Month: November 2025

By Kayli Pascal-Martinez

Click here for updates on this story

    HILO, Hawaii (KITV) — A live skunk was captured at Hilo Harbor last Friday, November 7, after being spotted by shipping company workers around Pier 1.

According to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, inspectors were dispatched to the pier Thursday morning after reports of the skunk. While initial attempts to barricade the animal failed, inspectors later trapped it using cat food inside a shipping container.

The skunk was humanely euthanized for rabies testing, though previous captures in Hawaii have tested negative for the virus. Skunks pose a threat to native ground-nesting birds due to their egg-eating habits and are prohibited in the state.

Officials believe the skunk may have arrived as a stowaway on a cargo ship. Other skunks have been captured at various locations in the state, including Honolulu Harbor and Maui, with none testing positive for rabies.

Residents are urged to report sightings of invasive species to the state’s Pest Hotline at 808-643-PEST (7378).

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Jenna Wells

Click here for updates on this story

    MILWAUKEE (WDJT) — A Milwaukee teenager a judge called a “serial rapist” will now spend decades in prison.

“Depraved, inhumane, sadistic, and evil”: those were just some of the words Judge David Borkowski used to describe Tremonte Kirk’s offenses.

The 17-year-old pleaded guilty in September after sexually assaulting a woman in the elevator of her apartment building.

He was sentenced Tuesday to 35 years in prison, and 20 years on extended supervision.

Kirk was arrested in December 2024, after investigators said he followed a 53-year-old woman into her apartment building near 25th and Wisconsin Ave. and sexually assaulted her in the elevator. He also choked her, then stomped on her leg that was healing from a surgery.

The woman, Charlotte Nozar, said Kirk also threatened to kill her if she didn’t let him do what he wanted.

She spoke publicly at Tuesday’s, Nov. 11, sentencing about how the assault changed her life.

“My life was threatened. I was both suffocated and strangled. I was tortured, terrorized, and brutalized,” she said. “When they say your life flashes before your eyes, it truly does, and in a nanosecond.”

At his plea hearing in September, prosecutors said Kirk’s DNA was linked to another sexual assault that happened in October of last year, saying he assaulted a 23-year-old woman who was living inside her car.

It happened in the same area as the December assault, near the Ambassador Hotel. The woman was able to get away from Kirk before he injured or raped her.

Prosecutors asked the judge to consider that incident during Tuesday’s sentencing, rather than pursuing a separate case.

Kirk already had a detailed history of sexual assault convictions as a child.

In 2020, Kirk became an adjudicated delinquent at just 12 years old, after groping two people.

In 2021, he was convicted again after raping a 75-year-old woman during a home invasion.

Kirk spent time in Lincoln Hills youth detention facility for those convictions but was released early in August last year.

Judge Borowski said the system clearly failed Kirk by allowing him to re-offend so many times.

He also noted that Kirk preyed on vulnerable women.

“You engaged in monstrous conduct,” Borowski said Tuesday. “They’re not going to forget what you did to them. You have condemned both of them to some form of a life sentence.”

Assistant DA Samuel Tufford asked the judge to sentence Kirk to 49 years in prison, just shy of the maximum allowed for his charges.

Borowski said he had to give Kirk give credit for pleading guilty to avoid a trial that would further traumatize victims, resulting

A word used by the judge and the victims today to describe kirk… Was a sociopath. Resulting in his 35-year decision.

The victims and the judge both said it’s possible Kirk could be a sociopath, believing he didn’t have remorse or concern about his actions.

Prosecutors said Kirk was diagnosed with a conduct disorder in a previous mental health examination.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Gracie Palmer

Click here for updates on this story

    ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — A veteran’s social media post received a lot of attention, offering an act of kindness during a traffic nightmare on I-40 Monday night.

Richard Gray served in the U.S. Army from 1989 to 1997.

On Monday night, he found himself serving his community once again.

“Right place, right time, you know,” said Gray.

Richard was leaving an event in Mills River—hauling his seafood food truck, The Bell Buoy. He was on his way home to Waynesville.

“I packed up and hit the road about 7:15 p.m. and when we got off 26 and hit 40, it was just gridlocked,” Gray said.

That’s when wintry weather stopped traffic on I-40 for hours.

“I was talking to one of my friends, and he said there was somebody up by the weigh station that had been sitting there for about four and a half hours, and they needed something to drink,” Gray said.

“I just thought to myself, ‘I have water and food and snacks in the truck, so let’s just post it and see if somebody wants something,'” Gray said.

He pulled his food truck off on Exit 37, posted on Facebook, and started giving out food and water.

One of the drivers he served was paramedic Destiny Burgess.

“So, I had just got off a 36-hour shift, [and I hit] standstill traffic,” Burgess said.

Burgess was scrolling on her phone when she saw Richard’s post and pulled over.

“He gave me a full meal, drinks, chips, sweets to take home,” Burgess said.

This was the fuel she needed for her now, 5-hour commute home.

“He didn’t have to offer that. It helped a lot to get me back across the mountain.”

Since then, Gray’s social media has blown up, and so has his business.

“I didn’t do this expecting anything to happen. I did this to help people out that were stuck like we were,” Gray said.

“It means a lot. You know, with everything going on in the world, kindness goes a long way,” Burgess said.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Jesse Zanger

Click here for updates on this story

    New York (WCBS, WLNY) — Opening statements are taking place Wednesday in the trial of an alleged Chinese agent who had been an aide to two New York governors.

Linda Sun is accused of secretly working as an undisclosed agent for the Chinese government while serving under Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul.

She’s also accused of illegally profiting from New York’s bulk purchase of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sun and her husband Chris Hu were arrested last year at their nearly $4 million mansion in Manhasset on the North Shore of Long Island. The indictment, which is more than 50 pages long, alleges the two gained millions in benefits and bought luxurious properties, including a condo in Honolulu, and numerous fancy cars, including a Ferrari. Hu, a liquor store owner, is accused of money laundering and bank fraud.

The two have pleaded not guilty.

Sun served as a former deputy chief of staff, among other jobs, during her 13 years in New York state government. Prosecutors allege she was secretly an agent of the Chinese Communist Party, and she allegedly prevented officials from Taiwan from gaining access to the governor’s office. She allegedly forged Hochul’s signature, tampered with messages by New York state officials on issues of importance to China, and more.

Hochul previously said she was “outraged and absolutely shocked” by Sun’s alleged behavior, calling it “a betrayal of trust.”

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Jesse Zanger, Carolyn Gusoff

Click here for updates on this story

    LONG ISLAND, New York (WCBS, WLNY) — The former Long Island sleep center worker who pleaded guilty to secretly recording patients and co-workers in the bathroom faces sentencing Wednesday.

Sanjai Syamaprasad admitted to installing hidden cameras at a Northwell Health facility in Manhasset.

Police were alerted last year when he was caught watching the videos at work. Prosecutors seized more than 300 videos that recorded body parts of hundreds of people, but they were only able to bring charges involving five victims, including a child.

Syamaprasad is expected to be sentenced to probation, but no jail time, after pleading guilty to unlawful surveillance and evidence tampering. Syamaprasad is expected to also register as a sex offender.

Prosecutors said Syamaprasad, a Brooklyn father, installed Velcro dots in nine bathrooms at the Northwell Sleep Disorders and STARS Rehabilitation Center in Manhasset. He used the dots to position a spy camera disguised as a smoke detector so it could record people using the shower and toilet.

Syamaprasad was fired after he was caught watching the videos.

Nassau County DA Anne Donnelly said the case “deserved jail time.”

“It was night after night after night, victim after victim after victim,” Donnelly said.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Melanie Woodrow

Click here for updates on this story

    SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The SFMTA says operator fatigue is to blame for an incident that happened in September. Passengers were jolted and fell, when a train operator seemed to fall asleep at the controls on a two-car North Judah light rail train.

The SFMTA says that the operator was immediately put on non-driving status while an investigation was conducted. That investigation is now complete.

Shocking video shows the Muni operator apparently asleep as the train jolts passengers while navigating a curve at more than 50 miles per hour.

The SFMTA released the video from September 24 in response to a public records request.

It happened at approximately 8:37 a.m. at the height of the morning rush hour commute while the train was packed.

A two-car N-Judah light rail train was traveling inbound toward downtown.

The shocking moments happened as the train was exiting the Sunset Tunnel near Duboce Park. Several passengers fell due to the sudden motion but the train did not derail.

The operator quick with an explanation.

“It wouldn’t stop, it wouldn’t stop. I’m sorry, relax, relax, relax. We didn’t crash, relax. We’re ok, it just wouldn’t stop, it wouldn’t stop. The emergency brake wouldn’t even hit, look it’s on.”

But the SFMTA says a full inspection of the train’s braking system confirmed that it performed as designed.

Additional inspections of the trackway and related infrastructure found no mechanical or system issues.

The investigation is now complete finding operator fatigue as the cause.

Earlier as passengers boarded the train, video shows the operator with her head down. At one point, her head falls back while the train is moving.

While SFMTA’s trains operate in both automated and manual mode, during the incident, SFMTA tells the I-Team the train was being operated in manual mode. The transportation agency says it is now working with Siemens, the manufacturer of the new light rail vehicles, on software that would limit speeds in specific locations.

It is also reinforcing existing training on the importance of watching for signs of fatigue, which is something the operator didn’t seem to acknowledge after the incident.

“That’s not on me,” she could be heard later telling a colleague.

The operator remains on nondriving status.

In a written statement, SFMTA’s Director of Transportation writes, “Safety is always our top priority. We are committed to accountability in response to this specific unacceptable incident and we are taking all necessary steps to keep Muni safe and reliable for all riders and the public.”

The SFMTA is not releasing the name of the operator due to personnel privacy. Investigative reporter Melanie Woodrow reached out to the union that represents Muni operators, but has not yet heard back.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Anser Hassan

Click here for updates on this story

    CASTRO VALLEY, California (KGO) — A family is mourning the loss of a father and grandfather involved in an alleged road rage incident in Castro Valley. The family is asking witnesses to come forward to help with the investigation.

Flowers and candles along Wilbeam Avenue in Castro Valley mark where Jason Elola was attacked. He later died in the hospital.

“He was a good man. He didn’t deserve this. He was taken – he was stolen from us. So that is what justice looks like for us, people coming forward. And just find it in your heart to be honest. That is all we can ask,” says Gabrielle Elola, Jason’s wife, who was in the car.

Saturday night, just after 7:30 p.m., CHP responded to a car crash that may have started as a road rage incident. And ended in a fight.

In a statement to ABC7 News, Alameda County Sheriff’s Office says the other driver left after the fight, but then contacted CHP to report his involvement. “CHP personnel instructed (the driver) to return to the scene, where they cooperated with responding officers,” the statement says.

ABC7 News was on scene when the suspect told officer about what happened. In the video, the driver tells officers: “I cut him off accidentally and he just plowed me, right behind me. All the way through here right to here. Then he jumps in front of me. That’s when we collide.”

He goes to say, “He raises his hands. As soon as he attacks me… ring him up… he hits the ground.”

The driver was subsequently booked into custody.

Investigators believe witnesses took cellphone video of the incident. And hope people will come forward.

“He was just protecting his family. He was just protecting his daughters and me. I think anybody can understand that. Anybody would do that for their family. That is what he did,” says Gabrielle.

Jason’s eldest son, Angel, spoke at his father’s vigil on Monday. He says he got door knock from police who told him about the accident. The family wants justice for their father.

“Just for the justice of our father. There are nine kids and four grandkids. Not only does he deserve justice, but for our sakes as well. We deserve justice,” says Angel.

The family says the suspect will be in court on Thursday.

A GoFundme page was created to support Elola’s family. To make a donation, click here.

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office is also asking anyone with information or cell phone video to contact its tip line at (510) 667-3622.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Dylan Foreman

Click here for updates on this story

    California (KSBY) — On November 22, 2022, Jennifer Besser, Matthew Chachere and their dog Buddy were struck and killed by a vehicle speeding 60 miles per hour down Sacramento Drive in San Luis Obispo.

The driver, Daniel Saliganpatricio, was convicted of vehicular manslaughter and sentenced to 5 years and 4 months in prison, but now he faces early release.

“The whole story of Matt and Jen and Buddy, it’s so obscene and absurd that, how could this actually happen?” said Matthew’s sister, Nicole Chachere.

At the time of the collision, responding police officers didn’t realize Saliganpatricio had hit anyone. The couple’s bodies were found under heavy brush two days later, after family members reported them missing.

“These are our kids, and yet they act like this is not something that we should have input into,” said Jennifer’s mother, Pati Blevins.

Even after Saliganpatricio was sentenced back in February of 2024, the families of Besser and Chachere did not feel there was closure. Now, the families, who spoke with KSBY news over Zoom, explained that not only is he eligible for serving just half of his sentence, but that he’s being released next month.

“What we went through as a family, what they put us through, was criminal,” said Matthew’s mother, Linda Chachere.

“I guess, maybe naively, I thought the whole thing of justice is blind… I am now totally changed,” said Matthew’s father, Ernest Chachere.

Both Linda and Ernest sent a letter to State Attorney General Rob Bonta, explaining different facets of the case that left them feeling helpless. In the letter, they stated, “Our family experienced firsthand at each stage of the process inconsistencies, inefficiencies, poor standards of performance by key individuals with the responsibility to execute the law and more importantly deliver justice and accountability for those convicted of a crime.”

Saliganpatricio’s attorney, Ilan Funke-Bilu, told KSBY that inmates in federal prison can receive credits to reduce their sentence as part of an effort to lower prison populations across the state. Funke-Bilu added that his client “is not one to gloat over early release, when he’s responsible for doing something as serious as he admitted to doing… he’s doing whatever he has to do to pay for what he did.”

While the families remain shocked by the early release and how the case was originally handled, they know that what’s done is done for them, but hopefully, they can make people more aware of their experience and how it pertains to victims of crime.

“[In California], the criminal has more rights than what the victims do. They get protected way too much,” Linda Chachere said.

Saliganpatricio is set to be placed on parole in December of this year.

“As a parent, if my son had killed two people knowing that two other mothers were suffering, I would have been compelled to go to them and say, ‘I’m sorry,'” Blevins said.

Aside from the sentencing, at which Saliganpatricio read a written apology, Blevins and the Chachere family said they received no apology. A memorial at the site of the crash is still up and can be visited.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Valentina Saldaña

Click here for updates on this story

    California (KSBY) — A sea otter pup was reunited with its mom in Morro Bay and the heartwarming video has caught the attention of many people on social media.

The Marine Mammal Center covers 600 miles of California coastline. The rescue organization recently received a call about an otter pup that was seen near the shore along the Embarcadero.

Team members from the Morro Bay facility were sent to the rescue. They took a small carrier, ice, a rescue net, and a Bluetooth speaker, recording a one-minute clip of the pup’s cries to play on repeat in hopes that the mother would hear it.

“Vocalizations are very important for pairings of moms and pups, so in this situation, we were able to identify the potential mom because of those vocalizations,” said Aliah Meza, Senior Manager at the Morro Bay facility.

Eventually, the team spotted an adult otter following their boat around the bay.

“I would be on one side, she would be on the other, and then we’d end up on the other side. So that kept happening and her persistence of following us and approaching the boat was the really key indicator,” said Shayla Zink, Operations Coordinator at the Morro Bay facility.

After two hours of searching, Zink placed the pup, which they nicknamed Caterpillar, into the water.

“I definitely cried a little bit when she came up and got the pup. It was super rewarding, like top five day at work ever,” Zink said.

This was the first reunification in the area since 2019, but the Southern sea otter reunion was important for more than one reason.

“Southern sea otters are still a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, and currently their population is kind of hovering at 3,000,” Meza said.

Meza said that because Morro Bay is secluded, the likelihood of finding an otter mom is higher than if a pup is stranded in the open ocean.

In a case where the mother cannot be found, the organization might be able to send the pup to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for its surrogacy program with their captive adult female otters.

“Teaching them how to forage and eat and act like otters appropriately in a way that humans just can’t teach them,” Zink said. “They need that maternal care.”

The Marine Mammal Center encourages people to contact them at (415) 289-SEAL(7325) to report an animal that’s in distress. For more information, visit their website: marinemammalcenter.org

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.