uPARKLAND, Fla. (AP) — Fifty special trombones have been given out to band students throughout Florida in honor of a teenager who died in the Parkland high school shooting.

The South Florida SunSentinel reports that $50,000 worth of the instruments were awarded Saturday in honor of 14-year-old Alex Schachter, who was a trombone player in the marching band at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Alex was one of 17 people killed by a gunman at the school in February 2018.

The instruments are engraved with a motif combining Alex’s name and a trombone. The money was raised in part by other students playing music on street corners and intersections over the past few months.

Alex’s father, Max Schachter, says because of the gift, his son’s love of music is “expanding all across the state.”

uLast lawsuit in Virginia boy’s septic tank drowning settled: PULASKI, Va. (AP) — A wrongful death lawsuit filed in connection with the drowning of a 5-year-old Virginia boy in a septic tank has been settled with a $200,000 insurance payment to his parents and sister.

The Roanoke Times reports the order entered Wednesday in Pulaski County Circuit Court resolves the last legal case connected to the boy’s March 2015 death.

Gary and Sharon Meadows owned the property where Noah died and were the remaining defendants in the wrongful death lawsuit. The order ending the case said that the couple admitted no liability for the boy’s death.

Noah disappeared from his family’s rented mobile home while his mother napped. He was found in a septic tank after a four-day search.

Noah’s parents, Ashley White and Paul Thomas, were convicted of child abuse and neglect.

uMan charged in fatal attack on Appalachian Trail: ABINGDON, Va. (AP) — Federal authorities say a Massachusetts man has been arrested in an attack on the Appalachian Trail that left one person dead and another severely injured.

U.S. Attorney Thomas Cullen said in a news release Sunday that 30-year-old James L. Jordan of West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, was arrested early Saturday and charged with murder and assault.

The Wythe County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Saturday that two hikers reported a man with a machete was attacking people. The federal release doesn’t identify the weapon but describes the attack as a “deadly stabbing.”

uQUICK-THINKING POLICE OFFICERS SAVE LIFE OF CHOKING BABY: WARWICK, R.I. (AP) — Two Rhode Island police officers are being praised for their quick actions that saved the life of a choking baby.

Warwick Police Officers Brian Holleran and Anthony D’Abrosca were responding to another call in the Kohl’s parking lot on Friday when they heard a woman calling for help.

Police say the two officers rushed into the store and saw that the 16-month-old baby was choking.

Holleran tells WJAR that he gave her a couple blows to the back and performed CPR.

After the officer’s actions, the baby was able to breathe again. Police say the baby was taken to the hospital and has made a full recovery.

uMISSOURI MAN ACCUSED OF KILLING CATS HE FOUND ON CRAIGSLIST: ST. PETERS, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man is charged with felony animal abuse after authorities say he killed and dismembered cats he found in online want ads.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says 20-year-old Kaine Louzader was charged Friday. Prosecutors say more charges are expected.

Court documents say dead cats have been turning up on or near Louzader’s street outside St. Peters since January. Police contacted Louzader after someone reported seeing him dump a dead cat near his house.

St. Charles County police Sgt. Jeff Ochs says Louzader told police he would scour Craigslist ads for free cats, then would take them home and stomp or strangle them. Police say he dismembered some cats before dumping their remains.

uDENNIS RODMAN ACCUSED OF STEALING FROM YOGA STUDIO: NEWPORT BEACH (AP) — The owner of a Southern California yoga studio is accusing Dennis Rodman of helping three people steal more than $3,500 in merchandise from his business.

Ali Shah says security cameras captured the former NBA star walking into Vibes Hot Yoga in Newport Beach on Tuesday with his alleged accomplices. Shah said the four worked together to distract an employee so they could steal clothes and a 400-pound (181-kilogram) amethyst crystal from the front desk.

Shah said Rodman returned Wednesday and tried to distract a different employee while a female companion grabbed clothes that were on display.

Rodman told TMZ that the studio’s owner offered him the clothes as gifts in exchange for moving the crystal.

uDEATH TOLL IN VIRGINIA GAS STATION EXPLOSION RISES TO 3: BUENA VISTA, Va. (AP) — Authorities say three sets of remains have been discovered at Virginia gas station where an explosion occurred.

Virginia State Police said in a news release Saturday that the number of people who died in Friday morning’s explosion had increased from two as the investigation continued. Authorities said previously that four people were injured.

Virginia State Police spokesman Sgt. Rick Garletts says the remains of the dead were taken to the medical examiner for identification, which may take several days.

 MAN GETS LIFE IN PRISON FOR LIGHTING HOMELESS WOMAN ON FIRE: CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A homeless man who lit a homeless West Virginia woman on fire as she slept has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

News outlets report Carl Tramane Magee III was sentenced Friday in Kanawha County Circuit Court. A jury found him guilty of murder by arson in March and later recommended no mercy.

Police said the 44-year-old woman was asleep on a Charleston porch in July 2017 when Magee poured gasoline on her and lit her on fire. Video from a surveillance camera showed Magee going up to the porch with a gas can and a fire igniting.