Author: CNN Newsource

By Logan Smith

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    COLORADO (KCNC) — The state announced Thursday the completion of a nearly year-long effort to extinguish a burning pile of century-old coal mining debris near Florence.

The pile of rock, dirt and low-quality coal began slowly burning two decades ago, according to the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS). The fire ignited by spontaneous combustion.

In May 2025, the agency measured temperatures above 300 degrees Fahrenheit inside the roughly 35-foot tall, 150-foot wide, and 300-foot long pile. Temperatures had previously stayed in the 100-200 degree range, according to an DRMS press release.

The spike was deemed concerning enough to address. State crews began turning the mixture less than a month later. Inside the pile, they found coal pockets reaching 1,000 degrees, per DRMS.

The first phase of the Corley Mine Surface Burn Mitigation Project started with an additional eight acres of “fire barrier” established around the 1.5-acre pile. Once surrounded and isolated from vegetation, the pile was excavated. The refuse pile consisted of coal waste, carbonaceous shale, and coal ash. Approximately 82,000 cubic yards in total, per DRMS.

Crews spread the debris out, sprayed water on it when needed, then rolled in an identical amount of “non-carbonaceous material” like gravel into it. They waited until the remnants of the pile measured less than 90 degrees before covering it with another 164,800 cubic yards of dirt and rock.

That phase of the project was completed in November, per DRMS. Since then, crews have worked on reclamation, or returning the site to aesthetic state similar to its surroundings. Another 30,000 cubic yards of fill were moved in to improve drainage and reduce erosion, then native seed mixes were planted over the entire 9.5 acres.

The Corley Mine operated between the 1920s and 1990s about nine miles south-southwest of Florence. A total of 15 mines were dug over that time at the site. The old refuse was collected into a single pile in the 1950s and newer operations continued to accumulate waste there, per DRMS.

Old, abandoned coal mines have slowly burned underground in other parts of the state. Two such sites south of Boulder were once considered the possible causes of the wind-driven Marshall Fire in 2021, the state’s costliest wildfire. Those sites were later eliminated as the cause, but DRMS dug up the burning remains of those coal mines, treated them, and reburied them.

DRMS crews continue to mitigate another underground coal mine site near Glenwood Springs. A coal seam there has burned since 1910. It was blamed for igniting the Coal Seam Fire which burned more than 10,000 acres and destroyed 28 homes in 2002. Surface measurements there reached 600 and 900 degrees in 2025.

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 Esme Murphy

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    MINNESOTA (WCCO) — Psychedelic mushrooms were widely known as a recreational and illegal drug in the 60s and 70s. Now, two bills at the Minnesota State Capitol would make it easier to access the fungi.

One of the bills would create a pilot program for psychedelic or psilocybin mushrooms to be used in medicine for the treatment of mental health conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression. The other bill would decriminalize the substance, removing the current legal penalties that exist for anyone caught with some.

Both bills are recommendations from Minnesota’s Psychedelic Medicine Task Force.

“Psilocybin has been showing incredible promise as a treatment for many mental health conditions,” Democratic state Sen. Clare Oumou Verbeten said.

Verbeten introduced her bill at the Senate Judiciary Committee, and there were a lot of questions.

“Oh, we are just decriminalizing it. That is a pretty gigantic step,” Republican state Sen. Michael Kreun said.

There was also an acknowledgement from Sen. Judy Seeburger that people need more therapies for mental illness.

“Treatment-resistant depression is a devastating illness. Devastating,” Seeburger said.

Dr. Jessica Nielson, an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota, is the chair of the task force.

“Mental health issues are a huge problem. They’re getting worse and we don’t have enough tools to meet that moment,” Nielson said.

Three other states, Colorado, New Mexico and Oregon, have legalized psilocybin mushrooms for therapeutic use.

It’s unlikely the two bills will pass the Minnesota Legislature this year, but it’s important to remember that bills on medical marijuana and recreational marijuana were debated at the Capitol for over 10 years before lawmakers legalized them

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 Jackie Kostek, Adam Harrington

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — April is Parkinson’s awareness month, and Bill Bucklew is a shining example of what’s possible with the condition.

In his latest upcoming adventure, Bucklew will serve as co-captain of a team of athletes with Parkinson’s who will cycle most of the length of the historic Route 66.

Parkinson’s is one of the fastest-growing neurological diseases in the U.S., with more than 90,000 Americans diagnosed each year.

The progressive brain condition causes tremors, slow movement, and problems with balance.

Bucklew was diagnosed at 43 years old. He said he had been looking for an answer about some tightness in his leg for five years before that, and finally found out he had Parkinson’s.

“So in some respects, when I was diagnosed ultimately with Parkinson’s in 2012, it was helpful to know what the problem was. But I didn’t really even know what Parkinson’s was,” Bucklew said. “It was like a punch in the stomach — a huge shock for me. my family, my friends, and everybody.”

But Bucklew learned early on that exercise can help slow the progression of the disease.

“I just dove in head first and said, you know what? I’m going to put up some serious challenges in front of me that will cause me to exercise and then get the medicine of exercise, so to speak. So I started that first year off, and I think it was about a month after I was diagnosed, I signed up for the Wisconsin Ironman — the full Ironman in Wisconsin,” he said. “I had no idea if I could do it. Actually, I really wasn’t sure that I could. Ended up doing that, and I got so much better during that process, I felt so much better, that I just kind of started cascading into other awareness campaigns that had exercise involved in them.”

CBS News Chicago talked previously with Bucklew in 2022, as he was running along 11 teammates for Team Synapse. At the time Bucklew and his teammates were also getting ready at the time to run the Blue Ridge Relay, which spans more than 200 miles from southwestern Virginia to Asheville, North Carolina.

Bucklew has also taken part in 11 Olympic triathlons, run close to 50 marathons, and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. He has walked across the United States and Great Britain.

“All of that were used as fundraisers to raise awareness for the disease, but also, selfishly, to get the exercise and really force myself to have the discipline of getting that,” he said.

As Bucklew’s Parkinson’s has progressed, he is not as comfortable with walking and running as he used to be — but he’s still taking on athletic feats. CBS News Chicago also caught up with Bucklew in 2024, when he and three friends with Parkinson’s were prepared to cycle some 4,000 miles from Virginia to San Diego — each logging about 70 miles a day for 65 consecutive days.

Now, Bucklew set to get on his recumbent tricycle and set off on a cross-cycle of the length of Route 66, along with a team of others living with Parkinson’s.

Bucklew is a co-captain of Team Route 66, which will also include cyclists from elsewhere in the Midwest and from Toronto. They’ll meet up with other teams along the way.

They’ll pass through a lot of the cities mentioned in the famous song “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66” — St. Louis; Oklahoma City; Amarillo, Texas; Gallup, New Mexico. They’re not following Route 66 all the way to its terminal at Santa Monica Pier right outside Los Angeles though, as there’s an important event in Phoenix for which they’re headed.

“We’re on a big adventure. We’re going to the World Parkinson’s Coalition in Phoenix, Arizona. This coalition comes together only every three years. It’s in a different country every time. So it happens to be in Phoenix, Arizona, on May 23,” Bucklew said, “and we’re going to hop on our tricycles here in Chicago at the beginning of Route 66 on April 20 and ride all the way to it, arriving the day before.”

Bucklew emphasized how helpful his tricycle is for people whose balance is such that they can no longer ride a bicycle.

“It’s a three-wheeled bicycle that’s fairly low to the ground, so it requires no balance. So people who have quit cycling can really get back into the sport through this,” he said. “This tricycle and TerraTrike, our sponsor, have been very helpful.”

Again, Bucklew and his teammates’ 1,600-mile bike ride along the historic Route 66 is set to take off April 20. More information is available through the World Parkinson Congress or via Facebook, and donations are also being accepted.

This year marks the centennial of Route 66.

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 Joe Brandt, Raymond Strickland

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    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — The Philadelphia Ironworkers Local 401 has identified the worker killed and the two presumed dead after a parking garage partially collapsed on Wednesday in the Grays Ferry section of Philadelphia.

The union said Stepan Shevchuk was the man killed when a failure of a precast concrete segment triggered a progressive collapse. The remains of Matthew Kane and Mark Scott Jr., who officials say are presumed dead, have not been recovered.

“We’ve lost three loved and respected members of our 401 family and wait in anticipation to bring our Brothers home,” the union wrote in a Facebook post. “This process has been slow and painstaking, but necessary due to the condition of the structure and the possibility for further collapse. We asked that you respect the authorities and agencies that are involved as they are trying to recover our Brothers as safely, dignified and respectfully as possible.”

Officials said the collapse occurred when a subcontractor working on the under-construction garage was installing precast concrete flooring, decking, and roofing segments when a segment failed.

The garage along Grays Ferry Avenue was being built for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to expand employee parking.

Demolition and recovery crews on the site spent Friday assembling a large crane and a wrecking ball that will be used during the demolition process. Crews also set up some shielding around the building.

The city could not provide a time frame for how long the demolition would take because engineers and inspectors will need to monitor the structure’s response to the demolition.

The Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management warned residents that demolition may produce loud noises and advised them to close their windows. Mayor Cherelle Parker said there may be dust around the site and that people with sensitive respiratory conditions may want to wear a mask such as an N95.

A community meeting is set for 10 a.m. Saturday at Vare Recreation Center for city officials to answer questions about the collapse and give updates on the demolition.

Grays Ferry Avenue remains closed between 28th Street and 34th Street, according to Philadelphia OEM. The city has asked residents to avoid the area.

Friday, Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered all flags across Pennsylvania to fly at half-staff in memory of the workers who lost their lives. Parker ordered the same for the flags across the city of Philadelphia.

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 Marvin Hurst

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    DALLAS (KTVT) — Authorities are investigating a whistle-blower tip alleging that two Information Technology employees were working full-time for both the City of Dallas and the City of Austin simultaneously.

The two individuals were earning a combined annual salary of more than $270,000 from the City of Dallas alone, according to city figures. CBS News Texas confirmed that one employee was paid $144,515.10 per year, while the other earned $128,750 per year.

The Whistle-Blower Tip The City of Dallas released a statement explaining that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) received the allegation via the city’s confidential “Whistle Hotline” in November.

In response, Interim Inspector General Baron Eliason opened an investigation and notified the following departments:

Dallas Police Department’s Public Integrity Unit

Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert

The City of Austin

Terminations in Austin While Dallas has not revealed the identities of the employees, the City of Austin confirmed it terminated three Austin Technology Services staff members during the week of March 23 as a result of an “ongoing review.”

Among those terminated was the interim Chief Information Security Officer. Brian Gardner, who served in that role, was previously the Chief Information Officer for the City of Dallas. According to his LinkedIn page, he had been with the City of Austin for 15 months.

In an email, Gardner declined to comment on the specifics of the situation. “On advice of counsel, I will not be commenting on this matter,” Gardner said. “As you know very well, there are at least two sides to every story. If and when it is appropriate, I will consider speaking further.”

Security and Data Concerns Despite the allegations of dual employment, officials in both Dallas and Austin emphasize that their technical infrastructure remains secure. Both cities stated that their systems were not compromised and no data breaches occurred as a result of the situation.

The City of Dallas says its investigation into the matter is ongoing.

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.