Month: May 2026

By Conor McGill

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    SACRAMENTO, California (KOVR) — For many aspiring teachers, the path to the classroom is becoming increasingly difficult.

Between the cost of credential programs and California’s rising cost of living, some educators say the financial pressure is pushing them to reconsider the profession before their careers even begin.

At Hollywood Park Elementary School in Sacramento, second-grade intern teacher Anthony Pagliassotto spends his days helping students learn the value of money, counting coins, solving problems, and building confidence in the classroom.

But outside of school, Pagliassotto has been doing his own kind of math.

Trying to balance tuition costs, debt, and everyday expenses while completing his teaching credential nearly forced him to step away from the profession he loves.

“At the money you are paid right away, there’s not buying a house, there’s not buying more than a practical vehicle,” Pagliassotto said.

Like many educators, he faced the steep cost of becoming a teacher. Credential programs can range from $20,000 to $40,000, depending on the school and living expenses.

A state grant initially helped cover the cost of his credential program, but when that funding ended near the finish line, he had to quickly adapt.

“When it dried up, I had to shift gears completely and become completely independent and self-efficient to find a way to pay for school,” he said.

Even during the toughest moments, Pagliassotto said that giving up was never truly an option.

“It was never I wasn’t going to do this anymore. It was more of, ‘Am I able to maintain the ability to keep going?’ ” he said.

Through the uncertainty, music became an outlet that helped him stay grounded.

When financial challenges mounted, Pagliassotto turned to SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union for support.

At the Roseville branch, manager Travis Marra said many teachers across California are facing similar financial stress as inflation and interest rates continue to impact affordability.

“We live in a very expensive state and that hasn’t gotten any cheaper. Over the past couple of years we kind of saw rates increase,” Marra said.

According to a 2025 report from the Learning Policy Institute, more than six in 10 teachers took out student loans to pay for their education.

Marra said SchoolsFirst is working to support educators with financial tools and programs designed to help them stay on track.

“We’re rolling out a first-time homeowner grant for about 266 members. It’s a way for us to give back and help for that,” Marra said.

Back in the classroom, Pagliassotto’s students proudly hold up their coins as they work through lessons together.

For a teacher who nearly couldn’t afford to continue his journey, those small moments now mean everything.

“I knew for a fact that it would be a struggle, but it was worth it,” Pagliassotto said.

Pagliassotto is expected to finish his teaching credential in June and begin his master’s program in August.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Laurie Perez

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    LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — A homeless blogger living in Los Angeles County is hoping that her own quest to document the struggles that come with homelessness will help shine a light on the crisis as California closes in on the gubernatorial election.

Hannah Hartman graduated from college in 2018, loves going to the beach and is on an eternal search for joy. After a series of mental health breakdowns and a dangerous situation with a roommate in 2024, Hartman lost her job and housing, despite help from family and friends.

“Until you’ve gone through it, you can’t actually know what it is,” Hartman said. “Someone asked me one time if I could sum up homelessness in one word, what would it be? And it would be isolation.”

Hartman has been living in her second women’s shelter in the last two years, with just a tiny shelf of her belongings in the cubicle that she shares in a converted Studio City warehouse that houses 90 women.

She says that as her symptoms have continued to worsen over the years, she’s no longer able to work. As such, she began to document her journey on social media. Her Instagram account, @homelessshackwithhan, has more than 15,000 followers and continues to grow.

“I look a lot more like people would expect humanity to look like, so I want my page to start making people sort of question their internal bias and be like, ‘Wait a minute,’ and bridge that gap between humanity and homeless again.”

As she continues working to spread awareness, she hasn’t missed the headlines and plans from California’s candidates in the race for governor. After watching a part of the CBS California Governor’s Debate, she had a lot to say.

“The main thing that stood out to me is that none of these people have ever had to try to get into a shelter, because you cannot walk into a shelter and say, ‘I’m homeless, I need a bed,’ and then get a bed,” Hartman said. “It’s usually, I wanna say, a six to eight week wait for you to get into the shelter.”

She said that there’s a laundry list of things she’s worried about for the homeless community, especially things that the candidates and other Californians don’t understand.

“Federal disability takes years. I’m on the third step and I believe applied in 2023,” she said. “You cannot make more than, I believe, $2,000 a month and still get federal disability. So, I’m kind of walking this fine line of ‘I need finances, but I can’t have too many finances.'”

For all the ideas about how to fix homelessness, Hartman wonders if the solution can’t be found somewhere simpler, like learning about what it’s really like to be homeless from someone living it.

“It is not a them problem, or like a somebody else problem, even if you are currently housed, it can be a you problem at any second,” Hartman said.

She says that if any of the gubernatorial candidates would like to further delve into her thoughts and the reality of being homeless in California she would be willing to sit down to talk.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By WKBT Staff

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    CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (WKBT) — A vehicle pulled from Lake Wissota on Wednesday turned out to be a car reported stolen nearly two years ago.

The Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the submerged vehicle was stolen from the Village of Lake Hallie in September 2024.

The vehicle was found by a local fisherman who was on Lake Wissota when his side imaging equipment detected what appeared to be a submerged car. The fisherman contacted the sheriff’s office, which coordinated a recovery operation involving local Department of Natural Resources wardens, the Chippewa Fire District, and sheriff’s personnel.

The Chippewa Fire District Dive Team located the vehicle near a private boat landing in the Town of Eagle Point. Crews were able to tow the vehicle out of the water.

The Lake Hallie Police Department had already closed their investigation in October 2025 after identifying a suspect and referring criminal charges in the case, according to Sheriff Travis Hakes.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Jennifer McRae

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    LONE TREE, Colorado (KCNC) — A Cybertruck crashed into the Primrose School in Lone Tree on Wednesday morning, sparking a fire that ignited the building. According to investigators with South Metro Fire Rescue, crews rushed to the structure fire at 9200 Teddy Lane around 9 a.m.

When crews arrived, the Cybertruck was on fire and the flames had spread to the building.

The evacuation was already underway at the preschool. Everyone was able to get out of the building, according to South Metro Fire. Investigators said all 100 people inside the building, including 78 minors and 22 adults, safely made it outside after the crash. The ages of the children ranged from 6 weeks to 5 years old.

“In this case, all of the students had safely evacuated far enough away that when our crews arrived on scene, they thought the building was vacant because of how efficiently those students had evacuated from the structure,” said South Metro Fire Rescue Public Information Officer Matthew Assell.

“With this being an electric vehicle, that absolutely complicates the scenario and escalates it quite a bit. Electric vehicles are something that South Metro has in our community, and the lithium-ion batteries are something that our department is working on in response to calls,” said Assell.

Investigators said the fire was contained to the exterior of the structure and did not spread inside the building. Crews placed a fire blanket over the burning Cybertruck to extinguish the fire.

“With it being isolated to the exterior of the structure, we were able to treat it more like an electrical vehicle fire, so crews were able to contain that fire and then we applied a fire blanket over the vehicle, and that’s used to contain the fire and essentially smother the oxygen from within those lithium-ion batteries so that we can prevent any further possible concerns,” said Assell.

According to the City of Lone Tree, the driver of the Cybertruck was a grandparent with two children as passengers. One of those children was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Lone Tree said no drugs, alcohol or medical issues are suspected.

Parents began to be reunited with their children just minutes after the crash.

What happened leading up to the crash is being investigated.

The Primrose School will remain closed until further notice.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Sarah Horbacewicz

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    DENVER (KCNC) — Late Friday night, more than 200 people sat alongside the tarmac at Denver International Airport. Their Frontier flight stopped during take-off after hitting a person. Thermal imaging shows a man walking onto the runway moments before getting pulled into the engine.

Adam Berger was on that flight.

“I had been pretty stoic about the situation, but I just burst into tears when I saw that footage, because, I mean, the fact that it did take someone’s life in the process,” he said.

Berger saw the explosion before smoke began filling the cabin.

“All of us were kind of covering our mouths trying to, you know, like, not breathe all this in. Within five to seven minutes, they had popped the doors,” Berger said.

Passengers went down emergency slides, where a few got hurt. In the chaos, Berger said not everyone knew what to do.

“I also was in shock in the moment, and not grabbing my small bag was not something that was going through my mind… There wasn’t a ton of people dictating what we should do in that capacity,” Berger said.

In videos taken inside the cabin, it’s clear that many passengers took their smaller bags.

Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington said in a press conference Tuesday, “Kind of tough for us to answer about what went on within the aircraft… We are working with Frontier Airlines to determine what we can do as an airport to facilitate, sort of, a better evacuation.”

The airport is also looking at its security procedures and says that proper alarms went off. Berger acknowledged how rare this situation is.

“If someone is that determined, it’s pretty difficult to stop them,” Berger said, “I’m realistic about these things, I feel, and if they’re passing their security checks, I can’t ask for that much more.”

Now Berger credits the pilot for stopping that takeoff and protecting passengers on board.

“Thank you. I mean, like it could have gone very differently, obviously. And I mean, could have totally changed all of our lives far more than it did,” Berger said.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Max Goldwasser

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    LA MESA, California (KGTV) — La Mesa has reaffirmed its ban on children under 12 riding e-bikes, but the vote has renewed debate over whether the policy actually addresses the root cause of safety concerns on the city’s streets.

The City Council’s vote Tuesday mirrored the outcome of a unanimous decision passed in mid-April — with only one councilmember — Laura Lothian — changing her position.

The ban aligns La Mesa with several other San Diego County cities that have adopted similar ordinances under the San Diego Electric Bicycle Safety Pilot Program laid out in Assembly Bill No. 2234, allowing any city in the county to prohibit riders under 12 from operating a Class 1 or 2 e-bike, which can up to 20 miles per hour.

For some La Mesa families, the ban hits close to home.

“Kind of makes me feel sad and mad and upset,” said 10-year-old Charlie Knight.

Charlie and her family had used e-bikes as a way to spend time together in a city that prides itself on being bike friendly.

“It was something we could do together as a family that, we can’t do anymore,” Cassie said.

After the ban first passed in mid-April, Cassie, her husband Deric, and other residents urged the council to reconsider — arguing the ordinance targets age rather than the actual problem: reckless rider behavior.

“Nothing’s gonna change with the wheelies and the reckless driving because there’s already laws for that. They would have stopped that if that was the problem,” Deric said.

Not all residents share that view. La Mesa resident Stacey Turner said she supports the age restriction.

“I feel like we need to protect them until they’re, you know, a little more mature and able to take on this danger. I think this is dangerous,” Turner said.

Those concerns from families like the Knights were enough to change the mind of Councilmember Laura Lothian, the one vote that shifted from the first decision.

“We realized that we had a problem with teenagers and e-bikes, and the solution wasn’t addressing the problem,” Lothian told ABC 10News in an interview ahead of Tuesday’s meeting. “I’m feeling like 9-, 10- and 11-year-olds are being scapegoats for the 14-, 15- and 16-year-olds that are actually doing the reckless riding.”

La Mesa police have reportedly responded to more than 50 e-bike-related calls. Despite that volume, enforcement has been minimal — Lothian said the police chief told her the city has only ever issued 3 e-bike citations, none of them to children under 12.

Cassie said she remains skeptical about whether the ban will prove effective.

“It will be very interesting to see what data we actually collect to see if this is effective at all,” Cassie said.

Because the vehicle code is set at the state level, the council cannot change the language of the ordinance itself (as in, increasing the minimum age, for example).

Councilmembers did, however, promise to consider additional measures to address safety concerns, including increased enforcement targeting reckless riding and expanding bike lanes near schools.

In response, the city manager said, “We’ll do what we can.”

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

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Jared Aarons

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    SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A new mobile trailer is bringing Holocaust education to San Diego students in a way that has never been done before.

Spark Interactive is a 600-square-foot classroom on 18 wheels, packed with touchscreens, tablets, and state-of-the-art technology designed to give students an immersive, interactive, and inspiring experience learning about the Holocaust and their role in confronting hate today.

“We are looking to spark conversations. We are looking to spark action. So it’s not just the learning of the material, but it’s the ‘so what’ of it all. What will students take with them when they leave?” said Darren Schwartz, Founding Director of the Legacy of Light Goldberg Institute for Holocaust Education.

More than 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust in World War II. It was part of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany’s plan to seize world power and create a “Master Race.”

The trailer puts students in an active role during the lesson, creating a deeper connection with the material. It focuses on the rise of Nazi Germany and the techniques Hitler used to dehumanize Jews and other minority groups.

After each session, teachers receive a personalized report, allowing them to continue the lesson back in the classroom.

“Holocaust education, I think, hasn’t been more relevant than it is today, Schwartz said. “If we’re not learning the lessons of the past and informing the future, we’re doomed to repeat them.”

Spark Interactive already has partnerships with the San Diego Unified School District, San Dieguito Union High School District, Poway Unified School District, Carlsbad Unified School District, and Sweetwater Union High School District — reaching half of the middle and high school students in San Diego County.

Beyond schools, organizers plan to eventually offer the trailer to community groups and other organizations like first responders and the YMCA.

“We think for students, for them to apply the lessons of the Holocaust, they can look at those conditions and then look at our society today to make informed decisions about how they want to step in and make a difference,” Schwartz said. “The Holocaust teaches us a lot about our own civic responsibility. The importance of standing up for others, the importance of confronting hate and countering indifference.”

The multi-million dollar trailer arrives at a critical moment. Data from a state study shows just 1 in 4 California school districts teaches about genocide and the Holocaust, despite a state law requiring it.

For survivor Lou Pechi, it’s a new way to ensure his legacy, as well as other stories of survivors and the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust live on.

“In a year or two, we won’t be able to talk to Holocaust survivors. Only through the technology they’re putting together,” Pechi said.

Pechi estimates he’s spoken to more than 10,000 people as a survivor. But he knows Holocaust education has to evolve to reach a new generation more comfortable with technology than with books or traditional lessons.

“It’s been millions of years, and we kept history alive by carving stuff in stone. Now we carve it in pixels,” Pechi said.

Spark Interactive isn’t the only San Diego program pushing the envelope in Holocaust education. Several other local efforts are working to keep the history alive.

Grossmont College currently has an exhibit in its library titled “Americans and the Holocaust.” The exhibit uses video, audio, and interactive QR codes to show how people in the U.S. learned about and experienced the Holocaust. Grossmont was one of just 50 libraries across the country selected to host the exhibit. It runs through May 21 and is open to the public.

The Butterfly Project, which started in San Diego in 2006, uses hands-on arts and crafts to teach kids about the Holocaust and injustice. Based on the poem “I Never Saw Another Butterfly,” written by a child in a concentration camp, the project aims to create 1.5 million ceramic butterflies to spread awareness.

RUTH — Remember Us the Holocaust — is a museum-style exhibit featuring artifacts and first-person accounts from San Diego survivors. The exhibit has grown significantly since launching in 2020 and has moved to multiple locations across the county. The people behind it hope to eventually create a permanent Holocaust museum in San Diego.

Over the past year, the Academy of Critical Thinkers, or ACT program, put a cohort of 20 San Diego teachers through intensive training, giving them new tools and strategies to engage today’s students in Holocaust education. The program included a trip to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.

Schwartz believes the addition of the Spark Interactive trailer to all of that puts San Diego at the forefront of Holocaust education for the next generation.

“As our survivors are no longer with us, we have to have a new chapter,” he says. “And I think we are piloting and perfecting this new chapter of Holocaust Education.”

A major donation from San Diego philanthropist Lee Goldberg helped fund the trailer. Other support came from the Prebys Foundation and several other Jewish institutions across the County.

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