Elk wildfire rescue, escaped bison captured, diseased raccoons: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Tuscaloosa:The city’s annual Memorial Day program, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 9 a.m. Monday at Veterans Memorial Park in front of University Mall. Forrest Fitts, chairman of the Alabama Marines Foundation, will be the guest speaker. John Merkle, director of the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center, and David Blair, director of the University of Alabama Office of Veteran and Military Affairs, are also scheduled to speak. Audrey Watts and Clara Parker of the Alabama Choir School will sing the national anthem and student cadets from Paul W. Bryant High School Junior ROTC will present the colors. At the end of the ceremony, participants will place a wreath at the Military Order of the Purple Heart Monument.

Alaska

Anchorage: An aircraft crashed while attempting to land on a rural Alaska airstrip lined by trees, injuring all four people on board. Three people seriously injured in Tuesday’s crash at Dry Bay airstrip were sent to hospitals in Anchorage. A fourth person with minor injuries was treated in the nearby southeast Alaska community of Yakutat, the Coast Guard said in a statement. The names of those injured weren’t immediately released.

Arizona

Casa Grande: Two women were arrested after about 500,000 fentanyl pills were found in an SUV pulled over for speeding on Interstate 10 in Arizona, police said. The pills were found concealed in collagen supplement bottles on Monday during a search that also turned up a handgun and a large amount of cash, police said. Martha Lopez, 31, and Tania Luna Solis, 30, were arrested on suspicion of crimes including possession of a narcotic drug for sale, according to police. Court records didn’t list attorneys who could comment on behalf of the women, who are from Phoenix. Two children in the vehicle were turned over to state child protection officials, police said.

Arkansas

Fort Smith: University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Chancellor Terisa Riley named Shadow JQ Robinson as the next provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs, effective July 1. Robinson, raised in rural Kentucky in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, said the Ozarks feel like home. And because of the work of those who came before him, he said, the campus and its position in the higher-education landscape feel inviting and inspiring. Robinson currently serves as the Dean of the College of Engineering and Natural at the University of Tennessee-Martin, where he provides academic, administrative and financial leadership to more than 100 faculty and staff, with an annual budget of more than $6 million.

California

Sacramento: A gun and a loaded magazine were found in a second-grade student’s desk after other students alerted the staff that a classmate had brought the weapon, officials said. The incident happened Tuesday at Edward Kemble Elementary, the Sacramento City Unified School District said in a statement to families. School staff called police “who secured the weapon and opened an investigation,” the statement said.

Colorado

Fort Collins:City Council members are coalescing around a potential ballot measure to increase their pay and benefits. Many details remain to be determined, including the magnitude of the proposed pay increase, when it would take effect and how compensation would be adjusted over time. But at a council work session on Tuesday, most council members expressed initial support for a November ballot measure, saying higher pay for council members could make council candidacy more feasible for a more diverse slate of community members. Council members currently make about $893 a month, or $10,712 annually. The mayor earns $1,340 a month, or $16,074 annually. Their pay is adjusted each year based on the consumer price index and has increased by about 80% since 1998. Council members don’t qualify for the health insurance provided to city employees.

Connecticut

Norwich: The city is interested in maintaining the docks at Howard T. Brown Memorial Park, but it will cost a little more to do so. The city is expected to make another 20% contribution to repairing the docks at the park as a part of the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funds, scheduled to be approved June 6. Although the original repairs focused on compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and replacing an unsafe platform, additional money will focus on repairing the pilings that have been deteriorating, after being underwater for almost 30 years.

Delaware

Wilmington:Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long said she supports the legalization of marijuana, showing a major chasm with Gov. John Carney, who on Tuesday vetoed a bill to legalize possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by adults for recreational use. Hall-Long did not comment on the governor’s veto or if a recreational marijuana industry should be created in Delaware. Many in Delaware have speculated that Hall-Long could run for governor in 2024. Carney is in his second term as governor and cannot run for re-election.

District of Columbia

Washington:After a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, organizers of the March for Our Lives are planning to march in D.C. on June 11 to demand gun control legislation and universal background checks from lawmakers, WUSA-TV reported. The original march took place on March 26, 2018, in response to the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Florida

Tallahassee: The Florida House of Representatives gave final passage to sweeping property insurance legislation that creates a $2 billion reinsurance fund and rewrites rules on coverage denials and attorney fees, as lawmakers attempt to stabilize rising rates and insurer losses. The legislative package now awaits the signature of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Georgia

Atlanta: Gov. Brian Kemp is suspending Georgia’s motor fuel tax for six more weeks. Kemp signed an executive order Thursday extending the tax break through July 14. Kemp used the announcement to again blame Democratic President Joe Biden for high gas prices. Kemp signed a law in March that passed with broad bipartisan support suspending the state’s gas tax through May 31. But with pump prices climbing again, Kemp signaled in recent days that he would extend the relief. Under state law, Kemp can suspend taxes by executive order as long as state lawmakers ratify the action the next time they meet. Kemp abated gas taxes in 2021 during a pipeline shutdown, and former Gov. Nathan Deal suspended gas taxes multiple times. Georgia’s gasoline price normally includes a federal tax of 18.4 cents per gallon and a state tax of 29.1 cents per gallon. A number of cities and counties also charge taxes. Federal taxes on diesel fuel are 24.4 cents per gallon, and Georgia’s tax on diesel is 32.6 cents per gallon.

Hawaii

Honolulu: Catherine Payne, the head of the Hawaii Board of Education, said it’s time to consider developing a public school policy on preparing for active shooter scenarios. Payne spoke after a gunman killed 19 fourth-graders and their two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday. Payne’s time as board chairperson ends next month. She said she expects the new chairperson, to be named by Gov. David Ige, to direct the state Department of Education to assess and report on school preparations and safeguards regarding shootings.

Idaho

Boise: A Washington man is dead after a boating accident on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Custer County. Robert Gray, 63, of Mill Creek, Washington, was floating on the river Tuesday afternoon “when his raft struck a log jam, throwing him into the water,” according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. The accident took place about 2:30 p.m. MDT near the Boundary Creek boat launch, northwest of Stanley. About noon Wednesday, Custer County Search and Rescue located a body matching Gray’s description by helicopter, submerged in a log jam downstream from Boundary Creek, the release said. Gray’s body was still in the river, as rescuers have determined the river is too dangerous for retrieval, the release said.

Illinois

Wauconda: A bison that escaped a suburban Chicago farm in September and had been living in the wild since was recaptured Wednesday, officials said. The 1,300-pound bison some had come to know as Tyson ran off while being delivered to the Milk and Honey Farmstead in Wauconda, and officials said they believe she settled in Lakewood Forest Preserve in early April. Forest preserve officials brought in Loose Cattle Caught to help with her capture, and she was found early Wednesday and tranquilized enough to slow her, officials said. The bison is healthy and under observation. Loose Cattle Caught is working to contact her owner.

Indiana

Porter: A federal appeals court has declined to disturb an Indiana Supreme Court ruling, later codified into Indiana law, which declared that Lake Michigan’s shoreline is – and always has been – owned by the state for the public’s use. In Wednesday’s 3-0 decision, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago said the three lakefront property owners in the town of Porter who claim their holdings include a private beach lack standing to challenge Indiana’s high court ruling and statute in federal court.

Iowa

Johnston: A central Iowa business is being sued in federal court for allegedly claiming that its Chinese-made products, which collect data on crucial infrastructure that’s buried underground, are produced in the United States. Digital Control Inc., or DCI, which is based in the state of Washington, is suing Underground Magnetics of Johnston in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. The Johnston company is accused of trademark and patent infringement, unfair competition and false advertising. DCI claims the central Iowa company holds itself out as a manufacturer when it is “a sales arm of a Chinese company manufacturing its products in China.”

Kansas

Larned:A lawsuit filed Thursday alleges long wait times at Larned State Hospital are unconstitutional and are inflicting mental and physical harm on those who are incarcerated. The complaint, brought in federal district court by the ACLU of Kansas, National Police Accountability Project and a Kansas City, Mo., law firm, said individuals are frequently waiting nearly a year in jail for an evaluation to determine if they are competent to stand trial. And patients determined unfit to stand trial also will have prolonged waits if they must be sent back to Larned for care so they might become competent to be tried. While individuals are sitting in jail, their criminal proceedings are paused. They are unable to access psychiatric treatment and are often placed in solitary confinement, something ACLU legal director Sharon Brett said is “cruel and unusual punishment.”

Kentucky

Louisville: An apartment complex in eastern Jefferson County has discriminated against potential tenants based on their race and source of income, according to a report from the Louisville Metro Human Relations Commission. Terraces at Forest Springs, managed by St. Louis-based Michelson Realty Company, twice discouraged Black renters with federal housing vouchers from applying to the complex, located near Anchorage, while encouraging white tenants with vouchers to apply, according to a complaint that was validated by human relations employees. Michelson Realty has denied it discriminated against tenants. It will soon face a hearing before a representative from the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General.

Louisiana

Baton Rouge: Spanking a student in Louisiana schools would be forbidden unless school officials have written permission from the child’s parent, under legislation approved Wednesday by the state House. The bill by Rep. Stephanie Hilferty, a Metairie Republican, had started out as a ban on corporal punishment in schools. As amended on the House floor, the bill would prohibit the spanking of a child in an elementary or secondary school unless the child’s parent or guardian has signed a consent form permitting corporal punishment. The bill passed 70-28 and goes next to the Senate, where it will need to get through a committee hearing and a floor vote before the current session’s adjournment deadline on June 6.

Maine

Hollis: Some nature advocates are worried that Maine residents are killing the wrong caterpillar as they seek to wipe out an invasive species that causes a rash with its toxic hairs. The browntail moth caterpillar is an invasive pest that can cause a rash and respiratory distress in humans. They’re expected to be especially bad this year because of weather conditions. Destroying the caterpillars’ nests is one way to mitigate their spread. However, some residents are destroying the nests of Eastern tent caterpillars, which are a different species, the Bangor Daily News reported. Tent caterpillars serve as important forage food for Maine birds, Maine Audubon said. Unlike browntail moths, they’re native to North America. As for browntail moths, it’s too late to destroy their nests because they’re no longer occupied at this time of the year, said Jim Dill, pest management specialist with University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

Maryland

Salisbury:A raccoon has tested positive for canine distemper, and several others are showing symptoms near the bayside campgrounds at Assateague Island National Seashore. The highly contagious virus doesn’t affect humans, but dogs and other small mammals, such as foxes, skunks and river otters, can become infected. It’s transmitted through saliva, urine, feces and respiratory secretions, according to Cornell University Wildlife Health Labs. Symptoms begin 10 to 14 days after infection and include discharge from the eyes and nose, difficulty breathing, fever, coughing and pneumonia. Park officials recommend campers ensure their dogs have a current distemper vaccine and be kept on a 6-foot leash at all times.

Massachusetts

Cambridge: The flood of disinformation that is spread and amplified on social media represents a threat to fragile democracies, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said during the keynote speech at Harvard University’s commencement, exhorting graduates to do their part of fight it.

Michigan

Lansing: A federal appeals court dismissed a Catholic school’s challenge to Michigan’s 2020-21 mask order. The Whitmer administration policy during the COVID-19 pandemic was dropped about a year ago, making the lawsuit moot, the court said. The appeal was heard by 17 judges at the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. It was a rare step; most appeals are heard by three-judge panels. Resurrection School in Lansing and some parents sued in 2020, saying a state mask order violated the free exercise of religion, among other objections. A federal judge, however, ruled in favor of the state and declined to suspend the policy with an injunction. The statewide mask order ended in June 2021. Any subsequent school mask mandates came from local health departments.

Minnesota

Aitkin: A space heater might have been involved in a fire that killed a couple and their young grandson in Aitkin County, sheriff’s officials said. The fire broke out in a trailer home early Sunday in Wealthwood Township north of Lake Mille Lacs. Authorities said sheriff’s deputies and firefighters arrived, and once the flames were extinguished, they located the three bodies in the charred debris. Officials identified the victims as 69-year-old Jeff Cleys, 55-year-old Michelle Cleys and 6-year-old Grant Diehl, of Deerwood.

Mississippi

Jackson: A preliminary snapshot of third graders’ literacy proficiency in Mississippi showed a passing rate nearly the same as before the COVID-19 pandemic, the state education superintendent said Thursday. The statement said 73.9% of 31,068 students passed the test for the 2021-22 school year. That’s compared to 74.5% in 2019, the last normal school year, when 34,998 students took the initial test. State law requires Mississippi third graders to pass a reading assessment to qualify for promotion to the fourth grade.

Missouri

Kansas City: Police are searching for a driver of a stolen pickup truck they said fatally hit a pedestrian as it fled from officers. The chase began Wednesday afternoon on Kansas City’s east side when officers spotted the stolen pickup and tried to pull it over, police said in a news release. The truck fled, ramming a patrol car in the process. Police said the officers called off the chase as the truck entered the northbound lanes of Interstate 435 traveling southbound. Less than a minute later, police found the body of a man in the road who appeared to have been hit by the fleeing truck. The truck was found a short distance away, and a woman who was a passenger in the truck was arrested. The driver of the truck fled on foot and, despite a search involving helicopters and police dogs, was not found, police said. The name of the pedestrian killed was not immediately released.

Montana

Billings:Conservative minister Jordan “JD” Hall admitted he fabricated a story about a transgender Native American lobbyist allegedly berating a state senator so badly that he sought the protection of the Montana Senate’s sergeant-at-arms. In a libel case that has been ongoing for more than a year the minister admitted that he fabricated the story and apologized to Adrian Jawort, a lobbyist who testified on many issues related to Native Americans. The settlement and a potential $250,000 claim was reached as Hall is going through the bankruptcy process, seeking protection from a libel case, as well as discharging attorney’s fees he racked up during the libel fight. Two weeks ago, Hall was arrested on charges of driving under the influence and illegally carrying a concealed weapon, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

Nebraska

Lincoln: A man was sentenced to 70 years to life in prison Wednesday for the shooting death of a police officer in 2020. Felipe Vazquez, now 19, shot Officer Mario Herrera when he tried to escape from police who were serving an arrest warrant for him at his Lincoln home. Vazquez was wanted in the stabbing death of 36-year-old Edward Varejcka months earlier. Vazquez was sentenced to another 59 to 86 years for attempted assault on a second officer, escape and four gun charges, the Lincoln Star reported. He will not be eligible for parole for about 70 years. Vazquez was convicted in March.

Nevada

Las Vegas: Gambling in Nevada continued a 14-month hot streak in April and a return of international flights boosted travel nearly to levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic began more than two years ago, according to Las Vegas airport and state casino revenue reports. The state Gaming Control Board said the $1.13 billion that casinos statewide reported winning last month represented the best April ever for the state, Clark County and the Las Vegas Strip. Nevada casinos have now reported winning at least $1 billion every month since March 2021.

New Hampshire

Concord: A man pleaded guilty in federal court to defrauding government programs that were intended to provide assistance related to the COVID-19 pandemic. George Adyns, 51, of Sandown, who was chief financial officer of several companies in Plaistow, directed employees in March 2020 to file for state unemployment benefits while continuing to work, prosecutors said. The state paid more than $49,000 in fraudulently obtained benefits. Adyns also fraudulently obtained loans totaling more than $135,000, prosecutors said. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 31 on a wire fraud charge.

New Jersey

Trenton: One month into existence, New Jersey’s recreational marijuana market has done $24 million in sales and regulators on Tuesday voted to grant permits to nearly a dozen new recreational cannabis retailers in their first public meeting since the market opened to the public last month. How long before the new dispensaries open, though, isn’t known, and there will be additional regulatory hurdles before the new shops start selling to adults 21 and over.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: Firefighters rescued an abandoned newborn elk calf found amid the ashes of the nation’s largest wildfire as calving season approaches its peak in New Mexico and fires rage across the American West. Missoula, Montana-based firefighter Nate Sink said he happened upon the motionless elk calf on the ground of a fire-blackened New Mexico forest as he patrolled and extinguished lingering hot spots. “The whole area is just surrounded in a thick layer of ash and burned trees. I didn’t think it was alive,” said Sink, who was deployed to the state to help contain a wildfire that by Wednesday had spread across 486 square miles and destroyed hundreds of structures. The 32-pound singed bull calf, dubbed “Cinder,” was taken for care to a nearby ranch and is now regaining strength at a wildlife rehabilitation center in Espanola, north of Santa Fe. Veterinarian Kathleen Ramsay at Cottonwood Rehab said she paired Cinder with a full-grown surrogate elk to be raised with as little human contact as possible. Ramsay said the calf hopefully can be released into the wild in December after elk-hunting season. The strategy has worked repeatedly with elk tracked by tags as they rejoined wild herds.

New York

East Greenbush: Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed raising the age to 21 for purchasing the type of firearms used in recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Texas, and possibly for other weapons, as well. The Democrat said she wants to work with the state Legislature to raise the legal purchasing age for AR-15-style rifles. Only six states - California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Vermont and Washington - require buyers to be at least 21 instead of 18 to purchase rifles or shotguns, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Those states have the same higher age limit for handguns, while a few other states have no age limits at all for any firearm, the gun-control advocacy group says. New York City already, by local law, prohibits anyone under age 21 from possessing any firearm, with some exceptions for people engaged in military drills or competitions, or while under the supervision of a permitted gun owner.

North Carolina

Wilmington: A former dean at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington is returning to the school as its chancellor, officials said. Aswani Volety, serving as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Elon University, was elected unanimously by the UNC Board of Governors during its meeting in Chapel Hill. Volety replaces Jose Sartarelli, who is retiring in June after seven years as UNCW’s chancellor. Volety is the former dean of UNCW’s College of Arts and Sciences and former executive director of UNCW’s Center for Marine Science. He spent five years at UNCW from 2014 to 2019 before serving as the chief academic officer and chief operating officer at Elon University, according to a news release. UNCW, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, has an enrollment of more than 18,000 students.

North Dakota

Bismarck: Developers want to build a $390 million wind farm in south-central North Dakota. The state Public Service Commission has scheduled a hearing in late June for Badger Wind, a project under development by Orsted Onshore North America. The company is proposing a 74-turbine farm west of Wishek. It would have a generating capacity of 250 megawatts, which is comparable to powering 70,000 homes, the Bismarck Tribune reported. Orsted Onshore plans to start construction in September if it receives the necessary permits. The project would be completed late in 2023. Badger was still looking for an entity to purchase the wind farm’s output when it filed its application with the PSC in February.

Ohio

Columbus: Republican state lawmakers have fast-tracked a fall ballot measure that would expressly prohibit noncitizens from voting in local elections. The proposed noncitizen voting ban – which emerged just last week and cleared the Ohio House 68-28 on Wednesday – stands to ignite GOP voters ahead of this year’s midterm elections, when Republicans hope dissatisfaction with Democrats in Washington will help them regain control of Congress and win overwhelming Statehouse majorities. The push comes as some places in the country have begun to allow legally documented, voting-age noncitizens to cast ballots. It’s legal in New York City in races for mayor, City Council and other municipal offices; and in San Francisco for school board races – but not for positions such as president, governor or U.S. House members. The Ohio constitutional amendment moves next to the state Senate, where it needs a similar three-fifths majority to advance to the November statewide ballot.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed a bill requiring public school students to use only the bathroom of the sex listed on their birth certificate. About a dozen conservative states have passed laws regarding transgender use of bathrooms, transgender participation in school sports, and gender-affirming treatments or surgery for young people. The bill passed overwhelmingly in the Republican-controlled House and Senate last week, and Stitt signed it on Wednesday.

Oregon

Salem:Some customers of Pacific Power would see their power bills increase 14% if a plan proposed by the company is approved. In the plan filed with the state, the utility is asking for an $84 million yearly increase in rates for customers in Oregon, a 6.8% increase. But that increase would impact different types of customers in different ways. The average residential bill is $91.89 for customers in single-family homes using 900 kilowatt hours per month. The company’s request would increase that to $104.90 per month. That would be a 14.2% increase. Also, multifamily homes that use an average of 600 kilowatts per month would see their bills increase $6.97 per month, an 11% increase, under the proposal.

Pennsylvania

Wolf Creek: State police said they have solved the slaying of a Chicago man whose burning body was found 42 years ago near Interstate 80 in a northwestern town. Edwin Rodriguez was identified through the use of DNA testing and genealogy tools, authorities announced Wednesday. Rodriguez was 18 when he and a family friend, Nestor Quintanal, left Chicago for Florida in the fall of 1980, and Rodriguez’s family never heard from him again. His burning body was found Nov. 6, 1980, near Interstate 80 in Wolf Creek. Authorities said Quintanal – who died in Florida in 2002 at the age of 71 – is believed to have killed Rodriguez, who had third-degree burns on 70% of his body. A possible motive for the killing was not disclosed. The Mercer County District Attorney’s office paid for state police to have an advanced DNA analysis performed, and in 2007 the office secured a DNA profile of the victim through evidence collected at the autopsy. In January 2019, the profile was sent to a lab for DNA phenotype testing and a genetic genealogy screening. The testing linked the body to a first cousin of Rodriguez, authorities said. Police reached out to the individual, who was able to confirm the victim was Rodriguez. His remains have since been returned to his family in Chicago.

Rhode Island

Providence:Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin of the Providence diocese sparked internet fury by suggesting Catholics boycott a classic North Kingstown donut shop over its collection of donations to Planned Parenthood. In response, Allie’s said each month, it allows an employee to select an organization for which to collect donations at checkout. Planned Parenthood was chosen for May. Allie’s said it has raised money for many other organizations, including Ronald McDonald House of New England, the North Kingstown Food Pantry, T.A.P.S., Friends of Exeter Animals, Project Sweet Peas and the J. Arthur Trudeau Center. Reached by The Providence Journal, the diocese said Tobin wouldn’t be saying anything other than his tweet.

South Carolina

Columbia: South Carolina jurist Michelle Childs – recently under consideration for a slot on the U.S. Supreme Court – was confirmed on a 17-5 vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee for a spot on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. It now goes to the full Senate for a vote. Childs, 56, has been a federal judge on South Carolina’s District Court for more than a decade. Earlier this year, she was on a shortlist of candidates being considered by President Joe Biden for an upcoming vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, given the pending retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer.

South Dakota

Rapid City: Ellsworth Air Force Base has broken ground for the first of three dozen major projects that will support the incoming long-range B-21 bomber. The 95,000-square-foot Low Observable Restoration Facility, or LO, will have “specialized equipment to ensure that the free world’s next generation stealth bomber is sustained and maintained,” said Gen. Anthony Cotton, Air Force Global Strike Commander. 28th Bomb Wing Commander Col. Joseph Sheffield called the event not only a great day for South Dakota, but also for the United States. U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson called the B-21 an important part of this nation’s military history.

Tennessee

Nashville: A state report said nearly half of Tennessee public high school seniors in the class of 2021 did not attend college or technical school right after graduating. The Tennessee Higher Education Commission report said the college-going rate has dropped from 63.8% for the 2017 class to 52.8% for the 2021 class. Officials pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic while noting a drop of 9 percentage points from the 2019 class to the 2021 class. Nationally, freshman enrollment dropped 9.2% between 2019 and 2021, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Current Term Enrollment Estimates.

Texas

Manor: Four people were detained in connection with a threat made against Manor High School, police said Thursday. Officers at about 9:25 a.m. conducted what they called a high-risk stop of a vehicle entering the Manor High School campus, police said. Four people were detained, and police said two of them are suspects in two recent threats against Manor students. Just before midnight Thursday, Manor police had said they were investigating a social media post that showed a hunting rifle with a male voice saying “(expletive) Manor.” The post had Thursday’s date in the caption. Authorities were told the video was sent to several Manor middle school students earlier that day, but officers have not yet confirmed if that is true.

Utah

St. George:Another poor spring runoff has exacerbated Utah’s ongoing drought problem, with nearly every part of the state now rating as under “severe” or “extreme” drought, water officials said Thursday. The statewide “snow water equivalent,” or how much water melted off Utah’s mountains and poured into its streams and reservoirs, ended up at about 75% of normal this year, according to a new report from the state Division of Water Resources, leaving 99.86% of the state under those two categories of drought. The dry conditions were likely to lead to another year of limited restrictions and other efforts to curb water use while also drying out vegetation and making the state more susceptible to wildfires. Eighteen of Utah’s largest 45 reservoirs were below 55% of available capacity as of Thursday, with overall statewide storage at 63% of capacity. This time last year, reservoirs were about 67% of capacity. Great Salt Lake was expected to drop to a new historic low.

Vermont

East Burke: Canadian mountain bikers are back again in the Northeast Kingdom after a two-year absence when the border was closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Abby Long, executive director of the Kingdom Trails Association. “In the past about 38% of our trail users were our neighbors to the north,” Long said in an email. “We missed welcoming our Canadian trail users for the past two years.” Kingdom Trails, comprising more than 100 miles of mountain bike trails across the properties of 104 private landowners, has become a national draw for mountain bikers traveling to the Northeast Kingdom and the towns of Burke, Lyndonville, Kirby and East Haven. Long said the trail system creates an estimated $10 million economic impact every year – when there’s not a pandemic.

Virginia

Verona: The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is participating in the USDA's Summer Food Service Program, sponsoring six locations starting Tuesday, helping to ensure that children across the region have access to nutritious food. One-in-12 children in the Food Bank service area are food insecure, according to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. The Summer Food Service Program is designed to reach children who might not get nutritious meals at home over the school’s summer break. Students receiving free or reduced-price meals at school are at particular risk.

Washington

Moxee: Yakima County Hearing Examiner Gary Cuillier approved a conditional-use permit for the Black Rock Solar Energy Project, a photovoltaic solar power facility to be located 20 miles east of Moxee on both sides of State Route 24, the Yakima Herald-Republic reported. The project will feature 264,000 solar panels spread over a 1,060-acre site north of the Rattlesnake Hills and roughly 8 miles south of the Columbia River as it flows into Benton County and past the former Hanford nuclear reactor site.

West Virginia

South Charleston: A Pennsylvania resident caught a record carp while fishing from the bank of Summersville Lake in West Virginia, regulators said. Ayden Minick of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, caught and released the carp on May 7, the Division of Natural Resources said in a news release. It measured by a DNR fisheries biologist at 41.2 inches long, breaking the record of 41 inches caught in 1988 by Charles Cook at Stonecoal Lake. The carp weighed 45 pounds, which was just short of the record of 47 pounds set in 1998 in a Preston County farm pond.

Wisconsin

Madison: Rising material prices and legal expenses are expected to add nearly $50 million more to the cost of a power transmission line being built across southern Wisconsin. American Transmission Co., ITC Midwest and Dairyland Power Cooperative are building the 345-kilovolt Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line that would run more than 100 miles from Dane County to Dubuque County in Iowa. The utilities have notified the Wisconsin Public Service Commission that the overall cost of the project is now expected to top more than $500 million, Wisconsin Public Radio reported. In the filing, the utilities cited considerable increases in the cost of steel, conductors, insulators and other materials.

Wyoming

Cheyenne: U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney said Wednesday she tested positive for the coronavirus and planned to work through minor symptoms she said she was experiencing. The Republican’s diagnosis came amid a nationwide surge in new coronavirus cases and reports of positive tests from Cheney’s congressional colleagues, including North Carolina Democrat David Price, who tested positive last weekend.