New developments this week on the 8th St. project in Colorado Springs

KRDO on April 24, 2026

Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Drivers and merchants got some relief from traffic impacts accompanying the ongoing improvement project on the north end of 8th Street, but they’ll be less pleased to learn that construction will take longer to complete than scheduled.

Earlier this week, crews reopened the northbound right lane over the Fountain Creek bridge that had been closed since the project began last June.

The lane change now has all four traffic lanes open in that area, significantly reducing daytime traffic backups.

(NOTE: Be aware that the right northbound lane on the bridge was closed again on Friday, so that crews could finish work on the new, wider sidewalk.)

KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior found mixed public reaction.

“Oh, a big-time improvement!” said Chad Amberg, a local driver. “Just being able to make a left turn, and not have a line of cars all the way down is so much nicer.”

Johanna Corter, owner of Coffee Roasters, described how the project has affected her business.

“It’s really kind of hard to say because of everything else going on, too,” she said. “The tourist season was really bad for us this spring. We’re hopefully not going to feel that same hit for summertime.”

Meanwhile, city officials revealed that delays with a water main installation mean that the overall $12 million project, which was supposed to end this fall, won’t be finished until next spring.

The work has required a major traffic shift on 8th Street near the Motor City Drive intersection.

“We had to redesign some elements with the contractor, on the specifics of how that bore was going to work,” said Ryan Phipps, the city’s capital improvements manager. “So, we got a little bit later starting than we wanted to. But actually, it’s going to work out well.”

Phipps explained that a crew is boring under nearby Bear Creek for the new water main.

Progress on the main being installed between Motor City Drive and Cimarron Street will determine whether related projects — such as sidewalk construction and drainage improvements — will be completed before the end of the year.

Paving, the final phase of the project, won’t happen until next spring.

In another unexpected development, crews found that the concrete sidewalk on the west side of the 75-year-old bridge still being repaired, was in worse condition than indicated by an earlier inspection.

“We’ll spend the extra time and investment to make sure that side of the bridge is structurally sound,” Phipps said.

Click here to follow the original article.

Couple convicted in ‘kill list’ manifesto case

CNN Newsource on April 24, 2026

By KIVI Staff

Click here for updates on this story

    BOISE, Idaho (KIVI) — A married Boise couple who wrote a manifesto that included a “kill list” have been found guilty by an Ada County jury of a combined 122 counts of stalking, witness intimidation, and threats involving multiple victims.

According to the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office, 43-year-old Daniel Harms and 39-year-old Lynn Harms sent an email to thousands of recipients that included a 277-page manifesto, which they referred to as a “kill list.” In the document, the couple calls for killing several persons, including members of Table Rock Church, a church that the Harms previously attended. The documents also called for the deaths of police officers and public officials.

The document included a direct command to its recipients that states: “Go. Hunt. Kill.” followed by the names and addresses of the targeted individuals.

The manifesto was also posted on various social media platforms.

Twenty of those named in the manifesto obtained civil protection orders. However, those orders were repeatedly ignored. The couple is said to have sent certified mail to the victims following the orders and continued to post the manifesto to social media.

In court, 20 victims testified to that harassment, saying it resulted in psychological and emotional harm.

“This case involved repeated, deliberate, malicious threats by the defendants that had more than 20 victims fearing for their lives,” said Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts. “The jury’s verdict reflects the seriousness of that conduct and the impact it had on the victims involved. Protections for victims exist for a reason, and violations of them will be prosecuted.”

Daniel and Lynn Harms represented themselves throughout the case.

Ada County Judge Cynthia Yee-Wallace revoked bail for the couple and has ordered psychological evaluations.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 20. The defendants face up to more than 200 years in prison. They are being held in Ada County Jail.

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.

Idaho couple donates 330 acre ‘oasis’ to land trust to create a nature preserve instead of subdivisions

CNN Newsource on April 24, 2026

By Lorien Nettleton

Click here for updates on this story

    TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KIVI) — The breakneck pace of growth in Southern Idaho has seen more and more open spaces transform into subdivisions, but one couple has a different vision for the future of their land.

Melody and Charlie Lenkner, who have owned a 330-acre property south of Twin Falls since the 1980s, chose to donate their land to the Magic Valley Land Trust rather than sell it to developers.

The parcel, located at the base of the South Hills, will become the Cottonwood Canyon Nature Preserve.

“Several developers have approached us to buy it because they’re purchasing land all around it. We [realized] would be rolling over in our graves if we saw that… if we heard in our little graveyard that it turned into a development,” said a laughing Melody Lenkner.

“It’s really a way of keeping a little piece of what used to be,” added Melody.

The property is covered in sagebrush, with Cottonwood Creek forming a canyon and a pond through the center of it all.

The couple wanted the land preserved as a place where the public could gently interact with wildlife.

“And I guess in the back of our minds, we have that as an idea. So bless the land trust, that they have taken that responsibility on,” Melody Lenkner said.

Charlie Lenkner seconded the sentiment, saying, “It’s like a godsend as far as our aspirations.”

Karl Ruprecht, a board president of the Magic Valley Land Trust, has visited the property the past couple of years to prepare the land for its future as a preserve.

“And really, what we found— it’s a nice oasis in the desert,” explained Ruprecht. “It attracts a surprising amount of wildlife.”

“Lots of mule deer, coyotes, badger, river otter, wood rats, kangaroo rats, two kinds of skunks, porcupine— they’re a pretty big variety of stuff is out here— so that’s really neat,” Ruprecht said.

The Magic Valley Land Trust has helped landowners secure conservation easements on 15 properties, mostly farming properties with scenic or historic value, to protect them from being developed into subdivisions. However, the Cottonwood Canyon Nature Preserve will be different.

“We are going to own and manage it with public access so the people of the Magic Valley can enjoy it indefinitely,” added Ruprecht.

“My whole life growing up there in southern Idaho, I have gotten so much benefit from— you know— the canyons, the parks in the canyons, and the public land,” Ruprecht said.

“The Magic Valley is growing so quickly right now, and there are a lot of wonderful things that come with that,” said Ruprecht. “We want people to live here and have great places to live, but it’s also important to preserve a few of the special places. And they’re going to become more and more valuable as the population grows.”

A few things need to get ready before the preserve can open to the public, including parking and gates. Ruprecht expects it to be open to the public within a year. “It’s just going to be a quiet, peaceful place to walk on trails and observe wildlife.”

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KIVI’s editorial team 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.

Scam stopped: UPS Store employee saves resident from $15,000 loss

CNN Newsource on April 24, 2026

By Don Davis

Click here for updates on this story

    GREEN VALLEY, Arizona (KGUN) — A Green Valley resident was spared a $15,000 loss after a vigilant UPS Store employee flagged suspicious activity April 16, prompting Pima County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD) detectives to intervene before the cash was shipped.

Deputies say the GV resident arrived at the UPS Store at 190 W. Continental Road seeking to send the cash. Detectives tell KGUN that sending cash through parcel services is a major red flag for fraud, and the employee was also aware of this, so they contacted the PCSD Fraud Unit hotline.

When questioned by investigators, the victim reported being contacted by someone posing as a bank employee who instructed them to wire money and send cash to another individual, claiming bank staff were distributing counterfeit currency and asking the resident to assist in an “investigation.” PCSD added the suspected fraudster was most likely not local, and officials have found no evidence of a local connection.

Because of the store employee’s report, detectives were able to stop the shipment and recovered the $15,000; the money was returned to the resident on April 20. During follow-up interviews, fraud detectives also learned the GV resident had previously wired $17,274.71 as part of the suspected scam. PCSD detectives are actively working to recover those wired funds.

The case remains under investigation, and no arrests have been made. PCSD said similar schemes have been reported in the area and that, while some have been prevented, many victims only learn they’ve been scammed long after money has been sent.

PCSD urged residents to remain vigilant: banks will not call customers asking them to help with internal investigations, and people should never send cash through any parcel delivery service. Anyone who suspects they may be the target of a scam is encouraged to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department Fraud Unit for guidance.

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.

Second border wall construction underway in Southern Arizona

CNN Newsource on April 24, 2026

By Athena Kehoe

Click here for updates on this story

    NOGALES, Arizona (KGUN) — More than 13 miles of a new secondary border wall have been built along the southern border since Jan. 20, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, with more construction now underway in southern Arizona.

Crews are already working in remote areas near Nogales. The second barrier is part of what CBP calls a “Smart Wall,” which will create an enforcement zone.

The project is funded through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which includes $46.5 billion for Smart Wall construction. The funding is being used to build new primary barriers, add secondary walls and waterborne barriers, and install system components such as detection technology, cameras, lighting and patrol roads.

CBP says the goal is to create multiple layers that slow crossings and guide people toward ports of entry, where agents can respond more easily.

Secondary barriers are not new. CBP began building them in the San Diego area in 2018, creating space between two walls. Similar plans are now in place for more than 60 miles of border in southern Arizona, including areas between Nogales and Naco and extending toward Douglas.

But, the expansion is drawing some criticism.

“A secondary wall will create a dead zone that will affect most of our public lands,” said Erick Meza of the Sierra Club, a grassroots environmental organization. He said the group has pushed for wildlife crossings in the region and worries animals could become trapped between the two barriers.

“So now if a creature is even able to make it to one of these wildlife passages, it’s going to be trapped in between these two walls,” Meza said.

I reached out to Santa Cruz County Sheriff David Hathaway for a statement.

Neither a primary wall nor a secondary wall is necessary. This is un-American and is a symbol of oppression that harkens back to the oppressive days of the Stasi ruthlessly enforcing the Berlin Wall in East Germany until President Reagan rightfully insisted that the wall be torn down. Americans should be jealous of their freedoms and should realize that Americans are now being searched by American authorities as they leave the U.S. going into Mexico. Walls are ostensibly intended to keep people out, but they can also keep people in.

Sheriff David Hathaway

CBP says that border barriers and related infrastructure remain a key part of its strategy and says tools like its Smart Wall Map track construction and planning along the approximate 1,954-mile U.S.-Mexico border.

Concertina wire is being implemented in some parts. According to CBP, concertina wire is what the military uses. It is designed to snag clothing and prevent somebody from going through it, or to significantly slow them down.

Some of the construction is taking place on Coronado National Forest land. I reached out them asking how construction works on their land.

The Forest Service’s role is limited to managing the surrounding forest lands outside the construction footprint and has no approval or decision-making authority over border barrier construction. Temporary closures are in place for certain roads and trails in the border region for public safety and visitors should check the Coronado National Forest website [fs.usda.gov] for more information.

USDA Spokesperson

Construction in southern Arizona is expected to continue for the better part of the next two years.

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.

Cal State Monterey Bay students protest after racially charged graffiti incidents

CNN Newsource on April 24, 2026

By Jazmon DeJarnette

Click here for updates on this story

    SEASIDE, California (KSBW) — Students at Cal State Monterey Bay gathered outside the Otter Student Union to protest after racially charged graffiti was discovered at the same location in February, calling for accountability and increased safety measures.

“Tell me how many times you’ve seen a derogatory term on your door or on your student union, or in your face, or someone telling you to your face, or on Instagram or whatever?” said DeeJay Thornton, a student at CSUMB.

Another student, Brejhan Williams, expressed frustration with the university’s response, saying, “I need more than just an email. I need competency classes, cultural competency classes, so people stop looking at me like I’m the odd one out because I’m not the only Black person that they’ve ever seen.”

The university stated that the incident remains under investigation and outlined steps it has taken to support students.

“We are working and meeting with our cultural identity center, specifically our Helen Rucker Center, our Black Student Union. We have regular check-ins and follow-ups to ensure that we are hearing them and that we are addressing their concerns,” said Nizhoni Chow-Garcia, associate vice president of Community and Belonging at CSUMB.

The school announced additional measures to prevent future incidents, including mandatory microaggression training for all students and staff starting next semester, security camera upgrades in residence halls, and increased awareness around Title IX.

“We unequivocally support our Black students and our Black community. Our mission as a community is social mobility for all and especially our underserved communities,” Chow-Garcia said.

Students also raised concerns about broader issues on campus, including challenges faced by the Helen Rucker Center, which serves as the Black Student Union.

“The Helen Rucker Center, which is also the Black Student Union, where we all collect, also has been under attack. There have been certain affiliations coming in and challenging Black opinions when we are having seminars,” said Morgan Woods, another student.

The protest ended with participants joining hands and raising their voices in unity. Students emphasized the importance of fostering change within their community.

“The university can do the things that they can systemically. But at the same time, we as students have to build a culture of accountability and build a culture of love amongst our Black students and show that we’re really supportive,” Thornton said.

The university reiterated its commitment to addressing these issues and announced a campus-wide seminar next Friday on the impacts of harmful language.

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.

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao called Monterey a ‘really dark place’ with ‘a lot of witchcraft’

CNN Newsource on April 24, 2026

By Ricardo Tovar

Click here for updates on this story

    PACIFIC GROVE, California (KSBW) — The Navy secretary resigned yesterday, marking another leadership change at the Pentagon since the war began.

Undersecretary Hung Cao, a Navy combat veteran and Republican Senate candidate, is now serving as the acting secretary of the Navy.

He previously made comments back in 2023 about the Monterey area and Lovers Point, saying that it was full of “a lot of witchcraft.”

He made these comments during a run for senator in Virginia back in 2023 during an interview with Sean Feucht, a former Bethel Church worship leader.

“There’s a place in Monterey, California, called Lovers Point. The original name was Lovers of Christ Point. But now it’s become—they took out the Christ—it’s Lovers Point. Monterey is a really dark place now, a lot of witchcraft. The Wiccan community has really taken over there,” Cao said.

He added, “We can’t let that happen in Virginia.”

To fact-check these claims, for starters, Lovers Point is in Pacific Grove, not Monterey.

According to the Monterey County Historical Society, Pacific Grove was founded in 1875 as a Methodist “Christian Seaside Resort.” It began as a summer retreat with strict religious rules, and over time, grew into a quiet coastal town.

The area once called “Lovers of Jesus Point,” not “Christ Point, was later renamed Lover’s Point.

Cao’s comments also conflate Wicca, a modern pagan religion, with witchcraft, a broader term for magical or spiritual practices. The two are related but not interchangeable.

According to The Pluralism Project at Harvard University, Wicca began in the U.K. in the 1940s and has grown significantly in the United States since arriving in the 1960s.

Today, an estimated 1.5 million Americans identify as witches, including about 800,000 who specifically follow Wicca.

With the United States population being an estimated 340 million people, that would make the number of self-identified witches about 0.44% of the population. It is unclear how much of the witch population is in Monterey specifically, as there was no public record available.

CNN reported that three sources said the former Navy secretary was reportedly given the option to either resign or be fired.

The former secretary, a businessman with no prior military service, helped fund millions of dollars for President Trump’s campaign.

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.

NYPD mounted horse seen on viral video stopping purse snatcher is a rescue. Here’s Kelly’s story.

CNN Newsource on April 24, 2026

By Nick Caloway

Click here for updates on this story

    NEW YORK, New York (WCBS) — There was incredible body-cam footage last week of an NYPD officer on horseback chasing down a suspected purse snatcher in Manhattan.

If you thought that was great story, wait until you hear about the hero horse’s journey to the police department.

Kelly’s road from the track to law enforcement It was a moment that quickly went viral as the mounted officer and his horse helped take down a thief on the Upper West Side.

But what the video doesn’t show is the horse’s remarkable journey to that point.

Kelly, the hero horse from last week’s footage, is a standardbred rescued from slaughter in 2020. The breed is known for its calm temperament, a trait that makes it ideal for police work.

Judith Bokman runs the Standardbred Retirement Foundation, a rescue that steps in when racehorses reach the end of their time at the track.

“Oh, I was so proud. I watch that video a lot. It really cheers me up, and I actually recognized him because I personally know the horse,” Bokman said. “About six months later, after we rehabbed him, the [NYPD] Mounted Unit came out to meet him and they tried him, and he’s been stellar.”

“There are so many more [horses] in need” Every year, the nonprofit organization based in Cream Ridge, New Jersey, rescues anywhere from 300 to 800 horses, depending on donations.

Many retired standardbreds end up in kill pens, bound for slaughter. The foundation intercepts as many as it can to find them new homes.

However, for every horse like Kelly who gets a second chance, there are countless more still waiting to be saved.

“There are so many more in need, and in order to continue, we need the constant help, the resources, the donations,” Bokman 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.

Esparto fireworks explosions: Devastating Pyrotechnics owner makes brief appearance in Yolo County court

CNN Newsource on April 24, 2026

By Jonathan Ayestas

Click here for updates on this story

    WOODLAND, California (KCRA) — The owner of one of the fireworks companies tied to the 2025 Esparto tragedy made a brief appearance in court on Thursday.

An attorney for Kenneth Chee, who owned Devastating Pyrotechnics, asked not to be arraigned and the court proceedings were continued to June 1 to join other defendants in the case.

Chee is being held without bail, and his attorney said he reserved the right to file a bail motion at a later time.

Chee arrived in Yolo County this week after being extradited from Florida in connection with the fireworks facility explosions that killed seven men. Of the eight people arrested, Chee is one of five facing second-degree murder charges.

Chee is also accused of conspiracy to possess explosives, make explosives and transport explosives.

Other charges included three counts of insurance fraud and more counts for explosives possession, possession of a destructive device, possession of explosives near private habitations and public roadways, unlawfully causing a fire, and managing a dangerous workplace.

Investigators found that at the time the fireworks facility ignited, there were about 1 million pounds of illegal explosives deemed too dangerous to be considered fireworks.

The other company that operated at the warehouse, Blackstar Fireworks, was owned by Craig Cutright. He and other defendants appeared in court Wednesday. This week, a judge approved Cutright’s $500,000 bail with strict conditions.

At the Wednesday court appearance, a judge denied a request for the victims’ families to display images of their loved ones.

Prosecutors allege Kenneth Chee tried to rebuild business after deadly fireworks explosion In a motion to deny bail filed in court on April 13, prosecutors argued that Chee had been “indifferent” to the dangers of the fireworks he imported and his “callous disregard for life” continued after the Esparto explosions with efforts to rebuild his business.

According to the document, Chee implemented no safety measures after a three-story building linked to Devastating Pyrotechnics that was storing illegal, overcharged explosives exploded on June 14, 2023.

The document also says that on Dec. 31, 2024, an 18-year-old was decapitated after lighting one of Chee’s “Northern Beast”-branded explosives. The document notes that the defendants continued to import and sell Northern Beast.

Later, when half a million pounds of illegal fireworks were seized in Commerce, California, in May 2025, Chee “repeatedly sought to bring those devices to Esparto.”

The document alleges that since the July 1, 2025, Esparto explosions, Chee has remained focused on efforts to “restart and rebuild his illegal enterprise” with co-defendants in Nevada, citing emails and phone records. He has tried to recruit new workers, according to the documents.

“Chee’s criminal network is large, and many individuals engaged in illegal explosives trafficking have not been charged with crimes,” the document says.

The document also alleges his public activities “demonstrate his brazen disdain for victims and the law.”

It says he tried to participate in a pyrotechnics show at the 2026 Chinese New Year celebration in San Francisco despite not having a pyrotechnics license, and socialized there in non-public areas of the event.

In making the case against bail, the document alleges that Chee has a “broad network” in the Bay Area, California, China and Malaysia where many contacts in the illegal explosives business continue to work.

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.

Two caregivers accused in starvation death of 14-year-old girl appear in court

CNN Newsource on April 24, 2026

By Daniel Macht, Denzen Cortez

Click here for updates on this story

    California (KCRA) — Two caregivers accused of the starvation death of a 14-year-old Live Oak girl with developmental disabilities made their initial court appearance on Thursday.

Megan Fredrick, 33, and 37-year-old Sherwood Johnson II face charges of murder and child abuse causing death, the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office has said.

In January, deputies responded to Rachel Street after receiving reports that the girl, identified by family as Gwen Fredrick, was unresponsive. First responders attempted to save her life, but she died.

The sheriff’s office said Fredrick relied on a feeding tube for nutrition, and her cause of death was determined to be starvation and neglect.

The suspects fled to Washington and were being held in the Spokane County Jail before being returned to Sutter County and booked into the jail. Bail was set at $750,000 each.

On Thursday, no pleas were entered. The arraignment was continued to May.

If the defendants make bail, they would not be allowed to leave the state or perform caregiving.

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.