Month: December 2025

By Will Thomas

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    GRANDY, North Carolina (WTKR) — The Corolla Wild Horse Fund’s farm in Grandy has a new resident nicknamed Topnotch. The wild horse will now spend the rest of his life on the farm with fellow wild horses that have been relocated — a decision the CWHF says is never easy, but at the end of the day, is where he’ll be safe.

“It’s heartbreaking that he did not get to live out all of his days in the wild as he should have, but on the other hand, now he’s safe, he’s cared for,” said Meg Puckett, director of herd management for the organization.

More than 100 wild horses call the northern Outer Banks home. But for Topnotch, that chapter of his more than 30-year life is now over. For the last five years, he’s grown more and more comfortable with human interaction, specifically when it comes to food.

“It’s something that we had been monitoring for about five years or so, we had started to see that kind of behavior begin to escalate. So it’s not something that’s happened overnight. Now it is very clear that he was very purposely fed food, and he knows what it is. Once that kind of habit starts, it’s very hard to stop. And then the more and more he’s fed, the more people he’s going to approach, whether they have food or not,” said Puckett.

Puckett explains that over the years these interactions have become dangerous for Topnotch and people.

“The issue begins to get especially bad when people don’t have food, they don’t have anything to offer him. He was becoming very defensive, and so rather than moving away, he was trying to get you to move away by kicking, biting, striking out,” said Puckett.

This summer, CWHF was already having conversations about Topnotch’s relocation, but those conversations were accelerated by local resident concerns. The CWHF decided to relocate the horse this fall, and a week ago, Topnotch became the newest resident at the farm.

“When you start to have members of the community come to you and express concerns, at that point, we knew that we were dealing with a very serious situation,” said Puckett.

Puckett feels this is an example of why laws are in place prohibiting people from feeding the horses and the importance of everyone following them for the health and survival of the wild herd.

“Humans are really these horses greatest threat, which is sad, but at the same time, we can fix that. We’re asking people to use this as an example of that, because he shouldn’t have ended up here,” said Puckett.

The CWHF staff has a journey ahead with domesticating Topnotch and making him comfortable. Right now, it’s a week-by-week process.

“Our main goal with him is to keep him comfortable, make sure that he feels secure here, that he starts to trust us, he stops seeing us as any kind of a threat or anything like that, and then to feed him. We have now got him on a diet that’s more appropriate for him, that’s appropriate for a horse’s age, and so that, that’s kind of been our main goal this week. From there, we start with domestication and luckily we can take it slow with him. We can kind of go at his own pace, he can be difficult, he’s got that behavior, and it’s never going to change, and so we have to be very careful with him,” said Puckett.

Puckett says that though this will be a process, the farm is the best and safest place for him to be for the rest of his life.

“He will always be food conditioned and aggressive, that’s never going to change. We are very grateful that we have the resources and the experience to keep him happy and healthy here and safe,” said Puckett.

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

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By Jeff Hager

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    LAUREL, Maryland (WMAR) — Traveling down the secluded Brock Bridge Road in Laurel a little after 1:00 in the morning, the motorist spotted someone crossing the road on crutches directly in his path.

“The vehicle then stops. The victim obviously doesn’t want to strike the individual,” said Justin Mulcahy of the Anne Arundel County Police Department, “At that point, two people apparently come out of the woods. One armed with some kind of long gun or shotgun. They demanded he get out of the vehicle and start tapping on the vehicle and ultimately forcefully remove him from the vehicle and steal his vehicle.”

The idea that criminals would place one of their own in jeopardy just to set up a potential victim seemed so farfetched that detectives even interviewed the victim a second time with an interpreter just to make sure they hadn’t lost something in translation, since English wasn’t his first language.

“In all my years, I haven’t seen anything like this. It’s very much an anomaly, an outlier, very bizarre scenario,” added Mulcahy, “Our crime is down pretty much across the board this year. Carjackings as well. Don’t remember something like this.”

Police say they discovered the victim’s vehicle the following day where it had been abandoned just over the line in Prince George’s County where it also had been crashed.

At this point, police are checking with surrounding jurisdictions to see if the same carjackers may have used the same clutch ploy to pull off similar crimes in the region.

If you have any information, which could help detectives, you can call them at 410-222-4730.

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

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By Ryan Dickstein

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    ASHLAND, Virginia (WMAR) — An ABC liquor store was ransacked in Ashland, Virginia on Saturday.

But, this wasn’t your typical burglary.

Turns out a mischievous raccoon got inside and rummaged through the shelves.

A Hanover County Animal Protection officer discovered the furry culprit passed out in the store bathroom.

Officials described the bandit as “very intoxicated.”

Officers were able to get the drunken raccoon out of its slumber and into a shelter to sober up.

“After a few hours of sleep and zero signs of injury (other than maybe a hangover and poor life choices), he was safely released back to the wild,” the agency said in a Facebook post.

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

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By Megan Mannering

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    GEORGETOWN, Kentucky (WLEX) — Georgetown Community Hospital dedicated a special pediatric exam room to honor the legacy of Dr. Horace Hambrick, a beloved pediatrician who spent nearly four decades caring for children in Scott County before his death in September.

The dedication ceremony fulfilled a hope Dr. Hambrick expressed in an interview just one month before he died from cancer on September 5th. During that July interview, conducted while the state honored him for vaccine advocacy, Dr. Hambrick shared his vision for the future of pediatric care.

“I hope the legacy is, this will be a place we care about kids, that we do so in an inclusive way, that we make kids feel safe here, and I’m hopeful this is an environment where they can grow up to be the best version of themselves,” Hambrick said.

Dr. David Hoddy, a colleague, reflected on Hambrick’s deep connection to the community during the dedication ceremony.

“One thing about Dr. Hambrick, he loved being a pediatrician and he also loved Scott County. He was involved with the college, the board of health, with his church. There aren’t a lot of places in Scott County that don’t have his handprints on them, and the hospital is one of those,” Hoddy said.

After 39 years in medicine, the dedicated exam room serves as a lasting tribute to Hambrick’s compassionate care. The space features flags representing his 19 medical mission trips and artwork celebrating inclusive care for children. Unlike typical clinical spaces, the room feels warm and hopeful.

Tracey Evans, emergency services director at the hospital, emphasized how the room captures Hambrick’s spirit.

“One of things that stood out to me was his smile, his smile warmed your heart, so I hope this will do the same when kiddos come through this room,” Evans said.

Willow Hambrick, the doctor’s wife, attended the dedication with their children. She expressed hope that the room would provide comfort to future young patients.

“I hope it brings calm and solace and I hope they see animals and sunshine and people holding hands and diversity. I hope they feel like there’s hope for them because healing will happen in this room,” Willow said.

For the Hambrick family, now scattered around the world, the dedication provides both comfort during their grief and a permanent connection to Scott County.

“We are being held by all of the tender mercies this whole community has offered us, but I have to say, it’s the most heartwrenching experience we’ve gone through as a family,” Willow said.

Taking in the colorful mural, she added, “It’s a beautiful way to honor the legacy of his healing touch here. His spirit will definitely be in this space.”

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.