Author: CNN Newsource

By Meghan Mosley

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    OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO) — Oklahoma City police are using real-time drone technology to improve response times and provide critical support during emergencies.

“It’ll automatically deploy the drone, and it will fly autonomously to the scene of that log of that CAD call address,” said Sgt. Dax LaPorte of the Oklahoma City Police Department.

The drones have helped officers track suspects, recover evidence and make arrests. In one case, a drone captured footage of a man ditching a gun in the woods.

In another instance from April, a downtown fight escalated quickly, and the drone provided real-time information to officers.

“As the drone’s getting overhead, they see the physical confrontation, and then they see one chasing another. They’re able to see through the lens of the drone that the person chasing the other has a gun,” LaPorte said. “What started out as just a yelling match or maybe a slight physical match now then transitioning to one person chasing another with a gun in a crowded downtown area, and they’re able to see this with the lens of the drone and update the officers responding.”

Analysts in the department’s real-time information center monitor dispatch calls and prioritize them to determine if a drone is needed.

“We have six different priority levels. If it is priority one or two, they’re pretty much piecing, ‘Do I have a dock in the area of that call, and I want to start sending a drone,’” LaPorte said.

The drone technology averages nearly 1,200 flights a month, with strategically placed docking stations across the city to ensure rapid deployment.

Police say the technology not only aids officers but also provides critical support to local fire departments during emergency calls.

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 Pepper Purpura

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    DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — More than 200 Iowa state information technology employees are losing their jobs after Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Tuesday that the state will outsource much of its technology infrastructure and operations to Amazon Web Services and Cognizant Government Solutions.

According to the governor’s office, the state will move the executive branch’s data from state-operated servers to Amazon Web Services’ cloud platform. Cognizant Government Solutions will assume responsibility for many day-to-day IT operations, including managing servers and networks, providing on-site technical support and handling employee IT support requests.

The Reynolds administration says the transition will save taxpayers more than $525 million over the next decade.

“In 2022, I directed the first comprehensive review of state government in 40 years, and since then, my administration has been focused on continuously improving government efficiency and effectiveness,” Reynolds said in a news release. “One of the most important strategic initiatives we’ve undertaken since was the consolidation and centralization of all IT resources across state government.”

State officials said approximately 200 employees currently providing IT operations services will receive employment offers from Cognizant Government Solutions.

For employees like Ryan Klares, the announcement was surprising, but not unforeseen.

“I’m in, like, a state of shock,” Klares said. “I saw the writing on the wall, like, back in 2023, when realignment started with the Department of Management.”

Klares is one of more than 200 employees in Iowa’s Division of Information Technology whose state employment will end July 31 as part of the transition.

Retirement benefits lost Klares said one of the primary reasons he joined state government was the retirement and benefits package offered through public employment.

“There were numerous other job opportunities that came to me that I did apply for and go through and did turn down because of, at the end of the day, the benefits and the retirement and everything that the state had to offer,” Klares said.

According to information provided to employees and information published by the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System, members generally must be vested before retaining employer-funded retirement benefits.

Klares said he has accumulated roughly $18,000 in employer retirement contributions that will be lost because his tenure was only four years.

The state says Cognizant Government Solutions will offer affected employees jobs at no less than their current compensation levels. However, Klares says that offer does not include benefits.

State says outsourcing will save money and modernize systems The governor’s office said the transition is part of a broader effort to modernize Iowa’s technology infrastructure.

According to the administration, Amazon Web Services will transition dozens of state data centers and thousands of physical servers into a cloud environment. State officials say the move will improve cybersecurity, reliability and long-term efficiency.

The Department of Management spokesperson Gloria Van Rees said the department plans to hire about 40 new state positions as Iowa transitions to the managed-service-provider model, and the state’s remaining IT workforce will focus on “setting IT strategy, measuring results, and driving innovation for the State.” The pool of employees being laid off is eligible for those roles.

Van Rees also explained how the projected savings estimate was decided.

“The projected savings came from cost comparison between current DOM IT rates and new Cognizant/AWS rates,” Van Rees wrote. “The DOM IT rates include personnel, hardware, data and infrastructure all rolled up into a billable rate charged to state agencies.”

Employee questions service impacts While state officials say the new model will improve efficiency, some employees worry outsourcing could negatively affect service for state agencies.

Klares pointed to previous changes in Iowa’s IT structure, saying additional layers of support sometimes delayed responses to technical problems.

“Sometimes it can take upwards of two plus days before we even get the tickets. And it’s something that I can go up there and fix in the matter of five or ten minutes,” Klares said.

The Department of Management has said Cognizant Government Solutions will begin providing services for the state in August.

According to communications sent to affected employees, workers will receive individualized employment offers from Cognizant and may also apply for newly created state positions tied to the new technology oversight model.

Full statement from Gov. Reynolds Reynolds provided the following statement Wednesday:

“The state of Iowa and Cognizant Government Solutions have been fully committed from the onset of this project to employing an Iowa-based workforce throughout the duration of our engagement. At no point during our negotiations was it even considered to employ H-1B visa holders. The state’s daily IT operations will continue to be supported by Iowans, for Iowans, as it is now.

“Part of the state’s negotiations with Cognizant Government Solutions was their guarantee to offer equal or better employment to the approximately 200 state employees who today provide the IT services that Cognizant Government Solutions will manage going forward. This ensures continuity and consistency for the IT workforce that serves state government and the state agencies who rely on them.

“IT operations is not a core function of state government and transitioning to a managed service provider model — especially one that includes Cognizant Government Solutions and Amazon Web Services, two world-class leaders in the tech industry — is necessary to ensure the integrity, security, and efficiency of Iowa’s data and systems.”

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 Faith Egbuonu

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    ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) — As of Tuesday, June 9, 2026, the United States Department of Agriculture has confirmed 5 New World Screwworm cases which include three infected cattle and one goat in Texas as well as a dog infected in Lea County, New Mexico.

On Tuesday, University of New Mexico professor of Finance and Economist Reilly White weighed in on the possible impact the New World Screwworm could have on the cattle industry and consumer prices if an outbreak occurs.

“Screw worm in general is a major concern for the cattle and beef industry across the United States. Now, we haven’t seen cases like this in many years. And to see them come back represents significant concerns for the cattle industry,” Reilly told KOAT.

“Here in New Mexico, we have $1 billion plus cattle industry. We’ve got over 1.2 million cattle. We’ve got dairy cattle. Our dairy industry is one of the top ten largest in the country. The impact is significant,” Reilly said.

“It is a highly destructive, flesh-eating parasite. Screw worm larvae (maggots) consume the living flesh of warm-blooded animals, including livestock, wildlife and pets. It can also infect humans.”

“This has the effect of raising prices for consumers. So, if we did have a larger or more expansive screw worm outbreak, it would result in higher prices across the board for all cattle based products meats, milk, dairy, all of those things. We had the avian flu a couple of years back. Of course, that rose egg prices significantly because we had to cull a lot of chickens,” Reilly told KOAT.

“How big is it going to be has a big effect on it. How widespread it’s going to be is a big effect, and the type of remediation that different cattle producers can do will help dictate how much of this gets passed along to consumers,” Reilly said.

The parasite feeds on the living flesh of warm-blooded animals, including livestock and pets. New Mexico State University Asst. professor of Entomology Caleb Hubbard, an explained how the parasite operates.

“The female flies will find things like open wounds. These can even be very, very small wounds as small as something like a tick bite. Those female flies lay eggs on that wound. Those eggs hatch into maggots,” Hubbard said.

“The cause for concern or the damaging aspect of this is that these maggots then have the ability to consume living flesh. So, these flies then or these maggots then are going to be consuming tissue,” Hubbard told KOAT.

Hubbard emphasized the significance of remaining alert, but not alarmed, stating “This isn’t something we need to be afraid of, but it’s very important that people are aware it’s here. One of the biggest things that we always stress is the fact that this is treatable if it’s caught early. Make sure your animals are being inspected. This has to be a team effort,” Hubbard said.

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By Patsy Montesinos

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    NASHVILLE, Tenneseee (WTVF) — South Nashville residents are pushing back against a proposed data center near the Nashville Zoo, raising concerns about its potential impact on both animals and the surrounding community.

Georgia-based DC BLOX has filed a permit for a nearly 70,000-square-foot facility in the Grassmere Business Park. Zoo officials say a planning document also lists a second building — possibly more than 200,000 square feet — plus an electrical substation. Together, the two buildings could have up to 50 megawatts of power capacity, which is enough to power roughly 40,000 homes.

Drew Small has launched a grassroots group called No New Data Centers and has been distributing flyers to alert his neighbors about the proposal.

“We’re talking about some farmers near data centers (who) are talking about reproductive health issues with their herds. What about reproductive health issues with our families, with our children as they’re developing?” Small said.

An online petition against the project continues to grow. Small says he remains hopeful despite the scale of the challenge.

“There’s so many people who feel like there’s nothing that we can do, but more than half of the proposed data centers in 2026 have failed,” Small said.

Metro Council passed a temporary moratorium on the acceptance, processing, approval and issuance of zoning, building or grading of data centers across the Davidson County area on first reading. The moratorium must still go through additional approvals to be enacted. It could affect at least two data center proposals in Nashville: one near the Nashville Zoo and another at Fisk University.

The zoo’s head veterinarian, Dr. Heather Schwartz, warned Tuesday night at a Metro Council meeting about the potential effects on the animals.

“Our animals depend on consistency, stability and an environment designed around their health and welfare. Constant mechanical noise, the vibration, bright lights, generators, all of that running 24/7 is definitely going to be disruptive to their well-being,” Schwartz said.

The Nashville Zoo has since taken its first legal action against the project. The zoo’s land-use attorney — and former Metro Codes Director — filed a zoning appeal trying to overturn the permits already approved.

DC BLOX released a statement addressing community concerns.

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By Cecil Hannibal

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    MODESTO, California (KCRA) — One person inside a Modesto home died after a vehicle that was being chased by the California Highway Patrol crashed into the structure early Tuesday.

CHP said the pursuit started around 1:20 a.m. when two officers noticed a car that was speeding in the area. The vehicle ran a red light and then crashed into a home on Tuxford Lane, according to CHP.

The person inside the home was not the homeowner, who was out of state at the time, CHP said. The victim’s name has not been released.

The driver of the vehicle and a passenger were not seriously hurt.

The driver was arrested and booked into the Stanislaus County Jail for two counts of felony DUI, two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of vehicular manslaughter, evading officers, and driving on a suspended license, CHP said.

He was identified as 20-year-old Zachariah James Knobel.

CHP said Knobel was arrested prior for driving with a measurable amount of alcohol in his system while being under the age of 21, but said it was not a DUI charge.

“This all could have been avoided if he just pulled over…that’s the point of our officers out there is to stop things like this from happening to innocent people,” said a CHP Spokesperson.

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By Olivia Tyler

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    ANKENY, Iowa (KCCI) — On most mornings, Kellen and Beckett Wiederin follow a familiar rhythm.

They brush their teeth, make their bed, pick out clothes for school and tell their mom, Brittany, what they want in their lunchboxes. It sounds like the routine most 8- and 12-year-olds follow. That was the Wiederin boys’ routine at the start of the school year, but as the year comes to a close, they make a little extra time in the morning for grief.

Their dad Cory, who once stood in the same kitchen helping shape those mornings, died in January after a long period of living with a rare form of kidney cancer.

“There’s only one thing worse than telling them that your dad is going to take his last breath,” Brittany Wiederin said. “The next worst thing is that your dad took his last breath.”

Brittany knew what was coming after an 18-month fight, but when the moment arrived, it still didn’t feel real.

“My strong husband, he’s not gone,” she said. “It was like, this cannot happen.”

Before his diagnosis, Brittany said life was full and ordinary in the best way. The college sweethearts had recently paid off student loans and spent date nights writing down where they hoped to be in 10 years.

That future changed in March of 2024, when Cory passed blood in his urine. Soon after came surgeries, trips to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, a clinical trial and radiation. The cancer spread from his liver to his colon, abdomen and lungs.

“Picture perfect health,” Brittany said. “He worked out, ate healthy, did all of the things.”

Cory was the center of the family’s world. He bought his wife the coolest new shoes anytime a pair came out just because he wanted her to look good. He built Lego sets with his sons and took them to wrestling tournaments all over the country. When Cory realized his time here on earth would most likely be cut short, he focused on one thing: being intentional with the days he had left.

In a family of baseball fans, that meant playing catch. Cory set a goal: 365 straight days of catch with Kellen and Beckett.

Each session followed the same rhythm. 20 throws, end on a pop fly. A few minutes every day wherever they could get it in. It didn’t matter how much homework the boys had or how tired Cory was; they made sure to play.

“I didn’t know which would be my last one,” Kellen said. “So I tried spending as much time with him.”

The family extended the tradition beyond their front yard, including a trip to Chicago where, during the Cubs 2025 playoff season, Cory threw out a ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field with help from Kellen and Beckett.

“It’s like pain went away for 48 hours,” she said. “We got to sing ‘Go Cubs Go.’ It was beautiful.”

They even played catch in their hotel overlooking Wrigley afterward.

But Cory’s condition worsened in the fall of 2025, and the family entered hospice care. Still, they marked milestones.

“We would tell each other, if you make it to October, you have to make it through October. Keep the month of October a month of celebration,” Brittany said.

They did. Celebrating Cory and Brittany’s anniversary, their birthdays and Kellen and Beckett’s birthdays too.

And as the fall went on, and Cory continued to get weaker, he still kept tossing the ball.

“He never stopped fighting,” Kellen said.

The Wiederins reached 289 days of catch together as a family of four before Cory died on Jan. 13, surrounded by his wife, his sons, his parents and siblings.

In the months that have followed, Brittany said grief comes in waves. But still, they’ve never stopped playing catch. They even played catch at Cory’s funeral.

The Wiederins made it to 365 days and decided to keep going, channeling Cory’s motto of handle hard better. Now, in June, they’ve played more than 440 days of catch.

While Cory’s clothes still hang neatly in the closet and his photos remain on every wall in the house. Brittany, Kellen, Beckett and their dog, Mitz, feel closest to Cory at his grave. Where they often gather to play catch. And they still play the same way. At least 20 tosses and always end on a popfly.

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 Esteban Reynoso

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    WINTERS, California (KCRA) — Fire crews in Yolo County are preparing for Wednesday’s red flag warning by fortifying containment lines and prepositioning resources to respond to potential new fires.

Wind gusts near Winters have fueled the flames of the Putah Fire, which began as a prescribed burn, but jumped containment lines Monday morning.

“We were challenged overnight with very strong and gusty winds, and we had some areas where the fire slopped over some of our dozer, our hand crew lines,” said Jason Clay, public information officer for the Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit.

The Putah Fire, which at one point prompted evacuation warnings, has been a priority for crews to bring under control.

The fire serves as an example of what crews are working to prevent.

Cal Fire is focused on containment efforts and preparing for the possibility of new fires.

“To get ahead of the red flag warning conditions that are gonna be in the area [Wednesday] so we want to get this containment up. So, we feel good about our perimeter, that it is secure so we don’t have any escape or anything else move forward,” Clay said.

Cal Fire is also prepositioning resources, including strike teams of engines, to be ready for initial attacks on any new fires.

“We preposition resources. Sometimes we have strike teams of engines that are in a region that could be utilized for initial attack on any new fire,” Clay said.

PG&E is also taking precautions, with plans for public safety power shutoffs that will impact nearly 5,000 customers across nine counties, including Colusa, Napa, Tehama, and Yolo.

“A lot of wind. That’s really the primary factor in driving these public safety power shutoffs,” said Jeff Smith, public information officer for PG&E.

Smith explained that the shutoffs are necessary due to the combination of “fire weather”.

“We’re already seeing these strong winds with hot temperatures, and really dry vegetation, which is why we decided that we needed to put plans in place to potentially call for this public safety power shutoff,” Smith said.

The shutoffs are expected to last until Thursday.

Cal Fire emphasized that they are ready to respond if any new fires emerge.

“Between the hand crews and the dozers, they’ve been able to add extra control line so everything is getting fortified right now,” Clay said.

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By Austin Pollack

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    NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WTVF) — There’s one thing guaranteed to bring the community together in Nashville — and that’s music.

Members in the Nashville Voices of Resilience Homeless Choir have either experienced homelessness or worked closely with those who have.

Founded by Daniel Holmes, who experienced homelessness for five years, the choir is made up of about 10 people united by a shared mission to use music as a bridge between communities.

“I said I’d like to have a homeless choir because I was homeless for five years,” Holmes said, when looking back at his desire to create this group.

“Everybody is a jewel to be extracted that has lived expertise of being unhoused,” said Kennetha Patterson, one of the members of the choir.

Conductor Nat Peterson Lopes joined after Holmes approached them with the idea.

“He told me one day, hey, so I kind of want to start a homeless choir, you want to help out? And I was like yeah I know about music, yeah absolutely,” Peterson Lopes said.

“The people in your life that are the most giving and the most generous are those that have the least,” they said.

Holmes describes the group as more than an ensemble — it is a family.

“We know each other because we call each other every night, we talk to each other,” he said. “We speak with each other, this is a family, this is not just a company.”

This Saturday, the choir will host a community gathering built around music, art and connection. The event is from 2-5 at 1502 Edgehill Avenue in Nashville. It’s also a fundraiser to support low-income families in need of stable housing.

Holmes said the path to helping someone experiencing homelessness is simpler than many might think.

“If you’re watching today and you ask yourself, what does it take to help a person who is homeless, it just takes love,” he said. “That’s all I would say – it just takes a little bit of understanding, and to say to someone I love you. Or, I care.”

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WTVF’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.