South Florida teen ensuring women receive necessary breast cancer screenings in Ukraine despite war

CNN Newsource on February 23, 2026

By Najahe Sherman

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    MIAMI (WFOR) — February is National Cancer Prevention Month, and one South Florida teenager and her friend have teamed up to make sure women in their home country of Ukraine get the necessary breast cancer screenings despite the ongoing war in Ukraine.

For Isabel Gurvitch, starting the non-profit MammogramMe was personal.

Her mother is a breast cancer survivor.

Her family relocated to Miami from Ukraine to escape the war, but she realized many women in her home country aren’t able to take the preventive steps needed to protect their health.

“So, we started MammogramMe to remind women, ‘Hey, you guys need to check yourselves.’ There are things that can kill you in your own body, and we are helping women now in Ukraine get mammograms,” said Gurvitch.

Isabel Gurvitch and her best friend, Mahika Jassal, who now lives in Poland, started a partnership with one of the biggest hospitals in Ukraine, Adonis.

“We send the money to Adonis, and then Adonis will provide the mammograms. Over the last three years, we’ve done over 200 mammograms,” said Gurvitch.

Mahika Jassal FaceTimed us from Warsaw, Poland, where she leads a MammogramMe chapter.

“I go to the American School of Warsaw, and so we established a chapter there, and we have a club with over 35 members. When we give every round of mammograms, and we see the women whose lives we’ve touched, it just really feels like our work has an impact, and it always feels good to see we’re able to help them in some way,” said Jassal.

The movement has taken off, the ladies now have five chapters that help raise money.

“I’m beyond proud. These girls are amazing and they did it all on their own,” said Anna Gurvitch, Isabel’s mother.

“You’re 17-years-old. Where does this drive come from?” asked CBS News Miami.

“It comes from personal experience, from my mom and having to leave a country I called home. It’s a lot of hurt that I turned into grit, so other women don’t have to go through it,” said Gurvitch.

The ladies have big plans for the future of the non-profit.

Their next goal is to raise enough money so they can help provide cancer treatment for women in Ukraine who can’t afford lifesaving care.

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.

Plano police searching for missing, endangered mom and two young daughters

CNN Newsource on February 23, 2026

By Briauna Brown

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    TEXAS (KTVT) — The Plano Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating a mother and her two young children on Monday.

Police said at about 8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, Alexcia Pruitt, 30, left the Cinemark Movie Theater located at Dallas Parkway with her two daughters, ages 5 and 3 months.

Police said that after leaving the theater, the three were possibly spotted near Jack in the Box on Windhaven Parkway before continuing north on the service road.

Police are concerned over their whereabouts because Pruitt has been diagnosed with schizophrenia; however, she is current on her medications.

Pruitt was last seen wearing a black jacket, white shirt and denim shorts. She has long, straight black hair and has a black backpack-style diaper bag.

The 5-year-old girl was last seen wearing a white furry jacket with white and purple sweatpants. The 3-month-old was wearing a onesie and was wrapped in a pink blanket.

Police said Pruitt would’ve been carrying the 3-month-old.

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Nearly 600 pounds of suspected meth confiscated from truck at Blue Water Bridge

CNN Newsource on February 23, 2026

By Paula Wethington

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    Detroit (WWJ) — Canadian authorities say they intercepted and confiscated nearly 600 pounds of suspected methamphetamine inbound from Michigan at the Blue Water Bridge earlier this month.

The Canada Border Services Agency said, on Feb. 4, a commercial truck arriving in Ontario via the Blue Water Bridge was referred for what is called a secondary examination.

The bridge crosses the St. Clair River, connecting Port Huron, Michigan, to Port Edward, Ontario.

During the vehicle inspection, border services officers, with the assistance of a trained K-9, detected and found 16 duffel bags containing suspected methamphetamine. The total weight of the narcotics was 266.4 kilograms, which works out to about 587 pounds.

The border services officers said they then arrested a 29-year-old man from Woodstock, Ontario, transferring both him and the suspected narcotics to the jurisdiction of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The matter is now before the Ontario Court of Justice in Sarnia, Ontario, on two drug-related charges, and the investigation continues.

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Colorado man recovering after friend says he suffered serious injuries while saving pedestrian in hit-and-run

CNN Newsource on February 23, 2026

By Michael Abeyta

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    COLORADO (KCNC) — A Colorado man is facing a difficult recovery after a friend says he put his life on the line to save a pedestrian from being run over.

Andrew Gress can’t say enough good things about his friend and co-worker Juan Oropeza.

“Juan is a soldier. He’s a reservist. He’s a good employee. He’s a good friend,” said Gress.

It’s because of those qualities that he isn’t surprised Oropeza ended up in the hospital after possibly saving someone’s life.

“Doesn’t surprise me at all that he would do something like that,” said Gress. “Juan’s a hero, a textbook superhero.”

The Denver Police Department said that on Feb. 14, Oropeza was near East Colfax Avenue and North Pearl Street in Denver when he saw someone in danger.

“Somebody else was going into traffic, and he saved them,” said Gress. “I don’t know if it was a push or pull, but he saved a person who’s half his size from getting hit by a vehicle, and he took the shot himself.”

Denver police tweeted out that they were investigating a hit-and-run between a vehicle and two pedestrians at the intersection. They said the vehicle left the scene, and both people were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

Gress says one of those people was Oropeza, who he says took the brunt of the collision.

“He has pending surgeries. I talk to him every day; he’s in a lot of pain. He’s not doing well. He’s not Juan anymore. He’s hurt Juan, unfortunately,” said Gress.

To honor the sacrifice he made, Gress is raising money for Oropeza through an online fundraiser.

“I don’t want Juan to ever have to not just pay a bill, but I don’t want him to have to look at a bill. I want him to be able to bring me whatever he gets from any hospital, or from the ambulance ride, or from the overnight emergency room visit, and I want to be able to take care of this for him,” said Gress.

Gress says Oropeza is stubborn and doesn’t even want the money Gress is raising, but he says he won’t let his friend refuse the community’s generosity.

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Arrest made after FBI says remains found near Salton Sea are missing 17-year-old Riverside County girl

CNN Newsource on February 23, 2026

By Dean Fioresi

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    LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — FBI investigators have identified the human remains found near the Salton Sea as a 17-year-old Riverside County girl who was reported missing last year.

T’neya “TT” Tovar was reported missing on Dec. 1, 2025, according to the FBI’s Los Angeles Office. She was last seen in Thermal, California, an unincorporated community in Riverside County’s Coachella Valley, investigators said.

As the FBI search continued for weeks, Imperial County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to the area near Portsmouth Avenue and Newhaven Court, in the Vista Delmar area, on Dec. 21 for reports of human remains. Upon arrival, they found a human leg that showed signs of decomposition.

The leg was collected by the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office Coroner’s Unit and sent to a forensic pathologist for examination. At the time, however, they were unable to provide a sex, age or race.

Investigators worked with multiple agencies to help develop a DNA profile for the remains, including searching the DNA databases of neighboring departments. Still, despite weeks of investigation, they were unable to identify the person.

On Feb. 6, Imperial County’s Scientific Investigations personnel received a positive female match from DNA that was “extracted from the remains and was able to identify the remains as a ‘Jane Doe,'” said a news release from the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office.

“With this information and looking into a missing female juvenile case, who was reported potentially being in the Salton City area, the mother of the missing juvenile was contacted and agreed to provide a DNA swab for comparison,” the release said. “The mother’s DNA swab was compared to that of the found remains through a rapid DNA analysis comparison and a positive match was made, identifying the found remains as the missing female juvenile reported out of Riverside County, California.”

On Feb. 14, Imperial County deputies served a search warrant at a home in the 2800 block of Harlequin Court in Salton City, where 51-year-old Abraham Feinbloom was arrested. Upon arrival, deputies saw Feinbloom jumping a fence to the residence, but he was quickly taken into custody.

He has since been turned over to the FBI for questioning, deputies said. Feinbloom was booked for murder and resisting a peace officer and is being held without bail, deputies said.

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Truckee mourns backcountry skiers killed in avalanche near Castle Peak

CNN Newsource on February 23, 2026

By Kayla Moeller

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    SACRAMENTO (KOVR) — Hundreds gathered in downtown Truckee for strength, unity and remembrance of the nine people who lost their lives in the avalanche near Castle Peak.

“Before we had even begun to process that pain, the mountains brought us more,” said Courtney Henderson, vice mayor of Truckee.

Henderson opened Sunday night’s memorial with the tragic start to the year for the town. More than a dozen people have died in the area since the start of the year, with nine lives claimed in the Castle Peak avalanche.

“Tonight, we focus our hearts on those who are hurting most. Grief has a way of making us feel very small and very isolated. My hope for tonight is that you feel the opposite,” she said.

Hundreds of community members and neighbors showed up to honor the victims.

“I think Truckee is an incredible community. We all just have a ridiculous passion for the outdoors in different ways,” said Truckee resident Blair Romer.

All nine bodies have now been recovered from the mountain. People from Truckee and beyond lit candles in a moment of silence and reflection.

“It touches all our hearts deeply. We just feel for the people who lost their lives and their families,” said Truckee resident Jessica Knotts. “A lot of the community is coming out to support one another to lend compassion and hope.”

“I’m really amazed at how many people showed up,” said Sally Lyon.

Lyon is a long-time Truckee resident. She said she’s touched by the turnout at the memorial, but not surprised.

“It really is a small community in a lot of ways and I’ve lived here 25 years. I love that aspect of community. You can walk down the street and run into people you know,” she said.

“And we know some of the passions are dangerous, so there’s a real sense of helping one another out,” said Romer.

Nine hearts were on display for the nine victims, six of whom were clients on the three-day skiing trip, and the other three were their guides.

“The families carrying those losses bear a weight that is unbearable. What we know is that however that grief is held tonight, it will not be held alone,” said Henderson.

The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said they’re investigating why the company Blackbird Mountain Guides continued with the trip in stormy conditions.

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A university helps students struggling with food insecurity receive groceries

CNN Newsource on February 23, 2026

By Joe Ripley

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    ATLANTA (WXIA) — Graduation inches closer for Michelina Schach, a senior at Emory University. Schach works in campus dining, surrounded by food. But she often spends more time calculating grocery costs and making meals last longer than on her schoolwork.

“There’s so much food on this campus, but sometimes it feels like it’s behind a very thick paywall,” Schach said. “Working on my school work, making more money, other avenues of life that sort of get obscured by the need to just figure out how I’m going to feed myself reliably this week.”

Schach is one of several students facing food insecurity, not knowing where their next nutritious meal might come from.

“It can be a very big source of anxiety for me,” Schach said. “It’s a lot of being resourceful a lot of the time. There’s this added element of knowing that these are such finite resources, and it makes you question if I need this enough. Who needs this more than I do? I know I need to meet my own needs, but there are so many other people dependent on these same finite resources.”

Liz Carlino, assistant director of campus dining with Emory University, leads the community fridge and pantry, some students’ main source of protein and produce.

“It’s private, it’s anonymous, anyone who needs it,” Carlino said. “There’s no policing, no restrictions. I fill it up and it is empty within an hour or two. The need is much greater than the resources right now.”

Carlino said the venture was inspired by the Free 99 fridges that popped up around Atlanta during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said there were some programs designed to help hungry students on campus, but they weren’t a catch-all. Pantry funding and operations do not fall into the university’s budget.

“Costs everywhere have increased, and unfortunately that applies to food as well,” Carlino said. “Quite a lot of our students experience food insecurity, and staff as well. We’re relying solely on donations and food recovered on campus, and the amount of students needing assistance and support just keeps increasing year after year. We’re probably doubling our output each year.”

Dana Lyles, director of multiethnic ministries with Global Ministries, emphasized that the need to address hunger on college campuses was growing. Global Ministries is an outreach of the United Methodist Church. The outreach is offering grants to its affiliated schools that have fewer than 1500 students to address hygiene and food insecurity.

Lyles said colleges are burdened with financial cuts across the board, and many have modified dining plans which can make finding a meal more difficult for students.

“The reality is the need for food remains the same,” Lyles said. “Students are receiving less in scholarship funding, less in financial aid, but the cost of living is increasing whether it’s for books, apartments and even food. We’ve committed over $1 million in various grants in various capacities across the United States to attend to food insecurity.”

As Michelina Schach counts down the days to graduation, she’s counting her blessings, grateful for resources anywhere she can find them.

“Because the pantry doesn’t have institutional, reliable funding, I try not to depend on it a lot, because I know the reality that a lot of Emory students and staff are in more dire need than I am,” Schach said. “Having healthy, nutritious foods available to people who are food insecure is so important because it reinstates that sense of dignity and that I’m deserving of adequate nutrition.”

Schach said she planned to eventually learn how to grow her own food. She ultimately wants to work in environmental science and global health culture. Meantime, Emory continues to rely on donations to help other students in need. The college is applying for grants for more long-term assistance.

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Body of Tracy man believed kidnapped found at Lake Berryessa, sheriff says

CNN Newsource on February 23, 2026

By Cecilio Padilla

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    SACRAMENTO (KPIX) — Authorities say the body of a man who was apparently abducted in Tracy last week was found at Lake Berryessa.

Avtar Singh was reported missing on Feb. 17, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office says.

Surveillance video reviewed by detectives showed Singh being put into a white SUV, apparently against his will, by three unidentified people earlier that day.

Then, on Feb. 20, the Napa County Sheriff’s Office alerted that a body had been found near Lake Berryessa matching the description of Singh.

The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office has since confirmed that the body was indeed that of Singh’s.

No cause of death has been released by authorities at this time, but detectives noted that the incident appeared to be isolated and there was no threat to the public.

Detectives have not made any arrests in connection with Singh’s death.

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Bay Area travelers stranded in Puerto Vallarta after cartel violence cancels flights

CNN Newsource on February 23, 2026

By Da Lin

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    SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — All flights between the San Francisco Bay Area and the popular Mexican tourist destination of Puerto Vallarta were canceled on Sunday following a wave of retaliatory violence tied to the killing of a cartel leader, leaving dozens of Bay Area residents stranded in the coastal city.

Plumes of dark smoke and burning vehicles were seen rising across Puerto Vallarta as cartel gang members blocked roads and set fires, according to local authorities. Officials said the violence was carried out in retaliation for the killing of a powerful cartel leader by Mexican military forces.

Caught in the middle were American tourists, including Bay Area resident Lefty Karkazis, who had planned to return home on Sunday.

“We were supposed to fly out of here at 2 p.m. So local time, at approximately 10 o’clock, we came downstairs, trying to get a taxi to go to the airport. And [the hotel staff] told us that nothing is moving, all the roads are blocked because there’s apparently a cartel operation that is affecting all the flights in and out,” Karkazis said.

His United Airlines flight, scheduled to arrive at San Francisco International Airport on Sunday afternoon, was canceled.

Travelers posted chaotic cellphone videos on social media showing people running for safety at the Puerto Vallarta airport. It remains unclear what specific violence triggered the panic, but airport operations were suspended and all incoming and outgoing flights were canceled.

U.S. officials urged Americans traveling in Puerto Vallarta to shelter in place. The hotel where Karkazis and his wife are staying also instructed guests not to leave the property.

“They gave us a complimentary night, an extra night. And then tomorrow, we’ll see how it goes. Hopefully, they can get things under control,” he said.

Despite the unrest outside, Karkazis shared videos and photos showing tourists continuing their vacations inside the Hotel Riu Palace Pacifico.

“[My wife] feels safe. I feel safe, too. I mean as long as we stay in the hotel until that thing resolves, I think we’re OK,” he said.

U.S. officials said the Mexican military killed the powerful cartel leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes over the weekend, sparking the retaliatory violence.

“This was one of the most significant actions undertaken in the history of drug trafficking because we’re talking about someone that is almost at the same level as “El Chapo” Guzmán and “El Mayo” Zambada. He’s one of the biggest drug capos in the history of drug trafficking around the globe,” said Mike Vigil, former DEA chief of international operations.

Karkazis said he and his wife visit Puerto Vallarta every year and have long been aware of cartel violence in Mexico, but this is the first time it has directly disrupted their travel plans. He said the experience would not stop them from returning.

“The next flight out for San Francisco from United is on Thursday. So, we might end up staying until Thursday. I don’t know. We’re just going to go from there. And the worst-case scenario, like I told my wife, we’re just going to rent a car and start driving north,” he said.

Airport officials in Puerto Vallarta said Sunday afternoon that the airport is currently under the protection of the Mexican military. It remains unclear when flights will resume.

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Bill Pickett’s legacy lives on through rodeo that celebrates Black cowboys and cowgirls

CNN Newsource on February 23, 2026

By Alexa Conroy

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    FORT WORTH, Texas (KXXV) — The world of rodeo has been shaped by people from all walks of life, but there’s a Texas legend still impacting not only our community but the world.

For young cowboy Cason Jackson, the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo means “everything.” That one word says it all about the deep meaning this rodeo carries, starting here in Central Texas.

Bill Pickett was born in 1870 in Williamson County, one of 13 children. Cowboy was in his blood. He began his legacy at local fairs roping, riding and working livestock. But he didn’t just compete. He created.

Pickett invented the rodeo event known as bulldogging or steer wrestling. Leaping from horseback and wrestling a steer to the ground became one of rodeo’s most iconic events.

Black cowboys were limited and Pickett broke barriers nationwide, performing with the 101 Ranch Wild West Show and eventually becoming one of the first Black inductees into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.

“Found out that there were black cowboys, cowgirls all over the United States, but they just didn’t have an opportunity to rodeo in the larger rodeos. So he said, I’m gonna create an African-American Rodeo Association and create opportunities for them to rodeo in larger venues,” Valarie Howard Cunningham said.

The Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo was founded to provide visibility, access and opportunity.

“He said, I don’t believe this. I just can’t believe this. There really are Black cowboys, and they are real… tears just started coming down my face,” Cunningham said.

Moments like that are why riders like Taries Wood keep coming back.

“I just love the adrenaline, how everybody gets together, everybody have fun. I like doing it for little kids because when I was a little kid I wanted to be like a cowboy watching everybody rodeo, and now here I am today,” Wood said.

The rodeo’s impact goes beyond the arena. It also creates space for Black-owned businesses to grow.

“It’s an honor to be out here… to be able to have this opportunity and get my business name out there, it’s a pretty great opportunity. It means a lot,” Cameron Sneed said.

For Cunningham, they are only getting started.

“Doing this rodeo, letting our kids know that Black cowboys and cowgirls are for real and teach them about the history of Black cowboys and cowgirls… we have met the mission that Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo was started on,” Cunningham said.

The Bill Pickett Rodeo celebrated its 41st anniversary and will be heading back to Fort Worth May 16.

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

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