NOAA backtracks on alleged sea lion decapitation at beach

CNN Newsource on October 3, 2025

By Tim Fang

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    SAN FRANCISCO, California (KPIX) — Federal authorities have issued an update regarding the reported decapitation of a sea lion at a Monterey County beach, clarifying that “no marine mammal parts were removed from the beach.”

The NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement released a statement Monday about the incident, which they said took place at Point Pinos Beach in Pacific Grove on July 27.

Officials said at the time a man was seen using a hunting knife to remove the head of the sea lion before placing the head in a bag and leaving the scene in a SUV. The office also posted a picture of a suspect and announced a $20,000 reward.

NOAA officials now say no mammal parts were taken and removed the photo.

“The individual has been located, and it was determined that no marine mammal parts were removed from the beach. We thank the public for their help and concern in this matter,” the agency said in its update.

Jason Bietz of Hanford, who said he was the man in the photo, told the Los Angeles Times that he reached out to NOAA investigators on Monday to clear his name. Bietz told the newspaper that he did not decapitate the animal.

Rashelle Diaz of Monterey, who reported the incident to authorities, told the Times that he had confronted Bietz and his daughter, saying she saw him leaning over the animal and prodding it with a knife.

Bietz also denied accusations that he was carrying a knife on the beach.

CBS News Bay Area reached out to the NOAA spokesperson, who was unavailable for comment due to the ongoing government shutdown.

According to the agency, harassing, harming, killing or feeding sea lions is prohibited under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, along with collecting parts of protected marine mammal species. Civil prosecution may result of fines up to $36,498 per violation, while criminal violations are punishable up to a year in jail and a $100,000 in fines.

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OC Fire Authority arson detection K-9 retires after 7 hard-working years of service

CNN Newsource on October 3, 2025

By KABC staff

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    ORANGE COUNTY, California (KABC) — A hard-working member of the Orange County Fire Authority is ready for retirement.

Freedom, the department’s arson detection K-9, served the department for seven years. And yes, that’s seven human years!

During that time, the yellow lab responded to more than 200 calls here in California and around the country.

Freedom isn’t going far. He’ll be spending retirement with his handler Capt. Shawn Miller and “spend his days playing fetch, napping, and soaking up all the love,” the OCFA said.

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Colorado State University launches first honeybee veterinary science course

CNN Newsource on October 3, 2025

By Dillon Thomas

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    FORT COLLINS, Colorado (KCNC) — Colorado State University is recognized as one of the top veterinary science schools in the United States, and now the university has added a course for studying honeybees for the first time.

The course was created after national regulations shifted in 2017, requiring beekeepers to have their hives medically treated by veterinarians.

“When we were first charged with taking care of bees, not a lot of veterinarians had experience with bees,” said Amy Franklin, a veterinarian and educator at CSU.

This year CSU launched their honeybee veterinary sciences course, helping students looking to be vets become more educated on honeybees and the threats that surround them.

“I’ve been very enamored by bees my entire life,” said Hannah Badenhop, a junior at CSU.

The students and staff come together for hands-on learning at CSU’s apiary, located south of the main campus in Fort Collins.

“Honeybee health is in decline,” Franklin said.

Badenhop is the president of the campus’s honeybee medicine club. She said she used to be scared of bees as a child but has now come to love them.

“I got stung (while studying the bees) and I barely noticed it,” Badenhop said.

The group is studying varroa mites and their impact on honeybees and their viability. The mites can be easily transferred to hives by flowers which bees are traveling back and forth from. The mites can cause the bees to lose their wings and even die.

To test their hive for the mites, the group of students suited up in protective outfits and pulled some of the bees out of their hives. Some were scooped into testing kits.

“I am taking a sample of bees we have collected. They are in rubbing alcohol, so we give them a bit of a shake here. What we are looking for are varroa mites,” Badenhop said. “If you look under here, these little red dots here are the mites which we are looking like for our honeybees.”

Badenhop said there should only be a couple mites in their sample, given the amount of bees she was testing. However, at the bottom of the testing kit appeared to be at least a dozen mites.

“For the amount of bees we have, these are way too many mites for these guys. So, they will need some treatment,” Badenhop said. Franklin said she has come to love teaching how to care for honeybees.

“When you’re working in a hive you have to be in the present moment. You have to have your eyes on the bees, listening to the bees humming and watching them. It is really special to see,” Franklin said. “This is a livestock animal that is critically important to our agriculture and to our food security.”

Badenhop said she hopes other students will see the work being done to study and care for honeybees and consider learning about them as well.

“I think they are amazing creatures. I think the more you understand them the more you can’t help but to love them,” Badenhop said.

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Shaq restores Kobe Bryant’s family car with help from auto shop

CNN Newsource on October 3, 2025

By Leticia Juarez

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    RIVERSIDE, California (KABC) — A 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser once driven by the late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant has been given new life, thanks to a heartfelt tribute organized by his former teammate, Shaquille O’Neal.

Anthony C. Hall, a longtime friend of O’Neal, said the vehicle was an old family car shared by Bryant’s parents and sisters.

“It was an old family vehicle that everyone tended to drive – Kobe’s sisters, Kobe, mom, dad, everyone drove this vehicle,” Hall said.

Over the years, the SUV fell into rough shape, taking a beating in Philadelphia winters where Bryant once lived and later baking under the Las Vegas sun. The vehicle was rusty, the seats were broken, the doors barely opened and it had no air conditioning.

O’Neal wanted to return the Land Cruiser to the Bryant family as a surprise tribute. To do it, he enlisted Riverside-based Effortless Motors, a dealership specializing in custom and exotic vehicles.

Daniel Ubario, co-owner of Effortless Motors, still recalls the moment they got the call.

“Getting that phone call still feels like we’re dreaming,” Ubario said.

His business partner, Ahmad Abdelrahman, said learning the car belonged to Kobe left him shaken.

“When he told me that was the car Kobe drove in high school, I was in shock. I was literally almost in tears,” Abdelrahman said.

O’Neal requested that the restoration be faithful to the original, no flashy upgrades, just the way Bryant drove it in 1996. But there was one more condition: the work had to be finished in just 90 days.

The deadline was timed to what would have been Bryant’s 47th birthday in August.

“He just wanted to have that day to give the family vehicle back to mom Bryant,” Hall said.

Despite the tight timeline, Effortless Motors delivered. The restored SUV was presented in person to Kobe’s mother, Pam Bryant, on her late son’s birthday.

“She was very happy that we even brought the car looking exactly the way he drove it back in high school,” Ubario said.

What was once just a family car now carries a mother’s love, a teammate’s devotion and a tribute to Kobe Bryant’s enduring legacy.

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Mom upset after teacher sang “offensive” version of “Happy Birthday” song to son

CNN Newsource on October 3, 2025

By Alyssa Dzikowski

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    POLK COUNTY, Florida (WFOR) — A Florida mother is demanding an apology from her sons elementary school after she says the teacher’s approach to celebrating her sons birthday was “offensive” rather than celebratory.

The incident happened at a Floral Avenue Elementary School in Polk County near Orlando.

Desarae Prather said the teacher sent her the video, but she didn’t find it funny. She immediately went to the school’s office.

The video showed the teacher singing to the 6-year-old boy, “Happy Birthday to you. You live in the zoo, you look like a monkey, and you smell like one too.”

Prather says there’s a history of black people being described that way which makes it extremely upsetting.

“My skin is boiling. I don’t really like racism and to know where we came from and our ancestors and for us to be labeled like that…,” Prather said.

Prather said the song hurt her son’s feelings and demanded an apology from the school, immediate disciplinary action and counseling for her child.

The Polk County Public Schools district said it’s investigating the incident.

The mother said she plans to transfer her son to another school.

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Masked 17-year-old allegedly robbed bank

CNN Newsource on October 3, 2025

By Riley Rourke

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    DUDLEY, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A teenager has been arrested after an alleged masked bank robbery on Thursday afternoon in Dudley, Massachusetts.

Dudley Police said that they received a call from Webster First Federal Credit Union on Airport Road just before 3:45 p.m. for an alleged bank robbery. After arriving at the bank, police officers said they received a “detailed description” of the suspect and began searching the area for him.

After searching for the suspect, a 17-year-old boy was taken into custody. According to the Dudley Police Department, officers recognized the teenager’s car in Dudley a short time later.

“The Dudley Police Department would also like to thank the staff at Webster First Federal Credit Union for their cooperation in providing critical information regarding the suspect and the vehicle, which led to the quick apprehension of the suspect,” Dudley Police said in a Facebook post.

Officers searched the teen’s home and found “stolen money, along with a mask, clothing, and additional evidence directly linked to the robbery.”

Police shared a photo of the mask, which resembles a man’s face.

The teenager was charged with three counts of assault and unarmed robbery. The suspect’s name has not been released due to his age. He will be arraigned in Dudley Juvenile District Court on Friday.

Additional details of the robbery have not been released.

Dudley is located on the border of Massachusetts and Connecticut. It is just under 60 miles from Boston and around 22 miles from Worcester. The population is roughly 11,300 according to the Dudley Government website.

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Five men charged for stealing oil from New Mexico and selling it in Texas

CNN Newsource on October 3, 2025

By Vince Rodriguez

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    NEW MEXICO (KOAT) — The U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged five men in a conspiracy to steal millions of dollars of crude oil from New Mexico and sell it in Texas.

The men, including an employee of Plains All American Pipeline facilities in New Mexico, allegedly used a truck to steal the oil from the company and store it in Carlsbad.

Investigators documented more than 20 truckloads over four weeks, with hundreds of barrels taken per day.

The scheme also involved fake documents and an attempt to recruit more men to assist.

All five men face charges, with two currently in custody awaiting trial.

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Santa Cruz County reinstates mask mandate in acute care facilities

CNN Newsource on October 3, 2025

By Jazmon DeJarnette

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    SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KSBW) — Santa Cruz County will require masks in acute care facilities starting November 1 due to rising respiratory viruses, with the mandate lasting until March 31. The new health order comes as county health leaders warn of increasing respiratory viruses heading into the winter season.

Respiratory virus season is approaching, prompting Santa Cruz County to reinstate masking requirements in acute care facilities.

“We were focused on making sure that people who are at highest risk for either getting respiratory infection or who would have the highest risk for getting really sick were protected,” said Lisa Hernandez, Public Health Officer for the County of Santa Cruz.

This time of year typically sees a rise in infections due to COVID-19, the flu, and RSV. While officials hope not to extend the mandate, they will if necessary.

“We may extend it, though our hope is never to extend the order. If we see that there’s still a lot of COVID or flu or RSV in the community,” Hernandez said.

In addition to masking, individuals are encouraged to protect themselves by washing their hands, covering their coughs, and getting vaccinated.

“One thing I would say is get vaccinated as well,” Hernandez said.

The California Department of Public Health has issued recommendations for COVID, flu, and RSV vaccines, and the state has expanded access to make it easier for people to get vaccinated.

For those hesitant about masking, officials emphasize the importance of community protection.

“Why do I have to do this? I’m not at risk. It’s because you’re helping other people. You’re helping your community members, especially those that are more at risk for getting really ill,” Hernandez said.

Officials urge everyone to keep themselves and others safe during this virus season.

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Wisconsin forester remembered after fatal lightning strike

CNN Newsource on October 3, 2025

By Emily Pofahl

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    KEWASKUM, Wis. (WISN) — Adam Zirbel, a 48-year-old state Department of Natural Resources forester, was killed by a lightning strike while working in the New Fane Trail area near Kewaskum on Sept. 22, leaving behind a legacy of conservation and community service.

Lucas Schmidt, who worked with Zirbel, reflected on his colleague’s dedication to preserving Wisconsin’s natural beauty and his impact on the community.

“What we do today isn’t for today. It’s for tomorrow,” Schmidt said.

Zirbel, a forester for more than two decades, worked across the state before settling in Plymouth with his wife and three children. While committed to his work, Schmidt said Zirbel was even more committed to his family, making sure to attend his children’s sports games and spending quality time with his wife.

“Growing his children or growing his relationship with his wife was equally as important as growing those trees,” Schmidt said.

Zirbel spent most of his time over the last eight years in the DNR working in the northern unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, contributing to the preservation and growth of the woods that thousands of Wisconsinites enjoy annually. Zirbel also responded to emergencies, including natural disasters and search and rescue events, as part of the DNR’s incident management team.

“We think in terms of decades and centuries. Most of the time in today’s day and age, we think in terms of minutes and hours.” Schmidt said. “Adam really embodied that. Not only was he growing the next crop of trees, he was growing the next crop of foresters that would tend to his work after, you know, when he was gone.”

The National Weather Service says lightning kills about 20 people every year but injures hundreds more.

“Although extremely rare, this case illustrates the need to take the threat of lightning and the dangers it poses seriously,” said the Washington County Sheriff’s office in a statement posted to social media. “Adam dedicated his life to the service of others as a father, husband, community leader, and DNR forester. We are better off because of Adam’s contributions to society, and he will be missed by many. He died performing a civil service to the people of Wisconsin, and for that, we are all forever grateful for his service.”

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Tulsa officer busts a move responding to noise complaint

CNN Newsource on October 3, 2025

By Josh Wallace

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    TULSA, Okla. (KOCO) — A Tulsa officer showed off his best moves after responding to a noise complaint at a recent gathering.

Tulsa police officials said at about 9 p.m. on Sept. 27, police received a noise complaint from a caller who complained “her neighbors had been playing loud music all day,” according to a social media post.

It being the second time officers were called out to the home, Tulsa Police Department Officer Greene issued a nuisance sound citation, but while he was still at the gathering, he decided to get into the groove and bust a move.

“The people out there appreciated his style, and also agreed to turn down the music,” Tulsa Police Department officials said. “Nice moves, Officer Greene!”

After dancing for a few minutes and entertaining those at the home, they agreed to turn down the music and officer Greene was back on the beat. So far, the video has more than 500,000 views on Facebook.

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