School bus attendant charged with sexual assault of 3 children

CNN Newsource on May 11, 2026

By Luke Lukert

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    Maryland (WTOP) — A substitute bus attendant in Maryland is accused of sexually assaulting three young students considered special needs.

The Washington County Department of Social Services contacted Hagerstown police last week alleging a fill-in school bus attendant had been inappropriately touching several students on the school bus.

A child crimes investigation began immediately with Washington County Public School officials. After reviewing video from May 5, police arrested 71-year-old Michael Sowers of Hagerstown.

In a statement, police said footage showed him sexually assaulting three students, two boys and a girl. All were considered special needs students and ranged in age from five to nine years old.

Sowers was arrested Friday and faces numerous sex offenses, including a rape charge.

Hagerstown police are now searching for additional victims.

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Former Chinatown Walgreens manager sentenced to nearly 3 years for inside-job robberies

CNN Newsource on May 11, 2026

By Ciara Wells

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    WASHINGTON, DC (WTOP) — The former manager of a Walgreens in D.C.’s Chinatown neighborhood was sentenced Thursday to 32 months in prison for her part in a coordinated string of robberies at the store.

London Teeter, 22, of D.C., was employed as the store manager when she took part in seven inside-job robberies with three other people. She pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery in February 2025.

Over the span of nine months, from July 2023 to February 2024, Teeter, along with Michael Robinson and Kamanye Williams, 26, relayed information about cash transfers inside the store to Gianni Robinson, Michael’s nephew. Gianni would then pass that information along to Williams, who would take money from the safe in the manager’s office at gunpoint.

Teeter knew the timing of the cash transfers and would allow a masked gunman, Williams, to rob the store’s employees using a code she provided.

Michael Robinson, 35, the second manager at the store, was sentenced to 12 years behind bars in October 2025. Teeter and he would take turns being the victim of the robberies because they knew the crimes were being recorded on surveillance cameras.

During the last robbery, Williams was shot by a special police officer hired by Walgreens to protect the business. In a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C., prosecutors said Teeter was aware the special officers were hired and that a co-conspirator had robbed one of them of a firearm.

“London Teeter was a key architect of a seven-month scheme that repeatedly turned her own workplace into a crime scene,” U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said in a news release. “The sentencing guidelines called for 87-to-108 months. This sentence, which is significantly lighter, does little to protect the citizens of the District.”

Pirro’s office had originally requested a 100-month (over eight-year) prison sentence.

In total, Teeter and her co-conspirators stole about $29,000.

After her 2-year and eight-month sentence, Teeter will serve three years of supervised release.

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Man accused of stealing over $72,000 from Georgia Lottery with forged check, officials say

CNN Newsource on May 11, 2026

By Dan Raby

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    Georgia (WUPA) — Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has announced the indictment of a Dawson man accused of depositing a forged check appearing to be from the Georgia Lottery Corporation for more than $72,000.

The indictment, approved by a Bartow County grand jury, charges 33-year-old Jovante Peters with third-degree forgery and theft by taking.

An investigation by the GBI and the Attorney General’s White Collar and Cyber Crime Unit found that Peters allegedly deposited the check worth around $72,096.

“Let’s be very clear – when you steal from the Georgia Lottery, you’re stealing from the millions of children who benefit from lottery-funded educational programs,” Carr said. “Theft of taxpayer dollars, particularly those dollars that go toward our students, will not be tolerated. We will prosecute you and put you away.”

GBI Director Chris Hosey seconded Carr’s statement, saying that money stolen from the lottery’s proceeds takes funds from education scholarships and state programs.

“The GBI remains committed to working alongside the Georgia Attorney General’s Office to hold accountable those who seek to take advantage of Georgia’s communities,” Hosey said.

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Kemp to sign tax cut bills Monday, delivering savings for Georgia families and homeowners

CNN Newsource on May 11, 2026

By Christopher Harris

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    ATLANTA (WUPA) — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will put his signature on a pair of tax relief bills Monday that will lower income taxes, boost deductions, and give homeowners new tools to fight rising property tax bills.

Kemp’s office notified lawmakers Thursday that he planned to sign House Bill 463 and Senate Bill 33, two measures that were top priorities for Republican legislative leaders this session, though both fell short of the more sweeping tax overhaul the GOP had originally promised.

Lower income taxes and bigger deductions House Bill 463, officially called the Georgia Economic Growth and Tax Relief Act of 2026, would cut the state’s personal income tax rate from 5.19 percent to 4.99 percent starting this year, then continue dropping by 0.125 percent annually until it reaches 3.99 percent; a faster pace than the 0.1 percent annual reduction already on the books.

At the start of the year, some Republican leaders had pushed to eliminate Georgia’s personal income tax by 2032. The approved bill doesn’t go that far, but still represents a meaningful acceleration of tax cuts for millions of Georgians.

The bill would also raise the standard deduction: the amount of income shielded from taxes before a single dollar is calculated, from $24,000 to $30,000 for married couples filing jointly, with annual increases of $750 until it reaches $36,000. Single filers would see their standard deduction jump from $12,000 to $15,000, climbing by $375 per year until it hits $18,000. Those annual increases are tied to state revenue performance and only kick in if Georgia’s tax collections grow by at least 3 percent.

Families with dependents would see their per-dependent deduction rise from $4,000 to $5,000, eventually climbing to $6,000.

Workers who earn tips or overtime pay would also see relief. From 2026 through 2028, up to $1,750 of cash tips and $1,750 of overtime pay would be exempt from state income tax.

Seniors would benefit as well, with the retirement income exclusion for those 65 and older rising from $65,000 to $70,000 starting in 2027.

To help offset the cost of the cuts, the bill eliminates several existing tax credits, including those for teleworking expenses, electric and hybrid vehicles, and manufacturers of medical equipment.

Georgia’s personal income tax is projected to bring in about $16.5 billion this year, roughly 44 percent of the state’s total general revenue. Democrats opposed the bill, arguing the cuts primarily benefit higher earners and leave the state with less money to fund essential services.

Property tax relief for homeowners Senate Bill 33, known as the Homeownership Opportunity and Market Equalization Act of 2026, takes a different approach, targeting property taxes, which have surged across Georgia as home values have risen sharply in recent years.

The bill creates a new Local Homestead Option Sales Tax, or LHOST, which would allow local governments to use sales tax revenue to fund homestead exemptions and reduce property tax bills for homeowners. Beginning in 2028, counties and municipalities could put the LHOST to a vote and, if approved, use the proceeds exclusively to offset property taxes for qualifying homeowners.

The bill also makes the state’s existing base year homestead exemption, which caps increases in a home’s taxable assessed value, mandatory across all political subdivisions in Georgia and strengthens protections for homeowners who were incorrectly charged property taxes due to a government error.

What comes next Both bills passed the Georgia General Assembly on the final day of the legislative session. Kemp’s signature makes them law on Monday, with the income tax provisions applying to tax years beginning Jan. 1, 2026.

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‘It’s sick’: Animal advocates react after kennel workers charged in dog deaths

CNN Newsource on May 11, 2026

By Rian Stockett

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    BUNCOMBE COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — Four employees of a boarding and training kennel in Swannanoa are facing felony charges after an investigation into the death of two dogs.

According to the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, Tiffany Dawn Jourdain, Brianne Michelle Hunt, Dianna Hope Hall and Lillian Nichole Sparks were employees of Inner Knowing Canine Connections and were charged in connection with the case.

As part of the investigation, they found that both dogs had no food in their gastrointestinal tracts and that they were severely dehydrated.

According to the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, one of the dogs had been dead for an extended period of time, and other animals were found to have suffered from a lack of sustenance, resulting in severe weight loss.

All four suspects were charged with altering, stealing or destroying criminal evidence and conspiracy.

“If they didn’t know it was wrong, they wouldn’t try to conceal evidence,” Arledge said.

Sparks is charged with two counts of killing an animal by starvation. She’s also accused of intentionally depriving other animals of sustenance, resulting in severe weight loss.

According to arrest warrants, Jourdain is accused of hitting a dog in the face with a metal bowl, as well as kicking and hitting it with her hands while recording to train employees to use the same methods when training nonaggressive, docile dogs.

“It’s sick. There’s no credible training method where you abuse an animal,” Arledge said.

News 13 reached out to Inner Knowing Canine Connections and left a voicemail seeking a comment on the case. No response was received by publication time.

A viewer reached out with concerns that Tiffany Jourdain is involved with other dog care and training facilities, including another in North Carolina. A person who answered the phone at the North Carolina facility said Jourdain does not work there and that the business was purchased from her about 10 years ago.

Another facility in Florida, Positive Splash Dog Training, lists Jourdain as the owner. News 13 called the Florida facility and reached a voicemail message from “Tiffany with Positive Splash Dog Training.” News 13 left a message and has not yet heard back.

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What it takes to be a ‘Hot Dog Hawker’ at American Family Field

CNN Newsource on May 11, 2026

By Montse Ricossa

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    MILWAUKEE (WDJT) — Peanuts and Cracker Jack are some of the foods most associated with baseball. But if you go out to American Family Field what you’ll see the most are hot dogs. The vendors who sell them, known as “hot dog hawkers,” have quite the job.

“Hot dogs, hot dogs here” is the call we all know and love. Whether you get your hot dog with mustard, ketchup, or both, everyone needs a hot dog at a ball game.

“I just think it’s that time-honored tradition of baseball with hot dogs and beers,” shared Branden Toerp from Sheboygan, who got himself a hot dog at a Brewers game. Waterford’s Mary Evans echoed that sentiment, saying, “when you go to a baseball game, you have to have a hot dog – it’s just part of it, I guess!” Eight-year-old Chandler said what he likes about Brewers games is getting a hot dog.

The man selling the hot dogs is Steve Carlovsky who said eating hot dogs at a baseball game is “a tradition! People want to have a red hot, a hot dog! They want to have the mustard, they want to have the onions. Here at AmFam, the stadium sauce!

Starting as a vendor in 1990, this is Carlovsky’s 37th year working at American Family Field, “this is a big year for me because I finally cracked the top 10 vendors in seniority.”

The 76-year-old stays active, walking up and down the steps at American Family Field every home game. “I get to be around more people, plus it keeps my life in shape, and I get to see friends who come in here saying, ‘What are you still doing this for?’ Because I enjoy it! There are people who enjoy fishing, golfing, whatever. I enjoy coming to the ballpark,” he said.

Coming to the ballpark about two to three hours before first pitch, Carlovsky gets ready for the busy day, walking through security in the tunnels below the field. There, he picks up his card reader, making sure to greet everyone he walks by. As one of the first vendors to arrive, he gets to sit and chat with his coworkers, who have become friends. “One of the things that’s big at the AmFam field is camaraderie between vendors. Dave’s been here 50 years. I’m here on year 37,” he said while sitting in a chair next to Dave, waiting for their shift to start. “We do a lot of sitting here,” he added through a laugh.

Carlovsky started as a vendor when he was working as a teacher, to help pay for hospital bills when his twin daughters were born. Even though he now works with one of them, carpooling on game days, he stuck with his job as a vendor, even as he retired from teaching: “by being a vendor, I get the atmosphere every game, and by being here I get to interact with lots and lots of people all over the state, all over the world. I mean, they say, ‘we’re just learning the game,’ which is kinda cool too.”

While fans learned the game, Steve was learning how to be a hot dog hawker. He said it takes patience as “it’s going to take you a while to get where you want to work. You have to want to be around people, project. This is a great place to be because we want you back! I want every one of my customers back every game if they could!”

Another part of the job is obviously “the call.” Carlovsky explained, “the call is important. Because you have to have a voice that projects. If your voice doesn’t project, they don’t know what products you have! And knowing the products, that’s a huge thing.”

Steve sold 11 hot dogs in one inning on a Thursday game day. If that were to stay the same for the seven innings they can sell, and multiply that by the 81 games he works. That’s 6,237 dogs! Throughout all ballparks, around 20 million hot dogs are sold annually, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.

As we followed Carlovsky around the stadium selling hot dogs, we saw some Brewers fan recognize him. Since he sells at every game in the season, Steve makes sure to get to know who he sells to. He said one customer has given him charm bracelets, which he wears every game. “My job is to make sure that the fans have a great time… I just want them to come back,” he 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.

Wayward young sea lion rescued by police near Highway 101 in Brisbane

CNN Newsource on May 11, 2026

By Tim Fang

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    BRISBANE, California (KPIX) — Authorities on the Peninsula helped rescue a wayward California sea lion that was found off busy Highway 101 on Friday.

According to the Brisbane Police Department, an officer on his way to work spotted the sea lion, near Sierra Point Parkway by the DoubleTree Hotel. After seeing the animal heading towards the on ramp for northbound Highway 101, the officer used his personal vehicle to slow traffic and contacted other officers for assistance.

Responding officers secured traffic and contained the sea lion as they awaited personnel from the Marine Mammal Center.

“Using specialized animal control equipment, officers were able to safely keep the seal from wandering into traffic or onto the freeway,” police said.

Rescuers told police that the seal was spotted along Coyote Point and surrounding shoreline areas and that they were looking for the seal for several days.

The seal, dubbed “Sierra” by officers, was found to be malnourished and in need of urgent care. Sierra was taken by Marine Mammal Center staff to their veterinary hospital for treatment and rehabilitation, with the goal to release Sierra back into the wild.

“We are grateful for the teamwork displayed today between Brisbane Police Department personnel and The Marine Mammal Center in helping ensure Sierra received the care she needed safely and successfully,” police said in a statement Friday.

Police urged the public to contact the Marine Mammal Center at 415-289-7325 when encountering marine wildlife in distress and to maintain a safe distance of 50 yards.

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Delivery driver crashes into home in Highlands Ranch, facing DUI charges

CNN Newsource on May 11, 2026

By Christa Swanson

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    HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colorado (KCNC) — Deputies are investigating after a delivery driver crashed into a home in Highlands Ranch on Sunday morning.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said deputies and firefighters with South Metro Fire were called to a home in the 9800 block of Wedgewood Drive after a vehicle crashed into a home.

Investigators said the driver fell asleep behind the wheel while delivering packages. The red Mazda crashed through an exterior wall and ended up almost entirely inside the home.

Fortunately, there was no one inside the house at the time. The DCSO says the driver was not injured.

The delivery driver was arrested and is facing charges of driving under the influence and reckless driving.

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Near West Side priest removed over alleged inappropriate conduct with women, minors

CNN Newsource on May 11, 2026

By Web Staff

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    CHICAGO, Illinois (WBBM) — The Archdiocese of Chicago has removed a priest ministering on the Near West Side after he was accused of “improper and inappropriate” conduct with women and children.

The archdiocese sent a letter to parishioners at Saint Francis of Assisi on Saturday, informing them of the removal of Rev. Jose Molina, who had been working at the parish since last August.

Cardinal Blase Cupich says the archdiocese is assisting with the investigation and offering support services to the alleged victims.

“I want to stress that the welfare of our parishioners, and especially the children entrusted to our care, is our paramount concern. The Archdiocese of Chicago takes all allegations of misconduct seriously,” he said.

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$10K reward offered in East Garfield Park shooing that killed rideshare driver, student

CNN Newsource on May 11, 2026

By Sara Tenenbaum

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    CHICAGO, Illinois (WBBM) — Cook County Crime Stoppers is offering a $10,000 reward to help solve a double homicide in East Garfield Park.

Shortly before 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Uber driver Jassen Cho, 38, was driving 18-year-old Damarion Johnson in the 200 block of North Homan Avenue. Chicago police said a gray SUV pulled up alongside him and someone inside opened fire, hitting them both.

Cho and Johnson both died later at the hospital.

Cho’s sister Anny, who was too distraught to appear on camera, told CBS News Chicago that her brother worked primarily in finance but worked for Uber on the side. She said he was robbed of celebrating anniversary with his girlfriend on Sunday.

An Albany Park native, Cho attended Palatine High School and DePaul University.

Family and friends of Johnson said he was a senior at Christ the King Jesuit College Prep in the city’s Austin neighborhood and was taking an Uber after basketball practice. He was in the process of considering college basketball offers and also worked with the group Project Swish.

CPD have not offered a motive in the shooting. No one is currently in custody.

Police are asking anyone who witnessed the shooting or has information that may help identify the shooter or other people involved come forward.

Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling the Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-800-535-7867 or online at CDPTip.com. All tipsters will remain anonymous and will be assigned a code number to claim the reward if the information leads to an arrest or indictment.

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