Author: CNN Newsource

By Alex Howard

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    ARCADIA, Florida (WBBH) — An exotic fish native to the Amazon is now drawing anglers to Southwest Florida for a rare fishing experience, and raising questions about whether it could one day become invasive in Florida waters.

The arapaima, one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, has recently appeared in Florida through experimental fish farms and specialty aquaculture operations. The massive South American species, known for its voracious appetite and immense strength, is now the centerpiece of a new fishing resort outside Arcadia operated by Jurassic Living Jewels.

Five years ago, a dead arapaima was discovered at Jaycee Park in Cape Coral. Investigators later determined the five-foot fish had been stolen from an experimental fish farm in Charlotte County.

Today, Jurassic Living Jewels says its Arcadia property is the only place in North America where anglers can legally catch arapaima. The remote farm also houses a variety of exotic species, including Golden Dorado, Pacu and several species of catfish.

“The only place in North America where you can come and catch them,” said Hunter Vogel from Jurassic Living Jewels. “It’s a great fish, it’s like a tarpon on steroids, It’s a very primitive fish, very bony, the head is armor pretty much. You’ve probably seen a video, and if it launches itself at your chest, you will be out of breath for a while.”

The fish themselves are enormous, with some arapaima capable of weighing more than 400 pounds. Staff members recently transferred the fish from greenhouse ponds into larger outdoor stock ponds using large nets. During the move, we experienced firsthand just how powerful the fish can be after being struck in the face by one of their tails.

Jurassic Living Jewels says the fish are bred for sport fishing, with customers paying as much as $2,500 a day for the chance to catch one. The breeding program has become so successful that the facility has also begun selling some of the fish for food.

Still, questions remain about whether arapaima could survive in Florida waterways if they escaped captivity.

“They will kill anything that gets in that pond that isn’t man,” Vogel said. “Birds, anything gets in that pond, they will kill it.”

The owners of the facility argue the fish are unlikely to become invasive because Florida winters are too cold for them to survive. They pointed to studies dating back to 2013 that found arapaima struggle when temperatures fall below roughly 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

But not everyone agrees.

FGCU ecologist Serge Thomas said the species could potentially survive in Southwest Florida under the right conditions, especially during warm-weather flooding events that could allow fish to escape into waterways like the Peace River.

“Really, if it were to be released, especially in the southeastern U.S., because it is a tropical equatorial fish, it does not bear well with low temperatures below 60 or 61 degrees Fahrenheit,” Thomas explained.

Thomas compared the arapaima’s temperature tolerance to the peacock bass, another tropical species that already survives in South Florida by taking refuge in warmer groundwater-fed canals and waterways. He also warned that warm-water discharges from power plants, such as the one on the Orange River in Fort Myers, could potentially help the fish survive year-round.

“I believe firmly that it could potentially be a threat and be able to thrive down here,” Thomas said. “If you look at the peacock bass, they have the same thermal range. I think definitely it could be a problem.”

Experts say the fish’s feeding habits are another concern. Juvenile arapaima feed on small fish and insects, while adults are capable of consuming frogs and much larger prey as they grow.

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 Allison Shafter

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    EMMETT, Idaho (KIVI) — Idaho Fish and Game implemented what officials are calling “an experimental approach” to address a nonmigratory elk herd that has caused “significant agricultural damage” on private land in the Big Willow Creek area.

34 elk were moved in a translocation project, aimed at addressing a herd that had reportedly caused more than $1 million in crop damage among five landowners last year.

Flying from a helicopter, IDFG staff used a dart gun to sedate 37 elk northwest of Emmett, who were then transported by a helicopter to a processing site. Staff at the site fitted the animals with GPS collars, conducted health checks, loaded them into trailers, and then drove them 8 hours to the release site in the Panhandle.

IDFG captured 22 elk on May 4 and 15 elk on May 5 in Unit 32. All of the captured elk were cows.

Three of the elk reportedly died during transport due to capture-related causes. IDFG officials say the deaths are “a known risk due to the stress of handling and reaction to sedation, which Fish and Game staff worked to minimize.”

34 of the captured elk were released to Unit 7 in the Panhandle Elk Zone, an area that the current management plan calls for increasing the elk population. Numbers are reportedly low due to habitat changes, predation, and low calf-to-cow ratios.

The elk will be monitored to see if they remain in Unit 7 and integrate with existing herds.

However, IDFG acknowledges that these elk will not meaningfully increase this population. “The hope is that these elk will survive, reproduce, and contribute to the herd in the long term,” IDFG said.

Regional Supervisor Josh Royse is calling the operation “an experimental approach to addressing depredation.” According to Royse, IDFG has tried “every other tool in the toolkit” to address the Big Willow resident herd that has grown to about 350 animals over the past five years. He says the agency will need to evaluate the cost and success of the project to decide if translocation is effective.

In previous efforts, hunters harvested 150 elk on the private properties in 2025, but officials say that hunting alone didn’t reduce the herd.

IDFG said the next phase of the project would be to kill approximately 60 more elk from the herd by the USDA Wildlife Services this summer. Officials say the meat will be processed and distributed to Idaho food banks.

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 Sahana Patel

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    MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho (KIVI) — The Gunfighter Skies Air Show returns to Mountain Home Air Force Base this weekend after eight years. Crews have been planning for nearly two years and taking from lessons learned from past tragedies.

Air Show Director Anthony Mountain said the road to this weekend was not without obstacles.

“We’ve worked through a fair amount of challenges, including a no-notice deployment that happened recently, and just to see how the team and the base has come together to put on a great show has been the best part,” Mountain said.

Maintenance crews have been working around the clock to ensure every aircraft is ready for takeoff, with teams prepared to make repairs at a moment’s notice if something goes wrong during the show.

Hannah Brian, director of operations for the Fighter Generation Squadron, said her team will be visible throughout the event.

“You’ll see us out there fixing [aircraft] and launching them, but they’re there sitting ready to go and doing all the preparation to make sure that everything goes smoothly,” Brian said.

Safety for spectators is also a top priority. Senior Master Sergeant Jesse Mitchell, the air show maintenance deputy, said aircraft positioning is carefully managed to protect the crowd.

“We keep all of our aircraft at a perfectly safe distance so even if something does happen, the crowd will never be involved in any of those incidents,” Mitchell said.

First responders and emergency teams will be stationed across the base throughout the weekend. Officials say past incidents continue to shape how they prepare for large-scale events.

During the base’s last air show in 2018, a hang glider died after crashing onto the runway. In 2003, a Thunderbirds jet crashed during the show, though the pilot ejected safely just one second before impact.

Mitchell said those events directly inform current planning.

“We can go through and learn everything that we can from those incidents. In one of our plans that we have right now is we’re going to have a helicopter on static; that’s a Life Flight helicopter,” Mitchell said.

Deputy Fire Chief Justin Hatch said new requirements are now in place as a result of past incidents.

“Now, for air shows, we’re required to have trucks stationed on the flight line on the ramp so we can reach anywhere on the airfield within 60 seconds,” Hatch said.

Even as the air show takes center stage, the base’s operational mission continues. Brian said her team is balancing the event with ongoing military responsibilities.

“We still have a mission to do, and we’re recovering from a deployment. We’re working through reconstituting our fleet, so my focus has really been just to make sure that that is still ongoing throughout the duration of the air show,” Brian said.

The Gunfighter Skies Air Show takes place Saturday and Sunday at Mountain Home Air Force Base. You can find details on the event here.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KIVI’s editorial team 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.

By Malcolm Shields, Ari Hait

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    PORT ST. LUCIE, Florida (WPBF) — Police in Port St. Lucie say a husband and wife were found shot to death inside their home in the 2700 block of Esenada Terrace on Monday afternoon in what investigators believe was a murder-suicide.

“They were a beautiful family, beautiful. Just something happened between wife and husband,” said Irma, a neighbor.

Authorities said the couple’s two youngest children, ages 1 and 2, were inside the home during the shooting.

Their 6-year-old child came home from school and found the bodies.

“We pray for the family. We pray for the family and for the children,” said Pamela, another neighbor.

Police identified the husband as Jimsley Estime and said he was arrested in January, accused of making written threats to kill his wife, 30-year-old Ketsy Alexis.

Police said the case was dismissed because Alexis refused to prosecute.

“My heart really breaks for this family,” said Nina Batista, a licensed clinical social worker.

Batista, who has treated hundreds of domestic abuse victims, said many cases involve victims who refuse prosecution and protect their abuser.

“The terror floods them to the fact that they don’t feel like they can go anywhere. They’re in survival. They’re stuck. It’s a cage without the physical cage,” Batista said.

In this case, Alexis had filed for divorce from Estime.

Batista said statistics show the idea of losing their partner is often when abusers become most dangerous.

“I think people really need to take this seriously and understand how dangerous and scary these situations can become,” Batista said.

Batista encouraged anyone in an abusive relationship to call 911 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE.

She said it’s important for everyone to know help is available.

If you or someone you know needs help, you can talk with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or sending a text message to 988, or you can chat online here.

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By Peyton Headlee

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    ROSEVILLE, California (KCRA) — A 16-year-old student at West Park High School in Roseville is alive today thanks to the quick actions of school staff after he suffered sudden cardiac arrest in the middle of class last month.

On April 10, sophomore Mark Moon collapsed in his band class. His teacher, Patrick Neff quickly made an emergency call to the school office. School nurse Jennifer Bair and School Resource Officer Adaris were among the first to respond.

“We knew right away, as soon as we walked in, that this was truly an emergency,” Bair said. “We called for EMS, got them dispatched right away.”

Bair began chest compressions after realizing Mark had no pulse, while a campus monitor retrieved an automated external defibrillator (AED). Meanwhile, other staff members worked to clear the classroom of students, assist EMS in getting to the correct classroom, and alert Mark’s parents.

“It tells you to shock if it is a shockable rhythm. And it did for Mark and saved his life,” Bair said.

EMS arrived shortly after, stabilized him and rushed him to the emergency room.

“It felt like doctors were rappelling from the ceiling. My memory is just there’s just people everywhere working on him,” his father, Chris Moon, said.

Mark spent a week in the hospital and now has a defibrillator implanted. Doctors are still working to determine why his heart stopped.

“I’ve been getting better every day and it’s pretty much back to normal now,” Mark said.

Although he doesn’t remember the day of the incident, Moon said he’ll never forget the staff who saved his life.

“I felt like really grateful that I was part of a school that had staff that was able to do that,” he said.

His father shared his appreciation, saying, “The school gave us more time with our kid and more time with our family intact. I don’t know how to say thank you to that gift.”

On Tuesday, eight staff members were honored for their life-saving actions at the Roseville Joint Union High School District Board Meeting. Mark sat in the front row to watch the recognition ceremony.

“When I saw him in that condition, I just knew that this was somebody’s baby, and this was somebody’s baby that I’m not going to let anything happen to. So, it was just good to see him alive and talking,” Bair said.

Mark is now back on campus and attending classes.

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By Chantelle Navarro

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    MCALESTER, Oklahoma (KOCO) — Raymond Johnson is set to be executed Thursday for the 2007 murders of his ex-girlfriend, Brooke Whitaker, and her 7-month-old daughter, Kya, in Tulsa, after brutally attacking them and setting their home on fire.

Evidence markers from the scene showed the gas can Johnson used to burn down Whitaker’s home in late June 2007. The living room furniture was blackened and charred.

Johnson attacked Whitaker with a hammer, then doused her, her baby and their surroundings with gasoline. Whitaker died in the hospital, and Kya succumbed to her burns.

He is set to be executed by lethal injection at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.

Elizabeth Overman, president of the Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, expressed opposition to the execution.

“The crime is a travesty. But the state response to the crime is an even greater travesty,” Overman said.

The group offered condolences to the victims’ family but argued that Johnson’s execution would not bring healing.

“The state, in response, executing Mr. Johnson is not helping. It doesn’t return those people to the family,” Overman said.

Johnson was previously convicted in a shooting death in the 1990s and later released on parole.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond urged the board to deny clemency, saying Johnson’s heinous crime shattered a family and left three children to grow up without their mother and baby sister.

During the clemency hearing, Johnson’s lawyers presented videos from his family and friends, arguing that he is a changed man. Johnson also addressed the board.

“I know the love shared because to know Brooke and Kya was to love them. Today I sit here responsible for their deaths. I tried to plead guilty, and I got it,” Johnson said.

Whitaker’s surviving daughter, Brooke, shared the pain Johnson caused her family.

“He took everything. Every night these past 19 years have been exhausting. Growing up with what should’ve been grows on me—birthdays, graduations, weddings, pregnancy, births and grandchildren is just a small portion of what my mom’s missed out on,” she said.

The only way to stop the execution now is if Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt intervenes. His office has not yet commented.

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By Christina Watkins

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    ORLANDO, Florida (WESH) — May is Mental Health Awareness Month. WESH 2 committed to keeping the conversation going by highlighting those who seem the strongest, yet struggle in silence.

First responders are the people who face challenging and dangerous situations. They commit to a life of service and helping those in need. However, the constant exposure to traumatic scenes, combined with severe exhaustion and an unpredictable schedule, can often place an emotional burden on them.

Two retired firefighters from Central Florida say they know the weight of the duty all too well.

“Folks will call 911. We show up, and we fix problems, and it’s very hard for us to admit that sometimes the problem we may have is our own problem, and that we need help because we are the helpers,” said Joe McCluan, retired district chief of the Orlando Fire Department.

Joe McCluan and Chris DeMaagd spent a combined 63 years responding to emergency calls. They started in Seminole County and ended in Orlando. Though they no longer wear a uniform and heavy gear to save lives, now, they’re using a bench at Lake Baldwin in Orlando.

“It’s going to take everything, like what we’re doing here, and more treatment centers, less stigma, more people talking about this,” said DeMaagd, a retired firefighter from the Orlando Fire Department.

McCluan and DeMaagd started The Bench 988 project after two of their fellow firefighters died by suicide.

“If you’re struggling and you need help, you want help, you can reach out to a fellow firefighter, or peer, and say, ‘Hey, Joe, can you meet me at the bench?’ And that’s all you have to say. If I hear you say you need me to meet you at the bench, that means I know you’re struggling and you need some help,” McCluan said.

Statistics from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration show nearly 30% of Florida’s first responders will develop behavioral health conditions, such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the Florida Department of Children and Families, first responders are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty.

“Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of strength because it’s allowing you to reach out and say, ‘I need to do something,’ and just like a physical injury, if you get hurt and you have to go for rehab for a couple weeks, this is a stress injury,” said Dr. Deborah Beidel, the executive director of UCF RESTORES.’

Leaders at organizations such as UCF RESTORES 2nd Alarm Project work hand-in-hand with The Bench 988 to keep first responders alive and not feel shame asking for support after trauma.

“When they step back from that, they need resources, and they need outlets to be able to heal and de-stress and to cope with those situations. So having that support and that understanding that, you know, the real human sides behind the badge is very important,” said Kellie O’Dare, the Deputy Executive Director of UCF RESTORES.

The bench serves as a reminder for anyone to find safety, hope and help. No one walks alone. Call or text 988.

“I truly have faith and hope that, God-willing, there’s a way to solve it,” DeMaagd said.

“We want to do everything we can so that we don’t face another suicide. Whether it be a firefighter, a first responder, police, fire, EMS communications, or maybe even someone in the general public comes and sits at this bench and reads that. They see it, and they reach out,” McCluan 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 Todd Magel

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    OSCEOLA, Iowa (KCCI) — The Osceola community is coming together to support the family of two young girls who drowned in White Breast Creek last Friday.

The girls, ages 7 and 10, went missing Friday night, and search crews found their bodies in the creek just outside of Osceola. Several local businesses are raising money to help the family during this difficult time.

At the Nutrition Hub on the Osceola Square, customers are buying energy drinks, knowing proceeds from Tuesday’s sales will go to the family.

“It was heartbreaking,” said Makalya Halverson, owner of Nutrition Hub

Halverson decided to donate her sales from Tuesday and this Friday to the family. “I know that the family is a very, very great family and very appreciative to everybody in the community that’s helping and trying to do anything that we can. But we’re hoping that they’re able to just take the time that they need to, to get through this tragedy,” she said.

Customers are eager to contribute.

“I feel like we’re such a smaller community, and we all just know the gather. And this is a great way to support money for this family in need right now,” said Ace Neisemier, a resident of Osceola.

The Clarke County sheriff confirmed the girls went missing Friday night and were later found in the White Breast Creek area east of Osceola. The news has shocked residents in Clarke County.

“Everybody just wants to help,” said Rebecca Bragg, owner of Nana Greer’s Family Table.

Bragg plans to open her restaurant Monday night to raise money for the family, with her staff volunteering to cook and wait tables. “I can’t imagine what that family is going through and what they’re dealing with. And the last thing that they should be worrying about is how they’re going to take care of the financial side of anything. So, I thought maybe we could help with that,” she said.

Other local businesses, including the Osceola Subway and the Junction Creamery, are also raising money this week to support the family.

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.