Author: CNN Newsource

By Derek Bryant

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    ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — For nearly three decades, Asheville has been home to glassblower and lampworker Jason Probstein, an artist whose hands have shaped thousands of ornaments, nightlights, vases and delicate glass vessels that end up in homes and galleries across the country.

Probstein has been working with glass for 30 years, perfecting a process that merges technique, intuition and what he calls “dancing with the glass.”

His studio is filled with tubes of Pyrex, a material he mastered during his early training as a chemistry glassblower. Instead of sticking to laboratory work, he transformed those skills into a career creating art — precision meeting imagination.

“I do my work in stages,” Probstein said. “We color the tube with the color of glass. Once that tube is colored, I can shape the glass by blowing and pushing as I’m melting it in the fire. From that blowing and pulling, I can get a variety of different shapes.”

Watching him work is like watching choreography. He heats a glowing ball of glass, twists it and feels its temperature through the movement of his hands. As it cools, he blows into the tube, expanding it like a shimmering balloon before shaping it into ornaments, vases, or the playful curls he describes as “the tail of a pig.”

Probstein produces around 1,000 Christmas ornaments each year, constantly experimenting with new shapes, color patterns, and designs. While many hang from holiday trees, others catch sunlight in windows year-round. “Sometimes I say they’re for the window. Sometimes for the tree. It depends on the person and the colors,” he said.

His palettes range from classic Christmas hues to rainbows and soft pastels.

Because he sells primarily to galleries and museums nationwide, consistency is key. His scientific background gives him the rare ability to replicate designs with precision while ensuring each piece still carries its own unique flare.

“They want to know they’re receiving a consistent product,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons I’m successful wholesaling — every piece is unique, but still similar.”

Despite the technical mastery, Probstein says the heart of his work lies in the connection it builds.

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 Kathryn Merck

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    WATERTOWN, Wisconsin (WDJT) — The loved ones of a 35-year-old man killed in an alleged drunk driving hit-and-run crash will be mourning this Christmas.

Family members of Cole Strobusch say he was a devoted husband and father of 3 young children: a 6-year-old, a 4-year-old and a 1-year-old.

Joseph Newton, Strobusch’s nephew, said he was a wonderful father and life of the party.

“For as long as I can remember, he’s always been my best friend,” Newton said. “Words can not describe how much he loves these kids, and his wife.”

According to the latest update from the Watertown Police Department, Strobusch was hit around 12:40 a.m. on Main Street. He died from his injuries.

Police say the registered owner of the pickup truck that hit Strohbusch in the crash, a 54-year-old man, was later found at his home. He has been arrested and charged with Homicide by Intoxicated Use of a Vehicle and Hit and Run Causing Death.

Megan Strohbusch, Cole Strobusch’s wife, says she is filled with gratitude for the people reaching out asking to support her family during this difficult time.

“The kids and I will just miss their dad, dearly,” Megan Strohbusch said. “I feel loved. I did not know this many people actually cared about Cole and I, and our children, and the rest of the family. So, that feels great.”

For those who wish to do so, donations may be dropped off at the following locations:

Sips on Main

313 E. Main Street, Watertown Hours this week: Monday–Wednesday, 7:00 AM–2:00 PM Accepted: Cash, check, Venmo

The Bridge Nutrition

134 E. Madison Street, Waterloo Hours this week:

• Monday–Wednesday, 6:00 AM–12:00 PM

• Tuesday evening, 4:00–7:00 PM

Donations can also be sent on Venmo to @Megan-Strohbusch

DJ Dorn, the owner of The Bridge Nutrition, says she’s known Megan Strobusch since they played softball together when they were young. She said Cole Strobusch was an active father, who even coached youth sports in the area.

“I found out and instantly was just like heartbroken,” Dorn said. “It’s never a good time to lose someone, but definitely around the holidays, when it’s supposed to be happy and joyous and all of that, just trying to really trying to spirit up for them.”

Her business has already received donations of Christmas toys and financial donations for the family.

“It gives me hope,” Newton said. It makes me happy knowing there are people who want to help families in need. We are a family in need.”

Police say the case remains active and open.

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 Christopher Harris

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    DEKALB COUNTY, Georgia (WUPA) — The manhunt for three Georgia inmates who escaped from the DeKalb County Jail is over, and the community is safe again, Sheriff Melody Maddox announced Tuesday after all three men were captured in Florida.

Standing alongside local, state, and federal law enforcement leaders, Maddox said the inmates were taken into custody without incident following a coordinated, multi-agency search that stretched from metro Atlanta to South Florida.

“The streets of DeKalb County are once again safe,” Maddox said. “That is because of the swift action of law enforcement. This will not be tolerated, and we will continue to fight to make sure our families, friends, and loved ones are protected.”

Who are the DeKalb County Jail inmates who escaped? The three inmates, Stevenson Charles, Yusuf Minor, and Naod Yohannes, escaped from the DeKalb County Jail late Sunday night. The escape was discovered during a routine check when a deputy found that a portion of a jail cell had been compromised, according to Chief Deputy Temetris Atkins.

Charles, 24, was being held on murder and armed robbery charges and is serving a federal life sentence. Minor, 31, faces two counts of armed robbery and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Yohannes, 25, is charged with simple assault, arson, and unlawful acts of violence in a penal institution.

Atkins said the jail, which is more than 30 years old, has aging infrastructure that inmates were able to exploit. He declined to provide specific details about how the escape occurred, citing security concerns, but said repairs have already been made and additional safeguards are being evaluated.

The U.S. Marshals Service took the lead in tracking down Charles, while a regional task force focused on the other two inmates. Marshals said intelligence gathered from recorded jail phone calls helped investigators identify people who assisted the escape.

Georgia inmates took a Lyft to Miami

Authorities said the inmates were picked up outside the jail, taken to Minor’s girlfriend’s home, and later transported by a rideshare driver to Florida. Using investigative tools, marshals tracked their movements and arrested all three in the Miami metropolitan area.

“This case worked because of strong partnerships between local, state, and federal law enforcement,” said U.S. Marshal Thomas Brown of the Northern District of Georgia.

The rideshare driver involved is being interviewed by the FBI as part of the ongoing investigation, officials said.

Sheriff Maddox emphasized that while the escape was a serious breach, her office acted immediately and will continue pushing for improvements at the jail facility.

“We know it’s going to cost money,” Maddox said. “But we either pay now, or we pay later.”

Officials said no one was harmed during the escape, and the investigation into how it happened remains active. The three inmates are expected to be returned to Georgia to face their pending charges.

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 Matthew Rodriguez

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    SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (KCAL, KCBS) — Holiday travelers can expect wet roads as another storm approaches Southern California.

With Hanukkah underway and Christmas approaching, CBS LA upgraded its initial Next Weather Watch to a Next Weather Alert for Tuesday and Wednesday. The Next Weather Watch will remain in effect for Thursday, Dec. 25, but may be upgraded on Saturday.

The advisories are in place for all communities in Southern California. The rain will be heavy at times on Tuesday and will put pressure on burn scars in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties.

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 DeJanay Booth-Singleton

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    DETROIT (WWJ) — A package of bills aimed at cracking down on ticket bots in Michigan is heading to the governor’s office.

The “Taylor Swift” bill package, which includes House Bills 4262 and 4263, authorizes the Michigan attorney general to pursue action against anyone using ticket bots. The individual would be subject to a penalty of up to $5,000 per ticket that was fraudulently claimed.

Additionally, Senate Bill 158 would create the Event Online Ticket Sales Act to regulate online ticket sales for entertainment events to prevent bots from taking over the purchases.

The bills are tie-barred, meaning that they would not become law without the other.

HBs 4262 and 4263 were initially passed by the House in June before they were sent to the Senate for a vote. It went back to the House for a final vote and will now head to Gov. Whitmer’s desk.

“These scams have turned buying tickets into a rigged game,” said state Rep. Mike Harris, R-Waterford, who sponsored the bill. “Fans shouldn’t need insider tricks or outrageous budgets just to enjoy a concert or a ballgame. This legislation restores fairness and makes sure ticket sales aren’t decided by bots playing ‘mastermind’ behind the scenes.”

The bills come after the 2022 Eras Tour ticket sale fiasco. Ticketmaster, which sold most of the tickets, was sued by fans for its mishandling of ticket sales, prompting an investigation by the Justice Department. The platform blamed a massive bot attack for crashing its website when the tour ticket presale launched in November 2022, resulting in the company temporarily suspending sales.

Since then, Michigan lawmakers have been proposing bills to regulate online ticket sales in the state. In 2024, the House passed House Bills 5661 and 5662; however, the bills did not move any further. Those bills were reintroduced in 2025 as Senate Bills 158 and 159.

“For too many families, trying to buy tickets has felt like a ‘cruel summer’,” Harris said. “You refresh the page, watch prices climb, and realize the system was never built for you. This legislation helps make ticket buying ‘fearless’ again.”

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 Jeff Wagner

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    MINNESOTA (WCCO) — Snowboarding can be tricky, especially if your board is designed for something else. It’s a challenge 11-year-old Mickey Watkins embraces as he tries to stand on a plastic tote bin lid while sliding down a small but precarious hill near his home.

“It does not work,” he said with a frustrated smile after another failed attempt nearly sent him falling.

The tattered, flimsy lid is all he has to work with, along with the desire to emulate what the pros showed him last winter.

“He just gravitated towards us and started hanging out and watching the guys snowboard,” Mike Yoshida, a professional photographer, said. He’s traveled the world capturing incredible shots of snowboarders shredding mountainsides and soaring between manmade structures.

One stop included north Minneapolis back in February. Yoshida was there for a photoshoot that involved snowboarders doing tricks along a set of stairs and railing next to an apartment complex. Watkins, ever curious and never shy, was their up-close audience. He then grabbed a nearby tote bin lid and showed them his style of urban snowboarding. Yoshida happily snapped a photo of Watkins sliding down the hill.

“It’s cool to be able to see his face,” said Yoshida of Watkins’ picture. “In snowboard photos, a lot of times people are wearing goggles and are covered up.”

But not in this picture, as Watkins’ eyes and smile reveal emotions snowboarders know well: a blend of excitement and apprehension as the “board” starts to slide.

“I think pretty much any snowboarder can relate to, like, that first time they stood up and just slid down. It’s a very simple process, but it just feels so good,” Colin Wiseman said. He’s the content director for The Snowboarder’s Journal.

The monthly publication dives into the culture of sport. Photos that make an issue’s cover are often a mix of majestic settings and exhilarating stunts.

But for December’s issue, he wanted to go in a different direction. Wiseman’s team decided Yoshida’s picture of Watkins would grace the cover.

“It was a bit of an ongoing discussion because it does break the mold. And I don’t know, I just felt that one in my gut. In my heart, I was just like, ‘This one just feels good.'” said Wiseman. “Thankfully, people reacted to it the same way as me.”

The journal posted a picture of the cover featuring Watkins on Instagram, leading to a flood of comments praising their decision, some calling it their best cover yet.

It even caught Yoshida off guard. Watkins’ photo wasn’t part of his initial submission to the journal, just one he posted to his personal Instagram. Wiseman saw Yoshida’s post and requested he take the photo down so the journal could potentially use it in the future. Now, it’s capturing the hearts of the snowboarding community far and wide.

“I want to say this is probably one of the more important photos that I’ve ever shot because of the places it’s going and the attention it’s getting in a positive manner,” Yoshida said.

Watkins’ mom, Bathsheba Burks, learned of her son’s newfound fame through social media as the cover photo was getting shared in local Facebook groups. She somewhat remembers her son talking about how he was hanging out with snowboarders last winter, but didn’t think much of it at the time. She’s proud of what that interaction and picture has led to for her son.

Wiseman’s team sent Watkins a package loaded with The Snowboarder’s Journal swag and several copies of Watkins’ issue.

“That’s amazing. He should cherish that. He’s going to cherish it,” Burks said.

Watkins said he had fun flipping through the issue’s pages, marveling at the snowboarders pulling off thrilling jumps.

But it’s the image of a kid smiling on the cover with nothing but a tote bin lid that Wiseman hopes will inspire others to give the sport a try.

“I hope it sends that message that snowboarding is for everyone, and you don’t have to be doing it in some far-off exotic place. Just grab what you can and slide down a hill,” Wiseman 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 S.E. Jenkins

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    TEXAS (KTVT) — A man in his 70s died trying to rescue his wife from a fire in their Dallas home on Monday afternoon, officials said.

Just before noon, Dallas Fire-Rescue crews were called to the 1200 block of Whispering Trail, where a mailman had called 911 to report a house fire.

Firefighters saw smoke and fire coming from the home when they arrived, and the mailman told them that people were still inside.

Crews were able to put out the fire and rescued a woman in her 70s from a bedroom near the front of the house, Dallas Fire-Rescue said. Firefighters also pulled the woman’s unresponsive husband from inside the house. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Dallas Fire-Rescue said the fire began in the back of the home, and the husband went back inside to try to rescue his wife when he was overcome by smoke and died.

The cause of the fire will be listed as undetermined pending the final ruling from the ME’s Office on the victim’s cause of death, Dallas Fire-Rescue 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 Jeramie Bizzle, Jermont Terry

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — As the cta says it’s ramping up safety protocols on buses and trains, following a string of violent attacks, the family of a man brutally beaten on a bus is speaking out.

Larry Gilkey, 62, was badly hurt after being attacked by three teens on a bus on the West Side. Two of those teens were charged on Monday night.

Gilkey spent days in a medically induced coma with severe bleeding in his brain. Injuries from when three teens attacked and robbed him on the Chicago Transit Authority bus. His family said their loved one is in the hospital only after he tried helping one of the teens who targeted him.

For nearly a week, Gilkey could not speak as doctors tried to reduce internal bleeding in his head.

“He’s one of the people who taught me everything I know,” said Tavarris Harvey, nephew.

Harvey couldn’t believe the call he received to rush to the emergency room.

“My uncle Terry called me, which is Larry’s identical twin brother. He called me hysterically crying and could barely explain what was going on,” he said.

Harvey arrived to find one uncle standing at the bedside of his twin.

“I just see him connected to all types of machines,” he said.

Chicago police would later tell him three teenagers viciously attacked his loving uncle while on a CTA bus along Cicero and Flournoy in West Garfield Park.

One of three teens asked for money to get on the bus, and just as Gilkey pulled out his wallet to help out, the other two jumped the 62-year-old.

“I feel like it was a setup, just the bait and switch to see if a person actually has some money on them,” Harvey said.

The teen either stomped his uncle in the head or his head hit an object during the attack, resulting in Gilkey being taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital in a coma for nearly a week.

Two of those teens in the attack were charged on Monday night.

A boy and a girl, both 15, were charged with felony counts of aggravated battery to a transit employee, aggravated battery to a person over 60, and aggravated battery with great bodily harm to a person over 60.

The girl was also charged with attempting to steal a vehicle on Dec. 21, in the 5600 block of West Bloomingdale Avenue, according to police.

Charges are still pending for a third person from the incident, police said.

“They should be held accountable. It shouldn’t be any break, they should be treated like adults,” Harvey said.

The family set up a GoFundMe to help with mounting medical bills just days before the holidays.

“He has a long way to go, and he’s gonna need extra care at home,” Harvey said.

Gilkey is out of that coma, and I’m told he gave thumbs up and a smile when told about the arrest.

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By Sara Tenenbaum

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    ILLINOIS (WBBM) — Some brands of frozen shrimp sold at Illinois Jewel-Osco stores are being recalled because of possible exposure to a radioactive contaminant.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Direct Source Seafood LLC in Bellevue, Washington, issued the recall Friday for approximately 83,800 bags of frozen raw shrimp imported from Indonesia. The shrimp, which was sold under the Market 32 and Waterfront Bistro brands, may have been prepared, packed or held in unsanitary conditions in which they may have been contaminated by cesium-137.

Cesium-137, or Cs-137, is a manmade radioisotope of cesium. While its presence in trace amounts is widespread, it can also be present at higher levels in water or foods grown, raised or produced in areas that have environmental contamination, the FDA said. Over time, longer term repeated low-dose exposure to Cs-137 could increase the risk of cancer.

The shrimp sold in Illinois were sold under the Waterfront Bistro brand, at Jewel-Osco stores on or after June 30, 2025.

The FDA said no illnesses have yet been reported. If you have any of the recalled shrimp, you should dispose of it or return it to the store from which you purchased the shrimp for a refund. The FDA warns not to consume this product.

Earlier this year, Walmart recalled Great Value shrimp after warnings it too may have been contaminated with Cs-137.

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.