Month: October 2026

By Austin Turner

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    MALIBU, California (KCAL, KCBS) — A kayaker was hospitalized after a shark they accidentally caught while fishing bit them on the leg on Sunday in Malibu, according to authorities.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Lifeguard Division told CBS LA that a fisherman was between 1 and 2 miles off the pier when they accidentally reeled in a Mako Shark. The individual tried to release the shark, but was bitten as he did so.

A good Samaritan on a boat nearby contacted emergency services, which helped the fisherman to shore.

He was transported to a local hospital with a shark bite on his leg. As of Sunday afternoon, his condition remains unknown.

No additional details were immediately made available.

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 Logan Smith

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    DENVER, Colorado (KCNC) — A Chicago-based staffing company has agreed to pay almost $3 million to the state of Colorado to settle accusations it overcharged the Colorado Department of Corrections for inmate health care.

The Colorado Attorney General’s Office announced the settlement Friday.

The AG’s office accused Quality Placement Authority, LLC, of breaching its 2018 contract with the CDOC and violating the Colorado False Claims Act, a bill passed by the state legislature and signed into law in 2022.

“When companies do business with the state, we expect them to play by the rules and live up to their obligations,” Colorado AG Phil Weiser stated in a press release announcing the settlement. “The Colorado False Claims Act gives us a powerful tool to protect taxpayer dollars, recover public funds when they are misused, and deter fraud against the state.”

Specifically, the staffing and recruiting firm knowingly submitted “hundreds of invoices” to the CDOC “for thousands of shifts” covered by local health care providers it sent to state prisons for inmate health care. According to the settlement agreement, the company created fake home addresses of the health care providers to increase billable travel time to the prisons.

Two examples were provided in the settlement agreement: In one, a health care provider was allegedly told by a QPA recruiter that he wouldn’t qualify for a higher travel rate because “he only lived 128 miles away” from the prison.

“Rather than billing CDOC for his time at the local rate,” the settlement agreement reads, “the recruiter instructed the HCP to get his name added to a utility bill at his out-of-state father-in-law’s address. QPA then used that out-of-state address – where, as QPA knew, the HCP did not reside – as the basis for submitting at least 18 invoices for the local HCP’s time at the travel rate. These invoices overbilled CDOC by more than $63,000 for that HCP’s time alone.”

Another health care provider was instructed by QPA personnel to claim she commuted from Texas to provide services at Colorado inmates, despite the fact she lived in Colorado. The Department of Corrections received 37 invoices for this provider’s work, all with maps showing a Texas residence, according to the settlement agreement. The tactic resulted in more than $110,000 overbilled charges from this provider’s alleged travel time alone, per the agreement.

The settlement agreement does not state the duration of the alleged fraud, nor when or in which jurisdiction the AG’s office filed its complaint.

QPA was rolled into Staffing Network Holdings, LLC, in a merger at the end of 2022. Both businesses were housed at the same location in Oak Terrace, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. In the settlement agreement, Staffing Holding Network is scheduled to pay $2.86 million, with interest, over several installments stretching into 2030.

CBS Colorado reached out to Staffing Network Holdings for comment.

Staffing Network Holdings is currently in settlement negotiations with a former CDOC inmate. That inmate filed a civil lawsuit in 2024 against the company and a registered nurse who was working for it – and also against the CDOC and several physicians, nurses and corrections officers under its employ. The lawsuit claims the Sterling prison inmate was injured during their care two years earlier and is now permanently disabled with back pain after suffering an infection.

That 45-year-old inmate is now out of prison and on parole.

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 Nicholas Lentz

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    MIO, Michigan (WWJ) — A creamery in Mio, Michigan, has been deemed a total loss following a fire and explosion Saturday afternoon, the Tri-Town Fire Department said.

Crews were called to the blaze at The Farmers’ Creamery on West Kittle Road at 1:35 p.m. The agency said they arrived 12 minutes later and saw “heavy fire” on the west side of the building.

“A large natural gas line/meter was also heavily involved in fire that hampered firefighting efforts as the gas could not be shut off immediately,” officials said in a news release Sunday.

According to the agency, an explosion happened inside the building at 2:07 p.m. No major injuries were reported.

Investigators believe the fire started inside the mechanical room of the creamery, though they say the cause “will not be able to be determined” due to the extent of the damage.

Nine fire departments from Oscoda County and surrounding communities used over 300,000 gallons of water to put out the flames, officials said.

The Farmers’ Creamery was started in 2020 by three Amish dairy farmers in Mio with a mission to offer dairy products while supporting their farms, according to its website. Its milks, creams, cheeses and other offerings are sold at stores across Michigan.

Mio is around 82 miles east of Traverse City, Michigan.

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 Cole Premo and Web Staff

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    MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (WCCO) — Minnesota’s law banning AI “nudification” images has been put on hold after a federal appeals court sided with Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday granted an injunction sought by xAI, pausing enforcement of the law while the company’s appeal moves forward. The court issued a brief, one-sentence order and did not explain its reasoning.

The attorney’s office released a statement to WCCO on Sunday.

“We are disappointed in the Eighth Circuit’s decision and respectfully but strongly disagree with it,” a spokeperson for the office said. “Minnesota’s nudification ban outlaws AI technology products from generating sexual images that harm and harass people in the vilest way possible. We will continue to vigorously defend the law as the appeal proceeds and we are proud to do so.”

In early September, a lower court ruled the law could continue to be enforced while a lawsuit played out, but the appeals court overturned that decision.

The first-of-its-kind law bans the process of taking someone’s real picture and using AI to turn it into a pornographic or sexual image.

The bill passed unanimously in the state Senate earlier this year and was supported by all but one lawmaker in the House. Gov. Tim Walz signed it into law in May.

Under the law, companies that create nonconsensual sexualized images and videos of people using artificial intelligence could face a civil penalty of up to $500,000, and the people who have been victimized can seek damages.

Musk’s company, xAI, filed the lawsuit three days before the law was set to go into effect on Aug. 1, claiming it violates the First Amendment. It said the statute “imposes an overbroad, content-based ban on free speech and the tools of visual expression.” xAI asked for a preliminary injunction to block the law from going into effect for the duration of the lawsuit.

After the September ruling, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he was “extremely proud to be defending this law.”

WCCO has reached out to the attorney general’s office for comment.

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 Jacob Sarracino

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    CHICAGO, Illinois (WBBM) — A judge on Monday was expected to weigh in on a proposal that could make Chicagoans’ home gas bills more expensive.

Peoples Gas wants a $144 million rate hike. That would add $7 or $8 per month to most bills, according to consumer advocates.

This comes as U.S. households are projected to spend an average of more than $1,000 heating their homes this winter. That figure is up almost 9% from last year, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.

More than three dozen Chicago City Council members and state legislators have urged the Illinois Commerce Commission to reject the proposal. One of them is Illinois state Sen. Graciela Guzmán (D-Chicago), who said she is worried her constituents will go cold this winter.

“I’m absolutely worried,” Guzmán said. “Again, half of consumers are already struggling. What that’ll mean is that the majority of them may not be able to complete payment plans, or even enter a payment plan. So I am worried.”

The group of state and local lawmakers says Peoples Gas has raised rates by nearly $500 million since 2011.

In July, the utility submitted a new rate hike that slashed approximately $58 million from its original $202 million rate hike proposal, but watchdog groups said it was not enough.

Peoples Gas says the hike is driven by a state order to replace more than 1,000 miles of old iron pipe below the streets of Chicago. But the Citizens Utility Board notes that Peoples Gas has posted record earnings in seven of the last nine years.

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 Darius Johnson

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    CHICAGO, Illinois (WBBM) — A woman was due in court for a detention hearing Monday in a stabbing that killed a 7-year-old girl over the weekend.

Police said Shavon Gayden, 48, is charged with first-degree murder in the attack this past Saturday morning. She is accused of stabbing Eddimar Hernandez Chacon to death in the 8600 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue in the East Chatham neighborhood.

CBS News Chicago has learned Gayden had several previous criminal cases in Cook County.

On Sunday, balloons and music filled the area near 86th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, as Eddimar’s family cried out in grief. Both loved ones and strangers gathered for the vigil one day after the 7-year-old was killed.

Police said Gayden stabbed the little girl multiple times in the back with a sharp object just before noon Saturday. Surveillance video shows Eddimar walking with her older sister before the attack, according to family.

Police described the attack as unprovoked. After the attack, Eddimar was taken to the University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Officials said bystanders stepped in and detained Gayden until police arrived, arresting her yards away from the crime scene.

CBS News Chicago found Gayden had been charged in at least four criminal cases in Cook County since 2016. That includes a 2023 attack on a Chicago Transit Authority bus operator.

Two cases were dropped, and two resulted in convictions and probation.

Kina Wallace said she has known Gayden for decades, because Gayden had children with one of her family members. Wallace said the family repeatedly tried to get Gayden treatment for mental health and substance abuse issues.

Now, Wallace is questioning how those previous cases were handled, and offering an apology to Eddimar’s family.

“I’m not sure why they continue to give her a slap on the wrist and let her out,” Wallace said. “Myself, and even on behalf of my family, we are so sorry. So sorry that this happened to your loved one, because I believe that this could have been prevented. I do. And it’s unacceptable. It’s unacceptable.”

Gayden was injured and hospitalized after she was taken into custody. It was unclear whether she would be medically cleared to attend her detention hearing in Cook County Criminal Court on Monday.

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 Garrett Behanna

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    PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — The Pittsburgh Walk of Fame is expanding with 10 new honorees, with their markers set to be installed Monday in the Strip District.

Construction crews have prepared the sidewalk in front of the Strip District Terminal ahead of the expansion, which debuted in October 2025.

The Walk of Fame celebrates southwestern Pennsylvanians who have made significant contributions to the nation’s cultural heritage.

Workers are expected to use a crane to place granite blocks along the Smallman Street sidewalk in front of The Terminal at 19th Street. The work is expected to take several hours.

Each stone will feature a bronze star and plaque honoring one of this year’s 10 inductees.

The 2026 inductees are:

– Myron Cope – Martha Graham – Charles “Teenie” Harris – Franco Harris – H.J. Heinz – Shirley Jones – Mario Lemieux – Henry Mancini – Jimmy Stewart – George Westinghouse

Lemieux is scheduled to appear at the induction ceremony, which will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 13 at The Terminal.

The one-hour ceremony will be open to the public. Smallman Street will be closed between 17th and 21st streets to accommodate the event.

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 Rob Flaks

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    NEW YORK, New York (WCBS) — The New York City Department of Health is investigating an apartment building in Queens, following two confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease among the residents there.

Officials said they are checking out the hot water system inside of North Shore Towers on Grand Central Parkway, but they confirmed the situation is not a community cluster investigation and Legionella has not been confirmed present at the complex.

In a statement, the health department said, “There is no risk to the surrounding community. It is okay to drink the building’s tap water, but North Shore Towers residents should follow the health department’s recommendations for safe water use.”

Sources say unlike previous investigations such as those on the Upper East Side and in the South Bronx, this investigation is not looking at cooling towers.

Those with family members in that Queens complex said they are concerned.

“The building is full of elderly people, elderly and not well,” Larry Grossman said. “My mom is 87 years old and she’s the healthiest, youngest one in the building.”

The health department said the building’s management has been made aware of the issue and residents will be updated with guidance.

CBS News New York reached out late Sunday night to the building’s management but did not immediately hear back.

Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused when those Legionella droplets are vaporized and inhaled. The disease is generally not spread from person to person.

Symptoms include cough, fever, chills and difficulty breathing.

Complications are less likely the earlier treatment begins, health officials say.

The best protection is awareness. Know the symptoms, and if you feel sick, get checked out early.

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 Gustavo Atencio Flores

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    BRIDGEWATER, Massachusetts (WBZ) — Two Bridgewater State University students were injured after a driver purposely hit them with his car on Saturday morning, the university president said.

One of the students was taken to a nearby hospital after suffering “serious but non-life-threatening injuries,” according to a statement from Bridgewater State President Frederick Clark.

The other student had only minor injuries, Clark said.

The driver, who Clark said is a man in his early 40s from East Weymouth, was arrested near the Moakley Center by Bridgewater State University police and transported for a psychiatric evaluation. University officials said he has no affiliation with the school.

According to Clark, the driver is being charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of reckless operation of a motor vehicle, one count of leaving the scene of personal injury and a marked lanes violation.

Officials have not yet released the identities of the driver or students.

University officials said the driver had been involved in an earlier road rage incident in East Bridgewater. Though the incident appeared deliberate, the school said there was no evidence that the driver was targeting those specific students.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with our two students and their families,” Clark’s statement reads. “Our Bridgewater State University Police Department has been in contact with and is supporting the families of the two students.”

The incident occurred during Bridgewater State’s annual Homecoming weekend festivities.

The Bridgewater State Police Department is still investigating the incident with help from its accident reconstruction team.

Bridgewater State is a public university located in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, with approximately 10,000 enrolled students.

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.