses so they can make their own decision.” The Republican governor has not taken action yet on another bill sitting on his desk that would prohibit state or local governments from imposing mask mandates. Hutchinson last month lifted the state’s mask order, but cities such as Fayetteville and Little Rock have been allowed to keep theirs in place.

California

Anaheim: The wait is almost over for Disneyland fans. The gates to the “happiest place on Earth” and California Adventure will open again Friday morning for the first time in 412 days – the longest closure for Disneyland in its 65-year history. But things won’t be quite as they were pre-pandemic, as safety measures to help prevent the spread of coronavirus will be in place, including face mask requirements, temperature checks and social distancing – and no character hugs. Thousands of fans tuned in Monday night when the relighting of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle was broadcast live on Facebook as part of a soft reopening event for cast members and crew. As castle lights came on for the first time in more than a year, “When You Wish Upon a Star” and the sound of Walt Disney welcoming all “to this happy place” on opening day, July 17, 1955, were heard in the background. Most of the popular rides and attractions are expected to be open when guests return, including Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Disneyland. In Star Wars: At Galaxy’s Edge, reservations will be needed to board the popular Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and can be made through the attraction’s virtual queue on the Disneyland app.

Colorado

Denver: The state’s biggest public universities will require students, faculty and staff to receive COVID-19 vaccinations before the beginning of the fall semester, school leaders announced Wednesday. The University of Colorado system’s four campuses will require the shots along with the Colorado State University system, the University of Northern Colorado and Metropolitan State University of Denver, The Denver Post reports. Fort Lewis College, the University of Denver and Colorado College in Colorado Springs previously announced students would need to be vaccinated this fall. Ken McConnellogue, a CU system spokesman, said the Colorado Department of Higher Education encouraged the move, and “the science around COVID-19 and vaccines is clear and compelling.” “Vaccines will also allow on-campus students and faculty to resume their in-person experience that is critical to academic success and personal growth,” he said. State law has long mandated college students be vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella, with exemptions possible due to religion and medical conditions. McConnellogue said campuses will allow for COVID-19 vaccine exemptions as well. The Colorado Community College System, meanwhile, announced Wednesday that it would not require COVID-19 shots.

Connecticut

Hartford: The state will no longer allow a religious exemption from childhood immunization requirements for schools, colleges and day care facilities, becoming the sixth state to end that policy. The legislation was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Ned Lamont, hours after the Democratic-controlled Senate passed the bill late Tuesday night. More than 2,000 opponents had rallied outside the Connecticut State Capitol, arguing the legislation unfairly infringes on their religious liberties and parental rights. “Proud to sign this bill into law to protect as many of our school children as possible from infectious diseases as we can,” Lamont said in a tweet, announcing he had signed the contentious bill. Shortly afterward, two groups opposing the legislation – We the Patriots USA Inc. and the CT Freedom Alliance, LLC. – said they plan to file state and federal lawsuits seeking to overturn the new law, which will take effect with the 2022-23 school year. “The notion that somehow the state government gets the right to cram its version of virtue down the throats of every citizen in this state is and ought to be offensive to every Connecticut resident,” said Norm Pattis, an attorney representing the organizations. He called it “far more chilling” to tell a parent how to raise their child than to expose other children to a “nominal risk” of infection.

Delaware

Wilmington: An appointment is no longer required to get a COVID-19 shot at some clinics. With a steady supply of doses and vaccination rates slowing in the First State, officials have established walk-in hours for vaccination clinics at state service centers. All of the locations are within a 10 minute walk from a DART bus stop. Second-dose appointments may be scheduled on site, or people can walk in to get their second dose. Second doses of the Pfizer vaccine should be administered three weeks after the first dose; the recommendation for the Moderna option is four weeks. The Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine will be available Saturday at the final weekend of the Dover International Speedway vaccination event and Sunday at a Chase Center vaccination event in Wilmington. Residents can also make vaccine appointments at pharmacies and medical providers throughout the state, including hospital systems. A list of participating providers can be found on a state website. State officials have said over the next few weeks they will need to make getting vaccinated more convenient as they try to convince those who may be undecided or taking a “wait and see” approach to get inoculated. The number of vaccines administered has dropped each of the past two weeks, according to the state’s vaccine tracker.

District of Columbia

Washington: Patrons can’t get into many clubs without an ID. Now, some business owners want to ask to see a vaccine card too, WUSA-TV reports. The conversation started with an idea proposed by the owner of Madam’s Organ, Bill Duggan, who said more than 90 venue owners and musicians have now signed on to the concept. “What a great incentive to give people to say, ‘You get the vaccine, all of a sudden you can resume your life,’ ” he said. The last time a band played at the Adams Morgan bar was March 2020. Duggan would like to ease COVID-19 restrictions by requiring so-called vaccine passports at the door. He said criticism of equity has been addressed because the city is offering walk-up, no-appointment vaccines and launching a door-to-door informational campaign. Mayor Muriel Bowser has said starting Saturday, live music venues can reopen with 25% capacity and with patrons standing at least 12 feet from the stage. When asked Monday if she could offer a timeline as to when venues can return to full capacity, Bowser said she could not. Duggan said the slow reopening is bad for business, “I just don’t understand the baby steps here,” he said. “It’s killing us.”

Florida

Fort Myers: While nearly 38% of U.S. adults have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Florida is trailing that national average and is behind 36 other states and the District of Columbia in getting people their full course of shots, new federal data shows. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 98 million Americans have been fully vaccinated, or 29.5% of the total U.S. population. Counting only adults over 18, it’s 38.7%. About 68% of Americans 65 and older are fully vaccinated, the CDC reported. Florida has fully vaccinated 34.9% of its adult population. Factoring in residents of all ages, the rate is 28.1%, CDC data showed. The state’s adult vaccination numbers are lower than comparably sized states, such as New York (41.6%), New Jersey (44.4%), Michigan (39%), California (37.7%) and Illinois (37.6%). It slightly outperforms Texas (34.3%). Alabama has the nation’s lowest rate at 28.7%. Gov. Ron DeSantis made vaccinating seniors a priority early in the pandemic. On that metric, Florida is performing much better (68.6%) but still ranks 28th in vaccinating those 65 and older. Higher percentages of seniors have been fully vaccinated in multiple smaller states, plus New Jersey (70%), Virginia (70.2%) and Michigan (70.3%), according to the CDC.

Georgia

Athens: University of Georgia graduates will get a spring commencement ceremony with COVID-19 modifications. UGA President Jere W. Morehead said the university will have not one but four ceremonies for the spring 2021 graduates – three for undergraduates and one for the master’s, specialist and doctoral degrees. The decision to split up commencement into multiple days was made to comply with social distancing guidelines. Additionally, this year’s graduates will sit in the stands with their guests, and there will be no formal processional. ESPN reporter and UGA graduate Maria Taylor will be the commencement speaker. For undergraduates, commencement will begin May 13 and end May 15 in Sanford Stadium. The commencement ceremony for the master’s, specialist and doctoral degree candidates is scheduled for May 14. Tickets are required, and undergraduate degree recipients are given four tickets – one for the graduate ticket and three for guests. Among other precautions, visitors will be required to wear masks over the nose and mouth. This year, because of COVID-19, UGA will not provide transportation from remote parking lots to the stadium. Officials warn that “visitors should be prepared to walk significant distances, up to 1 mile,” according to the commencement website.

Hawaii

Honolulu: The state House on Tuesday killed a bill that would have curtailed the governor’s emergency powers, a measure that was introduced after the coronavirus pandemic prompted Gov. David Ige to issue 19 emergency proclamations to suspend laws, impose travel quarantines and take other steps to address the public health crisis. The bill said if the Legislature terminated an emergency proclamation, and the governor wanted to issue another one for the same emergency or disaster, lawmakers would have to adopt a resolution authorizing such action. The bill also said the state of emergency would be authorized for no more than 60 days. The representatives didn’t debate their decision and held a voice vote to set the bill aside by sending it back to a conference committee. With the session ending Thursday, there was not enough time remaining for lawmakers to rework the bill and return it to the House floor. The Senate had passed the measure 24-1.

Idaho

Boise: Gov. Brad Little on Tuesday signed into law legislation that would outlaw nearly all abortions in the conservative state by banning them once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. The Republican governor signed the bill that contains a “trigger provision,” meaning it won’t go into effect unless a federal appeals court somewhere in the country upholds similar legislation from another state. The measure makes providing an abortion to a woman whose embryo has detectible cardiac activity punishable by up to five years in prison. It would also allow the woman who receives the abortion to sue the provider. Fetal cardiac activity can be detected as early as six weeks using an invasive vaginal ultrasound – before many women discover they are pregnant. “Idaho is a state that values the most innocent of all lives – the lives of babies,” Little said in a statement. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reports there were 1,513 induced abortions in 2019. The agency says 1,049 of those occurred within the first nine weeks. The bill has exceptions for rape, incest or medical emergency. But the exception for rape and incest would likely be impossible for many women to meet, opponents said, because Idaho law prevents the release of police reports in active investigations.

Illinois

Springfield: Overcrowding at some nursing homes caused a disproportionate number of preventable deaths among Black and Latino residents, state officials said Wednesday. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services is proposing $300 million in new funding for nursing homes that hire more workers or take other steps to benefit residents. Department director Theresa Eagleson told lawmakers heavy reliance on putting three or four people into one room was far more common in Medicaid-funded homes serving Black and Hispanic residents. As a result, 60% of COVID-19-related deaths of nursing home residents between March and July 2020 occurred in facilities where at least 10% of residents were in rooms with three or more people. Eagleson said her department is working on a proposed change in the Medicaid rate structure that will need legislative approval. It will more closely tie enhanced rates to higher staffing levels and good performance. Under the plan, nursing homes would pay an additional “bed tax” that the state, in turn, would use to receive a higher federal match through the Medicaid program. The increase would bring in about $300 million more to improve care, according to HFS.

Indiana

Indianapolis: The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra announced Thursday that it will resume in-person performances in May after not playing for live audiences for more than a year due to the pandemic. The symphony’s four-week “Spring Inspirations” concert series, set to begin May 13 at downtown Indianapolis’ Hilbert Circle Theatre, will feature a pops and classical repertoire in performances that will also be livestreamed. The symphony said in a tweet that “we are thrilled to announce our return to the stage.” The orchestra had announced in May 2020 that it had canceled its summer slate of performances because of the threat the coronavirus pandemic posed to its musicians, staff and patrons. Masks will be required for patrons attending the “Spring Inspirations” concert series, except while they are eating and drinking. Social distancing and limited capacity also will be built into the symphony’s procedures. Some rows in the venue will be blocked off, and concerts will run between 80 and 90 minutes with no intermission.

Iowa

Des Moines: With interest in COVID-19 vaccines lagging in much of the state, Gov. Kim Reynolds said Wednesday that public health officials planned to make shots available at gathering spots like farmers markets and sports events. Reynolds said the state was holding talks with groups including the Iowa Cubs baseball team and Des Moines Downtown Farmers Market about holding mass vaccination clinics at those sites. It’s part of the governor’s effort to get 65% of Iowans vaccinated by May and 75% by June. It is believed that 70% to 85% of the population would need to be immunized before the coronavirus is effectively contained, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “We’re going to be anywhere and everywhere,” Reynolds said. “We’re taking a look at events that are happening across the state, trying to tie into them. We’re working on that this week.” The new efforts are meant to overcome a decline in vaccination demand, as 80 of the state’s 99 counties this week have reduced requests for shots. Iowa had fully vaccinated just over 32% of the population as of Wednesday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That places Iowa 15th best in the country. The CDC data shows 43% of state’s the population has received at least one dose.

Kansas

Overland Park: Doctors are reporting that more parents are refusing to have their sick children tested for the coronavirus because they don’t want to deal with the hassle if the result is positive. Pediatric Partners in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park recently posted an alert on its Facebook page exhorting parents to stay vigilant because so many weren’t following testing advice, The Kansas City Star reports. “We’ve had parents tell us, for instance, ‘No we have a big tournament this weekend; I don’t want to have to deal with COVID,’ ” pediatrician Kristen Stuppy said. “And they’re forgetting the fact that it’s still going to be COVID even if you don’t know that it’s COVID. So from a public health perspective it scares me.” The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children and teens who have COVID-19 symptoms be tested immediately – “especially important if they have in-person school, sports or jobs, so that anyone who may have been exposed can be alerted,” the organization says. If they have COVID-19, they need to isolate for at least 10 days. Public health officials have said for weeks that overall interest in coronavirus testing is down, which is problematic because it makes it difficult to know how much of the virus remains in the community and prevent it from spreading by having people isolate.

Kentucky

Lexington: The Railbird Music Festival, canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, plans to return live outdoor music to The Grounds at Keeneland Racetrack the weekend of Aug.28-29. Grammy-winning jam band Dave Matthews Band and home-state indie rock heroes My Morning Jacket will headline the 2021 Railbird Festival in Lexington. The event – centered on music, bourbon, Kentucky cuisine and equine culture and produced by AC Entertainment and Lexington entrepreneur David Helmers – has also announced acts including Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, Leon Bridges, Billy Strings, Black Pumas, Khruangbin, Midland, The Revivalists, Band of Horses and Margo Price. The inaugural Railbird Festival was held in 2019 with more than 30 acts that performed across the festival’s multiple stages, including The Raconteurs, Hozier and Brandi Carlile. “While we all missed live music and experiences tremendously last year, the Railbird team looked at it as a time to build on the success of our inaugural festival and come back even better than before,” said Helmers, who co-founded the festival. “We’ve been planning intensely and are excited for the festival’s return to Keeneland with a list of world-class artists, bourbon and culinary experiences.” Tickets and passes are available via RailbirdFest.com.

Louisiana

New Orleans: Officials are again loosening coronavirus restrictions, announcing Thursday that restaurants, bars and other businesses in the hospitality-driven city can soon operate at 100% capacity, up from 75%. Mayor LaToya Cantrell and city health director Dr. Jennifer Avegno said the looser rules take effect Friday. “With these changes, New Orleans will be the most open it has been since the pandemic began,” Avegno said. And there are still some important restrictions. While the statewide mask mandate in Louisiana is being dropped, New Orleans is maintaining mask requirements. “There is no national public health organization or leading experts that recommend the full removal of masks right now,” Avegno said. Also, businesses will have to maintain social distancing. Varying limits remain at stadiums and indoor arenas. But other indoor gathering limits are increasing from 150 people to 250. And outdoor gatherings of 500 people will be allowed, up from 250. The easing of rules comes as the city – which was an early hot spot for COVID-19 – continues to see vaccination rates increase. Nearly 43% of the city’s residents have had at least one dose of vaccine, and nearly 36% have completed their dosages, officials said. When children are removed from the numbers, the figures go to nearly 54% and 45%, respectively.

Maine

Portland: The director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said outdoor graduation ceremonies can be safely held this year. Common sense should guide the events at high schools and colleges, Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah said. Masks should be worn at events that will pack hundreds of students into a close setting, he said. “They might be outdoors this summer. That’s a good thing, and we encourage that,” Shah said during a radio appearance Wednesday on Maine Public. “When everyone disperses and has spread out, that’s a situation where you might not need a mask.” The coronavirus pandemic disrupted Maine’s graduation season last year. The University of Maine System, for example, canceled in-person graduation ceremonies for its universities. Meanwhile, one of New England’s oldest amusement parks will reopen this season after a year off due to the pandemic. Funtown Splashtown USA in Saco, which opened more than 60 years ago, was one of many amusement parks that canceled last season. The park will come back later this spring, officials said in a statement Monday, and be open fewer days in May and June than usual, with summer hours more limited. New safety requirements will include reservations, face coverings and empty seats on some rides, the park said.

Maryland

Annapolis: The state is lifting its outdoor mask requirement in line with U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Wednesday, citing improved health metrics while strongly urging reluctant residents to get vaccinated. “If you’re an individual who does not intend to get vaccinated, we want to make sure that you understand that you are still in danger of hospitalization and death,” Hogan said. “Unvaccinated people, including younger people, are continuing to be hospitalized.” Face coverings will still be required at all large ticketed venues. They also are required indoors at all public and private businesses and when on public transportation. People who are not yet vaccinated are strongly encouraged to continue wearing masks outdoors, especially when physical distancing is not possible. Starting Saturday, all restrictions related to outdoor dining capacity and distancing will be lifted. Seated service and physical distancing requirements will remain in place indoors at bars and restaurants. Hogan made the announcement amid significant improvements in health metrics in the state. Maryland’s case rate of COVID-19 per 100,000 people has dropped 33% over the past two weeks, he said. Nearly 85% of residents over 65 and more than 60% of those 18 and over have been vaccinated.

Massachusetts

Agawam: The Six Flags New England amusement park announced Wednesday that it plans to reopen its rides next month with some coronavirus safety protocols in place. The park in Agawam said in a statement that it will open for members and season pass holders May 14 and to the general public the next day. “Now more than ever, families need an escape that is safe, accessible and fun,” park President Pete Carmichael said. Visits must be reserved online so that park management can manage attendance and stagger arrival times. Guests and employees will undergo health screenings, visitors will be required to wear face coverings and maintain social distancing, and the park will undergo enhanced cleaning. The safety plan, developed in consultation with epidemiologists, meets or exceeds federal, state and local guidelines for sanitization, hygiene and social distancing protocols, management said. The rides have been closed for more than a year, but the park has opened for other events.

Michigan

Lansing: The state’s former health director said Thursday that he resigned in January after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told him it was “time to go in a new direction,” telling lawmakers he was comfortable signing an order to relax COVID-19 restrictions despite having had a difference of opinion with the governor. Robert Gordon’s statement confirmed what Whitmer’s office had refused to say publicly despite his controversial $155,000 severance deal: that he was ousted after two years on the job. Gordon, with the governor’s support, tightened and eased coronavirus restrictions in the fall and winter after the state Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a law that underpinned her orders. On Jan. 22, the day the governor and health officials cleared the way for indoor restaurant dining to resume at 25% capacity, Gordon said he was invited to a video conference call with several members of Whitmer’s staff. He noticed she, too, was present. “The governor said to me, ‘Robert, grateful for your service. I think it’s time to go in a new direction,’ ” he told the Republican-led House Oversight Committee, which subpoenaed him after he declined to voluntarily appear. He said he was serving as an appointee, and “it’s important that the governor is comfortable with you in that role.”

Minnesota

St. Cloud: Residents can now schedule appointments at community vaccination sites around the state using VaccineConnector.mn.gov. If appointments are full, people can opt to receive a notice when there are openings, according to a press release from Gov. Tim Walz’s office. Community vaccination sites are located around the state in St. Cloud, Lino Lakes, St. Paul, Bloomington, Oakdale, Mankato, Duluth and Rochester. There’s also a federally supported community vaccination program at the State Fairgrounds for residents in socially vulnerable ZIP codes in and around the Twin Cities. So far the state has administered more than 4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to nearly 2.5 million residents. Nearly one-third of Minnesotans have completed their vaccine series. “To end this pandemic, we need as many Minnesotans vaccinated as possible, as quickly as possible,” Walz said in a statement. “To drive that goal, Minnesotans can now book appointments at our Community Vaccination locations directly and at their convenience. The sooner we get shots in arms, the sooner we can get back to the things we love and the people we miss. Hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans have been able to find their COVID-19 vaccine through the Vaccine Connector, and today, that is easier than ever.”

Mississippi

Jackson: Almost two-thirds of residents 65 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, state health officials said Wednesday. Still, overall numbers of inoculations are lagging in recent weeks – a reflection of a lack of buy-in on the vaccine from young people. “We knew that we were going to have trouble getting younger folks immunized,” said State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs, who described the effort as a “continued uphill climb.” More than 132,000 people in Mississippi were vaccinated the week of Feb. 27, according to the state Department of Health. Since then, numbers of vaccinations have dropped each week. Last week, about 74,400 were vaccinated in the state. Nearly 770,000 Mississippi residents are fully vaccinated, more than one-third of whom are over 65, according to the department. Fewer than 200,000 are younger than 40. Dobbs said as older residents most vulnerable to the coronavirus are getting vaccinated, the numbers of related deaths are also falling. The drop gives the illusion that the risk is gone, which makes some people less eager to want the vaccine. “The urgency is not there,” Dobbs said. The top health official warned against relaxing coronavirus safety precautions. In the past, when people lessened precautions, cases went back up, he said.

Missouri

St. Louis: Washington University in St. Louis has become the latest college to announce plans to require students to be fully vaccinated before returning to campus this fall. KMOX-AM reports the school said faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to get vaccinated. The school also said it would allow some exemptions for religious or medical reasons. The university informed students in a letter that if they can’t get vaccinated before arriving, the school will help them get a shot locally. “Vaccination against COVID-19 will play a key role in allowing us to resume our regular activities, protect our community, and prevent the spread of illness both on our campuses and in the St. Louis region, including, importantly, the patients we serve in our hospitals,” the letter said. A university spokesperson said officials will provide more information for employees in the coming weeks.

Montana

Helena: Lawmakers have approved amendments proposed by Gov. Greg Gianforte to a bill aimed at preventing discrimination based on a person’s vaccine status. The changes appear to try to address concerns raised by health care organizations about the measure, which would prohibit employers from requiring vaccinations as a condition of employment. The Montana Hospital Association and other health care organizations argued that the bill could leave them unable to screen potential employees and would prohibit them from requiring vaccines of employees who have direct contact with patients and the public. They said the bill could lead to all employees having to wear masks and facilities limiting visitors. Gianforte, a Republican, proposed an amendment Wednesday clarifying that employees could voluntarily provide their vaccine records and that employers will not be seen as discriminating when they impose reasonable accommodations, such as requiring masks, for employees who are not vaccinated or choose not to divulge their vaccine status. Gianforte’s amendment also said nursing homes, long-term care facilities and assisted living facilities are exempt from the bill if compliance would violate regulations or guidance issued by federal agencies.

Nebraska

Omaha: A 114-year-old woman who has taken the title of America’s oldest living person says what she wants most is to eat with her friend after a year of pandemic restrictions. Thelma Sutcliffe, of Omaha, became the nation’s oldest living person and seventh-oldest in the world April 17 when Hester Ford, a 115-year-old woman, died in North Carolina, according to the Gerontology Research Group. The Omaha World-Herald reports Sutcliffe was born Oct. 1, 1906. Her longtime friend, Luella “Lou” Mason, said she is happy that the senior living center where Sutcliffe lives is locked down, but “Thelma is as determined as ever to do what she wants to do.” Until visitors are allowed in the dining room, Thelma is taking all her meals in her room. Mason, who has Sutcliffe’s power of attorney, calls the senior living center 24 hours ahead of time to schedule visits. “She asks me every time I visit, ‘Are you going to eat with me today?’ ” Mason said. “It breaks my heart that I can’t.” Sutcliffe’s hearing and sight are fading, Mason said, but her mind is still “very sharp.” Sutcliffe received her COVID-19 shots at the earliest opportunity, but testing for the coronavirus was a nonstarter. Mason said Sutcliffe looked at the swab and said, “You’re not going to be sticking that thing up my nose. You can tell Lou to stick it up hers.”

Nevada

Las Vegas: Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, will assume control of COVID-19 mitigation efforts Saturday, increasing capacity limits to 80% and reducing social distancing to 3 feet. Currently, the county is following capacity restrictions of 50% occupancy for public gatherings and 6 feet of social distancing. Nevada COVID-19 Response Director Caleb Cage notified the county Tuesday that the state authorized giving the county control over coronavirus mitigation and safety measures beginning May 1. The Clark County Commission approved the 42-page plan April 20. It allows some businesses to reopen, including nightclubs and adult entertainment venues. Facial coverings will continue to be required. The plan also increases occupancy for gyms, pools and water parks, libraries and museums, retail stores, indoor malls, and community and recreational centers. Salad bars, salsa bars and other self-service options will be allowed under certain conditions, and food sampling will be allowed at grocery stores. Commissioners agreed capacity and social distancing requirements will be removed when 60% of residents receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. That figure was at 46.5% as of Tuesday.

New Hampshire

Concord: The state has scheduled 10 virtual job fairs during May. Starting May 23, New Hampshire is once again requiring that people receiving unemployment benefits be looking for work. That was waived last year during the coronavirus pandemic. “This return to our traditional, more normalized system is a sign that we are getting back to normal, and I would like to thank the team at Employment Security for their efforts in opening up access to job seekers and employers,” Gov. Chris Sununu said in a statement Wednesday. Scheduled job fairs include May 6, for veterans; May 11, one for students and the other for students and adult education in partnership with Pinkerton Academy; May 13, construction industry in partnership with ABC NH/VT; May 18, Great North Woods Region and Dartmouth Lake-Sunapee Region; May 19, Seacoast Region; May 20, White Mountains Region; May 25, Lakes Region; May 26, Monadnock Region; and May 27, Capitol and Southern Region. Employers looking to register their company and job-seekers can register for one of the fairs by going to virtualjobfairs.nh.gov.

New Jersey

Jersey City: Students in the state’s two largest cities have begun making their return to classrooms after learning remotely because of the COVID-19 outbreak. On Thursday, students in Jersey City began returning to school, just days after Newark officials said they were expanding in-person instruction to four days a week, up from two. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday that nearly 86% of students in the state are back in person in some format, either hybrid or entirely in person. Just 25 districts, out of more than 600, are all-remote, the governor said, affecting about 115,000 students. That’s about 8.5% of the total student population in New Jersey. The return of in-person learning comes as the state’s coronavirus data trends in the right direction, as new cases over the past two weeks are down 28%. Murphy also announced that on May 10, proms, weddings and other events can resume, along with expanded outdoor capacities. Schools in New Jersey should be entirely in person by the fall, the governor has said. The state is pushing to get 70% of its adult population vaccinated by June 30. That’s 4.7 million people, Murphy has said. So far nearly 3 million people have been fully vaccinated in the state.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: The state Capitol building has reopened to the public as the COVID-19 pandemic eases. It was closed to the general public for four consecutive legislative sessions. About 50 visitors wandered the corridors of the Roundhouse on Wednesday as the doors were unlocked to all visitors for the first time in roughly a year. They were asked to wear masks, and most if not all abided. Legislators shifted last spring to mostly virtual committee hearings as the pandemic took hold. Voting even took place remotely from outside the Capitol among members of the House of Representatives. The Capitol also was ringed by fencing and barricades, with troops on hand, between January and March as a consequence of security concerns linked to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. A 60-day legislative session ending March 20 focused on economic relief and progressive initiatives such authorization for medical aid in dying. Recreational marijuana was legalized during a separate special session this year.

New York

Albany: People will no longer have to buy a jelly sandwich, chips or other snack with their beer under an executive order that state lawmakers repealed Wednesday. Last summer, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order requiring food to be sold with alcoholic beverages at bars and restaurants. At the time, COVID-19 rates were low, and the state had begun allowing New York City bars and restaurants to reopen. Lawmakers passed resolutions Wednesday to repeal the directive, which restaurant owners have blasted for months as nonsensical. Cuomo had said chips or fruit alone couldn’t count as “food,” which led to a Saratoga Springs bar offering “Cuomo Chips and Salsa.” “Witnessing the industrywide devastation during the pandemic was heartbreaking,” said Sen. John Mannion, a Democrat from central New York. “Rescinding the food with beverage mandate is the most pressing issue in all of my conversations with owners and managers.” Cuomo defended the food-with-drinks rule by citing his concerns about inebriated people mingling at bars without social distancing. “If you’re not eating a meal, and you’re just drinking, then it’s just an outdoor bar, and people are mingling, and they’re not isolated and individual tables, and that’s what we’re seeing,” he said July 16.

North Carolina

Raleigh: Residents will be allowed to assemble in larger groups and gather outdoors starting Friday without having to wear their masks. Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday afternoon that the state will lift the outdoor mask mandate and boost mass gathering limits to 100 people indoors and 200 people outdoors, which represents a doubling from the current levels. The Democratic governor’s move comes as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says vaccinated Americans don’t need to cover their faces outside anymore unless they are in a big crowd of strangers. Cooper said masks will still be required indoors, and he encouraged people to remain cautious. “Masks will continue to be required indoors (and) in public places, since this virus still can spread easily when we’re inside,” Cooper said. “Even though we’re continuing our dimmer-switch approach of easing restrictions, we need to stay vigilant.” Cooper plans to eliminate social distancing and mass gathering restrictions by June 1 and eliminate the mask mandate altogether once at least two-thirds of North Carolina adults are at least partially vaccinated. Nearly half of adults in the state have gotten at least one COVID-19 shot, with more than 39% fully vaccinated, as of Tuesday, according to state health department data.

North Dakota

Minot: The coronavirus pandemic has taken down one of the state’s most popular annual festivals for a second straight year. The Norsk Hostfest in Minot bills itself as the largest Scandinavian festival in North America. Event officials cited concerns about COVID-19 hurting the tour business and travel, as well as whether participants would be willing to gather in large groups. Before last year’s cancellation, the four-day event had taken place every September in Minot for 42 straight years. It had attracted about 60,000 visitors annually and more than 100 vendors from around the world. Festival officials are making plans to bring the event back in 2022, the Minot Daily News reports.

Ohio

Columbus: Ohioans working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic can pay income taxes to the cities where their companies are located, according to a Wednesday ruling from a Franklin County judge. The ruling, which dismissed a July 2020 lawsuit with prejudice, upheld a state law passed during last year’s shutdown that let cities keep collecting municipal income taxes from commuters whose companies temporarily closed their downtown offices. House Bill 197 allows cities to collect these taxes until 30 days after Gov. Mike DeWine rescinds his state of emergency declaration. Three employees from the conservative Buckeye Institute filed the lawsuit, claiming the bill was unconstitutional because it allowed cities to tax people who weren’t using their services. The municipal income tax for commuters is based on the idea that workers drive on city roads and use other city services like police and fire. “Ohio law permits you to be taxed based on where you live and where you actually perform work,” Buckeye Institute President Robert Alt said at the time. “But it doesn’t allow you to be taxed based on ‘let’s pretend.’ ” Traditionally, commuters got refunds for days they worked from home or at another location. But Judge Carl Aveni disagreed.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: Earlier this month, the Oklahoma Republican Party held its state convention at the city’s new convention center, with few attendees at the Saturday morning session wearing masks. The Oklahoma Democratic Party still plans to hold its state convention virtually in June. The parties’ different approaches to gathering in person amid the pandemic are illustrated by a new poll that shows Republican voters in the state are far more likely than Democrats to believe it is already safe to gather in groups of 10 or more. The poll, by Cole Hargrave Snodgrass and Associates, also shows Republican voters are more likely to believe the bigger risk from the pandemic now is to the economy rather than to health. “I was shocked that 36% of the voters in the state do not think gatherings of 10 or more will be safe until at least July 1 and that 15% think it will be at least 2022 before it’s OK,” said Pat McFerron, the president of the Oklahoma City company that conducted the Sooner Survey. “Among Republicans, 59% think it’s OK to meet right now. Among Democrats, it’s only 15%.” Aspects of the pandemic have divided people along partisan lines from the beginning, with particular flashpoints around mask mandates and lockdowns.

Oregon

Salem: Gov. Kate Brown on Thursday extended Oregon’s state of emergency for COVID-19 until June 28, saying a fourth surge of the pandemic is being driven by variants of the coronavirus and causing increased cases and hospitalizations. The declaration allows Brown to issue executive orders restricting activity and helps the state utilize federal COVID-19 relief funds, the governor’s office said. Brown is putting 15 counties that encompass the state’s biggest cities into the state’s extreme risk category starting Friday, imposing restrictions that include banning indoor restaurant dining. The restaurant sector has objected to Brown’s action, with the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association declaring that the state lost more than 1,000 food service businesses in 2020 and that 200 more closed permanently so far this year. Brown said her actions are temporary. “I intend to fully reopen our economy by the end of June, and the day is approaching when my emergency orders can eventually be lifted,” Brown said in a statement. “How quickly we get there is up to each and every one of us doing our part.” Brown said more 1.2 million Oregonions are fully vaccinated, but the “overwhelming majority” of new cases are in younger, unvaccinated residents. Oregon’s population is more than 4.2 million.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: Employees of a vendor paid to conduct coronavirus contact tracing in the state may have compromised the private information of at least 72,000 people, including their exposure status and their sexual orientation, the state Health Department said Thursday. Agency spokesman Barry Ciccocioppo said in an email that the department recently learned workers at Atlanta-based Insight Global “disregarded security protocols established in the contract and created unauthorized documents” outside the state’s secure data system. “We are extremely dismayed that employees from Insight Global acted in a way that may have compromised this type of information and sincerely apologize to all impacted individuals,” Ciccocioppo said. He said state computer systems, including Pennsylvania’s contact tracing app, were not implicated. Ciccocioppo said some of the records in question associated names with phone numbers, emails, genders, ages, sexual orientations, and COVID-19 diagnoses and exposure status. They did not include financial account information, addresses or Social Security numbers, he said. The company has been directed to secure the records and has hired third-party specialists to conduct a forensic examination.

Rhode Island

Providence: The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts is getting more than $750,000 in federal coronavirus relief funding to help arts-related small businesses, artists, and arts and culture organizations recover from the pandemic, officials said Thursday. The council’s staff during the next several weeks will review federal guidance as it determines how these funds can best be used to support the recovery of one a key economic sector. “Rhode Island artists, arts and culture organizations, arts educators and the entire community were hard hit by the pandemic and these funds will assist in the difficult work of rebuilding the arts economically, educationally and culturally,” Randall Rosenbaum, executive director of RISCA, said in a statement. Rhode Island’s arts sector contributed $2 billion to the state economy and supported almost 18,000 jobs before the pandemic. The funding from the National Endowment for the Arts is the first round of federal funding through the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package passed last month.

South Carolina

Greenville: The one-dose COVID-19 vaccine is back in use in the state, and leaders said they are considering vaccination clinics to places people will be going this summer such as beaches and festivals. The Johnson & Johnson shot is back in use in South Carolina after a 10-day federally requested pause. There are about 33,000 doses of the vaccine being stored – and once again administered – in South Carolina. It is the least-used vaccine, at about 5% of the state’s vaccine doses given. It is also the last one to get authorization and is the most flexible vaccine because it has easier storage requirements and only requires one dose for full effectiveness. For those reasons, it would also be the most likely candidate for quick vaccine clinics that could reach lots of people. It has already been the go-to vaccine for certain populations, like those who are homeless or homebound. The state’s lead epidemiologist, Dr. Brannon Traxler, was asked during a media call Wednesday whether the state is considering making the one-dose vaccine available at beaches this summer. Traxler said such outreach vaccinations are a possibility. “We are exploring all options including taking the vaccine to, or at least close proximity to, the beaches,” she said. “We want to reach every nook and cranny of the state.”

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: Most public and private colleges and universities in the state are bringing commencement back in person this year. But limiting audience sizes, requiring masks and providing for social distancing are all part of the event planning. Last spring in the earlier months of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and universities made the choice to change graduation and commencement, either cancelling, postponing or moving to a live stream or Zoom format. Most universities are also offering a livestream of the commencement for graduates, family and friends who can’t attend in person. Policy for graduation activity is not set by the South Dakota Board of Regents, spokesperson Janelle Toman said. But all public colleges are holding their graduations May 8, and all campuses are currently requiring masks and social distancing in public indoor spaces. The University of South Dakota’s ceremony will be held at the DakotaDome, with space for up to four guests per graduate but masks required. South Dakota State University hasn’t yet pinned down a venue but is giving each student a six-ticket seating pod. Dakota State University will allow two guests each at the Fieldhouse ceremony and two more tickets for a second location where the commencement will be livestreamed.

Tennessee

Nashville: Bars and restaurants could keep up the coronavirus-era offering of to-go beers and other alcoholic drinks for two years under a bill now awaiting action from Republican Gov. Bill Lee. The Republican-supermajority Legislature finished work on the to-go drinks legislation with the Senate’s passage Wednesday. Through executive order, Lee has allowed to-go alcohol sales during the pandemic while establishments’ in-person traffic has suffered. Republican bill sponsor Sen. Brian Kelsey said the state has not been allowed to collect taxes on the to-go sales through the executive order, and the bill would ensure taxes are collected. The legislation would continue to require to-go alcohol orders to include food purchases. The extension would be effective until July 2023 under the bill.

Texas

Dallas: The state has topped 50,000 COVID-19 deaths during the 14-month pandemic, university researchers reported Wednesday. Johns Hopkins University researchers placed the Texas COVID-19 death toll at 50,037 Wednesday, out of 3,092,597 cases. That toll is the third highest in the nation. But researchers say the rolling two-week average of new cases continues to decline, with a 480-case decrease in the average number of daily cases as of Wednesday. That is a 13% decrease. The number of vaccinated Texans continues to rise. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that almost 38% of the Texas population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 26% are fully vaccinated.

Utah

St. George: Some 28% of adults living in Washington County were fully vaccinated for COVID-19 as of Thursday, while neighboring Iron County was at 25%, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC considers someone fully vaccinated two weeks after they’ve been given a single-dose shot (Johnson & Johnson) or a second shot (either Pfizer or Moderna). For those 65 and older, the figure was 42% in Washington County and 56% in Iron County. When children are included in the population figures, Washington County was at 21% fully vaccinated, with Iron County at 19%. Utah reported 396,004 total cases of coronavirus, an increase of 0.69% from the week before. The five counties with the highest percentage of their population fully vaccinated in Utah as of Tuesday are Daggett County (47%), Summit County (37%), Wayne County (33%), Kane County (28%) and Garfield County (27%). So far, 40% of people in Utah had received at least one dose of the vaccine, for a total of 1,278,979 people, including 53.8% of people 16 and older. There were 905,863 people fully vaccinated, or 28.3% of the total population.

Vermont

Montpelier: A program started during the pandemic to provide restaurant meals to Vermonters experiencing food insecurity has served 1 million meals, Gov. Phil Scott said Thursday. Since Vermont Everyone Eats was started in August 2020, more than 200 restaurants have contributed to the 1 million meals that included nearly $1 million of Vermont-produced ingredients, the governor’s office said. “It’s been a tough year for everyone, but there have been many bright spots as Vermonters have come together to help their neighbors and strengthen their communities,” Scott said in a statement. The program was started with $5 million from the state’s coronavirus relief fund and was supported with additional money through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the governor’s office said. Meanwhile, college students from out of state who do not plan to stay in Vermont for the summer and part-time residents can start signing up for appointments to get COVID-19 vaccines. Registration opened Thursday morning on the Health Department website. People who cannot sign up online or need help can also call 855-722-7878 to make an appointment. Registration is open to all Vermonters ages 16 and older to get COVID-19 shots.

Virginia

Richmond: College graduations will still look different due to the pandemic, but more Virginia universities are returning to in-person ceremonies. Attendees must wear masks and follow other guidelines and safety protocols to ensure social distancing. Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond will hold a universitywide commencement ceremony online May 15, according to a statement the university released last month. Individual departments can decide whether to hold in-person graduation. Virginia Tech in Blacksburg will have 16 in-person commencement ceremonies by college from May 10 to May 16 at Lane Stadium, the university’s football stadium. Graduating students are required to register, and students are allowed to invite up to four guests. Virginia Tech will also hold a virtual commencement ceremony May 14. The University of Virginia in Charlottesville will hold its commencement outdoors May 21-23 for the class of 2021. Students will walk the lawn and process to Scott Stadium, where each student can have two guests. The class of 2020 will also get a chance to walk and attend a special ceremony, according to U.Va. President Jim Ryan. Other Virginia universities, including George Mason University, will hold spring graduation completely online.

Washington

Edmonds: Two fraudulent coronavirus testing sites appeared north of Seattle in downtown Edmonds on Tuesday, and local police are warning people to be alert. Edmonds police Sgt. Josh McClure said one phony testing site was in front of a Starbucks, and the other was near the ferry terminal, The Daily Herald reports. The sites have since been removed. McClure said police had not cited or arrested anyone as of Wednesday afternoon and are continuing to investigate. The fake sites were set up with a folding table and medical-appearing paraphernalia, and fraudulent health care workers instructed people to provide their names, birthdays and other personal information, McClure said. “They had forms, clipboards and stuff to make it look very official,” McClure said. People were told they’d receive test results back in two days. People who thought the sites seemed hastily prepared contacted police. Legitimate test sites can be found on an official city government website or information source, McClure said. Other fake virus testing sites have been reported in states including Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky and New York, according to the AARP Fraud Watch Network.

West Virginia

Charleston: State officials are still working to hammer out details of how to send $100 savings bonds to residents ages 16 to 35 who get a COVID-19 shot. Republican Gov. Jim Justice said the incentive program to immunize young people will also apply retroactively for anyone in the age range who already received a vaccine. He said his administration is working with the U.S. Treasury Department to make arrangements for the bonds, which can take up to two decades to mature to their full value. If issuing bonds becomes too complex, he said the state will just send $100 checks. “You no question are transmitting this thing faster than anyone,” Justice said at his regularly held coronavirus news conference, addressing young people. “You are the key to this whole thing.” The incentive program would be funded through federal coronavirus relief funds. Justice first announced plans for the program Monday. The pace of the state’s vaccination drive has slowed considerably over the past month, trailing most states. Justice has aimed to motivate people through incentives and the pledge that he will consider lifting the mask mandate if 70% of eligible people get vaccinated. Currently, 47.8% of eligible residents have received at least one dose, according to state data.

Wisconsin

Madison: State health officials say only 0.03% of people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 have tested positive for the coronavirus. The Wisconsin State Journal reports the number of so-called breakthrough cases was just 605 out of 1.8 million residents who are fully vaccinated. The state’s number of breakthrough cases is higher than the national national rate of 0.008% reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC has said that the national tally is an undercount and that some infections are expected among those who are immunized because no vaccine is 100% effective. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services released the number of breakthrough cases to the State Journal only after the newspaper repeatedly reported that health officials declined to provide the data. The 605 Wisconsin cases, found in people at least two weeks after they were fully immunized, are among 82,369 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 since Jan. 18, said Jennifer Miller, a spokesperson for the state Department of Health Services. “With such a small percentage of breakthrough cases, but with COVID-19 still active in our state, we continue to encourage everyone to get vaccinated with one of the three highly effective COVID-19 vaccines available,” Miller said.

Wyoming

Cheyenne: The University of Wyoming and Laramie County Community College say they will not require students and employees to receive COVID-19 shots before returning to campus next school year. Federal statistical models show the state is home to the most vaccine-hesitant counties in the country, according to the Casper Star-Tribune. “We are working hard to provide (students and employees) with good resources so they can make informed decisions about whether or not they choose personally to get the vaccine,” Lisa Trimble, associate vice president of institutional advancement for Laramie County Community College, told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. The campus in Cheyenne shut down in-person instruction last year in response to the coronavirus pandemic and reopened this fall to mostly online learning, with a few exceptions. The college is now expecting to reopen next fall to mostly in-person learning. “Going into the start of the fall semester, we will continue to require face masks and encourage social distancing as much as possible just to continue to keep people safe,” Trimble said. The University of Wyoming, which said Monday that more than half of its full-time, benefited employees were vaccinated, has taken a similar approach.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Wildfire break, social media suits, hate crime reporting: News from ...

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Alabama

Tuscaloosa: A 54-year-old residence hall for more than 40,000 young women at the University of Alabama will come tumbling down this summer. Its replacement has been rising next door, not as tall or distinctive but with greater depth, breadth, and contemporary tech and comforts. The second Julia Tutwiler Hall – a distinctive, splayed-Y-shaped modernist tower – is planned for demolition on Independence Day. The last of the 13-story dorm’s residents moved out at the end of exams this month. The new Tutwiler, a $145 million project underway since summer 2019, is on pace to open in the fall. The new residence hall, the culmination of a 10-year plan, follows the Georgian neo-classical style more common to Capstone edifices. Unlike the second Tutwiler, the third Tutwiler is wider than it is tall, about half the height of the old tower, with a green-space quadrangle at the heart of the building. In addition to updated basics, electricity and plumbing and the like, the new 1,284-bed Tutwiler will include enhanced connectivity, safety and security measures. In addition to the double-occupancy rooms, it will also offer study, lounge and fitness rooms, with a 16,600 square-foot multipurpose space that doubles as a Federal Emergency Management Agency-rated storm shelter capable of housing all its residents. Former residents – or anyone nostalgic – can still take on a piece of the old Tutwiler through Aug. 31. Room numbers are being sold for $50 and commemorative bricks for $100.

Alaska

Anchorage: Razor clam fisheries in parts of the Cook Inlet area will remain closed for sport and personal use this year, continuing a yearslong trend of closures as the clam population has struggled to regain numbers. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says eastern Cook Inlet beaches from the mouth of the Kenai River to the southernmost tip of the Homer Spit are closed to clamming through the end of 2022, Anchorage TV station KTUU reports. The department said in a statement that surveys completed at Ninilchik and Clam Gulch beaches this month and last showed numbers below the threshold required to allow for limited clamming. The department said the abundance of adult razor clams at Ninilchik was 64% below where it needed to be to allow for public clamming, while the Clam Gulch population was 17% below. Razor clam fisheries closures on the eastern side of Cook Inlet date to 2015. State biologists and Fish and Game officials have struggled to explain what is causing the low numbers, but officials have pointed to a November 2010 winter storm as playing a role. The storm turned up hundreds of thousands of clams along the shores, worsening a trend of declining populations in the area.

Arizona

Phoenix: An impassioned effort by some Republicans in the state Senate to ban the use of ballot drop boxes failed Monday. Scottsdale Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita’s efforts to change a proposal requiring drop boxes to have video monitoring was blocked by fellow GOP senators who knew House Republicans weren’t on board with the harsher proposal. And the whole exercise ended up being in vain after Sen. Paul Boyer, R-Glendale, joined all Senate Democrats in rejecting the measure outright. Ugenti-Rita said drop boxes are rife with possibilities for “ballot harvesting,” a pejorative term for dropping off completed ballots for other people. The Legislature in 2016 made it a felony to return another person’s mail ballots unless it is for a family member or if the person returning the ballot is a caregiver. She pointed to a recent documentary that alleged thousands of ballots were illegally cast in 2020 battleground states. Fact-checkers have shown the arguments made in “2000 Mules” are full of unsupported allegations that thousands of ballots were illegally deposited into drop boxes. “If you think ballot boxes contribute to ballot harvesting and can be manipulated, you would ban them, not require that we tape them,” Ugenti-Rita said. “It’s too late at that point.”

Arkansas

Fort Smith: University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Chancellor Terisa Riley has announced the appointment of Shadow JQ Robinson as the school’s next provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs, effective July 1. Ken Warden, associate vice chancellor for compliance and legislative affairs, who chaired the search, said the team was able to bring five highly skilled finalists to campus from a variety of backgrounds. “We worked diligently to ensure all UAFS constituents had the opportunity to engage with each of them,” he said. “The committee worked tirelessly to complete a thorough search, and the process resulted in a great hire with Dr. Robinson. His energy and excitement for our work is infectious. I think he is a perfect fit, poised to lead us into our next phase of greatness.” Robinson, raised in rural Kentucky in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, said the Ozarks feel like home. And thanks to the work of those who came before him, he said, the UAFS campus and its position in the higher education landscape feel both inviting and inspiring.

California

Sacramento: The state could soon hold social media companies responsible for harming children who have become addicted to their products, permitting parents to sue platforms like Instagram and TikTok for up to $25,000 per violation under a bill that passed the state Assembly on Monday. The bill defines “addiction” as kids under 18 who are harmed – either physically, mentally, emotionally, developmentally or materially – and who want to stop or reduce how much time they spend on social media but can’t because they are preoccupied or obsessed with it. Business groups have warned that if the bill passes, social media companies would most likely cease operations for children in California rather than face the legal risk. The proposal would only apply to social media companies that had at least $100 million in gross revenue in the past year, appearing to take aim at social media giants like Facebook and others that dominate the marketplace. It would not apply to streaming services like Netflix and Hulu or to companies that only offer email and text messaging services. “The era of unfettered social experimentation on children is over, and we will protect kids,” said Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham, a Republican from San Luis Obispo County and author of the bill.

Colorado

Pueblo: Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill into law Monday at Pueblo City Hall to ensure that parents who use assisted reproductive technology have equal protections under the law, regardless of their gender. “This bill is very simple,” Polis said at the signing. “It just makes it easier and reduces paperwork for counties and for both parents of a child through assisted reproduction to be the parents of a child, instead of one parent having to do an adoption process, which takes time and costs the county money. “This makes it automatic, just like it is for non-assisted reproduction.” Formerly called the “family affirmation act,” the bill was renamed in honor of the baby daughter of Colorado House Majority Leader Daneya Esgar, D-Pueblo, and her wife, Heather Palm. “When I was carrying Marlo as the birth mother, my wife realized that even though she was the biological parent, she had no actual legal rights to Marlo unless she went through a stepparent adoption, which we thought was incredibly unfair,” Esgar said. Adoption is a costly, lengthy process, involving steps such as in-home evaluation and background checks, Esgar said. Most parents do not have to go through that process, she noted.

Connecticut

Hartford: State officials hope timely, stepped-up reporting of hate crime investigations by local police to a new State Police investigative unit will help lead to the prevention and detection of such crimes before something violent happens. A new law requires all local and tribal police departments, resident state troopers, and constables with law enforcement duties to notify the new Hate Crimes Investigative Unit of a broader list of crimes involving bigotry and bias within 14 days, using a new standardized system, beginning Jan. 1. They must continue to share information about their local investigations with the State Police unit. “Pretty much every week, every month we get a new national report about the extent of the increase in hate crimes,” said Rep. Maria Horn, D-Salisbury, co-chair of the General Assembly’s Public Safety Committee. “These crimes are among the most corrosive ones we have because they go after the bonds that ties together as communities and as a state.” The law, signed March 10 by Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont and highlighted during a ceremonial signing Tuesday, comes days before the State Bond Commission is scheduled to release a second $5 million allocation for security grants for houses of worship and eligible nonprofits at risk of being the target of a hate crime or violent act.

Delaware

Dover: Gov. John Carney on Tuesday vetoed a bill to legalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by adults for recreational use. In vetoing the measure, Carney reiterated his previously expressed concerns about legalizing recreational pot – concerns that did not dissuade fellow Democrats from pushing the legislation through the General Assembly. “I recognize the positive effect marijuana can have for people with certain health conditions, and for that reason, I continue to support the medical marijuana industry in Delaware,” Carney said in returning the bill to the state House. “I supported decriminalization of marijuana because I agree that individuals should not be imprisoned solely for the possession and private use of a small amount of marijuana – and today, thanks to Delaware’s decriminalization law, they are not. That said, I do not believe that promoting or expanding the use of recreational marijuana is in the best interests of the state of Delaware, especially our young people.” Carney’s veto comes just days after legislation to establish a state-run marijuana industry in Delaware failed to clear the state House for a second time. It’s unclear whether Democratic lawmakers will try to override Carney’s veto, which would be a rare occurrence, with a veto-override effort last popping up in 1990 and last succeeding in 1977.

District of Columbia

Washington: The D.C. Nurses Association and Howard University Hospital have reached an agreement following nine months of a labor dispute, WUSA-TV reports. The agreement was ratified May 19, after months of negotiations between the two departments. DCNA and the hospital said the agreement will help to advance patient care and provides nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and dietitians with new resources, which will include high-quality care and services for district residents, increased compensation and benefits, and further their ability to administer safely. “It was only through the efforts and collective action of our members, with support from the community, that we were able to achieve agreement on a fair and equitable contract that recognizes our hard working healthcare professionals and their commitment to caring for patients who come to HUH for care,” Edward Smith, DCNA executive director, said in a media release. The news comes after nine months of actions from nurses at HUH that included petitions to negotiate a fair contract, an informational picket in January and a 24-hour strike in April. The agreement ensures that there will be no pay cuts for senior health care professionals in the overall compensation. The agreement will continue to maintain patient care.

Florida

Sanford: Two political operatives and an independent candidate who opponents say hardly campaigned and only entered a state Senate race in central Florida in 2020 to siphon off votes from a Democrat were criminally charged Tuesday. Prosecutors filed election finance charges against the candidate, Jestine Iannotti, as well as Seminole County GOP chairman Ben Paris and political consultant James “Eric” Foglesong in Seminole County, a suburb of Orlando. Some candidates with no party affiliation, “commonly referred to as ‘ghost’ candidates, have been used by political parties as a way to close elections or siphon off votes,” State Attorney Phil Archer, whose jurisdiction covers Seminole County, said in a statement. “While not illegal per se, many have questioned the ethics of the practice. However, when that candidate and the partisan political operatives involved violate election finance laws by illegally funding those races and filing false reports, it is the responsibility of government to act.” The case was investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. According to the FDLE, Iannotti illegally accepted a $1,200 cash donation from Foglesong for her campaign. The two falsely used the names of others as contributors in state campaign finance reports in order to skirt Florida laws on campaign contributions, the FDLE said.

Georgia

Atlanta: A prosecutor on Monday said he would not prosecute police officers involved in a May 2020 confrontation with two college students who were stunned with Tasers and pulled from a car while they were stuck in traffic caused by protests over George Floyd’s death. Messiah Young and Taniyah Pilgrim, two students at historically Black colleges in Atlanta, were confronted by police in downtown Atlanta on May 30, 2020. Within days, then-Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced arrest warrants had been obtained for six officers. “Not only was law enforcement acting within the scope of their legal authority in their actions to obtain compliance, their actions were also largely consistent with the Atlanta Police Department’s own use of force policy,” Cherokee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Samir Patel said in a statement Monday. Patel dismissed the warrants filed against the officers involved: Ivory Streeter, Mark Gardner, Lonnie Hood, Roland Claud, Willie Sauls and Armon Jones. He said he is “unable to find probable cause to prosecute the officers involved for a crime under Georgia law.” Lance LoRusso, a lawyer representing Streeter and Gardner, said his clients “have been vindicated” and look forward to returning to full duty.

Hawaii

Honolulu: Gov. David Ige on Monday signed legislation providing freedom of speech and press protections to students publishing school-sponsored media at the state’s K-12 public schools and the University of Hawaii. The “Hawaii Student Journalism Protection Act” also protects advisers from retaliation for refusing to infringe upon student press freedom. Ige told lawmakers and students gathered for a bill-signing ceremony at McKinley High School that he was the page one editor of The Messenger at Pearl City High School. “Providing student journalists with the same protections that exist for them in the industry gives them real-world opportunities and provides them a more enhanced laboratory for democracy and learning,” Ige said. Althea Cunningham, a recent McKinley graduate and student reporter at The Pinion, submitted written testimony saying students should be able to chase and report the truth with confidence. “Schools are supposed to help prepare students for the future. How is letting administrators get away with killing articles they don’t agree with helping our future journalists?” she said. Supporters say similar laws already exist in 15 other states.

Idaho

Boise: A local woman was sentenced Tuesday to two months in jail for her participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, siege of the U.S. Capitol building. Pam Hemphill, of Boise, will also be on probation for three years and must pay a $500 fine, U.S. District Senior Judge Royce Lamberth said. Hemphill pleaded guilty earlier this year to one misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in the Capitol building. In exchange, prosecutors dropped three additional misdemeanor charges. During Hemphill’s sentencing hearing, Lamberth said it’s “tempting to be lenient,” but he can’t justify letting her just walk away after her offenses at the Capitol. Like many other defendants who have been charged in connection with the siege, Hemphill posted videos to social media sites that showed her in Washington, D.C., in the days surrounding the insurrection and at the Capitol when it was happening. In one video, she compared breaking windows at the federal building to actions protesters at the Idaho Statehouse had taken the previous year. In another, she said she avoided getting into trouble after being found inside the Capitol by telling police she became lost after being pushed into the building by the crowd. The videos were later removed. “Sometimes when I see those videos I want to give you the maximum,” Lamberth said.

Illinois

Oakbrook Terrace: A former suburban Chicago mayor pleaded guilty Monday to taking kickbacks to support the use of red-light cameras in his community. Tony Ragucci, who resigned in 2020, admitted to getting $88,000 when he was leading Oakbrook Terrace. He pleaded guilty to fraud and tax crimes. It’s the latest conviction related to how SafeSpeed LLC dealt with some Chicago-area communities that installed cameras to record traffic violations. SafeSpeed said that it didn’t authorize payoffs and that any kickbacks were part of a scheme by people who are no longer associated with the company. In April, Louis Presta, who was mayor of Crestwood, was sentenced to a year in prison for accepting $5,000. Assistant U.S. Attorney James Durkin said Ragucci is cooperating with investigators, assistance that could help him when he gets a sentence. He was a police officer before being elected mayor in 2009. Oakbrook Terrace’s red-light cameras produced nearly $17 million in revenue from 2017 to April 2021, the Chicago Tribune reports. Ragucci had defended the cameras as a way to encourage safe driving.

Indiana

Warsaw: A pastor who confessed to “adultery” years ago with a teenager publicly informed his congregation last weekend after church leaders confronted him, the church said Tuesday. John Lowe II has resigned, New Life Christian Church and World Outreach in Warsaw said in a statement on its website. Lowe, 65, told church members Sunday that he had “committed adultery” and wanted their forgiveness. Moments later, a woman stepped to the microphone and said the pastor had a sexual relationship with her when she was 16, according to video. “It was 27 years ago, not 20. … I was just 16 when you took my virginity on your office floor. Do you remember that? I know you do,” she said as Lowe stood nearby. She said the “lies and the manipulation have to stop.” The church said leaders confronted Lowe recently after the woman told others about a “long-held secret.” The church said the sexual conduct continued into her 20s. “We are hurting and broken for a woman who has lovingly attended and served in the church for many years, as well as for her husband and family,” the church’s statement said. “It is our deepest prayer and commitment to love, support, encourage and help her through a process of healing in any way in which we are able.” The church said “none of this” was previously known by staff.

Iowa

Des Moines: After decades of efforts, Iowans are about to see a major change in how and where they can turn in their empty pop cans and beer bottles to get back the nickel deposit paid at the point of purchase. Iowa lawmakers’ agreement to reframe the recycling program comes as supporters and opponents alike have warned the system is on the brink of failure and could have collapsed without legislative action. Frustrated by years of work without tangible progress, key lawmakers also had threatened to repeal the entire law – known as the bottle bill – if they failed to reach a deal this year. The Iowa Senate voted 30-15 Monday to pass Senate File 2378. The House previously passed the bill in April on a 73-17 vote, so it now goes to Gov. Kim Reynolds for her signature. Under current law, Iowans can return empty cans and bottles to grocery stores and other retailers to get back a 5-cent deposit that they paid when buying the drink. The new legislation would triple the handling fee collected by the roughly 60 redemption centers around the state and authorize mobile redemption options in an effort to make their businesses financially viable. Meanwhile, grocery stores, gas stations and other retailers could refuse to accept empty bottles and cans under most conditions.

Kansas

Topeka: The Legislature adjourned for the year Monday without handling efforts to legalize medical marijuana and enact a major overhaul of the state’s election laws. But after two years in which Gov. Laura Kelly rejected more bills than any governor in recent memory, Republicans once again overrode her veto and enacted two pieces of legislation into law. One would delay the renegotiation of $4 billion worth of contracts with private firms that serve as managed care organizations for the state’s Medicaid program. They also pushed through a bill that would prevent the governor from entering into legal agreements that change state election law without legislative approval. Meanwhile, lawmakers passed several remaining pieces of legislation, including a framework for the state’s new 988 suicide prevention hotline and a property tax break for small businesses affected by COVID-19 orders. Lawmakers did not need to pass a new set of congressional district maps, as many feared, after the Kansas Supreme Court last week upheld the original lines enacted earlier this year.

Kentucky

Louisville: A man who was fatally shot by a deputy U.S. marshal during an arrest attempt was shot during a foot pursuit, the city’s police chief said Monday. Omari Cryer, 25, was wanted on an arrest warrant for assault, strangulation and terroristic threatening when he was tracked to a residence in Louisville on Friday, police Chief Erika Shields said at a press conference. “There was a brief foot pursuit. They ran upon a fence. Subsequently, the marshals opened fire striking Mr. Cryer,” Shields said. Shields said Cryer was in the possession of a handgun at the time he was shot. She said she anticipates any “body-worn camera footage to be released in the near future” after “essential” interviews are conducted. The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office has described the cause and manner of death as “gunshot wounds/homicide.” A group of roughly 30 protesters gathered in downtown Louisville’s Jefferson Square Park on Monday evening. Many called for more transparency from Louisville police and the U.S. Marshals Service. Antiya Parker, the mother of Cryer’s 2-year-old son, also attended the rally, holding a poster showing photos of Cryer and another with the words “Black Lives Matter.” “We’re all confused,” she said. “You got these people who are saying one thing; you got some people saying another.”

Louisiana

Baton Rouge: Driving while using a handheld cellphone could become a traffic violation punishable by a ticket and fine under legislation approved Monday by the state House. State Rep. Mike Huval, R-Breaux Bridge, got the bill passed with a 55-38 vote after failing to win passage earlier in the legislative session. The bill goes next to the Senate. Huval has two weeks to get it through a Senate committee hearing and floor vote before the session’s June 6 deadline for final adjournment. Amendments adopted in the House ensure that a violation will result only in a citation and fines, not arrests. Huval said the measure is needed to increase highway safety. He won House passage after recounting stories from friends and colleagues of accidents involving drivers holding cellphones. Drivers using hands-free devices would not be in violation of the proposed law.

Maine

Monson: Infestations of ticks contributed to a record-high death rate for young moose tracked by wildlife managers in the state’s rural areas. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife collared 70 moose calves in remote sites last winter, and 60 of them had died by the beginning of May, Maine Public reports. The 86% mortality rate was the highest since the agency started the tracking survey. Lee Kantar, the moose biologist with the wildlife department, said the winter ticks are to blame. The ticks, also called moose ticks, are a worsening problem in the areas of the northern U.S. and southern Canada that moose call home. Short winters and long falls have given the ticks more time to seek out moose, and the moose have accumulated larger numbers of them, biologists said. The ticks can gather on moose in the tens of thousands and can bleed the animals to the point of death. Maine moose are also coping with other parasites, such as brainworms. The giant animal, the largest member of the deer family, is Maine’s official state animal.

Maryland

Ocean City: The brand-new Oceans Calling Festival is promising a star-studded lineup. The Lumineers, Alanis Morissette and Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds are headlining the event, organizers announced Monday. And the slate of entertainers is deep for the three-day festival, set to come to the resort town from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. Matthews and Reynolds headline the first night, with Toad the Wet Sprocket, Dirty Heads, O.A.R. and more on the bill. Playing ahead of the Lumineers are bands including Cage the Elephant, Jimmy Eat World and Pup Punk. And joining headliner Morissette on the final night are Cyndi Lauper, Sublime, St. Paul and the Broken Bones and more. One-day and three-day pass tickets for the festival go on sale Wednesday at www.oceanscallingfestival.com. One-day passes start at $99 for general admission and range up to $795 for “platinum” tickets. Three-day passes start at $185 and soar to $1,250 for “platinum” tickets. The festival is being put on in partnership with the band O.A.R., which has roots in Maryland, and will also include a culinary component featuring world-renowned chefs and cooking demos that celebrate regional cuisine. Amusement park Jolly Roger at the Pier will be inside the festival grounds.

Massachusetts

Boston: The city is taking additional steps to help people experiencing homelessness, substance abuse disorder and mental health issues to deter a recurrence of the humanitarian crisis at the city intesection that was once home to a sprawling homeless encampment, Mayor Michelle Wu said Tuesday. She unveiled the city’s 11-point plan amid concerns warmer weather will bring more people to the area known as Mass and Cass. The plan, developed after 20 meetings with about 250 stakeholders, addresses immediate public safety and public health needs. “As the weather warms, we are taking concrete steps to ensure safety and health,” Wu said. “Boston is creating a continuum of care for individuals experiencing homelessness and substance use disorder with pathways from living on the streets to permanent housing.” In January the city cleared out tents where up to 140 people had been living near Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, where drug dealing and use often occured in the open. Some business owners and residents said the problems persisted. The new plan includes an increased presence of public health and public safety outreach teams; more street cleaning and beautification efforts; transportation and referrals to day centers outside the neighborhood; and increased access to permanent housing.

Michigan

Lansing: The state’s elections bureau said late Monday that five Republican candidates for governor, including two leading contenders, failed to file enough valid nominating signatures and should not qualify for the August primary. The stunning recommendations immediately transformed the race in the battleground state and dealt a major blow to former Detroit Police Department Chief James Craig, who has led in primary polling despite campaign problems, and businessman Perry Johnson, who has spent millions of his own money to run. Democrats had challenged their petitions, alleging mass forgery and other issues. Another GOP candidate, Tudor Dixon, had also contested Craig’s voter signatures as fake. The bipartisan, four-member Board of State Canvassers will meet Thursday to consider the elections bureau’s findings of fraud across five gubernatorial campaigns. The Republican candidates, who are vying to face Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in November, could end up going to court if they do not make the ballot. Bureau staff also determined that three other lesser-known GOP candidates – Donna Brandenburg, Michael Brown and Michael Markey – did not turn in enough valid signatures. If the canvassers agree with the recommendations, the 10-person field of political newcomers would be cut in half to five.

Minnesota

Duluth: The USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul has been activated for service in the U.S. Navy. A weekend commissioning ceremony was held in Duluth for the Freedom class littoral combat ship. It measures nearly 400 feet long and can travel at speeds greater than 40 knots, the equivalent of about 46 mph. According to officials, the ship is designed to have significant maneuverability and will utilize a state-of-the-art system that combines diesel and gas turbines with steerable water jet propulsion, KBJR-TV reports. Gov. Tim Walz had a special message for the crew during the commissioning ceremony Saturday. “To the crew, when you sail the world’s oceans to whatever nation calls you, in order to defend the freedoms that we enjoy, know that the pride and patriotism of all Minnesotans sails with you. May the USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul protect you,” Walz said. The ship has a flight deck that’s about 1.5 times larger the most naval warships and can accommodate a crew of 140 service members. The ship was built in Marinette, Wisconsin, using Iron Range iron ore. Its commissioning, originally planned for 2021, was delayed by a problem with its propulsion system.

Mississippi

Jackson: Citing safety concerns, the Real Cowboy Association said it’s canceling the 19th Annual Black Cowboy Association Rodeo that had been scheduled for July 16 at the Mississippi Coliseum. “Unfortunately I have to announce that the 19th Annual Jackson Black Rodeo is canceled,” said a post on the group’s Facebook. “Reasons are due to previous incidents on the Fairgrounds that will restrict the event from being what it has been. I stand for the safety of All RCA Fans, Cowboys, and Cowgirls.” The Real Cowboy Association has held the annual event in Jackson for the past 19 years. The association’s goal is to influence and help promote leadership, scholarships and provide a increase in business involvement in the community, according to the group’s website. Michael Lasseter, director of the Mississippi State Fairgrounds, said providing safety for such events is mandatory. “We do not want this event to be canceled,” Lasseter said. Last week organizers of JXN Fest announced cancellation of their event, citing “unforeseen circumstances beyond our control” and “the climate of today’s times.” The moves come after a May 1 shootout between rival groups of teenagers, with a law enforcement officer fatally shooting a teen suspected of firing shots, at the Mississippi Mudbug Festival – also at the Fairgrounds.

Missouri

Springfield: A state lawmaker charged with fraud involving medical treatments has been sued by a patient over the care she prescribed for him to relieve back pain. Rep. Tricia Derges, a Nixa Republican, is scheduled to go on trial in federal court next month on charges that she sold fake stem cell treatments, fraudulently used pandemic aid and wrote illegal prescriptions. In a lawsuit filed in state court this month, a patient alleges Derges, an assistant physician, used amniotic fluid injections to treat his back pain at her clinic in Springfield in 2020. He alleges he was charged over $6,000 for treatments that did not help. Derges’ attorney, Al Watkins, said the plaintiff had no problems with his treatment until the federal indictment was publicized and called the allegations “absolutely erroneous.” In that indictment filed last year, Derges is accused of claiming nearly $900,000 in federal payments for COVID-19 treatments that were not performed or had already been performed. It also alleges that she promoted amniotic fluid as a treatment for COVID-19 and other diseases by falsely claiming it contained stem cells. In February, Derges’ narcotics license was placed on probation for three years.

Montana

Billings: State health officials say transgender people can’t change their birth certificates even if they undergo gender-confirmation surgery, in defiance of a court order that had blocked the Republican-controlled state’s bid to restrict transgender rights. The state health department said late Monday in an emergency order that it would no longer record the category of “gender” on people’s birth certificates, replacing that category with a listing for “sex” that can be changed only in rare circumstances. Sex is “immutable,” the order said, while gender is a “social … construct” that can change over time. The order came a month after a state judge temporarily blocked enforcement of a law that required transgender people to have undergone a “surgical procedure” before being allowed to change their gender on their birth certificates. Judge Michael Moses ruled the law was unconstitutionally vague because it did not specify what procedure must be performed. The law also required transgender people to obtain a court order indicating they had had a surgical procedure. Moses’ order forced the state to revert back to a process adopted in 2017 that said transgender residents could apply to change the gender on their Montana birth certificate by filing sworn affidavits with the health department. But state health officials said the April 21 ruling put them in “an ambiguous and uncertain situation.” The new order exceeds the restrictions on transgender rights imposed by the Republican-dominated Legislature.

Nebraska

Lincoln: The University of Nebraska’s game-day tradition of football fans releasing helium-filled red balloons to celebrate the Cornhuskers’ first touchdown is ending. Balloons have been handed out to fans near the stadium entrance before games since the early 1960s. Athletic director Trev Alberts said on his radio show Monday night that a global shortage of helium led to the decision to end the practice. Russia is one of the top helium suppliers, and Alberts said U.S. sanctions in response to the war in Ukraine have caused a shortage. Alberts said university leaders want the helium that would have been used in the balloons to go to the University of Nebraska Medical Center for medical use. The release of balloons at football games has drawn criticism for at least a decade because of environmental concerns. A lawsuit filed in 2016 claimed the balloons were a health hazard to birds and other wildlife when they return to the ground. The university’s student government, in a symbolic move, voted in November to end the tradition. The Huskers’ home opener is Sept. 3 against North Dakota.

Nevada

Las Vegas: State and national advocacy groups say 83 children remain missing in the state – 25 more than last year at this time. Officials with the Las Vegas-based nonprofit Nevada Child Seekers said a majority of the children reported missing to law enforcement in the state each year are from Las Vegas, and many are considered endangered or abducted. “We’re a 24-hour entertainment city,” Heather Doto, program manager of Nevada Child Seekers, told the Las Vegas-Review Journal. “There’s a lot to do out here. We’re a hub, and these streets are dangerous. Unfortunately, where there’s more people, you’re more likely to have more predators.” Nevada Child Seekers works on about 500 cases per year and reports a 90% success rate in finding children, according to Doto. She said the pandemic led to a rise in predators using the internet to lure children away from their homes because “predators go where children go.” Doto said Nevada Child Seekers avoids the term “runaway” on its missing children posters because it leads to the public paying less attention to those children. She said children who leave home are, in most cases, “running to something, or they’re running away from something.”

New Hampshire

Dover: The city’s petition to challenge the constitutionality of the state’s legislative redistricting plan was denied by the New Hampshire Supreme Court last week, but the city isn’t giving up on it just yet. Dover’s Ward 4 voters will be affected by the state’s House Bill 50, which was signed into law earlier this year and divides Ward 4 residents into two districts combined with other towns. Despite meeting the requirements in the New Hampshire Constitution that require a dedicated district for wards with sufficient population, Ward 4 was left without its own representative. City Attorney Joshua Wyatt said it’s currently unclear why the state Supreme Court denied the motion, as no rationale was presented in the rejection document. Dover had petitioned for the complaint to go straight to the high court to expedite the process, with the June 1 filing period for the state House looming. That’s been done before in redistricting cases, Wyatt said. In its legal filing, the city asked the court to address the matter directly so that, ideally, a ruling could be made in advance of the elections. Wyatt said he does not think the city will see relief or a ruling before the 2022 state House election, but the goal at that point would be to petition for new maps to be drawn before the next census.

New Jersey

Atlantic City: The city’s casinos collectively saw their profitability increase in the first quarter of this year compared not only with a year earlier but also with the pre-pandemic period, according to figures released Monday. But only four of the nine casinos indivdually reported higher gross operating profits than they did in the first quarter of 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic took hold. Figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement show the casinos and their online arms collectively posted a gross operating profit of $155.6 million in the first three months of this year. That’s up 63% from the first three months of 2021 and nearly 79% from the first quarter of 2019. The pandemic forced Atlantic City’s casinos to close for 31/ 2 months starting in mid-March of 2020, so 2019 is a more useful point of comparison. Yet the news was not all good. Only four casinos – Borgata, Hard Rock, Ocean and Tropicana – were more profitable in the first quarter this year than at the start of 2019. Gross operating profit represents earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and other expenses and is a widely accepted measure of profitability in the Atlantic City gambling industry. Eight of the nine casinos – all but Bally’s – were profitable in the first quarter of this year.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: The largest wildfire in North America came to a near-standstill overnight amid light rain and frosty temperatures as firefighters scrambled Tuesday to clear flammable vegetation and deployed aircraft to douse smoldering forests. The blaze that started about seven weeks ago in the Rocky Mountains foothills east of Santa Fe was 41% encircled by clearings and barriers that can stop a wildfire from spreading farther. Gusty winds continued to carry hot embers across barrier such as roadways, as fire crews race to extinguish small spot fires. The fire has consumed more than 486 square miles of timber, grassland and brush, with evacuations in place for weeks. It’s among six active large fires in the state that have burned across 536 square miles. So far this year, wildland fires have burned across roughly 2,650 square miles (of the U.S. That’s roughly twice the average burn for this time of year, according to a national center for coordinating wildfire suppression. Climate change and an enduring drought are significant factors. Still, wildland firefighters braced for the anticipated return of hot, dry and windy weather later this week. A wildfire on the outskirts of Los Alamos National Laboratory was 85% contained Tuesday. In the vicinity, Bandelier National Monument is preparing to reopen some areas to visitors Friday. In southwestern New Mexico, a fire is burning through portions of the Gila National Forest and outlying areas.

New York

New York: A U.S. history and government exam for the state’s high school students has been canceled in the wake of the racist shooting at a Buffalo supermarket over concerns that material on the test could “compound student trauma,” education officials said Tuesday. The state’s Regents exam had been scheduled for June 1, but a review of the content following the May 14 shooting found that “the tragedy in Buffalo has created an unexpected and unintended context for the planned assessment,” said Emily DeSantis, a spokesperson for the state Education Department, in a statement. As a result, she said, “it is not appropriate to administer the exam with a question that could compound the grief and hardship faced by our school communities.” Ten people, all of them Black, were killed in the Tops Friendly Market when a white 18-year-old opened fire. Three others were injured. Funerals for the victims have been taking place this week. The department refused to say what the content was or give any additional information on the question of concern. In a memo sent to school administrators, Commissioner of Education Betty Rosa said it wouldn’t be possible to make a different test or modify the one that had been scheduled.

North Carolina

Asheville: A federal appeals court has ruled against arguments by U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn that he is protected from a post-Civil War era constitutional disqualification from future office for those who engaged in an insurrection. The three-judge Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that a lower federal court erred in its ruling and must revisit the arguments of whether Cawthorn engaged in the Jan. 6 insurrection. The district court had ruled the 14th Amendment disqualification from federal or state office did not apply because of the 1872 Amnesty Act that restored the right to hold office for all but those at the highest level of the Confederate rebellion. The ramifications for Cawthorn, an ambitious right-wing congressman who is only 26, could be long-running. Cawthorn recently argued the case was moot because of his May 17 Republican primary loss to state Sen. Chuck Edwards, despite support for his reelection bid from ex-President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, the U.S. House Ethics Committee is investigating allegations that Cawthorn had a conflict of interest in a cryptocurrency he promoted and engaged in an improper relationship with a member of his staff, the panel said Monday.

North Dakota

Fargo: Planned Parenthood said Monday that it will offer abortion services at its clinic in Moorhead, Minnesota, if North Dakota’s only abortion clinic does not quickly relocate from Fargo should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade. Planned Parenthood said it expected Red River Women’s Clinic, a private clinic not affiliated with it, to make the short move across the river by July 1, if necessary. “However, if that is not the case, Planned Parenthood will begin offering abortions at our Moorhead facility so that women in the region have no interruption in services,” said Sarah Stoesz, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States. The Red River Women’s Clinic has long operated as the only abortion provider in North Dakota. Owner Tammi Kromenaker has said she would cross over to Moorhead if forced to do so but told the Associated Press in recent interviews that she has been too busy to explore details of such a move. Kromenaker said Monday that “there are too many unknowns to confirm a specific date” for relocation. The nearest clinics to the Fargo-Moorhead that currently offer abortion services are both about 240 miles away, in Minneapolis and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, though the Sioux Falls clinic would also shut down if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

Ohio

Cincinnati: A new initiative by the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts aims to remove an obstacle standing in the way of some residents obtaining housing. The clerk’s office’s online search will no longer show inactive evictions older than three years. In a release, Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Pavan Parikh said evictions remain a stain on a tenant’s record that is nearly impossible to erase, even if a tenant made good on the obligations. This new policy aims to prevent old eviction cases from hindering those who are attempting to find new housing. The older eviction cases will not be viewable online, but they remain on file in the clerk’s office and are open to the public. The hope is that with older eviction case records removed from the online search, thousands of records that may no longer reflect a tenant’s financial situation will not easily pop up and influence landlords or other screeners. This new policy still allows landlords to properly screen tenants but aims to protect tenants from those landlords or screeners who are trying to take the easy way out, Parikh said. Nick DiNardo, managing attorney of the housing practice group at Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati, said the organization is pleased with the change.

Oklahoma

Pawhuska: Rising grocery, gas and housing bills prompted leaders of one Native American tribe to make a change. The Osage Nation will temporarily pay workers 10% more to help offset inflation costs that have reached 40-year highs. Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear proposed the cost of living increase, and Osage Nation Congress approved the change in April. It took effect this month. “We have not seen a time like this inflation-wise since the 1980s,” Standing Bear said after he announced the proposal in March. The main metric used to track inflation, the U.S. consumer price index, climbed 8.5% between March 2021 and March 2022 – the largest spike in 41 years. Fuel costs, in particular, surged. Food prices increased 10%. The impact of rising costs is amplified in tribal communities and rural areas because of access and supply chain issues. “It’s as if someone is taking a pair of scissors and just cutting 10% to 15% of your paycheck every period. That’s exactly what it is,” Standing Bear said. He said tribal employees started to talk more about rising gas prices at the start of the year. Then Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in March that she believed inflation would remain high for some time. “When she made that speech, I really said, ‘That’s it. We’re going to do this cost of living,’ ” Standing Bear said.

Oregon

Portland: The state is reporting some of the highest numbers of new COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started more than two years ago. The Oregon Health Authority reported nearly 12,000 new cases last week, and the state is averaging 1,685 new cases a day, The Oregonian/OregonLive reports. That’s higher than all but 12 weeks since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Hospitalizations continue to lag the rising case numbers and remain far below previous pandemic highs. As of Monday, 278 people were hospitalized – up 11% from a week before – and 24 were in intensive care unit beds. The tally of hospitalized patients is expected to peak at 330 occupied hospital beds June 9, according to forecasts by Oregon Health & Science University. Many of those patients are considered to be people hospitalized for other conditions who also tested positive for COVID-19. People in the 15 Oregon counties deemed to be “medium” risk of COVID-19 by federal metrics should consider donning masks indoors while out in public. Those counties are Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Columbia, Benton, Deschutes, Hood River, Tillamook, Yamhill, Polk, Lincoln, Lane, Wallowa, Union and Baker.

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia: Two former police officers whose gender discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit led Philadelphia’s police commissioner to resign have won a $1 million verdict against the city. A federal jury on Tuesday found that Cpl. Audra McCowan and Patrol Officer Jennifer Allen endured a hostile work environment that included being put in undesirable jobs, with changing shifts, after they raised sexual harassment complaints. They each won $500,000. McCowan, Allen’s supervisor, alleged that former Commissioner Richard Ross failed to help because she had ended a romantic relationship with him in 2011. When the allegations surfaced in 2019, Ross denied engaging in any retaliation but resigned for what he called the good of the city. Philadelphia then hired Commissioner Danielle Outlaw, the first Black woman to lead the department, to succeed him. McCowan now works at a school for less than half her former pay, while Allen remains unable to work, according to their lawyer, Ian Bryson. A psychiatrist testified at the weeklong trial that both suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome from the 15 years each spent in the Philadelphia Police Department, he said. “I think this verdict sent a message that this isn’t how you treat people,” Bryson said.

Rhode Island

Newport: Three firefighters were injured battling a major fire at a recently renovated hotel, fire officials said. The blaze at the Wayfinder Hotel was reported about 8 p.m. Monday, and crews remained on the scene Tuesday morning. Nearly 100 firefighters from multiple municipalities responded to the blaze, and all guests made it out safely, fire Chief Harp Donnelly IV said. The Red Cross responded to assist displaced guests in finding new accommodations. The cause remains under investigation. The four-story hotel has nearly 200 guest rooms, according to its website. The injured firefighters are expected to recover, Deputy Chief Mark Riding said at the scene Tuesday. “We had one firefighter go through the floor. He was rescued by the crew that was with him. We don’t know if it was from the heat or the water weight that was causing collapses,” he said. “As soon as the firefighter went through the floor, all companies were pulled out.” Hotel ownership said in a statement that they were “deeply grateful” for the efforts of firefighters. The hotel reopened in the summer of 2020 after a $16 million renovation project.

South Carolina

Columbia: In one of the year’s most closely watched congressional Republican primaries, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace met two GOP challengers on the debate stage who are seeking to oust her from South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, one of whom immediately endorsed the other before walking off stage. In the Monday night matchup in Charleston – slated to be the only debate for Mace, Katie Arrington and Lynz Piper-Loomis ahead of the June 14 primary election – Piper-Loomis answered her opening question by saying she would be supporting Arrington before removing her microphone and leaving the debate. With Piper-Loomis having been unable to attract significant fundraising, her departure now makes official the two-way contest that had already been largely shaping up between the freshman Mace and Arrington, a former Defense Department cybersecurity expert who is making her second run for the seat. In 2018, Arrington notably knocked U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford out of the GOP primary, going on to lose the general election to Democrat Joe Cunningham, who became the first of his party in decades to flip a South Carolina House seat. Mace then ousted Cunningham in 2020 to become the first Republican woman elected to Congress from the state.

South Dakota

Pierre: The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe is suing Lyman County in federal court for delaying a redistricting plan that would ensure the timely election of tribal candidates to the County Commission. The tribe said the delay prevents its residents from electing two commissioners in the upcoming election. Instead, the Lower Brule will have to wait until 2024 and 2026. Lyman County has had an at-large election process since 1992. That means candidates running for the five commissioner seats can live anywhere within the county. Lyman County contains part of the Lower Brule reservation and has a Native American population of 38%. With at-large elections, no Native American candidate has ever succeeded in winning a seat on the commission, South Dakota Public Broadcasting reports. To avoid a lawsuit, Lyman County and Lower Brule agreed that the county must establish two commissioner positions chosen by Native American voters. In October 2021, Lower Brule proposed five single-candidate districts, two of them with a Native American majority and three with a white majority. According to plaintiffs, that scheme was legal under existing South Dakota law. But in February, the Lyman County Commission enacted an ordinance establishing just two voting districts, one white with three commissioners and one Native American with two commissioners. The commission also voted to delay the changes until after the next election, leaving the at-large system in play.

Tennessee

Nashville: Beginning this month, warrant officers retired from active duty in the U.S. Army will be able to join the Tennessee National Guard. The program has been talked about for years, but Tennessee is the first to implement it, Brig. Gen. Warner Ross, Tennessee’s assistant adjutant general-Army, said in a news release. Previously it was allowed only for soldiers deemed indispensable by the secretary of the Army. Now, nearly all retired active-duty Army warrant officers are eligible. The U.S. Army and National Guard Bureau updated their policies to make the change possible last year. Tennessee formalized its own state policy this month, according to the release. “This will greatly impact the readiness across our force as it allows our organization to supplement our ranks and hard to fill positions with highly qualified individuals,” Ross said.

Texas

Houston: A lawyer for the family of a 29-year-old Black man who was fatally shot last month by a Houston police officer said body camera video shows he was given only seconds to raise his hands before he was shot. Jalen Randle was shot April 27 as he exited a vehicle, police said. They said he was being pursued because he was wanted on three felony warrants. Police released video of the shooting Tuesday after Randle’s family demanded it, but Assistant Chief Thomas Hardin said in the introduction to the footage that the department is still in the early stages of its investigation. A spokesman for the Houston Police Department declined to comment further because of the ongoing investigation. The video shows the officer firing once almost immediately after yelling, “Hey, let me see your hands!” as he got out of a police car. After Randle fell to the ground, the officer uttered an expletive. Attorney Ben Crump said in a statement that the video clearly shows Randle had no time to comply with the officer’s orders before he was shot. Crump said Randle was handcuffed and dragged across the ground before officers rendered aid. “The brutality displayed in this video is extremely disturbing,” said Crump, one of the nation’s top civil rights attorneys.

Utah

St. George: In a coordinated statewide campaign dubbed “Flip Blitz” by water managers, governments across Utah removed 135,000 square feet of “non-functional” grass on public property last week and replaced it with more water-friendly landscaping. The vast majority – about 115,000 square feet – was taken from lawns in Washington County, where the hot desert climate and years of debate over drought, population growth and controversial projects like the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline have made the area a kind of ground zero for water conservation proposals. “This is a good example of looking at how we can do a better job and have more effective landscaping,” said Zach Renstrom, the executive director of the Washington County Water Conservancy District. “And so this is a great opportunity for everybody to kind of get together and to show what we can do.” Some advocates for stricter water conservation said that while the event seemed to present a good opportunity to talk about water issues, they worried it seemed more performative and didn’t actually offer any substantial solutions to the concerns surrounding the county’s water future. But by being an example for others, officials said they hoped the government’s actions would encourage private businesses, homeowners and others to do the same.

Vermont

Burlington: A bill passed by the Legislature will give Vermont National Guard members an increased budget for college tuition. Those Guard members can now get a bachelor’s degree fully covered at all state schools including any Vermont State College institution or University of Vermont school. Previous benefits only paid for $11,592 of tuition a year, which fell short of some state university tuition rates, including UVM’s. The Guard will now pay up to $16,392 a year for tuition, which can also be used for a second bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree. If Guard members wish to attend a private college in Vermont, the Guard will cover tuition up to the in-state rate for undergraduate students at UVM. The new bill will also grant spouses and dependents of National Guard members stationed in Vermont immediate access to in-state tuition rates at state universities once they have moved to Vermont. As long as the spouse or dependent stays in Vermont, they have access to in-state tuition rates even if their family member in the Guard is transferred locations on military orders.

Virginia

McLean: Northern Virginia voters have elected a progressive slate of candidates to a community center board after a controversy over a drag queen story hour. The normally low-key elections Saturday for three slots on the McLean Community Center Board attracted attention after complaints that the center co-sponsored a “Drag StoryBook Hour,” in which drag queens read books about gender fluidity to young children at a local library. Among those defeated in the election was Katharine Gorka, a former Trump administration official and wife of Trump loyalist Sebastian Gorka. She cited her opposition to the story hour as a top issue for her at a candidate forum earlier this month. The winning candidates in Saturday’s election – Kristina Groennings, Anna Bartosiewicz and Ari Ghasemian – had endorsements from Democrats. The board did not publish the candidates’ margin of victory. The community center board oversees a budget funded by a real-estate tax surcharge on property in the McLean area, one of the wealthiest areas of the country.

Washington

Spokane: Scientists will set about 1,000 traps this year in their quest to wipe out the Asian giant hornet in Washington, the state Department of Agriculture said Tuesday. Scientists believe the hornets, first detected in the Pacific Northwest state in 2019, are confined to Whatcom County, located on the Canadian border north of Seattle. “We are doing pretty good right now,” said Sven-Erik Spichiger, who is leading the fight to eradicate the hornets for the state Department of Agriculture. “We know about where the nests are located in Whatcom County.” The insects are the world’s largest hornets, with queens reaching up to 2 inches long. They are considered invasive in North America for their ability to kill other bee and hornet species, which is how they got the nickname “murder hornets.” Hornets caught in traps help scientists find the location of nests. The state eradicated three nests last year, all near the town of Blaine, and there have been no confirmed reports of Asian giant hornet nests so far this year, Spichiger said. Most of the traps will be set in northern Whatcom County, but a few will be set in the city of Bellingham, he said. The agency is also encouraging residents to set their own traps to cover more ground.

West Virginia

Charleston: A congressional watchdog has determined that U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney likely broke House rules when the West Virginia Republican accepted a trip to Aruba allegedly paid for by a campaign client and family friend. The latest allegations were included in a statement released Monday by the House Ethics Committee, which said it was extending the review of an Office of Congressional Ethics report sent to the committee in December. Mooney, who is backed by former President Donald Trump and has represented the state in the House since 2015, will face Democrat Barry Wendell, an openly gay former Morgantown City Council member, in November’s general election. Mooney easily defeated incumbent Rep. David McKinley in the May 10 GOP primary for the newly redrawn 2nd District. An ethics probe launched against Mooney last year initially was about whether he had used campaign cash to make personal purchases. In the latest OCE report, HSP Direct, a direct mail fundraising company that provides services to Mooney’s campaign committee, allegedly paid for a trip for his family to Aruba along with free lodging and event space in March 2021.

Wisconsin

Madison: One of the 10 Republicans who attempted to cast Electoral College ballots for Donald Trump in 2020 even though he lost Wisconsin said Monday that he is running to become chairman of the state elections commission, where he currently serves as a member. Robert Spindell has been an outspoken member of the bipartisan commission and supporter of the investigation into the 2020 election being led by a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice. Spindell has also traveled the state giving a presentation he calls “Thirteen Ways the 2020 Election was Rigged in Wisconsin.” “I am far and away the best qualified for (commission chair) and it would really help the image of the Wisconsin Elections Commission if I am chosen for that,” Spindell said Monday. The next chair of the commission will hold the position heading into the November election and in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election in battleground Wisconsin. The chair by state law approves the vote canvass following elections and certifies results. The chair also sets the agenda for the commission and can exert influence over how questions are framed, an important power on the board that is evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. The commission scheduled a vote Wednesday to elect the next chair.

Wyoming

Yellowstone National Park: Scientists are using soy pellets dropped by helicopter to eradicate exotic lake trout from Yellowstone Lake, Wyofile.com reports. After extensive efforts to trap the unwanted fish failed, biologists tried the airborne pellets and deposited them over spawning sites, according to the newspaper. The method has proved efficient, with mortality rates for those trout approaching 100% even in those areas where the concentration of pellets was lowest, the Yellowstone biologists wrote in an article published in the American Fisheries Society journal.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports