CBS Chicago reporter, photographer attacked by 3 men near Adler Planetarium

CNN Newsource on June 30, 2026

By CBS Chicago Team, Jermont Terry, Jeramie Bizzle

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    CHICAGO, Illinois (WBBM) — A scary situation for a CBS News Chicago reporter and photographer who were attacked near the Adler Planetarium during a shoot on Monday afternoon.

The incident happened just before 4:30 p.m. on the 900 block of East Solidarity Drive.

As our reporter and photographer were preparing to go on the air during the 4 p.m. newscast, three men in a white tow truck approached.

Two witnesses visiting Chicago said they watched as the tow truck parked directly in front of the news van.

“They just were trying to do anything they could to scare them unnecessarily. It came out of nowhere,” one witness said.

The crew and the two witnesses say a white or Hispanic man with a dog got out first and then moved aggressively towards the crew while shouting racial slurs targeted at one of our journalists.

“It started racial with the cameraman because he’s an African American male,” the witness said.

The man ordered the dog to attack, but it did not, Chicago police said.

“I think he was trying to, again, intimidate him, make him scared by having the dog approach first,” the second witness said.

When one of the crew members defended himself from the dog, witnesses say that’s when the other two men in the tow truck jumped out.

“They were saying, ‘Leave the dog alone,’ and I just feel like maybe the scene got more chaotic than they were expecting, and I feel like the only thing they thought to do was to just cause as much damage as they could and leave,” the witness said.

One of the men then smashed our photographer’s camera while the other smashed the windshield of our news truck with a traffic cone before taking off.

Fortunately, the reporter and photographer got away unharmed. Three people were arrested about 20 minutes after the incident, following another attack, police said. CPD received reports about the same tow truck—this time because the occupants were pointing a gun at people on the sidewalk near 42nd and Western in Brighton Park. By the time officers caught up to the truck, the driver sped off.

Eventually, all three occupants from the tow truck jumped out after crashing into a squad car. A gun was also recovered from the tow truck, police said. The gun was not pointed at the CBS crew.

“We didn’t see any guns in that moment, but to know that it escalated to that or could of been that is just terrifying,” the witness said.

A CBS spokesperson said in a statement, “We are shocked and horrified by this crime and we are grateful that our journalists are safe.”

The investigation into the incident is ongoing. Charges are pending.

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.

Armed suspect killed after pointing gun at Florida deputies during chase, sheriff says

CNN Newsource on June 30, 2026

By S.E. Jenkins, Morgan Rynor, Abby Dodge

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    BROWARD COUNTY, Florida (WFOR) — The Broward Sheriff’s Office is investigating a shooting involving its deputies that left an armed suspect dead Monday night after authorities say he fled from deputies, refused repeated commands to drop his weapon and attempted to point a gun at law enforcement in Davie.

The shooting happened shortly after 7 p.m. near the 6300 block of Stirling Road. The investigation stretched across multiple blocks, from a Wawa gas station to a nearby McDonald’s, where the confrontation ended.

According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, members of its fugitive and gang unit approached the suspect while he was pumping gas at the Wawa on Stirling Road.

Sheriff Gregory Tony said deputies were attempting to arrest the man on an outstanding warrant. Investigators said the suspect had previously fled from police and was linked to other crimes through DNA evidence.

Authorities said the suspect ran from deputies while carrying a firearm. Deputies caught up to him and tackled him in the McDonald’s parking lot, but investigators said he resisted arrest and officers were unable to take the gun from him.

Sheriff Tony said deputies then conducted a tactical retreat while repeatedly ordering the suspect to drop the weapon.

“Given a multitude of commands to let go of the firearm, the officers probably spent over a minute and 15 seconds, from my account of looking at the BWC, just trying to get the individual to let the firearm go,” Tony said.

According to investigators, the suspect then attempted to point the firearm at deputies, prompting officers to open fire.

“At that point in time, he looked and attempted to point the firearm at them, and they engaged him,” Tony said.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have not released his identity.

Officials said six BSO deputies and one Plantation police officer fired their weapons during the shooting. Tony said no bystanders were injured and the deputies involved suffered only minor cuts and scrapes.

One witness who asked not to be identified said she heard about 20 gunshots before seeing a large police response.

“I started seeing cops come,” she said. “There were undercovers, cops, helicopters.”

Investigators are still working to determine whether the suspect fired any shots at deputies.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting involving BSO deputies, which is standard procedure whenever law enforcement officers use deadly force in Florida.

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It Is Time to Redraw the Revolution, Again

CNN Newsource on June 29, 2026

By Ben Jealous

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    June 29, 2026 (Houston Style Magazine) — Every year, we remember Paul Revere’s ride. As we should.

We should also reckon with Paul Revere’s picture.

His engraving of the Boston Massacre helped light the fire for revolution. It showed British soldiers firing into a crowd. Men fell dead in the street. Yet the first man killed that night is hidden in plain sight.

His name was Crispus Attucks. He was a sailor of African and Native ancestry. John Adams later described the crowd as sailors, Irishmen, “negroes and mulattoes.” But Revere’s image did not show Attucks as who he was. It turned a multiracial, working-class crowd into a whiter and better-dressed one.

That was bad art. It was a lie with a long life.

It taught generations to picture the Revolution as a fight led and suffered by wealthy white men with portraits, property, and papers.

That was never the truth.

Prince Estabrook was enslaved in Lexington. On April 19, 1775, he stood with his neighbors as British troops arrived. He was shot before Congress declared independence. Before Jefferson wrote that all men are created equal.

Salem Poor bought his freedom and fought at Bunker Hill. Fourteen officers petitioned to honor his courage. Peter Salem fought there too. James Armistead, enslaved in Virginia, spied for Lafayette. His work helped trap Cornwallis at Yorktown.

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The First Rhode Island Regiment, filled with Black, Native, and formerly enslaved men, held the line near Newport.

Women were there, too. Elizabeth Freeman, known as Mum Bett, heard the Revolution’s words and used them in court. She sued for her freedom and won. Deborah Sampson was poor and indentured as a child. She dressed as a man and served in the Continental Army. Margaret Corbin took over a cannon after her husband was killed.

That story is personal in my family. My adopted grandmother, Dr. Margaret Barnes, was an osteopath with Revolutionary roots. As a girl in the 1910s and 1920s, her father dressed her as a soldier to march in New England Fourth of July parades.

When people objected, he told them not to worry. In 1776, some fathers knew their daughters had gone off to fight dressed the same way.

He was right. History made room for daughters in uniform. Memory pushed them back out.

I still have the bow she used to teach me archery. In our family, women did not just remember courage. They passed it down.

Poor white men carried the war, too. Joseph Plumb Martin was a teenage soldier. He froze, starved, marched, and later wrote the Revolution from below. Ebenezer Mackintosh was a Boston shoemaker and street organizer. Before gentlemen took seats in Congress, men like him made resistance impossible to ignore.

The Revolution was not made by one class. It was sailors, servants, farmers, shoemakers, soldiers, spies, mothers, fugitives, and the enslaved.

On my father’s side, nine of my ancestors fought the British in Massachusetts. One was a sixteen-year-old fifer at Lexington. They knew Black patriots were there from the first morning.

On my mother’s side, we descend from Richard Bland, Jefferson’s cousin and mentor. Jefferson wrote that all men are created equal. But the same racist hand that scrubbed Attucks from the picture shrank “all men” to white men.

Frederick Douglass scraped that veneer away. In 1852, he asked what the Fourth meant to the slave. In 1869, he called for a “composite nation” — one people made of all peoples. Douglass was not inventing a new America. He was restoring the Revolution to itself.

Who we picture fighting for freedom shapes who we believe deserves it.

Paint Black patriots, women patriots, and poor white patriots out of 1776, and you shrink the nation’s image of itself.

Today’s whitewashing should alarm us.

In 2025, under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon’s anti-DEI purge swept through military websites. Pages on Jackie Robinson, the Tuskegee Airmen, and Native code talkers were removed, then some were restored after public outcry. The system even flagged the Enola Gay bomber because it contained the word “gay.”

That was not strength. It was cowardice with a search function. My grandfather’s first cousin, Howard Lee Baugh, was a Tuskegee Airman. He flew more than 130 combat missions against the Nazis. There is a word for men like him: hero.

This Fourth of July, let’s remember Revere’s ride. But let’s redraw Revere’s picture.

Put Attucks back in the center. Put Estabrook on Lexington Green. Put Salem Poor at Bunker Hill. Put Mum Bett in the courthouse. Put Joseph Plumb Martin barefoot in the snow. Put my adopted grandmother in the parade, dressed as the soldier memory tried to deny.

Then look again. That is America.  Ben Jealous is a professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania and former president and CEO of the NAACP.

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.

Kierra Lee
KIELEESTYLE@GMAIL.COM
4096658446

Mary Benton’s Bold Voice Earns PRSA Houston’s 2026 Legacy Award at “The Night of Bold Voices”

CNN Newsource on June 29, 2026

By Francis Page Jr.

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    June 29, 2026 (Houston Style Magazine) — HOUSTON — In a city that knows how to tell a story, communicate through crisis, celebrate culture, and keep moving when the cameras are rolling and the deadlines are unforgiving, few voices have carried the steady authority of Mary Benton.

At the 2026 PRSA Houston Excalibur Awards, hosted by the Public Relations Society of America Houston Chapter at the scenic Houston Botanic Garden, Benton was honored with one of the evening’s most meaningful recognitions: the Legacy Award. The honor spotlighted her distinguished career, trusted leadership, and lasting contribution to public service communications, media relations, and civic storytelling in America’s fourth-largest city.

This year’s gala, themed “The Night of Bold Voices,” brought together Houston’s leading public relations professionals, agency innovators, corporate communicators, nonprofit storytellers, public affairs leaders, media partners, and rising stars. The room was filled with people who understand that communication is not just about press releases and perfect soundbites. It is about trust, timing, truth, and knowing exactly when to put the right message in the right hands.

photo PRSA Houston Group

Mary Benton has done that for years.

Currently serving as Chief of Communications and Senior Advisor to the Mayor for the City of Houston, Benton stands at the intersection of public policy, media strategy, civic leadership, and community confidence. That is not a small intersection. In Houston, it is more like a five-lane freeway during rush hour, with a news helicopter overhead and everyone expecting answers by 5 p.m.

And Benton handles it with the calm, clarity, and professionalism of someone who has lived the work from every angle.

Before stepping into City Hall leadership, Benton spent more than two decades as a television journalist, covering hurricanes, government, politics, public policy, neighborhoods, and the everyday triumphs and challenges of Houston life. That newsroom experience gave her something no title alone can provide: instinct. She knows what reporters need, what the public deserves, and what leaders must communicate when the stakes are high.

That is why PRSA Houston’s Legacy Award feels especially fitting. A legacy is not built in one news cycle. It is earned through years of showing up, getting it right, staying composed, and understanding that words matter most when people are listening for direction.

photo

The 2026 Excalibur Awards celebrated excellence across public relations, marketing communications, digital strategy, media relations, nonprofit communications, public affairs, community engagement, and corporate storytelling. PRSA Houston President Angelique Myers-Evans, APR, captured the spirit of the evening with a message to honorees: “Your work spoke with purpose, moved audiences, and showed what excellence sounds like when bold voices lead the way.”

For Benton, that phrase lands with special power. Her career has been a masterclass in purposeful communication. Whether helping guide the city’s message during major civic announcements, responding to fast-moving media inquiries, or helping residents better understand city priorities, Benton has helped make public information more accessible, more credible, and more human.

The evening also featured Jennifer Reyna of KHOU 11, whose presence added familiar Houston sparkle and broadcast charm to a celebration already rich with talent and pride. PRSA Houston also thanked its sponsors and the dedicated Excalibur Awards Committee, including Jourdan B. Scruggs, Ed.D., Event Chair; Hannah Farr Pietsch, Awards Chair; Angelique Myers-Evans, APR; Emely Arenas; Johnta Wilson; Liz Lawhorn; and Elizabeth Fordham.

Still, Benton’s Legacy Award gave the night a special sense of history. Her recognition celebrates not only one accomplished professional, but also the essential role of women, journalists, public servants, and communications leaders who help shape how Houston sees itself.

For Houston Style Magazine readers, Mary Benton’s honor is a proud Houston moment. It reminds us that behind every major announcement, every civic milestone, and every carefully delivered message, there are professionals working with discipline, dignity, and purpose.

Mary Benton has been one of those professionals. And now, with PRSA Houston’s 2026 Legacy Award, her bold voice receives the applause it has long earned.

More information on PRSA-Houston: prsahouston.org

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.

Kierra Lee
KIELEESTYLE@GMAIL.COM
4096658446

Body of newborn baby found in restroom at Electric Forest festival, Michigan State Police say

CNN Newsource on June 29, 2026

By Nick Lentz

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    ROTHBURY, Michigan (WWJ) — Michigan State Police personnel are investigating after the body of a newborn baby was found in a restroom at the Electric Forest festival on Sunday morning.

The state agency said the portable restroom where the body was found was in the camping area of the annual music event in Rothbury, Michigan.

“The body was discovered by an employee of the restroom vending company during routine maintenance,” officials said.

According to the agency, there is no known threat to the public. As of Sunday evening, no other details have been disclosed.

Anyone who was in the area and saw anything unusual or has information that may be relevant is asked to leave a report with the agency here.

The festival at Double JJ Ranch, which features dozens of DJs and music artists, started on Thursday and is expected to wrap up on Sunday night, according to its website.

Rothbury is around 61 miles northwest of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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West Nile virus detected in Davis County mosquitoes

CNN Newsource on June 29, 2026

By Kennedy Camarena

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    SALT LAKE CITY (KSL) — The West Nile virus has been detected in mosquitoes from six cities within Davis County, the Davis Mosquito Abatement District announced on Monday.

The cities found to have mosquitoes carrying the virus included Syracuse, West Bountiful, Sunset, Woods Cross, Centerville and North Salt Lake.

Mosquitoes carrying the virus have been found in Davis County since 2004, according to the mosquito control program. Last year, mosquitoes carrying the virus were present in all Davis County cities except for South Weber.

The mosquito control program uses traps to gather “pools” of mosquitoes, which are then tested for the West Nile virus. In Davis County, the Culex pipiens and Culex tarsalis are the two species of mosquitoes that are tested for the virus.

“We monitor and test (two) species to identify when WNV appears in the mosquito population,” the Mosquito Abatement District-Davis said on its website. “Due to the natural landscape of our county, we have large areas of prime habitat for mosquito and bird interaction.”

The mosquito control program said Davis County’s habitat increases the potential for its mosquitoes to acquire the virus.

The mosquito control program advised people to protect themselves from mosquito bites by using bug spray, wearing long-sleeved, loose-fitting clothing that is light-colored, using caution when out at night and emptying containers with water in them.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, symptoms of the virus include fever, headache, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea or rash. Currently, there is no licensed vaccine to prevent or treat it.

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California man arrested after off-leash dogs chase boy into lake where he ultimately drowned

CNN Newsource on June 29, 2026

By KABC Staff

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    CALIFORNIA CITY, Calif. (KABC) — A California man arrested in connection with a dog attack that left a 12-year-old boy dead is expected to appear in court Monday.

Authorities say two of Kenneth Dobbins’ off-leash dogs chased Fernando Torres Moreno at a park in California City. The boy tried to escape by running into a lake and ultimately drowned.

Los Angeles County deputies later arrested Dobbins in Lancaster. The 68-year-old faces charges of involuntary manslaughter and negligent ownership. He is being held at a Kern County jail.

A GoFundMe created to help the boy’s family with funeral expenses has raised over $20,000.

The case remains under investigation.

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Meet the savant eco-artist with autism who proves all trash can become treasure

CNN Newsource on June 29, 2026

By Ellie Nakamoto-White

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    FOND DU LAC, Wisconsin (WDJT) — What many might see as pieces of trash, 30-year-old Grant Maniér sees as pieces of possibility.

The Fond du Lac artist calls himself the ‘Eco-Friendly Artist’ and takes vintage jewelry, scraps of paper, old coins, puzzle pieces and everything in between to turn into detailed mixed-media artwork.

“It’s basically reducing the landfills when you’re taking away materials that people normally just throw away,” Maniér told CBS 58’s Ellie Nakamoto-White.

He works almost daily to turn trash into treasure with a modern version of the three R’s — reduce, reuse, recycle.

Many of his works feature thousands of those recycled items and depict animals or other elaborate scenes.

One piece in particular features a dragon whose shiny silver scales are made from the foil from a pack of contact lenses.

His goal? To be both environmentally and artistic — something he’s had a passion for since he was a young child diagnosed with autism.

“My autism does allow me to be hyper-focused so when I’m working on something I can just concentrate to get it done,” Maniér said. “Working with a disability like my autism, it gives me anxieties from time to time, but working on art is like a form of meditation to sooth anxieties and turn them into something different, something creative, something I can show to others.”

His mom, Julianna Coy, doesn’t remember a time when her son didn’t like art.

“It’s a pleasure and an honor to be Grant’s mom,” Coy said, recalling a childhood memory of his. “We were at Walmart, and it was the end of the month, so I hadn’t gotten paid yet, and I said, boys, I have two boys, don’t ask for anything let’s wait til next week. Well, Grant’s little voice in the back says, “Mom, can I have this?” And of course, as a mom, you want to give them everything, so I turned around and he’s holding a ream of paper.”

But she didn’t know that love for something as simple as paper would turn into talent that’s recognized nationwide.

“I ask myself what is that word when you’re beyond proud of someone? Like thank you for letting me be a part of it,” Coy said.

Grant is now considered a savant in the art world.

“Savant syndrome is a spectacular rare condition in which someone has a coexisting cognitive disability and super ability such as music, math, art, memory etc.,” said Dr. Jeremy Chapman, the medical director for the SSM Treffert Center. “The center is a research and clinical locus in Milwaukee that’s one of the main epicenters for savant syndrome in the world.”

Grant has won numerous accolades for his work including a congressional award where his art hung in the U.S. Capitol.

“I worked so hard to make this one art piece no matter what it is, no matter how big or small, and they want to put it in their living rooms or in their offices? No matter where they want to put it, just the idea that my art is hanging on that wall with them? I feel so proud,” Maniér said.

He also sells some pieces and has raised $500,000 dollars for others like him.

“So, Grant raises money for wheelchairs and hearing aids and scholarships, horse therapy, everything he was able to receive because somebody helped him,” Coy said.

Like any artist, he has a signature which includes hiding his face in nearly every piece, camouflaged among the layers.

A reminder to find value in everything, not for what it is but what it could become.

“Just working on art has always kept me grounded. It’s just a great form of meditation for me and I’m so glad I was able to discover that,” Maniér said. “It’s not what you can’t do that makes you different. It’s what you do that will change the world.”

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.

Flooding at Cheney Lake leads to multiple campground closures, evacuations and more

CNN Newsource on June 29, 2026

By Sydney Ferguson

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    CHENEY LAKE, Kan. (KAKE) — The storms and heavy rains have passed, but areas like Cheney Lake are still dealing with the aftereffects of flash flooding. Saturday, a campground had to be evacuated due to higher-than-normal water levels, and the state park says the water isn’t likely to recede for a while.

Greg Neuway has been camping at Cheney Lake since April. On Sunday, he said he was here last Thursday when storms rolled through during a flash-flooding event.

“Pretty ferocious — lot of rain coming down in a hurry,” said Neuway. “It washed rocks out of the lot where we park our campers, so it was coming down like cats and dogs.”

The flooding left lake levels 3.28 Feet above normal, according to a post from Cheney State Park officials on Saturday.

Just hours after that post, the park made another saying Heimermann Point campground had to be evacuated.

“We’ve been through the last one here, so we knew they would be first evacuated before we ever get evacuated here,” said Neuway.

Neuway says he likes seeing the lake full after the drought, but it made using and storing his boat more difficult.

“I just had to relocate and put it up on land a lot farther, because it’s coming up so quick,” said Neuway. “I can’t get a boat out, I mean [I] reloaded it on my trailer because [the water] comes up too high.”

The high water also left the parking lot at the lake’s boat ramp half-flooded, with multiple gazebos and benches slightly submerged.

Collin Arp says he came to the lake on Sunday to jet ski, and he can relate to Neuway’s struggle to get his ride into the water.

“It’s crazy … stuff doesn’t work how it’s supposed to normally,” said Arp. “If I were to go into this water with that big boat, my wheels can just keep on spinning and drag me into the water, so I just decided to ride the jet skis out here today.”

Arp says he’s never seen the lake this high, but there are still ways to enjoy it.

“Be safe, watch the waves, and know your surroundings,” said Arp.

Around the lake, M&M Point and Wichita Point were blocked by barricades, similar to those at Heimermann Point, but park officials would not provide additional information about the closures.

In its post about the flooding, the park says it’s likely the water won’t recede for a while because of downstream flooding in other reservoirs.

“It’s gonna mess up some Fourth of July plans,” said Neuway. “They’re gonna have to open the gates wide open to get her down where they can open some of the campsites back up.”

Neuway says it’s likely people trying to celebrate won’t want to deal with the high water levels or the issues that come with it.

“They’re gonna come out and look, but they probably won’t come out and stay,” said Neuway.

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.

Authorities regain control of eastern North Carolina jail after inmate takeover

CNN Newsource on June 29, 2026

By Kelly Doty

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    BERTIE COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — An eastern North Carolina jail has been cleared by state and federal authorities after inmates seized control of the facility and took two guards hostage early Monday, June 29.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) said in a 1:47 p.m. press release that all staff and inmates are safe and accounted for, adding that those who were injured have received treatment.

The situation began after inmates at the Bertie-Martin Regional Detention Center assaulted on-duty guards and gained control of parts of the building, according to the SBI. At the time of the takeover, 88 inmates and three guards were inside the facility.

Soon after the incident began, the SBI said one guard was able to escape, while two other guards were taken hostage.

At around 9:30 a.m., the SBI said negotiations led to the safe release of 18 inmates and the two guards who were held hostage. About 20 minutes later, a “large group” of inmates was also released and left the facility.

Bertie County Sheriff Tyrone Ruffin said in an update that, along with the guards, about 80 inmates were removed, leaving only a few individuals inside the facility.

“The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has made entry into the facility and is working to secure and take the remaining inmates into custody,” Sheriff Ruffin said during a press conference later in the day.

The SBI said the Bertie-Martin Regional Detention Center will remain closed as staff assess the extent of the damage to the facility.

Inmates have been transferred to other facilities for housing, according to the SBI.

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.