Man beheaded in machete attack at motel, witness says; suspect in police custody

By Steven Rosenbaum

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    DALLAS, Texas (KTVT) — Dallas police responded to a deadly incident at a motel east of Downtown Wednesday morning.

Numerous police units and paramedics responded to the Downtown Suites on Samuell Boulevard around 9:30 a.m.

The Dallas Police Department said a suspect cut the victim, identified as 50-year-old Chandra Nagamallaiah, “with an edged weapon several times,” and paramedics pronounced the victim dead at the scene.

Police said a suspect, Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, 37, is in custody and charged with capital murder. In addition to that charge, he has an immigration hold for allegedly being in the U.S. without authorization, according to Dallas County Jail records.

A witness told CBS News Texas reporter Briseida Holguin that Nagamallaiah and Cobos-Martinez were both employees of the motel. The witness said the suspect chased the victim with a machete, hit him multiple times and then cut off his head.

Video from the CBS News Texas Chopper showed a body and a trail of blood outside of a room on the motel’s ground floor.

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One person taken to hospital from the scene of a house fire

By Paula Wethington, Heath Kalb

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    MACOMB COUNTY, Michigan (WWJ) — At least one person was injured in the aftermath of a house fire on Wednesday morning in Macomb County, Michigan.

The fire was in the 48000 block of Donner Road in New Baltimore. Chesterfield Fire Department responded to the scene, along with assisting agencies.

One person was taken by ambulance to an area hospital because of smoke inhalation and burns, the fire department said.

Footage from Chesterfield Township police body cameras shows the moments as first responders rush to save the life of a 76-year-old man trapped inside the home. When police and firefighters arrived, they observed the back of the house to be fully engulfed in flames. The first responders heard a man gasping for air from the front room of the home.

Authorities crawled into and entered the residence, and were able to save the homeowner and the only person inside the house. The 76-year-old man was transported to a hospital.

Authorities say the man sustained burns to the left side of his body and was listed in critical condition.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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Job seeker shares how scams don’t just target applicants — they try to use them as accomplices

By Mallory Sofastaii

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    PASADENA, Maryland (WMAR) — A Pasadena woman who is seeking remote work is warning others about the flood of job scams targeting people looking for work-from-home opportunities.

As a server, Lisa Owens spent most of her time on her feet until a car accident left her with a broken femur and no transportation.

“I wasn’t able to go back to work right away. And, of course, you need to work. Bills don’t stop even though you have something like that. So that’s when I started looking for the remote work,” Owens said.

But her job search led to a series of scam attempts. She received messages from job postings on Indeed letting her know positions were filled, but offering alternative opportunities.

“We’ve referred you to one of our clients. So that’s like a, oh, there’s hope, you know, there’s a rainbow there. So that’s what started all this actually,” Owens said.

She sent over her resume thinking she’d caught a break. The scammers told her the job involved making travel arrangements and working as a personal assistant.

“They even sent me a check,” Owens said. “Out of the blue overnighted me a check for $2,864. I’m thinking, hot damn, I won the lottery.”

But when she looked at the check more closely and used a third-party check cashing service instead of depositing it directly into her bank account, she discovered the truth.

“Instead of putting it in my bank account, I went through a company called Ingo. They’re an online check cashing company,” Owens said.

The check was fake, as was the job. And the scam offers kept coming.

“Since I’ve been aware of this, it’s been four, and that’s only been in the past two to three weeks. In fact, I got one not even just a few days ago,” Owens said.

Another fraudster posing as a property management company asked her to post rental listings on online marketplaces, making her part of the scheme.

“So I went on the website that is supposed to be theirs, and the house was actually for rent. It is a legitimate listing except that it was for $1,000 more and the security deposit was different. They were asking me to post for a $1,000 security deposit,” Owens said. “I said, well, if I’m posting these, they’re going to be contacting me. It’s my Facebook and they said well. You’re going to just forward them to this number.”

Owens knew better but also understands how easy it is to get pulled in with the promise of a large payout.

“Be aware, be vigilant, and sadly, research everything. It might be a dream job, but it might not be legitimate, and that’s the sad thing,” Owens said.

In an email to WMAR-2 News Mallory Sofastaii, Indeed sent this statement: “Indeed puts job seekers at the heart of everything we do. We have a dedicated search quality team who goes to extraordinary lengths deploying a variety of techniques to assess the suitability and validity of job listings. Indeed removes tens of millions of job listings each month that do not meet our quality guidelines. In addition, Indeed will not do business with an employer if their job listings do not pass our stringent quality guidelines. We encourage job seekers to report any suspicious job advertisements to us, or if they feel it necessary, to make a report to the police. We encourage all jobseekers to review our Guidelines for a Safe Job Search.”

In their Guidelines for a Safe Job Search, they encourage job seekers to report suspicious ads and warn users to never accept money upfront for work they haven’t performed. Job seekers should look for email addresses with company domains and be skeptical of especially lucrative or flexible work-from-home positions.

Click here for instructions on how to report a potentially fraudulent job listing on Indeed.

The postings that targeted Owens are no longer on Indeed. It appears the scammers pose as reputable companies, tell applicants jobs have been filled but to contact someone else for details on another opportunity to make it seem more legitimate and avoid detection.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WMAR’s editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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Nurse revives drunk raccoon found in dumpster with CPR

By Megan Mannering

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    LETCHER COUNTY, Kentucky (WLEX) — When fermented peaches turned a dumpster into danger, longtime Letcher County nurse Misty Combs stepped in to save the day.

“I’ve had some pretty crazy days on the job, but nothing like this,” Combs told LEX 18.

In her 21 years of nursing, Combs thought she’d seen it all. The RN works at the Letcher County Health Department in Whitesburg.

One day she and her coworkers noticed a panicked raccoon darting through the parking lot. Then, they heard a commotion from a nearby dumpster.

“Our health department is right beside Kentucky Mist Moonshine, a distillery, and they had put some fermented peaches in their dumpster, and I guess the baby raccoons had gotten in the dumpster and they were stuck,” Combs explained.

Drunk as a skunk? Try tipsy as a trash panda.

Combs realized the mother raccoon was frantic to find her babies and get them to safety.

“I was like, ‘We have to get them out!’ It was the motherly instinct in me because I saw that momma and she was trying so hard to get her babies back and she didn’t know what to do.”

Combs grabbed a shovel and scooped out the first raccoon, who ran to be with its mom. The second raccoon, however, was face down in the bottom of the dumpster, which was filled with water and peaches soaked in moonshine.

Without hesitation, she grabbed the raccoon by the tail and pulled him to safety, but quickly realized that he had passed out.

“Everybody around was like ‘It’s dead, it’s not breathing.’ It had drowned and it was full of water, you could feel the water, so immediately, I just started doing CPR on it.”

Video taken by her coworker shows Combs doing compressions on the animal’s chest, and flipping it on its side to slap its back. While she had never performed CPR on an animal, she told LEX 18 that she did what she could in the moment to provide life-saving measures.

Suddenly, the raccoon began breathing, although Combs admits she had some hesitation.

“The entire time, I was afraid it’d come-to and eat me up, and raccoons carry rabies so I was afraid of that.”

Fish and Wildlife responded before the town drunk turned into a mean drunk. They transported the animal to the local veterinarian who administered fluids and got the raccoon sobered up.

Combs and her colleagues named the critter Otis Campbell, named for the infamous Andy Griffith Show character. Eventually, Otis was returned to the Health Department’s parking lot where Combs had the honor of releasing him back into the wild.

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Meet the artist painting one-hour portraits of The Nashville Fair’s animals

By Forrest Sanders

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    NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WTVF) — The Nashville Fair is underway now through Sunday. The fair has no shortage of interesting people. We met one who creates art in no time at all, and you’re going to love her subjects.

Remember how there used to be those One Hour Photo businesses everywhere?

Artist Julia Tong is doing something a little like that at the Nashville Fair. She’s painting portraits of animals, each portrait only taking one hour.

“Trying to catch the most authentic side of them, and it usually ends up being a pretty goofy side!” Tong smiled. “I’m lucky for this, my work, I can just stare at animals the whole time!”

Tong’s subject Tuesday night took a lot of gray, black, and pink paint.

“Yeah! I’m painting the pig!” Tong laughed as someone watched her paint a portrait of Loki the pig.

“I think he wanted me to paint him!” Tong said. “I think they know, you know. At least they know I’m paying attention to them. I think he’s kinda a goofball!”

Tong has lived all over the US and in China. Her work carries all those influences.

“This is my Chinese name,” Tong said, pointing to her artist signature.

“Nashville’s my favorite [city], it really is,” she continued.

“Good answer!” I said.

“Yes!” Tong laughed before turning her attention back to Loki.

“The pattern on him is so nice!” she said. “It’s actually very Chinese philosophy, the yin and yang.”

What can you say, Loki? You’re a work of art.

“It’s the model!” Tong nodded. “The model is good.”

By Sunday, Tong will have a whole gallery of these one-hour animal portraits. Really, she’s trying to do a few things with her work at The Nashville Fair. One is foster a love art in anyone who happens to pass by. There’s something else.

“I hope people will see the fair when they see the paintings, you know, see their memories,” Tong said.

With a little more gray, black, and pink, the hour was up. A portrait was complete.

“It’s Loki the pig!” Tong said. “Look at how funny he is!”

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Large amounts of fruit, vegetables dumped onto streets in downtown Los Angeles

By Amanda Starrantino, Chelsea Hylton

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    LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — Large amounts of fruit and vegetables are being dumped on the streets of downtown Los Angeles and city officials are trying to identify who is responsible.

The aftermath looks less like a city sidewalk and more like a produce market gone wrong. For weeks, sanitation crews say they’ve been cleaning up tons of fruits and vegetables dumped onto the street.

City crews cleared a mess Tuesday morning, but by Wednesday night, new pallets of food waste were back, dumped again on corners like 15th Street and Hooper, Olympic and Naomi and Olympic and Hooper. Each time, sanitation has to haul away spoiled produce before it spreads or attracts pests.

Mayor Karen Bass’ office reached out to CBS Los Angeles, saying these are not victimless crimes. They said dumping large amounts of rotting food creates unsanitary conditions and blight and they’re urging residents to report illegal dumping by calling 311.

On Instagram, videos show toppled pallets of parsley and melons scattered across the road. One downtown resident told CBS Los Angeles off-camera that the food looks like rejected product, spoiled or unsellable, that workers simply toss out as a “free-for-all.” What makes it more puzzling is that it’s happening in areas not heavily traveled.

LA City Council District 14 says they’re working with sanitation to keep these blocks clean, but the source of all this food is still under investigation. For now, city crews will keep cleaning up the mess while neighbors keep asking who is doing the dumping.

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Pregnant and postpartum women in the state can now park in disabled spots for up to a year with pass

By Heather Leigh

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    TAMPA, Florida (WFTS) — If you’re pregnant and are struggling to get around in the Florida heat, a new law has changed where you can park.

“I think every woman is different, but I mean sometimes it’s your feet are swollen [or] you have a high risk. There’s so many different challenges,” said Tiffany Hubert, a mom in Tampa.

“Just in general, I know it’s harder to get around. You may have reduced energy; you may have other kids too,” said Julia Wolff. “I know a lot of pregnant moms have multiple children that they’re trying to get in somewhere safely too.”

Recovery after labor can be just as tough – ask any mom on her way to the newborn pediatrician appointment days after giving birth or running to the store for spur-of-the-moment baby supplies.

“Trekking through the parking lot with all your stuff it just makes it a little more challenging,” said Wolff.

It’s why State Representative Fiona McFarland from Sarasota decided to do something about it – the idea came from her own experience as a mom of four.

“There I was, nine months pregnant in August, and I just felt like I couldn’t leave the house because I felt like I couldn’t walk across the parking lot,” McFarland said. “I did some research to see if I could apply for a handicap decal, and I couldn’t in Florida, but I could in Illinois, and I wanted to bring that to Florida.”

It passed, and the law went into effect this Summer.

“In some cases, women have real mobility restrictions as they enter the end of pregnancy. Or in some cases even afterwards, right? If you’ve got a newborn and a toddler, those first couple months of life, it’s really difficult to lug two kids around, the gear,” McFarland said.

It’s why she felt the need to support all women in the state.

“They probably haven’t really been recognized as having that kind of a need,” said Wolff. “Making the pregnant lady walk the furthest is not really helping anybody out.”

To qualify, you and your doctor need to fill out this paperwork. It can be found easily online. Click here for the link. Then, drop it off at your nearby tax collector’s office.

The pass is good for up to a year. It’s up to your doctor to decide when it will expire.

“I’d say, it makes sense. It gets difficult. I couldn’t tell you if a year was good enough time or not but… I like it,” said Mike Casey. “Good for Tampa Bay, good for the people, good for the women!”

It’s important to note, your practice may charge a service fee for processing the paperwork, so be prepared to pay that on top of the $15 charge at the tax collector’s office for the pass itself.

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$1 million+ lawsuit filed after tree crushes SUV in East Dallas, paralyzing young mother

By S.E. Jenkins

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    Texas (KTVT) — A lawsuit for more than $1 million has been filed after a young mother was left paralyzed from the neck down when a tree suddenly fell on top of her SUV last month in East Dallas.

Court records say 32-year-old Maisie Marsau was pinned under the 30-foot-tall tree for over an hour and ultimately left with a severe spinal cord injury.

“She did not lose consciousness. Instead, she suffered alone and in excruciating pain and terror, believing that she would die and would never again be able to hold her baby or tell her family she loved them,” the lawsuit states.

She is now suing the property owner, David Patterson, who is also the chairman of the Texas Trees Foundation.

The lawsuit claims the homeowner failed to maintain the tree, which leaned heavily over the roadway and had long shown signs of decay.

“The hollow base and rotted interior were warning signs that any reasonably prudent landowner, and certainly the head of a tree foundation, had every reason to know about,” the lawsuit states.

The tree also struck a nearby power line, causing live electrical wires to continuously spark around Marsau’s SUV.

Homeowner says tree falling was “random thing” Patterson previously told CBS News Texas that the thousands of trees on his property are maintained by professionals.

“Every once in a while, one of them falls,” he said. “I wish it didn’t happen, but I don’t think there’s anything I can do about that because it’s a random thing. They were well tended to, I can tell you that, but I feel really bad if there was an injury.”

Patterson also said the tree appeared to be in good health.

The lawsuit claims the tree “posed an unreasonable risk of harm” to the frequently traveled road near Patterson’s property and alleges “multiple people” approached him over the years, “about the unsafe conditions of his trees.”

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Officers smash window to stop sleepy suspected drunk driver after patrol car struck, police say

By Doug Myers

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    WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas (KTVT) — Officers in White Settlement boxed in a suspected drunk driver found asleep at the wheel with his car still in drive – then smashed a window to stop the vehicle after it lurched forward and struck a patrol unit earlier this week, police said.

Andrew Moss-Dedmon, 22, is facing a charge of driving while intoxicated with a blood alcohol concentration greater than 0.15 in connection with the incident, which occurred just before 2:45 a.m. Monday.

9-1-1 caller reports wrong-way driver A 9-1-1 caller initially reported a wrong-way driver and warned the vehicle might veer off into a nearby field.

According to White Settlement police, Moss-Dedmon was found asleep at the wheel – with the vehicle still in drive – when officers located him in the 9300 block of Westpoint Boulevard near Loop 820.

Vehicle strikes patrol car on scene Officers positioned patrol cars in front and behind Moss-Dedmon’s vehicle. When they attempted to wake him, he accelerated and struck the front patrol car, prompting officers to break the driver’s side window to stop the vehicle, police said.

Despite refusing to unlock or open the doors, Moss-Dedmon was safely removed and taken into custody without further incident, according to police.

Case sent to DA No officers were injured, and Moss-Dedmon’s vehicle had pre-existing damage, possibly from a prior crash, authorities said.

The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office has accepted the case.

Chief urges responsible decisions White Settlement Police Chief Christopher Cook said the incident underscores the dangers of impaired driving, which continues to have tragic consequences across North Texas. He urged drivers to make responsible choices.

“This is a preventable offense and should never occur,” Cook said. “Make good decisions, designate a driver to get home safe, and use a ride share service so that you do not endanger yourself and others on the roadway.”

CBS News Texas will provide additional information should more details become available.

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Wife of man accused in deadly Minnesota lawmaker shootings files for divorce

By Stephen Swanson

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    Minnesota (WCCO) — The wife of the man charged in the deadly, politically motivated shootings of Minnesota lawmakers in June has filed for divorce, court documents show.

Vance Boelter, 58, faces federal and state murder and attempted murder charges in connection with the deaths of House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and the shootings of state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette on June 14 in their respective Twin Cities homes.

Jenny Lynne Boelter filed a petition for “dissolution with child” in Sibley County earlier this month, according to court documents. The official grounds of the divorce are unknown, as Judge Amber Donley granted her request to seal “all current and future documents filed in this matter,” which are to be treated as confidential.

Nearly two weeks after the fatal shootings, Jenny Boelter released a statement through her attorney, saying her husband’s actions were “a betrayal of everything we hold true as tenets of our Christian faith.”

“We are absolutely shocked, heartbroken and completely blindsided. This violence does not at all align with our beliefs as a family,” Jenny Boelter wrote. “We are appalled and horrified by what occurred and our hearts are incredibly heavy for the victims of this unfathomable tragedy.”

Vance Boelter was captured more than 40 hours after the killings near the home he shared with Jenny Boelter and their children in Green Isle, located about 50 miles southwest of the metro. State officials called the manhunt the largest in Minnesota history.

According to federal court documents, Jenny Boelter and some of her children left Green Isle by vehicle just hours after the shooting. Law enforcement contacted her by phone and arranged to meet her at a gas station close to her location at that time, which was about 150 miles away from Green Isle near Lake Mille Lacs.

An FBI special agent noted in an affidavit that Jenny Boelter had two guns, passports and about $10,000 in cash in her vehicle. They noted she was “cooperative” with law enforcement, but initially “was not forthcoming with knowledge of her husband being involved in something serious” after revealing Vance Boelter messaged her earlier that day to “take the kids and go to her parent’s house and that there may be people with guns coming to the house.”

Jenny Boelter also told law enforcement in that meeting she and her husband were “preppers,” meaning they “prepare for major or catastrophic incidents.”

Soon after the shootings, investigators found more than 50 firearms and a tub of ammunition in their Green Isle home.

Jenny Boelter has not been charged with any crimes, and noted in her statement on June 27 she “fully cooperated with investigators and responded to their every request.”

“We are grateful for the diligent and professional efforts of the authorities to fully investigate these crimes,” Jenny Boelter wrote. “We thank law enforcement for apprehending Vance and protecting others from further harm.”

Vance Boelter could face the death penalty if convicted on federal murder charges.

No hearings have been scheduled in Jenny Boelter’s divorce case. Her attorney declined WCCO’s request for comment.

NOTE: The original airdate of the video attached to this article is Aug. 15, 2025.

Caroline Cummings, Riley Moser and Ubah Ali contributed to this report.

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