Month: February 2026

By Kaley O’Kelley

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    TEMPE, AZ (KNXV) — For many Arizona families, taking care of an aging loved one is an act of devotion. It can also be emotionally draining, financially stressful, and physically exhausting.

Every day in this country, about 10,000 Americans turn 65, according to the Pew Research Center.

More older adults are choosing to remain in their homes as they age, and here in Arizona, that decision often falls on families to make it work.

The challenge is the cost, as in-home care can exceed $80,000 a year. Assisted living in our state averages more than $5,500 per month, and memory care can cost significantly more.

As families search for solutions, some are turning to CareYaya Health Technologies, a service connecting families with trained healthcare students who provide in-home support.

Through partnerships with universities, including Arizona State University, the program matches families with vetted students studying nursing, pre-medical fields, and other healthcare disciplines. These students can provide companionship, assist with meals, help with mobility and daily routines, and give family caregivers something many desperately need: time to rest.

The service is meant to support families and improve quality of life, not replace professional medical care.

Founder Neil K. Shah created the program after facing a caregiving crisis in his own family. He says many families are trying to balance careers, children, and aging parents at the same time.

Support through the program averages around $20 per hour, offering a more affordable option than traditional in-home care.

But the impact goes beyond saving money: families gain relief and peace of mind, students gain real-world experience and a deeper understanding of patient care, and older adults gain companionship and meaningful connections.

For many, those relationships grow into bonds that feel more like extended family.

Arizona families can learn more by visiting careyaya.org, creating a profile describing their care needs, reviewing matched student caregivers, and scheduling visits based on availability.

The program may be especially helpful for families needing respite support, older adults living independently at home, caregivers feeling overwhelmed, or seniors seeking companionship.

Families should evaluate their loved one’s medical needs to determine whether supplemental support or licensed medical care is required.

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 Caroline Foreback

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    RANDALLSTOWN, Maryland (WJZ) — A Baltimore County man was arrested for allegedly setting his house on fire after an explosive argument with his wife last weekend, according to charging documents obtained by WJZ.

Gary High Sr., 72, has been charged with arson and attempted murder.

Officers were called to a home on Collier Road in Randallstown around 9:15 p.m. on Saturday for reports of a fight in progress and that someone was trying to set the house on fire.

“Caller advised someone is trying to burn the house down, there is someone pouring gasoline,” a dispatch responder said.

High lives in the home with his wife and her two adult children, according to charging documents.

Earlier that night, the couple got into an argument about their living arrangement. High told investigators he came home and started pouring gasoline all over the house, charging documents stated.

Police said a fight broke out when another occupant of the home tried to stop High, who then allegedly used a lighter to ignite the fire in the basement which caused an explosion.

“I’m being told there’s been some kind of explosion,” dispatch audio said. “It’s in the basement. I’m trying to make sure everybody is out.”

The other family members in the home escaped, and High was arrested and was taken to a hospital.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday for a bail review hearing.

Neighbors said they were startled by the noise.

“We heard a boom in the house, and we just kind of looked out, and a lot of the neighbors were yelling, and the family came out of the house,” said Fred, a neighbor. “There seemed to be a big commotion.”

Fred said High has lived in the house for at least 30 years. He never pictured High doing anything like this.

“I’m surprised because he’s a nice guy, he really is,” Fred said. “I talk to him all the time. He takes care of his house and his property and the neighbors and everything so he was a really good guy so I don’t understand what would have caused this issue to start.”

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 John Franchi

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    SALT LAKE CITY (KSTU) — Lori McQueen arrived in Utah in 2023 with nothing. Health issues were one factor that caused her to lose her nursing job in Florida, and she found herself homeless for months, staying in a women’s shelter.

Today, McQueen is a resident and employee at The Other Side Village in Salt Lake City — a face of hope for others who are walking the same difficult road she once traveled. “At midnight when the bus came in, I walked with my walker to the shelter, and thankfully, they had a bed for me,” McQueen said.

After months at the women’s shelter, McQueen moved into The Other Side Village, where she found stable housing and a job. She now draws on her own experience to mentor and support fellow residents.

Preston Cochrane, CEO of The Other Side Village, nominated McQueen for a FOX 13 Dream Team surprise and described the many roles she plays in the community. “To see her in a role — whether it’s a mentor role, could be a friend role — for many in the village who live here she might be a mother role, or aunt role or sister role. She has a lot of different hats,” Cochrane said.

Cochrane said he was inspired to nominate McQueen after watching a previous Dream Team story on FOX 13. “Lori has been through a lot,” he said.

McQueen now serves as a receptionist at The Other Side Village, greeting visitors and answering calls in the lobby. She said the community she has found there has become her family. “It’s important that we have each other and we are there for each other,” McQueen said.

For McQueen, The Other Side Village offered more than shelter — it offered a path forward. “If you are ready to make a change and you have hit rock bottom, you’re done — it gives that whole person change,” McQueen said.

She said the bonds formed within the community have made all the difference in her recovery and stability. “It’s a good thing to always have people to talk to, to go cook together, watch movies together, play games together — it’s really good,” McQueen said.

The Dream Team surprise was organized by Cochrane, who snuck the Dream Team into the community room where McQueen’s friends had gathered. Sharlene Wells, representing Mountain America Credit Union, presented McQueen with a gift basket that included blankets, lotions, chocolates, gift cards, and a contribution to her savings.

“Lori, we are amazed by your incredible journey. We are so proud of you. We have a very heavy gift basket to pamper you — blankets, lotions and chocolates and some gift cards and something for your savings. We want you to know how amazed and impressed we are by your incredible journey. You have come so far,” Wells said.

The Other Side Village currently has 60 tiny homes and plans to expand to 456 homes to accommodate 500 residents, with the goal of getting more people into stable housing.

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

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 KABC Staff

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    BIG BEAR, Calif. (KABC) — Big Bear’s beloved bald eagle couple, Jackie and Shadow, have laid their third egg of the season after tragedy struck the nest last month.

It’s the first egg of Jackie’s second clutch after she previously laid two eggs in January.

Around 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, video from the live nest camera shows Jackie standing up to reveal a freshly-laid egg. She then fluffs the nest around the egg a bit before sitting back on top of it.

Last month, Jackie and Shadow’s nest was invaded by ravens while the bald eagles were away, breaching the two eggs Jackie had previously laid.

According to the non-profit, Friends of Big Bear Valley, which owns and operates the camera, Shadow left the nest around noon, and Jackie did not come in, leaving it unattended for several hours. At that point, the non-profit noticed that one of the eggs looked like it had broken.

“We will never know why, but we are sure they had their reasons as they have been incubating the eggs faithfully,” the non-profit said in a post on social media last month. “It is possible Jackie and Shadow sensed something was wrong with the egg. They could have also been protecting their territory as many other bald eagles have been seen in the valley recently.”

It was later that afternoon when ravens came to the nest and breached both eggs, the non-profit said. Jackie later returned and continued to incubate one of the breached eggs.

Ever since the eggs were breached, fans of the beloved bald eagles had been waiting patiently to see if Jackie would lay a second clutch of eggs. Nesting season runs through April, so it’s possible Jackie could lay additional eggs.

The pair has raised several eaglets in the past, including Sunny and Gizmo last year.

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 Matteo Iadonisi

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    PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — As she nears the end of her career in public safety, Officer Rebecca Key-Gaskins is trying something new: teaching school children a pastime that was passed down from her mother.

Key-Gaskins remembers her mom teaching her how to crochet as a kid. However, it wasn’t until later in life that she picked it up as a therapeutic hobby at the end of a busy work day.

Last Halloween, Key-Gaskins invited one of her colorfully-crocheted dolls to tag along in the passenger seat of her patrol vehicle.

After seeing the reaction from kids, she was inspired to teach children how to crochet themselves.

Temple University Police had already established the ‘Cops in the Classroom’ program, inviting officers to read aloud to children in North Philadelphia schools.

Thus, Key-Gaskins paid a visit to St. Malachy Catholic School to teach them the very basics of crochet.

Although she plans to retire this year, Key-Gaskins hopes to continue teaching students long into the future.

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 Austin Pollack

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    NASHVILLE (WTVF) — Every month, a group of golden retrievers and their owners gather in Nashville’s 12 South neighborhood for a stroll — and the event is drawing a crowd.

The 12 South Golden Hour is a monthly meetup organized by Laura Shoopman, who moved to the neighborhood in April 2025 and quickly noticed something about her surroundings.

“I moved to 12 South in April of 2025 and I had Bella for a little while and really just thought there’s a golden retriever on every corner,” Shoopman said. “We would go out for walks and see three to five on a 30 minute walk. It felt like there was a golden retriever on every corner.”

The group gathers for a neighborhood walk, ending at Sevier Park, and picks up new participants, and plenty of attention, along the way.

“We were walking by like how are so many?” one attendee said. “More and more goldens!”

Shoopman said the event is about more than just dogs.

“So I really wanted to bring the community together. I feel like every time I bring Bella out, people want to pet on her, love on her, and then you see multiple together and that’s always really cute,” Shoopman said.

She said her inspiration for building community came from her mother, who started a neighborhood food drive using a little red wagon — an effort that eventually grew to fill an entire tractor trailer.

Attendee Holly Horncastle brought her golden retriever, Lola, to the meetup.

“And as a breed, like one of the reasons I got Lola is to do some therapy work,” Horncastle said. “And she turned out to be a really great tempered dog for therapy.”

“They’re such unconditional lovers,” Horncastle added,

The next 12 South Golden Hour meet-up is scheduled for March 14 in front of Bongo Java on Belmont Boulevard.

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

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 Chris Davis

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    NASHVILLE (WTVF) — A Tennessee lawmaker has filed legislation that would treat abortion as criminal homicide, potentially exposing women who obtain abortions to felony charges — and in extreme cases, the death penalty.

Tennessee already has an abortion ban on the books, but current penalties apply only to physicians who perform the procedure.

State Rep. Jody Barrett (R-Dickson) wants to go further, filing legislation that would make mothers open to felony assault or homicide charges if they obtained an abortion. Barrett says the bill is about equal protection under the law.

“Murder should be murder, whether it’s a person in being or a person in utero,” Barrett said.

I asked Barrett directly about the criticism that the bill unfairly targets mothers.

“I think that’s a talking point saying that you’re targeting mothers. We’re not targeting mothers. We’re targeting unborn children and trying to protect them and give them the protection under the law for you and me,” Barrett said.

The legislation has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats, who warn that the way the bill is written could make some women eligible for the death penalty. “We have Republican lawmakers in this building pushing to put women to death for simply having an abortion,” State Sen. Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) said.

The word “death penalty” does not appear anywhere in the amendment’s text, but the legislation does say abortion is subject “to the same presumptions, defenses, justifications, laws of parties, immunities and clemencies as would apply to the assault of a person who had been born alive.”

When I asked Barrett about it, he acknowledged the death penalty could apply but downplayed the possibility, calling it highly unlikely.

“A simple examination of the death penalty in Tennessee would show that that’s just not realistic. Now, do I have to admit that the death penalty is a possibility? Sure. But since the death penalty was reinstated in Tennessee in 1977, there’s been less than 200 people sentenced to death, and only 16 have actually been executed — none of them women,” Barrett said.

The bill does include exceptions, among them cases where the mother’s life is in jeopardy and cases involving spontaneous miscarriages.

It’s important to note that Barrett’s amendment hasn’t been formally filed and added to caption bill HB 570. You won’t find it on the state’s online legislative database. Barrett provided NewsChannel 5 with an advance copy of the drafted amendment language. It could be added to the bill as early as next Tuesday in the House Population Subcommittee. State Sen. Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) is listed as the amendment sponsor in the Tennessee Senate.

Democratic lawmakers say the stakes are too high to dismiss.

“We should be very scared. That is a very, very scary step the state is about to take,” State Rep. Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville) said.

“This is what this body is responsible for doing to women and family,” State Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) said.

Barrett maintains the bill reflects a core value. “There’s value in every life,” Barrett 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.