Record Thanksgiving car traffic expected amid airline concerns

Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The American Automobile Association (AAA) said it expects drivers to hit the roads in record numbers this week for Thanksgiving travel.

It estimates at least 73 million people will drive 50 or more miles while traveling during the holiday week. That would be a new record and accounts for around 90% of the projected travelers.

AAA said the final count could outstrip their projections because of the flight disruptions stemming from the government shutdown. Put simply, families working on travel plans the last couple of months may have decided to fill the gas tank in favor of purchasing the plane ticket because of airline uncertainties.

Despite those disruptions, the Denver International Airport (DIA) said it expects 10% more people to fly out of its terminals this Thanksgiving week compared to last year.

Fortunately, for in-state travelers, the average price at the pump across Colorado was significantly below the national average, according to GasBuddy. As of November 24, the site has the state of Colorado at $2.58 a gallon and Colorado Springs just below $2.50 a gallon. It has the U.S. average at just above $3.02 a gallon.

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Convicted murderer sentenced to additional prison time after killing inmate in prison

By Sadie Buggle

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    LIMON, Colorado (KRDO) — A convicted murderer was sentenced to another four decades behind bars after he brutally killed a fellow inmate at the Limon Correctional Facility in 2023, with the aftermath of the attack being captured in chilling surveillance video.

According to the 23rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Arthur Price, 40, was sentenced to an additional 41.5 years in prison on Friday for the death of 65-year-old Paul Hack, after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, first-degree assault and abuse of a corpse.

The DA’s office says on Aug. 17, 2023, Price violently bludgeoned and strangled Hack to death in a cell before surveillance video caught him dragging Hack’s body down several flights of stairs in the correctional facility.

The video then shows him sitting beside Hack’s body and waiting for correctional officers to arrive.

“That’s what child molesters get. Hope you rot in hell,” Price said to officers as he was escorted away, the DA’s office said.

Hack was a convicted child molester, but according to the DA’s office, “prosecutors argued Price’s motive was not vigilante justice but an attempt to secure a transfer to another facility and avoid repaying significant debts he had accumulated at Limon.”

Price, who was already 12 years into a 36-year murder sentence at the Limon facility, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and abuse of a corpse in connection with Hack’s death.

“The victim was beaten, strangled, and dragged down three flights of stairs where his bloody, broken corpse was left for all to see,” Chief Deputy DA Eva Wilson said. “A sentence of 41 and a half years should keep him in prison until 2082, if he lives that long.”

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‘He’s my heart dog’: Owner and canine rejoice after 9-year dock diving career

By Bradley Davis

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    PUEBLO WEST, Colorado (KRDO) — Pueblo West show dog, Jax (Superjax), is proving old dogs can learn new tricks.

“He’s not going to stop,” Jax’s owner, Drea Incitti, said about her 10-year-old dog. “He’s like a missile.”

For nine years, Drea and Jax have been a duo to be reckoned with in Dock Diving.

Dock Diving is a canine sport where competitors jump as far as they can off a “dock” into a pool. The handler throws a stick-like toy over the water, and the dog runs after to catch it before landing in the pool. Incitti’s role is like a pitching coach trying to deliver a perfect pitch to their hitter during the home run derby.

Jax and Drea competed for the final time just a few weeks ago. Looking like a dog five years his Junior, Jax delivered his best performance yet, winning second place in North America for his age group.

“Tears just started to come out of my eyes, and I had to reflect on the whole journey we’d taken together. It meant something in that moment, like, we did it!” Incitti said.

Even though his competition days are past him, Jax still begs for throws into the pool. It’s a request Drea is happy to oblige. She said she relishes every moment the two get together.

“Wherever I go, he goes,” Incitti said. “He’s like my child. I didn’t have any, so this is my kid. He’s pretty special. He’s my heart dog.”

Jax really is man’s (and woman’s) best friend. Drea said he’s also trained to throw trash away for you, grab you a tissue, or even a beer from the fridge.

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Box truck filled with frozen turkeys stolen from nonprofit

By Dean Fioresi

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    RIVERSIDE COUNTY, California (KCAL, KCBS) — An investigation is underway in Riverside County after a box truck loaded with frozen turkeys set for distribution was stolen from outside of a nonprofit organization in Lake Elsinore on Saturday.

Authorities were called to the 31000 block of Auto Center Drive at around 7:55 a.m. after receiving reports of a stolen vehicle in the area, Riverside County Sheriff’s Office officials told CBS Los Angeles.

Upon arrival, deputies spoke with the victim, who told them that a box truck with the frozen turkeys had been taken. Despite checking the area, they were unable to locate the truck.

Officials with the U.R. Important Foundation say that there were more than 500 frozen turkeys inside of the truck when it was taken, and that it happened while members were sorting food for a Thanksgiving giveaway to people in need.

“It is difficult, but isn’t that what life is? I think that we fool ourselves if we think that life is gonna be great every single day,” said Alexxa Olive, the founder of the foundation. “If it was great, then we wouldn’t have tenacity, we wouldn’t have strength, we wouldn’t be overcomers because there would be nothing to overcome.”

Despite the loss, Olive says that she’s not angered by the incident.

“This is just another mountain for us to climb, and we’re gonna climb it and we’re gonna conquer it,” she said.

Investigators say that they have security camera footage that they are reviewing in hopes of locating the suspect.

Olive says that an anonymous donor has stepped forward to help replace the stolen turkeys. They hope to feed at least 200 people ahead of the holiday.

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9-year-old mountain biker completes 32-mile Iceman Cometh Challenge

By Alina Hauter

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    ZEELAND, Michigan (WXMI) — Ryder Pankey has big dreams, and at just 9 years old, he’s already making them come true on two wheels.

The Zeeland Christian student recently became the youngest racer to complete this year’s Iceman Cometh Challenge, finishing the grueling 32-mile mountain bike race in 2 hours and 49 minutes.

“I love climbing hills, my dad always says it’s because I love to suffer,” Pankey joked.

The race starts at the Kalkaska Airport and finishes at Timber Ridge in Traverse City. For Pankey, who has been biking since he was a toddler, the challenge was both demanding and rewarding.

“It was really just, like, steady, consistent pace, and at the end it was starting to get hard, but I just kept pushing,” Pankey said. “It was a lot of fun, because there was, like, a ton of people cheering for me, because there were so many people out there.”

Biking is a family affair in the Pankey household, with his parents and sister Ellie all participating in the sport.

“It’s a lot of fun, having my whole family do it,” Pankey said. “Ellie’s a really similar pace to me in a lot of things, which is fun, because I can ride with her.”

As an athlete on the West Michigan Coyotes bike team, West Michigan’s largest youth mountain biking team that serves riders from kindergarten to high school seniors, Pankey trains regularly at locations like the Upper Macatawa Natural Area in Ottawa County.

To prepare for the Iceman Cometh Challenge, Pankey trained three times a week.

“The two practices during the week are usually like 10 to 15 miles, and then the weekend is just a wide range,” Pankey said. “My mom and dad would ride with me on my longer rides, and I would practice with some of my friends from the Coyotes.”

He also completed the Peak2Peak Mountain Bike Classic as part of his training.

“I just thought it’d be a lot of fun. I did the Peak2Peak, which is 24 miles, to train for it,” Pankey said.

The Iceman Cometh Challenge is just one item checked off Pankey’s ambitious racing bucket list.

“There’s Lumberjack, that’s 100 miles, and then there’s Leadville [in Colorado], which is 100 miles, but it’s in the mountains. And then there’s Unbound Gravel [in Kansas], it’s 200 miles,” Pankey said.

His ultimate goal is clear.

“I want to be a pro bike racer,” Pankey said. “I want to be in the UCI [Mountain Bike World Series].

In the meantime, he’s focused on his next challenge: the Michigan Scholastic Cycling Association series.

“Next year, I have a MiSCA series, and I’m doing Advanced Elementary, so I want to try and win the championship. There’s six races,” Pankey said.

For anyone interested in trying mountain biking, Pankey offers some sage advice.

“At the beginning, don’t push yourself too hard, because you just want to keep liking bikes, and then you can get more into it,” Pankey said.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WXMI’s editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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Parents of Gabby Petito and Dylan Rounds unite to boost public safety, train officers in east Idaho

By Nate Eaton, EastIdahoNews.com

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    IDAHO FALLS (eastidahonews.com) — The families of Dylan Rounds and Gabby Petito are joining forces to help train eastern Idaho law enforcement and boost public safety awareness.

Candice Cooley and Nichole and Jim Schmidt will be hold a discussion on public safety at the College of Eastern Idaho in Idaho Falls on Monday, Dec. 1, from 7-8 p.m. Cooley’s son, 19-year-old Dylan Rounds, disappeared from a remote northern Utah desert in May 2022. His remains were recovered nearly two years later in April 2024.

Nichole and Jim Schmidt’s daughter, Gabby Petito, was killed during a cross-country trip and found in 2021 in the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

“We’re honored that Nichole and Jim and the Gabby Petito Foundation are coming to speak about domestic violence and important things that the community needs to know,” Cooley tells EastIdahoNews.com. “Our foundation, Dylan’s Legacy, focuses on working with victims and helping families who find themselves in similar situations that we found ourselves in.”

Before the public safety forum, law enforcement experts will lead training sessions for local officers on digital forensics, cell phone data analysis, and other technology-based investigative tools.

Law enforcement officers from across the state will be participating in the event, which is sponsored by the Dylan Rounds Foundation.

“We still have room for ten officers and we welcome local police agencies, Fish and Game, school resource officers and other law enforcement personnel,” Cooley says.

The two-day training will be taught by Detective Aaron Benzick from Plano, Texas, and include retired FBI agent Jeff Ross and Matthew Anderson, the Deputy Director for the Intermountain West Regional Computer Forensic Lab.

Law enforcement officers can learn more about and apply for the two-day training here.

The public is invited to attend the public safety forum at CEI. It will be held in rooms 150-152 in Building 6 at 1600 South 25th East.

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Priest accused of attacking woman after argument during donation drop-off at church, records show

By Briauna Brown

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    MIAMI (WFOR) — A Miami priest was arrested for allegedly attacking a woman during an argument over taking photos as she was donating items to the church, according to an arrest report.

Father Jesus Gabriel Saldana, 72, is facing multiple charges, including battery and criminal mischief, for an incident that took place on Nov. 6.

The arrest report states that at about 11:40 a.m. at St. Kevin Catholic Parish, located at 12525 SW 42nd Street near Kendale Lakes, a woman, identified as Ana Maria Lamar, was dropping off donations.

Lamar then wanted to take photos of her donations with a “politically inclined poster”, and Saldana, who was collecting the donations, approached her and told her she wasn’t allowed to do so, the report said.

And when Saldana asked Lamar to leave the church, she asked for her donations back, and an argument broke out.

The report said that during the argument, Lamar started taking pictures of Saldana, and he lunged at her, and a physical scuffle began.

Witnesses reportedly separated the two from each other; however, Saldana allegedly reached inside Lamar’s vehicle without her permission, and she then pushed him out of the way. When Lamar got into her driver’s seat, Saldana allegedly continued to “batter her while she was sitting” inside her vehicle, the report said.

During the renewed struggle, Saldana allegedly ripped off the vehicle’s rearview mirror and then reached inside Lamar’s passenger side window to grab her purse and emptied the contents on the ground in search of her phone.

Lamar, who was able to drive away, took herself to the hospital because she has a history of cardiac issues and wasn’t feeling well after the altercation with Saldana, police said in the report. She was later admitted.

On Saturday, Nov. 22, Saldana reported to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office in the Midwest District, initially denying the allegations. However, the affidavit didn’t say what he admitted to, in which Saldana was arrested and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

He was charged with burglary/occupied conveyance, battery on a person 65 or older and criminal mischief. Two days later, Saldana was released on bond.

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Brawl at Georgia high school football playoff game leads to 39 suspensions, $5,000 fine

By Christopher Harris

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    GAINESVILLE, Georgia (WUPA) — A Georgia high school football playoff game erupted into a massive on-field brawl Friday night. Now, nearly an entire team is facing the consequences ahead of this week’s quarterfinal matchup.

The Georgia High School Association announced Monday that 39 Gainesville players have been suspended from this week’s Class 5A quarterfinal matchup against Langston Hughes after a fight broke out late in the third quarter of Gainesville’s game against Brunswick. The school was also hit with a $5,000 fine.

Gainesville has requested to appeal the decision on Tuesday in a virtual hearing before the GHSA Board of Trustees.

The brawl occurred with less than two minutes left in the third quarter as Gainesville was running away with the game. Video posted on social media shows players from both sidelines rushing toward midfield before punches were thrown, with dozens joining the melee. The referees called the game immediately, and it was never finished.

It remains unclear what led to the fight.

Gainesville, known for its dominant postseason performances, now faces the possibility of entering Friday’s quarterfinal with a drastically reduced roster unless its appeal is successful.

Read the full GHSA statement below:

Friday night’s second-round Class 5A playoff matchup between Gainesville and Brunswick took an unfortunate turn when a fight broke out near the end of the third quarter. Following a review of the incident, the GHSA, announced that 39 Gainesville players have been suspended for this week’s state quarterfinal game along with a $5,000 fine. Gainesville is scheduled to face Langston Hughes this Friday. The Red Elephants have requested to appeal the ruling Tuesday, virtually before the GHSA Board of Trustees.

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13-year-old boy killed in e-bike crash identified as middle school student

By Matt Schooley

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    BEDFORD, Massachusetts (WBZ) — Counselors will be available to students at schools in Bedford, Massachusetts Monday to help them cope with the death of 13-year-old Parker Robles.

Robles was riding an electric dirt bike on Oak Street in Stoneham around 4:30 p.m. Friday when investigators said he crashed into a car. He was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston where he died. According to the Middlesex District Attorney, a 73-year-old driver was turning his Toyota Corolla onto Oak Street when Robles hit the car.

There are no charges at this point in the investigation.

Bedford Superintendent of Schools Cliff Chuang said in a letter to families Sunday that the district is “deeply saddened” by the death of Robles, who was a student at John Glenn Middle School.

“Counselors will be available on Monday for students and staff at John Glenn Middle School and at Lane Elementary School, where Parker’s brother goes to school. Principals of those two schools have shared additional information with families and staff about the supports available,” Chuang said.

A Bedford School Committee meeting that was scheduled for Tuesday has been canceled. It was moved to December 9.

Dozens of Robles’ friends went to the crash scene in Stoneham over the weekend to lay flowers and leave notes in his memory.

“I can’t believe he’s already gone. He was only 13. Nothing like that should ever happen to a 13-year-old, never in the world,” said Georgie Travis, a friend of Robles.

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Parade nixed due to equine virus outbreak

By Hamilton Kahn

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    CORRALES, N.M. (KOAT) — A cherished tradition scheduled for this Sunday had a last-minute cancellation out of concern for the many horses that are the focal point of the Christmas de Los Caballos Parade.

Because of an outbreak of equine herpes virus in neighboring states. With possible links to New Mexico, organizers felt there was no choice but to cancel the parade in order to protect the animals participating.

This particular strain of the virus, EHV-1, is highly contagious and can cause respiratory disease, abortions for pregnant mares, and, in some cases, a severe neurological condition known as equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy.

Christmas de Los Caballos is also the start of the Corrales Fire Department’s toy, food and clothing drive, and those who plan on attending the parade are encouraged to make donations, which can be dropped off at the village’s main Fire Station at 4920 Corrales Road.

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