In the news

Matthew Stokes of Waterloo, Iowa, is trying to regain custody of a young coyote named Drifter, now in the hands of a wildlife rehabilitator, that he said became his emotional support animal after it was orphaned in his backyard at a time when he was sick, adding, "he saved my life. And I saved his life, too."

Ray Cross, sheriff of Dade County, Ga., said he and Trenton police are working with school officials to identify as many as 50 adults and minors who may be victims of a group being investigated for trading sexually explicit photos.

Marty Walsh, the mayor of Boston, congratulated advocates who won their fight to change the name of Roxbury's Dudley Square, named for a politician who backed legalizing slavery in the 1600s, after city officials renamed it Nubian Square.

Kent Dutton of Ardmore, Ala., said he and his wife, Sherry, contacted the family of Justin and Keisha Godsey, who died in a tornado Monday, after they found a photo Tuesday of the Godseys on the Duttons' farm roughly 40 miles from where the tornado struck.

Emilie Talermo of San Francisco is offering a $7,000 reward, created a website and hired a plane to fly a banner over the city to find Jackson, her miniature Australian shepherd, after the dog was stolen from outside a store where it had been tied to a bench.

Adolfo Martinez, 30, of Ames, Iowa, convicted of burning an LGBT flag that was flying outside a church, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the hate crime of arson, as well as a year for reckless use of explosives or fire, prosecutors said.

Kendra Coleman, an Oklahoma County judge admonished for failing to pay state taxes and parking tickets, is challenging a state Ethics Commission decision to hold her in contempt for not turning over campaign records, saying the agency must provide her more details about its allegations.

Nicholas Smoot, 27, of Hillsboro, Mo., accused of beating his 53-year-old father to death with a golf club when the older man tried to stop his son from attacking his fiancee, faces murder, assault and other counts, police said.

Jack Littlejohn, returning home to Scotland on a flight from New York to London, voluntarily traded his business class seat and its amenities -- dinner, drinks and a reclining bed -- with an 88-year-old retired British nurse who was in an economy seat next to the toilets.

A Section on 12/20/2019

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