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Vermont remembers farmer

In this April, 15, 1964 photo released by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, farmer Romaine Tenney, left, stands with state agent James Wu on his farm in Ascutney, Vt. The Vermont Agency of Transportation is asking the public for ideas for a permanent memorial to Tenney, who took his life after his farm was seized in 1964 to make way for the construction of Interstate 91. A meeting is scheduled for Oct. 29, 2019, at the Ascutney fire station. (Donald Wiedenmayer/Vermont State Archives and Records Administration via AP)

ASCUTNEY, Vt. — A symbol of progress overtaking the state’s agricultural past — a tree that once shaded a farm now largely buried beneath Interstate 91 — is dying and must be cut down. People in the Ascutney neighborhood in the Connecticut River town of Weathersfield and the state of Vermont are looking for a way to commemorate the legacy of Romaine Tenney, the whiskered, overall-wearing man who farmed with horses, hayed with a pitchfork, lived without electricity and refused to drive or sell his land to the state. In the summer of 1964, the 64-year-old Tenney went into his home after sheriff’s deputies had served the paperwork needed to seize his farm and emptied his barns, piling a lifetime of farming equipment on a hillside a short distance away. A few hours after the deputies had gone, locals noticed a glow from Tenney’s farm: both the house and the barn were ablaze. His body was found some time later among the ashes. In Vermont, the interstate system is credited with helping the state shake its reputation as a northeastern backwater and made it possible for the state’s growth, but that growth did not come without cost. The southbound lane of Interstate 91 now runs through what was once Tenney’s farm. The dying maple tree, estimated to be 100 years old, that once shaded a portion of the Tenney’s farm, sits between a commuter parking lot and the interstate.

Steps become a tourist attraction

NEW YORK — Move over, Rocky, there’s a new stairway to climb. A set of outdoor steps in the Bronx has become a tourist attraction in recent weeks since the release of the movie “Joker.” The stairs are between two buildings on Shakespeare Avenue, about a half-mile from Yankee Stadium. In the movie, lead actor Joaquin Phoenix dances as he goes down the steps, wearing a bright red suit and clown makeup. These days, neighborhood residents using the steps are being joined by tourists trying to recreate the scene. The visitors have been taking selfies, and some have even shown up in costume. Coming to the stairs is “really immersive,” said Oliver Bonallack, visiting from Brighton, England. “You never really get to experience a film first-hand. I feel like it is so iconic.” Not everyone is thrilled with the upsurge in popularity. “We live in the neighborhood, it’s taking up all of our time, we’re all being inconvenienced,” said Bronx resident Cathyrine Spencer. “Every day when I come down the stairs, I have to go through a barrage of people.”

Man gets time for stealing lemur

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A man who admitted stealing a ring-tailed lemur from a Southern California zoo has been sentenced to three months in federal prison. Aquinas Kasbar of Newport Beach on Monday was also ordered to pay more than $8,000 in restitution to the Santa Ana Zoo. The 19-year-old pleaded guilty in July to one misdemeanor count of unlawfully taking an endangered species. In a plea agreement, Kasbar acknowledged that he broke into the zoo, cut a hole in an enclosure and took 32-year-old Isaac, the oldest captive ring-tailed lemur in North America. The animal was placed in a container with no ventilation and later abandoned at a hotel with notes identifying it as having been taken from the zoo. It was returned unharmed. Ring-tailed lemurs are native to Madagascar and among the 25 most endangered primates.

Explosion was stunt gone awry

KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Authorities say an Iowa family’s attempt at a gender reveal party for a soon-to-be-born baby went horribly wrong when a homemade device that was meant to discharge colored powder instead exploded like a pipe bomb, killing a 56-year-old relative. Pamela Kreimeyer died instantly when debris struck her head Saturday before flying another 432 feet and landing in a nearby field in rural Knoxville, about 35 miles southeast of Des Moines. Kreimeyer was 45 feet from the device when it exploded. Family members had been experimenting with explosives in the hopes of posting a colorful announcement on social media, authorities said. They welded a metal cylinder to a stand and packed it with gunpowder that they thought would send the colored baby powder aloft. But authorities say tape covering the top of the cylinder caused it to detonate like a pipe bomb.

Oregon congressman to retire

SALEM, Ore. — The lone Republican in Oregon’s congressional delegation won’t seek reelection to a 12th term, throwing a huge district covering a conservative part of the state up for grabs. With less than seven months to go before the 2020 primaries, Rep. Greg Walden’s videotaped announcement on Monday sets up further changes in the U.S. House of Representatives, which Democrats regained control of in the 2018 midterm elections. Walden is the 19th House Republican to announce he or she will not seek re-election. Three other GOP lawmakers have resigned. Walden is a former chairman of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee and now serves as the top Republican on the energy panel. He was a key player in GOP efforts to replace President Barack Obama’s health care law but was considered a moderate.

Congresswoman steps down

The resignation of a female Democratic congresswoman over a consensual, sexual relationship with a campaign aide has sparked questions about whether women are held to higher standards in public life. At the center of the controversy is Katie Hill, a first-term lawmaker from California and a rising Democratic Party star. In a video released Monday, Hill said she was stepping down because she was “fearful of what might come next” following the online publication of explicit pictures that outed her relationship with a female staffer. Hill acknowledged the relationship with the campaign aide after private photos of her with the woman were posted online, first by a conservative website. Hill said the relationship was consensual and blamed her estranged husband for revealing the information. Hill and her husband are in the midst of an acrimonious divorce. Hill has denied another allegation that she was having an affair with a male congressional adviser, a relationship that would have run afoul of House rules put in place last year that ban any relationship between lawmakers and staff. Those rules were enacted following a string of misconduct allegations involving male colleagues.

Trial for ex-Michigan State chief

LANSING, Mich. — A judge on Monday ordered former Michigan State University President Lou Ann Simon (pictured) to stand trial on charges that she lied to police about her knowledge of a sexual misconduct complaint against now-imprisoned sports doctor Larry Nassar. The ruling came the same day the school revealed that a trustee resigned Saturday over the governing board’s decision last month to drop an independent review of Nassar’s assaults, despite having unanimously voted for the probe in June. Nancy Schlichting, in a letter to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, said it became clear to her that four trustees do not share the commitment by Schlichting and three other trustees to an independent review, including the release of documents protected by attorney-client privilege “so the truth can come out.” “I deeply regret that my board service has been so short, but hope that the next appointed trustee will be able to make a greater impact than I have,” she wrote. Eaton County District Judge Julie Reincke, meanwhile, found probable cause to send Simon to trial on two felony and two misdemeanor charges of giving false statements to law enforcement agents who accused her of impeding their investigation into one of Nassar’s sexual assaults and whether she or other university officials committed misconduct in office.

Man arrested in Texas shooting

GREENVILLE, Texas — A man suspected of opening fire at an off-campus college party in Texas, killing two people and injuring 12 others, was arrested Monday. Brandon Ray Gonzales, 23, of Greenville, Texas, was taken into custody less than 48 hours after Saturday’s shooting, Hunt County Sheriff Randy Meeks said. Gonzales, who was arrested at the auto dealership where he worked, was booked into the Hunt County jail on a charge of capital murder of multiple persons. Bond was set at $1 million. In a television interview Monday, Gonzales maintained he is innocent. The shooting happened around midnight Saturday outside Greenville, 15 miles southwest of a satellite campus of the Texas A&M University System. Authorities believe the shooter may have been targeting just one person at the party of about 750 people, and that others may have been shot at random, Meeks has said. Kevin Berry Jr. of Dallas and Byron Craven Jr. of Arlington, both 23, were killed. The shooting took place at a Halloween and homecoming party for Texas A&M University-Commerce at a facility called The Party Venue, though officials said it was not a school-sanctioned event.

Man guilty of stalking Swift

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A 27-year-old Austin, Texas, man has pleaded guilty to stalking and sending threatening letters and emails to pop star Taylor Swift’s former record label. The letters to Big Machine Label Group began in January 2018 with Eric Swarbrick asking the CEO to introduce him to Swift. Over time the letters became more violent and threatening. On three occasions Swarbrick drove to Nashville to personally deliver them. He also admitted to wandering the offices. Swarbrick sent at least 40 letters and emails before he was charged and arrested in September 2018. Swarbrick will remain in custody until he is sentenced in March. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the two counts.

Dems plan first formal vote

WASHINGTON — House Democrats are laying the groundwork for the next phase of their impeachment inquiry with a vote this week on a resolution to affirm the investigation, set rules for public hearings and outline the potential process for writing articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. It aims to nullify complaints from Trump and his allies that the process is illegitimate, unfair and lacking in due process.

S&P 500 hits all-time high

The S&P 500 index closed at an all-time high Monday, extending a recent string of gains in what’s mostly been a solid month for the market. The benchmark index closed at 3,039.42, around 14 points above its previous record set on July 26. The S&P 500 notched its latest milestone after weeks of hovering just below its prior high. Investors have been balancing worries over the impact that the costly trade war between the U.S. and China is having on corporate profits and the global economy against renewed optimism that negotiations that got underway this month could lead to some kind of resolution in the conflict. “U.S.-China is not going away any time soon,” said Ben Phillips, chief investment officer of EventShares. “The market’s sentiment tends to swing from overly fearful to overly exuberant, and we’re probably starting to swing a little to the exuberant side right now. There are still a lot of risks out there.” Monday’s rally came at the beginning of a busy week of corporate earnings and economic reports and with investors expecting another interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

Two killed by poisonous gas

ODESSA, Texas — A 44-year-old Texas oil company worker died after being overcome by poisonous gas at a pump house, and his 37-year-old wife also was killed by the fumes when she went to check on him. Jacob and Natalee Dean died Saturday night after inhaling hydrogen sulfide gas at an Aghorn Energy pump house in Odessa. Deputies say the company dispatched the husband to check on the facility. When he didn’t return as expected, his wife tried to reach him by phone but got no answer. She drove with their two children, ages 6 and 9, to the pump house and was overcome by the colorless, highly corrosive gas when she entered the building. The children were left in the car and weren’t harmed.

Mystery space plane lands

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The Air Force’s mystery space plane is back on Earth, following a record-breaking two-year mission. The X-37B landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida early Sunday. The Air Force is mum about what the plane did in orbit after launching aboard a SpaceX rocket in 2017. The 780-day mission sets a new endurance record for the reusable test vehicle. It looks like a space shuttle but is one-fourth the size at 29 feet. Officials say this latest mission successfully completed its objectives. Experiments from the Air Force Research Laboratory were aboard.

Sentenced for mail truck robberies

LOS ANGELES — A former U.S. Postal Service worker is going to federal prison for helping rob Los Angeles-area mail trucks of nearly $240,000. William Crosby of Inglewood was sentenced Monday to 11 years in prison and ordered to pay restitution. Crosby arranged for his half-brother and others to rob two postal trucks at gunpoint and steal a container of cash from a third in 2017 and 2018. Under a plea agreement, Crosby said he used his job as a supervisor to identify trucks carrying cash from the sale of money orders and Postal Service merchandise. Prosecutors say one robbery victim was so traumatized that he later committed suicide.

Charged in boyfriend’s suicide

BOSTON — A former Boston College student who had “complete and total control” over her boyfriend has been indicted on an involuntary manslaughter charge for encouraging him to take his own life, Boston’s top prosecutor said Monday. Inyoung You, 21, was “physically, verbally and psychologically abusive” to fellow Boston College student Alexander Urtula during an 18-month relationship, Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said at a news conference. You sent Urtula, 22, of Cedar Grove, New Jersey, more than 47,000 text messages in the last two months of the relationship, including many urging him to “go kill yourself” or “go die,” Rollins said. You also tracked Urtula and was nearby when he died in Boston on May 20, the day of his Boston College graduation.

Man pleads in death of bicyclists

NEW ORLEANS — A man who drunkenly drove into a group of bicycle riders after a New Orleans Mardi Gras parade pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of vehicular homicide, averting a scheduled trial and opening himself for a possible 80-year prison sentence. Tashonty Toney, the 32-year-old son of a New Orleans police officer, was expected to face sentencing Tuesday.

LeBron James, Arnold forced to flee

LOS ANGELES — A wildfire swept through the star-studded hills of Los Angeles on Monday, destroying several large homes and forcing LeBron James and thousands of others to flee. Meanwhile, a blaze in Northern California wine country exploded in size. The flames that roared up a steep hillside near the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles’ Brentwood section illustrated the danger the state faces as high winds batter both ends of California and threaten to turn any spark into a devastating inferno. No deaths from either blaze were reported, but a firefighter was seriously injured in the fire in Sonoma County wine country. Some 2.2 million people lacked electricity after California’s biggest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, shut it off over the weekend in the northern part of the state to prevent its equipment from sparking blazes during windy weather. More deliberate blackouts are possible in the coming days because another round of strong winds is expected. The company, which was driven into bankruptcy after its equipment ignited several deadly wildfires in recent years, admitted Monday that despite the outages, its power lines may have started two smaller fires over the weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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