Month: December 2025

By Bianca Buono

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    NEWPORT BEACH, California (KABC) — A gas leak from an abandoned oil well in the middle of a Newport Beach neighborhood has forced the city to declare a local emergency and has put the homes in the center of it all at risk of being torn down.

Emergency construction workers will continue working around the clock for the next nine days to repair the significant oil leak coming from the so-called “orphan” oil well.

The abandoned, private oil well dates back to the 1920’s and is about 800 feet underneath a family’s home.

Back in October, the homeowners discovered thick oil coming from the well seeping into their house, prompting mandatory evacuations that have since been lifted.

A 110-foot-tall oil rig in the middle of the peninsula is now working day and night.

“You get the constant beeping at three in the morning. It’s a little, you know, disturbing, but we understand. I mean, we don’t want to blow up either so there’s that,” said Hollie Keeton, who lives about 100 yards away from the construction site on Marcus Avenue.

Newport Beach officials say the rig is digging 1,000 feet down to pull the oil out and plug the well with a special cement.

“We don’t want it to leak into other people’s homes or into the street or even into the waterway. The water is right there. And so, we’ve been taking emergency action to get this thing capped,” said Mark Vukojevic, utilities director for the city of Newport Beach.

The city says the well was drilled in 1924 and capped just five years later after the oil wasn’t viable.

“It’s very, very difficult to produce a product out of it because it’s so extremely thick,” Vukojevic said.

More than 100 years later, the residents are paying the price.

“The well has no owner, right? And so, we’re dealing with private property, so this is really a complex situation,” said Vukojevic. “But just like anything else on your own private home, if something happens on your home, in your private property, those become the responsibilities of the homeowners.”

The city tells Eyewitness News that the 24/7 work will continue for about 9 more days with the goal of finishing up before Christmas.

As for those two homes that have been red tagged – the city says the homeowners are trying to figure out next steps, but they’ll likely have to be torn down.

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

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By Julia Avant

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    Detroit (WWJ) — The parent of a Monroe, Michigan, student-athlete has filed a Title IX complaint over a transgender student from another school competing in a girls’ volleyball game and tournament.

On Monday, parents and elected officials held a news conference, asking authorities to determine whether policies were followed.

Sean Lechner submitted the formal complaint to the school administration, Michigan High School Athletic Association, the state and the U.S. Department of Education. The complaint claims that parents in Monroe were not notified ahead of time about the transgender student-athlete from an Ann Arbor school, saying some school administrators knew before the game but didn’t notify parents.

“Both schools failed to ensure fair competition, provide a safe environment and equal opportunity to participate in sex-separated athletic programs,” read the complaint.

Lechner says he is standing up for his daughter after parents were concerned that the transgender student was not only playing against their teenage girls but also changing in the same locker room. The complaint claims that during one of the matchups at Monroe, the students from both teams shared a locker room, which constitutes “a violation of privacy and bodily integrity protections under Title IX.”

“They failed to protect our daughters, they failed to uphold federal law, and they failed to share what truly occurred before, during and after,” Lechner said.

CBS News Detroit reached out to MHSAA and was told in part, “One waiver for eligibility was granted under our transgender student policy for the 2025-26 fall sports season,” and that the waiver was granted in compliance with applicable state and federal law.

As it pertains to the transgender athlete being inside the locker room, the MHSAA said the decision to put all athletes in one changing room was up to the school.

“It caught everyone off guard,” said 16-year-old athlete Briley Lechner, who spoke at the news conference. “As I was looking at this person, admiring at how amazing they were, admiring at how high they could jump, I was getting down on myself, wondering why I’m not capable of that.”

Michigan Republican legislators are backing the families and a bill that would ban transgender girls from competing in women’s sports. They say it’s a violation of federal law under Title IX.

“To be clear, this is not about singling out a particular student; this is about calling out the individuals that are allowing this to happen,” said State Rep. Rylee Linting (R-Grosse Ile Township).

CBS News Detroit reached out to the ACLU and multiple LGBT advocacy groups for comment, and we have not heard back yet.

Monroe and Ann Arbor Schools both declined to comment until the investigation is complete.

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

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By Lacey Beasley

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    TEXAS (KTVT) — Gov. Greg Abbott is vowing to expand Turning Point USA youth chapters to more high schools across Texas.

This is the conservative organization that activist Charlie Kirk founded. Kirk was assassinated three months ago on a Utah college campus.

The high school program for Turning Point is called “Club America.” It’s a student-led, conservative-promoting group.

According to Abbott, 500 high schools across the state already have a chapter on campus, including dozens in North Texas.

During an announcement from the governor’s mansion on Monday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick promised $1 million in campaign funds to help expand the program across Texas.

While there are no plans to force schools to start the clubs founded by Kirk, Abbott said any attempt to stop students from creating one would result in disciplinary action.

“Let me be clear,” said Abbott. “Any school that stands in the way of a Club America program in their school should be reported immediately to the Texas Education Agency, where I expect meaningful disciplinary action to be taken place for any stoppage of TPUSA in the great state of Texas.”

The CEO of TPUSA and the widow of Charlie Kirk, Erika Kirk, will talk about her husband’s murder in a town hall this weekend, moderated by CBS News Editor-In-Chief Bari Weiss.

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By Todd Feurer, Beth Godvik

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — Families in the Little Village neighborhood bundled up Tuesday morning for the community’s annual Our Lady of Guadalupe procession on the West Side of Chicago.

It started at Epiphany Catholic School, with students leading the procession to Good Shepherd Catholic Church for mass.

People carried roses to lay at the statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Every December, Catholics celebrate when the Virgin Mary appeared in Mexico City in 1531 to Saint Juan Diego, offering a message of compassion and unity.

Worshippers brought roses to place at the statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe during the mass.

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By Cecil Hannibal

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    STOCKTON, Calif. (KCRA) — As people across the city of Stockton come to grips with the Nov. 29 mass shooting at a child’s birthday party that left four dead, including three children, two local music artists are using their platforms to “give every child their voice back” while also calling for peace.

“I don’t even know why we have to explain why children’s lives are valuable, but that’s what I want to do,” said DeOzene Stone.

Stone is a Stockton native and recording artist who goes by the name “DeOzene” in her music.

KCRA 3 met Stone inside Traffic Records, owned by Brian Williams, who goes by the name “Fast Traffic” as a recording artist and producer.

The two artists decided to work together on a project to create a “peace anthem,” where they’d invite children from across the city to record a song DeOzene wrote while driving back home the night of the shooting.

She was 12 hours away in Arizona when she first heard the news that multiple people were shot, including children.

She, along with the rest of the Stockton community, would later learn the names and faces of the kids that were killed, with the youngest victims being 8-year-old girls.

“Kids are innocent, they deserve better … we’re in a tough city already that’s been known for being a tough city,” said Brian Williams. “I was at home with my lady, and our phone just started blowing up because her cousin was there, and I know artists that were there that were hit.”

Williams said his girlfriend’s cousin is one of the 13 people hit by gunfire at the party and is currently in the hospital. He also says that the same cousin’s boyfriend is one of the four victims who died.

KCRA has identified 21-year-old Susano Archuleta as one of the victims. Williams says he didn’t know Archuleta well but had met the young man everyone called “Chooch.”

Investigators with the San Joaquin District Attorney’s office have confirmed the shooting was targeted and gang-related. But those familiar with the city’s music scene say it goes a step further.

“This is gang-related, but it’s rappers that are in gangs. It’s tough because I can’t say too much, but it’s, it’s real gangs from different sides of town that have real bloodshed on both sides,” said Williams. “Then you have the social media beefing, you know, they’re on [Instagram] Live, trolling each other and arguing with each other. I mean, even the day of the party that was happening.”

Williams said he’s very familiar with the Stockton rap scene, which has gained national attention after several local artists have garnered attention. Most notably, an artist named EBK Jaybo recently made XXL’s Freshmen of Class of 2025, which has long been seen as a rite of passage for up-and-coming hip hop artists.

While people consume the music created by Stockton artists, Williams says what they don’t know is that the lyrics are often tied to real issues in the community, like gang violence and murder.

“I don’t want to quote some of the lyrics, but … what happened to respecting the dead?” said Williams. “The whole smoking dead people in songs, I’m smoking on so-and-so.”

Williams is referring to a form of “taunting” in lyrics when a rapper references the name of homicide victims as if they’re rolling them up and “smoking” them.

“It’s just a new low, you know, an all-time low,” said Williams.

After the shooting, the two music artists wanted to create a song that could uplift the community after so much loss.

“I wrote this song for the kids because it’s just like, if this started because of rap beef, then I wanted to give the kids a voice back,” said DeOzene Stone.

KCRA 3 captured the moments that Traffic Records was full of children enjoying pizza and learning the song before recording it in the studio.

There was a room full of children singing at once, “I just want to grow up.”

Lyrics that both artists believe need to echo through the city after so many children and families were impacted by the mass shooting.

Authorities are still searching for those responsible and are asking the public for any tips that can lead to an arrest and conviction. The reward for information as of Monday, Dec. 8, is up to $130,000.

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

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By Craig Smith

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    MARANA, Arizona (KGUN) — Aviation is big business in Arizona—and it’s about to get a lot bigger in Marana. At Pinal Air Park a partnership of companies is hiring for the big job of converting jumbo jets into cargo carriers.

The Boeing 777 is a widely used long haul airliner. But after a few years of carrying passengers, some plane owners see carrying cargo as a way to elevate profits with an older aircraft.

That’s where two large hangars at Pinal Airpark come in.

They will be the new home of a partnership between Ascent Aviation Services and IAI—Israel Aerospace Industries.

IAI is the pioneer in converting Boeing 777s into wide body cargo carriers.

The companies say they’re hiring about three hundred workers with an average pay of $77,000 a year.

They estimate once those employees start spending their pay the ripple effect will land $35 to $40 million dollars into the local economy.

Cary Benjamin of Done Rite Services anticipates some of that business rippling his way.

“Those are people that buy homes. They’re going to go out to new businesses that are going to need services that we provide, HVAC, plumbing and electrical. So to us as a service provider in the Marana area, it’s definitely going to have a positive impact on us.”

The Chamber of Southern Arizona works to convince businesses to come here. Joe Snell of the Chamber says Arizona’s aviation history and the resources of Pinal Air Park helped attract this cargo conversion partnership.

“I think we’ve done a good job as a community of laying out why this is a good opportunity for them, and they were smart enough to take it and run with it. You know, in southern Arizona, aerospace and defense, we have the fifth highest concentration of workers in that field in the country right now. So it’s really, we really should be doing more in this space than others.”

And Snell says when companies locate here it attracts the attention of other companies that may decide Southern Arizona is a good place for them too.

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

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By Jacqueline Aguilar

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    TUCSON, Arizona (KGUN) — Several Taco Giro restaurants have reopened following an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in southern Arizona Friday that led to dozens of arrests and ignited local protests.

Three of the eight Taco Giro locations across southern Arizona have returned to normal operations after ICE executed 16 search warrants at multiple restaurant locations in Tucson, Casa Grande and Sierra Vista on Friday, Dec. 5.

I went to Taco Giro on Valencia Monday morning to speak with the owner or manager about what happened Friday. I was told I can interview the manager, but then was told they preferred I go on-camera with a server.

Genesis Mora, a server at the Taco Giro location on Valencia, confirmed which locations have reopened.

“So, the locations that are currently reopened are the ones in Casa Grande, Sierra Vista and Valencia,” Mora said.

She shares an update on the other five locations.

“They’re gonna be opening soon. I don’t have a set date, but they’ll be opening soon,” Mora said.

The ICE operation on Friday resulted in the arrests of 46 people across the restaurant chain’s locations.

Mora tells me they are just glad to see their tables full again.

“We honestly really appreciate it, seeing all the customers coming in and supporting us like always it means a lot. Again, if you’re from the community, and you’re coming in to support us, that means so much, and it keeps us pushing forward,” Mora said.

KGUN 9 will continue following this story and keep you updated both on-air and online.

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

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate 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.