LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Two people were killed by falling trees in northeast Arkansas as powerful storms swept through parts of the Midwest and South, knocking over trees and utility lines.

The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management says one man died when a tree fell on a van, while another man was killed in nearby Jonesboro when a tree fell onto his home. Their names haven’t been released.

Strong winds also blew over a freight train on a Union Pacific line, blocking U.S. Highway 49. Arkansas State Police say no one was injured and no hazardous cargo was involved.

Spokesman Bill Sadler says about a half-dozen tractor-trailers also blew over in the region. No hazardous materials or serious injuries were involved.

The storms damaged numerous homes and businesses and caused widespread power outages.

NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP) — Tobacco sales on Navy ships and in stores on Navy and Marine Corps bases would be a thing of the past under a plan being considered by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus (MAY’-bus), but some congressional members are pushing back.

The Navy Department, which includes the Marine Corps, would be the first military department to prohibit tobacco sales.

Mabus says he wants sailors who are fit and resilient. Opponents in Congress say the prohibition overreaches on a habit that is unhealthy but still legal.

The Defense Department says tobacco use costs it an estimated $1.6 billion annually in medical costs and lost work time.

A spokeswoman for Mabus says some sailors and Marines understand the proposal, while others are indifferent and others are concerned.

BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) — Police in Washington state say a man suspected of taking $9,200 worth of clubs and other merchandise from the pro shop at Gold Mountain Golf Course had no criminal history, but appears to be addicted to golf.

Bremerton police detectives spotted some of the stolen gear for sale online and arrested the suspect Wednesday in Kirkland.

Police Chief Steve Strachan (stran) said in a news release that robberies are often the result of addictions, but this is the first one police have seen “that looks like a golf addiction.”

Other property that was stolen from the pro shop on Memorial Day was recovered from the suspect’s apartment.

HONOLULU (AP) — A former soldier facing the death penalty for the murder of his 5-year-old daughter has apologized and is asking jurors to let him live.

Naeem Williams read a statement to jurors Wednesday expressing his regret for killing daughter Talia. The jury that convicted him of capital murder in April will determine if he’s sentenced to death or life in prison for the 2005 beating death.

He says he wants the chance to be a better father to his two other children, an 11-year-old son who lives in Georgia and a 9-year-old daughter who lives in Tennessee.

The children testified Wednesday that they enjoy their relationship with him even though he’s incarcerated thousands of miles away in Hawaii.

Williams has testified that he often beat Talia while he was stationed in Hawaii.

TEHACHAPI, Calif. (AP) — The mother of a Central California teenager who committed suicide after years of anti-gay bullying has reached a $750,000 settlement with her son’s school district.

Wendy Walsh, whose 13-year-old son, Seth, hanged himself in 2010, accused the Tehachapi Unified School District of failing to take adequate steps to stop her son from being harassed. U.S. Department of Education investigators agreed, saying the district southeast of Bakersfield did not adequately investigate or respond to the bullying.

The settlement was reached in March. Walsh initially sought more than $6 million. Her attorney, Daniel Rodriguez, says she took the reduced amount in part to avoid the trauma of a trial.

Tehachapi Unified Superintendent Lisa Gilbert says the district now requires bullying to be reported and investigated in a timely manner.

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — City officials in Yakima, Washington, say that some pit bull owners are falsely claiming that their dogs are service animal to circumvent a city ban of the breed.

City code manager Joe Caruso said one pit bull whose owner claimed it was a service dog killed a cat that entered its yard, and another pit bull escaped and bit three people.

The dog that attacked people was put down and the cat killer is banned from the city until its case is heard in court.

Meanwhile, Yakima plans to ask service dog owners to sign a form that says they could be charged with perjury if their pit bull isn’t a real service animal.

WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — Prosecutors say two 12-year-old southeastern Wisconsin girls stabbed their 12-year-old friend nearly to death to please a fictional character they learned about online.

Both girls were charged with first-degree attempted homicide Monday in Waukesha County Circuit Court. A court commissioner set bail at $500,000 cash per girl.

The criminal complaint says that one of the girls told a detective they had to kill someone to become proxies of a character called Slender Man they learned about on a horror-story website. The complaint says the girls started planning to kill their friend as early as December.

The three girls had a slumber party Friday. The two stabbed their friend 19 times in a wooded park Saturday.

The girl managed to crawl away and was found by a bicyclist. She is hospitalized.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The parents of a 2-year-old boy who was mauled to death after falling into a wild African dogs exhibit have settled their lawsuit against the Pittsburgh zoo.

The attorneys for the boy’s parents, Jason and Elizabeth Derkosh, issued a joint statement with the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium on Monday.

Their son, Maddox, lunged from his mother’s grasp and fell some 10 feet past a wooden railing into an enclosed exhibit below in 2012. He had bounced off a net meant to catch falling debris and trash, then into the exhibit, where several dogs fatally attacked him.

The bespectacled boy, who had vision problems, became the only visitor in the zoo’s 116-year history to die.

The statement says the settlement is confidential and that the family seeks privacy.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A cook at a New Mexico facility that trains state corrections employees faces battery charges after authorities say she secretly licked sandwiches then served them to probation and parole officers.

Yolanda Arguello (ar-GWAY’-oh) was charged last week following witness interviews into the bizarre allegations at the South Valley New Mexico Women’s Recovery Academy in Albuquerque.

According to a criminal complaint, witnesses told investigators that the 59-year-old would take a piece of cheese, lick it and put it on sandwiches at the academy. Another witness told authorities Arguello was seen sucking on an ice cube and putting it back into a cup before handing it to a staff member.

She is charged with three counts of battery on a peace officer.

It was unknown if she had an attorney.

FLORENCE, N.J. (AP) — A man who allegedly fled from a traffic stop in southern New Jersey with a police officer inside his car in facing numerous charges.

Florence police say 19-year-old Randy Eno Mase of Wilmington, Delaware was stopped early Saturday for speeding.

When officers started speaking with Mase, they say he tried to drive off. An officer then entered the car through the driver’s side door and tried to stop him, but Mase drove off with the officer still in the vehicle.

A short time later, the officer was able to stop the vehicle.

Mase faces numerous charges, including aggravated assault, eluding and drug charges. He also faces several motor vehicle citations.

A telephone number for Masse could not be located Sunday.