Month: October 2025

By Alyssa Bethencourt

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    LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A North Las Vegas mother says she’s living every parent’s nightmare after her 4-year-old son slipped out of his daycare unnoticed and made it all the way toward a busy intersection before anyone realized he was gone.

It happened Tuesday morning at the Simmons North Vegas KinderCare on Ann Road and Simmons Street.

His mother, Ashlyn Eidy, says it wasn’t until nearly 20 minutes later that another KinderCare parent spotted the boy near the intersection and brought him back to safety.

“He could have been gone.”

Fighting back tears, Eidy recalled the terrifying call she received.

“My child could have been splattered on the street. He could have been gone. I could have been planning his funeral,” she said. “He was not watched correctly and put in danger.”

Eidy says she trusted the daycare to keep her son safe.

“I thought he was in the right hands, to be protected the way that I would protect him.”

Now, she says, that trust is broken.

“Every second, it’s guilt that I can’t believe I put my child there thinking that it was a good school.”

KinderCare admits safety protocols weren’t followed

In a statement to Channel 13, KinderCare officials confirmed that the child did leave the facility, calling the incident “something that should never have happened.”

They said that the staff members involved are on leave, and that the entire team is being retrained on child supervision protocols. The company also said it is cooperating with North Las Vegas Police and state regulators to determine how the incident occurred.

“What kind of response would you have wanted?” senior reporter Alyssa Bethencourt asked. “There’s no response that’s appropriate. It shouldn’t have happened,” Eidy said.

A mother’s plea for change

Eidy says she’s pulled her son from the center and doesn’t plan to enroll him anywhere else anytime soon.

Her biggest fear now is that another family could face the same horror.

“At the end of the day, what if this happens to another one? What are you going to do about it? You should have better protocols,” Eidy said.

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By Geneva Zoltek

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    LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It’s not just pigeons that strut the UNLV campus, the university is also a resting ground for migratory birds.

And now — the campus is a little bit safer for the feathered creatures that stop down on their long journeys — thanks to a group of students speaking up for wildlife.

“It is a huge corridor for migration,” said Aaron Smith, a member of the Birding and Conservation Club and a junior studying cybersecurity.

“One of the best things about growing up here is that we have amazing nature and amazing wildlife, and it’s kind of hard to imagine Nevada with none of that,” Smith continued.

It’s not an empty fear.

Bird populations are in decline across the country, and one reason might surprise you: In the U.S. alone, research shows more than one billion birds die annually from hitting windows.

“We saw a couple of collisions and it’s a little distressing,” Smith explained.

But instead of standing by, the club took action by surveying campus and collecting data on bird collisions at different buildings assessing “hot spots” for collisions.

Then, they brought a game plan to facilities.

“Everything went smoothly, the way they handled it,” said Michael Bailey, Assistant Director for UNLV Work Management and Facilities Management.

Bailey explained that the students of the birding club set up meetings with his team and showed off their data, making the case for intervention. For the facilities department, it was an easy yes to get involved.

With a donation from Red Rock Audubon and labor donation from UNLV staff, several vinyl screens were installed at different hot spots — including one window of significant issue at the William D. Carlson Education building.

According to the Birding and Conservation Club, the students surveying counted 18 bird collisions at that window.

“It’s definitely nice to actually get to interact with the students, help them out with something that is important to them. So yeah, it means a lot to us,” said Garrett Hedges, who helped oversee the project with UNLV Facilities Management.

But how does it work?

“It’s a series of little dots on the glass that are evenly spaced just enough that the bird notices something with the depth reception is wrong. It interrupts the illusion,” Smith explained.

The project cements a partnership between students and staff that all parties hope to continue into the future.

“Groundskeeping and facilities, they definitely do a lot of work to make it a friendly place for wildlife. We’d like to kind of supplement that by also making it a safe place for wildlife,” Smith said.

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By Johnette Magner

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    SHREVEPORT, Louisiana (KTBS) — A Shreveport family’s grief turned to shock and anger today when a burial at Carver Memorial Cemetery was abruptly halted — after relatives discovered another casket already inside the grave prepared for their loved one.

The family of Frank Ruffin Sr., a beloved pastor and musician, gathered at the cemetery expecting to lay him to rest. Instead, they were met with a disturbing sight: a damaged casket visible inside the open grave.

A casket was uncovered at Carver Cemetery Thursday morning as the funeral home prepared the gravesite for a man’s burial.

“When you open a grave, you should never see the casket of another loved one,” said Alexander Elie, owner of Choice Funeral Home, who was handling Ruffin’s burial.

Elie said that when he saw what happened, he and the family agreed to not move forward and instead reload Ruffin’s casket into the hearse and return it to the funeral home.

Gravesite where Frank Ruffin Sr. was to be buried Thursday morning.

When KTBS arrived at the cemetery shortly afterward, cemetery owner Arthur Walsh was seen using a backhoe to quickly fill in the grave. He told KTBS that the hole had “caved in,” but declined to speak further on camera.

“Even if the grave caved, why was it still like that when we got here?” asked Elie.

The end of a casket can be seen after a hole was dug Thursday morning at Carver Cemetery for Frank Ruffin Sr.’s burial plot.

Family members of Frank Ruffin Sr. console each other after not being able to complete his burial service Thursday morning.

Family members said they were stunned not only by the discovery but also by the way cemetery Walsh handled the situation.

“He offered to just throw dirt in the hole and ignore the fact that someone’s casket had been damaged,” said Ruffin’s niece, Angelica Hampton. “When we asked for a refund, he told us to call the office, said that was fine, and walked away — without even offering condolences.”

Ruffin’s granddaughter, Jer-Kiya Hall, said her grandfather was “a funny person” who “was not only my papa, he was my best friend.”

The family had hoped for a peaceful farewell to a man remembered for his faith, his music, and his warmth. Instead, they were left heartbroken and frustrated.

KTBS has reported on issues at Carver Cemetery for years, including complaints about overgrown grass, broken headstones, and missing grave markers. The Louisiana Cemetery Board previously told KTBS it has no jurisdiction over Carver Cemetery because it is not a perpetual care cemetery.

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By Victoria D

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    KENNEBUNK, Maine (WBZ) — Police in Kennebunk, Maine are looking for two people seen picking up money from the street after a man drove off with thousands of dollars in cash on the roof of his car.

On Wednesday evening, police said the man had just sold a car and got $7,400 in cash for it. He then drove off with all the money on the roof of his car and the cash then fell off on Fletcher Street.

A dashcam then caught two people picking up the money in the roadway before leaving the area. Police said they now consider this money stolen property and would like to speak to them.

At least one of the people who grabbed the money was a man described by police as being older and wearing a blue shirt and brown pants. He was last seen driving a dark gray Honda CR-V westbound on Fletcher Street just before 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Anyone with information on the people or the whereabouts of the money is asked to call Officer David Brown at the Kennebunk Police Department at 207-985-6121, ext. 1637.

Located on the southern tip of Maine in York County, Kennebunk is about two hours north of Boston. It’s popular in the summer for its beaches and is also home to the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge.

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By Alexa Liacko

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    ATLANTA (WUPA) — Census data show there are more single parents in Georgia than in most U.S. states, and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research finds that the majority of these parents are single mothers in college.

Many of these women are struggling to pay for their education and their bills.

To help with the burden, a metro Atlanta organization is helping single parents finish school by offering much more than help with their tuition.

Helping Atlanta single parents stay afloat

Susan Jaeskce has two full-time jobs.

“My shift starts at 12. I work from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m.. On the days that I’m not working. I leave the house around 3:15 and I pick the kids up,” Jaeskce said.

She’s a mom to her twin fourth graders as well as an ER nurse.

“It’s busy. It’s very busy. It’s very, very busy,” she said.

Susan Jaeskce almost had to quit her education, but was able to become a nurse thanks to the help from H.O.P.E. Inc.

She’s grateful for the chaos at home because two years ago, things were different. She had been laid off from her marketing job during the pandemic. She decided to go back to school, but almost had to quit.

“I had nothing, no money,” Jaescke recalled. “I, my parents had cosigned on a massive student loan to like, help cover expenses.”

Still, she was coming up short.

“I was applying to all these scholarships that kept getting denied, and I was desperate. I was going to the food pantry for food because, you know, I was feeding my kids over, feeding myself,” she said.

That’s when Jaescke found H.O.P.E. Inc., a nonprofit in Atlanta helping single parents stay in school and stay afloat. The program gives parents up to $800 monthly for rent and childcare expenses. Any single parent who is pursuing a two or four-year degree can apply for help.

Their team also gives families financial counseling, offers tutors for their children, and helps with transportation.

The mission behind H.O.P.E. Inc.

Kenita Smith founded the nonprofit as a single mom after realizing that it takes much more than tuition.

“When parents, especially single parents, or just people in general, aren’t able to complete their college degree, it really does not break the cycle of poverty. It continues to weigh on the economy because these individuals will need to get assistance somehow,” Smith said. “So it’s just a ripple effect.”

Kenita Smith founded H.O.P.E. Inc. as a single mom to help others break out of the cycle of proverty.

Smith said parents working with H.O.P.E. Inc. have increased their income by an average of $44,000, because degrees open doors to higher-paying jobs.

“We’re not just talking about one household, but we’re talking about how this impacts a whole entire community,” she said.

The nonprofit funds its work through donors and grants.

For Jaescke, the support created a second chance she never thought was possible.

“My credit score’s over 800. It wasn’t like that when I first started,” she said. “I am now showing my kids that they can do anything, no matter how difficult the situation is. You might not have two pennies to rub together, but there’s always a little bit of hope that you can find.”

For this mom, that is a dream much bigger than a degree.

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By Marisa Sardonia

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    NORTH CAROLINA (WLOS) — Twelve black bear cubs have been successfully rehabilitated and released back to the wild, state officials confirmed.

These efforts were part of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s long-running cub rehabilitation program, according to a press release from the commission. The program began in 1976 to help restore the state’s black bear population, the wildlife agency said.

This most recent release back to the wild included four cubs from the coastal region and eight from the mountains.

A video released by North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission showing two young black bears being released into the wild after being rehabilitated. (Photo: North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission)

NCWRC said it receives orphaned bear cubs starting in late January, with most arriving between April and June. The cubs are then placed with either the North Carolina Zoo or the Appalachian Wildlife Refuge, where they receive specialized care and food until they are between 7 and 8 months old.

Cubs are then released in early fall when natural foods such as acorns and berries are in abundance, the wildlife commission said.

The NCWRC advises that a bear cub seen alone is rarely orphaned, as the mother is often nearby. Intervening with the cub could separate it from its mother and potentially cause harm, according to the NCWRC.

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