Month: December 2025

By Tom Lopez

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    SALINAS, California (KSBW) — Salinas, city letter carrier Laith Abboud shares his experiences of delivering mail during the holiday season, highlighting both the challenges and rewards of the job.

“My name is Laith Abboud. I’m a city letter carrier, and here in Salinas, California, and this is my second year for my second Christmas,” Abboud said. “So this is what I was talking about earlier. Just filling the small trucks all the way to the brim basically, this time of the year.”

Abboud explained the challenges of organizing the large volume of mail and parcels during the holidays, noting that the trucks are filled.

“We basically get all your mail ready, all your parcels, and you have a lot of parcels. It can be difficult to try and organize everything properly in the vehicle. You know, it’s stacked up this high, and you’re trying to keep it all organized. So you can get through it,” he said.

He emphasized the importance of efficiency, saying, “Usually I try to leave, get out here as quickly as possible because, you know, the quicker you’re out of here, the quicker you can finish.”

Abboud described the difference in volume during the holidays, with many people receiving Christmas gifts.

“Little packages are pretty easy for a mailman. You know, we have a satchel. We can throw those tiny packages in our satchel. Came around, deliver into your mailbox the holidays. The big difference is the volume. You know, people are getting all this Christmas gifts, stuff like that. And then you get into the holidays, and then it’s just you’re inundated with packages,” he said.

Despite the challenges, Abboud finds joy in the job, especially when customers show appreciation.

“I have a customer. My route. She makes homemade cookies, and she leaves them for me. So that’s always that’s always a nice treat,” he said.

He also noted the positive interactions with people on his route.

“People are always happy, you know, they’re always excited to see us. You know, grandma, grandmothers getting cards from their grandchildren or vice versa. It’s it’s just they’re always happy to see you,” Abboud said.

The satisfaction of completing a day’s work is a highlight for Abboud.

“And then when you finally get to the end of the day, you deliver. That last package is very, very satisfying. You know, you look in the back of your truck, it’s empty. Mails are done, mails done, being delivered, packages are done, you know, and you feel good. You feel accomplished,” he said.

Reflecting on his job, Abboud expressed gratitude for the positive experiences.

“I’ve had other jobs, you know, where people are excited to see you. They’re not happy to see you. But here, people love to see you. They they’re excited to see their mailman, you know? Yeah. It’s I’ve never had a really bad moment, but I’m, I’m blessed. I guess. Yeah,” he said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. 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 Tony Atkins, Allison Petro

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    ORANGE COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A 15 -year-old is behind bars after shooting a 13-year-old girl on Christmas Day, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said they responded to a home in the 2200 block of Okada Court after reports of a person being shot.

The victim, 13-year-old Emony Nicole Jackson, was taken to a hospital where she died from her injuries.

The OCSO said a 15-year-old approached deputies on scene and said he was responsible for the shooting and that it was an accident.

For Emony’s family, the loss is devastating — and permanent.

“She had goals,” said her cousin, Tramaine Henderson. “She would never get to go to prom. She would never get to go to college.”

Henderson said the family is struggling with the reality that while the teen charged in the case will still have his family, Emony will never come home.

“He’s a child, but at the end of the day, his family will get to see him,” Henderson said. “My family won’t get to see Emony anymore.”

Emony’s death comes after years of hardship. In 2017, she lost her mother and younger sister in a car crash. Despite that trauma, her family said she remained determined and hopeful.

“She went through a lot in her life,” Henderson said. “But the lemons she was given, she made lemonade out of it.”

Chrissy Boyce, a mentor with Elevate Orlando who worked closely with Emony, said hearing the news was overwhelming.

“When I found out, I screamed and cried,” Boyce said. “It wasn’t very pretty.”

Boyce said Emony had dreams of becoming a cheerleader and was excited about starting high school. She had even begun reaching out to coaches on Emony’s behalf.

“I talked to the coach,” Boyce said. “But unfortunately, I won’t be able to get that information to Emony.”

While the family said they are still unsure exactly what happened the night of the shooting, they are united in their call for accountability.

“At 15, you should not have a gun,” Henderson said. “I think there needs to be some accountability.”

The 15-year-old boy was charged with manslaughter.

Deadly holiday Two more teens were killed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in separate shootings: a 17-year-old in Deltona and a 17-year-old in Orange County.

And a man was found dead in Ocala on Christmas Day.

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