Author: CNN Newsource

By Felix Cortez

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    DAVENPORT, California (KSBW) — One man died after the car he was driving veered off the road in the Davenport area and plunged more than 400 feet down a steep cliff onto a beach below, where it was pounded by heavy surf.

“The initial call was for a single vehicle reported over the bank,” said CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Cameron McFadden.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the crash happened at about 12:48 p.m. on May 18, 2026.

A 58-year-old Santa Rosa man was driving a black 2017 Honda Pilot southbound on SR-1 at an unknown speed when the vehicle traveled off the west edge of the roadway, struck a call box, continued through vegetation and went over the cliff.

“Right where the patient drove off, it’s a very steep cliff there. There’s very little access to make it directly down to where the patient is,” McFadden said.

It is unknown what caused the driver to veer off the road and over the cliff.

There was no easy way down for first responders, who had to stage up the road at Greyhound Rock County Park, where lifeguards had to run and swim for nearly a mile before reaching the driver, who had been ejected from the car into the water.

“The two lifeguards, marine safety officers, that were first on scene did pull the victim out of the water and perform CPR until the victim was long-lined, or hoisted, off the beach and up on the cliff, where resuscitation efforts were continued,” said Santa Cruz Marine Safety Capt. David Bodine.

Despite lifesaving efforts, the adult male was pronounced dead a short while later. An autopsy may help determine whether drugs, alcohol or a medical emergency played a role in the crash.

The rescue was the second water rescue in less than 24 hours involving many of the same agencies: CAL FIRE, State Parks, CHP and lifeguards. Sunday night, they responded to eight people trapped in a cave near Panther Beach after high tide came in. All were safely rescued.

“Our agencies all work together quite a bit on the North Coast. I feel like we work well together, and it’s a team effort,” Bodine said.

Efforts are now being planned to remove the car from the beach just south of Greyhound Rock County Park.

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 Aziza Shuler, Lisa Rozner

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    NEW YORK CITY (WCBS, WLNY) — A New York City woman is dead after plunging into an uncovered manhole.

It happened around 11:19 p.m. Monday night at 52nd Street and Fifth Avenue.

The woman, 56, had just stepped out of a car and fell into the open manhole, police say. Officers found her unconscious and unresponsive. She was rushed to New York Presbyterian Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

It’s not clear how or why the manhole was uncovered.

Video from the scene shows a Mercedes parked on the street. A manhole, now covered and cordoned off, appears to be just a foot or two from the driver’s side door.

“We are deeply saddened to confirm that a member of the public has died after falling into an open manhole. We are actively investigating how this occurred. Our thoughts are with the individual’s family, and safety remains our top priority,” Con Edison said in a statement.

The woman’s family visited the scene Tuesday morning, trying to understand how this unthinkable tragedy occurred. They could be seen hugging and consoling each other.

Her daughter-in-law told CBS News New York there were no cones, warning signs, or barriers around the manhole. The daughter-in-law was visibly shaken as she spoke, saying the family is still trying to take in the incident.

City rules require manholes to be covered or clearly blocked off to prevent exactly this kind of tragedy and public hazard. So the big question now is how did this one end up uncovered in one of the busiest areas of New York City?

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 Jerry Olenyn

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    OROVILLE, California (KHSL) — A new monument unveiled Monday at the Butte County Veterans Memorial Park is honoring a different kind of American hero — the military working dogs credited with saving thousands of U.S. service members’ lives in combat zones and on military installations.

The life-size half-bronze German Shepherd statue recognizes the role military working dogs have played in every major U.S. conflict since World War II, serving alongside troops in patrol operations, bomb detection and base security.

The memorial now stands among the tributes dedicated to American service members who died while serving on active duty.

Military officials from Beale Air Force Base attended the unveiling ceremony, joined by several active-duty military working dogs.

Chief Master Sgt. Vanessa Perkins, who oversees the military canine program at the base, said the dogs serve as a critical line of defense for military personnel.

“They can detect — that’s the biggest thing,” Perkins said. “They do patrol work. They check for bombs and explosives. That is the biggest asset they provide to us.”

Perkins said the dogs are trained to identify suspicious activity and help secure military installations from potential threats.

“They help us defend our installation,” she said. “They’re a tremendous asset.”

Military working dogs are specially selected and trained for traits such as responsiveness, drive and focus, according to Tech Sgt. William Mongeon.

“When we’re looking at purchasing dogs, we’re looking at specific behaviors that dogs show at a young age,” Mongeon said. “They show that drive to chase and to bite. They show a good responsiveness to how we interact with them.”

While German Shepherds are commonly associated with military service, officials said multiple breeds are used depending on mission requirements.

There is no single official Pentagon total for the number of lives saved by military working dogs, but the U.S. Army has estimated that each dog saves an average of 150 lives during its service lifetime.

Based on that estimate, military working dogs are believed to have saved more than 15,000 American lives throughout U.S. military history.

Organizers said the Oroville monument is only the fourth public military working dog monument in California and the first of its kind in Northern California.

The state’s other military working dog memorials are all located in Southern California.

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 Eli Kuhn

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    EUGENE, Oregon (KEZI) — Community members are voicing outrage after released body camera footage showed a Eugene police officer making racist and offensive remarks.

Activists held a community press conference Friday at Scobert Gardens Park in Eugene, calling for Eugene Police Chief Skinner’s resignation. The press conference comes after a released body cam video showed Officer Martin Siller using racist and misogynistic remarks, as well as joking about domestic violence.

“The racist, misogynist, and violent remarks made by Officer Martin Siller are devastating, and Chief Skinner’s poor response to the incident is infuriating,” one activist who identified herself as “Jane” said.

Siller had served on EPD for seven years and resigned within hours of the video going public. Despite calls from activists on Friday, representatives from EPD say that Chief Skinner has no intention of resigning.

“There’s probably nothing I can do in the short term to repair this. We understand the fragility of trust with our community and understand that trust is earned, and we would continue to try and build that trust within our community,” Skinner said.

“I, as a leader, will continue to set the tone of what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable in this organization,” Skinner said.

Chief Skinner also said he hopes the reputation of the department isn’t determined by one person, but he understands the public outrage. “I’ll be honest with you. They’re pissed off. Yeah, I mean, don’t blame them,” Skinner said.

Community members at the press conference expressed stronger demands. “Skinner resigning? I want him removed. I specifically want him removed. I don’t want him to get a pension,” said Blair Hickok, an activist who spoke at Friday’s event.

“Chief Skinner saying that Siller’s a bad apple, that’s a joke. Truthfully, I think the bad apple is Skinner. I think the bad apple is the system,” Hickok 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 Erin Miller

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    NORFOLK, Virginia (WTKR) — Two stroke program coordinators at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital are using costumes, coffee, and treats to teach their colleagues how to recognize the signs of a stroke.

Mary Stern and Karolina Lethueur De Jacquant call their initiative “Clots and Coffee.” The pair dress in unconventional costumes and roll a cart through the hospital, handing out coffee and treats while engaging staff, and sometimes visitors, across all units.

“She showed up [dressed in a red sweatsuit with balls, acting as ‘platelets’ and yarn acting as ‘thrombin]. She was like, ‘we’re going to walk around, and we’re going to hand out coffee and treats and we’re going to get [people] engaged,’” Lethueur De Jacquant said.

The costumes are part of the story they’ve built around their message.

Because every unit in the hospital treats stroke patients, Lethueur De Jacquant and Stern say recognizing the signs is the critical first step.

Stern said the approach is intentional.

“We have processes in place in the hospital where we need staff to be able to recognize the signs of a stroke, and studies have shown you’re more likely to remember something if you had fun while you were learning it,” Stern said.

The two teach the “BE FAST” method — a framework for identifying stroke symptoms.

“It stands for balance, eyes, face, arms, speech, and time,” Stern said.

Stern said time is brain health. A stroke happens when a blood clot blocks blood flow to the brain, and the person experiencing it often doesn’t realize what is happening.

“Your brain doesn’t know that it’s broken, so we need other people to be able to recognize it and to be able to signal for help,” Stern said.

Stern said too many people dismiss symptoms like one-sided weakness as simply being tired. According to the Sentara team, high blood pressure is the number one cause of strokes, followed by diabetes and high cholesterol.

“With every minute that passes you lose more of your ability to function, live, and take care of yourself,” Stern said.

According to the American Stroke Association, “stroke is a leading cause of long-term serious disability, and up to 80% of clot-related strokes are preventable.”

Stern and Lethueur De Jacquant also do community outreach beyond the hospital. They shared a story about a 7-year-old who remembered “BE FAST,” and called 911. His grandmother was transported to the hospital in time to be treated for a stroke.

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 Itay Hod

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    SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — Every time Mario DeMira slides behind the wheel and turns the key, he holds his breath.

“Sometimes you’ve gotta work with it, you know, give it a couple turns, pray a little bit,” DeMira said.

After a few tense moments, he’s on his way. A little clunky, but not bad for a vehicle that’s been around for 80 years. It’s a jeepney, and San Francisco’s most photographed vehicle you’ve never heard of.

After World War II, the U.S. left military jeeps behind in the Philippines. Instead of letting them rot, locals stretched them out, hand-painted them, and turned them into one of the most beloved forms of public transportation in the country.

And they did it in style.

“The jeepneys in the Philippines are very ornate,” DeMira said. “The drivers and Filipino people in general are loud and colorful personalities.”

Wherever this one goes, it stops traffic. People stare. They wave. They reach for their phones.

DeMira is the assistant director of SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco’s Filipino Cultural District, and the man behind the wheel of the last jeepney in the city. It was donated to the organization by Bay Area-based pop musician Toro y Moi after it was used in one of his music videos for a song on his 2022 album Mahal.

But even this beloved icon has hit a speed bump. Back in the Philippines, the government is putting the brakes on jeepneys, phasing them out for modern vehicles. For DeMira, it’s a road he understands, even if he doesn’t love where it leads.

“I get it,” he said. “You want to modernize. But you gotta do it in a way that still holds onto a piece of that history and that culture.”

Speaking of history, it arrived at the most inopportune moment, in the form of thick, white smoke billowing from the tailpipe, bringing the tour to an early close. For DeMira, it comes with the territory.

“Part of the charm and part of the headache,” he said.

DeMira drove the jeepney straight to the garage. He said it should be back on the road soon. Because if there’s one thing this old jeep has proven, it always finds its way back. And that’s not just blowing smoke.

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 Rina Nakano

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    RANCHO SAN CLEMENTE, California (KCAL, KCBS) — Rancho San Clemente residents are celebrating the groundbreaking of a new “helopod,” which will help water-dropping helicopters quickly refill and return to dousing wildfires in the area.

Vonne Barnes is the area’s master board president. She represents 14 homeowners associations and apartment complexes in the area.

“We have 1803 accounts,” Barnes said. “That’s over 5,000 people.”

Firefighters strategically chose the hill it sits on. The Orange County Fire Authority said the area has all of the ingredients for a fire, including vegetation, wind and topography.

The helopod is a 3,700-gallon tank that will be connected to the city of San Clemente’s water system. It will fill up automatically during wildfires.

“The closest body of water would be over the hills over here,” said Cheyne Maule, an OCFA division chief. “There’s a golf course with a pond at Bella Collina Golf Course. And, the other one would be Trampas Reservoir, which is off Ortega. It’s a haul.”

OCFA said helopods in Laguna Beach and Aliso Viejo were instrumental in extinguishing the Rancho Fire last July.

“The helicopters were able to rotate in and out and extinguish that fire in record time,” Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said.

Foley’s office funded $100,000 towards the project, which should be done by the end of June.

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 Michael Spencer

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    ARVADA, Colorado (KCNC) — A group in Colorado is helping people recover from life-altering events in a way unique to the state: through hockey.

On Wednesday mornings at the Apex Center in Arvada, you can find Jonny Landis doing what he loves best.

“Just being out here with the guys, and shoot the breeze with them on the bench and talk trash with them on the ice is just so much fun,” says Landis.

His skate is part of Dawg Nation Hockey’s Hockey Heals group. The group gives people who have overcome life-altering events a chance to skate.

“It’s really cool that none of us should be out here playing, but we all are,” says Landis.

They are skates that Jonny doesn’t take for granted. In 2019, during his freshman year at the University of Colorado, Landis fell 42 feet off a balcony and landed on the pavement. He suffered more than 160 skull fractures, and doctors told his family that he likely wouldn’t make it.

“When (my family) got to Boulder Community Health, the emergency room doctor didn’t want to put me on the flight for life, but my mom and sister convinced him,” recalls Landis.

He spent the next 60 days in a coma and spent the next several months in the hospital and rehab.

Earlier this month, seven years after doctors told his family that he likely wasn’t going to make it, Landis walked across the stage at CU receiving his diploma.

“It felt surreal, and it didn’t feel like it was truly happening. It [was] so amazing,” recalls Landis.

With his degree in hand, Landis is currently interning with Dawg Nation Hockey and has big goals for his future.

“What I would love to do long term is, I would love to be able to sell some of the stuff that saved my life, like shunts. I think that would be really full circle,” Landis shared. “I consider myself lucky to be alive, but I also think God has bigger plans for me.”

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.