Jonah Poole gets life in prison in killing of garden shop owner Edward Koza

CNN Newsource on June 29, 2026

By Kate Amara

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    ANNAPOLIS, Maryland (WBAL) — A judge sentenced an Anne Arundel County man in the killing of a garden shop owner last year.

Jonah Poole, 19, of Davidsonville, pleaded guilty in March to first-degree murder in the killing of Edward Koza, 67, in May 2025. The guilty plea came months after a judge ruled that Poole was competent to stand trial. Police said Koza, the owner of Tropic Bay Water Gardens, was kidnapped before his killing.

On Friday, the defense sought a life sentence with all but 30 years suspended and a referral to the Youthful Offenders Program. The Anne Arundel County judge sentenced Poole to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Poole stood and told the court: “I think I deserve whatever I get. I’m sorry because he didn’t have to die and I have no excuses for what I did. I hope that God can forgive me. I don’t expect anyone else to forgive me.”

The Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office released a statement, saying, in part: “Due to the Defendant’s age, the judge will refer him to the Patuxent Youth Facility’s Youthful Offender Program. He was also ordered to forfeit approximately $215,000 stolen from the victim, and a $15,000 truck purchased with additional stolen funds to the victim’s estate.”

In referring Poole to the state’s Youthful Offender Program, the judge indicated that if not for the plea deal, she might have sentenced Poole without parole.

“I think the sentencing went well for us today. I think the judge had a very difficult decision to make and we respect her decision,” said David Fischer, Poole’s defense attorney.

County prosecutors said Poole and his co-defendant and high school girlfriend, Kylee Alyssa Dakes, 19, killed Koza inside his garden shop, leaving behind a knife, a bloody decorative koi pond rock and other evidence.

Prosecutors said the pair then drove Koza’s truck with his body in the back before setting the truck on fire in the shop’s parking lot.

Dakes was charged with first-degree murder and pleaded not guilty. Her trial is scheduled in December and she plans to argue battered spouse syndrome and testify in her own defense.

Prosecutors said they’ve amassed evidence in the case that includes detention center phone calls and visitor logs, data from the couple’s cell phones and their exported chat log from Snapchat.

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.

Man dies after lawn mower goes off cliff edge, coroner says

CNN Newsource on June 29, 2026

By Stephanie Moore

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    PICKENS COUNTY, South Carolina (WYFF) — A well-known and loved man in Pickens County, South Carolina, has died after his lawn mower went off a cliff edge, according to the coroner’s office.

The coroner’s office said Richard Crowe, 68, was on a lawn mower and went over an approximate 15- to 20-foot cliff edge.

This happened about 9 p.m. on Tuesday, June 23, on Belle Shoals Road.

“Richard is a well-known and loved individual in this community,” the coroner’s office said. “He has always been known as a dear friend to many and a public servant at heart. Richard recently retired from Pickens County in 2024 as the Director of E-911, where he tirelessly served his community for several years.”

The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office also released a statement on social media.

“The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office would like to extend our sincere condolences to the family of retired Pickens County E-911 Coordinator Richard Crowe. PCSO had the honor and privilege of working alongside Richard during his over two decades of service to Pickens County. Richard was highly respected by our deputies and communications specialists alike for his contagious positive disposition and willingness to always respond to assist our employees when needed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family in the coming days.”

Everyone seemed to have a story about Crowe in Pickens County

“Anytime something needed to be done, it didn’t matter if it was there or not. He was there,” said Andrew Wilson, the county coroner.

“He got written up one time because he worked on an ambulance, and they got sent to a call and it was barely over the Greenville County line, but he could see it,” said Megan Lowry, a coworker and friend. “So, he went to it anyway because he said he couldn’t leave those people without help while he was right there.”

Lowry says Crowe leaves behind a legacy of lifesaving in Pickens County.

“It would be storming in the middle of the night, and that man would be working all night long to keep 911 lines running,” she 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.

200 dirt bike riders displayed “dangerous riding behavior” in Baltimore, police say

CNN Newsource on June 29, 2026

By Adam Thompson

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    BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — Baltimore police responded to more than 200 dirt bikers “displaying dangerous riding behavior” on Sunday evening, according to city police.

Officers were called around 7:20 p.m. to the 3100 block of Reisterstown Road for reports of dirt bike activity.

Police said the dirt bikers surrounded the officers. More officers responded to the area.

The dirt bike riders left the area. No injuries were reported.

Illegal dirt bike crackdown in Baltimore Baltimore police have been working to crack down on illegal dirt bike riding.

In May, an officer was injured after being struck by a dirt bike in the area of Maryland Avenue and Falls Road. Police were conducting crowd control as a club was letting out.

Police arrested Mautice Greene, 30, in connection with the incident. He was charged with attempting to elude police. Police said that during a brief struggle, Greene bit an officer in the forearm.

Another officer called to assist was allegedly struck by another dirt biker.

Police said in May that a 37-year-old man riding a dirt bike was killed in a collision with an SUV. The SUV driver was not charged, according to police.

Police Commissioner Richard Worley said during a city budget hearing last month that his department is committed to getting every illegal dirt bike off the street.

“Driving dirt bikes in that manner is extremely dangerous,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said last month. “Dirt bike culture is here, and it’s not going anywhere. This is why we say that you can’t be doing these things.”

Within the past few months, three off-road vehicles were seized by police in Baltimore’s Cameron Village. During another investigation, investigators seized 11 dirt bikes during an enforcement event.

Stopping dirt bike riders at the gas pumps In another crackdown effort, police say gas station owners could face up to $1,000 in fines or even 90 days in jail if they allow dirt bike riders to fill up at their pumps.

Earlier this month, a gas station near W. Cold Spring Lane told CBS News Baltimore that they were told to turn off their fuel lines if they hear or see dirt bikes coming down their street. This means lost business because it takes a few minutes for the pumps to turn back on.

“When dirt bikes come through our road, like we just shut all the pumps,” a gas station manager said. “It impacts our business a lot. When there are three or four customers at our station, if we shut down the pumps, they will be in trouble, and they come here and say, ‘Give me a refund,’ or something like that.”

Baltimore residents with information about dirt bikes, where they are stored, and who is supplying them fuel can contact police through the Dirt Bike Tipline at 443-902-4474 or by emailing DirtBikeTips@baltimorepolice.org.

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Driver survives rockslide: “I’m still alive”

CNN Newsource on June 28, 2026

By Logan Smith

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    GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado (KCNC) — Mike Chavez of Grand Junction is still amazed at his good timing.

“It was quite the ordeal,” he told CBS Colorado. “One second ahead and the cab is crushed. One second behind, I would’ve hit boulders head-on.”

Chavez drove into a rockslide Tuesday in western Colorado – near Calamity Mesa, as luck would have it – and walked away.

Chavez described rounding a corner on State Highway 141, a roadway he has driven once a week for a decade now. It was just after sunrise. He left Grand Junction an hour earlier en route to a real estate assignment near Nucla.

A dust cloud was the first sign of trouble.

The more concerning sign was a boulder taller than his truck bounding across the highway “like a bouncey ball.” The boulder rolled in front of his pickup and dropped off the shoulder toward the Dolores River.

Other boulders then struck the passenger side of Chavez’s pickup.

“Then a 2nd (sic) massive blow and then a third blow which caused all of the airbags to deploy which made the whole cab of the truck very dark,” Chavez wrote in a social media post about the experience. “In that moment of feeling the impact from the rockslide I went into shock. I could still hear and feel more rocks coming down onto the road and some hitting the truck but nowhere like the other ones.”

The truck was pushed into the other lane of traffic, the rear of it spun toward the river, too.

But it was driveable. Chavez, fearing other vehicles would hit him, maneuvered the truck beyond the slide around and parked on the shoulder.

“After that, the reality of what happened started to sink in and the adrenaline started to wear off,” Chavez wrote. “I stood there starting to feel the pain and at that moment I was very upset! Quite a bit of time went by before anyone came by which allowed me to realize that I was still alive and not dead.”

As he set out orange cones to guide traffic through the area, Chavez heard what he thought were gunshots. He thought, “Why are people hunting ducks this early in the morning?”

It was later when a state trooper told him the sound was likely more rocks fracturing on the hillside above him.

Chavez considers himself fortunate more boulders didn’t come down while he was walking on the road. “How stupid was that!” he wrote. Only small debris fell from the hillside for four or five minutes after the initial slide. Some of those splashed into the river. Dust hung in the air for half an hour.

The highway was closed for several hours, according to the Colorado State Patrol.

A Nucla ambulance crew driving back from a patient delivery in Grand Junction arrived on scene. Then a Montrose County sheriff’s deputy.

“Throughout the day I heard over and over how it could have been worse. Seems like the story of my life!” Chavez wrote. “As more and more emergency personnel showed up the more and more I realized how fortunate I was. It finally made sense why so many people where shocked at what had happened because none of the CDOT workers or the emergency personnel had never seen anyone ever be hit by a rockslide in all their years of living in the area.”

Six hours later, a tow truck still hadn’t shown up. So Chavez asked the deputy if he attempt to drive the truck home. The deputy gave his approval. Chavez cut away the deflated airbags and returned to Grand Junction. The trooper followed part of the way.

“During the drive all I can think of is how blessed I was to make it out alive and it made me think of a cowboy all shot up and his trusty steed getting him home,” Chavez wrote. “At some point I needed some music for a distraction and I found a station on Sirius XM and the 2nd song that played was: What if today was the only day I have left. Is that a coincidence? I don’t believe so!”

Days later, Chavez told CBS Colorado his back is still sore and his truck is under repair.

“It’s a Chevy. It’s built like a rock,” he said, with irony. “That thing took a beating but it drove straight all the way. The truck wasn’t squirrely at all.”

He also cherishes every sunrise, even if he finds himself driving in a canyon again.

“You never know. It’s Colorado, right? Things can change in a moment. But I’m still alive.”

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.

Grandmother with nonemergency transport service asks public for help replacing failing vehicle

CNN Newsource on June 28, 2026

By Veronica Ortega

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    DETROIT (WWJ) — Lawanda Williams, a Detroit grandmother dedicated to honoring her daughter’s memory needs the public’s help.

After starting a transportation business to support her family, her vehicle is breaking down and she needs a new one to continue the service.

“Leesa J Transportation is a nonemergency transportation for people that needs to go to the doctor, pick up prescriptions, needs to go to the grocery store. I even transport children back and forth to school,” Williams said.

Customers only pay what they can afford, which in some cases is nothing.

“We were in that position once upon a time, where we couldn’t afford to pay for a ride. So, the lord put it where I was able to be to help these people out,” Williams said.

Her reason rests close to her heart.

A necklace she has bears the ashes and image of her daughter, Jaleesa.

“She was diagnosed with cancer in January of 2019. My daughter only lived 10 months. She died October of 2019,” Williams said.

In between that time, they didn’t have a vehicle and relied on state transportation to get her to and from appointments.

“We would call them to come pick her up. They’re two or three hours late, they don’t show up, they cancel the ride,” Williams said.

A few months later, she faced hardship again when her husband also needed treatment for cancer.

“Our van broke down, so now we’re back using state transportation. So we went through the same identical thing with him,” Williams said.

Her husband is now in remission, but that’s when she decided to do more for her community.

“I need to do something to help these people that’s going through what they’re going through, and then sitting down there at the cancer institute and seeing all the people that sit out there waiting on a ride, waiting for their transportation. They went through radiation and chemo; they don’t want to go sit there like that. So that’s what inspired me to do this,” Williams said.

Leesa J Transportation has been operating successfully for the past three years in Detroit. However, her used vehicle is starting to fail.

“The car is really on its last leg. I don’t know how long the transmission is going to last,” Williams said.

A GoFundMe has been started to help pay for her dream vehicle, a van. It will allow her to take on more clients and make fewer trips to schools.

“If anyone can help us get a van, it would be truly appreciated, because I have a lot of people that depend on this transportation,” Williams said.

Her daughter passed away at the age of 31. She’s raising her grandchildren now.

“It was really hard for them at first, but as you know, time will heal,” Williams said.

The business is her daughter’s legacy, and she needs your help to keep it going.

“I know it’s a lot of transportation companies out there. I’m aware of that. But mine’s a little different because I charge what they can pay, and I also will put in the time to go in with any senior that needs to go into the clinic or wherever they need to go,” Williams said.

It’s a promise to continue her unwavering dedication to serve.

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.

Teacher visiting every FBS stadium while bridging gap between LGBTQ+ community, sports world

CNN Newsource on June 28, 2026

By Matt Zahn

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — A Chicago teacher is hard at work on his quest to visit every NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision stadium in America, while also strengthening bonds between the sports world and the LGBTQ+ community.

Andrew Bauhs wasn’t always in love with the college football experience.

“I wound up being dragged to a bunch of Wisconsin Badger football games, and I hated them,” he recalled. “But they started to turn their program around in the early 90s, and I watched a once dormant stadium come to life. I began to see the passions, the traditions, the pageantry, the mascots, the marching bands, everything that makes college football special, and I was hooked.”

Shortly after that, Bauhs decided he was going to try to complete a pretty daunting quest: visiting every FBS stadium in the United States.

“I’ve been to 125 of the now 138. They keep extending my finish line. When I started this thing, it was at 117. I feel like the tour is running me now, and I’m not running the tour, but I’m having a great time,” he said.

Bauhs has documented every step of the journey on his website, collegefootballtour.com, and for Sports Illustrated as well.

But there’s more to this crusade: Bauhs is gay and, with his husband Olin along for much of the ride, they’re not only bringing their experience to people, is trying to bridge a gap as well.

“Sporting events have a unique ability to bring people from all backgrounds together, people who wouldn’t normally gather together, are,” he said. “When I go to certain areas of the country, particularly those that are less permissive to the LGBTQ+ community. I’m mindful of this, and I take it as an opportunity. I begin talking with people at tailgates I’ve invited to about sports the first five minutes. I will casually talk about my husband, or my husband will come up to me. We’ll talk a little bit and a few eyebrows raise or a few jaws drop, but it’s an opportunity to break down those walls.”

And he said for the most part, no matter what stadium or what part of the country they’ve traveled to, the reception has been mostly positive.

“We were at Auburn. Olin was filming me, and he had a pride sticker on the back of his phone. This guy who just didn’t seem like he was ready to say very much was very excited to come up to us and say, ‘oh my gosh, I am gay. It is so great to see some other gay sports fans around here.'” Bauhs recalled. “The most important thing in the LGBTQ+ community is visibility. Normalizing the community. The people who are against pride nights are why we have pride nights.”

And Bauhs takes a lot of pride in what he’s been able to do as his journey nears its end.

“I think when it’s over, I’m just going to look back and be amazed at what I accomplished. Very few people have done this. I’m looking so forward to being able to take this and use it to explore other avenues in the world of sports. And to return to some of favorite haunts, but also to see what’s next. What’s the next chapter? I’m excited about it,” he said.

Bauhs has plans to hit 10 new stadiums in the coming college football stadium, which would put him at 135 out of 138. He plans a big celebration when he expects to complete this long journey in 2027.

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.

Leftovers from World Cup watch parties are feeding the needy in New Jersey: “A gift to our communities”

CNN Newsource on June 28, 2026

By Nick Caloway

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    NEW JERSEY (WCBS) — A New Jersey charity is on a mission to make sure nothing goes to waste at 2026 Men’s World Cup celebrations in the state.

Table to Table, a Saddle Brook-based nonprofit, launched an initiative to save leftover food from FIFA watch parties and get it to those who need it most all over northern and central Jersey.

As soccer fan fever spreads across the Garden State, so do the crowds and the food. But what’s left behind doesn’t have to go to waste.

The Kick Hunger out of New Jersey tour is part of the call to rescue surplus meals from fan festivals, food trucks and watch parties at restaurants and event spaces.

“We’re packing up food for hundreds of meals that’s already cooked, already prepared, ready to eat. And that is such a gift to our communities,” said Heather Thompson, with Table to Table.

Restaurants, venues and watch party event organizers can donate surplus food if it’s been prepared in commercial kitchens, Table to Table says.

During the 39-day tournament, the charity’s tour van is traveling around the state as crews work in real-time to pack up meals within hours and get them out to local partners.

Food sent to Parkside Community Church in Westwood quickly goes to families who rely on fresh options.

“The clients that we have, who come here regularly, this is their grocery shopping for the week. They can’t afford to buy food on their own,” said Lisa Bontemps, with the church.

Table to Table’s initiative is a win on two fronts: cutting down food waste and helping tackle hunger across North Jersey.

“We realized that there was a real opportunity to get even more of that food out into our community and make sure that those celebrations benefited as many people as possible,” said Thompson.

“This is critical for them. We couldn’t do it without Table to Table’s help,” said Bontemps.

With dozens of World Cup events still ahead, organizers said they’re just getting started.

The tournament’s championship match will be on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.

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.

Influencer asking strangers to share their good news with the world

CNN Newsource on June 28, 2026

By Madeline Montgomery

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    ATLANTA (WUPA) — An Atlanta influencer is going viral by getting strangers to share their good news.

Cat Catoura has been an Atlanta influencer since 2010.

“I was actually going to be a pharmacist, but then started sharing bits and pieces of my life,” said Catoura.

She usually shares where to eat and what to do around Atlanta, but recently, she became inspired to do a different video series.

“I went out to the store and grabbed a poster board and grabbed a sharpie and wrote ‘Share your good news ATL’ and headed over to the best place in Atlanta, the Beltline, and started to get Atlantans to share their good news,” said Catoura.

Her inspiration was Signs with Meg, a creator from New York, and her desire to spread positivity.

“With everything happening in the world right now, you know there’s just a lot of bad news, and I feel like people just want some positivity out there,” said Catoura.

The American Psychological Association reports that consuming a large amount of negative news hurts the mind and the body. Alternatively, the National Library of Medicine reports that sharing good news boosts mental toughness. Catoura’s followers agree.

“I love your message. What you are doing for people, it’s amazing. When I saw your video, I thought was really touching. I heard like amazing messages, and it was really heartfelt. I loved your video,” said a follower from Canada.

“It actually feels great. I’ve been working on going out and talking to people. That’s a part of the job that I got. So I’ve been working on going out and talking to people, it helps with my anxiety,” said a woman who shared her good news of a new job at FIFA Fan Fest.

So if you’re walking the Beltline or at FIFA Fan Fest and see Catoura’s sign, go up. It may help brighten your day and many others.

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.

Airport worker meets woman after her GoFundMe raised more than $170,000 for him

CNN Newsource on June 28, 2026

By Dean Fioresi

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    ORANGE COUNTY, California (KCAL, KCBS) — An Orange County airport worker who became the subject of a GoFundMe fundraiser that garnered more than $170,000 in donations was united with the woman who started it all on Saturday, more than a month after she spotted him working through pain on the job.

When CBS LA first spoke with James Blair, a U.S. Navy veteran who has spent the last two decades working at John Wayne Airport, the fundraiser had gathered just over $65,000. At the time, he said that he thought it was funny and that he didn’t think that anyone cared about him working through years of injuries from refueling planes.

“When I first saw the video, and I saw the money coming up, I started laughing, because I’ve been doing this job for 20 years and I just didn’t think anybody actually cared,” Blair said.

Now, a month later, he finally got a chance to meet the woman who changed everything when Lacinda Thackeray, from Utah, made the trip to Southern California to gift him the check.

“It’s amazing,” Blair said on Saturday when Thackeray surprised him once again, this time at his Orange County home. “I’m at a loss for words.”

Thackeray said that they’ve gotten support from around the world, with people from countries like Norway, Africa and the Netherlands coming forward with kind words or donations.

“They just care about him, and I think they care just as much as I care,” Thackeray said.

She said that she originally recorded the video of Blair limping across the airport tarmac because he was visibly struggling, and she thought that someone in that position shouldn’t have to continue putting so much wear on themselves. Despite this, Blair said he plans to continue working, as he has for as long as he can remember, so that he can pay for his 90-year-old mother’s hospice 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.

Summer camp gives young burn survivors room to heal, be kids

CNN Newsource on June 28, 2026

By Conor McGill

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    LIVERMORE, California (KOVR) — For more than 30 years, Firefighters Kids Camp has given young burn survivors a place to feel understood, supported and free to just be kids.

For Stevie Carr, the Livermore camp has been part of his life since he was 6 years old.

“I have been a burn survivor since I was five. This is my 14th year here,” Carr said.

Now a counselor-in-training, Carr is helping create that same sense of belonging for the campers who come after him.

“This is the one place where they can do what they want. They don’t have to worry about the real world,” Carr said.

This year, the camp welcomed 54 campers. For many of them, the week is about building friendships with other young burn survivors who understand what they have been through.

Lili Cuevas has been attending camp for the last four years and always brings a special companion with her.

“This is Sorbet. I got her when I was around five or seven at Christmas time and it just reminds me of my house. It’s like, quote unquote, my therapy animal,” Cuevas said.

While Sorbet brings comfort, Lili said the connections she makes at camp are what keep her coming back.

“We get to make more friends that are like us rather than having more friends that are just friends. They get how we feel and stuff, so it’s really nice,” Cuevas said.

For Stevie, those friendships and memories are why he keeps returning year after year.

“I just wanna give them what I was given. I was given a place to belong. A place to call home,” Carr said.

And for Lili, each year brings new memories she carries with her long after camp ends.

“The memories that we’ve made here is definitely gonna stick with me for like a while. Every year I’ve had a memory stick with me and I hope that I can make new ones as well,” Cuevas said.

For these young burn survivors, Firefighters Kids Camp is more than a summer tradition. It is a place to heal, connect and simply be themselves.

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.