Month: May 2026

By Shannon Brinias

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    MINERAL SPRINGS, Arkansas (KTBS) — In most places, payphones have become relics of another era — rusting reminders of a time before smartphones fit into every pocket. But in the tiny town of Mineral Springs, Arkansas, one payphone is still standing, still ringing and still working for anyone with a quarter.

Outside the Walnut Hill Communications building on West Runnels Street hangs a fully functioning public payphone, a rarity not just in the ArkLaTex but almost anywhere in America.

For locals, it is more than a novelty.

“Everyone knows everyone,” said longtime resident Wendy Haddan, whose father served as mayor during the town’s busier years in the 1970s.

Back then, Mineral Springs had thriving local industries and a bustling small-town identity.

“The Clarks made the brooms, the Winchesters made the mops, which was very cool back in the day,” Haddan recalled.

Today, the town’s payphone has become an unexpected attraction for visitors passing through.

“I’ve had more people walk past my house and say, ‘Okay, what’s the deal with the payphone?’” Haddan said with a laugh. “I just leave it at that. I love that part.”

And yes — it still works.

“People still use it,” she said. “I’ve got pictures of people using it. So yes, we still have a public payphone.”

The phone charges just 25 cents for a local call, bringing back memories of searching for spare change, slamming the receiver down in frustration or making an important call away from home.

While the payphone gives off a retro charm, Walnut Hill Communications general manager Guy Middleton said there is a practical reason it remains in service.

“We just do it for the community,” Middleton said. “Somebody that, for whatever reason, doesn’t have a cell phone.”

In an age when many people rely entirely on mobile devices, the old-fashioned phone can still serve as a backup during emergencies, power outages or natural disasters when cellular networks fail.

Mineral Springs is not alone. Middleton said Walnut Hill Communications also maintains public payphones in nearby Foreman and Lewisville — and possibly a few others he has forgotten about over the years.

For now, the Mineral Springs payphone remains a small but steady connection to the past, quietly reminding people that modern communication did not always come with apps, touchscreens or monthly data plans.

Sometimes, it just took a quarter.

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 Chloe Adams

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    HENDERSON COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — A Henderson County official said up to 10 inches of heavy rainfall hit western North Carolina, resulting in several road closures Tuesday, May 26, 2026.

Mike Morgan, a county spokesperson, said he thinks this is the county’s first bad storm since Helene. Morgan said the damaged roads, like Gerton’s Konatoga Circle and U.S. 74, and the debris left behind gave some nearby residents flashbacks from Helene.

“There’s no doubt people are – hating the term PTSD – but it’s a little bit of what people have from the storm,” Morgan said. ”We’ve had a few little instances since then, but especially in this area, they got hit so hard to get hit again.”

City officials said a weekend of heavy rain caused more devastation in areas that have been trying for nearly two years to rebuild since Helene. Small landslides in areas along the county worsened some of these conditions.

“It was similar to Helene a little bit because we had a lot of rain all weekend long, and then last night, we just got hammered,” Morgan said.

Other overnight washouts hit more roads around Edneyville, Bat Cave, Fairview, and Gerton, including U.S. 74 near the Henderson County line, Kelly Hill Road and Bearwallow Mountain Road.

An NCDOT official said they hope to reopen Konatoga Circle by the end of the day. NCDOT estimates Bearwallow Mountain Road will remain closed for several days.

Officials are advising people to stay off roads as they continue to assess any damage.

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 Steven Rosenbaum, Briauna Brown

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    DALLAS, Texas (KTVT) — A large explosion following a gas leak call at a Dallas apartment building prompted a massive response from Dallas Fire-Rescue on Thursday afternoon. At least four people have been injured, officials confirmed.

The address, 409 E 9th St., corresponds to the El Ricardo apartment building. It is located just east of the Bishop Arts neighborhood, north of the Dallas Zoo and south of downtown.

Video from CBS News Texas Chopper showed a severely damaged building with flames and thick black smoke pouring from the wreckage.

During a press conference Thursday afternoon, Dallas Fire-Rescue Assistant Fire Chief James Russ confirmed that at about 12:47 p.m., crews responded to a gas leak call at the apartment complex. And shortly after, the explosion happened.

Nearly 100 firefighters responded to the scene. By 2:30 p.m., 71 units were on scene for the 4-alarm incident.

DFR said at least four people were transported to the hospital in unknown conditions. That number could change as details continue to unfold and crews search through the debris.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson took to social media to post that he’s closely monitoring the situation and his “prayers are with those injured, their families, and all those who have suffered loss from this tragic event.”

During the press conference, he and Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert echoed those sentiments, saying they would do everything they could to take care of those affected by the incident.

A family reunification center has been set up at WH Adamson High School.

CBS News Texas reporter Marissa Armas spoke with witnesses who heard the explosion and rushed to the scene.

One person said he heard a huge boom and saw several people running and yelling. He said a man saved a girl from one of the buildings.

A second witness shared a similar account.

Oliver Jimenez said he lives across the street from the incident and was about to leave his own apartment when he felt his building shake. He said he rushed to see what had happened and saw a “little girl barely getting out of the debris.”

That’s when the fire got worse, Jimenez said.

“We started running,” he said. “It’s kinda hard to process it.”

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 Tylan Jennings

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    SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — “Frisco, welcome to the city of the fog…”

That’s how San Francisco rapper Frak starts out his first bars in a new song – a love letter to the city that shaped him.

From Bay Area poetry slams to national television, Frak has built a career around quick wit, improvisation, and sharp punchlines. The San Francisco native first gained recognition in the battle rap scene before appearing on MTV, BET, and VH1’s Wild ‘N Out.

But during Jewish Heritage Month, the artist says his work is also deeply connected to identity and culture.

“I think Jewish heritage had a big impact on my music,” Frak said. “The self-deprecation, the cynicism, the humor all that stuff in my culture has been worked into my craft.”

Frak says his perspective was shaped by his family’s immigrant roots. His parents came to the United States from Peru and Hungary, experiences he says influenced both his worldview and his creative voice.

“Jewish culture isn’t a monolith,” he said. “It’s brought so much joy and humor to my life.”

Now, Frak is expanding beyond traditional rap performances with immersive live productions that combine hip-hop, theater, gaming, and comedy.

“We built a huge game cartridge, and this whole stage became a video game world,” he explained.

His latest project, Four Square, transforms concertgoers into active participants, blending music, storytelling, and audience interaction into what he describes as a larger creative mission.

“I’ve been blessed to have a platform now to make amazing music, do rap battles, be on Wild ‘N Out, even do comedy and political satire,” Frak said. “My goal is to bring it all together and also bring the community together.”

Longtime collaborator Kaly Jay says that vision has always been central to Frak’s work.

“We’ve been doing this since we were 14 years old,” Kaly Jay said. “To still be doing this, it’s a blessing.”

He added that Frak’s ability to connect different creative communities across the Bay Area is part of what makes the work resonate. “In a city many people say has lost its artistic identity. There are still so many artists making things happen,” Frak said. “We still have the culture.”

Frak’s next immersive Four Square performance is scheduled for August 14 at The Independent in San Francisco.

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 Kate Devine

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    CONWAY SPRINGS, Kansas (KAKE) — Kansas wheat farmers are facing a difficult season as dry weather, extreme temperatures and rising costs take a toll on crops.

According to the USDA, wheat production is forecast to be down 21% from 2025 and could be the smallest crop since 1972.

Conway Springs farmer Bryan Bates said his wheat got off to a strong start in the fall, but conditions changed as the crop came out of dormancy.

“We had a real good start in fall. We had plenty of moisture in the fall. We came up good, looked good most all the winter, and then as it started coming out of dormancy, we were running out of moisture,” Bates said. “Late February would be coming out of dormancy, and then just very, very little rainfall in April and May when the crop needs it the most. We just didn’t have much at all. That has presented its own set of challenges.”

Bates said warmer-than-normal temperatures also hurt the crop.

“We’ve had warmer than normal temperatures during those times, some 90-degree temperatures in April, and maybe some 90-degree temperatures in March, just pretty much unheard of,” Bates said. “The wheat had its set of struggles.”

He said the drought has left much of the wheat shorter than usual.

“Our wheat crop usually should be a lot of times hip-high, and this year it’s knee-high, so there’s just a lot of that growth that didn’t happen,” Bates said.

Bates said harvest is also starting earlier than normal.

“In my life, we’ve only cut one time in May that I can remember,” Bates said. “More often than not, as a kid, I remember we would be starting harvest on Father’s Day, and so getting a start here end of May is unusual.”

He said a smaller crop can have a ripple effect across the Kansas economy.

“We don’t have as much wheat to sell, so consequently it affects the equipment dealers and that kind of thing,” Bates said. “When we have a short crop, then it trickles through the rest of the economy.”

Bates said he is still trying to stay optimistic.

“Farmers, I think, are always optimistic that the crop is going to be better than what it looks,” Bates said. “I’m hopeful that it yields better than it looks.”

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 S.E. Jenkins

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    KERR COUNTY, California (KTVT) — A week after temporarily suspending the nursing license of the chief health officer for Camp Mystic, the Texas summer camp where 27 girls were killed in a flood last year, the Texas Board of Nursing said Mary Elizabeth Eastland may practice with a limited license.

The board temporarily suspended Eastland’s license following its investigation into the deadly July 4, 2025, flood.

According to an agreed order approved May 19, the board found Eastland failed to ensure the camp’s emergency nursing manual included adequate emergency planning procedures, failed to contact 911 after campers and staff were reported missing and failed to report the deaths to state authorities within the required 24-hour timeframe. According to the order, this created an unsafe environment that likely contributed to physical, emotional and psychological harm as well as loss of life.

The order also alleges Eastland allowed camp nurses to administer medications under inadequate standing orders between March and July 2025.

Eastland, a registered nurse since 2008 and Camp Mystic’s chief health officer for 16 years, neither admitted nor denied the allegations but agreed to disciplinary action.

Her license was reinstated on Tuesday with stipulations, including restrictions barring her from direct patient care while under the order. She must also complete a board-approved nursing jurisprudence and ethics course within one year.

Following the board’s updated action, attorney Joshua Fiveson released the following statement:

“We are grateful that the Texas Board of Nursing has allowed Mrs. Eastland to continue practicing under a limited license. While she has no intention of again serving as a camp nurse, Mrs. Eastland remains committed to her professional calling and thanks the Board for that privilege. The families of all those lost to the July 4, 2025, flood will forever remain in Mrs. Eastland’s heart and prayers.”

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 Lesley Marin, Dean Fioresi

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    ORANGE COUNTY, California (KCAL, KCBS) — Just a day after tens of thousands of Orange County residents were finally able to return to their homes after days of uncertainty due to a chemical tank crisis at a nearby aerospace facility, a group of high school seniors was able to walk the stage for their graduation on Wednesday.

Pacifica High School seniors, decked out in shiny blue caps and gowns, gathered with friends and family to celebrate the moment they thought wouldn’t happen.

“We were all ready to go to school and we got the notification, like, ‘School’s canceled.’ And that day was our last day,” said one senior.

For her and other seniors, the days leading up to their graduation were filled with unease, evacuation orders and emergency updates revolving around the compromised tank at GKN Aerospace, which was at risk of a catastrophic explosion or toxic chemical leak. Their school, which sits just a mile from the facility, was in immediate danger, as were many of their houses.

“I was, like, at my aunt’s house in Long Beach and all my friends were like at hotels and we were like, ‘I guess this is our life,'” said Penelope Jesson. “We’re gonna graduate and our house is gonna blow up.”

With the threat now mitigated, seniors said that the fear of missing out on another graduation milestone was far too familiar. The same group of students missed out on their sixth-grade promotion due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

“It was not a unique feeling,” Jesson said. “We were like, ‘Not again.'”

Garden Grove Unified School District Board member Teri Rocco lifted spirits during her speech to students, despite also having to evacuate from her home in the midst of the crisis.

“This even is more meaningful now for our kids. They need that sense of normalcy, they need to celebrate, they need to be joyous and happy and focus on this day,” Rocco said.

For Jesson, now the eighth family member to graduate from Pacifica, she said that moment is all the more special.

“Not all of them are here with me. I’m wearing [my grandfather’s] ashes and class ring. I just feel really good and proud right now,” Jesson said.

John F. Kennedy High School, which acted as an evacuation shelter for some of the thousands of people who fled their homes, had to postpone their graduation ceremony by one week. It is still scheduled to take place in the coming days.

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 Hunter Sowards, Dean Fioresi

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    ORANGE COUNTY, California (KCAL, KCBS) — Thousands of dollars have been raised for a John Wayne Airport employee who became the subject of a viral video on social media, which showed him clearly working through pain.

Since the GoFundMe was started, more than $65,000 has been raised for James Blair, a U.S. Navy veteran who has spent the last two decades working at the airport.

“When I first saw the video and I saw the money coming up, I started laughing, because I’ve been doing this job for 20 years and I just didn’t think anybody actually cared,” Blair said.

He says that despite chronic pain, he continues to work through it so he can continue caring for his 90-year-old mother in hospice care.

“My mom fell … I’m going to cry. My mom fell in September, and she was taken to the hospital,” Blair said.

The video in question, which shows him limping across the tarmac at the airport, was captured by Lacinda Thackeray.

“He was really struggling, what my first thought,” Thackeray said. “As I sat with it for a moment, and the tears were coming down my face, I just wanted to know if anybody knew who he was.”

She posted the video online. Since then, it’s gotten more than 3.5 million views and helped spur the massive fundraising effort.

“There was just so many beautiful comments that, like, it was also so heartwarming to see that people really needed to see this,” Thackeray said. “That there’s still good people out there.”

Blair, who works as an aircraft mechanic, says that so many years of refueling planes have taken a toll on his body, specifically his knees. He wanted to make sure to say that he doesn’t consider himself a hero, and that he represents people around the world who are still working and living with chronic pain. He’s hopeful that his story can serve as an inspiration for others to keep working hard.

Thackeray hopes that the moment can be a learning lesson for others as well, inspiring them to take notice of the people around them, and helping if you have the means.

“So many people were just saying, ‘I just have lost hope.’ Don’t lose hope. Continue to go forward and see what you can do to be those helping hands,” she said.

The GoFundMe can be found by searching for the keywords: “Help Him Retire with Dignity.”

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 Jasmine Viel, Julie Sharp

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    ORANGE COUNTY, California (KCAL, KCBS) — While the majority of evacuated Orange County residents were allowed to return home last night as officials said conditions of a compromised chemical tank improved, thousands remain under evacuation orders on Tuesday.

At a Fountain Valley Red Cross evacuation shelter, Ace Kelley is trying to keep his spirits up as he prepares for another long night sleeping in his truck with his cats. He is frustrated that he still can’t go home.

“I think it’s screwed up these people get to go home. I don’t think it’s fair,” Kelley said. “I’m glad people got to go home, but I’ve been out here since Thursday.”

Since the onset of the Garden Grove crisis last week, 50,000 people in several cities within a certain radius of a GKN Aerospace chemical tank were evacuated. Officials were uncertain if the failing tank would explode or leak, potentially exposing communities to toxic chemicals. By Monday evening, Orange County Fire Authority officials said the “worst-case scenario was mitigated and resolved.”

This led to a reduction in the evacuation footprint, leaving 16,000 residents to remain under evacuation orders.

Luis Castro and his family remain evacuated, and on Tuesday morning, he returned to the Fountain Valley shelter from his graveyard shift as a truck driver.

“At night, my wife and daughter sleep. I leave for work around 10 p.m., and I come back at 6 a.m., and repeat. It’s hard to sleep (but) making it work,” Castro said, noting that they sleep in cots, in close quarters.

Others, like Jazmine Ramiro, were leaving the shelter on Tuesday, after arriving last week.

“I have not been resting. I’ve been waking up at five in the morning. I’m not used to that and there is a lot of activities, and dogs and animals, barking noise,” she said, relieved to go home.

Officials said on Monday that the remaining evacuees will be allowed to return home when it is determined to be safe, when the damaged tank is stabilized enough.

“We’re going to make the decision, are those readings stabilized, is the community safe to come back? If that’s the answer and all the unified incident commanders support it, then we’re going to have that discussion to then go ahead and consider reducing the evacuation zones,” OCFA Chief TJ McGovern said.

The Garden Grove City Council is hosting a community forum on Tuesday evening regarding the chemical tank incident.

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.