Month: August 2026

By Marie Saavedra, Sara Tenenbaum

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — A Chicago woman is hoping the public can help her find her engagement ring, which she lost in Lakeview, less than three weeks before her wedding.

Eliana Laddusaw said the ring was made from a diamond given by her fiancé’s grandmother and means a lot to the family.

“This ring was given to my fiancé by his grandma when he was thinking about proposing,” she said. “She kind of gave him a little bit of a nudge and offered to give us the diamond, and he had the ring kind of made to look like hers.”

She had it in her pocket, attached to a bracelet, when it fell out onto the street on Broadway and Surf on Aug. 19.

Security cameras in the area where she dropped it captured someone on a bike who seemed to stop and may have picked it up before riding off shortly before 5 p.m. on that day. If the man did find her ring, Laddusaw hopes he will return it.

“I mean, if I found a ring I would most certainly want to turn it in, but maybe you don’t know what to do with it, so this is a sign that there is something that you can do with it, to try to reunite it with somebody,” she said. “But yeah, just put yourself in the person’s shoes.”

The couple put flyers all over the neighborhood and are spreading the word on social media as well. They also have Chicago police working on the case.

If you’ve seen the ring or have any information, reach out to CPD or to CBS News Chicago and we can get you in touch with the couple that is so desperate to reunite with the heirloom.

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 Erika Stanish

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    ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — An Allegheny County woman is facing theft charges after police said she stole more than $4,000 from a scholarship fund created to honor a fallen McKeesport police officer.

Tracy Whitney was charged this week after police said the 51-year-old woman used money from the McKeesport Area Fallen Heroes Scholarship Fund for her own personal benefit. The fund was created in memory of Officer Sean Sluganski, who was killed in the line of duty in 2023 while responding to a domestic situation.

Police said Whitney and co-workers at McKeesport Area School District created a scholarship fund to provide money for McKeesport students looking to pursue a career in public service.

In April, an employee at the district reportedly told police they began questioning the scholarship fund’s account balance and went to the Huntington National Bank branch in White Oak, where they discovered suspicious activity.

“The witness stated that they skimmed the transaction history, discovered suspicious activity and froze the account,” police said.

The employee told police that Whitney was the sole administrator and only person with access to online banking accounts.

Police said Whitney also served as president of McKeesport Educational Support, a union for the McKeesport Area School District support staff who are not in the teachers’ union.

“The witness stated that they had asked Whitney multiple times for the login information for both the union and scholarship accounts, however, Whitney would give various excuses about online access being locked out by Huntington National Bank,” police said.

Police said bank records and transaction reports revealed that Whitney allegedly took $4,272.73 and used the money to make payments at places like T-Mobile, Duquesne Light Company, Verizon Wireless, Walmart, Shop ‘n Save and Plaza Azteca.

The witness told police there shouldn’t have been any activity on the account after June 2025, “because the Slugfest fundraising fund had just ended.” Transactions show at least two dozen purchases or payments from July 2025 to February 2026.

“It’s just really disappointing. It seems like these type of things keep happening in McKeesport all of a sudden. Like these past few years, money’s just being taken from everywhere,” said Dominique Webb, a McKeesport resident.

Police said Whitney reported to a coworker that there were no applicants for the scholarship fund this past spring. However, the witness later learned that three students had actually applied.

McKeesport Police Chief Josh Alfer called the situation “heartbreaking.”

“It’s tragic that someone would take funds from an account made in honor of Officer Sluganski. It’s a shame that someone would remove another child’s opportunity and take away what the scholarship was designed for,” Alfer said.

Whitney’s attorney, Mike DeRiso, said his client found herself in an unfortunate financial situation and made some “poor decisions.” DeRiso said the money has since been paid back.

Whitney was arrested and released on bond. She faces charges including theft and receiving stolen property.

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 Tania Francois

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    MIAMI (WFOR) — A South Florida woman who spent years preparing for a career in emergency medicine says the end of her Temporary Protected Status has left her unable to work and afraid to leave her home.

The woman asked CBS News Miami to call her “Vanessa” because of concerns about her immigration status. She said she and her father have barely left their South Florida home in weeks.

“I don’t think I have words for how terrible it is because being a doctor is like my one dream for my entire life,” Vanessa said.

Vanessa came to the United States after surviving Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake. She remembers being in the street when the earthquake struck and watching people around her die and suffer serious injuries. She said that experience helped drive her decision to pursue medicine.

“I felt like I would not be helpless anymore if I were to go back and have all this schooling, all this knowledge, and be able to finish it and be able to give back when I get there and help,” she said.

Vanessa graduated from Florida International University, completed medical school, and entered a three-year emergency medicine residency program at a South Florida hospital. She was completing the first year of her residency when she lost her TPS and ability to work.

“I have barely two years left, and they just pulled the rug out and said, ‘No, you’re done now,'” she said.

Vanessa said she had been treating patients in the ICU, responding to trauma cases and helping with pediatric emergencies. “I can’t work without finishing the training program,” Vanessa said. “I can’t work anywhere, so even if I were to go to Haiti, I can’t help them.”

Vanessa’s father is an attorney who also served as a government official in Haiti. His TPS has also expired. He told CBS News Miami in Creole that he fears returning to Haiti because of gang violence and believes he could be targeted. He said a recent gang attack in Kenscoff killed dozens of people, including some of his friends.

Vanessa’s mother works at a nursing home. With a pending asylum case, she has a work permit allowing her to keep working — though she can still be detained by immigration officials.

“Every day they’re going out, they’re also risking being detained,” Vanessa said.

Vanessa’s youngest brother is a U.S.-born teenager — the only American citizen in the immediate family. She said her family has not told him the full extent of their immigration situation.

“I don’t think my family wants to talk to him about this because, I mean, he’s a child,” Vanessa said.

Vanessa said she would be more willing to return to Haiti if the country were safe, but she wants the opportunity to finish her residency first. She said she cannot complete that training in Haiti.

“You just have useless knowledge in your brain just sitting there,” she said, describing what it feels like to be a doctor unable to complete her training.

Vanessa said her South Florida hospital tried to help by applying for a work visa on her behalf, but the application was denied. She said the hospital is holding her residency position in hopes that her immigration situation changes and she can return to work.

For now, Vanessa says she continues studying from home while waiting and hoping for the opportunity to return to the hospital and finish the career she has spent years working toward.

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 Kaley Fedko

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    HENRY COUNTY, Georgia (WUPA) — For the first time in Georgia, parents who feel they have nowhere to turn will have a way to safely and anonymously surrender their newborns.

The state’s first Safe Haven Baby Box will be available beginning Friday, Aug. 28, at Henry County Fire Station 6.

From the outside, it looks like a small door built into the fire station’s wall. Fire Chief Pat Wilson believes what is behind it could save a life.

“Prior to that, you had to come into the fire station and physically give your child over to a firefighter,” Wilson told CBS News Atlanta. “Now, this gives another option that’s anonymous and safe, and I will tell you, this will save lives.”

A parent can open the exterior door and place a newborn up to 45 days old inside a temperature-controlled bassinet.

Once the door closes, it locks and alerts first responders that a baby is inside.

“Once that door opens, an alarm is set off,” Wilson said. “It’s monitored 24 hours a day at our 911 center. Once they get that alert, they alert the station as well as our law enforcement partners that we have a child within the box.”

A camera inside the box is also monitored around the clock.

Wilson said first responders have five minutes or less to reach the baby and begin providing care.

The baby is then taken to a hospital, and the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services takes over.

The box became possible after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed House Bill 350, known as the Eliza Jane Warner Act, into law in May.

The law authorizes newborn safety devices in Georgia, giving parents in crisis another option beyond surrendering a baby face-to-face.

“If they make that decision, we have provided a location, a space that’s safe for that parent, that mom, to surrender their child anonymously so that child can receive care quickly, as well as get connected to the right resources to be placed in a good home,” Wilson said.

The Safe Haven Baby Box will be unlocked Friday after the fire department’s chaplain blesses it at 9:30 a.m.

Wilson said the county is budgeting to install additional baby boxes at other locations.

Any parent can use the baby box, regardless of where they live.

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 Emily McLeod

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    ATLANTA (WUPA) — Tributes to Dolly Parton continued Wednesday evening at Jolene Jolene in Atlanta’s Kirkwood neighborhood.

Jolene Jolene hosted “Dolly Hour,” featuring Dirt Road Martinis made with vodka, unsweetened iced tea and pickled vegetable brine.

“I Googled what her favorite drink was, and it was this Dirt Road Martini, which is just hilarious because it’s so simple, it packs a punch, and it’s just like Dolly, you know?” said Jolene Jolene owner Chelsea Fishman.

The bar donated 100% of the proceeds from every Dirt Road Martini sold during Dolly Hour to Parton’s Imagination Library.

Fishman said the Jolene Jolene community loves serving and caring for others.

“It only makes sense that when we decided to do this, what we’re calling Dolly Hour from 5 to 9, where 100% of the proceeds are going to Dolly’s Imagination Library, we knew that our community would be on board,” Fishman said.

Fishman said she named the bar after her cat, Jolene, who was named after Parton’s hit song “Jolene.”

“Honestly, I always had a dream that Dolly would come here,” Fishman said. “So, yeah, I mean, the news was heartbreaking, and she felt like someone who was going to live forever.”

Atlanta resident Stephanie DiLorio honored Parton by wearing a sequin dress to Dolly Hour.

“I love her confidence, and I love her connection to joy,” DiLorio said. “She’s just so sparkly, like this dress, and really, really happy and really, really kind.”

Like so many others, DiLorio said she is going to miss Parton.

“I knew she wouldn’t be here forever, but I just maybe wasn’t expecting it and wasn’t ready for it,” DiLorio said.

Jolene Jolene honored Parton’s legacy by giving back and bringing people together.

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 Joe Van Ryn

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    HUTCHINSON, Minnesota (WCCO) — Something sweet is in the making at the University of Minnesota.

The university is celebrating its 175th anniversary with a new signature ice cream flavor called North Star Apple Crisp, combining apple crisp flavors with a swirl of aronia berry.

“It’s got the crumble, it’s got a little tart from the berry, everybody likes the cinnamon and apple,” U of M Pilot Plant Technical Manager and food scientist Mitchell Maher said.

The flavor was selected from nearly 500 ideas submitted by the public. Heather and Paul Wright of Wright Farms in Hutchinson, Minnesota, submitted the winning idea.

“It was just a cool experience. I mean, we just submitted a story, an idea, and the university really knocked it out of the park when they mixed it all together,” Heather Wright said.

The ice cream recognizes Minnesota’s dairy industry and pays homage to the university’s apple breeding program. The Wrights also added a personal touch: a swirl made with aronia berries. They run Minnesota’s largest certified organic aronia berry orchard.

“It just had to have a swirl of aronia berry inside there to kind of really put that finishing touch on the idea,” Paul Wright said.

North Star Apple Crisp is produced at the university’s food processing center on the St. Paul campus and was released Monday.

“We made one full production run and it seems like we’re about half sold out already,” Maher said.

With demand already high, the scientists who helped bring the Wrights’ idea to life are preparing to make more.

“We’re already looking at the inventory and going, oh boy, time to get another batch rollin’,” Maher said.

The ice cream is available for purchase at the meat and dairy salesroom on the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus.

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 Kristen Consillio

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    KA’U, Hawaii (KITV) — Thousands of cattle on Hawaii Island are in desperate need of water after a storm destroyed their water source. Hawaii County leaders and ranchers are set to meet tomorrow to find a solution.

A lifeline for thousands of cattle in the Big Island’s Ka’u district was cut off by Hurricane Lala.

“You see hip bones, you see rib cages, like I cannot even begin to express just how dire and desperate the situation is,” said Hawaii County Councilmember Ashley Kierkiewicz. “Every single one of his storage tanks and troughs are dry to the bone.”

The storm severely damaged the water system and it’s unclear when it will be restored.

“In just my experience with disaster recovery, animals, livestock are often overlooked,” she said. “We’ve been able to identify over 6,000 livestock, 4,500 of which need water hauled in on a daily basis because of damage to the Department of Water Supply’s water system.”

Now the community is rallying together to help them survive. Over the past week, water donations have poured in every day, but it’s only a temporary solution.

“We just don’t know the extent of the damage and the availability of parts to fix the water lines at this time,” Kierkiewicz said.

While county officials are still assessing the damage, the clock is ticking. Each passing day creates an even more dire situation.

“There’s a lot of homestead ranchers down there and this is their livelihood. If they lose their cattle, they lose their livelihood,” said rancher Ryan Schultz. “Because the price of beef is so high right now, it’s not like we can buy cattle and replace them so it’s super important that we get help and water back to the Kaʻu district just to keep the cattle alive.”

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.