Author: CNN Newsource

By Caitlyn Scott, Ed DiOrio

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    NORTH HUNTINGDON, Pa. (WTAE) — An investigation is underway after officials said at least six dogs were killed after a fire broke out inside a kennel in Westmoreland County on Wednesday night.

Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 was on the scene at Bowser’s Dog Services within the 300 block of Baker School Road, where multiple crews were seen dousing hot spots.

Larimer VFC Chief Bill Hardy told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that the fire was reported at 9:30 p.m.

When officials arrived at the scene, he said flames could be seen coming from the roof of the structure.

He said at least six dogs are believed to have been killed as a result of the fire.

Hardy said one person may have sustained injuries trying to get the dogs out; no other injuries were reported.

“They clearly have a love for animals, just like we do,” said Pam Liberatore, a dog trainer and caretaker for Paw and Order Westmoreland County. “It’s devastating, to say the least.”

Liberatore told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that the fire has shaken not just her, but many dog owners in the county. She not only sees the work Bowser’s does for local dogs, but also recommends clients to the North Huntingdon service.

“They show that their dogs that they’re doing training for are well-trained,” Liberatore said. “They show their love and compassion through that. They’re definitely people that we have always, and continue to recommend.”

That’s why when she heard that their kennel had burned down, she reached out to all of her clients and fellow trainers.

“I know my clientele in the area are very giving and hopefully want to support,” Liberatore said. “We, personally, would like to, just from our own pockets, offer anything we can. We’ll maybe come up with a way that our clients can support them by offering monetary donations. That way, they can use it for whatever they may need it for. Dog crates, bedding, bowls, the essentials.”

Liberatore said she doesn’t know the owners of Bowser’s personally, but when something like this happens, it’s about supporting a fellow animal lover.

“Our hearts go out to them as local trainers and dog lovers,” she said. “Even though we are competitors in the dog training world, we also need to act as a support system. I strongly believe that the community will be backing Bower’s in this situation.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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 Sarah McGrew

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    SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — The night of Jan. 7, 2025, Tim Szwarc decided to stay up reading a book he’d just received for Christmas. A fire had started in the mountains behind the home he shares with his wife, Claire Thompson, and he wanted to make sure he was awake to monitor its progress.

“We saw it out our windows, and we saw it coming down the hill and figured that would be a good time to evacuate,” Thompson recalled.

There hadn’t been an evacuation order, the couple decided to self-evacuate out of an abundance of caution. Szwarc thought they’d be back home in just a few hours.

It’s now been a year and the couple haven’t spent a night in their Altadena home since the Eaton fire tore through their city and neighborhood.

“It just felt like a whole other world, and it all changed overnight,” Szwarc said.

Although houses on their block were completely burned down, Szwarc and Thompson’s house remained standing. In the days after the fire, they thought they were one of the lucky ones. But hidden in their walls, their clothes, and their family heirlooms was contamination from the hundreds of structures and cars that burned around them.

In June of 2025, the couple had their home tested by the industrial hygienist firm Kaizen. Their results showed elevated levels of lead, beryllium, and other toxic metals. All of those contaminants can cause serious health issues. Beryllium is a known carcinogen and hasn’t typically been found in wildfire smoke damage, but as wildfires become more and more urban, they’re also becoming more and more toxic.

“As much as I want to call this home, it’s not safe yet,” Szwarc said.

Szwarc and Thompson said their insurance company is now pushing back on the findings from Kaizen. They were told their insurance company would send out its own industrial hygienist, but the couple is still waiting.

“The thing at the top of our list that matters more than anything else is, can we get the remediation necessary to make it safe?” Szwarc said.

The Department of Angels, a nonprofit created after the LA fires aimed at providing resources for fire-impacted communities, found that most fire victims in Altadena and Pacific Palisades have struggled with their insurance coverage. Residents report poor communication and estimates below actual costs as some of the issues.

“That uncertainty over whether this is ever going to be a safe and clean place to live is really hard to deal with,” Szwarc said. “I just hope that insurance will take our health and needs seriously. We’re not asking for gifts or handouts. We’re just asking for what we signed up for and paid for with our premiums each month. To think that there’s still so much uncertainty over whether we’ll be able to live here safely now, a year in, and still not look at much progress is really concerning.”

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 Tim Fang

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    MONTEREY, California (KPIX) — Authorities on California’s Central Coast confirmed that a swimmer who went missing in Monterey Bay last month died from a shark attack.

On Thursday, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office revealed the cause of death of Erica Fox. The 55-year-old went missing while swimming with a group off Lovers Point in Pacific Grove on Dec. 21.

According to deputies, the coroner determined the cause of Fox’s death to be “sharp and blunt force injuries and submersion in water due to a shark attack”. The coroner said the manner of death has been ruled an accident.

“The Sheriff’s Office once again extends its deepest condolences to Erica Fox’s family and friends during this difficult time,” the agency said on social media.

Witnesses reported seeing a splash before Fox disappeared, and investigators said people in the area reported seeing a shark.

Authorities conducted more than 15 hours of search operations, covering more than 84 square nautical miles, before suspending the search the following day.

The woman’s body was recovered on Dec. 27 by Santa Cruz County deputies about four miles south of the community of Davenport, about 25 miles from where she went missing.

Fox was the co-founder of the “Kelp Krawlers”, an open water swimming group.

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 Duaa Israr

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    WAUKESHA, Wisconsin (WDJT) — A Waukesha man accused of killing his mother and stepfather inside their home last year pleaded guilty in court Thursday morning, Jan. 8.

Just two months ahead of trial, 18-year-old Nikita Casap entered a guilty plea on two counts of first-degree intentional homicide. The other seven charges Casap was facing will be dismissed in exchange for this plea deal.

Back in February of last year, investigators were called to Casap’s home on Cider Hills Drive for a wellness check after no one had heard from the family in two weeks.

Investigators found Donald Mayer and Tatiana Casap inside the home, covered in blankets and clothing. Their bodies had been decomposing for at least two weeks.

Casap was arrested in Kansas, along with a gun, cash, jewelry, and the family’s dog.

“I believe he’s a danger to the community. The facts of this case, which will be further explained at the sentencing – I just think he’s a danger to our community,” said Lesli Boese, Waukesha County district attorney.

A federal investigation into Casap revealed ties to an extremist neo-Nazi group and a plot to assassinate President Donald Trump. The Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office says it’s unclear if federal charges will be filed.

“Certainly, I don’t think he should be out in the community, and I would argue against that,” said Boese.

Boese says while she was surprised Casap pleaded guilty, she believes avoiding a trial is the best option for the victims’ families.

“I guess I’m a little surprised. I mean there’s really no downside for him to take it to trial, but again, I think the courts look at the fact that someone takes responsibility for what they did, and I think that’s a factor they consider at sentencing,” said Boese.

Casap will face life in prison, but he could be eligible for parole after serving 20 years on each count.

Boese says she will push for Casap to be denied any chance at parole during his sentencing. That’s set to take place March 5.

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 Mahsa Saeidi

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    NEW YORK (WCBS) — Many news outlets, including CBS News New York, were excluded from Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first official City Hall press conference Wednesday.

CBS was in touch with the mayor’s team all day. Our reporters were told the room was at capacity. We offered to go in with just a cellphone and were told “maybe,” but ultimately, we were excluded, along with other outlets.

The decision is raising questions about media access and transparency.

Instead of CBS News and other established outlets, only so-called “new media” was allowed inside the room for the press conference.

“We need to speak to New Yorkers through every single medium … And all of you are such critical parts of that,” Mamdani told them.

Among those invited was Avelyn Castillo, an influencer originally from New York who now lives in Atlanta and flew to the city for the event.

“I think that, overall, people are starting to realize the influence that we have as creators in our different sectors,” she said.

The press conference ended with a selfie.

“The questions were still asked,” Castillo said. “The pressure was still on.”

There’s no legal right to attend press conferences, according to attorney Richard Schoenstein, and, increasingly, politicians from both parties want to bypass journalists.

“Part of the mayor’s job is to be accountable to the public,” Schoenstein said. “And that means giving the public access and that means broad access, not just the people you like.”

“You know, I think that’s a positive for New Yorkers. I just think that everybody needs to be in that tent,” said Jere Hester, a professor at CUNY Newmark Journalism School. “So, look, the Blue Room is the place where the mayor has press conferences … so for the mayor to do this, it’s symbolic.”

On Thursday, the mayor, alongside Gov. Kathy Hochul, announced plans for free universal child care. During the Q&A, CBS News New York’s Mahsa Saeidi tried to ask the mayor about transparency, but off-topic questions weren’t allowed.

CBS News New York did reach out to the mayor’s office about this story, but it did not get back to us.

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 Kaley Fedko

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    ATLANTA (WUPA) — For three young public transit enthusiasts from Chicago, Thursday wasn’t just about chasing a Guinness World Record — it was about proving something bigger: that MARTA is reliable, safe, and worth riding.

Joabe Barbosa, Matthew Plese and Omar Yousaf spent the day riding the entire MARTA rail system in an attempt to complete the full route in roughly three hours. Their goal? Demonstrate that Atlanta’s transit system can hold its own while encouraging more people to give it a try.

Barbosa said he was impressed with how clean and comfortable the system felt throughout their ride.

“I think it was really clean. Everything was fine. It smelled great — maybe because we were there,” he joked.

The trio has a shared passion for transit systems across the country, but for 20-year-old Omar Yousaf, the mission is personal. His family moved to Atlanta five years ago, and he has seen firsthand how conversations about MARTA often focus on criticism rather than potential.

Their world-record attempt has sparked renewed interest in the city’s transit system, something Yousaf believes is positive

“It’s not only to say, ‘here’s our world record, look at this,’ but to make people try the transportation because it’s reliable,” Yousaf said. “You have it literally on the corner.”

Despite the enthusiasm, the group acknowledged the system isn’t perfect. They fell about 20 minutes short of their three-hour goal due to train wait times — delays they say could be improved with more precise scheduling.

“There are countries in Asia, like Japan, which have trains scheduled by the second,” Barbosa said. “If we’re gonna get a world record, we’re gonna need trains that are scheduled by the second.”

Still, the riders said the experience was overwhelmingly positive, especially when it came to safety — an issue often raised by hesitant commuters.

“Yeah, we felt safe,” Barbosa said. “And we hope people in Atlanta feel safe enough to not just hear about things and say, ‘oh we don’t want to ride MARTA,’ but you should. Because at the end of the day, you’re not gonna stop riding planes if a plane falls down. It doesn’t mean it’s unsafe.”

The group started their journey at North Springs Station early Thursday morning and wrapped up just after 6 p.m. at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — tired, a few minutes shy of breaking the record, but proud of what they set out to show.

Their message to Atlanta riders is simple: give MARTA a chance.

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.