State news of national interest

EAST

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ A man who had to turn over all his guns in a domestic violence case shouldn't face an illegal weapons charge, the state's highest court ruled. The Court of Appeals decided William Havrish was in an "impossible dilemma." If he didn't turn over the unlicensed .44 Magnum pistol, he faced criminal contempt charges. If he did turn it over, he faced a weapons charge. The court said that violated his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) _ A suspect in two fatal shootings who'd been mistakenly released from a federal prison in Rhode Island was captured in Bridgeport. Anthony Rogers, 24, of Norwalk was arrested at gunpoint, nearly two weeks after he was released from the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Center, where he served time on a firearm charge. Rogers was then supposed to have been transferred to Connecticut custody to face murder charges.

SOUTH

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) _ Nearly 40 percent of first-year students in the largest state-financed college scholarship program failed to qualify to keep the grant for a second year. A 2.5 grade-point average is required. The Kentucky Education Excellence Scholarship goes to 63,500 students, mostly based on strong high school grades.

CLARKSDALE, Miss. (AP) _ The Delta Blues Museum will use a $1.5 million grant from the Mississippi Department of Transportation to fund a significant expansion. The museum, housed in the former Clarksdale railroad depot since 1999, will add 2,700 square feet of permanent exhibition space. Part of the new space likely will be used to house Muddy Waters' cabin, which is too tall to display in the current building, the museum's director said.

MIDWEST

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) _ Rescuers were called when members of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln rowing team were forced overboard in cold, choppy water during practice. One woman was rescued while eight others swam to safety. The crew coach had ordered team members into Lincoln lake because their flimsy boat was starting to break up in 5-foot swells caused by 30 mph winds.

CLEVELAND (AP) _ Two major philanthropic foundations announced they would start awarding construction grants only to projects deemed environmentally friendly. The Cleveland Foundation and the Gund Foundation wanted to make a bold statement amid concerns about climate change, Gund Foundation executive director David Abbott said. All proposals will have to be certified through the U.S. Green Building Council.

WEST

YUMA, Ariz. (AP) _ The pilot of a U.S. Marine Corps F-5 fighter jet had to take evasive action to avoid advertising balloons that broke free from a car dealership here. The incident prompted officials at the Marine Corps Air Station-Yuma to ask the city to take immediate action to crack down on the balloons, which are flown from several car lots.

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) _ A former Los Alamos Medical Center pathologist agreed to pay $800,000 in a final settlement over tissue samples taken in secret from hundreds of bodies in a Cold War-era study of radiation. Dr. Michael W. Stewart agreed to pay families of 304 people whose organs were taken, said plaintiff's attorney John Bienvenu.