Author: CNN Newsource

By Brittney Ermon

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    LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — Wanting to do the right thing, a Texas man mailed $50 to Langer’s Deli after he couldn’t remember if he tipped his server.

ESPN writer Roberto Jose Andrade-Franco was in Los Angeles for work when he stopped at the MacArthur Park restaurant with friends. After trying the world-famous pastrami, he said he got distracted as he was saying goodbye.

“It wasn’t until I was on the road that I was like, ‘Oh man, did I remember the tip?” he said. “It kept bothering me to the point that I just wanted to make sure I sent the tip in.”

For Andrade-Franco, the possible mistake was personal after reflecting on his experience as a former restaurant server.

“I for sure didn’t want to be that person to this server,” he said.

Along with the $50, Andrade-Franco mailed a letter with just enough clues for owner Norm Langer to track down the server.

“It’s something that really made me feel good,” Langer said. “A letter of apology that he was here to eat and he was 75% sure that he left that $20 for the server, but he wasn’t sure. So, he sent a $50 bill for me to give the server.”

The woman who got the tip didn’t want to go on camera, but her coworkers said if anyone deserved the surprise, it was her.

“She does so much for this place,” server Frank Worster said. “Helping out in little places. People come to see her for years. She’s just a great person.”

Langer said it’s still unclear if Andrade-Franco left a tip originally since it was a cash transaction, but the restaurant owner said he might fly out to El Paso to meet the man himself.

“He’s obviously welcome here,” Andrade-Franco 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 Michele Gile

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    ORANGE COUNTY, California (KCAL, KCBS) — A woman walking along an Orange County beach nearly drowned while suffering a cardiac incident after the powerful waves knocked her down and swept her into the ocean.

Before the terrifying experience, Teresa Tran met her best friends at Aliso Beach for the Saturday stroll in the sand. Her daughter Amanda Trinh said they were blindsided by the high surf. After getting knocked to their knees by the wave, the women were getting back onto their feet when another one knocked them back down.

“They were trying to get up, and by the time they got up, a third one came out of nowhere, and they were knocked to their knees again,” Trinh said.

Panicked witnesses saw the women struggling in the rip current. Lifeguards raced into the water to save them. One friend made it to shore. Another was carried out. But by the time lifeguards reached Trinh’s mother, she’d suffered a cardiac event due to the stress of nearly drowning.

The crews worked on her on the beach and radioed for a helicopter.

“She was still unconscious when they pulled her out so they were trying to find her pulse,” Trinh said. “It was very faint and they flipped her over and that was when she vomited all of the water out and was able to regain consciousness after that.”

A helicopter landed on the beach and airlifted Tran to the hospital.

“Her last memory in the water is that she just recalls not being able to fight anymore,” Trinh said. “She was just thinking I need to keep trying. I need to keep trying, but then eventually she kept swallowing so much water, and she just gave up.”

Tran’s daughter has started an online fundraiser to help pay the medical bill. This incident was just a few hundred yards away from where a 5-year-old drowned after being pulled out in strong surf.

“She’s horrified,” Trinh said. “I don’t think she’s going to be going near any body of water for a while 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.

By Alys Martinez

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    PASADENA, California (KCAL, KCBS) — A 99-year-old ballerina from Sierra Madre once performed all over the world and for the last 25 years, she’s been teaching ballet at the Pasadena Dance Theater.

Helga de Kansky is as sharp as ever and still light on her feet. “I’m surprised that I’m 99 because I don’t really feel 99,” she said.

She started dancing at 6 years old in Depression era Kansas, was trained in New York, and then made a name for herself as a professional ballerina who graced some of the biggest stages in the world.

“I just love dancing. It’s what I really like to do,” de Kansky said.

She gave up touring to become a wife, mother of four and eventually a grandmother of six. But somehow, she always found her way back to her first love, dance.

De Kansky makes her way to the Pasadena Dance Theater twice a week to teach ballet to dancers of all skill levels.

“She’s very creative. All of her combinations and choreography is always new and fresh,” student Oksana Sanderfur said. “We all try to keep up with her, and sometimes it’s hard to keep up with the 99-year-old even at 30 or 40 or 50.”

De Kansky’s family says a bout with pneumonia, which landed her in the hospital, has slowed her down a bit. But as she gets ready to turn 100 in December, de Kansky says she has no plans to hang up her ballet shoes just yet.

“I look forward to living as long as possible, and being able to make life worth it,” de Kansky 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 Conor Wight

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    ST. PAUL, Minnesota (WCCO) — Moviegoers and fans of Greek mythology likely don’t think of a Trojan as the one who must go on a long journey to get home, forced to overcome unexpected obstacles. But this isn’t “The Odyssey.” This is the story of a group of parents who are rushing to get a Trojan mascot across the Canadian-American border by the end of the week to avoid tariffs, not a mythical monster.

It all started, Sarah Kallal said, when she fell in love with “Mudonna,” the mascot for the St. Paul Saints. Kallal and other community members agreed that the New Prague Trojans needed a mascot too, and they spared no expense going after a “professional-grade” costume for their hometown Trojan.

Kallal said she worked with other parents and the Forward New Prague Foundation to raise $14,000 for the mascot costume. But on Monday, Kallal said she got a phone call from the costume company explaining that they needed an extra $7,000.

“Honestly, I kind of thought the dream died,” Kallal said. “I’m not going to absorb that cost and I’m certainly not going to go back to our community to say, ‘Oh, by the way, can I get seven more thousand dollars?'”

She was floored to learn that President Trump’s proposal to place a 50% tariff on Canadian imports was to blame. She never expected that kind of economic policy to hit home so directly in a smaller community like New Prague.

“It brings awareness to how it’s not going to just affect corporations and government,” Kallal said.

Mr. Trump announced an indirect lifeline for Kallal this week, delaying the tariffs for at least three days while American and Canadian officials come back to the negotiating table.

“So of course they’re in scramble mode in Canada. I am just praying, praying, praying that they will be able to ship it out,” Kallal said.

The 50% tariffs would affect $20 billion worth of Canadian products, ranging from hockey sticks to tongue depressors.

But the political impact would likely have been bigger than the economic one. Canada had threatened to retaliate against any new tariffs with levies of its own, aggravating a trade fight between countries that sold each other $880 billion worth of goods and services last year.

In announcing the tariffs last month, the White House accused Canada of taking “unreasonable, unequal and discriminatory actions” by imposing tariffs or import restrictions on certain American goods, including measures introduced after Mr. Trump’s initial round of tariffs on Canada last year.

Both countries had reason to step back from the brink. Nearly 72% of Canada’s goods exports last year went to the United States. The Trump administration would be taking a risk by imposing a hefty new tariff — paid by U.S. importers who try to pass along the cost to consumers via higher prices — ahead of November’s midterm elections. U.S. voters are already frustrated with the high cost of living.

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 Duxter

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    MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Police in Minneapolis are trying to set the record straight after five people found dead in six days have fueled online speculation about an outside actor.

As of Friday, authorities and families of three of the victims have shared publicly that their deaths came as a result of battles with mental health.

David Goehl-Manolis, a suicide prevention coordinator for the National Alliance on Mental Illness Minnesota, said in response to the deaths, “Really, sadness. It also confirms a fact that most people don’t know.”

It’s further evidence of a saddening trend of spiking instances of self-harm during the late summer months.

“Help is available,” Goehl-Manolis said. “Too many people, when they’re struggling emotionally, keep it inside.”

He later said, “It’s important to put the record straight. Every suicide death is a tragedy. It’s not helpful for anyone to start to spread rumors and take guesses about the means that was used.”

He says if you or someone you know is struggling, call 988, a 24-hour confidential hotline.

Goehl-Manolis added that before fueling speculation online, people should consider that the loved ones of those who died could see their posts.

“I really encourage people to emphasize the way that someone lived their life and less on the way they died,” he said.

Two deaths remain under investigation, including a badly decomposed body found in the waters of Bde Mka Ska. Police said they have no reason to believe any of the cases are connected.

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 Sabrina Franza

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — Questions are mounting over how NIPSCO has managed outside crews brought in to help restore power to Northwest Indiana communities that have now gone nearly two weeks without electricity.

CBS News Chicago cameras caught contracted linemen sitting unassigned in a church parking lot in Griffith for hours, unable to work until they received direction from NIPSCO. When asked why, NIPSCO did not answer the specific questions — only saying crews are working around the clock.

Griffith Police Chief Al Tharp said the delay was not the workers’ fault.

“We’ve had multiple linemen standing around at this location all morning that don’t have work orders from NIPSCO,” Tharp said. “It’s not the workers’ fault. It’s the organizational leadership’s fault that there’s no clear-cut plan or direction giving our citizens power back.”

Outside contractors have been brought in from Florida and Kentucky, similar to crews spotted working in Gary and Munster in recent days. Indiana Department of Corrections inmates have also been deployed to help remove debris.

Despite the outside help, progress has been slow. Live wires remain exposed and debris continues to litter the ground across the area — an issue previously documented in other communities as residents wait for utility crews to clear hazards before neighborhood power can be restored.

Rick Ryfa, town council president of Griffith, said frustration has reached a breaking point.

“Everyone’s reaching a boiling point and the biggest finger to point at is NIPSCO because it’s a shame they’ve just mismanaged this project,” Ryfa said.

Griffith officials took matters into their own hands, conducting damage assessments themselves rather than waiting on NIPSCO to do so.

“Apparently wasn’t getting done otherwise,” Ryfa said. “Work’s not getting done. People aren’t getting connected so we decided to do the assessment ourselves.”

Munster 5th Ward Town Councilor Jonathan Petersen traveled to Griffith to gather information directly, saying his own community is still waiting on answers and resources.

“That’s part of the reason why I’m in Griffith — I have to go in and get information,” Petersen said.

Petersen said Munster is also hoping to bring Indiana Department of Corrections crews into the community to help clear tree limbs and trunks from alleyways while residents wait for NIPSCO to restore service.

Residents are also raising concerns about cost — specifically, whether the expense of contracted outside crews could ultimately drive up their utility rates. That question comes as a class-action lawsuit filed this week accuses NIPSCO of neglecting vegetation management despite charging the highest electric rates of any utility in the state.

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.