Rubik’s cube competition raises funds for autism preschool

CNN Newsource on April 20, 2026

By Emily Ashcraft, KSL

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    OREM, Utah (KSL) — Organizing Rubik’s cube competitions is something Cade Beck does frequently, but the “Puzzling for Awareness” competition last Saturday stands out.

The competition, which he has hosted each of the last five years, is a fundraiser for Friends of Giant Steps, which helps fund a local preschool for students with autism spectrum disorder. He hosts it in April, which is National Autism Acceptance Month.

“That’s a great way to put a spotlight on autism awareness, which thankfully it’s a lot better than it was … but there’s still a lot of work that we need to do,” Beck said.

He is the president of the Utah Cubing Association, as well as a member of Utah Valley University’s cubing club, where he is a civil engineering student. In middle school, Beck said he was intrigued by a friend’s 5×5 cube — so intrigued he mixed it up, which his friend was not happy about — and he’s been solving cubes ever since.

The cause is important to him personally. His mom has worked for the Giant Steps Autism Preschool since before he was born, and it has become a second home.

He said making sure autistic people are understood and finding ways to help them integrate makes a difference.

“Make sure that the world understands how they’re different, and don’t use that against them but help them live their lives,” he said.

Beck said he has seen less of a stigma around autism over the last few years and more opportunities for people with autism spectrum disorder. He said programs like Giant Steps are helping with this.

A lot of people in the cubing community have autism, so Beck said this competition has an added purpose of giving them recognition and helping them know they aren’t alone.

Solving Rubik’s cube is a niche hobby, he said, but they typically get around 100 competitors, sometimes up to 200, in their competitions around the state. Although they are technically competitions, Beck said it is primarily a social event for many of them.

“Most of our competitors are just there because they like to be there. It’s a fun place to be,” he said.

Beck said cubing competitions are always an open, friendly place — it would be hard to make one even more welcoming — but there is still a slight change to the atmosphere when there’s a cause associated.

“They’re really great people, and … that really shines through when we do our fundraiser events,” he said.

Those who might have walked by the competition, Beck said, may not even know it was a competition. But the times are still pretty impressive. During Saturday’s competition, the first-place winner for a typical 3×3 Rubik’s cube had an 8.53-second average over the five cubes. The winner of the one-handed competition had an average of 12.49 seconds. And the blindfolded competition had a 53.30-second solve.

There are 17 events which are officially recognized in cubing, and 13 were represented at the competition. Of those 17, 15 are related to how fast the puzzle can be solved with varying sizes and complexities, Beck said. The other two test strategy and memory — finding the most efficient way to solve the same cube and memorizing cubes and solving them blindfolded.

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.

Video shows hot air balloon carrying 13 people make emergency landing in backyard

CNN Newsource on April 20, 2026

By Amy Powell

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    TEMECULA, California (KABC) — Shocking video out of Riverside County shows the moment a hot air balloon landed in the backyard of a home. Now, the homeowners are speaking to Eyewitness News about their stunning experience.

It wasn’t the landing anyone expected, but somehow, a hot air balloon carrying 13 people landed in the backyard of a Temecula home on Saturday.

The homeowner was watching TV around 8:30 a.m. when a neighbor knocked on his door.

“I go and answer the door. This guy’s like, ‘They just landed in your backyard!!!'” said Hunter Perrin. “And I’m like, ‘What!?'”

Perrin and his wife, Jenna, who was in another room at the time, then went outside to see what had happened.

“I open the sliding glass door, and there’s a basket full of thirteen people in my backyard!” Perrin said. “The pilot, he was masterful. He got it right down inside, like directly into the backyard, where there was nothing. The balloon didn’t catch on anything. No one was injured.”

The homeowners say the hot air balloon pilot told them the wind died, forcing him to make an emergency landing.

“You can kind of see in the video of how they came in. He kind of plopped straight down and was moving very slowly,” Perrin said.

“And I run to the backyard, and there’s a whole group of people that are just waving at me,” Jenna said. “And I’m like, ‘Oh my God. So the sound I heard was the flames?!’ And I’m like… hi!'”

Incredibly, there was no damage in the backyard and no one was injured.

Eyewitness News spoke to one of the passengers about the moments that led up to the emergency landing.

“At first I was like, ‘Oh my God! We’re in a backyard! This is crazy!'” said hot air balloon passenger Brianna Avalos.

Avalos and her husband were taking their first hot air balloon ride to celebrate their 10th anniversary. As they started approaching the neighborhood, Avalos says the pilot made an announcement.

“He said there’s not enough wind, because the wind kind of like, stopped a little bit. And he was like, ‘We’re going to land.’ And we only had a little bit of fuel left,” Avalos said.

Neighbors gathered in the street to watch.

“He was trying to get us to the street, but we couldn’t get to the street in time, so we landed in the people’s backyard safe and sound, like no one’s hurt, everyone’s great. He was an amazing pilot!” Avalos 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.

7-year-old boy battling 2 rare cancers at the same time

CNN Newsource on April 20, 2026

By Emma Benson

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    DRAPER, Utah (KSL) — Emily Taylor said her 7-year-old son Jerett, who goes by Rett, is the fifth of six kids and full of personality.

“He’s genuinely so funny,” she said. “He loves playing Minecraft — it’s kind of his thing.”

But for the past two years, his life has looked anything but typical.

He was first diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia right after his 5th birthday in 2024. The diagnosis began a long and difficult journey of treatment that has kept him out of school and in and out of the hospital. His family quickly shifted to homeschooling as his care became their top priority.

Emily Taylor also made the difficult decision to close the dance studio she had owned for 16 years so she could focus on Rett’s care.

“We try so hard to make it normal, you know, but it’s hard,” she said.

Just months ago, doctors delivered unexpected news: Rett had developed a second cancer — anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

The combination of leukemia and lymphoma at the same time is extraordinarily rare. Emily Taylor said doctors told them they had never seen a case quite like Rett’s.

Rett has been undergoing treatment and spends long days at the hospital.

Now, the next step in his fight is critical: a bone marrow transplant. Rett’s 12-year-old sister, Daphne, is going to be the donor.

“Their relationship is super cute, and they have started taking care of each other more already. It’s really fun to see,” Emily Taylor said.

As they prepare for the transplant, the family said they’ve felt an overwhelming amount of support, something they say is helping them stay hopeful for what’s ahead.

“Everyone just kind of rallies around. It’s amazing actually,” Emily Taylor said.

The transplant is expected in the coming weeks, and they’re hoping it will give Rett a chance at a healthier future. A *GoFundMe has been set up to help the family with medical expenses.

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‘Run as fast as you can’: Mom recalls night of gunfire in Iowa City

CNN Newsource on April 20, 2026

By KCCI Staff

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    IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCCI) — A mother visiting Iowa City for University of Iowa Moms Weekend says a night meant for bonding and celebration turned into a terrifying scramble for safety when gunfire erupted near the downtown Ped Mall early Sunday.

Aly Davis, of Waukee, whose daughter is a freshman at the University of Iowa, said the two were wrapping up the evening and preparing to head back separately when they suddenly heard what she first thought were fireworks.

“All of a sudden, we just heard a series of ‘bang bang, bang bang,’” Davis said. “My initial response was not to think that it was gunshots.”

But when a second round of shots rang out, and crowds began running, Davis said the reality of the moment hit hard.

“I, unfortunately, just given the world we live in, thought it was an active shooter,” she said.

According to Iowa City police and university officials, five people were wounded in the shooting, including three University of Iowa students. Police said officers were responding to reports of a large fight in the downtown nightlife district around the Ped Mall when they heard gunfire. One victim was reported in critical condition, and four others were stable Sunday. No arrests had been announced early in the investigation, though police later released photos of persons of interest.

Davis said she and her daughter were about 200 feet from where the shooting happened.

In the chaos, Davis said her first instinct was to protect her daughter.

“I turned to my daughter and said, ‘There’s a shooter. I want you to run as fast as you can, get safe, even if you have to hide,’” she said.

Her daughter and a group of friends ran toward the residence halls. Davis stayed behind, believing she might slow them down — and feeling, as a mother, that any disruption she could create might buy her daughter more time to get away.

“I know I don’t have the physical strength to overtake a person, and definitely not a firearm,” Davis said. “But if I can cause some kind of a delay for her to get further and safer, that’s what I needed to do.”

She briefly hid in an alley. Then her daughter came back.

“She said, ‘I’m not leaving you. Come with me,’” Davis said.

The two eventually persuaded an Uber driver to take them away from the area.

By Sunday morning, Davis said both she and her daughter were still processing what had happened. She said her daughter felt grateful they were safe, while also thinking about the victims and their families.

“Lives are still lives,” Davis said. “Just really thoughts and strength and comfort to the victims and their families.”

Davis also said the support from other mothers during Moms Weekend helped. At a final scheduled event the next morning, she said families embraced one another and checked in.

She praised the response from Iowa City police, emergency crews and the university, saying the law enforcement presence grew quickly and university alerts were sent out while they were still trying to leave downtown.

The University of Iowa told students to avoid the area and later said there was no indication that university students were the intended targets. University President Barbara Wilson also urged students and staff to lean on one another and seek support if needed.

For other parents, especially those who were not in Iowa City with their children, Davis said the experience reinforces the importance of awareness.

“The biggest thing is just always be mindful of your surroundings,” she said. “Never go anywhere alone.”

The pedestrian mall in Iowa City, built in 1979, is a centerpiece of the downtown urban renewal project and a popular gathering spot for University of Iowa students and staff.

While not located on the university campus, the mall is widely known as a favorite hangout for the community.

The last shooting at the pedestrian mall occurred in 2017, when two people were hospitalized in critical condition. That incident also took place in the early hours of a Sunday morning.

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.

Metal plant employees sue owners over sudden closure, layoffs

CNN Newsource on April 20, 2026

By Conor Wight

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    WISCONSIN (WCCO) — Dozens of former employees are now suing their former bosses after they were all abruptly laid off from a metal fabrication plant in western Wisconsin.

David Olsen is one of those employees. He said that ownership at Northern Metal Fab, Inc. called a meeting early on Monday, March 30, where they were told to pack their bags.

“There absolutely was no warning that the company was potentially going belly up, that was a shock to everyone,” Olsen said.

Since 1987, Northern Metal Fab, Inc. took on large metal welding and crafting projects that Olsen said others in the area simply couldn’t handle. There had been highs and lows over the years, he said, but he felt blindsided when his bosses told him and his colleagues that the plant was no longer financially viable.

That was the first surprise. The second would come days later when Olsen and others said that they did not receive their final two weeks of pay; they claim that Northern Metal Fab, Inc. also failed to provide them the financial equivalent for their unused vacation days. Most alarming, Olsen said, was that they learned their insurance was canceled as of late February despite the employees still paying their premiums.

“We have one employee where his family actually delivered a baby in March. Come to find out now they had no insurance to cover that,” Olsen said. “Fifteen, 20, 25 years people have been here and they’ve got nothing to show for it here at the end. This is how they’re treated.”

President and co-owner John Felix declined to speak to WCCO, directing us instead to attorney Joseph Skokan, who provided a statement. Co-owner Jeffrey Cabson was not immediately available on Sunday.

“After a thorough review of business operations and the current economic climate, the owners of Northern Metal Fab. Inc. determined the business was no longer financially viable. Despite their best efforts to find alternatives, they made the difficult decision to cease operations and seek relief through a chapter 7 bankruptcy. The case is expected to be commenced early next week, Northern Metal Fab. Inc. hopes that the liquidation of its business assets will result in a quick and meaningful distribution to its employees and other creditors,” Skokan said in an email.

The class action lawsuit against Northern Metal Fab, Inc. accuses ownership of violating both state and federal laws surrounding failure to pay owed wages and the lack of warning ahead of the layoffs. The state of Wisconsin confirmed that an investigator is now looking into the latter issue; typically, a company with more than 50 employees like Northern Metal Fab, Inc. is meant to provide 60 days’ notice before a plant closure.

As of Sunday evening, there was no indication on the company’s website that it had shut down. In fact, there were still multiple job openings listed with links to apply.

Jody Olsen, David Olsen’s wife, used to work at the facility in Human Resources. She left of her own accord in 2025 and is now working to support her husband and try to help his laid-off colleagues find work.

“A failure is one thing, to then take advantage of employees is another,” she said.

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Man accused of using pasta to replace stolen Legos

CNN Newsource on April 20, 2026

By Michele Gile

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    IRVINE, California (KCAL, KCBS) — Irvine police arrested a man accused of stealing $34,000 worth of high-end Lego sets and replacing the plastic bricks with pieces of dry pasta.

Jarrelle Augustine, 28, allegedly stole expensive sets, such as Star Wars and Marvel, and sealed up the Lego boxes before returning them to the stores for refunds, according to the Irvine Police Department.

“One of the cases that occurred here in Orange County, they shared that they opened the box and instead of Legos, they found bags of dry pasta,” Officer Ziggy Azarcon said.

Investigators said the dry pasta mimics the sound of Legos when they’re shaken. Officers said Augustine got refunds at Target locations in Costa Mesa, Irvine and Westminster, as well as different stores out of state.

Earlier this week, Irvine PD tracked Augustine to his Los Angeles County apartment and arrested him. They found several packages of Lego pieces.

“These were definitely sets that were consistent with what he was purchasing and then returning,” Azarcon said. “These were Star Wars sets and Marvel sets, which have a very high value on the secondary market.”

Irvine police said Augustine is linked to dozens of cases in Texas, Tennessee, New Jersey and Florida.

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Pair of K9s help find missing woman who fell 200 feet down ravine

CNN Newsource on April 20, 2026

By Dean Fioresi

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    SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, California (KCAL, KCBS) — A pair of Rancho Cucamonga Police Department K-9s are being hailed as heroes after they helped locate a critically missing woman who fell 200 feet down a ravine near Running Springs on Saturday.

In a news release from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, officials said that deputies from the Twin Peaks Station were called to the 9000 block of Old City Creek Road upon learning of a critically missing 49-year-old woman.

Deputies began canvassing the area, along with two K-9s named Keva and Naji, who were being handled by Deputy Jasso and Deputy Bakker, according to the release.

“K-9 Naji initially tracked a scent, after which K-9 Keva continued along down a nearby horse trail,” the release said. “Approximately half a mile into the search, Keva diverted down a ravine, where Deputy Jasso heard the woman calling for help.”

Deputies said that the woman had fallen 200 feet down the ravine and required an airlift to safety. She was hoisted from the ravine by SBSD’s Air Rescue 306.

“Every second mattered. A missing, vulnerable adult with a traumatic brain injury walked away from home and didn’t return,” a news release from the Rancho Cucamonga Police Department, which is a branch of SBSD, said. “K9 Naji set the track. K9 Keva took it the distance—leading deputies down a half-mile trail and into a steep ravine, leading to the missing person. Deputies located her, and due to the terrain and her condition, an air rescue hoist was initiated.”

The woman’s condition was not immediately noted.

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Man finds possible pipe bomb while walking his dog

CNN Newsource on April 20, 2026

By Sarah Horbacewicz

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    NEDERLAND, Colorado (KCNC) — Residents in the Colorado community of Nederland sheltered in place for most of the day on Sunday after a possible pipe bomb was found by a man walking his dog on Sunday morning.

Ben Lauderdale and his dog George are in the middle of moving to a new home in Nederland. Lauderdale says he went to visit the neighborhood around 8 a.m. Sunday morning, when he found the briefcase on a residential road off Highway 72.

“Closed on the house on Tuesday. We moved in yesterday. Found the pipe bomb today,” Lauderdale said, “I put one buckle back, and that went easy. Then the second one, I was like, this has kind of got some weight. And so I was like, I shouldn’t open it, but I still did.”

He says he backed away right away and called the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office. First responders shut down the road for 11 hours. Just after noon, the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office issued a shelter-in-place order near Ponderosa Way. Bomb squad technicians deployed a robot to handle the device.

The sheriff’s office says the device appeared to have the components of a functioning bomb, but they will need to look at it further to make sure. Officers are continuing to investigate how the briefcase got there and how long it was there.

“I was like, we should probably get away. And George came up and smelled it, and I was trying to get him away,” Lauderdale said, “There are a lot of people who take walks over there… Just glad people are good and… I found it and… no one’s hurt.”

The shelter-in-place order was lifted just after 7 p.m. Sunday.

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Tejon Street closure in downtown Colorado Springs for final upgrade phase

KRDO on April 20, 2026

Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS — Starting early Monday morning, and continuing through Friday, Tejon Street between Colorado Avenue and Kiowa Street, in the heart of downtown, will be closed to traffic.

It marks the final phase of the $8.6 million project to upgrade those two blocks, making travel safer and easier for pedestrians.

Crews began arriving at 2 a.m. to place signs and barricades for the street closure, which also includes part of Pikes Peak Avenue east and west of Tejon.

Work also includes milling and repaving of the Tejon/Pikes Peak Avenue intersection, along with striping crosswalks and placing decorative granite stones in the crosswalks.

Sidewalks within the closure will remain open to pedestrians.

The project started last spring on the block of Tejon between Pikes Peak and Colorado, before moving a block north to Kiowa.

Crews improved pedestrian access, expanded outdoor dining space, enhanced stormwater infrastructure, and added new landscaping.

Officials said that some of the crosswalk work on Pikes Peak will require occasional closures through the first week of May.

Downtown visitors who spoke with KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior expressed mixed feelings about the project, saying that they like the upgrades but prefer that officials turn the two blocks into a pedestrian mall.

“I think it’s helpful, but I think it would have been better, honestly, if they just closed this block of the street,” said Tellulah Hill, a downtown employee. “It was way more convenient when the street was closed for construction than when it was open.”

The wider sidewalks come at the expense of narrower streets with little space for parking and traffic; one business owner said that makes getting deliveries difficult because the center lane, where many delivery trucks park, no longer exists.

But some merchants are looking on the bright side.

“I did not expect it to drop off as much as it did, but I’m very happy with how much it has bounced back since they have finished, said Morgan Orman, manager of the Beauty Bar Salon & Spa. “Because now, we have even more foot traffic than we did before the sidewalks were extended. And that helps out a ton.”

City parking fee revenue, the Downtown Development Authority, and a grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation funded the project; city officials hope to eventually extend the improvements farther north on Tejon.

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Neighbors clean up vandalized staple of their neighborhood

CNN Newsource on April 20, 2026

By KMTV Staff

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    FLORENCE, Nebraska (KMTV) — Volunteers joined forces Saturday afternoon to restore the Florence Train Depot Museum after it was vandalized.

Graffiti, broken glass and residue from fire extinguishers covered the inside of the neighborhood landmark, leaving it unrecognizable.

Many of the volunteers were members of the Florence Historical Foundation and the Florentine Players, a community theater group that supports the foundation.

“Florence is a family, and when one of us hurts we all hurt, so we are all feeling this right now. We want to make sure we get this back to looking the way it did before,” Derek Kowal said. He is part of both the Florence Historical District and the Florentine Players.

The Florentine Players are hoping to get the museum back in shape before their melodrama performance. The first night of the show is April 30 and runs over two weekends.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KMTV 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.