Author: CNN Newsource

By Steven Albritton

Click here for updates on this story

    CINCINNATI (WLWT) — Members of Cincinnati City Council will meet Tuesday morning for the first time since back-to-back rounds of rain caused severe flooding on Cincinnati’s East Side.

Tuesday’s meeting comes as many families and businesses continue to clean up.

This will be a lot more involved than a typical committee meeting: The assistant fire chief and head of the Metropolitan Sewer District are both expected to speak.

It’ll be the first major debrief about last month’s historic rainfall, which impacted homes and businesses in Mt. Lookout, Hyde Park and Oakley.

More than 1,800 damage claims have been filed in the weeks since.

At a community meeting Monday night, one couple shared their financial struggles, after their newly bought home was filled with water.

“It came with so much force that it blew the back door open. So it’s coming up through the sewer, it’s coming through the back door. It’s just terrible. This has been the most overwhelming first house experience I could ever imagine,” the couple said.

MSD says there was little they could do to prepare, calling this a thousand-year flood, with too much rain for even the biggest system to handle.

But, city council is looking at several solutions, including the potential of expanding “green” infrastructure to reduce stormwater runoff, changing flood planning to prioritize watersheds and creating a Flood Resilience Task Force.

“We need to get more creative and think more holistically, not just about what they call ‘gray infrastructure’, the pipes, but how do we convert surface parking to more permeable, how do we capture some of the rain in more upstream maybe in some of the parks before it comes down,” councilmember Mark Jeffreys said.

The Sewer District is also moving forward with several flood mitigation projects. Hamilton County Commissioners are looking at options for federal funding.

At the local level, the city of Cincinnati has opened a hotline for families and businesses affected by flooding.

Tuesday morning’s discussion will begin at 10 a.m.

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 Aki Nace

Click here for updates on this story

    MINNESOTA (WCCO) — A teenager was severely injured Monday evening after falling nearly 20 stories inside an abandoned grain elevator in Minneapolis.

According to Minneapolis police, a group of teenagers was trespassing inside the decommissioned Checkerboard Grain Elevator near 38th Street and Hiawatha Avenue around 8:30 p.m.

One of them, an 18-year-old, fell onto an elevated platform and suffered life-threatening injuries.

Minneapolis fire crews needed to use a ladder truck to reach the teen and provide medical care, authorities say.

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 Anthony Bettin, Esme Murphy

Click here for updates on this story

    MINNESOTA (WCCO) — Mike Lindell, MyPillow CEO and Republican gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota, is accused of violating campaign laws by giving away pillows promoting his candidacy at a July Fourth parade.

A complaint filed on July 22 alleges Lindell and others from his campaign “threw pillows to spectators” during a parade in Delano, Minnesota. According to the complaint, the packaging of the pillows said “Mike Lindell for Governor” and their value is about $35.

The complaint said this violates the state’s Fair Campaign Practices law, which “prohibits giving something of monetary value, or promising something of value, to a person in order to induce or deter voting in a particular way in an election.”

Lindell told WCCO the allegations in the complaint are wrong, and that the value of the pillows was actually $4.90, less than the $5 carve-out for allowable campaign giveaways. He said his team checked on the rules and “dotted their Is and crossed their Ts.”

“It was a set-up hit job, and I feel very confident that there was no violations,” Lindell said. “We did all our due diligence. The lawyer, there were so many pieces here. We talked to the campaign finance board.”

An Instagram post from Lindell on June 19 showed the pillows being given away at a parade in Foley, Minnesota.

Shawn Towle, a political writer, testified as a witness against Lindell. He says he saw Lindell getting ready to throw pillows.

“So I approached him, and I said, ‘Do you know you’re in violation of the Twinkie law?’ And he says, ‘We’ve got all the I’s dotted and the T’s crossed, and our lawyers, you know, they have a handle on it.'” Towle said.

Lindell says those filing the complaint got his simple, naked pillow confused with his premium covered and decorative pillow, which he sells for more than $34.

“These are called roll and go pillows and there’s different versions, but these are these expensive cases that they roll into their own case,” he said.

The judge is taking the pillow case under advisement and says he will issue a ruling in the next few days.

Lindell was already the leading Republican candidate, according to a Survey USA/KSTP poll, when he earned an endorsement from President Trump last month. Kendall Qualls, who earned the state party’s endorsement, and Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth are also vying for the Republican nomination.

Early voting is underway for the Aug. 11 primary. Whoever wins the GOP nomination is likely to face Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the presumptive favorite for the Democratic candidacy, in the November election.

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

Click here for updates on this story

    TEXAS (KTVT) — Two suspects have been charged in the death of American Airlines flight attendant Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina in Medellín, Colombia, officials announced.

According to the U.S. Embassy in Colombia, the two suspects, accused of drugging and murdering Molina in Medellín in March, were captured in Peru. One of the suspects was transferred to Colombia; the other remains in custody in Peru.

Molina, 32, a U.S. citizen and North Texas resident, went missing on March 21 after a night out with a fellow flight attendant during a layover in Medellin, according to family and Colombian officials. The two flight attendants visited a bar in Medellin’s El Poblado neighborhood, popular with international tourists, family, friends and officials said.

American Airlines calls flight attendant’s death “heartbreaking”

Fico Gutierrez, the mayor of Medellin, said on March 27 that a “lifeless body” was found between the municipalities of Jerico and Puente Iglesias during the search for Molina.

“There is a very high probability that it is this person,” Medellin’s mayor said in a social media post, adding that the body is being taken to the coroner’s office in Medellin for identification. “We express our solidarity to his family and friends. I have just personally delivered the painful news to his father, who is in Medellin.”

In a note sent to company employees, the Fort Worth-based airline called the death of Molina “heartbreaking.”

CBS News Texas has reached out to American Airlines for comment after the suspects’ arrests.

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 Ablon

Click here for updates on this story

    TEXAS (KTVT) — Texas Game Wardens say one of their K-9 officers helped them locate an inmate who had escaped from jail in Erath County on Monday.

In a photo post shared to X, the wardens said Lola, her handler, and a pilot with the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program helped state and local law enforcement find the man. The photo showed the inmate and Lola, both covered in mud, after his capture.

Texas Game Wardens said Lola captured a scent from the suspect’s discarded pants and followed it for more than a mile across streets, past businesses, and down alleys until she reached the Bosque River.

“FYI, ditching your pants doesn’t equal ditching your scent when you have a pro like Lola on your trail,” the game wardens said.

The wardens said Lola easily led her handler to the suspect’s location across the river. He was then taken back into custody by the Erath County Sheriff’s Office. The Texas Game Wardens reassured readers that Lola got a bath after the capture.

As of publication, it’s unclear how the escape occurred.

While the suspect’s face was blurred in the photo shared by the game wardens and the post left the suspect unidentified, the Erath County Sheriff’s Office shared a Facebook post on Monday that an inmate named Treston Nolte had escaped from custody. At the time, he was described as wearing a black-and-white striped inmate uniform. The post was later updated to indicate that Nolte had been brought back to custody.

Nolte has apparently evaded law enforcement recently. In June 2026, the Gatesville Police Department said on Facebook that he escaped from a patrol vehicle during a traffic stop. The department said he turned himself in to the Coryell County Sheriff’s Office three days later.

Jail records show Nolte, who is from Gatesville and was originally arrested by the Coryell County Sheriff’s Office, was charged with escaping while being arrested or confined, a felony, for that June 2026 incident. Bond for that charge was set by a judge at $50,000. Records also indicate he was originally arrested in Coryell County that month for a 2024 charge of driving while intoxicated, third offense or more. Bond on that charge has been set at $250,000.

Erath County is located about 108 miles southwest of Dallas. Gatesville is located about 68 miles southeast of Erath County and 134 miles southwest of Dallas.

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 Ablon

Click here for updates on this story

    TEXAS (KTVT) — There’s a new member of the Dallas Zoo family, and staff members introduced him to the world on Monday.

In a video shared to its social media pages, the zoo said a new African elephant was born to mother Mlilo on Sunday, July 26, around 12:25 p.m. The baby boy weighed 230 pounds at birth and was standing and nursing within his first hour of life. The Dallas Zoo said the baby’s big brother, Okubili, was there to welcome him to the herd, along with fellow elephants Jenny and Gypsy. All three elephants gently reached out to the baby with their trunks as he took his first steps.

The Dallas Zoo said Mlilo was pregnant for 21 months and has “been doing an incredible job caring for her calf.” The mother and baby are spending the early days together behind the scenes to build their bond.

Zoo staff said they are working on the baby’s name and plan to share more about his habitat debut once the time is right. The zoo also encouraged patrons to support and celebrate with a limited-time Adopt-An-Animal package.

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 Todd Feurer, Darius Johnson

Click here for updates on this story

    CHICAGO (WBBM) — An Illinois State Police trooper appeared in court on Tuesday after being charged with sexually assaulting a bartender after drugging her and taking her to a hotel last year in southwest suburban Tinley Park.

Douglass Lee, 54, has been charged with felony criminal sexual assault.

Prosecutors said the case is built on surveillance video, license plate reader data, and other evidence gathered during a year-long investigation.

According to the charges, after her shift at a bar in Tinley Park on Aug. 2, 2025, the victim and her girlfriends walked to another bar, and Lee asked to come along.

Afterward, Lee drugged the victim and took her to a hotel, where he sexually assaulted her, before leaving her in her car overnight. Court records indicated that Lee had been a regular at the bar where the woman worked, and that the two first met in 2024.

The woman told investigators the last thing she remembered was dancing with a friend before waking up in her vehicle the next morning with her pants on, inside out, and her bra on the passenger seat.

Prosecutors allege Lee later drugged the woman, took her to a hotel in Midlothian, sexually assaulted her, and left her in her vehicle overnight.

Court records said investigators also used license plate reader data to place Lee’s vehicle at a Midlothian hotel, where prosecutors said he paid for a room using the same credit card he used at the bar earlier that night.

The village of Tinley Park said, as far as they know, he was not on duty at the time of the assault.

Illinois State Police said Lee was placed on administrative leave without pay and relieved of his police powers in December when Tinley Park first informed them of the allegations. ISP is conducting an internal investigation of Lee.

Lee was ordered held in jail while he awaits trial, and he appeared in court for five minutes on Tuesday at the Bridgeview Courthouse.

Lee remains detained. His new attorney asked the court to consider a motion for his release.

A hearing on that request is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

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 Sara Tenenbaum

Click here for updates on this story

    CHICAGO (WBBM) — Seven members of a fraternity at Indiana University in Bloomington are now facing criminal charges for hazing methods that led to two pledges being hospitalized in 2025.Seven members of a fraternity at Indiana University are now facing criminal charges for hazing methods that led to two pledges being hospitalized in 2025.

Police records show that in October 2025, 36 Phi Kappa Psi fraternity pledges at Indiana University – Bloomington were allegedly ordered to do push-ups, planks, squats and deadlifts for three hours. Around 10 pledges were then ordered in an ice bath.

At least two pledges were hurt so badly that their muscles started to disintegrate. CBS4 in Indianapolis reported both of the pledges that were hospitalized complained of thigh pain and difficulty walking when they were admitted to the hospital, and one had dark urine. Both were diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis and were hospitalized for multiple days, according to court documents.

The fraternity’s president has also been charged with obstruction of justice. Court documents say the Phi Kappa Psi president Arjunkjumar Patel messaged one of the pledges who had been hospitalized while he was being treated and told him to lie about his injuries and how he got them. Patel allegedly also told the pledge to delete his messages.

Two students from the Chicago area – Kaptur Nowaczyk of Crown Point, Indiana, and Logan Conforti of Elgin, Illinois – are both facing two counts of hazing, a level six felony.

Phi Kappa Psi has been on a cease and desist, which suspends all organization activities, since Oct. 21, 2025, the date of the alleged hazing incident until further notice.

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.