Month: June 2026

By Faith Egbuonu

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    ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) — As of Tuesday, June 9, 2026, the United States Department of Agriculture has confirmed 5 New World Screwworm cases which include three infected cattle and one goat in Texas as well as a dog infected in Lea County, New Mexico.

On Tuesday, University of New Mexico professor of Finance and Economist Reilly White weighed in on the possible impact the New World Screwworm could have on the cattle industry and consumer prices if an outbreak occurs.

“Screw worm in general is a major concern for the cattle and beef industry across the United States. Now, we haven’t seen cases like this in many years. And to see them come back represents significant concerns for the cattle industry,” Reilly told KOAT.

“Here in New Mexico, we have $1 billion plus cattle industry. We’ve got over 1.2 million cattle. We’ve got dairy cattle. Our dairy industry is one of the top ten largest in the country. The impact is significant,” Reilly said.

“It is a highly destructive, flesh-eating parasite. Screw worm larvae (maggots) consume the living flesh of warm-blooded animals, including livestock, wildlife and pets. It can also infect humans.”

“This has the effect of raising prices for consumers. So, if we did have a larger or more expansive screw worm outbreak, it would result in higher prices across the board for all cattle based products meats, milk, dairy, all of those things. We had the avian flu a couple of years back. Of course, that rose egg prices significantly because we had to cull a lot of chickens,” Reilly told KOAT.

“How big is it going to be has a big effect on it. How widespread it’s going to be is a big effect, and the type of remediation that different cattle producers can do will help dictate how much of this gets passed along to consumers,” Reilly said.

The parasite feeds on the living flesh of warm-blooded animals, including livestock and pets. New Mexico State University Asst. professor of Entomology Caleb Hubbard, an explained how the parasite operates.

“The female flies will find things like open wounds. These can even be very, very small wounds as small as something like a tick bite. Those female flies lay eggs on that wound. Those eggs hatch into maggots,” Hubbard said.

“The cause for concern or the damaging aspect of this is that these maggots then have the ability to consume living flesh. So, these flies then or these maggots then are going to be consuming tissue,” Hubbard told KOAT.

Hubbard emphasized the significance of remaining alert, but not alarmed, stating “This isn’t something we need to be afraid of, but it’s very important that people are aware it’s here. One of the biggest things that we always stress is the fact that this is treatable if it’s caught early. Make sure your animals are being inspected. This has to be a team effort,” Hubbard 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.

By Patsy Montesinos

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    NASHVILLE, Tenneseee (WTVF) — South Nashville residents are pushing back against a proposed data center near the Nashville Zoo, raising concerns about its potential impact on both animals and the surrounding community.

Georgia-based DC BLOX has filed a permit for a nearly 70,000-square-foot facility in the Grassmere Business Park. Zoo officials say a planning document also lists a second building — possibly more than 200,000 square feet — plus an electrical substation. Together, the two buildings could have up to 50 megawatts of power capacity, which is enough to power roughly 40,000 homes.

Drew Small has launched a grassroots group called No New Data Centers and has been distributing flyers to alert his neighbors about the proposal.

“We’re talking about some farmers near data centers (who) are talking about reproductive health issues with their herds. What about reproductive health issues with our families, with our children as they’re developing?” Small said.

An online petition against the project continues to grow. Small says he remains hopeful despite the scale of the challenge.

“There’s so many people who feel like there’s nothing that we can do, but more than half of the proposed data centers in 2026 have failed,” Small said.

Metro Council passed a temporary moratorium on the acceptance, processing, approval and issuance of zoning, building or grading of data centers across the Davidson County area on first reading. The moratorium must still go through additional approvals to be enacted. It could affect at least two data center proposals in Nashville: one near the Nashville Zoo and another at Fisk University.

The zoo’s head veterinarian, Dr. Heather Schwartz, warned Tuesday night at a Metro Council meeting about the potential effects on the animals.

“Our animals depend on consistency, stability and an environment designed around their health and welfare. Constant mechanical noise, the vibration, bright lights, generators, all of that running 24/7 is definitely going to be disruptive to their well-being,” Schwartz said.

The Nashville Zoo has since taken its first legal action against the project. The zoo’s land-use attorney — and former Metro Codes Director — filed a zoning appeal trying to overturn the permits already approved.

DC BLOX released a statement addressing community concerns.

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 Cecil Hannibal

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    MODESTO, California (KCRA) — One person inside a Modesto home died after a vehicle that was being chased by the California Highway Patrol crashed into the structure early Tuesday.

CHP said the pursuit started around 1:20 a.m. when two officers noticed a car that was speeding in the area. The vehicle ran a red light and then crashed into a home on Tuxford Lane, according to CHP.

The person inside the home was not the homeowner, who was out of state at the time, CHP said. The victim’s name has not been released.

The driver of the vehicle and a passenger were not seriously hurt.

The driver was arrested and booked into the Stanislaus County Jail for two counts of felony DUI, two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of vehicular manslaughter, evading officers, and driving on a suspended license, CHP said.

He was identified as 20-year-old Zachariah James Knobel.

CHP said Knobel was arrested prior for driving with a measurable amount of alcohol in his system while being under the age of 21, but said it was not a DUI charge.

“This all could have been avoided if he just pulled over…that’s the point of our officers out there is to stop things like this from happening to innocent people,” said a CHP Spokesperson.

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 Olivia Tyler

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    ANKENY, Iowa (KCCI) — On most mornings, Kellen and Beckett Wiederin follow a familiar rhythm.

They brush their teeth, make their bed, pick out clothes for school and tell their mom, Brittany, what they want in their lunchboxes. It sounds like the routine most 8- and 12-year-olds follow. That was the Wiederin boys’ routine at the start of the school year, but as the year comes to a close, they make a little extra time in the morning for grief.

Their dad Cory, who once stood in the same kitchen helping shape those mornings, died in January after a long period of living with a rare form of kidney cancer.

“There’s only one thing worse than telling them that your dad is going to take his last breath,” Brittany Wiederin said. “The next worst thing is that your dad took his last breath.”

Brittany knew what was coming after an 18-month fight, but when the moment arrived, it still didn’t feel real.

“My strong husband, he’s not gone,” she said. “It was like, this cannot happen.”

Before his diagnosis, Brittany said life was full and ordinary in the best way. The college sweethearts had recently paid off student loans and spent date nights writing down where they hoped to be in 10 years.

That future changed in March of 2024, when Cory passed blood in his urine. Soon after came surgeries, trips to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, a clinical trial and radiation. The cancer spread from his liver to his colon, abdomen and lungs.

“Picture perfect health,” Brittany said. “He worked out, ate healthy, did all of the things.”

Cory was the center of the family’s world. He bought his wife the coolest new shoes anytime a pair came out just because he wanted her to look good. He built Lego sets with his sons and took them to wrestling tournaments all over the country. When Cory realized his time here on earth would most likely be cut short, he focused on one thing: being intentional with the days he had left.

In a family of baseball fans, that meant playing catch. Cory set a goal: 365 straight days of catch with Kellen and Beckett.

Each session followed the same rhythm. 20 throws, end on a pop fly. A few minutes every day wherever they could get it in. It didn’t matter how much homework the boys had or how tired Cory was; they made sure to play.

“I didn’t know which would be my last one,” Kellen said. “So I tried spending as much time with him.”

The family extended the tradition beyond their front yard, including a trip to Chicago where, during the Cubs 2025 playoff season, Cory threw out a ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field with help from Kellen and Beckett.

“It’s like pain went away for 48 hours,” she said. “We got to sing ‘Go Cubs Go.’ It was beautiful.”

They even played catch in their hotel overlooking Wrigley afterward.

But Cory’s condition worsened in the fall of 2025, and the family entered hospice care. Still, they marked milestones.

“We would tell each other, if you make it to October, you have to make it through October. Keep the month of October a month of celebration,” Brittany said.

They did. Celebrating Cory and Brittany’s anniversary, their birthdays and Kellen and Beckett’s birthdays too.

And as the fall went on, and Cory continued to get weaker, he still kept tossing the ball.

“He never stopped fighting,” Kellen said.

The Wiederins reached 289 days of catch together as a family of four before Cory died on Jan. 13, surrounded by his wife, his sons, his parents and siblings.

In the months that have followed, Brittany said grief comes in waves. But still, they’ve never stopped playing catch. They even played catch at Cory’s funeral.

The Wiederins made it to 365 days and decided to keep going, channeling Cory’s motto of handle hard better. Now, in June, they’ve played more than 440 days of catch.

While Cory’s clothes still hang neatly in the closet and his photos remain on every wall in the house. Brittany, Kellen, Beckett and their dog, Mitz, feel closest to Cory at his grave. Where they often gather to play catch. And they still play the same way. At least 20 tosses and always end on a popfly.

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 Esteban Reynoso

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    WINTERS, California (KCRA) — Fire crews in Yolo County are preparing for Wednesday’s red flag warning by fortifying containment lines and prepositioning resources to respond to potential new fires.

Wind gusts near Winters have fueled the flames of the Putah Fire, which began as a prescribed burn, but jumped containment lines Monday morning.

“We were challenged overnight with very strong and gusty winds, and we had some areas where the fire slopped over some of our dozer, our hand crew lines,” said Jason Clay, public information officer for the Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit.

The Putah Fire, which at one point prompted evacuation warnings, has been a priority for crews to bring under control.

The fire serves as an example of what crews are working to prevent.

Cal Fire is focused on containment efforts and preparing for the possibility of new fires.

“To get ahead of the red flag warning conditions that are gonna be in the area [Wednesday] so we want to get this containment up. So, we feel good about our perimeter, that it is secure so we don’t have any escape or anything else move forward,” Clay said.

Cal Fire is also prepositioning resources, including strike teams of engines, to be ready for initial attacks on any new fires.

“We preposition resources. Sometimes we have strike teams of engines that are in a region that could be utilized for initial attack on any new fire,” Clay said.

PG&E is also taking precautions, with plans for public safety power shutoffs that will impact nearly 5,000 customers across nine counties, including Colusa, Napa, Tehama, and Yolo.

“A lot of wind. That’s really the primary factor in driving these public safety power shutoffs,” said Jeff Smith, public information officer for PG&E.

Smith explained that the shutoffs are necessary due to the combination of “fire weather”.

“We’re already seeing these strong winds with hot temperatures, and really dry vegetation, which is why we decided that we needed to put plans in place to potentially call for this public safety power shutoff,” Smith said.

The shutoffs are expected to last until Thursday.

Cal Fire emphasized that they are ready to respond if any new fires emerge.

“Between the hand crews and the dozers, they’ve been able to add extra control line so everything is getting fortified right now,” Clay said.

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By Austin Pollack

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    NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WTVF) — There’s one thing guaranteed to bring the community together in Nashville — and that’s music.

Members in the Nashville Voices of Resilience Homeless Choir have either experienced homelessness or worked closely with those who have.

Founded by Daniel Holmes, who experienced homelessness for five years, the choir is made up of about 10 people united by a shared mission to use music as a bridge between communities.

“I said I’d like to have a homeless choir because I was homeless for five years,” Holmes said, when looking back at his desire to create this group.

“Everybody is a jewel to be extracted that has lived expertise of being unhoused,” said Kennetha Patterson, one of the members of the choir.

Conductor Nat Peterson Lopes joined after Holmes approached them with the idea.

“He told me one day, hey, so I kind of want to start a homeless choir, you want to help out? And I was like yeah I know about music, yeah absolutely,” Peterson Lopes said.

“The people in your life that are the most giving and the most generous are those that have the least,” they said.

Holmes describes the group as more than an ensemble — it is a family.

“We know each other because we call each other every night, we talk to each other,” he said. “We speak with each other, this is a family, this is not just a company.”

This Saturday, the choir will host a community gathering built around music, art and connection. The event is from 2-5 at 1502 Edgehill Avenue in Nashville. It’s also a fundraiser to support low-income families in need of stable housing.

Holmes said the path to helping someone experiencing homelessness is simpler than many might think.

“If you’re watching today and you ask yourself, what does it take to help a person who is homeless, it just takes love,” he said. “That’s all I would say – it just takes a little bit of understanding, and to say to someone I love you. Or, I care.”

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

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By Julie Sharp, Michele Gile

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    LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — Warm weather is here, and as people head to the beach, Los Angeles and Orange County lifeguards warn of strong rip currents and high surf.

A powerful storm from the South Pacific generated a south-southwest swell that has reached Southern California’s coast, with conditions building on Tuesday and continuing into Wednesday.

The National Weather Service issued a Beach Hazards Statement that remains in effect through Thursday night, as wave size increases.

The long-period swell will bring surf “in the head-high to well-overhead range at many south-facing beaches across Los Angeles County,” LA County Lifeguards said in a statement.

In Orange County, lifeguards are also on alert, increasing staffing for the summer rush as waves could reach 12 feet by Wednesday.

“This is a big deal. With this incoming swell system, we are supplementing our daily roster with additional lifeguard positions open on Tuesday and Wednesday in some of our hotspots, most dangerous areas.” Newport Beach Lifeguard Battalion Chief Adam Yacenda said on Monday.

“We are extending our hours out here in the field … we’re bringing in guards early, and we’re expecting them to stay late over the next couple of days.”

Near the Balboa Pier parking lot, a sand berm to block high surf was created where flooding has occurred in the past.

In Huntington Beach, Mike Ali said his beachfront bike rental store patio is ready for people to watch the action. “When people realize a big storm is coming, they want to come and watch it, so hopefully I have my patios open, I have food, and beach rentals.”

While the storm may be a surfer’s delight, lifeguards are hoping most people are ready to just watch and wait this one out.

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By Zac Harmon

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    SOUTH HAVEN, Michigan (WXMI) — The City of South Haven’s new lifeguard program logged its first rescue, just weeks after lifeguards returned to the sand.

On Tuesday morning, a swimmer got out of the water and spoke with lifeguards on south beach when the person collapsed and was unresponsive. The on-duty lifeguards immediately began CPR and used an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), according to South Haven Area Emergency Services.

The lifeguards also called for emergency aid, with personnel from South Haven Area Emergency Services, the South Haven Police Department, and Beach Enforcement Attendants stepping in to care for the swimmer.

The person was eventually taken to a hospital in St. Joseph for continued medical treatment.

The on-shore rescue came just over two weeks since lifeguards returned to South Haven’s city-operated beach. The program restarted after a woman sued the city in the deaths of her daughter and her boyfriend.

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By Molly Demrow

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    BOONE COUNTY, Kentucky (WLEX) — A University of Kentucky student’s candy business has gone from local to the most magical place on Earth.

Aubrie Sink, founder of ‘Freezin’ with Aubrie,’ now sells her freeze-dried treats at Walt Disney World gift shops.

“It’s outside Space Mountain and Mission Space,” Sink said.

The road to Disney started with word of mouth and a series of wholesale partnerships closer to home.

“My first ever place that I wholesale to was the Cincinnati Zoo, and then I went to Jungle Jim’s and King’s Island, so still in the local area, and then I ended up (in) King’s Island, word of mouth, they told Cedar Point,” Sink said.

The business, based in Florence, Kentucky, ships products across 32 states. But it didn’t start with freeze-dried candy.

“So I actually started off with Jammin’ with Aubrie because I started my business with homemade jam and apple butter when I was 12 years old, and then that’s how I expanded it and I saved my money from doing that to buy a freeze dryer,” Sink said.

The Walt Disney World deal came together through a family connection at a trade show.

“My aunt, she’s my sales and marketing director. She met with the buyer for the space theme stuff at Disney Parks, and she met with them at one of our trade shows, talked to them, and they were pretty interested in the idea because for one I’m a teen founded business,” Sink said.

Sink’s ambitions don’t stop at Walt Disney World. She has her sights set on expanding the brand even further.

“Also even expand to like the Disney Cruise Lines, that would be a lot of fun. I would really like that. And then I also do dirty sodas, so my end goal for that is to get like a dirty soda food truck,” Sink 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.

By Hunter Sowards, Dean Fioresi

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    ORANGE COUNTY, California (KCAL, KCBS) — Hundreds of Orange County residents gathered in Garden Grove on Tuesday night to demand answers from GKN Aerospace leadership during a special city council meeting regarding the chemical crisis at their facility in May.

The meeting, which was standing room only with two overflow areas full of upset residents, was held after the Garden Grove City Council demanded that a company representative from the aerospace company make an appearance so they could directly listen to community concerns.

“We cannot sleep at night with the GKN monster under our beds,” one woman said while speaking at the meeting, which saw many more expressing their anger after more than 50,000 people were forced to evacuate from their homes in six Orange County cities when a tank holding 6,500 gallons methyl methacrylate, a highly flammable, toxic substance, became compromised and at risk of exploding or leaking as the contents continued to self-heat.

The ordeal, which spanned over five days as local first responders worked to mitigate the incident and reduce the risk to residents, still hasn’t reached a complete end, as cleanup continues nearly a month after it began.

Some residents held signs that read, “Full transparency on the impacts on our health and environment!” while others held signs that simply said, “Make GKN pay!”

The meeting comes about a week after GKN officials announced a $3 million donation to the Orange County United Way’s OC Community Resilience Fund, to help people affected by the evacuation orders.

“Thank you for the opportunity to come speak with you tonight. I know a lot of people have been wanting to hear from us,” said Steve Carlin, the senior vice president at GKN’s Garden Grove location.

He was met with a litany of questions from residents, council members and Garden Grove Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein, who repeated further lines of questioning from the community members who didn’t get a chance to speak.

“What was inspected? Were there warning signs? Will there be changes to ensure this doesn’t happen again?” she asked. “I think one of them that struck home with me is: ‘Would you be willing to remove these chemicals from your facility altogether?”

Carlin said that it’s still too early in their investigation to answer the final question, but said that work was ongoing to resolve the situation.

Residents who live nearby, and can still see the problem tank, now dismantled and stripped of all weather protection after emergency crews began working to cool the tank, want the company gone altogether.

“I don’t think they understand. Their lives were not disrupted. They went home and they were far away and they got to watch it on the news,” said Frank Aguirre, who said that his family now leaves their car packed in case they have to leave at a moment’s notice again.

When Klopfenstein asked Carlin for a timeline as to when the hazardous material would be removed from their facility, and when compensation would be given to the people who had to find shelter for their families or their pets, he didn’t have an answer.

She demanded a resolution soon, as well as a town hall meeting where residents can speak to more company officials.

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.