Illinois State

South Carolina State

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Colleton County, SC

Explore Beaufort SC

Some beachgoers were in for a surprise this week when a bizarre looking prehistoric fish washed ashore in Colleton County along Edisto Beach at Edisto Beach State Park. It turned out to be an atlantic sturgeon.

Rare Atlantic sturgeon washes ashore on South Carolina beach

Colorado State

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David Heitz

A bill quietly introduced this spring in the Colorado legislature to decriminalize the possession of drug paraphernalia obtained by harm reductionists has become law. As low-key as the legislation was introduced, the bill was signed into law without fanfare June 6. It garnered little to no media attention.

Colorado legalizes needles, pipes for meth and crack if obtained by harm reduction group

Ohio State

The Lantern

On Tuesday, licensed Ohio dispensaries began legally selling non-medical marijuana to consumers; however, the drug’s possession, growth and/or usage are still prohibited on Ohio State’s campus. Credit: Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times/TNS [Original caption: Four citizen-led petitions with proposals to update Dallas’ charter hit the 20,000 valid signature threshold to make it on the Nov. 5 election ballot, including one that would ban police officers from arresting or citing people carrying less than four ounces of marijuana.] As of Tuesday, students 21 and older can now legally purchase marijuana in Ohio.

Dispensary sales of recreational marijuana began Tuesday; possession and usage still prohibited on Ohio State’s campus

Jacksonville, FL

Jacksonville Today

A historic marker could be erected to honor the victims of the racist mass shooting at the Dollar General store in Jacksonville’s New Town neighborhood nearly a year ago. If approved by the Jacksonville City Council, a marker would be installed at Kings Road and Canal Street on Aug. 25, a day before the first anniversary of the shooting, when a white gunman took the lives of three Black people.

Memorial considered to honor Dollar General victims

Kansas State

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Missouri State

CJ Coombs

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) helps to locate missing children. Since July 1, 2024, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), 174 children have been reported missing in the U.S. Since January 1, 2024, there was a total of 1,445 reported missing in the country.

Missing Missouri children as of July 17, 2024, according to the NCMEC

Denver, CO

No, pallet shelters for people experiencing homelessness don’t fold into caskets. It’s a question a reader posed one of the first times I wrote about pallet shelters. I find the pallet shelters to be more palatable than ice fishing tents. The Colorado Village Collaborative operates both micro-communities and the so-called Safe Outdoor Spaces with the tents. We all learned the tents are not safe when a fire roared through a CVC Safe Outdoor Space, destroying the compound quickly. Officials never disclosed a cause of the fire.

Opinion: No, pallet shelters for homeless in Denver, Aurora don’t fold into caskets

Camden, NJ

Cornelius, NC

Morristown Minute

CAMDEN, N.J. – Lisa Smith, 61, of Cornelius, North Carolina, has admitted to her role in a fraudulent scheme involving over $3.5 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today that Smith pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Karen M. Williams in Camden federal court on July 17, 2024, to a charge of bank fraud conspiracy.

Woman Pleads Guilty to $3.5M COVID Relief Scam

In addition to collecting more than 8,000 used needles in the past year from Denver drug users, the Harm Reduction Action Center passed out 10,000 meth pipes and “snort kits,” according to a newsletter sent to its supporters Thursday. They also connected about 1,700 people to medical, mental health and substance abuse treatment.

Denver group hands out 10K meth pipes, ‘snort kits,’ connects 1,700 to treatment annually

Florida State

Uncovering Florida

In a divided vote on Senate Bill 1084, which would make a variety of regulatory changes including putting a ban on lab grown meat state-wide, Florida’s Senate and House ultimately decided to pass it, sending it on to Governor DeSantis for approval. DeSantis officially approved it on May 1, 2024, and the law came into effect on July 1, 2024.

DeSantis Signed New Florida Law: Selling Lab Grown Meat Is Now A Second Degree Misdemeanor

Massachusetts State

Dianna Carney

Sandy Paws Rescue Inc., a foster-based rescue in Massachusetts, has recently introduced a tiny 8lb dog named Bingo who is looking for her forever home. Bingo is a 3-year-old Shih Tzu mix with an adorable appearance and a sweet disposition. However, she needs a patient and understanding owner who recognizes that "dogs are not toys, and not all dogs love to be picked up right away," explains Sandy Paws Rescue Inc. This little lady requires some decompression time upon arriving at her new home to settle in comfortably.

Meet The Sweet Little Lady Looking For Love

Apache Junction, AZ

Suzy Jacobson Cherry

When I studied Anthropology in college, I learned that teeth have been indicators of economic status just about forever. Archaeologists look at the teeth in ancient skeletons and know who the rich were based on their tooth decay. During the Renaissance period, it became fashionable for women to blacken their teeth to look like they were better off than they were, because the royals and aristocrats, who could afford sugar and sweets, had more rotten and missing teeth than the poor.

Opinion: Stop Stereotyping Bad Teeth as a Sign of Drug Addiction

WyoFile

The woman who shot a video of a hydrothermal explosion in Yellowstone National Park on Tuesday morning told WyoFile she and her family were terrified as the blast sent boiling water and rocks skyward, destroying parts of a boardwalk, its guardrail and a nearby bench.

Yellowstone hydrothermal explosion: ‘We were terrified’

The Lens

This year’s area of low oxygen in the Gulf of Mexico is larger than average, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced on Thursday. The “dead zone” is approximately 6,705 square miles , as measured last week. Within NOAA’s 38 years of measuring the dead zone, this year’s assessment marks the 12th-largest area of low to no oxygen, which can kill fish and marine life.

Gulf ‘dead zone’ larger than average, larger than expected for 2024, scientists announce

More dangerous substances are entering the Denver drug supply, Harm Reduction Action Center warned in a newsletter this week. “The Iron Law of Prohibition posits that as law enforcement becomes more intense, the potency of prohibited substances increases,” HRAC Executive Director Lisa Raville wrote in the newsletter. That is exactly what is happening, she said.

Dangerous substances entering Denver drug supply

Louisiana State

Natrona County, WY

Houma, LA

A worker died Aug. 5 when the crane he was operating toppled at a wind farm construction site in remote Natrona County, state and local officials say. The victim, John William Hoffpauir, Jr., 55, of Houma, Louisiana, was working as a crane operator at the Cedar Springs wind energy construction site north of Casper and Glenrock under the control of Blattner Energy at the time of the accident. Hoffpauir was a Blattner Energy employee, a spokesperson for the company told WyoFile.

Worker killed in accident on wind energy construction site in Natrona County

The Denver City Council will vote Monday whether pump about $580,000 into its jail-based RISE, or Recovery in a Secure Environment program. The council will consider contracts for $389,434 and $193,475 through Sept. 30, 2025, with the Mile High Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and The Empowerment Program. Inmates enrolled in the RISE program spend much of their time out of their cells during the day engaging in therapeutic activities. There are group sessions and one on one treatment.

Jail-based drug, mental health recovery program costs Denver $580,000 for a year

Georgia State

Daily Coffee Press

The chances for the tropical wave in the Atlantic developing have now risen to 80% over the next seven days. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has advised that this disturbance could become the next tropical storm or hurricane within the coming days, potentially targeting the U.S. East Coast.

Tropical Wave That Could Impact Georgia Now Has 80% Chance of Development

Wyoming State

Two Sweetwater County lawmakers seeking re-election filed a defamation suit Thursday against a political action committee affiliated with the hard-line Wyoming Freedom Caucus over mailers that attack them over a vote they say never happened.

Lawmakers sue Wyoming Freedom PAC over Trump-ballot mailers

Sandy Paws Rescue Inc., a foster-based rescue in Massachusetts, recently introduced the dogs who have been waiting the longest in their care for a forever home. One of those dogs is Max, an adorable 11.5-month-old pup who has been waiting since June 3rd. Weighing in at 32 pounds, Max is already housebroken and crate-trained, making him an easy addition to any household. He is described as a dog who "loves his toys, playing with other dogs, and is great with kids too." Though he may be "a little shy with new people," his gentle and sweet nature shines through.

Meet The Sweet & Gentle Dog With A Unique Way Of Greeting New Friends

The Current GA

Since 2020, the condition known as long COVID-19 has become a widespread disability affecting the health and quality of life of millions of people across the globe and costing economies billions of dollars in reduced productivity of employees and an overall drop in the work force .

Expert: Long COVID puzzle pieces are falling into place – picture is unsettling

NewsBreak

Why rural healthcare matters even if you live in urban areas

People that live in rural areas face many barriers to accessing healthcare in their communities. From hospital closures to obstetric...

Why rural healthcare matters even if you live in urban areas

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