Author: CNN Newsource

By Michael Rosales

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    SANTA CRUZ, California (KSBW) — Students at Branciforte and Mission Hill middle schools in Santa Cruz are now required to complete a safety training program to obtain a permit for parking their e-bikes on campus.

The process, similar to obtaining a driver’s permit, involves a three-part course offered through Santa Cruz City Schools. The first part covers e-bike and road laws, the second includes a skills course, and the final part is a supervised group ride to practice real-world riding.

“E-biking is an outstanding way to get around town, but we’re all really familiar with the risks,” said Scott Bronson, a parent.

Wesley Bronson, a student who participated in the program, shared his experience. “There was a lot of sharp turning that I think I will find very useful later in life,” he said.

Another student added, “We worked on braking. Like, going really fast. Going really slow, and, like, seeing how much like you slide. Yeah. Like different speeds.”

Unlike drivers, middle schoolers are not typically taught the rules of the road. This free program, developed by the City of Santa Cruz, Ecology Action, and Santa Cruz Police Department, aims to fill that gap and prepare students for riding in traffic.

“With the increase in bike accidents, especially with e-bike accidents, we thought we could be part of the solution,” said Casey O’Brien of the California Highway Patrol.

The program also educates students on the capabilities of e-bikes. “This program teaches kids on how fast you can go. For example, a level one. Level two can go up to 20 miles an hour. It’s important to wear a helmet. It’s important to obey traffic laws. It’s very important to stop at stop signs,” said Israel Murillo, a CHP representative.

Both Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes, which are capped at 20 miles per hour, qualify for the program. Class 3 e-bikes, which can reach speeds of up to 28 miles per hour and are only for riders 16 and older, are not allowed on campus.

“I feel like that was a good lesson. And a lot of people should know,” said Wesley Bronson.

The district reports that the program attracts an average of 16 students per session and has been well-received by parents. Additional courses are planned for the future.

Statewide, new e-bike safety measures have also been introduced this year, including battery and electrical safety standards, speed requirements, and increased enforcement against modifications that can turn e-bikes into mopeds.

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 Jazmon DeJarnette

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    SALINAS, California (KSBW) — A Cyclospora outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce from a farm in Mexico sickened thousands across 17 states, leading to a decline in fresh produce sales, but the Central Coast industry is beginning to recover.

The Grower-Shipper Association reports that demand for fresh produce is rebounding.

“Things are rebounding right now. You know, many factors. One of which schools back in session. So there is naturally more institutional purchase that would typically occur of many produce items, including fresh vegetables,” said Christopher Valadez, President and CEO of The Grower-Shipper Association.

Despite this progress, the association noted that some growers remain concerned about whether consumers feel comfortable buying fresh produce.

Data from Nielsen IQ shows that dollar sales of prepackaged salads dropped 14% through July 25 compared to the previous year after the outbreak was announced.

JP Dundore-Arias, an associate professor of plant pathology at California State University, Monterey Bay, described Cyclospora as a “silent, invisible threat” and highlighted the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the parasite.

“It is unclear what are exactly the factors or the environments that drive that survival outside of a human host in an agriculture environment, whether the soil, the positions, whether they are specific crop tissues or plant parts that might be more conducive for the pathogen to survive,” Dundore-Arias said.

Valadez a emphasized that produce from the Salinas Valley, California, and the United States has not been implicated in the outbreak.

“The product from the region, the Salinas Valley, California, the United States, for that matter, was not, is not, and has not been implicated in the Cyclospora outbreak,” Dundore-Arias said.

As the FDA investigation continues, consumer confidence in fresh produce is improving. Some shoppers say their spending habits have not changed, though they are taking extra precautions when preparing lettuce.

“Well, I still think the vegetables are the healthiest way to eat. And so, it seems like when you research it, it comes out of Mexico waterborne. So I think that Taylor Farms has stopped completely that line. So I feel comfortable buying,” one shopper said.

Another shopper added, “I have a lot of friends in ag, and they do a good job. So again, we just clean it better than we did before.”

The recovery process faces challenges as the growing season in the region tapers off, making future production uncertain.

“What recovery looks like is not, you know, it’s not crystal clear. It’s not certain. But I think what is certain is to ensure that the public knows with respect to the safety of their product and the origin of their product. That product from California in the United States was not and has not been implicated in the Cyclospora outbreak,” Dundore-Arias said.

The FDA has stated that all recalled iceberg lettuce related to the Cyclospora outbreak is now off the market.

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 Felix Cortez

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    MONTEREY COUNTY, California (KSBW) — As an all-out aerial attack on the Timber Fire resumes and firefighters continue to make progress on containment, a road closure has been shortened, allowing more businesses to reopen. One of those restaurants, Nepenthe, welcomed back visitors Thursday. According to managers, the restaurant was losing $70,000 a day.

“When you think about a business that cannot operate, that’s hundreds and ultimately thousands of employees, depending on the number of businesses and the geographic range of impact. So even the businesses that were open were running at reduced staffing levels, so there’s a huge impact throughout the local economy and the human impact that is hard to overstate,” said Kirk Gafill, general manager of Nepenthe and president of the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce.

For many employees, it was nearly two weeks of uncertainty, wondering when they might get back to work.

“It was about 12 days no work for myself and it felt like way longer just because I love the routine and the rhythm and the dynamic and the company culture that we do have here so being without it suddenly felt like a part of myself was on pause,” said Shana England, a supervisor at the Phoenix gift shop.

“We can return to work, we can get back to our jobs and we can safely, you know, feel secure with everything going on, you know, and being back I mean, I’m just grateful,” said Skye Arle, a host at Nepenthe.

With the northern roadblock moving south of Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn, the restaurant plans to reopen Saturday for breakfast. Deetjen’s employs more than 40 people.

“It’s not just a light switch we have to bring back food we have to bring bring back all the staff, inform the people who actually evacuated from their homes, who live within the evacuation zones, we have to get them back into their houses, we have to get all the food product and everything situated we have a lot of cleanup to do,” said Matt Glazer, general manager of Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn.

Also on Thursday, Big Sur Fire announced on social media that incident command centers at CSUMB and Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park will now be consolidated at the Pfeiffer camp as the threat to structures has been minimized on the coastal side of the fire. That also means the highway could soon reopen, according to Big Sur Fire.

“You know, the neighbors help neighbors around here you know, everyone that has a part to play in this community is there to protect the land, is there to continue the tradition of looking after each other,” said Arle.

“Thankfully things are settling down now and we can get back into motion and welcome people back to Big Sur,” England added.

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By James Stratton

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    KENOSHA, Wisconsin (WISN) — A now-resigned Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office deputy faces felony charges after prosecutors say he searched a romantic partner more than a dozen times to track her whereabouts in the Flock camera network, a license-plate reader database.

Frank McGrath faces two counts of misconduct in public office. The Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office filed the criminal complaint late Wednesday.

Racine County Sheriff’s Office investigators started a criminal investigation in February.

Prosecutors allege an internal audit of the Flock license plate reader camera system showed Deputy Frank McGrath searched “16 to 17” times on Sept. 30, 2025, while off duty.

“Defendant McGrath listed the search reason as ‘Suspicious’ for all queries and left the case number field blank,” the criminal complaint reads.

12 News Investigates also obtained internal investigative documents from the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office through a public records request.

“He admitted the searches were not related to any criminal investigation or law-enforcement function,” the internal review documents say. “He acknowledged he used the system specifically to determine the whereabouts of [redacted] during a period of relationship conflict. He described escalating jealousy leading up to the incident, including concerns related to a close male coworker of [redacted] whom she had recently fallen out with.”

The woman, according to the investigative documents and the criminal complaint, is also a Kenosha County sheriff’s deputy.

Prosecutors also allege McGrath used another internal GPS location system to track the deputy’s body camera location and squad car location roughly 40 times between July 18, 2025 and Oct. 23, 2025.

Prosecutors say he told the victim her exact location and stated, “I know everything,” while she was parked squad-to-squad with another deputy behind a county salt shed.

Internal investigative documents show McGrath admitted to searching the location of the squad car, “… including while he was off duty, for purely personal and jealousy-driven reasons (to see where she was, who she was sitting with, and which deputies she was working near).”

McGrath resigned in December, according to Kenosha County Human Resources.

McGrath did not answer his phone Wednesday. WISN 12 News knocked on the door of an address listed for him and left a business card there as well. Thursday, at another address listed for McGrath, someone told a 12 News crew to stay off the property.

Text messages recovered in the investigation, according to the criminal complaint, show he texted the victim acknowledging lying about his use of Flock.

“In the text messages, Defendant McGrath stated that his actions ‘got out of hand,’ that he ‘lost control,’ and that running her plate 17 times ‘makes me look really bad,'” the complaint states.

Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office did not agree to an interview. 12 News Investigates asked if they plan to review the Flock policy or add any guardrails to the system, but they did not answer that question Wednesday.

The sheriff’s office posted a press release to social media late Wednesday. The sheriff’s office says, following the incident the office added more safeguards to the Flock Safety system. Those changes include adding any sworn supervisor as an auditor to the system, requiring personnel to document a legitimate law-enforcement reason and case number before searching, reducing data retention from 30 days to a week, and requiring all deputies to complete new training and review policy requirements.

McGrath is set for an initial appearance on Sept. 17, according to court records. WISN 12 News is using his department photo because he has not been booked into the Kenosha County Jail, so no booking photo is available.

McGrath is the third officer in southeastern Wisconsin to face charges for allegedly misusing the technology. A judge sentenced Milwaukee Police officer Josue Ayala to probation for tracking an ex-girlfriend. Milwaukee Internal Affairs Detective Tehrangi Chapman faces a felony charge. Plus, the Racine County District Attorney is reviewing potential charges for two officers there.

“People are realizing, ‘oh this can be abused and we don’t want that,’ and ‘oh my gosh it’s everywhere,'” said U-W Madison Professor Dorothea Salo who researches IT and technology.

Salo believes the safeguards the sheriff’s office put in place make for a good step forward. She says the public scrutiny of the technology is adding to awareness.

“I don’t think the uptick we’re seeing right now is actually due to a rate of change in how much police misuse surveillance technology, it’s just becoming more apparent because of all of the scrutiny on these ALPR systems,” she said.

Flock did not respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.

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By McKenzy Parsons

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — Omaha Public Schools is fighting back after parents and students spoke out against the use of shock gloves in schools.

On Tuesday, OPS wrote a letter to Mayor John Ewing Jr. and Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer, asking that the school resource officers no longer have authority to carry the shock gloves on school grounds.

“Nothing is more important to us than the health, safety and well-being of the 52,000 students we serve. We recognize the longstanding relationship between our district and the Omaha Police Department and the valuable role that SROs play in our schools,” said the letter.

OPS called the use of the gloves “counterproductive” to that relationship.

The district requested this change be made immediately.

Following the letter from OPS, Schmaderer released the following statement:

“I’m proud of the work our School Resource Officers have done, and I’m confident the administration and principals feel the same way. Unfortunately, some have made erroneous assumptions about the work we do. We have a great working relationship with Omaha Public Schools, and they are a wonderful partner to the Omaha Police Department. Our School Resource Officers are passionate about the schools where they serve. More importantly, they value the relationships they build with students and staff and experience overwhelmingly positive interactions with them every day. These relationships are at the heart of what our School Resource Officers do, and they are an important part of keeping our schools safe and fostering a positive learning environment.”

OPD also said that the department will adhere to the request to not use the gloves on school grounds, but officers will still carry the standard-issue equipment, which includes tasers, OC spray, batons, and firearms.

Mayor Ewing also responded to the district’s request to opt out of G.L.O.V.E.

“As someone who helped start the School Resource Officer program, I believe in the importance of having Omaha Police Officers in our schools to protect students, faculty and all who enter our school buildings. They have helped deter crime, build positive relationships and provide additional security at a time our schools need it. On Monday, we reached out to all four Omaha public school district superintendents to discuss the use of this technology, noting that officers have a variety of tools and the GLOVE had been the least impactful. OPS was given the option to opt out, and we honored that. We value our relationship with them and will continue to listen and respond to their needs.”

OPS Superintendent Matthew Ray told KETV on Wednesday that Omaha police agreed to remove the shock gloves, while Bellevue police did not.

Ray said that Bellevue SROs oversee both Bryan High and Middle schools.

“The Omaha Police Department gave us the option of the gloves of not having the gloves on the belt. That’s the option. So we chose not to allow the gloves in our schools. They didn’t give the option of anything else on their belt,” Ray said.

The Omaha Police Department previously announced that SROs would have shock gloves in metro area middle and high schools.

OPS confirmed the two schools where the gloves were deployed were the Integrated Learning Program and Omaha South High School.

During Monday night’s OPS Board of Education Meeting, parents and students opposed the use of those shock gloves.

By the end of the meeting, some board members agreed that changes needed to be made.

“As a parent of OPS, and a member of the board with my own opinion, I do not support the use of any use of force or pain compliance with our students, including pepper spray, tasers and electric shock gloves,” OPS School Board member Gini Magnuson said.

OPS is not the only school district where OPD is using the shock gloves. The department has confirmed SROs are using them in Elkhorn, Millard, and Westside public school districts.

In a statement to Omaha’s News Leader and parents, Westside Community Schools stated that “safety and security personnel were made aware of the potential deployment of these tools on March 27, 2025. Our board of education was made aware of them late last week.”

Westside also stated that the gloves have not been used in the district.

Millard Public Schools released a statement on Tuesday:

“Our staff who coordinate with the SRO program were made aware that officers would be trained and start including the gloves in their equipment about a year ago.”

MPS also said the gloves have not been used in its district.

OPS sent the same letter to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, which has SROs within the district. However, DCSO has said publicly that it does not have any gloves.

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By Beau Bowman

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    DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — The hot beef sundae turns 20 this year, and the Iowa State Fair staple is still drawing crowds.

What began as a way to use leftover roast beef trimmings became one of the fair’s most iconic foods, thanks to brainstorming between Michelle Baumhover and John Mortimer, then-manager of Cattlemen’s Beef Quarters.

The dish looks like a sundae, but it’s made with mashed potatoes, gravy, beef and cheese, and topped with a cherry tomato. Baumhover said the idea came after she heard about a “steak parfait” and thought the concept would work better with mashed potatoes and roast beef.

The team expected to sell about 4,000 sundaes in the first year. Instead, it sold 22,000.

“When we first launched in 2006, I got calls from across the country, London, in Japan, The Calgary Stampede,” Baumhover said.

Long lines formed at the Cattlemen’s Beef Quarters then, and they still do now.

Wayne Baumhover, Michelle Baumhover’s husband, later took over the Beef Quarters when Mortimer retired, keeping the hot beef sundae in the family.

“It is kind of weird that she was the one that started it and now I’m dealing with it,” Wayne Baumhover joked.

Michelle Baumhover says the dish has endured because it is comforting and nostalgic.

“It’s comforting; it reminds them of home, reminds them of family, so if you look at it in that perspective, yeah, everyone wants that, and they are nostalgic about that kind of food,” she said.

To mark the 20th anniversary, the Beef Quarters is selling Hot Beef Sundae T-shirts online. Fairgoers who wear one to the fair can get a free hot beef sundae.

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By Abigail Kurten

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    DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — Ground beef prices have risen 24% since January 2025, prompting President Donald Trump to announce a temporary tariff reduction on imported ground beef to ease costs for American families.

On Friday morning, Trump revealed that 300,000 metric tons of ground beef will be imported with lower tariffs over the next 90 days.

During a visit to the Iowa State Fair, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins explained the decision’s potential impact on consumers.

“We can get a 25% decrease for families. Usually, lower-income families rely on ground beef. He wanted to make that move for the American consumer,” Rollins said.

The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association expressed disappointment with the plan.

“Obviously we’re disappointed with that,” CEO Bryan Whaley said. “We talk about supporting our farmers and ranchers. But then you take some of their profitability away right away out of this by inserting a foreign product into our domestic market.”

Iowa farmers are already facing high input costs and low profit margins, compounded by the U.S. beef cattle supply being at a 75-year low. Rollins acknowledged these challenges but defended the move.

“I understand the decision and defend the decision and look forward to continuing to rebuild the herd, but making sure that we can continue to provide,” Rollins said.

While consumers may see lower ground beef prices in the coming months, Whaley warned that supply issues will remain.

“Even after this 90 days, we’re still going to have a short supply. We can’t turn that cowherd around in that short of a time period. And I think that’s one of the things I think people have to realize. It takes two, three years for us to get to that point where we’re going to be able to meet that demand,” Whaley said.

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By Alexis Crandall

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    BURLINGTON, Vermont (WPTZ) — The city of Burlington is working to create a new committee to address graffiti with assistance from the community.

No matter where you are in the Queen City, it’s easy to spot graffiti.

“The goal is to get some sort of functional hub where the community can be involved in graffiti cleanup efforts and be a part of beautifying the neighborhood that they live in or just the city we call home,” said Ward 7 council member Evan Litwin.

The Graffiti Abatement Committee hasn’t formally formed yet, but there is a blooming partnership with non-profit PaintCare, which collects old paint for recycling.

They are currently creating a form for people to fill out to start covering the graffiti with free paint.

“Folk, if they are interested in helping out with graffiti abatement, through the committee, can get leftover paint,” Agnes Barsalow, the program manager for Vermont, said. “It’s paint that was brought to one of our bins and then Chittenden Solid Waste puts it aside. As folks request it, it can be used for murals or abatement across the city.”

Litwin says right now City Council wants to make sure they’re able to meet the needs of residents and adhere to their budget.

“We want to make sure, especially given the tight budgetary status of the city, that we’re not creating more work for what I would call a skeleton crew in some of these departments that have their work cut out for them, while also giving communities empowerment and agency over addressing the graffiti or the defacement in their community that they see every fay and they’re tired of looking at,” he said.

Litwin hopes someday the community can fully steer the committee.

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By Lisa Crane

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    FAIRFIELD, Alabama (WVTM) — Nearly five years have passed since Brionna Washington watched police place her 4-day-old son back into her arms after he was kidnapped from their Fairfield home.

Her son, Kamarion Taylor, is now a healthy, energetic boy. But Washington still remembers the fear of those hours when she did not know where he was, or whether she would ever see him again.

“I just couldn’t stop crying, like it was just so much running through my head about it,” Washington said. “I just kept thinking I wouldn’t get my baby back. I wasn’t going to see him again. I don’t know where this lady’s at, what she’s doing, none of that.”

Now, Washington says those memories have come rushing back.

The woman charged in Kamarion’s 2021 kidnapping, Lakesha Brown, has been arrested in Atlanta and accused of abducting two more children.

Atlanta police released body camera video Tuesday showing officers recovering two young girls from a hot trailer.

Brown, who had been caring for the girls as a babysitter, is charged with abducting the sisters, ages 4 years and 11 months.

For Washington, the allegations were difficult to comprehend.

“Everybody just kept calling my phone saying, you know she out of jail, you know she took somebody else’s kids,” Washington said. “And I’m like, she took kids? They say she took two. And then I started seeing it on Facebook. I just started seeing it everywhere.”

Brown also faces charges in Jefferson County in connection with Kamarion’s disappearance in 2021.

Brown was a family friend when, according to police, she took Washington’s newborn son from his Fairfield home.

Kamarion was only 4 days old.

For about seven hours, Washington waited, cried and feared the worst as police searched for him.

Officers eventually tracked down Brown and the baby. WVTM 13 video from that day captured Washington’s emotional reunion with her son.

Years later, she says she still does not take that moment — or her son’s safety — for granted.

Washington said the Atlanta girls’ mother has since reached out to her.

The two women have spoken about experiences few parents can fully understand: the terror of not knowing where their children are and the relief of finally getting them back.

“She said when she got them back all she could do was just smile and just watch them sleep,” Washington said.

Washington said their conversations also revealed similarities in how Brown allegedly entered their lives.

She said Brown appeared to gain the trust of both families before being accused of taking their children.

Washington said she did not know Brown had been released on bond in the Jefferson County case until she unexpectedly saw her at a Walmart about a year ago.

She said no one from Jefferson County notified her of Brown’s release.

Now, after the allegations in Atlanta, Washington is questioning why Brown was free while the 2021 kidnapping case remained unresolved.

“This time, they don’t need to let her out,” Washington said. “Because there ain’t no way y’all keep letting her out and she keep doing the same thing. Like it’s going to be a constant, she’s going to keep doing it.”

Washington also said she believes Brown needs mental health treatment.

“I think she needs mental help,” Washington said. “Because ain’t no way you keep taking people’s kids.”

She also questioned how Brown was allegedly able to present herself online as a babysitter, saying someone facing a kidnapping charge should not have been in groups where parents were searching for child care.

Washington said her frustration extends beyond Brown’s release.

She said Jefferson County authorities have not kept her informed about the status of the kidnapping case involving her son, and she still does not understand why it has taken years for the case to reach trial.

Brown’s Jefferson County trial was scheduled to begin in May, but she did not appear in court.

For Washington, the newest accusations are no longer only about what happened to her family five years ago.

They are about another mother who experienced the same fear — and what Washington says must happen before another family goes through it.

She wants Brown kept off the streets while the cases against her move forward.

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By Khamari Haymer

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    JACKSON, Mississippi (WAPT) — Faith leaders and community members in Mississippi are urging Commissioner Andy Gipson to remove his social media posts advocating for a ban on Sharia law, following concerns about their impact on religious freedom and safety.

Gipson, who is running for governor, has posted multiple times about stopping Sharia law, which is a religious and moral code for Muslims. The calls for action come after Benoit Municipal Court Judge Assma Ali, who is Muslim, received threats due to her faith.

“These public statements are misleading, inflammatory, and endanger important Mississippi institutions and people,” said Pastor Jimmy Lee Edwards of Rosemont Baptist Church.

Gipson defended his comments, stating they were not directed at Ali and reflect his long-standing views.

“This is something that I have been advocating for a long time, if you go back and look from last November 22nd, I posted one of my plans to ban Sharia law even before this was an issue,” Gipson said.

“I am not backing down from what I said, I said nothing wrong because what I said is right. For people who do not think this is an issue, you better open your eyes and get your head out of the sand,” he added.

Kathleen O’Beirne, who attended the press conference, expressed frustration with Gipson’s stance, urging him to better understand Sharia law before acting on his beliefs.

“It makes me angry and concerned about the ignorance that we see on social media. You can practice any faith that you want to and still do your job to uphold the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of Mississippi,” O’Beirne said.

Okolo Rashid, co-founder of the International Museum of Muslim Cultures, emphasized the importance of religious freedom for all Mississippians.

“The Sharia Law is like a law of Moses and the ten commandments, it is just about the laws that governs a just and upright community of people,” Rashid said.

Both organizations are inviting Commissioner Gipson to join them in a conversation about uniting Mississippi across faith traditions.

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