Month: December 2025

By Felix Cortez

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    SALINAS, Calif. (KSBW) — A Salinas community and school district are grieving after another student in the Salinas Union High School District was murdered in less than three months.

“It’s one of those things that I don’t think any words can describe how heinous of a crime this is,” said Zach Dunagan, spokesman for the Salinas police department.

The shooting happened on Friday, but on Monday, police identified the high schooler as a 14-year-old Alisal High, Ethan Emmanuel Rodriguez, freshman.

“It’s a lot of pain a lot of grief going on right now we, our hearts are heavy today as it was a few months ago with the family and just really lifting them up in prayer and really supporting whatever the family needs and whatever our school community needs to be able to to endure this difficult time,” said Zandra Galvan, superintendent for the Salinas union high school district.

Rodriguez was shot and killed on Friday afternoon near Camarillo and Moreno shortly after school let out.

“We believe this was a very crowded and well-populated area at the time of 3-thirty just after school got out, so we do believe that several people may have witnessed it that still have yet to potentially come forward to provide details,” said Dunagan.

Salinas police are tight-lipped about any information they might have about a possible shooter or shooters to not taint any potential witnesses.

Meanwhile, detectives are pleading for any cellphone or surveillance videos people might have.

“We don’t want to come to the wrong conclusion. This was a 14-year-old that got murdered, and we want justice for the family, and we understand that people want justice quickly, but we also don’t want to get that wrong,” said Dunagan.

Monday grief busters were on campus to help staff and students deal with their loss and campus security was also beefed up.

“There’s the physical safety, and there’s a psychological safety want to make sure that both are being attended to when something happens that’s traumatic, and that it compromises the safety, both physically as well as mentally. We want to make sure that we’re providing those supports,” said Galvan.

The shooting happened in the district of Councilman Jose Barajas, who said today’s youth need to be part of the solution to combat youth violence by becoming messengers of change.

“I think having the youth council on board and starting this year is also a good opportunity for them to be at the forefront of that, having the youth be the messengers to their peers that this is unacceptable, this is senseless, it needs to stop,” said Barajas.

When 17-year-old high schooler Edgar Gomez was shot back in September, police were able to arrest two suspects in less than a week, thanks to community involvement- police are hoping the same will happen with this latest shooting.

Police remind you, you can choose to remain anonymous.

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By Abner Sosa, Adam Roberts

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    BONANZA, Ark. (KHBS, KHOG) — Authorities are investigating the deaths of Charity Beallis and her two young children, who were found shot to death in their Bonanza home, as family members express disbelief and grief over the incident.

Sebastian County deputies were called to a home on South 1st Avenue in Bonanza on Dec. 3 for a welfare check, where they found 40-year-old Beallis and her six-year-old son and daughter had been shot and killed. Two workers at the home let law enforcement in.

Investigators are waiting on the Arkansas State Medical Examiner’s Office for more information and are still reviewing evidence collected from the home.

Deputies say everyone they’ve spoken with is cooperating, and as of Friday, Charity’s husband, Randall Beallis, was not a suspect.

Family mourning Family members say they are devastated and searching for answers.

“I don’t know how to describe it, sir. Tears, heartbroken, unbelievable, and anger. Thinking maybe I was dreaming that somebody of having a nightmare in that way. Maybe somebody wake me up, and this wouldn’t be true,” said Randy Powell, Charity Beallis’ father.

“One minute you’re mad, next you’re sad, crying. It was every emotion you could think of,” John Powell, Charity Beallis’ son, said.

Charity’s family says that her divorce was recently finalized, and they are still working on funeral plans.

Randall Beallis Randall Beallis’ attorney wrote in an email, “Mr. Beallis has been cooperative with law enforcement and fully supports the Sebastian County Sheriff’s office investigation.”

He went on to write that the two had a custody hearing on Dec. 2, and Randall Beallis was awarded joint custody.

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By Krista Tatschl

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    KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KMBC) — “Not only is it the N-word on our sign, but now, there are those who are threatening to shoot up our church and this type of foolishness.”

Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree, who also serves as lead pastor of the Grace Tabernacle Family Outreach Center, has to control his anger.

“I am angry. Scripture teaches that we as believers are to be angry, but sin not,” he says.

When he walked into the church on December 6, ready to assist with the children’s choir practice, he was met with kids directing his attention to a spray-painted word smeared across the church sign in black.

“They were saying, ‘Pastor,’ and pointing…It wasn’t just meant for me, but it was for me. Meant for all of my congregants and parishioners,” Dupree says. “There’s no excuse for anyone to be so hateful and malicious, to threaten our church, to threaten my family, and to tag such a heinous word onto our house of worship.”

The Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department took a report marking this crime as one of “Hate.”

There are no suspects, and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation told KMBC on Monday that it hasn’t been asked to assist in the investigation.

Dupree’s congregation is predominantly African-American.

He says he has fielded hateful, racially-charged messages on social media and knows of death threats called into the church.

Dupree says he has prayed through and forgives whoever defaced the sign. He even offers an invitation to attend church with his congregation.

“I would grab their right hand and lead them through the Lord’s Prayer and let them know that despite hate, God still loves them and so do I,” he said. “But they still need to be held accountable.”

Anyone with information about this crime should contact the KCK Police Department.

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By Metia Carroll

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    METAIRIE, La. (WDSU) — Kenner police have arrested a man after he allegedly stole a car with a child inside of it.

Mackenzie Switzer, 36, was arrested for illegal possession of stolen things, carjacking, simple kidnapping and associated traffic violations.

According to Kenner police, Switzer arrived a a local business in the 200 block of Veterans Boulevard in a stolen Chevy Malibu reported stolen out of New Orleans.

The car was abandoned and Switzer stole a Nissan Rogue that had been left running in the same parking lot. A 10-year-old boy was in the car at the time.

Switzer fled eastbound on Veterans Boulevard with the child still inside.

While the car was moving, the boy opened the door before jumping from the car. Police said he was uninjured.

Officers were able to track the car using the boy’s cellphone, which was still in the car.

Switzer was found and arrested at a car dealership in Metairie, attempting to steal another car that belonged to the business.

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By Jason Burger

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    NORMAN, Okla. (KOCO) — A conservative student organization has joined the list of groups asking for clarification on why a University of Oklahoma graduate teaching assistant was placed on leave for giving a failing grade on a psychology essay.

Samantha Fulnecky, a junior at OU, filed a complaint with the university after receiving a zero on a paper worth 25 points. In her essay, she pointed to excerpts from the Bible to back up her opinions.

The graduate teaching assistant, who graded the paper, said it lacked empirical evidence and was at times “offensive.” The university placed the instructor on administrative leave and said the essay would not count towards Fulnecky’s final grade.

“It’s not just about the grade. It’s the principal behind it and what the university is allowing,” Fulnecky said. “I write them all the same, all the exact same. The TA has never had a problem with how I write my papers in this class.”

Fulnecky claimed religious discrimination and said she was concerned about the university’s stance on free speech.

“They shouldn’t be allowing professors like this at universities that don’t want students to have free speech,” Fulnecky said.

She has gained support from numerous conservative organizations and leaders, but one group has questions.

“The academic quality of the essay written by Samantha Fulnecky is indefensible, and the professor’s failing grade is demonstrably correct,” the Oklahoma Federation of College Republicans said in a statement. “We should be engaging in substantive intellectual battles, not generating outrage over an earned poor grade.”

Michael Givel, a professor of political science at the University of Oklahoma, said the situation was unusual, particularly with how it was handled by the university.

“It was highly expedited. Usually, these sorts of processes take several weeks before there’s a hearing, if there’s a hearing,” Givel said.

The American Association of Professors at OU also issued a statement, questioning the decision to place the teaching assistant on administrative leave.

“OU-AAUP calls for disclosure of all criteria (on the entire syllabus, the grading rubric for this assignment, and any other verbal or written requirements and expectations related to grading this assignment). In contrast, the university’s public statement focuses entirely on protecting the student’s First Amendment rights against alleged violations, while making no defense of the instructor’s academic freedom to teach, grade, and require academic standards,” OU-AAUP said in a statement.

The group said it wants more information.

“The specific facts and law, arbitrary and capricious, or was it a violation of religious rights or freedom of speech, or academic freedom by the way, which is a subset of free speech,” said.

KOCO 5 reached out to the graduate instructor but did not hear back.

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By Pete Cuddihy

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    DOUGLAS COUNTY, Neb. (KETV) — An Omaha family mourns dozens of animals lost in a barn fire — despite one woman’s attempt to save them.

Dawn Menard was critically hurt in that fire last Thursday.

The Menard family says the barn was their second home. It was a place where their daughters spent most of their time, raising horses and goats.

“It was just a place for them to be able to enjoy growing up and be with their horses,” said Todd Menard.

That was until an accidental fire broke out Thursday afternoon.

“As soon as we got to the highway, you could see heavy black smoke from a mile away,” said Ponca Hills fire Chief Jason Tomich.

Dawn Menard was the first to see the flames. Her first instinct was to try and save the animals stuck inside. In the process, she suffered burns on her hands, back, and face.

“It’s very painful. Very frustrating. I can’t do anything for myself, hardly,” Dawn Menard said.

Along with the barn, the Menards lost two horses in the fire. One of the animals, named Otis, belonged to their daughter Kayleigh. She grew up with him and competed with him in horse shows.

“He was my baby. He was my first horse that I owned. And I loved him,” said Kayleigh Menard.

Also in the barn that night were family cats and the 17 goats their daughter, Michaela, took care of.

“Everything that I had went into the goats. They meant a lot to me. A lot of them were born on the property, the ones that we lost,” said Michaela Menard.

Now the parents, who’ve done everything to support their children’s dreams, are dealing with the pain of seeing them disappear in the blink of an eye.

“It’s hard to see something that you put so much work into just gone,” said Todd Menard.

“The heartbreak that they’re going through, losing their best friend — it’s excruciating for their parents to watch,” said Dawn Menard.

The only way they can get through the loss is together.

“A shoulder to cry on. We understand each other’s pain. So it helps when you have somebody that understands it,” said Todd Menard.

They are remembering the joy their animals and their barn brought their family. While neither the space nor the animals can be replaced, the Menards plan on building a new barn in the future.

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By Brooke Butler

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    JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. (WJCL) — An endangered North Atlantic right whale is being monitored after it was found entangled in fishing gear off the coast of Jekyll Island.

The whale was first spotted Wednesday and was identified as a right whale named Division, a juvenile male born in 2022. According to NOAA, he was last seen gear-free in July.

Division’s entanglement was described as complex, with several lines wrapping his head and mouth, including one cutting into his blowhole.

Response crews worked to remove as much gear as possible. Now, they are watching Division to see how he does.

Biologists classified Division as seriously injured. NOAA said this designation means that Division is likely to die as a result of this entanglement.

WJCL 22 News spoke to a marine scientist with Oceana about the incident.

“Even though the line is removed, the injuries are still lasting and it’s really up to him to recover both from the open wounds while trying to do what North Atlantic right whales do best: feed and migrate and all the other important things they do,” said Nora Ives, a marine scientist with Oceana.

Ives said entanglement in fishing gear continues to be one of the biggest threats to these critically endangered whales.

“Entanglement in fishing line and vessel strikes are the two main threats to this critically endangered population, meaning that they are the two pressures that are keeping these whales from recovering. Right now, we estimate there are about 380 individuals total in the population on Earth. So, very low numbers,” she said.

Oceana says there is a solution to entanglement. The group hopes to remove vertical lines in the water that are entangling these whales in the first place by getting more people to use something called pop-up gear in areas where right whales are found.

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By Madison Elliott

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    NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WLKY) — The mother of a teenager who died at the site of a controversial New Albany dam says she’s happy it’s finally coming down.

On Memorial Day in 2024, 14-year-old A.J. Edwards Jr. drowned at the Providence Mill Dam along Silver Creek.

He got trapped in the recirculating current caused by the low-head dam.

His mother, Amanda Malott, described him as someone who had a big impact on the community.

“AJ was a very lovable person, he was very outgoing, he didn’t meet a stranger,” she said.

Following Edwards’ death last year, Mayor Jeff Gahan authorized the city to fill the dam with shot rock, but he did so without state or federal permits, and both the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville Office required the city to remove the fill, which didn’t happen.

So, the DNR took legal action.

After a lengthy court battle that lasted more than a year, the two sides settled, and the city agreed to remove the dam and relocate the rock.

“I think it’s awesome,” said Malott. “At least, some good came of this, you know. I feel like AJ saved a lot of lives.”

However, the news came a little too late to help her family.

“It’s something that should have been done years ago,” said Malott. “Why, you know, it was fought to be kept up is beyond me. If they would’ve taken it down, I would still have my son today.”

In 2021, the Ecosystems Connections Institute received a permit to take down the dam, but Gahan sued to stop it.

At the time, Gahan expressed his concerns over the potential impacts on flood control, recreation and historical value.

New Albany and the nonprofit seeking to remove the dam, River Heritage Conservancy, have remained in litigation.

“We do not know all of the details of this agreement,” stated Kent Lanum, board chair of the River Heritage Conservancy, in a statement.”But we do celebrate the fact that this dangerous dam is finally going to be removed, one that has taken a life as we sadly forewarned the City as early as 2021. This action will also allow Silver Creek to be opened back up for safe kayaking and revert to its natural state, healing over the next several years as the successive floods help to reestablish the creek’s natural bed to its original state and allow for the propagation of more wildlife and fish to call Silver Creek its home. This is a big win for all the citizens of this region. “

A question that remains central to this controversy is how much taxpayer money has been spent on litigation by the city.

The city hasn’t answered yet, but it’s a question that city council members and the community group Hoosier Action continue to ask.

“Why has it had to be so secretive?” said Cisa Kubley, Transparency Chapter Lead for Hoosier Action.

“I live very close to the dam, I walk by it regularly,” she continued. “This affects my life, my community, my neighbors. It’s absolutely unreasonable that we aren’t given basic information about our money.”

The RHC tells us its nonprofit has spent more than $1.25 million in legal fees.

WLKY reached out to the mayor’s office on Monday, asking how much has been spent on litigation so far.

While Gahan’s office didn’t directly answer our question, they said in part that in order to protect the city’s interests, they “will now be exploring our options to collect expenses that we have incurred.”

The city also now intends to file a permit for a rock riffle structure.

“Now that this matter is behind us, we can focus on our new addition to Silver Creek that will improve recreation, fishing, and the ecosystem for decades to come,” said Gahan in a statement online.

You can find his full statement here.

While the legal matter between the DNR and the city of New Albany is resolved, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is still requiring the city to submit restoration plans.

“In response to the city’s previous request to meet with Corps personnel, a meeting was held between the Corps and city officials on Friday, December 5th to discuss the settlement with the DNR, the ongoing requirement for the city to submit an acceptable restoration plan to resolve the violations of federal law, and to clarify the information required to be included,” said a Corps spokesperson. “The Corps will evaluate the city’s restoration plan once submitted and will ensure an appropriate resolution to the violations of federal law.”

The agreement says by Jan. 1, the city will authorize ECI to remove the dam and issue any permits within its authority that are necessary to do so.

The DNR says construction will likely take place over the following months.

Also by Jan. 1, the city, by engaging its original contractor, will relocate the shot rock.

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