Month: June 2026

By Madilyn Destefano, Christian Bussiere, Pattrik Perez

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    SEMINOLE COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — A woman died after being bitten by an alligator while swimming in the Econlockhatchee River near the Barr Street Trailhead in the Little Big Econ State Forest on Sunday afternoon, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

FWC said the woman was swimming with friends in the river around 1:30 p.m. when she was bitten by an alligator, resulting in serious injuries. She was transported to a hospital as a trauma alert, where she later died from her injuries.

FWC, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, and a contracted nuisance alligator trapper responded to the scene. FWC officers remained on site for hours, using a boat and a UTV as part of their investigation. The entrance to the trailhead was also closed off with caution tape, forcing hikers to go elsewhere.

FWC cleared the scene around 7:30 p.m. The identity of the woman has not yet been released. The agency hasn’t said yet whether its trapping efforts were successful.

News of the attack came as a shock to hikers who frequent the area.

“I’ve seen really big gators in here. I’ve never heard of an attack, though,” said Leia Vieira.

Nancy Palmer, who hikes the area about once every other week with her husband Rodney, said those who come to the trailhead often are familiar with a large alligator in the water.

“There’s a place where a female gator hangs out to lay her eggs … and most people that come out here very often know that she could be there, and so keep your eyes open and don’t get in the water,” Palmer said.

Several signs near the trailhead entrance warn visitors of alligators in the area.

This attack is the third reported in the past seven days and the second in the past 24 hours in Central Florida.

FWC said serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida. The agency administers a Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program to address complaints concerning specific alligators believed to pose a threat to people, pets, or property.

People with concerns about an alligator should call FWC’s toll-free Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286). When someone is concerned about an alligator and calls the Nuisance Alligator Hotline, FWC will dispatch a contracted nuisance alligator trapper to resolve the situation.

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 Mike Anderson, KSL

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    BEAVER, Utah (KSL) — Saturday morning, Mo Larsen and her family were met by a small army of neighbors, ready to help them recover from their loss in the Cottonwood Fire. Larsen says she was hesitant at first to accept the help, but eventually agreed when offered by friends at church.

“I think it’s awesome,” Larsen said in gratitude. “It’s the most Christlike thing that I could think of, to be able to serve a neighbor in need; someone who did lose a home in the fire.”

Larsen and her family were in the process of moving into a home they purchased in Beaver a few months ago. Until a very recent, abrupt turn of events, their condo near the Eagle Point Ski Resort was also their primary home.

“There was still stuff and furniture and memories in that house,” Larsen explained. “And we were going to just be renting it out over the winter and in the summer.”

Larsen says her husband, a volunteer firefighter, happened to be near the condo when the fire erupted, but couldn’t gather their belongings.

“Instead of grabbing our stuff, my husband was knocking doors, making sure everyone else was evacuated because he’s a hero,” Larsen said.

Meantime, Larsen’s home in Beaver was not quite move-in ready. Volunteers on Saturday were helping bury a water main, sanding and painting wooden wall panels, and helping run wires for lighting. Neighbors like Nick Pray were eager to help.

“We’re all kind of a big family around here,” Pray said. “Even people that come from out of town, they notice that and that’s why they end up sticking around.”

Larsen also points out that the community around Beaver, Iron, and Garfield counties is raising funds for people who have suffered losses in the Cottonwood Fire, with accounts set up at Utah Independent Bank and the State Bank of Southern Utah.

“This is an amazing community, and we’re a really tight-knit community,” Larsen said. “And I know that if somebody needed help, then people would be there.”

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 Andrew Adams, KSL

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    BEAVER, Utah (KSL) — Firefighters were battling the Cottonwood Fire with caution Friday as winds picked up in the middle of a particularly dangerous situation red flag warning.

The first-of-its-kind warning issued by the National Weather Service on Thursday and in effect through Saturday surrounded low humidity levels projected to bottom out at 8% and wind gusts expected to reach 50 miles per hour.

Alyssa Mason, Great Basin Team 5 spokeswoman, said the conditions weren’t immediately changing the strategy for firefighters, who were continuing to build contingency lines and protect what they could as they attempted to slow or halt the progress of the massive fire that had already burned 71,841 acres.

However, Mason said over 650 firefighters assigned to the blaze were proceeding carefully.

“As firefighters, we have stories in our culture about wind shifts and weather changes that have killed entire crews on fires before, in even some of our recent history, and so that’s always kind of in the back of our minds,” Mason said. “It was kind of a solemn feeling at briefing this morning as they’re talking about these weathers and they’re talking about safety and they’re talking about all these things that can go wrong today, and so it was a pretty sobering kind of morning for a lot of us.”

Mason said firefighters received a warning as they headed out for the day.

“We always have safety first out there and as soon as we see things or we start getting feelings, we’ve told the guys (if) they don’t like it, disengage, get to a safe place,” Mason said.

The spokesperson said that with extremely low humidity and high winds, the flames can become extremely volatile.

“With winds of that speed, we’ll get a surface fire that is going to move quickly, and you can see some pretty extreme spotting, where at the onset of this fire we saw spotting up to a mile ahead of the fire,” Mason said. “If this thing stands up with those winds, we can see extreme spotting again. There’s going to be heavy smoke. There’s probably going to be ash falling on places like Richfield, and we’re going to see just very quick flame movement across the landscape.”

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 Taylor Epps

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    BALTIMORE (WMAR) — Mystery solved in West Baltimore. A West Baltimore woman searching for the good Samaritan who rescued her stolen packages has found him and formed an immediate bond.

D. FitzGerald Smith, known by friends as Chip, wasn’t feeling well, so he went out for an early morning walk around 5 a.m. Sunday, when he spotted two people breaking into cars in his neighborhood.

“I see these individuals; they don’t see me. They actually go inside of a white SUV, and they took boxes out. At that point, they began to run, so I’m now yelling at them,” Smith said.

The thieves dropped the packages. Smith looked at the address on them and rang the doorbell at Cruz’s home, but she was asleep.

“I’m determined that this woman is going to get her packages back, I said ‘I’m not going to leave them here, I’m gonna pick them up and put them on her doorstep,'” Smith said. “To me, what I did is normal; this is not out of the ordinary for a man to do.”

Smith said it is simply how he was raised, and he was hesitant when people began calling him a hero. He eventually dropped a note in Cruz’s mailbox, and the two connected by phone.

That is when he learned the packages contained items the community had raised money to buy to improve a green space in the neighborhood.

When the two finally met in person, Cruz was overcome with emotion.

“You really, really came through, and I have to say, it’s really hard living here,” said Cruz. “Things like this really crush your spirit and chip at your happiness, but when you meet people like you, it brings back some faith in people.”

She gave him fresh sunflowers and a card to mark the occasion.

Cruz is not from Baltimore. She moved to the area because she heard there were good people here. Smith reminded her that there are. Now she knows he’s just a few blocks away.

“That’s it, we’re friends for life,” Cruz said. “I feel safer, I do. I met Chip, I’m good now,”

“And you are now, as I say, you are my sister,” Smith said.

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

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    COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — Eight-year-old Clara Riebe invented a dice game to solve a problem many families face on long road trips: too much screen time.

The game, “Road Trip Roll,” earned her second place among second-graders at the national Invention Convention in Dearborn, Michigan. She was one of 11 Iowa kids selected to compete nationally after participating with dozens of Lewis Central students in the school’s Invention Convention in February.

“I was, like, really excited and I did think I had a good chance,” Clara said.

Inspired by “I Spy,” players roll two dice — one with colors and one with letters — and try to match one or both as they look out the window. A point system keeps score. In Cochran Park, Clara and her brother, six-year-old Ben, demonstrated how they play. Pointing out objects that match the color and/or the letter represented on the dice. Rolling a “Purple” and “G,” they laughed realizing their grandma was wearing purple shirt — three points to Ben!

“Well, I was thinking of some sort of game or something to do on a road trip,” Clara said.

Clara’s TAG teacher, Melissa Taylor, encouraged the kids to invent something that solves a real-world problem. After looking into the issue, Clara says she learned the average child spends about six hours a day on screens. Playing a game in the car seemed like a way to reduce screen time.

Taylor says the inventions to not have to be high-tech.

“Clara’s is so simple, but what a life saver for young families taking long road trips,” she said.

The Invention Convention, Taylor says, is designed to build problem-solving skills in students.

“We want them to be able to solve problems, that’s the whole point. So, she solved the problem of not being able to have screens in the cars,” she said.

Lewis Central has a long history with Invention Convention, but it was Taylor’s first year leading students through the process.

“That kids are resilient, they’re reflective, they’re problem solvers and they really are going to be our future. I mean, they’re going to be the ones who solve the problems that we all have in more efficient ways,” she said.

About 300,000 kids participated in the Invention Convention across the United States this year. Lewis Central is working with the University of Iowa to continue expanding the program.

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

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    CALIFORNIA CITY, California (KERO) — Ten years after the killing of her daughter, Deverrie Schiller, Debi Fones returned to the place where she has spent years honoring her memory, unveiling a new symbol of remembrance while continuing her fight for justice.

“To the family and friends of my daughter’s killer… I am so sorry about your dad. I can only imagine. You have my deepest condolences,” Fones wrote in one of the many reflections she has written since Schiller was killed a decade ago.

Fones said writing has helped her cope with the loss while also giving a voice to a case that remains unsolved.

To honor her daughter’s memory, Fones continues finding new ways to help others. She has created more than 130 memorial coloring books for families who have lost loved ones, written children’s books about grief and most recently installed a Wind Phone.

The disconnected telephone allows people to speak to loved ones they have lost, hoping the wind will carry their words.

“I’ll see her again,” Fones said. “I just try to do things that would make her happy, make her proud of me.”

Surrounding the phone are diamonds bearing the names of other unsolved homicide and missing person cases in California City.

For Fones, the fight has never been only about her daughter.

“I just got to keep reminding people they’re out there, telling them their names,” she said. “So maybe some of you will figure something out sooner or later, hopefully.”

Ten years later, Fones believes her daughter’s case is not stalled because of a lack of leads, but because of a lack of resources.

Retired detective Larry Brandenburg took over the case in 2018 but was laid off in 2024 as part of budget cuts.

“He only had a little bit more to do,” Fones said. “He said that he knew he would have enough to take it to the DA, and they would take it, but they fired him.”

Fones said that decision left her family without answers.

“Yeah, killers are walking free because the city can’t afford to investigate,” she said.

Despite the years that have passed, Fones said she still believes someone knows what happened.

“Not unless someone comes forward,” she said. “And that means in 10 years, nobody has yet. I guess it’s a little bit of hope someone will come forward. But even if they do, does the city have the budget to continue the investigation?”

While Fones said justice may never feel complete, she hopes her advocacy can prevent another family from enduring the same pain.

“There’s no such thing as justice,” she said. “What there is, is the possibility that he won’t be able to put another family through this.”

Anyone with information about Deverrie Schiller’s case or any of the other unsolved cases in California City is asked to contact the California City Police Department at (760) 373-8606.

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 Claire Graham

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    TUCSON, Arizona (KGUN) — There’s something special happening on a baseball field on the east side of town. They say “If you build it, they will come,” and in this case, “they” means a few dozen seniors, and for one of them, his son.

Having a catch is a right of passage for any father and son. For the Tucson Old Timers baseball club, it’s a chance to take the field again.

“My dad’s 81, so he’s been out here 20 years, kind of knows the turf, and so I’m a rookie this year,” said 61-year-old Michael Price. He’s a battalion chief for Golder Ranch Fire, and plays first base for the league.

For him and his dad, Dan Price, playing baseball is reconnecting the thread that has tied them together for decades, rather than pining for their younger years of playing ball.

“I had to wait till I was 60 to be here, because it is a 60 and over league,” Michael explained.

“It’s the only organization that’ll have a 60 year old playing against an 80 year old. It doesn’t happen very often,” Dan laughed.

They’re only the second father and son duo to play together since the Tucson Old Timers league started in 1968. They’re currently the oldest player and the youngest player on the roster.

Dan Price is retired now, but his career spanned a few industries, most recently working as a sports journalist and writer. He has written several books about baseball, and he’s the historian for the Tucson Old Timers, keeping track of players’ stats, and sharing stories about the team and other local senior athletics on his blog.

One post that stands out is what he wrote about the first father and son team, Brad and Tim Tolson.

Now, it’s Dan and his own son filling those shoes. Sometimes they suit up on opposing teams, with Michael occasionally making the catch to get his dad out at first. Other times, they’re on the same team, pulling off plays that only come from having that special connection beyond the field.

“I think my first or second game, we turned a double play a couple of different times,” Michael recalled. “I don’t think very many father-son combinations get a chance to do that or experience that.”

It’s the muscle memory of moments past, with a love for the sport passed down between generations.

“I mean, it goes all the way back to tee ball, you know. We could barely walk, we had a glove and a bat in our hands,” Michael said, as his dad shared the same thought.

“Putting the ball in their hand for the first time, it’s amazing playing with them,” Dan said. “Now I’ve got two great-grandkids, they’re not even big enough to hardly hold the ball, but they do.”

“That’s where I first started learning how to play baseball, and pretty much played for the next 16,18 years,” Michael said. “We teamed back up again a couple years later, well, a couple decades later, I should say, and played in a 40 and over team together for a couple years. I haven’t played in about 10 years.”

“We’ve had a couple guys play into their 90s,” Dan explained. “I feel ancient sometimes. Sometimes I feel young. When we walk between the lines, we all think we’re 20 years old again.”

From Michael’s tee ball team Dan coached in the 60s to their recent visit to the actual Field of Dreams in Iowa together, it has been for a game that’s always served as redemption and connection. Now, they’re together again, three days a week at Udall Park, at bat, in the field, and in the dugout of life, side by side.

“I’m out here for me, but predominantly for my dad,” Michael said. “I think it means a lot to him for me to be out here with him. I would love to be out here with my boy, but I don’t know if that’s possible, it’s going to be a few more decades before that happens.”

“Playing with the boys is great,” Dan echoed. “Hope I’m around to play with my great grandson, but I got to live to be 100 to do that.”

“It’s a good opportunity for us to spend some time together and play America’s pastime,” Michael said.

The Tucson Old Timers, also known as the TOTs, play baseball year round. The league is open to anyone, 60 and older, whether you’re actually playing ball, serving as an umpire, or keeping score. They start out Monday, Wednesday and Fridays with a practice, followed by their games which are usually at 9am, but switch to 8:30 in the summer. The group has a few players who have played serious baseball, Dan Price for one played in college. Their roster is full of retired doctors, lawyers, teachers, fighter pilots, firefighters and more, each one with a love for the game.

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.