Author: CNN Newsource

By Joshua Moton

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    ST. MARTIN PARISH, Louisiana (KATC) — As extreme summer heat settles across South Louisiana, cattle producers are doing more than making sure their herds have access to shade and fresh water. They are relying on months of preparation to help their animals withstand the hottest part of the year.

“It’s brutal. I mean it’s hard on people and it’s hard on cattle,” said Raymond Fontenot, owner and operator of Crescent Bar F., a grass-fed cattle operation in Meaux.

Fontenot said caring for cattle during the summer begins long before temperatures climb into the triple digits. Rather than reacting to each heat wave, he focuses on preparing his herd in advance.

“If you’re just following the weather and not being proactive it’s a tough deal. The cattle have to be fat going into the cycle to get through the cycle,” Fontenot said.

A key part of that preparation is maintaining healthy forage—the grasses and other plants cattle graze on each day. Abigail Sartin, an LSU AgCenter extension agent, said weather conditions throughout the year play a major role in determining how well those pastures grow.

“We do a lot of soil testing prior to this time of year and rolling through the summer, trying to help people understand why maybe their grass wasn’t as good this year as it was last year,” Sartin said.

While walking through a pasture outside the LSU AgCenter office, Sartin explained that South Louisiana’s changing weather patterns can make it difficult for forage to develop consistently.

“We had a period recently where we went a really long time without rainfall, but then we got a bunch of rain, so that impacts the grass’s growth pattern; it can kind of confuse it almost,” Sartin said.

Despite those challenges, Fontenot said taking advantage of favorable growing conditions throughout the year has allowed him to build a strong supply of forage while ensuring his cattle always have access to shade and fresh water. He said that preparation has helped his herd remain in good condition despite the recent stretch of extreme heat.

“So we’re kinda going up and down, but in this situation we’ve still got good conditions for growth on the grass,” Fontenot said.

Sartin encourages producers to continue monitoring pasture conditions throughout the summer and adjust their management practices as weather conditions change, while Fontenot said preparation remains one of the best tools for helping cattle safely navigate Louisiana’s hottest months.

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 Monique John

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    ATLANTA (WUPA) — Dr. Algernon Cargill and Ronaldo Coxson say they were split on whether to have children when they first met. But after they fell in love and got married, they decided that becoming parents was the next step.

“We ultimately chose surrogacy because we wanted to have a biological connection to our kids,” Cargill said. “[A]nd we also heard some horror stories of families being placed with a foster family and then losing on the placement later on…”

The two say it was a rewarding experience. They now have two daughters, Elle, 7, and Grace, 2. They also have great relationships with their egg donor and surrogates. But they say that as a gay couple, the process was challenging and expensive. Cargill says they weren’t able to take advantage of certain forms of support that are more readily available to heterosexual couples and women looking to get pregnant.

“Employers and employer-sponsored health plans do cover some healthcare costs for couples suffering from infertility; that doesn’t necessarily apply to us,” Cargill said. “And so we had to purchase an insurance plan through the market and then use that to cover some of the healthcare costs of surrogacy.”

In an effort to help other men interested in surrogacy, Dr. Cargill and Coxson have opened up about their journey alongside family planning experts at the Men Having Babies Conference in downtown Atlanta. The couple appeared last year, but the conference was held in the city again in June. Organizers say their goal is to create a safe space for gay men to unpack the stigmas and challenges they face while trying to become parents. They are also working to spread awareness about the resources available to community members looking to expand their families.

Tim’m West, the executive director of the Rustin Institute for Leadership Development, was a panelist during this year’s conference and is a friend to Cargill and Coxson.

“We hear it takes a village all the time,” West said. “Well, it also takes a village for gay men that are exploring, bringing families into the world and who don’t want that negative stigma or the pushback…”

West says it’s important for friends, loved ones and allies to show support however they can.

“We use in the LGBTQ community all the time, ‘chosen family,’ ‘found family,'” he said. “Well, I think surrogacy is just something that expands that notion and sort of brings it to bear in terms of – ‘who’s going to be the family to these children that we bring into the world.”

Dr. Lauren Berman, a psychologist specializing in family planning with the Fertile Ground Psychology Group, was also on the panel.

“When people don’t understand that there are rigorous screening processes and very significant education, that there is informed consent, and that there is implications counseling, they misconstrue the idea of surrogacy, that surrogacy is exploitative of women,” Berman said.

She says unpacking misconceptions is important for helping people decide if surrogacy is right for them and their families.

“When standards are used and applied, it is a safe and actually a really loving and exciting process. And I meet a lot of surrogates and a lot of intended parents who end up just adoring each other and feeling very excited about the journey that they’ve been through together,” Berman said.

Coxson says he put effort into fostering good relationships with their daughters’ surrogates.

“It took me really good communication, I’ll tell you that,” Coxson said. “Because you have to talk to someone else and take in their journey as a part of your own, and it becomes a collaborative effort. So if you’re a control freak, surrogacy is not the way to go.”

Cargill says he and his husband will give their daughters more details about how they came into the world as they get older.

Until then, the couple says they tell their daughters they’re special—and were created with love and care.

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 Gio Insignares

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    LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — A Venice father whose quick thinking saved his 2-year-old daughter’s life when a truck crashed into their car nearly two weeks ago is on the long road to recovery after doctors amputated part of his leg.

Despite it all, Jordan Stannard is grateful to be spending his days surrounded by those whom he loves the most — his family.

“I just honestly started crying, because I was just so happy to have my whole family around, and it was just really nice,” Stannard said, while speaking with CBS LA. “Just kind of a realization of just how much I’m grateful for, and how lucky I am, just to be here at the end of the day.”

Stannard said that while he was putting his daughter, Sadie, into their car on Venice Boulevard at Abbot Kinney Boulevard after a trip to the store, his wife was putting their newborn in the other side.

When he heard a truck slam into another car nearby and then saw it hurtling towards him, his instincts triggered and he pushed his daughter into the car and out of harm’s way.

“It was just, this is the most important thing in my life, so she needs to get inside the car where it’s safe,” Stannard said.

He then took the full impact of the truck, which threw him to the ground.

“Everybody is just yelling, everybody, screaming,” he said. “I look down, and my foot is not really there. It’s been almost sheared off.”

After he was rushed to the hospital, doctors decided to amputate his left foot and ankle. As he re-learns how to move, the former marathoner and Ironman says there’s no point in being negative, especially with how much worse things could have been.

“There’s no room to be like, ‘Boo hoo.’ There’s no room to be angry, you know?” he said. “I want to be the best dad for my daughters, and I can’t let this affect the kind of dad I want to be.”

Since the surgery, Stannard said that he’s had more than one hundred hospital visitors, and that dozens of bouquets have been sent to his room. Despite the fundraising page, which has swelled past $100,000, he said that the thing that deserves the most attention is his wife.

“Most important thing to me is I have the best wife in the world, and she has just really shown up for me, and she is the engine that drives our family,” Stannard said. “She is the reason why I’m able to have so much strength.”

Stannard said that he’s supposed to be released on Saturday and that he plans to return to the gym as soon as Monday, where he’ll begin rehabbing for next year’s Los Angeles Maratho, after he’s fitted for a prosthetic.

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 Kassia Bonesteel

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    SONOMA COUNTY, California (KPIX) — A furry case of mistaken identity occurred this week after a Sonoma County resident discovered what they thought was a baby otter in their backyard.

Sonoma County Animal Services said its officers responded to the resident’s call and discovered that the otter was actually a tiny baby American mink. Both minks and otters are mustelids, a family of carnivores that also includes badgers, weasels, and wolverines.

“This little cutie had wandered away from its riverbank home and was understandably confused to find itself in a yard with the resident dogs,” the agency said in a Facebook post Tuesday.

The baby mink was placed in the care of Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue in Petaluma, which will care for the mink until it’s ready to be safely released back into its natural environment.

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 Alexandra Simon

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    FEASTERVILLE, Pennsylvania (KYW) — A train derailment in Feasterville, Pennsylvania, prompted police to issue a shelter-in-place order for residents in the area on Tuesday afternoon.

Bensalem Police said officers, fire, EMS and hazmat teams are currently responding to the derailment between Street Road and the Neshaminy Falls train station.

Lower Southampton Police said some homes in the area are being evacuated and Bristol Road is closed between Brownsville Road and Old Lincoln Highway.

In a statement, CSX, a freight transportation company, said one of its trains derailed multiple cars at around 2 p.m. Tuesday near the crossing of East Bristol Road and Grave Avenue.

Police believe at least 5-10 train cars are off the tracks, and they are working to determine what the train was transporting.

SEPTA has suspended the West Trenton Line until further notice. SEPTA does not use the tracks where the derailment happened, but the suspension is because of the emergency response in the area.

No one was injured and CSX crews are working to restore the scene and investigate what caused the derailment.

Police are asking the public to avoid the area.

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 Najahe Sherman

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    MIAMI (WFOR) — As hurricane season continues, a South Florida teenager is helping prepare the next generation for severe weather by teaching classmates how to stay safe before, during and after a hurricane through a peer-led education program that has already reached hundreds of students.

Sixteen-year-old Elise Raurell created Storm Smart as her 2025 Girl Scout Gold Award project after realizing hurricane preparedness was largely absent from what students were learning in school, despite the annual threat storms pose across South Florida.

“Growing up in South Florida, going to public school, I realized that we weren’t really learning anything about hurricane preparation safety, even though it’s super important,” Raurell said.

The program teaches students how to assemble hurricane emergency kits, prepare their homes, and stay safe during and after a storm through classroom presentations, printed materials, social media and online resources. Storm Smart also offers educational content on YouTube and Instagram, along with additional information through its website.

“Module 3 covers the details of during and after the storm, which might be the most important part, how to stay safe when the hurricane is actually happening, and after it occurs,” Raurell said.

Unlike traditional presentations led by adults, Storm Smart relies on students to teach fellow classmates, allowing participants to build leadership and public speaking skills while sharing life-saving information.

So far, the program has reached nearly 500 students and is continuing to expand to more schools throughout South Florida.

“One of the most rewarding parts of this program is seeing students learn the material and then go on to teach their peers about it, and through that learn leadership and teaching skills,” Raurell said.

Raurell said the idea for Storm Smart was inspired by her own experience during Hurricane Irma, when she witnessed the damage left behind in her neighborhood.

“I was scared about the destruction on my street, and the trees that had fallen down. I want to make sure that every student is prepared for that, and they know what to expect,” she said.

Her mother, Abbie Raurell, said watching her daughter develop the project has been a source of pride.

“So proud and just impressed with her ability to come up with a project and work on it in such a self-sufficient and independent way,” Abbie Raurell said.

Raurell hopes to continue expanding Storm Smart into more South Florida schools, giving more students the knowledge and confidence to prepare before the next hurricane threatens the region.

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.