california
Parade float company going out of business
PASADENA - A company that creates flower-encrusted floats for the annual Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena is going out of business after 25 years.
Charisma Floats co-owner Katie Rodriguez said Friday her organization is laying off its three full-time workers and 15 part-timers because it did not get any orders for the upcoming New Year's parade.
Two of the float maker's mainstays, the City of West Covina and a nonprofit group, pulled out after failing to raise enough money to enter the annual event, in which elaborate floats costing upward of $300,000 roll down Pasadena's main street in an often sun-splashed parade watched by television viewers across the country.
"We could not afford to continue," said Rodriguez, who owned the business with her husband.
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Colorado
Dead man driven by friends died of drugs
DENVER - A man whose friends are accused of driving him around while he was dead and running up a bar tab on his account had died of mixed drug intoxication, coroner's officials said Friday..
Officials said the death of 43-year-old Jeffrey Jarrett was accidental. Prosecutors filed criminal charges, including one of abusing a corpse, against 43-year-old Robert Young and 25-year-old Mark Rubinson.
Young testified Thursday that he thought Jarrett was drunk, not deceased.
Authorities allege Young went to Jarrett's home and found him unresponsive but that instead of calling police Young and Rubinson put him in a car and went drinking. Police say the two used Jarrett's card to pay for drinks Aug. 27.
Hawaii
Winter visitors sighted off Lanai
LANAI CITY - A pair of humpback whales was sighted off the eastern coast of Lanai.
The Pacific Whale Foundation said it's the first confirmed humpback whale sighting of the season in Maui County.
Foundation spokeswoman Anne Rillero said Friday that sightings in October aren't outside the norm.
The two whales were seen Thursday swimming toward Maalaea.
The first confirmed sighting for the state was Sept. 26 off the Big Island, several weeks earlier than expected.
Humpback whales migrate to Hawaii from their northern summer feeding area that extends from Northern California to the Bering Sea.
Kansas
Semi driver jailed after high-speed chase
WESTMORELAND - A Kansas tractor-trailer driver was jailed following a high-speed chase in three northeastern counties where authorities say he forced motorists off Interstate 70 and deliberately rammed two vehicles.
The trucker, from Salina, was being held Friday in the Pottawatomie County jail in Westmoreland.
Authorities say the chase began late Thursday after the trucker rammed his 18-wheel semitrailer into a pickup on I-70 just west of Topeka. There were also reports the semi was forcing other vehicles off the highway.
The semi, followed by both the pickup and authorities, headed west. It exited I-70 at Kansas 99 and continued north through Wamego and the smaller town of Louisville, where it rammed a car.
The chase ended early Friday when the rig became stuck in a yard.
Oklahoma
2-ton bull tours residential Tulsa
TULSA - A 2,500-pound bull strolled across several yards in Tulsa and had a late breakfast before police and animal-control officers corralled him.
Police said the animal escaped about 9 a.m. from a pasture next to an urban neighborhood on the city's east side. Officers told the Tulsa World the bull munched on gardens and lawns and peeked into windows, but didn't damage any homes or injure anyone.
Police cars and officers contained the bull in the backyard of a home. Animal-control officers brought in a horse trailer and captured the bull with help from an employee of the animal's owner.
Nevada
Festival banned in LA to return to Vegas
LAS VEGAS - A popular electronic music festival that's known both for its top DJs and its problems with spectator drug use is returning to Las Vegas next year.
Organizers of the Electric Daisy Carnival announced Thursday that the festival, which attracted 230,000 people last year, will return to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway from June 8-10 next year.
Tickets for the show go on sale Nov. 1.
The annual extravaganza was moved to Las Vegas this year after it was banned in Los Angeles following the death of a 15-year-old girl. No deaths were tied to this year's show in June, but hundreds of people were taken to the hospital and dozens were arrested, mostly for drug-related offenses.
The show featured Tiesto, David Guetta and Swedish House Mafia.
New Mexico
Drinking mayor won't run for Congress
LAS CRUCES - A mayor who admitted he was drunk when he signed contracts committing his city to $1 million in work has abandoned his plan to run for Congress.
The Albuquerque Journal reported Sunland Park Mayor Martin Resendiz made his decision in recent weeks based on recent publicity.
The former El Paso police officer and Sunland Park municipal judge has been mayor of the border town since 2008. He planned to seek the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce.
But in August, news broke that Resendiz admitted in a 2010 deposition for a lawsuit against the city that he signed contracts for work with an architectural design firm after drinking with company executives for several hours.
Texas
Central Texas water restrictions increased
GEORGETOWN - More severe water restrictions have been issued for several Central Texas cities.
Round Rock and Georgetown have banned all outdoor watering, including yards, athletic fields and washing cars.
That's because of a problem with a 26-mile pipeline that allows the Brazos River Authority to operate two reservoirs as one system. The two were already low because of the severe Texas drought. The pipeline will be out of service for at least two weeks.
Utah
Undie Run protest sets world record
SALT LAKE CITY - A protest of Utah's uptight laws that featured people running through the streets of Salt Lake City in their underwear set a new world record.
Guinness World Records said the Utah Undie Run broke the previous record for largest gathering of people wearing only underpants or knickers by 1,720 people.
Records officials say 2,270 people stripped to their underwear during the Utah Undie Run on Sept. 24. The previous record of 550 people was set last year in Great Britain.
Utah Undie Run organizers are planning another run next August. The event's goal is to protest the state's conservative politics.
Organizers prohibit nudity. Participants donned bras, panties, nightgowns, swimwear or colorful boxer shorts.
The Associated Press
