Vandalism against a Trump banner turns to gunfire at a Nantahala Gorge business

CNN Newsource on September 18, 2025

By Elijah Skipper

Click here for updates on this story

    SWAIN COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — What began as vandalism outside a rafting company in the Nantahala Gorge escalated into gunfire, according to the Swain County Sheriff’s Office and the business owner who caught the incident on camera.

On Sept. 6, deputies were dispatched around 5:52 p.m. to the Paddle Inn Rafting Company on Highway 19 West for reports of shots fired. Sheriff Brian Kirkland said a deputy responded but did not see the suspect vehicle at the scene. Days later, investigators became aware of a video of the confrontation that was published on YouTube.

Owner Mark Thomas told News 13 he was watching his CCTV cameras when he saw a Jeep slam on its brakes and back up near his property. He said the driver got out, walked across the road, and tore down a Trump banner belonging to his 87-year-old mother.

“I got it up the screen and I’m like, okay, what’s this clown doing?” Thomas said. “And when he got a grip on it that first time he pulled the sign, I was like, I shouldn’t have waited. I could have saved mom’s sign.”

Thomas said he stepped onto his porch with a rifle but did not aim at the suspect. “I don’t want to kill anybody. My life has got to be in threat. I fired two shots in the air,” he added.

According to Thomas, the man in the Jeep fired back several rounds from the road. At one point, Thomas said he heard at least five or six more shots while he was on the phone with 911.

“Who in the world would be psycho enough to come back to a Trump supporter on a porch with a rifle?” Thomas said.

Despite what happened, Thomas said he is not looking for revenge.

“I don’t want to see him get 20 years in jail, but I want him to have some time to think a mark that he carries with him that reminds him I did some stupid stuff when I was young, and the opportunity to make it right, to live a normal life, be a productive citizen,” Thomas said.

Sheriff Kirkland confirmed to News 13 that the vehicle involved has been identified. “We are currently conducting a criminal investigation regarding this incident,” Kirkland said. “The vehicle involved has been identified, and we are coordinating with multiple law enforcement agencies to effectively bring this investigation to a close.”

Please note: 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.

Ice cream shop tests new cocoa as shortage drives up costs

CNN Newsource on September 18, 2025

By Maria Sarrouh

Click here for updates on this story

    CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. (CTV Network) — The global cocoa shortage has hit a Prince Edward Island ice-cream shop, jeopardizing a fan favourite.

Holman’s Ice Cream Parlour in Summerside, P.E.I. is testing new cocoa powders after its go-to was taken off the shelves amid a global shortage, owner Daniel Meister says.

The shop has backup batches in the freezer while it searches for the right replacement with similar fat content, pH and colour. Alternatives exist, but some cost up to four times more than before.

“We wouldn’t dare take chocolate ice cream out of the lineup. It’s a very, very popular flavour,” Meister said. “It’s a staple… it’s not really something we can take off the menu.”

Holman’s previously paid $9.99 for 700 grams. Over the last couple of years, that rose to $20. But the shop needs much bigger quantities. One product they’re testing goes for $600 for a 20-kilogram bag. Meister says that bag might cover five or six batches.

“It makes a significant difference in our cost,” he said. “Can we find something that matches the quality that we’re expecting while also not bankrupting ourselves or having to pass on that cost to our customers?”

Holman’s isn’t alone, Meister says. Recently, another business in the area couldn’t find cocoa and posted on social media asking for a supplier. The Holman’s team ran over with a few packages they had in store to tide them over.The math matters even more for small businesses managing their margins. Holman’s raised prices by $1 across the board earlier this year and hopes to keep them steady next.

Cocoa costs have surged since late 2023 due to production challenges in countries including Ghana and the Ivory Coast, which experts link to climate change.

Some companies have cut cocoa-related products altogether, says food expert Sylvain Charlebois, a visiting scholar at McGill University’s Faculty of Agriculture.

“They knew they couldn’t sell some of these products at a higher price, essentially. So, they stopped carrying some of these products,” Charlebois said.

His advice to businesses and manufacturers across the Maritimes and the country is not to rely on a single source. Instead, he said it’s safer to have a few suppliers for important ingredients.

“I wish I could say that there is some good news, but it’s quite problematic,” Charlebois said. “The same is happening with coffee…prices are way up.”

Holman’s is known for making more than 100 handcrafted flavours, with 16 on the daily rotation. The shop says that while some recipes may shift, the standard won’t.

Please note: 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.

ctvnews.caproducers@bellmedia.ca
416 384 7070

What Prime Minister Mark Carney’s meeting with Mexico’s president could mean for North American trade

CNN Newsource on September 18, 2025

By Judy Trinh

Click here for updates on this story

    OTTAWA (CTV Network) — Prime Minister Mark Carney is embarking on a pivotal meeting with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday, just as the United States officially launches the process to review the North American trade agreement.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will seek public comments on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) over 45 days and has scheduled a public hearing in November.

Public consultation is required by law and is a clear sign that the Trump administration is preparing to renegotiate, not just review, the trilateral agreement, says Eric Miller, president of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group.

“They’re trying to get stakeholders a list of all the things they have concerns about. It doesn’t mean all of them become priorities, but they’re starting with a big list and are going to shrink it down to a smaller list,” said Miller, whose client list includes Canadian exporters.

Under the current agreement, Canada’s trade with the U.S. is 85 per cent tariff free, but that could change when CUSMA expires next June.

“Donald Trump doesn’t have a commitment to a bigger vision of North American collaboration,” Miller said.

Diversifying trade with Mexico

Squeezed by Trump’s sectoral tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos, Canada’s GDP shrunk by 1.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2025.

It’s under this pressure that Carney is meeting with Sheinbaum to strengthen their bilateral relationship and increase trade.

Mexico is Canada’s third biggest trading partner and last year, the two countries did $56 billion in imports and exports.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Minister Dominic LeBlanc, the government’s point person for U.S. trade negotiations, will also be part of the meetings in Mexico City.

Ahead of the prime minister’s 36-hour whirlwind trip, senior government officials told reporters in a briefing that Carney and Sheinbaum will hold one-on-one meetings, followed by a working lunch with their cabinet ministers and secretaries.

A new strategic partnership will be signed that would include commitments for more frequent high-level contact between the two governments.

Other than in June, when Carney met with Sheinbaum on the margins of the G7, the last time there was an official meeting between the leaders of Canada and Mexico without the U.S. was in 2017.

The prime minister will also visit a train terminal to watch Canadian Pacific Railway offload a delivery of Canadian wheat, and host a reception to connect business leaders from both countries.

‘Aligning’ interests Goldy Hyder, CEO of the Business Council of Canada, says the government needs to use the meeting to better position itself for the CUSMA review by working “in tandem with Mexico to align” interests.

Hyder says Canada also needs to pitch itself as an “investment destination” for mining and energy, as well as for developing port infrastructure.

According to John Boscariol, who leads the International Trade and Investment Law Group at McCarthy Tetrault, Canada only represents five per cent of Mexico’s international trade.

As Canada looks to diversify its trade, Boscariol says Mexico is the “natural next best trading partner to the United States.”

Boscariol sees an opportunity for Canada to sell more auto parts to Mexico, along with agricultural products such as potash.

Co-operation vs. competition

But the two countries cannot replace the U.S. with each other.

Duncan Wood, with Washington-based Hurst International Consulting, has researched Mexican trade and supply chains. Wood says as CUSMA negotiations progress, tensions between the two smaller partners could increase.

“I find it very difficult to imagine how the two countries are going to find a lot of common ground. There’s so much pressure right now pushing them away from each other as each one tries to secure preferential treatment from Washington.”

Wood says Carney and Sheinbaum need to discuss aligning their policies on China if they want a stronger position when CUSMA is renegotiated.

“The big thing that matters in Washington is if you can show how Mexico and Canada can help with the United States’ geopolitical competition with China.”

Please note: 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.

ctvnews.caproducers@bellmedia.ca
416 384 7070

Mother of child raped, beaten arrested; boyfriend already behind bars

CNN Newsource on September 18, 2025

By Web Staff

Click here for updates on this story

    SHREVEPORT, Louisiana (KTBS) — The mother of a young child who investigators say was raped and beaten nearly to death last month is now behind bars — along with her boyfriend who was previously accused in the crime.

Caddo Parish sheriff’s investigators arrested Shea Upshaw, 31, Wednesday on charges of accessory after the fact and obstruction of justice. She was arrested in Bossier Parish and booked into the Caddo Correctional Center. No bond is set.

Already in custody is Lucas Logan, 31, of Stonewall. He’s held in CCC on charges of first-degree rape, attempted first-murder, 16 counts of production of pornography involving juveniles and molestation of a juvenile.

Logan was arrested on Aug. 2 after deputies, who responded to a sexual assault complaint, found a nearly lifeless six-year-old child in a home on Farmridge Road in Keithville.

Deputies said the child had been sexually assaulted and suffered what was described as life-threatening injuries.

Logan was identified as the suspect in the child’s injuries.

Upshaw was interviewed multiple times during the investigation. She confessed to lying to protect Lucas, the sheriff’s office said, by cleaning and removing evidence related to the crime.

Caddo District Judge Chris Victory signed an arrest warrant for Upshaw on Sept. 10.

Please note: 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.

50,000 pounds of marine debris sorted for science

CNN Newsource on September 18, 2025

By Kimber Collins

Click here for updates on this story

    KAILUA, Hawaii (KITV) — Inside a Windward Oʻahu warehouse, piles of trash cover the floor, fishing nets, oyster spacers, toothbrushes, toys, even mannequin heads and duck decoys.

It may look like garbage, but to scientists and volunteers, it’s valuable data.

“We have this incredible team that’s here that is sorting it all out and categorizing it by piece so that we can better understand what it is that shows up on our coastlines,” said Rafael Bergstrom, Sustainable Coastlines Hawaiʻi Executive Director.

Volunteers carefully dump debris, sift through the piles, and place each item into labeled bins. Some items come with unexpected surprises.

Sarah Jeanne Royer with The Ocean Cleanup pointed out a plastic bottle covered in clear bite marks.

“This bottle is really interesting because we can clearly see the bite marks,” Royer said.

Every piece is weighed, recorded, and logged into a global database to help researchers pinpoint the sources of marine debris.

This effort is part of Marine Debris Catch Analysis Volunteer Week, where Sustainable Coastlines Hawaiʻi (SCH) joined forces with The Ocean Cleanup and the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project (PMDP).

Together, they are processing debris collected from Laysan Island and Kalaupapa.

“It comes from Asia, the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, even all the way down to the equatorial region,” explained James Morioka, Executive Director of the PMDP.

According to SCH, 60% of the debris comes from commercial fishing vessels. The rest is man-made trash that has drifted across the Pacific.

This batch of debris alone weighed in at 50,000 pounds, but experts warn it’s just a small fraction of what the ocean holds.

“Our lifestyles, our world, is contributing this much plastic to the oceans, which has detrimental effects, from how it affects the animals in the ocean to how it affects us as we breathe in all of this plastic, or ingest the plastic,” Bergstrom said.

Every year, an estimated 115,000 pounds of marine debris accumulate in Papahānaumokuākea, according to Morioka.

“Our goal is to remove two years’ worth, we set our to catch up and keep up essentially. ” he added.

The debris doesn’t just end with cleanup. Researchers analyze the data and publish scientific papers that influence global decision-making.

“Once we analyze everything, this is to understand the main goal: where are these debris coming from, how they’ve been sitting out there. And then the idea is to use that scientific paper to have the large policy makers reading that and designing better laws to stop that pollution from the source,” said Royer.

After analysis, the debris is recycled, repurposed or incinerated, ensuring none of it returns to the ocean.

For Sustainable Coastlines Hawaiʻi, this work builds on a mission years in the making. The nonprofit has already removed more than 750,000 pounds of debris from Hawaiʻi’s shores, reached 55,000 students with educational programs, and mobilized 50,000 volunteers.

While the mountain of debris can feel overwhelming, organizers said efforts like these prove that solutions begin with understanding, and every piece of trash tells a story.

Please note: 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.

‘We can’t control the city’: Family and football coach hoping for change after 11-year-old shot and killed

CNN Newsource on September 18, 2025

By Jacob Murphy

Click here for updates on this story

    MILWAUKEE (WDJT) — On Tuesday night, 11-year-old Deon Sargent was shot near the corner of 68th and Silver Spring and later died at the hospital.

According to Milwaukee police, a 13-year-old was arrested in connection to the shooting.

“At such a young age, a lot of lives are now changed, and these are children, they had their whole lives ahead of them,” Deon’s grandma, Kelli Thomas, said.

Thomas was one of several family members at a vigil Wednesday night, where the family was joined by football teammates and coaches.

“We try to avoid these situations the best we can,” CLE Panthers football coach Corey Collins said. “We can’t control the city.”

Collins was Deon’s 9U coach and won a championship with him. He said Deon was a leader on the field, which is part of the reason why friends and family called him “Mister.”

“That could have progressed all the way to college, to the NFL, somewhere, with the way his passion was for the sport. And it’s just sad to hear at 11 years old that’s just gone now,” Collins said.

Collins says the last 24 hours for the family have been filled with chaos and tears and hopes other families don’t have to go through the same pain.

“We have to be careful what our children are exposed to, we have to be careful of what they see, we have to be careful of who we have them around and the examples we are setting in front of our children,” Collins said. “They are sponges, they pick up everything.”

Please note: 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.

Detroit siblings preserve father’s legacy with Black media archive

CNN Newsource on September 18, 2025

By Lauren Winfrey

Click here for updates on this story

    DETROIT, Michigan (WWJ) — Two Detroit siblings are working to preserve and share their late father’s life’s work: tens of thousands of historic artifacts tied to Black media and entertainment.

James Wheeler, who moved to Detroit from Arkansas during the Great Migration in 1958, spent decades collecting film posters, photographs, and memorabilia. That lifelong passion is now the foundation of The Black Canon, a nonprofit launched by his children, Alima Wheeler-Trapp and Ali Wheeler.

“The Black Canon is basically my father’s life work,” Wheeler-Trapp said. “If we don’t preserve these artifacts, they could actually be lost.”

While other kids collected baseball gloves or cards, James Wheeler collected film posters and artifacts, building what his children say is a “crazy collection” of more than 40,000 pieces.

“Personally, it’s extremely meaningful,” Ali Wheeler said. “He spent more than half of his life collecting these items.”

The collection represents one of the largest archives of Black film and media. It includes rare photographs, scripts and posters from a century of Black artistry.

“A lot of this information, people just don’t know about,” Wheeler-Trapp said. “People don’t know that there were 350 to 400 race films with all-Black casts, Black directors, [and] Black producers showing Black people in a positive light.”

The siblings say continuing their father’s work is not only a way to honor him but also a source of pride.

“I think of [what] my father did to persevere and collect this, and what me and my sister are doing right now, and that’s what makes me ‘Detroit Proud,'” Ali said.

The Black Canon will be featured in “Portraits and Power,” an exhibition happening on Oct. 4 at the Detroit Historical Museum.

For more information, visit The Black Canon’s website.

Please note: 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.

Police release video of July stabbing on Albuquerque bus

CNN Newsource on September 17, 2025

By Hamilton Kahn

Click here for updates on this story

    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KOAT) — KOAT has received body cam video and surveillance video from the Albuquerque Police Department that appears to show Davis Gabaldon, a city bus driver, allegedly stabbing a man to death on July 9.

Police say it started early that morning when Raymond Coan begins arguing with Gabaldon, accusing him of being late. Soon after, Gabaldon stops and says, “We’re not going anywhere until he gets off the bus.”

A few minutes pass, then Coan addresses Gabaldon.

Coan: “What you’re saying to the rest of us in here, sit down and shut up. That’s not the best (expletive) thing to say.”

Gabaldon: “So what do you want me to say? Do you come in and talk (expletive) to me every day?”

Coan: “No.”

Gabaldon: “Then you come in here and you shut up, don’t you? You come in here and get quiet, don’t you?”

The two men start fighting, and Gabaldon again asks Coan to get off the bus. The fight continues, and police say that’s when Gabaldon allegedly stabs Coan.

Witnesses told police that before the fight, Coan took a knife of his own out of his backpack.

Gabaldon is pleading not guilty to first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and criminal damage to property.

Please note: 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.

Parents arrested for allegedly beating their infant daughter

CNN Newsource on September 17, 2025

By Corey Howard

Click here for updates on this story

    ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) — The parents, Jessica Bruseulas and Johnathan Castillo, are now behind bars in Albuquerque, facing multiple charges, including child abuse resulting in great bodily harm.

According to court documents, law enforcement is uncertain if the child will survive, as she was exposed to narcotics and beaten numerous times. Medical personnel informed investigators that the infant sustained multiple brain hemorrhages, a fractured skull, and bruising to her head.

They also said the child was in critical condition and not expected to survive the night.

“Just a horrific story of a young infant whose life has been marked by incredibly horrifying physical abuse,” John Day, KOAT legal expert and a former prosecutor, said.

Bruseulas told detectives that her boyfriend, Castillo, often used fentanyl and meth and became extremely violent while on drugs. She said Castillo would strike the infant with a closed fist for making noises, a pattern of abuse that began when the child was just two months old.

“Right now, at least the charges pending are looking at a range of sentencing from six years up to 18 years, depending on other charges,” a source said.

The court documents reveal that Bruseulas attempted to stop Castillo, but he would attack her. When investigators asked why she didn’t reach out to police, she said she was terrified.

“Was there nobody else in this child’s life that saw this going on and couldn’t step in to intervene?” Day questioned. “And you’ve got, in this case, both the mother and the father charged, the mother charged particularly with failing to report child abuse on the theory that she let this occur and didn’t do anything to stop it.”

The initial court appearance for Bruseulas and Castillo has not been set yet.

Please note: 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.

2 men reportedly wearing cable company vests broke in, threatened family in Independence home

CNN Newsource on September 17, 2025

By Krista Tatschl

Click here for updates on this story

    INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (KETV) — An Independence, Missouri, family said their home was invaded and they were threatened by masked intruders with a gun.

A 78-year-old resident of the home said he heard pounding on the door of his home around midnight Sunday into Monday.

When he opened the door, two men wearing bandanas on their faces and Spectrum vests rushed in, pistol-whipping the man in the face, the family said.

The masked intruders allegedly kicked down the door to his adult daughter’s bedroom and put a gun to her head, demanding money. When the intruders saw her husband, who ran in when he heard the commotion, the men allegedly began shooting.

Fortunately, no one was shot, the family said. The intruders got away with credit cards and have not yet been caught.

The Independence Police Department confirmed an incident occurred but said a full report with more specific details was not yet available.

“At this time, we have no indication that Spectrum employees were involved,” Spectrum said in a statement.

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to report it to the Independence Police Department.

Please note: 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.