Month: June 2026

By Spencer Wilson

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    EVERGREEN, Colorado (KCNC) — A Colorado nonprofit is working to help landowners fight back against growing infestations of mountain pine beetles and protect their properties from wildfires.

What started as a handful of infested trees in Evergreen, Colorado, has turned into hundreds for landowner Jon Hager.

“It was a very small infestation, maybe four or five trees,” Hager said. “This year, we had to be very proactive on it.”

Now, crews are cutting down and chipping dozens of beetle-killed and infested trees on his property as part of an effort to slow the spread of mountain pine beetles, which experts warn could become a bigger problem during Colorado’s dry summer conditions.

“It’s our responsibility as landowners,” Hager said. “I think it’s also a responsibility for my neighbors that we take care of the beetle problem so it doesn’t spread to their land as well.”

The work is being organized by the Mountain Pine Beetle Foundation, a Colorado nonprofit focused on removing infested trees from private property. Founder Wesley Manney said the organization’s goal is simple: stop beetle infestations before they grow and reduce wildfire risk at the same time.

“Dead pine trees are like standing matches,” Manney said. “It takes one spark, and then you have a whole forest go up.”

After trees are cut down, crews run much of the material through industrial chippers. Manney said the process helps eliminate habitats where beetles can continue to spread.

The effort comes as Colorado officials have renewed concerns about mountain pine beetles. State leaders recently created a task force to examine the growing threat, particularly after a winter with low snowfall and continuing drought conditions in many mountain communities.

For Hager, it’s about personal responsibility to our communities and the state we all love.

“It is a community problem,” he said. “It’s easy to look at your own land and say, ‘I don’t have many beetles.’ But if you don’t proactively address it, it can take out a whole hillside.”

Manney said funding remains one of the biggest challenges. Tree removal is expensive, and many property owners cannot afford large-scale mitigation projects on their own (although they regularly volunteer hours either identifying infested trees or logging).

“If we can crowdfund and raise money, then we can put that money directly into the forest,” Manney said. “Boots on the ground, chainsaws in the woods.”

The nonprofit is encouraging homeowners to request property evaluations and is also seeking volunteers to help hike through forests to identify infested trees, as well as donations to help expand its work across Colorado’s mountain communities.

With beetle activity increasing and wildfire concerns already high this summer, both Hager and Manney said waiting is not an option.

“It’s a huge task to undertake,” Manney said. “But we have the right people, the right personnel and the right service providers here locally, and we can do 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 Adam Harrington, Sabrina Franza, Natalie Goldstick

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    CHICAGO, Illinois (WBBM) — A shooting on the Dan Ryan Expressway near 95th Street left a CTA Red Line train operator injured on Sunday morning.

Chicago police said at 8:49 a.m., the 46-year-old man was on a Red Line train when gunfire came from a vehicle headed north on the Dan Ryan Expressway, and the train’s glass window was hit.

The Chicago Transit Authority Red Line runs in the center median of the Dan Ryan and has its terminal at 95th Street.

The man on the train, later confirmed to be the operator, was not shot but was hit by pieces of glass in the face and body and was taken to Advocate Trinity Hospital in good condition, police said.

Video from the scene showed the front windshield of a Red Line train damaged by gunfire.

“The bullets hit the motor cab of the operator’s cab and shattered the window,” said Pennie McCoach, president and business agent of ATU Local 308.

She says her members have felt some improvement since new safety procedures went into effect on the CTA, including more sheriff’s deputies and police on the rails.

“Those are years and years and years of neglect that’s been going on with the system, so it’s like an onion you have to peel layers and layers,” McCoach said.

A stray bullet striking a train is rare, though on Cook County expressways this year, state police data shows shootings year to date are slightly higher in 2026 than in 2025. The majority of cases this year have happened on the Eisenhower Expressway.

In response to this case, McCoach cautions there’s still more to be done.

“The glass on the trains are not bulletproof. That is something that I’ve been advocating for,” McCoach said.

Calumet Area detectives were investigating the incident Sunday afternoon. Illinois State Police were also called to the scene.

CBS News Chicago reached out to ISP about the shooting to see if there were any updates or if anyone was in custody. They said the investigation remains 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 Shardaa Gray

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    CHICAGO, Illinois (WBBM) — The bulk of Chicago’s Ford City Mall will be permanently shut down by a court order at noon on Monday.

The main building of a once mid-century Chicago retail icon will close on Monday—something shoppers say they are not looking forward to.

“It’s just like an era that’s going away,” said Pam Jefferson-Waits.

An era that will be gone soon for Jefferson-Waits. She came to look for a pair of jeans, but was mainly hoping to take a trip down memory lane.

“It’s just part of growing up and coming here, you know, as a teenager. Even when we grew up, you know, come in the mall and we used to like to go in the tunnel. I always thought that was cool. You can go on this side and go in the tunnel and go on the other side. So it’s a lot of memories,” she said.

JCPenney is the only store that’s still open, but with barely anything inside, just a few clothes on racks. It will also be closing at the location on Monday.

“It is sad. Even though I didn’t find the jeans that I was looking for, I was just hoping I could just take a walk down the hall just for good old time’s sake, ya know?” Jefferson-Waits said.

The city maintains the aging building.

Ald. Derrick Curtis (18th) says the New York-based company called Namdar Realty Group bought it in 2019.

Court records show the realty group must maintain the fire suppression system for the entire mall complex until further order of the court.

“Namdar is not going to fix the things that needs to be fixed, like fire suppression. It’s a safety hazard,” Curtis said.

The alderman says there are millions of gallons of water per day that run underneath the mall between Cicero and Kostner to other businesses, as well as the Ford City Condos, but says it connects to other places that he doesn’t know where it’s going to.

“It’s frightening because gallons of water per day is gushing out of the basement underground somewhere,” he said.

Curtis pushed to have the mall closed down and is hoping to redevelop it, which would be a more than $200 million project.

“It’s going to bring a lot of jobs. We had a community meeting. We talked about giving green space and things like that. So I’m excited to see what it will become,” he said.

The alderman says he’s meeting with the city and the new buyers on Monday. He’s hoping to find out when the purchase will go through.

CBS News Chicago has reached out to Namdar Realty Group for comment but has not heard back.

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 Alysia Burgio

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    BRIGHTON, Michigan (WWJ) — A Brighton, Michigan, man bicycling his way across the state to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s wrapped up his weeklong ride on Sunday.

On June 13, Phil Schiller embarked on the journey to ride across Michigan’s lower peninsula, starting at Detroit’s Belle Isle.

“1,350 miles, nine days, 148 a day,” said Schiller.

He says the ride was to raise awareness and money for suicide prevention and Alzheimer’s. His mother-in-law is battling Alzheimer’s disease.

“At first it was like, hey, let’s do a long bike ride, but then we were like, hey, let’s attach it to charity. Pedaling a bike is easy when you’re riding for causes like that,” Schiller stated.

The nine-day trek was not easy, but Schiller tells CBS News Detroit that his fellow riders and support system at home are what motivated him to keep going.

“Yeah, some of the days were really long. There were a lot of doubts. We had some headwind days, we saw some rain. Only thing we didn’t see was snow,” said Schiller.

A man pedaling with purpose, crossing the finish line on Sunday back at Belle Isle where the weeklong adventure began.

“Oh my gosh, I am so proud of him. He mentioned it kind of as a bucket list item before he turns 40, which is still a year away,” said his wife, Elizabeth Schiller.

As for what’s next, Schiller says some rest and relaxation.

“I think I’ll take a couple days off the bike. Eat a lot of ice cream,” Schiller stated.

He says his goal was to raise approximately $5,000 for charity, which he achieved.

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 Conor Wight

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    MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (WCCO) — Federal prosecutors are continuing to dismiss charges initially brought against people in Minnesota for allegedly assaulting federal officers during the winter.

WCCO dug through court filings and identified at least 18 people whose cases are now dropped. A federal judge officially dismissed the charges for 15 of them; three are pending a judge’s approval after prosecutors filed motions to dismiss the charges. At least 17 cases are still pending, with judges denying defense dismissal motions in several of them.

Richard Painter, a legal expert with the University of Minnesota and former chief White House ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, said that it’s clear to him that federal prosecutors brought several cases forward without sufficient evidence.

“It appears that the United States Attorney’s Office in Minnesota is bringing some weak cases against protestors,” Painter said, adding that he believes that there was pressure from the Trump administration to charge people.

According to court records, defense and government attorneys alike asked for case dismissals for a variety of reasons.

Juan Carlos Rodriguez Romero was accused in December of ramming into ICE vehicles in St. Paul, prompting an ICE agent to fire his weapon, hitting no one. On June 8, United States Attorney Daniel Rosen signed off on a dismissal motion based in part because prosecutors “thoroughly reassessed the evidence” and concluded that they were not confident that they could obtain and sustain a conviction against Rodriguez Romero.

In January, ICE leadership acknowledged that ICE agent Christian Castro may have lied under oath about what happened the night he shot Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in north Minneapolis. This led to the assault charges against Sosa-Celis and another man being dropped; Castro is now facing charges in Hennepin County for the shooting and for falsely reporting a crime.

Just a week after that incident, federal officers said Paul Johnson violently resisted arrest in north Minneapolis. On Thursday, Rosen signed a motion to dismiss the charges against Johnson. The U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota acknowledged issues raised by Johnson and his legal team, including allegations that agents shackled him to a bed at HCMC without access to his phone for days.

“Based on newly received discovery, the government intends to pursue an investigation into allegations raised in Mr. Johnson’s filings; therefore the interests of justice support dismissal of this case,” Rosen’s motion reads in Johnson’s case.

In the more than 30 cases WCCO reviewed, one name appeared across a variety of different cases. HSI Special Agent Richard Berger submitted sworn affidavits prompting probable cause for the arrest of Johnson and nine others, whose charges were ultimately dismissed. Berger submitted affidavits in at least 12 cases that are still ongoing.

In a hearing in Gillian Etherington’s case in April, which is still ongoing, U.S. District Court Magistrate David Schultz said that he became “concerned with the veracity” of multiple affidavits related to federal officer assault cases that came from Berger. Schultz said that in multiple instances, Berger “did not have any personal knowledge of the events described in the affidavits that he has submitted to this court as sworn affidavits.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security ignored questions from WCCO about whether there has been an internal review of incident reports or legal filings. The spokesperson instead provided a statement describing Johnson, who prosecutors are dropping the federal case against, as an “anti-ICE rioter.”

U.S. prosecutors in Minnesota on Tuesday announced charges against 15 people they say conspired to “violently oppose immigration law enforcement,” though Rosen failed to describe a single example of injuries to federal agents when repeatedly questioned.

When asked what makes the latest slate of indictments different than other cases that have been dropped, Rosen said he doesn’t think any cases have “failed in any way.”

“Read the indictment and you’ll understand the magnitude of this case,” Rosen said. “You watch how this case plays out, you watch how the evidence plays out and the evidence will prove it all out.”

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 Dawn White

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    DALLAS, Texas (KTVT) — It’s Dad’s big day, and a North Texas church is honoring the importance of fathers, bonus fathers, the community and faith leaders to raise children. The non-profit Mark Cuban Heroes Basketball Center hosted a special event on Father’s Day.

From free haircuts to hydration kits, about 3,000 dads and bonus dads got the star treatment on Father’s Day for a special event at Concord Church in south Dallas for the sixth annual He’s My Hero Father’s Day Photo Experience.

They took in live music and then photos with their kids at different stations throughout the church.

A caricature artist, a food truck and a barber helped dad feel his best. The event included three classic and sports cars for everyone to take in.

Cuban’s non-profit put on the event and mentors the next generation of young men and women. It provides basketball skills training from ages six to the semi-pro level, along with teaching skills such as etiquette, grooming and hygiene.

“I think it’s just critical for dads to know that they’re important, that we cherish them. We really appreciate all the sacrifice, all of the determination, the tenacity, the resilience that they have, and the things that they go through,” Mark Cuban Heroes Basketball Center CEO Trina Terrell-Andrews said.

“Every man can make a difference, right? Every man can influence a child’s life. Your niece and nephew. A young person in your community. We always need men to continue to answer that call. To make time to mentor, to coach, to develop a young person, to help them to be and become all that God has called them to be,” Concord Church Pastor Bryan L. Carter 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 Lauren Linder

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    LAWRENCE COUNTY, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — Across southwestern Pennsylvania, there have been multiple recent sightings of black bears. This week, in one of those sightings, the wild animals got extra close to a family in Lawrence County.

While she was asleep, little did Susan Zehetner know a baby black bear was invading her privacy.

“He kind of props himself up, and he was, he could have been looking in the bedroom window,” Zehetner said.

It wasn’t just one bear, but five.

“I see mama bear coming up, and I thought, ‘oh, wow, is that a baby next to her?’ And then I was like, ‘there’s another baby, oh my gosh, there’s three babies,’ and there were four babies,” Zehetner said.

They were captured on her surveillance camera in Slippery Rock Township just after midnight on Wednesday. She only checked the video after finding a planter in her front yard knocked over.

Nearly one week earlier, her husband came face-to-face with a bear by their garage. Zehetner said he heard a “loud snort.” But thankfully, it ran away.

Zehetner’s husband made the right choice, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Warden Lieutenant Andy Harvey said if you come across a black bear, stand your ground because usually they want to get away from people.

“Make noise,” Harvey said. “You don’t want to run from a black bear. A black bear is very fast. It can outrun a person. The important thing is, black bear attacks with people are very, very rare.”

Nonetheless, the Zehetners are being careful, putting away birdfeeders, and keeping their eyes and ears open.

“I just don’t want anybody to get hurt,” Zehetner said. “I don’t want problems. I don’t want any distractions, so, hopefully, mama keeps them in the woods. If they show back up, we just see them on the cameras. We don’t want to come face to face with them again.”

It is mating season, so it’s possible you can have a similar interaction. For more tips on what to do if you see a black bear and how to keep you and family safe, the Game Commission recommends visiting bearwise.org.

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.