Month: June 2026

By Carlee Gilpin

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    FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas (KHBS, KHOG) — The capital murder trial for a Fayetteville man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend continued Tuesday.

Prosecutors presented video evidence of Kacey Jennings recording himself on his phone in which he discussed Allison Castro’s death, the couple’s relationship, and described what he said he did with her body.

These videos presented to the jury were recorded before he was arrested in Sept. 2022.

Jurors were shown hourslong videos recorded by Jennings in which he appeared to be documenting his final thoughts.

He spoke directly to the camera about his relationship with Castro. “She was my best friend,” said Jennings.

Jurors heard him say, “May came around, and we lost the baby.” And later, “That kid was the death of us when it died.”

The most graphic portions of the recordings came when Jennings described what he said happened after Castro was shot.

He admits he disposed of her remains in different areas near Beaver Lake. He also claimed the shooting was accidental. “I shot Ally on accident while trying to commit suicide,” said Jennings in the video recording.

Towards the end of one video shown to the jury, Jennings displays different pills and syringes. He said one was morphine. The video showed him taking a pill. It is unclear what the pill was.

Investigators said the case began after Jennings was found at his home following a drug overdose in September of 2022. That prompted a search for Castro’s remains near Beaver Lake after police said they found documents at the home indicating Jennings may have killed Castro and disposed of her body.

Jennings has maintained his not guilty plea.

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 Stephen Cohn

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    DOUSMAN, Wisconsin (WISN) — The Dousman pet boarding and training facility where 21 animals died in a weekend fire was operating in a village that does not allow kennels, according to a village official and municipal ordinance language reviewed Tuesday.

A deputy clerk for the Village of Dousman confirmed that kennels are illegal in the village and said the home where the fire happened did not have a kennel license.

The fire broke out Saturday afternoon at Whomping Willow’s Kennels, a home-based boarding and training business in Dousman.

Neighbors called 911 after seeing smoke and hearing dogs barking inside, officials said.

Fire crews pulled 16 dogs and 16 cats from the home, but only six dogs and five cats survived, authorities said. First responders used pet-sized oxygen masks and CPR in an effort to save the animals.

Western Lakes Fire said Monday that the blaze started in the laundry room and is not considered suspicious. Officials also said no one was home when the fire started.

The deputy clerk said the Summit Police Department is leading the investigation because Dousman does not have its own police department. A request for updated information on the investigation, including whether anyone could face charges or arrest, was made Tuesday to Summit police.

Multiple attempts Monday to reach the owner of Whomping Willow’s Kennels were unsuccessful.

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 Ellisyn Sanders

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    WINFIELD, Kansas (KAKE) — For the first time in roughly 20 years, a Corpse Flower at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas, has bloomed.

The rare and smelly flower has drawn hundreds of visitors from across the region to take in the unforgettable scent, often compared to rotting meat. The greenhouse staff has had this plant since it was a baby, and it has taken 20 years for it to bloom.

Experts said the plant produces a foul odor to attract flies and beetles to help it pollinate while blooming. The plant can spend decades preparing for a bloom that lasts only a day or two, making this a now-or-never experience for some visitors.

The bloom inside the campus greenhouse reached its peak Monday morning, bringing people across state lines to see the flower before it is too late.

Southwestern College Professor and greenhouse Supervisor Bryon Rinke said the rarity and odor have brought in a steady crowd, making the greenhouse a hot spot in the community.

“It’s wonderful for this community. I mean, look at all the people that it’s drawing out here, it’s great, you know. They may never get a chance to see another one,” Rinke said.

With the short bloom time, the massive flower has passed its peak and is now beginning to wilt.

Greenhouse staff said they will keep the plant on display as long as possible, until it fully collapses, but they encourage the community to go and see and smell it before it is too late.

Southwestern College livestreamed the bloom online, and the campus greenhouse is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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 Ellisyn Sanders

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    WICHITA, Kansas (KAKE) — Growing up with a serious heart condition, Ella Morrissey often felt alone.

Diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy as a child, Morrissey spent years navigating medical challenges before receiving a life-saving heart transplant at 17 years old.

Now 21, she’s using her experience to help children facing similar journeys.

On Tuesday, Morrissey partnered with Make-A-Wish to deliver Build-A-Bear stuffed animals and copies of her children’s book, Ella’s New Beat, to pediatric patients at Wesley Children’s Hospital.

The book, inspired by her own medical journey, was created through a Make-A-Wish experience and is designed to help children and families facing serious illnesses.

Morrissey said one of the most difficult parts of her illness was feeling different from the other children her age. That’s one reason she wanted to spend time with patients at Wesley, to help them know they are not alone.

“My friends and family would sympathize with me, but there was no one to really understand it, so it was very isolating, and I felt like I didn’t have anyone to talk to and no one to relate to,” said Morrissey.

Several children received the surprise gifts and had the opportunity to meet Morrissey, whose story of resilience and recovery resonated.

One patient, Ava Thibodeau, said meeting Morrissey was especially meaningful because she could relate to someone who had faced similar challenges and came out stronger on the other side.

“It definitely makes it feel a little bit easier, less overwhelming, because the hospital gets really scary sometimes,” Thibodeau said. “So, it’s just nice getting to talk with someone that’s been through that before and is recovered now”

Morrissey is now pursuing a career as a child life specialist, hoping to support children in hospitals much like those who supported her.

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 Nick Bohr

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    WAUKESHA, Wisconsin (WISN) — A Waukesha jeweler is being credited with preventing a scam targeting an elderly Brookfield woman who was pressured to buy gold and hand over the gold and cash to a thief.

According to Waukesha police, Costa’s Fine Jewelry and Coins co-owner Yianni Roupas called authorities last week after an 84-year-old woman came into the store saying she urgently needed $30,000 worth of gold.

“And was literally almost writing a check for exactly $30,000, and we haven’t even picked out an ounce of gold yet; we don’t know what type of gold, we don’t know the premium,” Roupas said.

“We just kind of felt like it was weird,” he added.

Roupas suspected someone was pressuring the woman to buy the gold as part of a scam when she couldn’t explain what she wanted or why.

“It just felt skeptical that she’d never done it; she’s in her mid-to-late 80s,” Roupas said. “Just kind of put two and two together that something fishy is going on, something not right, doesn’t feel right, so we just contacted Waukesha Police Department and gave them the story.”

While waiting for the woman’s check to clear, police determined she was being conned, preventing her from handing over any gold or the $17,000 in cash she had also planned to give the con artist who had been speaking to her on the phone.

Roupas emphasized the importance of being cautious when a person is asked to buy gold for someone else.

“Do not give your gold away. Because once you give it away, it’s gone. They’re not holding it for you. They’re taking it and they’re stealing it,” he said.

Waukesha police praised Costa’s Fine Jewelry and Coins for protecting the woman.

“They did a great job of protecting her,” police said.

Roupas said the woman returned to the store over the weekend to thank them for looking out for her.

“She came in and just thanked everybody and was so happy that we chose to do something because I think she was so fearful of the people on the phone, that she didn’t feel she could do anything for herself,” Roupas said.

Authorities also reminded the public to be skeptical of any calls asking for personal or financial information and advised, “When in doubt, hang up and call a trusted family member or the organization directly.”

The Town of Brookfield police, where the woman lives, are investigating the attempted theft.

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 Andy Alcock

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    KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMBC) — The trip of a lifetime for one St. Louis-area family to see a World Cup game in Kansas City took a stressful and potentially heartbreaking twist on Tuesday.

Nearly seven months after buying four tickets on StubHub, Dacy Gillespie received an email from StubHub on Tuesday morning informing her the tickets were no longer available.

Gillespie shared a video her husband, David DeRiso, took of the couple’s sons on Christmas morning after they found out they were going.

“Oh my God, World Cup tickets,” Matteo DeRiso, 12, exclaimed in the video.

The video also shows his brother Luca, 7, crumpled in a heap in tears after learning they were coming to Kansas City for the World Cup.

“It was going to be a once in a lifetime experience,” Gillespie said.

She provided the email StubHub sent her dated Nov. 25, 2025, nearly seven months ago and before the game schedule was released.

It shows Gillespie ordered four tickets and would have them by June 16.

When she later found out Argentina was playing in the match, in addition to surprising her boys with tickets, she bought them Lionel Messi jerseys as Christmas presents.

“I get to go see Messi play. It’s the best day of my life,” Matteo said in the video.

From that joy Christmas morning, fast forward to an email Gillespie received from StubHub at 7:05 a.m. Tuesday on game day at her Kansas City-area hotel, priced at $400 a night.

The email states, “We need to replace your tickets. But we’ve got you covered with our FanProtect guarantee. We found you new tickets at no extra cost.”

But when Gillespie clicked the link “Review New Tickets,” it states, “Sorry, there are currently no replacement tickets available.”

At Gillespie’s request, KMBC 9 News called StubHub.

A representative said the case would be escalated.

The bottom line for Gillespie is she couldn’t disappoint her boys.

“I’m just going to do everything I can up until the game starts to try to get them what I promised them. Sorry,” she said as she wiped away tears.

When asked if she felt cheated, Gillespie replied, “Yeah, definitely.”

A StubHub representative called Gillespie Tuesday afternoon with the promise of new tickets just hours before game time. But that call came after Gillespie bought four other tickets on another site at more than four times the price of her StubHub purchase in November.

Late Tuesday afternoon, after a second KMBC 9 News call to StubHub, a representative said replacement tickets were on the way to Gillespie.

It’s not the first time there’s been a similar issue with StubHub replacing World Cup tickets shortly before game time after being contacted by journalists.

KMBC 9 News Hearst affiliate station WBAL-TV 11 News in Baltimore reports it happened to another family going to a World Cup game at the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

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By Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield

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    Minnesota (WCCO) — Emily Pearson is a lifelong athlete. When she aged out of the pool, she started on a new path.

“I knew I wanted to get into running,” she said.

But for years, running required her to cover up.

“If we did this interview a year ago, I would have been now covered head to toe just to avoid the sunlight exposure,” Pearson said. “It would cause really painful reactions in my hands, feet, face, everything.”

Pearson has a rare genetic disorder that causes severe, painful reactions to sunlight.

“I felt like my hands were on fire in an oven with pins and needles, burning, itching, just anything we could do to cool them off,” she said.

So her goal to run long races was complicated.

“I would run at 4 or 5 in the morning, covered up outside. If it was afternoon, I would be head to toe in gear, or I would run at 9 or 10 at night after dusk,” Pearson said.

But she made it happen. So far, she’s run eight half marathons and one full marathon.

“I wanted to prove to myself that I could and wanted to prove to myself I can do anything I put my mind to and make younger me proud,” Pearson said.

She’s now training for Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, but this race is different. Through Mayo Clinic, she’s on a clinical trial for bitopertin.

“Now I can run at 8 in the morning or 2 in the afternoon. I can run at 4 in the afternoon. I can run whenever I want and I don’t have to worry about getting a reaction from EPP because it’s in the sun,” Pearson said.

Pearson says she’s shed the anxiety of trying to always hide from the sun. She’s shed the bulky clothing too.

“A lot of people can’t say they’ve run a marathon and I can say that I did it while allergic to the sun,” she said.

Pearson says her strategy for this weekend’s marathon is to enjoy Lake Superior and running alongside family and friends.

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.