Author: CNN Newsource

By Kayla James

Click here for updates on this story

    AMES, Iowa (KCCI) — A dog who was brought in with devastating injuries after being hit by a car on Christmas Eve made a surprise appearance at Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine commencement ceremony to watch the students who helped save her life graduate.

You could hear and see the genuine shock as Honey took the stage during the ceremony. Right after Dr. Stephen G. Juelsgaard, Dean of Veterinary Medicine Dan Grooms announced Honey, along with her foster mom, were in attendance. For many of the new graduates, college staff and ISU’s Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center staff, her appearance serves as a full-circle moment in a journey that began in December.

Honey’s foster mom, Laura Bradner, said Honey was critically injured when she first arrived for treatment.

“She was hit by a car in Des Moines on Christmas Eve,” said Bradner.

Bradner told KCCI that at the time, Honey belonged to a man who was homeless. He wanted to save her, but could not afford the care she needed. Bradner says the man did not want Honey to be euthanized, so he surrendered her so she could receive care.

“She had fractures all over her skull. She had fractures in her sinus,” said Bradner.

Grooms tells KCCI the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center team immediately began working to stabilize Honey before addressing her many injuries.

“Fixing fractures, fixing things that they could fix,” said Grooms, who organized the surprise at the commencement ceremony. “The most important thing was also trying to understand and manage the brain trauma as well.”

The day she arrived, one of the emergency doctors called Jan Erceg, the founder and medical director of Critter Crusaders of Cedar Rapids. The organization is a provider of advanced medical and surgical care for shelter and rescue pets throughout Iowa.

“We provide the funds, and we help guide the care, and we work directly with the doctors on treatment plans,” said Erceg. “We’re very adept at taking emergency cases. The vast majority of our cases are emergencies, just like Honey when she came in.”

Those procedures, along with Honey’s rehabilitation through the medical center that she receives five days a week, helped lead to her remarkable recovery.

Months after first coming into Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center, Honey is back on her feet and walking again.

Bradner said Honey’s personality has remained just as remarkable as her recovery.

“She has the sweetest disposition. She can literally — expect her to do anything, take her anywhere — and she just goes with the flow,” said Bradner.

Critter Crusaders of Cedar Rapids has raised more than $27,000 so far for Honey’s care. Bradner said that support, along with the work of the medical center’s doctors, residents, veterinary technicians and students, made Honey’s recovery possible.

Grooms said Honey’s story also gave this year’s graduates a meaningful example of the difference they can make.

“I think it just gives them a kind of peek into what they can do and the impact that they can have when taking care of animals,” Grooms said. “What was really special that Christmas Eve is how our community here at the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center really came together to take care of Honey.”

As for Honey, Bradner said her joy is obvious.

“You can just see it in her eyes that she just loves life,” Bradner said.

Bradner tells KCCI that Honey may have only about a month of rehabilitation left.

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 Claire Graham

Click here for updates on this story

    TUCSON, Arizona (KGUN) — Jenna Bryant might be a wildcat, but she’s a dog person. She’s graduating from the University of Arizona, already on a path to changing the world, four paws at a time.

Graduating with a 4.0, with a major in psychology and a minor in criminology, she has had a special companion for her senior year — a canine companion. She is training Jelly (or Jelly IV as she is officially known) to someday be a service dog.

“So what we do in the puppy raising phase is we just train them to do a lot of basic obedience commands, to get them really ready for professional training, where they decide what they’re going to task train them for,” Bryant explained. But that’s downplaying her commitment. As a full time student, graduating in just three years, she spends a colossal amount of time on this particular extracurricular.

“I spend at least a couple hours every week at actual training classes, whether it’s at the prison where I’m co-raising her, or community classes. And then I also just schedule out several hours every day to just directly work on training,” she explained. “I wake up earlier than a typical college student would every morning to make sure I can get her outside and just get her day started. And then I also get to take her to classes with me.”

Bryant is now a founding executive member and the president of the U of A’s Collar Scholars Club, which is the Arizona branch of the national organization, Canine Companions. At the U of A, students in the club train dogs in collaboration with inmates at FCC, the minimum security prison camp in Tucson.

Jenna got Jelly as a puppy in April of last year, and now Jelly is graduating too, with a world of possibilities in front of her.

“Canine Companions has several different service dog routes she could take, so she could end up being a hearing dog, she could be a service dog with a facilitator, so working with a kid or an individual with needs that someone else would need to handle the dog for them. She could be a PTSD service dog for a veteran, she could be a mobility dog,” Bryant explained.

Their training is part of a bigger research project that Jenna’s honors thesis is part of in the BRAY Lab at Arizona, looking at how different environments impact the success of future service dogs. Their achievements together, are proof of their results.

“What we were actually able to find was that college dogs do have a significantly higher predicted probability of success compared to community raised dogs. So it really showed that what I’m doing here matters,” Bryant said with a smile.

Raising Jelly almost 50-50 with inmates at the prison camp, it’s connecting her love of dogs to where her next steps will take her, pursuing a master’s degree in forensic psychology at the University of Denver.

“My hope is to, after all of that, work as a clinician with people who are incarcerated or involved in the system in some way, which has also been why getting to work face to face with inmates has been so beneficial to me, because I’m really learning a lot about what I want to do later,” Bryant said.

The common thread of her work is changing lives, whether it’s the 87 dogs she has fostered through her hometown rescues in Colorado, her work with Jelly to become someone’s lifeline, or the inmates she’ll be helping along the way.

“It’s been a lot of work,” Bryant said. “I think it’s been something that’s super rewarding. It obviously took up a lot of my time, but it’s really made a difference on my experience as a student too, especially raising a dog. Having a dog to bring to lectures with me, I’ve met a lot of new people just talking about Jelly, so it’s just been incredible. And it also makes it feel like I really was doing something worthwhile while earning my degree.”

When Bryant leaves Tucson to go home after graduation, she’ll have to hand over Jelly, who will eventually go on to find her future owner through Canine Companions. She says it’ll be hard to leave the sweet dog she’s been working so closely with over the last year, but she’s confident Jelly will succeed and thrive as a service dog.

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 WESH Web Staff

Click here for updates on this story

    OSCEOLA COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office released body-worn camera footage Saturday showing deputies capturing an alligator.

The video shows the alligator twisting and turning as it tried to escape during the encounter on Thursday.

The sheriff’s office reminded residents to keep a safe distance from alligators and never attempt to feed them.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, alligator mating season begins with courtship in early April, with the real mating occurring in May and June, altogether resulting in heightened activity and potential territorial aggression.

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 Denzen Cortez

Click here for updates on this story

    SACRAMENTO COUNTY, California (KCRA) — Strong winds swept across Northern California over the weekend, toppling trees, knocking out power to thousands and fueling fast-moving fires across the region.

“Any time we see winds of this magnitude, that definitely can impact outages,” SMUD spokesperson Sophia Gutierrez told KCRA 3.

The winds scattered downed trees and branches across Sacramento County, leaving utility crews responding to outages in multiple neighborhoods. At one point Sunday morning, SMUD reported nearly 17,000 customers without power in Sacramento County.

The windy conditions also heightened fire danger under Red Flag warnings issued for parts of Northern California. Along Watt Avenue, a vegetation fire burned about three acres and threatened nearby buildings before crews stopped the forward spread.

“We’ve already seen multiple fires just today alone in our county, and have really pressed our resources,” Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Battalion Chief Parker Wilbourn told KCRA 3.

Fire officials said the department accelerated staffing plans because of the dangerous conditions, bringing in additional resources earlier than expected, including helicopters and bulldozers.

“We’ve actually went ahead and put those in today to make sure that we’re fully outfitted and fully capable to meet the needs today with these high winds,” Wilbourn said.

Officials are also urging residents to stay away from downed power lines, warning that strong winds can bring lines down and spark fires.

SMUD encouraged customers experiencing outages to report them through the utility’s mobile app or outage map online, where residents can also monitor restoration updates.

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 Ricardo Tovar

Click here for updates on this story

    SALINAS, California (KSBW) — A 30-year-old man found stuck in a wall void space near Brewjee and Maya Cinemas in Salinas was taken to the hospital after police responded to the scene around 6:15 a.m. Sunday.

According to initial information from the Salinas Fire Department, the man fell from the roof of Maya Cinemas near the lettering. It was estimated that he slid down at least 22 feet.

Officials said he was not an employee, and it remains unknown why he was on the roof.

Officers reportedly heard muffled calls for help while getting coffee Sunday morning, leading them to the man’s location. He told responders he had been stuck there since about 9 p.m. the night before, meaning he may have been trapped for roughly 12 hours.

Authorities said the man was found in what was described as a wall void space. There was a scuttle hatch nearby, and the man said he was stuck between metal beams and could not move. It remains unclear whether he slipped or fell into a 1-foot-by-2-foot opening.

Rescuers worked for about two and a half hours to extract him from the space. He was then taken to Natividad Medical Center with a minor back injury.

The breached wall was reportedly being patched afterward. The damaged area is located on the exterior wall between the two businesses.

Fire officials said it took them two and a half hours to get him out.

Authorities have not yet released additional details, and the incident remains under investigation.

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 Rosales

Click here for updates on this story

    WATSONVILLE, California (KSBW) — Advocates are urging the restoration of full funding for California’s Safer program, which aims to help rural communities address contaminated water issues and secure long-term solutions.

“Safer, funding. It was set at $130 million. And in the past, they had language that would backfill, any money that wasn’t brought in by the cap-and-invest program,” said Brandon Bollinger. “But the language for the backfill was taken out. And so we’re worried that communities like the one we’re in today aren’t going to have the resources to advance long-term solutions.”

The Community Water Center highlighted the struggles of residents in unincorporated areas such as Royal Oaks, Las Lomas, and Castroville, where contaminated wells have been a persistent issue.

“This is one of the pipes that one of the families was getting their water from their well to their household. This isn’t justice. This isn’t a reality that anybody in California should be living with,” Bollinger said.

Rosa, a local advocate, expressed her concerns about the situation.

“We think in other parts of the globe, Africa or Asia, that they don’t have clean water. We’re here in California when we have one of the biggest economies, for people that don’t have clean water. That’s not right,” Rosa said.

The Monterey County Public Health Bureau identified several contaminants in water across the state, including nitrate, TCP, PFAS, and chromium 6, all of which can cause cancer with prolonged exposure.

“It looks clean, but you can’t see many of these contaminants,” Bollinger said. Chromium 6 and nitrate are particularly prevalent on the Central Coast.

Advocates noted that advanced treatment for these chemicals can cost millions, making it unaffordable for small communities.

Bollinger explained that around 240 households are working together to find a long-term solution, with many relying on bottled water as a temporary measure.

“It’s around 240 households that are working together to find a long-term solution. And many of those households are also receiving bottled water as an interim solution, because bottled water should not be a solution for any household,” Bollinger said.

Rosa emphasized the need for permanent solutions.

“They’re not waiting for a small solution, temporary solution. They have the right to have a permanent solution in their houses,” she said.

Advocates continue to push for restored funding to ensure clean water access for rural communities in 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 Randy Wimbley

Click here for updates on this story

    PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, Michigan (WXYZ) — Khaira Howard was 28 years old and days away from being paroled when she died at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Pittsfield Township. Now her parents are planning her funeral and demanding answers, as state lawmakers say her death is part of a much bigger problem inside Michigan’s only women’s prison.

Howard’s mother, Shaquillia DeShields, said another inmate called her with details about her daughter’s final moments.

“She said my daughter was sitting in a room and she was screaming for help. She said she was complaining about her chest. And she said someone was sitting with her. They got up and left her there… 30 to 45 minutes… by herself. She was screaming for help, and when they came back — she was unresponsive,” DeShields said.

Howard was set to be paroled May 27.

Her parents say the prison failed to provide her medication for schizophrenia and that her health concerns were not taken seriously.

“You just… It’s like you never think that you would have to be burying your daughter. It’s supposed to be the opposite way around. I can’t even wrap my head around it. It’s hurtful,” Don Howard said.

Howard’s death is under investigation. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s press secretary, Stacey LaRouche, released a statement on the investigation.

“The Governor has directed MDOC, consistent with protocol, to conduct a swift, thorough, and transparent investigation of the recent tragic death in one of Michigan’s prisons. This process will include a careful assessment by an independent medical examiner. When this process is complete, we will release the results of the investigation,” LaRouche said.

State Rep. Laurie Pohutsky says Howard recently contacted her office about conditions at Huron Valley, saying she and other inmates were forced to clean mold without proper protective equipment. Pohutsky connected Howard’s death to a broader pattern of deaths in Michigan Department of Corrections facilities.

“We’re talking about Khaira today, but it’s been less than a month since a man died in another MDOC facility from a fall. This is inexcusable, and something needs to change,” Pohutsky said.

MDOC spokeswoman Jenni Riehle provided a statement saying:

I can confirm that Khaira Howard passed away at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility on May 13. Life saving measures were initiated by onsite staff and EMS was called where they continued life saving measures upon arrival to the facility, but attempts were unsuccessful. The death is currently under investigation.

The department takes the safety and security of its facilities, staff, and those under our supervision very seriously and has comprehensive processes and medical protocols for health emergencies. This includes processes for assessing patient health by qualified onsite staff, requesting outside emergency medical services if needed, and conducting life saving measures such as CPR. All incarcerated individuals are provided a consistent community standard of care which includes access to regular medical checkups and emergency services.

The Michigan Department of Corrections has established itself as a national leader in evidence-based corrections under the direction of Director Heidi E. Washington. Over the last decade, the department has safely reduced the prison population, worked to modernize our facilities and operations, increased opportunities that support long-term public safety and self-sufficiency, and achieved the lowest recidivism rates in our state’s history. We appreciate our officers, healthcare employees, and all other MDOC staff for their dedication to our core missions of public safety and preparing people for success.

Howard was serving one to 15 years for receiving and concealing stolen property.

Her death comes months after whistleblowers testified before a state legislative committee about black mold, inadequate medical care, drug trafficking, recorded strip searches, and retaliation against inmates who speak out at Women’s Huron Valley.

Pohutsky said MDOC leadership has repeatedly dismissed concerns about the facility.

“Director Washington has said time and time again that there are no issues at Women’s Huron Valley, and I don’t understand how anybody can say that in good conscience after a woman just died,” Pohutsky said.

Inmates also wrote letters to 7 News Detroit highlighting what they describe as serious problems at the prison.

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 Carli Petrus

Click here for updates on this story

    GROSSE POINTE PARK, Michigan (WXYZ) — A metro Detroit mother is speaking out after settling a federal civil rights lawsuit against her former neighbor, saying what her family experienced is still painful to relive.

JeDonna Dinges says the situation began when her then-husband noticed a KKK flag hanging in the window of a neighboring home — directly facing the family’s dining room.

“My ex-husband went to take the trash out, and when he came back in, he noticed a Klan flag in the window of our neighbor’s home,” Dinges said.

Dinges says she had already been dealing with disturbing incidents involving the neighbor before that moment in 2021, but says seeing the flag changed everything.

“To not feel safe in your own home. To have your child think someone’s going to shoot through the window and kill them,” Dinges said.

The family eventually left the Grosse Pointe Park neighborhood they had called home for more than a decade.

“Our primary responsibility is to keep our child or children safe, and I would tell her you’re safe, it’s going to be okay, you’re fine, but she didn’t believe it and neither did I,” Dinges said.

We first covered this story back in 2021 when the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office denied a display warrant request against Dinges’ former neighbor, determining no crime had been committed.

“The prosecutor said that there was no crime committed, so there was nothing that we could do there, but we knew what happened to us wasn’t right,” Dinges said.

In 2023, the Civil Rights Litigation Initiative at the University of Michigan contacted Dinges and filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on her behalf, accusing her former neighbor of racial intimidation and harassment.

“I was extremely excited when I got the call U of M was going to take the case,” Dinges said.

Court records show a federal judge later ruled Dinges had enough evidence to move forward under the Fair Housing Act, finding the alleged conduct could reasonably be viewed as a pattern of racial harassment.

The case has since been settled. The terms of the agreement have not been released.

“If someone came and put $7 trillion on my porch and shrink-wrapped it so it wouldn’t get wet, that would not be enough for what we went through,” Dinges said.

Dinges says she is now using her experience to help others, including working to revise Michigan’s ethnic intimidation law.

“So that we could change the laws so that we could help protect everyone in the state of Michigan from ethnic intimidation and hate-based crime,” Dinges said.

The defendant’s attorney has not yet responded to a request for comment.

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

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.