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50 STATES
Coronavirus COVID-19

Lifeguard death, traffic ticket scam, Amherst pushback: News from around our 50 states

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

Alabama

Montgomery: Rural school districts are leading the state in reported COVID-19 case rates. When the Alabama Department of Public Health updated its COVID-19 school dashboard for the first time this school year Friday, three districts stood out with the highest percentage of confirmed cases: Covington, Greene and Marion county schools. All three are rural districts, and about 5% of students in each district have tested positive for the coronavirus. These schools were among only 52 of Alabama’s 137 school districts with available data on the state dashboard. In Marion, most of the 160 reported cases were concentrated in three schools, resulting in temporary closures, said Marion County Superintendent Ann West. “We’re just trying to operate with what’s best for each school,” West said. “I don’t like to send children home because for some of our students, what they get to eat is at school.” Masks are not required in Marion County Schools, but West said the district strongly encourages them. “Certainly, if I were not vaccinated, I would be wearing a mask,” she said. Meanwhile, masks are required in Greene County Schools, which reported 47 COVID-19 cases Friday. Covington County Schools reported 140 cases. According to district protocols, masks are “recommended for all individuals while indoors” and required on school buses.

Alaska

Sitka: The Sitka Assembly has authorized a 20-year lease of land to an Alaska Native corporation for development for cruise ship passengers. The Assembly, voting 5-2, approved leasing 17 acres to Shee Atika Inc., which plans to work with another company, Adventure Sitka, to develop the land with attractions such as zip lines, a salmon bake and a canoe launch, the Daily Sitka Sentinel reports. The land is between the ferry terminal and Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal. Chris McGraw, who owns the terminal and manages Adventure Sitka, said development of the property will be an important part of handling an expected large number of tourists. “The key to over-tourism is good distribution of guests,” McGraw said at an Assembly meeting. Karl Potts, CEO of Shee Atika Inc., said the lease would generate $300,000 to $400,000 a year for the city. Assembly member Kevin Knox raised questions about staffing at the site, citing difficulties businesses are having this year with hiring staff. But he said he would vote “yes” because of an expected influx of passengers next year. “We don’t have a lot of options here,” he said.

Arizona

Phoenix: The FBI’s Public Corruption unit is investigating efforts by Gov. Doug Ducey’s past and current staffers – including one who is now a federal judge – to push for a closed-door deal to issue tax refunds worth as much as $100million to aid one of Ducey’s campaign supporters. Grant Nulle, former deputy director at the Department of Revenue, said an FBI agent contacted him in mid-July, shortly after an Arizona Republic investigation uncovered how the Ducey administration had pushed the department to agree to refund sales taxes on fuel for mining companies, even though that tax had been in place for decades. The companies that stood to benefit were represented by Texas tax firm Ryan LLC, founded by Ducey supporter G. Brint Ryan. The top three deputies in Ducey’s administration left their government jobs and went to work for Ryan to push for the tax refund. The men and others working for Ducey met with Revenue officials at least 16 times to insist that the department – which was under their oversight in the governor’s office – agree to stop opposing Ryan and issue a tax refund to one fuel company. That, officials said, would have triggered refunds in all other similar cases, costing the state’s general fund more than $100 million.

Arkansas

Little Rock: The number of COVID-19 patients on a ventilator climbed to a new high Monday as the state reported 33 new coronavirus deaths amid the summer surge driven by the highly contagious delta variant. The Department of Health reported the state’s COVID-19 patients on ventilators rose by 17 to 361, surpassing the high the state had set last week. The state’s virus hospitalizations remained unchanged from a day earlier at 1,257. There are 533 COVID-19 patients in intensive care units around the state. The department reported there are 21 available ICU beds in Arkansas, though it’s not clear how many of those are equipped for COVID-19 patients. Last week the state ran out of ICU beds for virus patients, though availability has slightly eased since then. The state’s COVID-19 death toll rose Monday to 6,912 since the pandemic began. It also added 882 new virus cases. Arkansas ranks fifth in the country for new cases per capita, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University researchers. The Department of Health reported that the number of active cases among students and staff in the state’s public schools has grown to 3,684. Cabot, Fort Smith, Springdale, Rogers and Bentonville schools each reported more than 100 active cases.

California

State Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, gets high-fives from supporters of a measure who packed the hallway of the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., in 2019.

Sacramento: The Legislature on Monday voted to guarantee people can call out their bosses publicly in most harassment and discrimination cases. When companies settle complaints filed by their employees, the agreements often include a provision barring the employee from disparaging the company or talking publicly about what happened. These agreements came under fire during the #MeToo movement, criticized as shielding public figures and companies from responsibility in sexual harassment cases. California passed a law in 2018 that bans these nondisclosure agreements in cases involving sexual harassment, discrimination or assault. The Democratic-dominated Legislature voted Monday to expand that law to include other types of harassment and discrimination, including claims based on race, religion, gender identity and sexual orientation. The bill now heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who must decide whether to sign it into law. “No worker should ever be silenced from speaking out about their own experience of harassment or discrimination in the workplace,” said Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, author of the bill. “For far too long, these secret settlements and agreements have reinforced a culture of secrecy that prevents accountability, respect and justice.”

Colorado

Loveland: A former police officer involved in the rough arrest of an elderly woman with dementia should stand trial for assault, a judge ruled Monday. District Judge Michelle Brinegar said there is probable cause for the charge against former Loveland police Officer Austin Hopp, who will be arraigned in late September, the Loveland Reporter-Herald reports. Hopp arrested Karen Garner in June 2020 after she left a store without paying for about $14 worth of items. His body camera footage shows him catching up to the woman as she walks through a field along a road. Gardner, now 74, shrugs and turns away from him, and he quickly grabs her arm and pushes her 80-pound body to the ground. A federal lawsuit filed on Garner’s behalf, which included images from the body camera footage, claims that Hopp dislocated her shoulder by shoving her handcuffed left arm forward onto the hood of his patrol car and that she was denied medical treatment for about six hours. Former Loveland police Officer Daria Jalali is facing several charges stemming from the arrest, including failing to intervene in the use of excessive force.

Connecticut

Hartford: More than 1,500 long-term unemployed residents who recently found jobs are being awarded $1,000 bonuses under the first round of the Back to Work CT program, an initiative funded with federal COVID-19 relief funds. Approximately $10 million has been allocated for the program, which will provide bonus payments for up to 10,000 eligible applicants through Dec. 31. “Many workers who were displaced during the early months in the pandemic and faced long-term unemployment are now transitioning back into the workforce and starting to rebuild,” Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday in a statement. “This one-time bonus payment will help some of those workers pay for the critical things they need to get back to work, including childcare.” To be eligible for the program, applicants must obtain and maintain a full-time job for eight consecutive weeks between May 30 and Dec. 31. Applicants must complete and submit an application electronically to the Department of Revenue Services.

Delaware

Wilmington: A state trooper who received several traffic commendations has been indicted for a fraudulent traffic warning scheme in which at least two of his victims were fellow law enforcement officers, the Delaware Department of Justice announced Tuesday. Cpl. Edwin Ramirez, who was stationed at Troop 9, was charged with misdemeanor and felony tampering with public records; issuing a false certificate, a felony; and official misconduct, a misdemeanor. If convicted, he faces up to nine years in prison. Delaware State Police contacted prosecutors in May, according to the justice department, after an internal review found “a serious pattern of fraudulent E-Warnings” by Ramirez. The review began April 30 after one of his supervisors found discrepancies in an accident report, prosecutors said. Ramirez was immediately suspended. According to the indictment, after finding the discrepancy, the supervisor began looking at Ramirez’s activity and compared instances in which E-Warnings and E-Tickets were issued to dashcam footage to determine whether the stop had occurred and if so, what had been issued. In April alone, Ramirez issued more than 30 fraudulent warnings, according to the justice department. In some cases, motorists were not informed of the warnings. In other instances, a traffic stop never happened.

District of Columbia

Washington: Landon Collins, safety for the Washington Football Team, took some time away from the field Monday to bring joy to young football players, WUSA-TV reports. Collins surprised players at the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation’s Woodbridge Warriors Youth Football Team at a Dick’s Sporting Goods store in Northeast D.C. Each member of the team got a $150 Dick’s Sporting Goods gift card to use however they wanted. Collins served as their personal shopping consultant. The kids, surprised and excited to spend time with the star player, grabbed new shoes and other football gear. “It just feels great for him to come down here and spend his time with us, just so we can have a surprise and get us ready,” one player said Collins said the opportunity to spend time with the kids was a blessing. “Being around these kids to give them a smile on their face and to put something on their shoulders that they can use on and off the football field is amazing,” Collins said.

Florida

Tallahassee: State education officials on Monday began to make good on threats to withhold funding from school districts that defied Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ban on mask mandates, despite a circuit judge last week ruling the ban unconstitutional. Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran announced that the Florida Department of Education has withheld an amount equal to monthly school board member salaries in Alachua and Broward counties, as directed by the State Board of Education. Funds will continue to be withheld until the districts comply, Corcoran said. Broward County Interim Superintendent Vickie Cartwright said in a statement that Broward County School Board believes it is in compliance with the law. “The health and safety of our students, teachers and staff continue to be our main priorities,” Cartwright said. “As such, BCPS (Broward County Public Schools) will continue to mandate masks, knowing the data shows they help minimize the spread of COVID-19 in our schools.” DeSantis, a Republican who is eyeing a possible presidential run in 2024, had been threatening to impose financial penalties on school boards for weeks. Democratic President Joe Biden has said if that happened, federal money would be used to cover any costs.

Georgia

Atlanta: State lawmakers will use the same guidelines as in 2010 to redraw congressional, legislative and other electoral districts, meaning lawmakers are not required to give members of the public an advance look at the plans, nor consider whether districts give candidates from different political parties a meaningful chance to win. Identical guidelines were presented to both House and Senate redistricting committees Monday. The House voted to adopt the guidelines, while senators gave preliminary agreement, with a final vote likely on the first day of a special session expected in October or November. Asked about whether maps would be released in advance, Senate Majority Leader John Kennedy emphasized the shortened time period because of delays in U.S. census data stemming from COVID-19. In 2010, state legislative maps were unveiled the Friday before the redistricting special session began. “We’re obviously operating under a very short period of time compared to what they had to this previously,” said Kennedy, R-Macon. Advance notice of maps is one of the key objectives for which outside groups have been lobbying. “Georgians need to have access to the maps and know how and when the maps will be presented,” said Jerry Gonzalez, CEO of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials.

Hawaii

Honolulu: Health care officials are concerned about a shortage of oxygen as the state’s coronavirus surge continues to grow. Hospital officials are canceling nonemergency procedures that require oxygen in an attempt to conserve supplies, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports. There is a global shortage of oxygen containers that are needed for transport to the islands, said Hilton Raethel, president and CEO of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, a trade group for the state’s hospitals and nursing homes. “The combined demand has increased to the point where we are concerned about whether we can generate enough oxygen in Hawaii to meet all the needs of our health care facilities,” Raethel said. Hawaii’s two oxygen plants have switched to producing medical gas only. Raethel said mainland tank orders are backlogged for months. Hawaii Pacific Health, which oversees several hospitals in the state, directed staff to cancel elective procedures where oxygen is needed. “We do not plan to defer any emergency surgery, and we will need to have careful consideration of cases that are urgent but not emergent,” Hawaii Pacific Health President and CEO Ray Vara said in a staff memo. “Any cases that can be deferred safely should be deferred until the oxygen supply solutions are clearer.”

Idaho

The Sawtooth National Recreation Area near Stanley, Idaho.

Boise: An environmental group that wants to end public-land grazing has outbid a rancher for a grazing lease on state land that includes habitat for bull trout and steelhead. Western Watersheds Project’s bid of $8,200 won the 20-year grazing lease on 620 acres in central Idaho’s Sawtooth Valley in Custer County. The group and the Idaho Cattle Association say it’s possible other state grazing leases could be sought by other environmental groups. Western Watersheds will also have to pay an annual $800 fee based on the number of sheep or cattle authorized for the allotment. “That’s still a screaming deal,” said Erik Molvar, executive director of Western Watersheds Project, noting that private-land grazing fees are about three times that much. “Certainly, at those prices, the parcel is a lot more valuable for conservation than it is for grazing livestock.” Molvar said the group will not graze livestock but instead convert the grazing lease into a conservation lease and allow the area to be used by wildlife, notably a herd of 50 pronghorn that frequent the area. Elk and bighorn sheep are also in the region. He also said sections of two streams running through the parcel, Fourth of July Creek and Champion Creek, will be protected. The new lease takes effect Jan. 1.

Illinois

Chicago: A white police officer has been placed on administrative duty as the city’s police oversight agency investigates his struggle with a Black woman who was walking her dog in a lakefront park. Police Superintendent David Brown on Monday directed that the officer be placed on paid desk duty while what happened over the weekend is investigated, the department said. Attorneys for the woman allege the encounter became violent and was an “obvious case of racial profiling.” The Civilian Office of Police Accountability said Monday that it reviewed the officer’s body camera video and recommended he either be placed on administrative duty or be relieved of his police power while it investigates. “If violations did occur, COPA will hold the officer accountable,” interim chief Andrea Kersten said. A law office representing Nikkita Brown said she was near the lakefront with her dog about 12:10 a.m. Saturday when a police officer approached her for being in the area after the park was closed. In a video recorded by a bystander, the woman and her dog appear to be walking away from the officer as he follows closely, and at one point she turns around with her phone in her hand and stops. Moments later, the officer appears to reach for her phone and then grabs Brown.

Indiana

Indianapolis: The state’s health commissioner defended herself Monday against criticism arising from a photograph circulating on social media showing her not wearing a face mask during a wedding reception. Dr. Kristina Box said in a statement that she “made an informed decision” to take off her mask while dancing or talking at a recent family wedding with guests fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Box said all but five people at the wedding were fully vaccinated. Several social media comments called Box’s actions hypocritical, as she said Friday that Indiana had reached “the darkest time in the pandemic” amid a surge in infections and hospitalizations and urged more people to get COVID-19 shots and wear masks. The photo shows Box standing amid several people, none of whom are wearing masks. Box said in her statement that federal guidelines call for people to wear masks at indoor public places when in areas of “high or sustained transmission.” “I continue to wear my mask in these settings and encourage Hoosiers to do the same,” Box said. Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb apologized in May 2020 after posing for a photo with two people in which none of the three wore masks inside a Brown County restaurant, a day after recommending mask-wearing.

Iowa

Iowa City: A man was sentenced to life in prison without parole Monday in the abduction and killing of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts, three years after she disappeared while out for an evening run. Judge Joel Yates’ sentence for Cristhian Bahena Rivera was mandatory for a first-degree murder conviction in Iowa, which does not have the death penalty. The 27-year-old former farmhand, who testified that he came to the U.S. illegally from Mexico as a teenager, has been jailed since his arrest in August 2018. Yates pointedly rejected defense claims that others were responsible for the crime. “Mr. Bahena Rivera, you and you alone forever changed the lives of those who loved Mollie Tibbetts,” he said. The sentence caps a case that inflamed anger over illegal immigration, fueled fears about violence against solo female runners, and took several noteworthy twists during and after Bahena Rivera’s trial in May. Tibbetts’ mother, Laura Calderwood, addressed Bahena Rivera in a victim impact statement read to the court. “Mollie was a young woman who simply wanted to go for a quiet run on the evening of July 18 and you chose to violently and sadistically end that life,” she wrote.

Kansas

Former Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer formally launches his campaign for governor in 2022 in Topeka, Kan., on April 19. Colyer announced Monday that he is dropping out of the race after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Mission: Former Gov. Jeff Colyer announced Monday that he is dropping out of the 2022 race for governor after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. “While I have always focused on helping others, for the next few weeks I am going to focus on my health,” said Colyer, a physician who served as governor for a little less than a year in 2018. In his announcement, Colyer said he was endorsing Attorney General Derek Schmidt in the governor’s race. Colyer had been Schmidt’s main rival for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s reelection. Schmidt wished Colyer “all the best in overcoming his current health challenges” in a statement and said that “now is the time to come together to elect a Republican governor for Kansas next year.” In a tweet, Kelly wished Colyer “a quick recovery.” “Colyer and I may have our disagreements. But one thing we can all agree on: the need to defeat cancer,” she wrote on Twitter. Colyer was elevated from lieutenant governor in January 2018, when GOP Gov. Sam Brownback resigned to become U.S. ambassador at large for international religious freedom. Colyer narrowly lost the 2018 Republican primary to polarizing conservative Kris Kobach, who alienated moderate GOP and independent voters and lost to Kelly that November.

Kentucky

Frankfort: The governor signaled Monday that he wants to convene a special legislative session to deal with COVID-19 issues once a “general consensus” is reached on what can be achieved. Gov. Andy Beshear said the special session needs to happen soon in part to maintain the state of emergency he declared at the outset of the pandemic in Kentucky. And there are pressing coronavirus-related issues stemming from school closures due to surging outbreaks, he said. The governor has the authority to call lawmakers into special session and to set the agenda. Beshear, a Democrat, has had discussions with leaders of the Republican-led Legislature over what actions could be taken if lawmakers are brought back to the statehouse. Those negotiations come as Kentucky suffers its worst surge of virus cases and hospitalizations since the pandemic began. Various emergency measures previously issued by Beshear are set to expire as a result of a recent landmark court decision. It’s up to lawmakers to decide whether to keep them in place. Kentucky had more new cases of COVID-19 last week than any other week in the pandemi, and on Monday reported another record number of hospitalized coronavirus patients. The highly contagious delta variant is spreading fastest among school-age Kentuckians, the governor said.

Louisiana

The historic Karnofsky Store on South Rampart Street in New Orleans, a second home to jazz musician Louis Armstrong, was destroyed by Hurricane Ida.

New Orleans: A storied jazz site where a young Louis Armstrong once worked toppled when Ida blew through the state as one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the U.S. The Karnofsky Tailor Shop, where a Jewish family employed Armstrong, collapsed Sunday during the storm. Armstrong would play a small tin horn as he worked on the coal and junk wagons, according to the National Park Service. The business opened downtown in 1913 and had a residence above it where the late jazz legend would often eat meals. The family, who provided Armstrong a “second home,” lent him money to buy his first cornet. “Louis said it was the Karnofskys that instilled the love of singing in his heart,” jazz historian and retired photojournalist John McCusker said, according to WWL-TV. Morris Karnofsky, the family’s son and Armstrong’s childhood friend, opened the city’s first jazz record shop on that same street, according to the park service. Armstrong would visit Morris Music when he returned to New Orleans after moving away. When daylight came Monday morning, all that was left was a pile of bricks and other remnants of the historic site.

Maine

Portland: The lobster fishing industry will face a host of new harvesting restrictions amid a new push from the federal government to try to save a vanishing species of whale. The new rules, which have loomed over the profitable lobster industry for years and were announced Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, are designed to protect the North Atlantic right whale. The whales number only about 360 and are vulnerable to lethal entanglement in fishing gear. NOAA said it expects the new rules will result in a nearly 70% reduction of the risk of death and serious injuries the whales can suffer from entanglement. The rules had long been expected to focus on reducing the number of vertical ropes in the water, and they will. The rules reduce the number of rope lines that link buoys to lobster and crab traps, NOAA said. The rules will also require the use of weaker ropes so whales can more easily break free if they do become entangled, the agency said. NOAA said the rules also expand the areas of ocean where fishing with trap rope is prohibited or limited. Members of the lobster fishing industry have said strict new rules could make it difficult to get lobsters to consumers.

Maryland

Salisbury: Organizers of the 80th National Folk Festival say they’re adding a fourth stage at this year’s festival, the Maryland Traditions Family Folklife Stage. The festival is slated to return to downtown Salisbury on Sept. 10-12 for the third year of its residency in the Eastern Shore city. Supported by Maryland Traditions, the traditional arts program of the Maryland State Arts Council, the Maryland Traditions Family Folklife Area & Stage at the 80th National Folk Festival celebrates and showcases the rich, living traditions of Maryland. The area shines a spotlight on the distinctive music, rituals, crafts, occupations, foodways and other traditions at the heart of Maryland heritage, expressing both the state’s deep history and its evolving character. Performances, demonstrations, displays, exhibits, and narrative presentations by Maryland master artisans and performers explore a wide range of cultural traditions, including those of its First Peoples, the cultural legacies of European settlers, and the expressions of the newest Maryland residents whose cultural roots come from around the globe.

Massachusetts

Boston: Hundreds of students at Amherst College are pushing back against what they call the school’s overly restrictive coronavirus protocols that include double-masking indoors, restrictions on off-campus activities, and no in-person campus dining. In a letter sent to President Carolyn “Biddy” Martin a week ago, the students said that “the guidelines are not based on any given data, have been developed without student input, are significantly stricter than our peer institutions, and are in conflict with (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines.” The restrictions originally announced Aug. 24 and designed in response to the spread of the delta variant apply to the first two weeks of the fall semester, which began Monday. The prestigious private liberal arts college celebrating its 200th anniversary this year had already mandated COVID-19 vaccinations. In response to the pushback, Martin wrote another campuswide email Aug. 27. “We are in the midst of a surge, and you are arriving on campus from all over the country and the world, including from delta hotspots,” she said, adding later: “Now is not yet the time to relax key restrictions.” She did, however, amend a near-universal outdoor mask mandate, calling it “unworkable.”

Michigan

African lion sisters Asha and Amirah in the African Grasslands at the Detroit Zoo.

Royal Oak: Some animals are rolling up their fur for COVID-19 shots at the Detroit Zoo. The zoo in suburban Detroit said its gorillas, chimpanzees, tigers and lions are getting a vaccine developed by Zoetis, a veterinary drug company, and authorized by the U.S. Agriculture Department. Other animals will follow. “We’re both thankful and relieved a special vaccine is now available to protect against COVID-19,” said Scott Carter, the zoo’s chief life sciences officer. “The animals routinely get other vaccinations.” The zoo said no COVID-19 infections have been found in its animals. Anti-vaccine advocates have aggressively criticized other zoos nationwide that have administered the shots to their animals. But the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has said it supports the animal vaccines, which “have been clinically tested and administered to animals only after deep consideration by veterinary professionals.”

Minnesota

Minneapolis: The state has reached 300 traffic accident deaths before Labor Day for the first time in more than a decade, prompting state public safety officials on Monday to issue a plea for people to slow down. The state reported its 300th fatality Saturday – the earliest the state has eclipsed that threshold since 2007, according to data from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety. There were 240 traffic deaths in the state at this time last year, and the state did not reach 300 until October. Officials attributed 103 of the deaths, or about 40%, to speeding, compared to 78 at this time last year. “This many preventable deaths on Minnesota roads before Labor Day is completely unacceptable,” said Office of Traffic Safety Director Mike Hanson. “It’s not a homework assignment; you don’t get a do-over. We all need to drive smart to keep our family, friends and neighbors alive.” Nearly three-fourths of all victims were male, with the majority between 21 and 30 years old. Alcohol-related deaths stand at 74, which is down from 88 at this time last year and 136 in 2011. Drunken driving-related deaths comprised 20% of all traffic fatalities in 2020 compared to more than half in the 1960s. State officials say the lower numbers are due in large part to extra impaired driving enforcement.

Mississippi

Jackson: Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker said Tuesday that he is feeling well, less than two weeks after being diagnosed with COVID-19. “To everyone who has asked, I have recovered fully from my bout with COVID-19, and I have a clean bill of health,” Wicker posted on Twitter. “I am looking forward to resuming my travel in the state this week.” Wicker, 70, is one of three senators who announced Aug. 19 that they had tested positive for the coronavirus. Wicker, independent Sen. Angus King, 77, of Maine, and Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper, 69, of Colorado, had all been fully vaccinated. All three have recommended that people get their shots. Wicker wrote Tuesday: “Being fully vaccinated greatly reduced my risk of developing severe complications from the virus. Getting the shot is safe, easy, and free, and it could save your life.”

Missouri

Jefferson City: A judge on Tuesday refused to reinstate federal unemployment benefits that were cut in June when Gov. Mike Parson pulled out of several programs, saying the court “would not substitute its judgment” for that of the governor. The ruling by Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem came a day after lawyers representing Missouri residents who lost the jobless benefits asked for reinstatement with back pay that, for some people, could have amounted to $1,500. The enhanced benefits from several federal programs added money to the unemployment checks for out-of-work Americans to help ease the crunch caused by shutdowns for the COVID-19 pandemic. But some Republican governors, including Parson, ended the benefits, saying they wanted to prod people to rejoin the workforce. In his four-page ruling denying a preliminary injunction, Beteem wrote that “the balancing of harms and the public interest strongly favor the Governor’s decision to promote economic recovery and encourage workers’ re-entry into Missouri’s critically understaffed labor force.” Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said in a statement that the ruling “affirmed the legality of Governor Parson’s decision to terminate these temporary benefits and will hopefully lead to the hiring of workers for businesses that desperately need the help.”

Montana

Helena: Gov. Greg Gianforte has announced a rule encouraging schools to give parents final say on whether children should wear masks in schools, after several large school districts implemented mask requirements for all students. Gianforte, a Republican, made the announcement Tuesday after the U.S. Department of Education on Monday opened civil rights investigations into five Republican-led states that have banned or limited mask requirements in schools, saying the policies could amount to discrimination against students with disabilities or health conditions. Gianforte said in a statement that masking in schools, which is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, is “based on inconclusive research.” He also said masking could have adverse impacts on children’s “health, wellbeing and development.” The CDC issued its guidance in light of the rapid spread of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. The rule says schools should consider “parental concerns” when adopting mask mandates and provide parents the ability to opt out of health-related mandates for a wide array of reasons including physical and mental health, developmental needs, religious beliefs and moral convictions.

Nebraska

Omaha: The number of COVID-19 cases in the state has increased in each of the past ten weeks, and the total nearly doubled over the past two weeks as the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus continues to spread. Nebraska reported 5,006 new cases for the week ending Friday, according to an Omaha World-Herald analysis of data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 3,755 the previous week and nearly double the 2,668 cases recorded the week before. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska has also risen over the past two weeks from 190 new cases per day Aug. 15 to 715.14 new cases per day Sunday. “Those numbers speak for themselves,” said Dr. James Lawler, a co-executive director of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Global Center for Health Security. “We’re going up, and we’re following in the footsteps of the Southern states that saw increasing cases before us. And we’ll continue that way unless something dramatic happens.” The state said 323 people were hospitalized with the virus in the state as of Thursday. Last week, Gov. Pete Ricketts ordered all the state’s hospitals to delay elective surgeries, if possible, to help free up capacity, but he resisted taking other measures to slow the spread of the virus.

Nevada

Las Vegas: City officials say they’ll use a $50,000 grant from the National Park Service to fund research about five decades of segregation, civil rights activism and advocacy in the historic West Las Vegas neighborhood. An announcement Monday said the project aims to focus on the years 1930 through 1979 in what amounted to the city’s segregated Black community. The goal is to determine what buildings and properties could be included on the National Register of Historic Places and listed on the city’s Historic Property Register. The funds to Las Vegas are part of nearly $750,000 nationwide allocated under the park service’s Underrepresented Community Grant Program, the city statement said. The city Historic Preservation Office submitted the grant request, and the city will issue a request for proposals for contracts with experienced cultural resources consultants to prepare the survey and inventory.

New Hampshire

Portsmouth: A milestone anniversary for the New Hampshire Film Festival is again being pushed back a year due to COVID-19. Announced Monday, the 20th annual NHFF will have to wait another year because of the pandemic. The celebration was originally scheduled for October 2020, then delayed to October 2021. Now it’s planned for 2022. An autumn tradition in Portsmouth, which has hosted the festival since 2004 after its debut in Derry three years before, the festival said it would be unable to keep up with new health and safety protocols seen in art venues and community events across the country “due to the scale and scope” of an event spread across several days and multiple venues. “We are upset to find ourselves in this extremely difficult position, but our deeper concern lies with the filmmakers, attendees, supporters, partners and sponsors who continue to struggle with the ongoing pandemic,” NHFF executive director Nicole Gregg said in a statement. Celebrating newer filmmakers and directors, as well as more experienced screenwriters and actors, the NHFF is a four-day fall event that typically draws crowds for film showings, question-and-answer sessions with film producers and actors, and receptions and parties at downtown restaurants.

New Jersey

Michael Cordiano, a lifeguard in Berkeley Township, N.J., lays flowers at the base of a lifeguard stand Tuesday on the beach where his friend Keith Pinto was killed a day earlier by a lightning strike.

Berkeley Township: A young lifeguard was killed, and seven other people, including three other lifeguards, were injured when lightning struck a Jersey Shore beach Monday afternoon, authorities said. It marked the second death of a young lifeguard at the Jersey Shore in a little over a week. Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy said the others were taken to hospitals with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. “Our hearts are with the family and friends of the young lifeguard killed by today’s horrific lightning strike on the beach in Berkeley Township, and we pray for a full recovery for those injured,” Gov. Phil Murphy wrote on Twitter. “I’ve spoken to Mayor Carmen Amato and offered the full support and assistance of our administration during this difficult time.” Amato said his township’s beaches will be closed Tuesday through Thursday as crisis counselors are made available to beach staff and lifeguards. Four of those struck were lifeguards, and four others were beachgoers. “This is a tragic and heartbreaking day for our town and the entire Jersey Shore,” Amato said in a statement. “This young person was out there every day protecting the lives of others. Our lifeguard teams, like so many along the shore, develop special connections with our community throughout the summer, which makes this loss even greater.”

New Mexico

The Four Corners Power Plant in Waterflow, N.M., near the San Juan River in northwestern New Mexico.

Albuquerque: The state’s largest electric provider wants to transfer its share of a coal-fired power plant to an energy company backed by the Navajo Nation, but environmentalists argue that approving the deal would prolong the life of the plant and run counter to New Mexico’s renewable energy goals. The state Public Regulation Commission will determine whether Public Service Co. of New Mexico’s plan for Four Corners Power Plant is in the public interest during a two-week hearing that began Tuesday. It heard from the public Monday. Some of those who spoke at the virtual meeting Monday choked back tears when talking about pollution emitted by the plant over the decades, while others spoke about how their jobs at the power plant and coal mine helped to put their children through college. Some tribal members told regulators that all levels of Navajo leadership are behind the proposal. They said allowing the Navajo Transitional Energy Co. to take over the utility’s stake in Four Corners would provide more time for the tribe to find ways to deal with significant economic consequences that will come when the plant closes in 2031. If regulators don’t approve PNM’s plan, the Navajo Nation could lose up to $60 million annually, said LoRenzo Bates, former speaker of the Navajo Nation Council.

New York

Albany: Resigning from office probably didn’t end former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s legal problems, and no matter what happens next, taxpayers are likely to wind up with a hefty bill. The state has already agreed to pay up to $9.5 million to lawyers representing and investigating Cuomo and his administration over sexual harassment allegations and other matters, according to a review of available contracts. That figure represents the maximum amount that could be spent, not actual bills submitted so far. It doesn’t include the legal fees of Cuomo’s private attorney, whose bills are being paid by his campaign committee. His successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, can decide whether the state will continue to pay lawyers to defend Cuomo and his administration going forward. Cuomo and the administration face the possibility of civil lawsuits from women who have accused the Democrat of sexual harassment. The state attorney general is looking into Cuomo’s use of state employees to help with a book he wrote. Federal prosecutors are investigating his administration’s handling of nursing home death data. He’s also facing a state ethics commission inquiry.

North Carolina

Raleigh: Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a bill Monday that would do away with the permit someone must obtain from a county sheriff before buying a pistol, turning back a key agenda item of conservative gun rights supporters. Cooper’s veto was expected, and an override will be difficult for Republicans who control the General Assembly, since they lack veto-proof majorities in the House and Senate. Only two Democrats – both in the House – voted for doing away with the pistol purchase permitting system, which goes back more than 100 years. Cooper supports more gun-sale restrictions, not less, and his office expressed his opposition to the bill the day after the final legislative vote this month. “Gun permit laws reduce gun homicides and suicides and reduce the availability of guns for criminal activity,” Cooper said in a news release Monday. “At a time of rising gun violence, we cannot afford to repeal a system that works to save lives. The legislature should focus on combating gun violence instead of making it easier for guns to end up in the wrong hands.” Bill supporters said the current process has become duplicative with the comprehensive national checks that licensed gun dealers must conduct. The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association backed the repeal this year after opposing it previously.

North Dakota

Bismarck: A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit by the state of Missouri seeking to stop a project that would supply Missouri River water to central North Dakota. The Bismarck Tribune reports the ruling will enable the federal Bureau of Reclamation to move ahead with a water service contract for the Central North Dakota Water Supply Project. The project will receive water from the McClusky Canal for systems in Burleigh, Sheridan, Wells, Foster, Kidder, McLean and Stutsman counties. The Missouri suit alleged violations of federal policy, including failure by project developers to properly study the project’s environmental impacts and its alternatives. U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey ruled against Missouri on all counts. The state of Missouri “doesn’t like any depletion from the Missouri River,” said Merri Mooridian, deputy manager of the Red River Valley Water Supply Program, which will move Missouri River water by underground pipeline from Washburn east to supply systems in the east and central parts of the state. The Central North Dakota Water Supply Project will use the same pipeline, taking nearly 13 million gallons a day. “The state of North Dakota has the right to flows of the Missouri River in the state of North Dakota,” Mooridian said.

Ohio

Cincinnati: A Common Pleas judge has rescinded his order that a man sentenced for a felony drug charge get vaccinated against COVID-19 within two months as a condition of his probation. Speaking at a hearing Tuesday, Judge Christopher Wagner told Brandon Rutherford that it’s not a judge’s role to make decisions for him or “teach you to be a better person.” The reversal came nearly a month after Wagner had sentenced Rutherford. At the time, Wagner told Rutherford he presumed he hadn’t been vaccinated because he was wearing a mask in court, which Rutherford confirmed, telling the judge he wasn’t worried about the vaccine. Neither Rutherford nor his attorney, Carl Lewis, objected to the vaccination order during the sentencing, but soon afterward Rutherford expressed concerns about the directive. Lewis said Tuesday that his 21-year-old client has concerns about the vaccine and will not get it within two months. Lewis had argued that a judge doesn’t have the power or authority to order someone to be inoculated.

Oklahoma

Protesters surround a truck shortly before it drove through the group, injuring several, on Interstate 244 in Tulsa, Okla., on May 31, 2020.

Oklahoma City: A bill approved by the Republican-led Legislature this year that seeks to crack down on protesters is unconstitutional and would chill the ability of groups to mobilize people to advocate for racial justice, a civil rights group argues in a federal lawsuit filed Monday. The Oklahoma chapter of the NAACP filed the lawsuit in federal court in Oklahoma City, along with the national NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center. The lawsuit argues the law, which takes effect Nov. 1, was written to discourage peaceful demonstrations and violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantee the right of the public to peacefully assemble and give citizens equal protection under the law. The new law increases the penalties for blocking roadways, grants motorists civil and criminal immunity if they kill or injure someone while fleeing from a riot, and authorizes hefty fines for national organizations that coordinate with those found guilty of committing crimes under the state’s rioting statutes.

Oregon

Portland: City employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 – or obtain a medical or religious exemption – by the middle of October, or they will be fired. “With COVID-19 filling hospitals and claiming lives, we must do everything within our power to end this pandemic and restore our community’s health,” Mayor Ted Wheeler and all four City Commissioners wrote Monday in a letter to municipal workers. The city will require its approximately 6,800 employees to submit proof of vaccination, show they are in the process of being vaccinated, or apply for an exemption by Sept. 10 and be fully vaccinated or granted an exemption by Oct. 18. Those who fail to meet the deadline “will be put on a list for separation from employment,” according to the letter. The city plans to provide a comprehensive outline of the new policy later this week and to answer whatever questions municipal workers might have. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that earlier this month, Multnomah County imposed a vaccine mandate on its employees, and Gov. Kate Brown has announced similar requirements for all teachers, health care workers and state employees across Oregon.

Pennsylvania

Students walk through the hallway on the first day of school Aug. 25 at Mars Area Elementary School in Mars, Pa.

Harrisburg: Masks will be required in all public and private schools, as well as child care facilities, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Tuesday, reversing course amid a statewide COVID-19 resurgence that is filling hospital beds just as students return to class. The Department of Health order will take effect Tuesday, Sept. 7 – a week or more after the start of school in many districts – and will require students, teachers and staff to wear masks when inside, regardless of vaccination status, the Wolf administration said. The order will not apply to student-athletes while they’re playing, nor to outdoor activities. “Wearing a mask in school is necessary to keep our children in the classroom and to keep COVID out of that classroom,” Wolf said at a news conference Tuesday. The Pennsylvania School Boards Association said the decision on masking should have been left to local school officials, but it would nevertheless remind school districts “of their legal obligation related to the directive.” Less than a month ago, Wolf had ruled out a statewide mask mandate for schools after requiring them last year. But the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus has changed the administration’s calculus about what is needed to keep students in class.

Rhode Island

Providence: The union that represents nurses at the state’s only Level 1 trauma hospital is calling on its parent company to increase the pay of nurses who have been on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. The United Nurses and Allied Professionals union on Tuesday delivered a petition with more than 2,000 signatures to Lifespan Corp., which operates Rhode Island Hospital in Providence. Lifespan, the state’s largest health care organization, has already increased compensation for nurses at some of its other hospitals. “We provide a critical component of patient care in Rhode Island, yet during this unprecedented health crisis, Lifespan seems to have forgotten about us,” Frank Sims, a Rhode Island Hospital nurse and union president, said in a statement. “While the nurses at Miriam Hospital and Newport Hospital are being recognized for their front line service with appropriate compensation increases during this crisis, Lifespan has refused to do the same for Rhode Island Hospital nurses.” A Lifespan spokesperson said the system provides nurses with “highly competitive wage and benefits packages.”

South Carolina

Columbia: A private college is allowing men to live on campus for the first time since it was founded 167 years ago. About 45 men moved into a dorm set aside for them at Columbia College this month, media outlets report. College officials said last year that they decided to bring men to what had been an all-women college because enrollment had fallen 25% in the past decade. “Most women now are looking for a co-educational experience. Also, we really believe the opportunity that we provide and the environment we have is a good one for men to grow. And so it’s expanding our outreach to men of course but also to a broader group of women,” said Columbia College President Tom Bogart, who took over as leader of the school in October. Jordan Wright was one of the first men to move into the Columbia College dorms. “I feel like it’s a good experience,” Wright said. “It’s a new beginning and new blessings. I know it’s a little different now, but I feel like everything is still going to go good with the boys and girls, even though it’s a new thing.”

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: Gov. Kristi Noem said Tuesday that she has activated nine soldiers from the state National Guard to help with coronavirus testing in the western part of the state amid a surge of infections. “This past week, I had conversations with all three South Dakota hospital systems and asked them what they needed as cases start to rise again,” she said in a statement. “Monument asked for the National Guard to assist them in their testing efforts, and we are happy to help.” Over the past two weeks, the average number of infections has tripled statewide. The western part of the state has been the hardest-hit, with Meade County, which hosted the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally earlier this month, leading the state in new cases per capita. The Department of Health reported last week that it had traced 63 cases among rallygoers. Meanwhile, COVID-19 hospitalizations statewide reached 216 – the largest number since January. Two deaths were also reported Tuesday, bringing the total death toll of people with COVID-19 in the state to 2,069. The health department said Pennington County had more than twice as many new COVID-19 cases in the prior day than any other county in the state. Noem activated the National Guard last year to prepare field hospitals for a surge in patients, but the hospitals were not utilized.

Tennessee

The snail darter should no longer be on the endangered species list, federal officials announced Tuesday.

Nashville: The snail darter, a tiny fish that notoriously blocked a federal dam project in the state decades ago, should no longer be on the endangered species list, federal officials announced Tuesday. Arguing that the fish is no longer in danger of extinction, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has begun the process to delist the species, a move backed by the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group that has favored lifting protections for the fish since 2019. “Thanks to the persistence of many people, the extinction of the snail darter was ultimately avoided, and today we can celebrate its recovery,” said Zygmunt Plater, the attorney who wrote the citizens’ petition to save the snail darter in 1975. Snail darters, a member of the perch family, grow up to 3.5 inches long and mostly eat freshwater snails. Shortly after the passage of the landmark 1973 Endangered Species Act, construction of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Tellico Dam in eastern Tennessee threatened the habitat of the newly discovered fish, located just above the site of the project. The case eventually made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, marking the first time the nation’s highest court took up an ESA case. In 1978, the court ruled in favor of protections for the fish and halted work on the nearly completed dam. Congress later exempted the dam from the law to allow the project to be completed. But the TVA worked to transplant the snail darter to other rivers and streams.

Texas

Austin: The GOP-controlled Legislature passed a broad overhaul of the state’s election laws Tuesday, tightening already strict voting rules and dealing a bruising defeat to Democrats who waged a months­long fight over what they argued was a brazen attempt to disenfranchise minorities and other Democratic-leaning voters. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said he will sign the bill, the latest in a national GOP campaign to add new hurdles to voting in the name of security, spurred in part by former President Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election. Texas Democrats fought the legislation for months, arguing the bill was tailored to make it harder for young people, racial and ethnic minorities and people with disabilities – all Democratic-leaning voters – to cast ballots, just as they see the demographics shifting to favor their party. The bill specifically targets Democratic strongholds, including Houston’s Harris County, further tightening rules in a state already considered among the hardest places to cast a ballot. The legislation set off a heated summer in Texas of walkouts by Democrats, Republicans threatening them with arrest, Abbott vetoing the paychecks of thousands of rank-and-file staffers when the bill failed to reach him sooner, and accusations of racism and voter suppression. Even the final vote did not escape a parting round of confrontation after Senate Republicans, at the last minute, scuttled one of the few areas of bipartisan agreement: efforts to shield voters with felony convictions from prosecution if they did not realize they were ineligible to cast a ballot. It had been included following backlash over the arrests of two Texas voters, both of whom are Black.

Utah

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, left, speaks during a news conference Tuesday in Salt Lake City.

Salt Lake City: Gov. Spencer Cox cast doubt on the efficacy of mask-wearing Tuesday as health leaders made some of their most impassioned pleas yet for Utahns to mask up and get vaccinated. Cox, a Republican, said his administration is encouraging people to wear masks but said it is unclear whether they are effective against the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. “Masks are not as effective as most of the pro-mask crowd are arguing,” Cox told reporters at a news conference. “We know that they’re just not.” Cox offered no specific evidence to support his assertion, and his comments contradicted public health experts, as well as statements Utah’s state epidemiologist Dr. Michelle Hofmann made a few minutes earlier at the same news conference. State hospital leaders made emotional pleas for vaccinations and universal masking to prevent the state’s ongoing COVID-19 surge. “There will be enduring harm to our children and generations to come if we do not stop the divisiveness around the things we know work like masks and vaccines,” Hofmann said. “We know the path to healing is the end of this pandemic, and it hasn’t ended yet even if we want to pretend it has.”

Vermont

Burlington: Nearly all arriving students at the University of Vermont have been vaccinated against COVID-19. UVM spokesman Enrique Corredera said officials are still working with fewer than 100 students to bring them into compliance with the school’s inoculation requirement. Earlier this month UVM reinstituted an indoor mask mandate for all faculty, staff, students and visitors on the Burlington campus. The exact size of this year’s school enrollment won’t be known for several weeks, but it’s expected to be more than 13,000. The incoming freshman class is expected to have about 3,000 students. “In wonderful news for the years ahead, an extraordinary new class of Catamounts have joined us this fall – with more than 25,000 applications for admission, the incoming class is on track to being the best academically prepared and the largest we’ve ever welcomed!” President Suresh Garimella said in a message to the student body. Students at colleges and universities across Vermont are returning for the fall semester amid the latest surge in COVID-19 cases, this time driven by the more transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus.

Virginia

Francis DeSales Grayson’s niece comforts his son and great-nephew after Gov. Ralph Northam posthumously pardoned Grayson and the rest of the Martinsville Seven on Tuesday in Richmond, Va.

Richmond: Gov. Ralph Northam granted posthumous pardons Tuesday to seven Black men who were executed in 1951 for the rape of a white woman, in a case that attracted pleas for mercy from around the world and in recent years has been denounced as an example of racial disparity in the use of the death penalty. Northam announced the pardons after meeting with about a dozen descendants of the men and their advocates. Cries and sobs could be heard from some of the descendants after Northam’s announcement. The “Martinsville Seven,” as the men became known, were all convicted of raping 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, a white woman who had gone to a predominantly black neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia, on Jan. 8, 1949, to collect money for clothes she had sold. Four of the men were executed in Virginia’s electric chair Feb. 2, 1951. Three days later, the remaining three were also electrocuted. All of them were tried by all-white juries. It was the largest group of people executed for a single-victim crime in Virginia’s history. At the time, rape was a capital offense. But Northam said Tuesday that the death penalty for rape was applied almost exclusively to Black people. Northam said the pardons are an acknowledgement that the men did not receive due process and faced racial bias.

Washington

Seattle: The coronavirus pandemic is filling hospitals at an “alarming” rate and continuing to strain health care workers, state health officials said Monday. And for the first time during the pandemic, hospitals are also seeing large numbers of sick pregnant patients, said Dr. Tanya Sorensen, the executive medical director of women’s health at Swedish Health Services. She noted pregnant patients are generally less likely to be inoculated against COVID-19. “We’re seeing ICU admissions, maternal deaths, babies born prematurely either to help the mother breathe or rescue the baby,” she said. “It’s really heartbreaking. … Pregnant women need to be vaccinated.” As of Monday morning, the state’s hospitals and health care centers were treating 1,570 COVID-19 patients, Washington State Hospital Association CEO Cassie Sauer said. Of those, 188 were on ventilators. Eleven days ago, the hospital association had counted 1,240 patients with 152 on ventilators. “It’s an enormous stress on a health care system to have this many patients with a single diagnosis,” she said. “This doesn’t happen. … It’s very, very alarming.”

West Virginia

The Wheeling Suspension Bridge links Wheeling Island with the city at large that surrounds it on both sides of the Ohio River.

Wheeling: A historic suspension bridge will be undergoing major repairs, but it’s not clear whether the span will reopen to traffic. The West Virginia Division of Highways and Gov. Jim Justice announced Monday that a $17.9 million contract had been awarded to repair and rehabilitate the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register reports. The project will make repairs on the span’s superstructure and substructure as well as clean, paint, replace damaged suspension cables and renovate lighting, officials said. “It is absolutely fantastic news for the city of Wheeling to know that its most iconic structure, the suspension bridge, is going to be fully repaired and rehabilitated,” Mayor Glenn Elliott said Monday. The future of the historic 1849 bridge was in question after officials closed the span to vehicle traffic in 2019 since motorists repeatedly ignored Division of Highways weight restrictions and warnings on the structure. Multiple overweight vehicles tried to cross it, leading to damage, and it’s unclear whether the repairs will allow the bridge to reopen to traffic. After the contractor begins work on the bridge, crews will determine the extent of the damage, and officials will then determine how the bridge will be used going forward.

Wisconsin

Waukesha: A school district has reversed a decision to leave a federal free meals program following widespread criticism and loud protests from parents and others. Waukesha school board members said they received threats in the wake of national attention after voting to opt out of the program that was providing free breakfast and lunch to all students in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The board voted 5-4 on Monday to reverse course, with parents and others packing the meeting room and two overflow rooms. Board member Karin Rajnicek said after the board’s previous vote to end the free program that it made it easy for families to “become spoiled.” Darren Clark, assistant superintendent for business services, said he feared there would be a “slow addiction” to the service. Even without the program, Waukesha students from low-income families still would have been able to apply for free or reduced-price meals under the traditional National School Lunch Program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision to extend the Seamless Summer Option during the pandemic to offer free meals year-round has allowed for more coronavirus-safe practices by eliminating the need to collect payments and allowing meals to be served more easily in classrooms or outside.

Wyoming

Casper: More staff than inmates at the state’s men’s prisons have tested positive for the coronavirus in the past month, the Department of Corrections said late last week. Since July 23, the state has reported 43 cases of COVID-19 among staff at the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins and the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution in Torrington. A total of 20 inmates in those two facilities tested positive for the virus over the same period of time. “Historically, we’ve had far more positives in our inmate population, as a percentage of the population, than we’ve had for staff,” Wyoming Department of Corrections spokesperson Paul Martin said Wednesday. “I think that trend is changing now.” About 35% of prison employees report being fully vaccinated, compared to 64% of inmates, the agency said. Vaccinations are not required for anyone, Martin told the Casper Star-Tribune, but are offered to employees and inmates. Inmates are still wearing face coverings and social distancing, Martin said. The only facility that did not experience an outbreak during the peak of the pandemic was the Wyoming Women’s Center in Lusk. This month, the women’s prison has reported five cases among staff and 11 among inmates.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

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