Author: CNN Newsource

By Cameron Polom

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    Arizona (KNXV) — Back in 1975, while their husbands were glued to Monday Night Football, a half-dozen “housewives” decided they’d start a little game of their own: Poker.

What began as a casual card night quickly evolved into a lifelong bond that’s lasted 50 years.

Today, the self-proclaimed “Poker Girls” — all from different backgrounds — are celebrating half a century of friendship, laughter, and a few good bluffs.

Now in their 80s, they’re decorating their old poker room with photos and memories spanning five decades, proving that what started with a deck of cards turned into the hand of a lifetime.

ABC15’s Cameron Polom met up with the gals to celebrate their incredible milestone and see what keeps them still laughing, still dealing, and still all in for each other.

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By Kaley O’Kelley

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    PEORIA, Arizona (KNXV) — It’s Men’s Health Month, and ABC15 is shining a light on a conversation that usually centers on women: breast cancer awareness.

But two Valley oncologists say this is their fight too.

Women go in for mammograms every day at Southwest Medical Imaging in Peoria. But on this day, two men — both oncologists — stepped into a gown and stood in front of the machine themselves.

Dr. Christopher Biggs and Dr. Jason Samuelian with the Arizona Center for Cancer Care say they wanted to experience firsthand what their patients go through.

“I’ve been ordering these for 25 years,” said Dr. Biggs. “But all of a sudden you’re in that gown, walking up to that machine… it changes your perspective.”

Dr. Samuelian agreed, saying, “One of my philosophies as a cancer physician is to put myself in my patients’ shoes. I want to think about what they’re going through.”

Both physicians say they were a little nervous at first, but the experience helped them understand the anxiety many patients feel before a screening.

“I was nervous,” said Dr. Samuelian. “But they walked me through everything. It was less painful than I expected.”

They also hope their experience helps break down the stigma that men shouldn’t think about breast cancer.

According to the CDC, about one in every 100 breast cancer cases in the U.S. happens among men.

When asked what men should watch for, Dr. Samuelian replied, “Usually it’s a painless mass. If it doesn’t hurt and it’s enlarging, that’s your biggest warning sign.”

For these doctors, this experience wasn’t about proving a point — it was about practicing what they preach.

“I try to remind my patients their doctor may not fully understand what they’re feeling,” said Dr. Samuelian. “I want to be the kind of physician who does.”

Dr. Biggs joked that he now has “bragging rights,” but knew the experience would resonate with his patients.

Dr. Biggs and Dr. Samuelian were given a clean bill of health. They say waiting for the exam was worse than the mammogram itself.

They also hope everyone remembers that early detection saves lives.

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By KTBS staff

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    BOSSIER CITY, Louisiana (KTBS) — As the focus turns from Halloween pumpkins to Thanksgiving pumpkins, one Bossier City backyard looks straight out of a Charlie Brown special — complete with a great pumpkin that actually exists.

Air Force veteran David Weindel, once stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, has spent months tending to a patch of soil that produced a 384-pound pumpkin. The monster gourd’s size is official — certified by Louisiana Weights & Measures.

It’s only his second attempt at growing super-sized fruit.

“I’ve always gardened,” Weindel said. “And I just thought, well, that’s kind of like the biggest thing you can grow. There’s no other fruit out there bigger than a pumpkin.”

Weindel says gardening became his therapy after the military — a way to quiet his mind and restore a sense of purpose.

“It gives me peace,” he said. “When you’re out here, you can just focus on growing something good. That’s all you have to think about.”

What started as a YouTube curiosity grew into a neighborhood attraction. Children along Williamsburg Drive stopped to snap pictures beside the pumpkin that now dwarfs a 130-pound decorative boulder in his yard.

“One day it was about 10 pounds,” Weindel recalled. “Three or four days later it was like 70 or 80.”

It takes a village — and a few strong backs — to move a pumpkin that big. Weindel’s friends — Tyler, Phil and Brandon from the “Pepper Pals” gardening group — stepped in to help load the giant for weigh-in day.

“We had to roll it onto a tarp and lift it onto a trailer,” Phil said with a laugh. “We were grunting like we were back in the gym.”

Between watering, fertilizing, and shading, the effort cost nearly $1,000 in supplies and covered about a thousand square feet of vines. His mother pitched in daily, covering the pumpkins with towels to prevent sun scalds and cracks.

When the final number came in — 384 pounds — Weindel grinned.

“We were slightly overweight from what the estimate was, which is always great,” he laughed.

But the pumpkin isn’t destined for pie, “it’s mostly water,” said Weindel.

It’s been a hit with neighbors and trick-or-treaters.

“The kids come running up after school and go, ‘Mr. David, it got bigger again,’” he said. “They touch it, knock on it like it’s a door, and take pictures. It’s just fun seeing their faces light up.”

Now that Halloween has passed, Weindel plans to harvest the seeds and sell them cheap so others can try the hobby. He’ll donate the remaining flesh to local goats and tortoises.

“It’s cool to get to share it,” Weindel said. “Before, it was just in my yard. Now it’s out there for everybody to see.”

The “shock an awe” makes Weindel focus less on the cost of growing pumpkins. He spent $100 to buy two seeds that birthed his gourd — an investment he now calls “worth every penny.”

“That one little seed gave me all this joy,” he said. “Next year I’ll sell the seeds for 5 bucks so anyone who wants to grow one can give it a shot.”

You could almost hear Linus whispering from the patch: “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Bossier.”

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By Itay Hod

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    California (KPIX) — In the land of high tech, Daniel Goldberg is going for the low-hanging fruit.

“There are these feral fruit trees I like to call them that grow pretty much everywhere,” said Daniel Goldberg, owner of Feral Ecology, a company that turns overlooked produce into natural wines and hard ciders.

A few years ago, after noticing all the bounty on trees in side streets and backyards, Goldberg started picking fruit, first to make jam, but then he decided to branch out, launching Feral Ecology to give the fruit a second life.

Today, he’s at a storage lot in Richmond, picking apples that would otherwise go to waste.

“There’s nothing quite like the fruit of your labor when it’s picked right off the tree. There’s that snap and the sound and the dust,” said volunteer Taylor Elnicki.

Eli Utne, who lives on the property, said it’s a win-win: Daniel gets the apples for free, and the property owners are grateful to have them taken off their hands.

“They love it,” he said. “We messaged them earlier and they said, ‘Please take these apples.'”

Those apples are cleaned, crushed, and bottled, becoming part of a growing movement taking root across the country.

From small-batch ciders to wines made with minimal additives, makers are returning to the basics. In 2024, the global natural and organic wine market hit $12 billion, according to a Grand View Research report.

“People are returning back to those roots of how wine really started,” said John Keller, owner of Neu Cellars, a natural wine label.

He added that younger drinkers are driving the trend as they look for flavor and sustainability, but natural wines can sometimes be as quirky as they are unpredictable.

“Flaws can be some volatile acidity; it can be some mousiness that’s common in it,” Keller said.

As for Goldberg, his apple cider won’t be ready for a couple of months, but when it is, it’ll cost about $30 a pop. Those who donated the fruit or helped out, get it for free.

“We’re intercepting the apple as this one little moment before it goes from the tree back to the happy earthworms, but we’re just trading a little bit of extra joy in between,” he said.

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By Dean Fioresi

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    California (KCAL, KCBS) — Three people were arrested and more than $2 million in stolen train cargo was recovered when San Bernardino County deputies served a series of search warrants in Los Angeles County last week.

On Thursday, a group of local law enforcement agencies that included deputies from the Victor Valley Detective Bureau, BNSF Railroad Police, Homeland Security and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department served seven search warrants as part of an ongoing investigation into train burglaries in the Victor Valley area, according to a news release from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

Authorities served the first search warrant at 6 a.m. in the 4900 block of Mason Street in the Southgate area, where they said that investigators were following up on information they gathered during previous investigations, according to the release.

“During the investigation, investigators located a large locked prefabricated room within a body shop, the room contained a large amount of stolen BNSF property,” the release said.

Two additional search warrants were then served at a home across the street, where three suspects were arrested. They were identified as 46-year-old Jorge Castillo, 41-year-old Cesar Martinez and 34-year-old Alfredo Santos Reyes, all of Southgate.

During those two warrants, authorities gathered evidence to serve three more search warrants at a home in Paramount. They found more stolen BNSF property.

“Evidence from the search warrant led investigators to a nearby storage facility,” the release said. “Two additional search warrants were authored for two storage units where additional BNSF stolen property was located.”

The last search warrant, which was authorized based on information from the previous search warrants, led to the discovery of even more stolen property.

BNSF officials estimated that the recovered property totaled $2,118,459.20. The property would be returned to its rightful owners, deputies said.

Recently, more than two dozen people were arrested in a series of different search warrants in October, which were also connected to train cargo thefts in the Victor Valley area.

Anyone who knows more about the investigation is urged to contact SBSD’s Rural Crimes Task Force at (760) 248-7328.

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By Tori Mason

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    DENVER (KCNC) — Neighbors living along a stretch of Peoria Street near Alaska Avenue in Aurora are calling on the Colorado city to help protect their houses. In the last year, at least five cars have crashed into homes. Residents say speeding and reckless driving have made their properties feel like targets.

For David Gelamichael, the danger is personal. CBS News Colorado first interviewed him in May, when a stolen car slammed into his garage. It wasn’t the first time, and it also wasn’t the last.

“This has happened to me three times,” Gelamichael said. “I can’t even sleep. You don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

After the second crash, he made a drastic change. Over the summer, Gelamichael spent $30,000 to install a reinforced concrete barrier wall around his property.

“It was the only way to feel safe,” he said. “I had to do it. I didn’t have a choice.”

The wall worked. When another car came through the neighborhood at high speed at the end of September, it hit the barrier and stopped.

“They’re going to crash,” he said. “But it won’t be into my house.”

The home behind Gelamichael was hit last month. Last week, a home on the other side of Peoria was hit.

Neighbor Antonio Ortiz says his home has also been struck.

“Just last week there was another crash into the home behind us,” Ortiz said. “And a few years ago, another car hit our house.”

Ortiz’s family has added columns and poured concrete along the back of their property in an effort to slow cars before they hit the home.

“We did it for protection,” he said. “We’re scared. We’re thinking about the risk of what could happen to us if it happens again.”

Ortiz said his biggest concern is a car coming through a wall while someone is sleeping.

“My fear is them going into one of our rooms,” he said. “Causing a lot of damage or hurting someone.”

Neighbors say speed is the issue.

“They come flying down,” Gelamichael said. “I’m disappointed in the city. This keeps happening and nothing changes.”

Neighbors suggested speed bumps, more patrols or additional traffic stops.

In a statement, The City of Aurora wrote:

“The city of Aurora is aware of last week’s crash near Peoria Street and East Virginia Place. According to the Aurora Police Department, a driver going northbound on Peoria Street lost control and struck a house. The driver was cited for careless driving, no insurance, and leaving the scene. The city is also aware of other crashes along this corridor. City staff will conduct a more detailed review of this area after the latest incident. Peoria Street is a four-lane major arterial with a posted speed limit of 35 mph. Public Works does not implement traffic-calming devices on major arterials, as these measures can conflict with the roadway’s primary function and affect congestion, emergency response, and maintenance operations. Staff will continue to evaluate recent crash data and determine if any engineering or safety measures are warranted.”

Neighbors say they don’t expect miracles, just something to slow cars down before they reach their homes.

“Some kind of barrier would work,” Gelamichael said. “We just want to feel safe in our homes. That’s it.”

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By Monique John

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    HAPEVILLE, Georgia (WUPA) — A police department in Hapeville, Georgia, is changing young lives and reshaping how teenagers view law enforcement, one mentoring relationship at a time.

Parents and teens say the Hapeville Police Department’s year-old youth mentoring program is helping struggling young people and building trust between officers and the community.

Fourteen-year-old Zariah Summers admits she once wanted nothing to do with the police.

“At first I was like, I don’t like 12. I don’t like the police,” she said. “But then, as I actually opened my eyes, I see that they’re not trying to do anything but help us and do their job.”

Her mother, Lashanda Summers-Frazier, enrolled her in the program after their family moved to the area. Zariah was experiencing behavioral and mental health challenges, and her mother was already working closely with police to keep her safe.

“They were just always there,” Summers-Frazier said. “And when I met Corporal Canzater, she just took Zariah under her wing … and she has not left since.”

Corporal Shada Canzater, who leads the program, said she wanted to create something deeper than a traditional police youth academy.

“I think they need a little more than that,” she said. “They need more guidance. They need to trust us, and they need more empowering.”

Today, 10 officers and staff members mentor seven teenagers. They help with counseling, getting students back into school, community service, and organizing career-focused field trips. They also work with schools and parents to help teens keep their grades up.

Canzater said the program is changing officers, too.

“I have seen officers grow emotionally and really build bonds,” she said. “They’re like, ‘Hey, my teen is really going through it, and I just want to do something special for them.’ … We’re helping each other.”

The mentoring has also helped Zariah reach one of her personal goals.

“She’s a certified braider now,” her mother said. “That was all because of Cpl. Canzater. She connected her with the right people … and she walked out of there as a certified braider.”

Zariah now encourages her friends to join the program and says she sees police differently.

“I would say I look at them like role models,” she said.

Her family hopes the program gets more support so more teens in Hapeville can benefit.

A police department uplifting its young people — in hopes of uplifting its community.

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By Noel Brennan

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    CHICAGO, Illinois (WBBM) — Just over two years after the deadly Hamas terrorist attack on the Nova Music Festival in Israel, a traveling tribute to the victims and survivors has arrived in Chicago.

The exhibit has been seen by a half million people around the world. It opens Tuesday at in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.

“Especially in these dark times, you really understand the meaning of bright spots,” said Nitzan Schlezinger.

For her, the brightest light was her dad.

“My father’s name is Asaf Schlezinger,” she said. “Being a dad was the most important mission in his life. … He had these really great hugs.”

Asaf was a paramedic working the Nova Music Festival in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, a dark day for Nitzan and every family who lost a loved one when Hamas terrorists killed hundreds of festivalgoers.

On the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas militants broke through the border fence of Gaza at 60 different locations. Israel says some 1,200 people were murdered and more than 251 taken hostage in the Hamas assault, according to Israel.

Of the more than 3,000 people who went to the Nova Music Festival, 364 were murdered and 44 others were taken as hostages back into Gaza. Hundreds more were wounded, and thousands are still receiving psychological counseling. Some have taken their own lives.

“More than a thousand people were murdered in this day,” she said.

Evidence from the attack in Israel has traveled all the way to Chicago, including burned-out cars, bullet-riddled bathroom stalls, and personal belongings left behind after the attack.

Reut Feingold is the creative mind behind “Oct. 7, 6:29 a.m., The Moment Music Stood Still: The Nova Music Festival Exhibition.”

“We really want people to feel that they are in the festival, to feel the values, to recognize themselves in those moments,” he said.

The exhibition recreates the festival site from the day of the attack. Tents, clothes, bags, and shoes left behind are on display.

“We invite people to touch and feel and smell and – it’s not fake. It’s real,” Feingold said.

The exhibit also features photos of the victims, each of whom has a story to tell.

“Each one of them has his own story and his family,” Feingold said.

Mark Shindel was 23. The civil engineering student was killed at the Nova Music Festival just days after visiting his parents in Chicago.

“All of the stories are stories of people who we lost, and people who were there, and now they have a story to tell about this attack,” Nitzan said.

The exhibition runs through Nov. 30 at 1800 N. Clybourn Av.

Proceeds from ticket sales go to support mental health treatment for victims and families.

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By WRAL staff

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    WAKE COUNTY, North Carolina (WRAL) — A Wake County detention officer was arrested Wednesday for allegedly supplying contraband to inmates.

She was arrested during her shift, but by afternoon was out on $50,000 unsecured bond.

Hillary Morgan Seekins, 31, is charged with possession with the intent to manufacture, sell or deliver cocaine, K2 (synthetic marijuana) and suboxone. She also faces charges of possession of a controlled substance in jail and possession with the intent to manufacture, sell or deliver a controlled substance.

“As soon as these allegations were reported, we took immediate action and launched an investigation. … We will not tolerate any conduct that compromises the safety of our community or the integrity of this agency,” Sheriff Willie Rowe said.

Seekins was dismissed from her job after her arrest. She had been an employee of the Wake County Sheriff’s Office since September 2018.

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