Month: July 2026

By Gio Insignares

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    LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — Sophia Maddox, co-director of the Hulu documentary “My Grandfather Charles Manson,” spoke about her deeply personal journey after finding out through a DNA test that her biological grandfather was one of American history’s most infamous criminals.

She says everything began about four years ago, when she received a phone call from her father, who told her that a DNA test identified the grandfather she had never known — Charles Manson.

“I need to understand what happened, no matter where it takes me,” Maddox says in the trailer for the documentary, which tells the emotional tale that shattered her world, as she learns about her family history and their connection to Manson, the cult leader who orchestrated the murder of actress Sharon Tate and six others across Los Angeles in 1969.

“The whole point of this documentary was, yeah, I’m going to face it,” Maddox said, during an interview with Inside Edition. “I’m going to tell the story before anyone else tells my story.”

Maddox says that she was initially in shock at the revelation, terrified that evil was in her family’s blood. The magnitude of the information, paired with a lifelong warning from her father, Daniel, was overwhelming.

“My dad always told me we were cursed growing up,” she said. “Part of the curse was the lies we were being told and not knowing who we came from.”

While speaking with CBS LA, she said that her father kept them from watching “dark,” or violent shows and movies. When she first guessed who her grandfather was, Maddox says she thought it may have been Ted Bundy.

“He said, ‘Bigger,'” Maddox recalled. “I just thought of ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,'” and I was like, ‘What’s that guy’s name?’ and I Googled the name, cause I didn’t know what he looked like and I kinda saw a resemblance within my dad there.”

During the filmmaking process, Maddox says that her relationship with her father became strained. It still hasn’t healed.

“I regret calling you my daughter,” Maddox’s father can be heard saying at one point in the film. “I don’t ever want to talk to you again.”

She says that her investigation into who Manson was drove the two apart, but she’s still hopeful they can reconcile.

“He completely blocked me from his life. I have him unblocked; he can come to me anytime he wants. But, you know, I’ve got no hard feelings or animosity,” Maddox said.

Ultimately, she looks at the project as a means of moving on and setting herself free from her family’s darkest secret so she can take her life into her own hands.

“You don’t have to be related to the most infamous criminal to relate to needing to break generational cycles and traumas and do the work and go to therapy,” Maddox said. “So, I hope people can relate in some capacity.”

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 Haley Zarcone

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    BRADENTON, Florida (WFTS) — More than 150 residents remain scattered across assisted living facilities throughout the Tampa Bay area three days after a partial roof collapse forced an emergency evacuation at Aviata at Bradenton Villas early Sunday morning.

Family members and advocates say loved ones have been placed in facilities as far south as Englewood and as far north as New Port Richey — with medical records, wheelchairs and personal belongings still trapped inside the damaged building.

On Monday, Tampa Bay 28 observed engineers walking the property on behalf of the City of Bradenton, assessing the structural damage. But for families like George Mendez, the focus isn’t just on the building — it’s on getting critical documents and equipment their loved ones need.

Mendez, who holds power of attorney for 93-year-old Alfred Perani, came to the facility Monday after repeated phone calls to Aviata Health Group went unanswered.

“You can’t get through to anybody. So I’m glad I came because I talked to a fireman. He put me in touch with somebody,” Mendez said. “So finally, but it’s very frustrating.”

Perani, who has been a resident at Aviata at Bradenton Villas for three years, was evacuated to a facility in Palm Harbor. Mendez found an available bed at another facility in Bradenton to bring his friend closer to home — but says he can’t complete the transfer without Perani’s medical records.

“They have some beds available. And she gave me a list of paperwork they needed. But I called and called. Nobody answers their phone, so I came and they won’t let you in,” Mendez said. “And the lady at Westminster said that you’re the 7th person that’s called us from there, and it’s a first come, first serve basis, and they’re having the same problem you are.”

Adding to his frustration, Mendez says Perani’s section of the building wasn’t even affected by the roof collapse.

“What I find a problem with is that the section that Alford was in was not affected by the roof. They’re all walking through there and eating in there, but they won’t let me go into his room and get his things, and I don’t know why not,” he said. “I don’t know if we’ll ever get his things. His wheelchair’s in there that I bought for him, and he’s going to need that chair.”

In a joint statement released Monday, the City of Bradenton and Manatee County provided new details about why the Fire Marshal ordered the emergency evacuation.

Officials say the partial roof collapse compromised multiple building systems essential to safe operation, including fire protection, electrical and air conditioning systems. Damage to critical support areas necessary for resident care, combined with the inability to safely complete a full structural assessment during the emergency, made it unsafe for residents to remain.

The emergency response involved the City of Bradenton Fire Department, Manatee County Public Safety and Emergency Medical Services, and multiple regional partners. All 157 residents were evacuated by approximately 4 a.m. Sunday.

The City of Bradenton is in charge of the building assessment. A city spokesperson confirmed that city officials and the Fire Marshal were on-site at Aviata Monday, along with flooding and restoration specialists.

According to the joint statement, the property owner’s structural engineer is responsible for evaluating the building, and any determination regarding the cause of the collapse will be based on that evaluation.

Following the evacuation, Aviata resumed responsibility for the care of its residents, including communication with families and coordination of any subsequent movement of residents.

The Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) is conducting site visits at the facilities where residents were relocated as part of its state regulatory oversight.

However, officials say all inquiries regarding individual residents — including their current locations, family notifications or subsequent relocations — must be directed to Aviata. Due to HIPAA and other privacy requirements, agencies involved in the emergency response cannot provide protected information regarding individual residents.

For the second day in a row Monday, Tampa Bay 28 attempted to reach Aviata Health Group to ask about communication concerns raised by families. The company’s mailbox was full.

Until a dedicated communication line is established by Aviata, families seeking information may contact Aviata through its general information number at 800-781-9593, according to the joint statement from city and county officials.

“We recognize how important it is for families to know where their loved ones are and receive accurate information,” the statement reads. “As additional contact information is provided by Aviata or AHCA, we will share it to help connect families with the appropriate resources.”

There is no timeline yet for when families might be able to access belongings inside the building or when residents might be able to return to the facility.

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 Mythili Gubbi

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    WASHINGTON TERRACE, Utah (KSTU) — Neighbors in a Weber County neighborhood are relieved to be back home after they had to evacuate because of a fast-moving fire that burned right up to homes.

Washington Terrace city manager Tom Hanson said the Adams Fire burned 45 acres, and all evacuations were lifted around 5:30 p.m. He said about 250 homes were evacuated as a precaution. A home and trailer were damaged. A civilian and a Weber County Sheriff’s Office deputy were both burned by the fire. The condition of the civilian is unknown, while the deputy was treated for minor injuries and released soon after.

Kevin Cundick lives in the neighborhood and was one of those evacuated. He said he was by the ridgeline and saw the flames get very close, as seen in the video below.

“The fire approaches really rapidly and it just quickly came over the head,” Cundick said.

He is a former firefighter and found himself on the other side of this fire.

“I was thinking, what can I do to help here?” he recalled. “I have seen that exact situation before, and it is scary all the time.”

Crews from the Weber Fire District, Riverdale Fire, Mountain Green Fire, South Weber Fire District, and many other agencies helped put out the fire.

Zeline Ramirez lives about two blocks from the fire. She was evacuated and spent time at the temporary shelter at the senior center.

“It got hard when it got really brown, and then there was like a north wind, and it was blowing it toward our house, and it was just like smoke, and we could see little bit of ash come down,” she said.

Neighbors who were not evacuated, but could see the smoke around them, came by to help. Jordan Smith, who lives in Riverdale, has been evacuated from his home because of a fire in the past, so he dropped off crates of water at the senior center.

“We noticed all these people getting evacuated. We thought, ‘What can we do to help?’ This is a stressful time, time when people are worried about their homes, pets, what’s going to happen, when they can get back in,” he said.

Washington Terrace Mayor Mark Allen said he could understand what his neighbors were dealing with.

“I was forced to evacuate,” he said at a press conference. “And I’ll tell you, that’s an eerie feeling. I just encourage everybody, no matter where you are, if you are encouraged to evacuate, please evacuate.”

Cundick said he’s so thankful for all the crews who showed up to make sure they could go home safely.

“Without them, it would have been a different day,” he 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 Caroleina Hassett

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    TOOELE, Utah (KSTU) — It was a passionate meeting Monday night.

“I hate feeling powerless to protect the land that my kids rely on, so I’m looking you in the face with all the mama bear fury that I can muster and demand that you deny this proposal,” one resident said during public comment, which was followed by applause.

Residents spoke out against a permit managed by the Utah Division of Air Quality that would allow the Tooele Valley Public Infrastructure District to establish a wastewater treatment plant near the edge of the Great Salt Lake.

Teri Durfee from Stop the Polluting Ports Coalition is a lifelong Tooele resident and lives close to where the plant is expected to go.

“The discharge, it would have arsenic in it, it would have very high salinity, and it would have a lot of things that you definitely wouldn’t want back in the system. And they’re talking about putting it in the wetlands that would go into the Great Salt Lake,” she said. “There’s already troubles with what’s already on the lake bed, so to add all of this extra is very concerning.”

This is just one permit connected to an overall industrial development project backed by the Utah Inland Port Authority. Executive director Ben Hart said they want to add rail access and bring the best businesses and jobs to the area, and knows that one developer is advocating for a data center.

“There’s a moratorium on data centers in Tooele County. We 100% support that moratorium,” Hart said. “The board’s not going to be doing anything to further the objectives of any type of data center development until we receive our cues from the county and from the state of Utah that everybody is comfortable with this moving forward.”

However, those against the project have concerns about the discharge that would end up back in the Great Salt Lake and fear the project would take up more water than what the state already has to offer with the severe drought.

“This is about our longevity in this state. If we want to live there, we need to act like we live in a desert,” another resident said during public comment, which was also followed up by applause.

“Until those concerns are met and addressed, the port’s not going to be doing anything to further this development, and certainly not furthering any data centers either,” Hart said.

There were about two hours of public comment during Monday night’s meeting. The Division of Air Quality extended public comments until midnight, and a decision will be made at a later date.

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 Todd Wilson

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    PALM BEACH COUNTY, Florida (WPTV) — A Boston cyclist is turning heartbreak into hope. After losing a close friend to young-onset colorectal cancer, Jay Weedall traveled to South Florida to begin a 2,600-mile bike ride from Key West to Maine, with a goal of raising $50,000 for research while honoring his friend’s memory.

“A friend of mine recently passed away from young onset rectal cancer,” Weedall said.

The death of his friend, who was also named Jay, inspired Weedall to honor his memory by riding his bike across the country.

“I’ve adventured around the world with him, ridden bikes together with him, and this felt like the best way to honor him now that he’s passed away,” Weedall said.

His goal is to raise $50,000 for the Young Onset Colorectal Cancer Research Center in honor of the friend he lost to the disease. To prepare, Weedall trained 200 to 300 miles a week, mapped out his route, and planned for the long journey ahead.

“So, there was a lot of preplanning to make sure that the roads that I’m going to go on are safe and have been ridden on by cyclists and let’s hope that the wind is kind to me,” Weedall said.

Weedall began his journey in Key West, pedaling 155 miles to Miami on day one.

“Something I learned after day one is hydration packs, good for hydration obviously but if you fill it up with ice it’s good for keeping you cold as well,” Weedall said.

I caught up with him the next morning as he set off on his second leg — a 163-mile ride to Vero Beach.

“Ideally, I try to beat the heat and then I’m going roughly 150 miles a day just niching my way up the coast through pretty much every state all the way to the Pan Mass Challenge. Then I’ll do the Pan Mass Challenge across Massachusetts on August 2nd. I’ll continue to the Canadian border in Maine,” Weedall said.

By avoiding highways, Weedall says the route offers something unexpected.

“By avoiding highways, I get to experience these little coastal towns along those inlets,” Weedall said.

When you’re riding hundreds of miles alone, Weedall says, you have plenty of time to think.

“Even when my legs are hurting, even when the traffic is big or even when I’m a little anxious about what’s going on around me, but I’m largely just thinking about my friend who doesn’t get the opportunity to do this with me anymore,” Weedall said.

Every pedal stroke is a tribute to his friend — and, he hopes, a step toward a cure.

Fans can follow Weedall’s journey on the cycling app Strava.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WPTV 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 Rina Nakano

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    LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — A Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter has gone viral for his gourmet in-station recipes, gaining thousands of followers as he documents how he makes meals for his team.

Scott Luft, a 36-year-old firefighter paramedic at LAFD Station 86 in Toluca Lake, says that he may have gone to culinary school if he wasn’t with LAFD.

“I’ve always been obsessed with cooking, since high school,” Luft said.

He says that while some of his colleagues don’t enjoy cooking for the station, he loves it. Luft utilizes a Google Drive filled with hundreds of recipes, like the elote pasta salad he made while speaking with CBS LA.

“When you’re in charge of feeding them good food, on time, in budget, it’s totally stressful for some guys,” Luft said.

Because of this, Luft’s wife Kiley suggested that he start an Instagram cooking channel to help fellow firefighters in the kitchen. He slowly gained a following until November, when he went viral. Now, he has more than 37,000 followers and is blown away by the support.

“I’m realizing that cooking for a fire station is just like cooking for big families,” Luft said.

As a busy father of four hungry children, Luft says that he’s always multitasking, even when not cooking in the station. He keeps his recipes easy and hearty, with no more than an hour and a half cook time. He says the hardest part about making his meals at the station is that when duty calls, he has to drop everything.

“I always tell guys start early. Chop early. Serve before you think it’s time,” he said.

While he’s always open to suggestions from his new followers on things like recipes, food presentation and camera angles, he says his best reviews always come from his colleagues.

“Scott takes really simple stuff that most of us have made and puts an incredible spin on it, every time,” said Scott Lazar, a fellow LAFD firefighter.

The team splits the cost of their meals, since they’re not paid for by the department. For the elote pasta salad, the nearly $55 grocery bill was split six ways.

“I feel like I actually am kind of a chef,” Luft said. “I’m getting paid to cook, and I also get to be a fireman, which has always been a dream to me. So, I’m kind of living my dream right now.”

He says that his next dream is to become the Guy Fieri of fire cooks by hosting a show where he goes to fire stations around the country to taste their best meals and offer advice.

I feel like I actually am kind of a chef. I’m getting paid to cook, and I also get to be a fireman, which has always been a dream to be. So I’m kind of living my dream right now.

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.