In the Nation

COLORADO

No sexting charges for 106 students

More than 100 students involved in a sexting scandal at a southern Colorado high school will not face charges, a prosecutor said Wednesday in a case that illustrated the digitally saturated reality of sexting cases across the country.

Fremont County District Attorney Thom LeDoux said the investigation into the scandal at Canon City High failed to show any adults were involved. None of the 351 images were posted to the Internet, and there was no evidence of coercion, he said.

Some 106 students were involved in some way in the exchanges of explicit photos. An unknown number of students were suspended when the scandal broke in November.

Some students could have faced charges that would have required them to register as sex offenders. Possession of explicit photos of minors is a felony in Colorado, which, like many states, has not updated laws for the smartphone age. - AP

LOUISIANA

Southern statues out?

Four prominent Confederate monuments long taken for granted on the streets of New Orleans may be coming down soon. This week and next, City Council will take up the issue of removing four monuments linked to Confederate history, including statues of Gens. Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard, and Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president. A volunteer group that looks after city monuments said it had collected about 31,000 signatures of people opposed to removing the monuments. - AP

ALASKA

Income tax proposed

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker is proposing a personal income tax for the first time in 35 years as the oil-reliant state looks to plug a multibillion-dollar deficit amid low oil prices. Alaska is blowing through its reserves at an estimated $10 million a day. Alaska isn't alone among oil producers to experience hard times, but unlike other states, it has few industries to make up the difference. - AP