Nichole Gomez
EL Paso, TX (KVIA-TV)-The Assistance League of El Paso is hosting “A Taste of Five Points,” a one-mile walk happening from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on May 2. The event supports Operation School Bell and will include sample tastings from 15 local restaurants, information tables from area businesses, and a raffle.
CBS2 Staff
By CBS2 News Staff
Originally Published: Wed, April 8, 2026 at 8:41 AM
GARDEN CITY, Idaho (CBS2) — George Gebran, the Eagle man accused of killing a cat locked in a cage in Garden City, is in court this morning for a pre-trial conference.
Courtesy: CBS2
On Feb. 15, 2026, Garden City Police received a radio call reporting an alleged animal abuse and shooting investigation in the 5100 block of North Alworth Street in Garden City. The caller reported seeing a white male in his 50s shoot a cat while it was locked in a cage. Officers responded to investigate alleged animal abuse and the discharge of a weapon within city limits.
The pre-trial hearing will be continued on Wednesday, May 20, at 9 a.m. Gebran faces two misdemeanor charges of cruelty to animals and two misdemeanor charges of unlawfully discharging a firearm.
News Release
The following is a news release from Yellowstone National Park:
YELLOWSTONE, Montana — Beginning at 8 a.m. Friday, April 17, 2026, select entrances and roads in Yellowstone National Park will open for the summer season, weather permitting, as part of the annual spring opening.
Entrances Open on April 17
North Entrance (Gardiner, Montana)
West Entrance (West Yellowstone, Montana)
From either entrance, visitors may access the following destinations:
Mammoth Hot Springs
Lamar Valley
Norris Geyser Basin
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
Old Faithful
Northeast Entrance (Silver Gate and Cooke City, Montana)
Additional roads within the park will open throughout May, weather permitting. Specific routes and directions can be found at Park Roads.
Plan Ahead
Check the park’s Current Conditions before arrival.
Bring appropriate footwear and clothing for winter conditions. Many trails and boardwalks are still snow covered this time of year.
Expect limited services in spring and come prepared. Visit Operating Dates for area-specific information.
Anticipate possible road closures due to inclement weather and dangerous driving conditions. Temporary travel restrictions or closures can occur at any time without notice. Have flexible travel plans.
Expect delays of up to 30 minutes due to road improvement projects.
Stay informed about road conditions and delays in Yellowstone:
Visit Park Roads.
Call (307) 344-2117 for recorded information.
Receive Yellowstone road alerts on your mobile phone by texting “82190” to 888-777 (an automatic text reply will confirm receipt and provide instructions).
Reduce wait times at park entrances by purchasing a pass online ahead of time.
For additional details, visit the park website or download the National Park Service App.
During Your Visit and Wildlife Safety
Use caution when driving and watch for ice, snow and gravel on road surfaces.
Bison, elk, bears and other wildlife use roads as travel corridors. Roadside snowbanks prevent them from easily moving off the roads. Do not crowd, harass or push wildlife. Be mindful as wildlife endure this difficult time of the year.
Stay at least 100 yards away from bears, wolves and cougars and 25 yards from all other wildlife. It is your responsibility to maintain safe distances at all times.
Protect yourself and bears. Stay alert, carry bear spray and know how to use it.
Marie Moyer
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Terminology has been corrected in the headline and story.
MU Health Care’s operating margin for the current fiscal year remains well below budget.
The health care group posted a $56 million budget shortfall between the start of the University of Missouri’s fiscal year from July through February. The report will be presented to the Board of Curators’ Health Affairs Committee on Thursday.
According to numbers in documents created for the UM System’s Board of Curators, finances come in at $45.4 million behind budget in Columbia and $10.8 million behind in Jefferson City.
The Columbia operations saw a profit of $4.3 million, while Jefferson City operations saw a $3.4 million loss.
“MU Health Care, like many health systems nationwide, is feeling financial pressure largely due to higher labor and supply costs, along with the lingering effects of last year’s out‑of‑network period with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield,” MU Health Care Spokesperson Eric Maze said in a statement.
The biggest expenses were seen in “supplies” and “other expenses,” with overall budgets going over by $19.2 million and $33.9 million, respectively.
Maze adds that revenue has been improving and the group developed a financial revenue plan that “focuses on increasing access and patient throughput, reducing labor and supply expenses and strengthening quality and efficiency.”
MU Health Care did not respond to questions about details of the plan or whether workforce cuts are being considered.
Both unions LiUNA and the Missouri Nurses Association both report they have not heard of any layoff discussions involving MU Health Care or between their members.
However, union leaders are making their stance clear. LIUNA Local 955 representative Andrew Hutchinson said “We do not believe there is any fat to trim or corners to cut when it comes to service and maintenance workers at MU Health Care. Our essential workers are already stretched thin as it is.”
According to prior reporting, MU Health Care reported a $45 million operating gain for the first half of fiscal year 2025. Jefferson City operations at Capital Regional Medical Center also turned a profit with a $4.2 million operating gain.
John Palminteri
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – For four decades the Santa Barbara Independent has been publishing the news of Santa Barbara, and now you can reflect back on some of the most iconic covers ever to hit the racks.
A special display is up and filling the walls at the Santa Barbara Library’s Faulkner gallery.
It was a lengthy effort to decide which covers were going to be in the presentation considering there were more than 2000 editions.
At a special reception, the staff of reporters and editors along with photographers and art directors were all acknowledged for their enterprising and creative work since 1986.
Santa Barbara Independent Editor in Chief Marianne Partridge said, “this whole great big long Independent family has been putting together the Independent for 40 years and God be praised it will be another 40!”
Around the room she said, “If you look through all of this you will see our reporters have been covering oil, immigration the arts….so much.”
The staff says the covers and the content have documented the history of Santa Barbara for the last 40 years.
Every print issue has gone out weekly the entire time without missing a deadline, even during the pandemic.
Some of the covers feature the areas many fires, the Refugio Oil Spill, and the Montecito Debris Flow. The paper has also compiled years of Santa Barbara International Film Festival issues and annually it puts Old Spanish Days in the highlighted position.
There are also covers with noted faces in town including politicians and entertainers.
The exhibit at the library will run through May.
Silas Moreau
Bend, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department announced Wednesday it will open the summit road at Pilot Butte State Scenic Viewpoint to vehicle traffic starting at 10 a.m. Friday, May 1, for the 2026 season.
Find more details from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department below:
Despite a short, dry winter, this year’s opening comes later than in past seasons. A contracted security service that previously handled evening park closures ended last fall, and park staff will now take on those duties. Seasonal employees who assist with closures begin work in May.
Pedestrian and bicycle access to Pilot Butte is available year-round. Only vehicle access is affected. Future improvements, including automatic gate systems, are being planned to improve efficiency and support long-term financial savings.
“Opening the road on May 1 allows us to align our operations with the staffing and resources we have available this spring,” said District Manager Dani Padilla. “Like many public agencies, we’re navigating budget constraints and working hard to operate more efficiently. Even as we run leaner, our commitment to providing a safe and enjoyable experience at Pilot Butte hasn’t changed.”
The road provides access to panoramic views of the Cascade mountains, including Three Sisters, Mt. Jefferson, Black Butte and Mt. Hood.
Once the road opens, visitors are asked to drive slowly, stay alert, and share the road courteously. The summit route is used by walkers, runners, cyclists, and motorists, and respectful behavior helps everyone enjoy the park safely.
The road will be open from 10 a.m. to dusk, 30 minutes after sunset, daily until it closes for the season in the fall.
For more information about the park, visit the webpage here.
Jessamyn Dodd
CALIPATRIA, Calif. (KYMA) – More than 25 years after the murders of a Calipatria police chief and a local business woman, the California Supreme Court overturned the conviction of the man sentenced to death in the case.
The court ruled juror bias may have affected the outcome, and now the case could be retried.
Back in April 1998, authorities say Omar Richard Deen shot and killed his mother Rachel Deen and then-Police Chief J. Leonard Speer of the Calipatria Police Department following an argument at his mother’s equipment yard.
Investigators say Deen fled to Mexico, where he was captured the same day and later confessed.
During the trial, prosecutors argued the killings were planned and tied to financial disputes involving the family’s estate.
Defense attorneys argued Deen suffered from severe mental illness, including schizophrenia, along with substance abuse.
A jury later convicted Deen of both murders and sentenced him to death.
But now, the California Supreme Court has reversed that decision, ruling the trial court made a critical mistake during the jury selection.
Justices found one juror had close ties to Chief Speer and law enforcement, had heard details about the case before trial, and expressed concerns about remaining impartial.
The high court ruled the juror should have been removed, and because that did not happen, the entire verdict must be thrown out.
The case will now return to the trial court, where prosecutors must decide whether to retry the case. If retried, it would reopen one of Imperial County’s most high-profile murder cases.
Jalen Fong
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Watch out when selling items on Facebook Marketplace or other online selling sites. Scammers are using an old trick to take a lot of new money.
According to BBB Scam Tracker reports, be wary of phony buyers who “need” you to upgrade your Zelle or another digital wallet app to accept money from them.
How the scam works
You list an item on Facebook Marketplace. You are quickly contacted by a buyer who wants to pay using a peer-to-peer payment app. Recent BBB Scam Tracker reports reference Zelle, but this scam could also work with CashApp, Venmo (a BBB Accredited Business), or another similar service.
Shortly after receiving the payment, you get an email, supposedly from Zelle. Allegedly, the buyer paid via a Zelle “business account.”
Now, you also need to upgrade your account to business status to accept the transfer. To do so, the buyer will need to send you another $300. They are happy to do you a favor, if you promise to refund them.
One scam victim reported this experience: “I received an email from zelle@bankconfirmedpayment.com explaining that the funds were waiting, but the buyer had to send an additional $300 in order to upgrade my account because the transaction was over $600, and I would need a business account.”
The scammer then “sent” the extra funds and included screenshots of his Zelle app with the money deducted from his account.
Then, he started pressuring the victim into repaying him: “He was very upset and persistent that I needed to pay him back for the fees that he incurred on my behalf.”
If you refund the scammer, you’ll quickly realize that they never sent you any money in the first place. You’ll be out a few hundred dollars, and the scammer will disappear.
How to avoid scams when selling online:
Don’t trust anyone willing to overpay you. Unless your item is rare and you receive multiple offers, be wary of buyers offering you more than your asking price. Consider it a red flag if someone is quick to send you more money than you are asking.
Check email addresses carefully. If you seem to have received an email from Zelle or another payment app, double-check the email address. Scammers use fake email addresses that are similar to official ones.
Get to know payment app policies before you use them. If someone claims you need a business account to accept payments, check the app’s official website or contact customer service to find out if the claim is true. Scammers often make up fake policies to trick their victims.
Report scams to Facebook Marketplace. If you spot a seller trying to pull off a scam, report them. Your report can help protect other unsuspecting sellers.
For more information
Report suspicious activity to Facebook and BBB.org/ScamTracker, even if you didn’t fall for the scam.
If buying online, check out seller reviews at bbb.org.
Josh Helmuth
To donate, click here.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — A whopping $80,860 was raised during the KRDO13 USAA Honor Flight of Southern Colorado Telethon.
Two veterans shared why honoring those who served is more than a mission — it’s personal.
Ken Wasoba and Tammy Baugh sat down surrounded by aviation history, talking about another kind of journey — one that takes southern Colorado veterans to Washington, D.C., to see the memorials built in their honor.
Both are leaders with Honor Flight of Southern Colorado. Both are veterans themselves. And both say the impact of these trips is something you have to see to understand.
“You see a change during those two days,” Wasoba said. “It’s just a total change.”
A mission that changes lives
Honor Flight of Southern Colorado, established in 2011, is part of a nationwide network of more than 130 hubs dedicated to flying veterans — at no cost — to Washington, D.C.
Every flight, meal and hotel stay is paid for entirely through community donations.
The organization has flown more than 350 World War II, Korean War and Vietnam veterans on 21 missions. But the need remains high, with more than 300 veterans currently on a waitlist that can stretch two to three years.
“We love the organization,” Wasoba said. “It just does such great things for the veterans, for the guardians, and for the people who support us. The sendoffs, the welcome homes — it’s very emotional.”
That emotion, he says, often turns into something deeper.
“The bonding starts immediately,” Wasoba said. “You talk about that experience — at dinners, at lunch, at the memorials.”
‘The single best day of my life’
For Baugh, an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, the mission hits especially close to home.
Her uncle, a Vietnam veteran from Wisconsin, went on an Honor Flight and came back changed.
“The way he talked about his time in service, his time in Vietnam, it was different,” Baugh said. “He said that [Honor FLight] was the single best day of his life.”
She says that transformation is part of a larger responsibility, especially for her generation of service members.
“I think it’s very important to recognize that the country we live in is because of people who’ve gone out and done things,” Baugh said. “In Ken’s case, he was drafted. He didn’t volunteer.”
Wasoba, who served during Vietnam, was among those called to serve without a choice, and often without support when they returned home.
“I do believe that our veterans today — my generation and beyond — owe a great deal of credit to the Vietnam veterans,” Baugh said.
Many Vietnam veterans, she added, say the Honor Flight trip is the first time they’ve ever truly been thanked or welcomed home.
The need and the goal
Right now, Honor Flight of Southern Colorado is working toward a $130,000 fundraising goal as part of its annual telethon.
The money raised helps fund two trips each year, including a larger charter flight planned for the fall that could send about 30 additional veterans beyond the usual capacity.
The organization is also always looking for volunteers to help with everything from logistics to supporting veterans during the journey.
A community effort
From the moment veterans depart to the moment they return, the experience is designed to honor their service. Flights begin with a celebratory sendoff and end with a hero’s welcome home — often with large crowds cheering them on.
Guardians, many of them family members, often describe powerful moments as they watch loved ones visit memorials for the first time. Veterans, in turn, describe something harder to put into words: closure, connection and camaraderie.
For the veterans waiting for their turn, the hope is simple: that more people will step up to help make that journey possible.
How to help:To donate or volunteer, click here.
Madeline Murray
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma gave local community leaders the chance of a life time, to experience what it’s like to be on a WTI mission.
MCAS Yuma and the community work together to give Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) students access to the City of Yuma for proper training.
Cynthia Blot, City of Yuma Community Development Assistant Director, says, “I think it’s really important that we continue to support WTI and the military base…like I said, they are a vital part of our community, and them sharing this opportunity with us, shows the partnership thats been created over decades, so very excited to be on this flight.”
“WTI, once they graduate the course, they’ll go back to their individual units, and they’ll be the lead instructors inside their units,” says Col. Joshua Smith, WTI Squadron One Commanding Officer.
WTI is an annual course that happens at MCAS Yuma twice a year.
The significance of WTI is to teach all aviation specialists the most prevalent technique in the world of war fighting.
“As war fighting evolves, we’re able to teach those latest and greatest tactics and they in turn are able to go back to their units and teach their personnel in their units those same things,” says Col. Smith.
Community leaders and our reporter, Madeline Murray, got the chance to be a part of a mission very relevant to a disaster relief mission, where marines distribute water and supplies out to the City of Yuma.
Being behind the scenes of the exercise gave community leaders the perspective of what WTI students are learning and how important conducting missions are in the City of Yuma.
Smith shares how landing in a realistic environment is important to this training.
“Environment for our pilots to land in an actual city is something that is very rare, and it’s very relevant to their training…it’s much like the marine expeditionary units that go and execute training to prepare for deployment, they’ll actually go to a city…it’s not an opportunity that’s wide spread,” he explained.
Only the highest skilled marines get to participate in this elite aviation training program.
