Author: CNN Newsource

By Zachary Bynum

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    POLK COUNTY, Florida (WFOR) — A Central Florida man is facing multiple charges after deputies say they found him on a construction site wearing lingerie — and discovered a firearm concealed inside a silicone breast implant.

According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, 39-year-old Matthew Zaccarino of Altamonte Springs was spotted standing beside a vehicle at a construction area near Ernie Caldwell Boulevard and Grandview Parkway.

Deputies say Zaccarino began putting on a red lace bra and G-string as they approached. When deputies ordered him to stop, he removed the items instead — revealing a handgun hidden beneath one of the silicone breast inserts he had been holding.

The arrest report notes Zaccarino reached into the vehicle before deputies handcuffed him and took him into custody.

Investigators say Zaccarino claimed he was on his way to a costume party but refused to provide the location.

Zaccarino is charged with trespassing while armed, loitering and prowling, and resisting arrest without violence.

Sheriff Grady Judd commented on the bizarre encounter, saying: “A lace bra, a G-string and a hidden gun. Folks, you cannot make this up.”

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 Don Nelson

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    BOISE, Idaho (KIVI) — The holidays have been tough for the French family out of Twin Falls County. You may remember that about three weeks ago, on Dec. 17, a strong windstorm toppled a tree that ultimately struck two of their three children as they waited at the bus stop. One of those children, Porter French, is still recovering at St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital in Boise.

“He’s a fighter, and it’ll be a long road, but I know he can do it,” said Alisha French, Porter’s mom.

Porter’s parents say they hope the 11-year-old will get out of bed for the first time this week.

Porter’s sister Viviana was released from the hospital on Christmas Eve. “She’s like a normal kid again,” said Alisha. “It’s hard to keep her from limited activity, not running, no jumping, or dancing, twirling— just try and protect her head.”

To say it’s been a rough few months would be an understatement.

Alisha French put it this way: “Speaking of, when it rains, it pours. In October, he was in a car accident, and our main car was totaled, and so we haven’t replaced the car yet.”

Two days before the tree accident, the French family says they were asked by their landlord to vacate, leaving them to find a new home when they return to Twin Falls. For now, the Ronald McDonald House is home.

Their oldest son, Charlie, is with his Grandparents back in Twin Falls.

A fundraiser at Papa John’s in Twin Falls is scheduled for Wednesday, and their GoFundMe account is still active. Ren and Alisha are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support they’ve received in Twin Falls and Boise.

“It’s just amazing to see people reach out and show concern and care that you don’t know. Often people will say, ‘we’re praying for you,’ where I never would have interacted with otherwise, and so it’s amazing to see that.”

And as far as welcoming in a New Year? The couple is praying for the best. “It’s got to be better,” said Alisha. “It’s going to be better; it’s the way you think about it— so 2026 will be better,” added Ren French.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KIVI verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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 Vanessa Gongora

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    TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and one survivor is using her voice to bring awareness to this critical issue through the power of poetry and art.

Monica Perkins, now 39, survived eight years of human trafficking across multiple states with many predators, beginning when she was just 17-years-old. Her story is featured at a survivors art exhibit downtown called “Every Step has a Story – How we got in, How we got out, Who we are now,” where she shares her experience through a poem called “Against All the Odds.”

Perkins never imagined that fleeing an abusive relationship while pregnant would lead to another path of torture. The trauma from those years still affects her today.

“My brain was being rewired and reconditioned before I even knew myself,” Perkins said.

She said she met her first predator in San Francisco, Calif. when she was in a group home, not realizing what she was getting herself into.

“The day that I met him, he took me around and showed me some of his houses. He had a nice car, he told me he was a rap producer. He had a studio and just all the good things, shiny things that a girl that’s pretty naive and especially, you know, not being from a big city. I just was instantly, you know, enthralled by the whole situation,” Perkins explained.

After she had her son, Dondre Cannon, things took a turn. Her son was taken away from her when he was only four-months-old, and she was forced into prostitution.

“I was handed a purse by one of his women and full of rubber gloves, condoms, and lube, and told what I was going to be doing for how much and I was dropped off at the strip club,” Perkins said.

During her trafficking experience, Perkins faced complete isolation, control, physical and psychological abuse. On top of that, she was only allowed to see her son a handful of times.

“My cell phone was taken away and I was told I was being monitored. That family didn’t exist anymore. That was no more. This is my new life. This is how we go forward. My family didn’t love me,” Perkins said.

Getting out wasn’t easy because the predators maintained complete authority and power, but reuniting with her son was her priority.

She escaped at the age of 25 and hasn’t looked back since.

Now, Perkins is ready to confront those demons head-on.

Through her poetry, she reads: “As survivors it’s up to us to unite and fight for what’s right. Stand tall and turn our pain into power. It’s a grueling dedication to heal while trying to properly function minute by minute, day by day, hour by hour.”

She’s speaking up about her experience in hopes of saving other women, and to let them know there is light at the end of the tunnel.

“Because I never felt like I would get here. And so I feel like everybody comes with a different story, a different approach, and I just know that like I did not, there’s no reason I had to have gone through all that if I can’t use it to help somebody else,” Perkins said. “And if I’m not able to do that, then it was all for nothing. It feels like it would have been all for nothing, that I suffered. My son suffered. My daughter now suffers from the ramifications.”

Perkins also hopes people won’t stay silent when they see something wrong.

“And that’s where this all is a problem, is that there are so many people that could have stepped in and saved my life. And even if they weren’t able to save my life, at least they could have tried because there is going to be somebody that they could have made a difference in their life,” Perkins said.

“When you are shown over and over and over again that nobody’s going to step in. Everybody sees what’s happening. They know it’s not right. They know there’s something wrong, but they don’t say a word. Nobody cares.”

Angela Marie, curator of the “Every Step Has a Story” exhibit and also a survivor, believes it’s crucial to give victims a platform to use their voices after being silenced for so long.

“Being able to walk with other survivors and see them begin to own their own lives again when so much agency had been taken before. To see them stepping out confidently and sharing who they are, not what they are, not what they’ve been through … To remind them they have a voice,” Marie said. “Here we stand together, we support each other and we walk through those steps. We share the stories, we share the tears, we share the laughter.”

Perkins, along with her now 21-year-old son Dondre, and 15-year-old daughter Arianna are working with nonprofits like Southern Arizona Against Slavery (SAAS) to help them heal a deep wound.

Norma Darnell, SAAS President says the mission is to mentor and empower survivors of sexual exploitation and human trafficking and help them to cultivate their gifts and talents.

Darnell is a survivor of sexual exploitation and wants other victims to know she is standing in their corner and will help with whatever they may need.

“I would really want to extend the invitation that I know that you’ve learned how to build walls and not to trust, but all I can say is just to give us an opportunity that we are a safe place and that we will love you wherever you’re at in your journey,” Darnell said.

The art exhibit is at the 7 Legged Spider Gallery inside the Steinfeld Warehouse located at 101 W. 6th St. in Downtown Tucson. It’s open for the month of January on Saturdays from 1-4:00 p.m. and by special appointment. Reach out to Angela Marie on Instagram at @angela_marie_arts for more information.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. ­­­KGUN verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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 Shelby Lofton

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    LEHI (KSL) — A Utah County man is in the hospital after being run over and dragged down the street by a truck on Friday as he attempted to confront two alleged thieves.

The RC cars and miniature vehicles sold at A Mad Mans Hobby Store range from $100 to $1500. Teresa Mott runs and owns the store.

“It’s not a corporate thing or, you know, a big chain of stores. It comes out of my pocket,” Mott said.

Surveillance video captured two suspects stealing a car kit.

“This young couple comes in, needed a Traxxas part, so we got him the part,” Mott said. “And then the gentleman asked if he could look around.”

The woman appears to hold the door open, then the man picks up a $1,000 car and walks out without paying.

That’s when, Mott said, she told her employee, Mark Willson, about the theft.

“I says, ‘Hey, they just stole that Maxx,” Mott said.

Willson’s daughter, Shellie Vincent, said her dad began walking toward the couple’s truck, approaching the driver’s side door to confront them about the alleged theft.

Vincent said her dad saw the truck’s backup lights and grabbed onto its tailgate, trying to hop in, “so he didn’t get smashed.” She said her dad held on tight as the truck sped off, then they pulled over.

“As he was coming down and trying to get off of the truck, so he didn’t fall off, they sped off again, and it caught his feet and pulled him into the wheel well,” Vincent said.

A witness helped Mott find Willson about a block away from the store.

“His face is all smashed and blood dripping all over. His legs (were) pointed the wrong direction. He looked like a ragdoll,” Mott said.

Willson’s family said he has multiple broken bones and will need several surgeries.

“You never expect someone you care about, your dad, to be ran over and left in the middle of the street,” Vincent said. “It’s not right. Over an item.”

The Lehi City Police Department said the man and woman haven’t been identified. Mott said they were driving a newer black dodge ram with black rims and tinted windows.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KSL verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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 Sid Garcia

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    WEST LOS ANGELES (KABC) — In two separate cases just this weekend, thieves went after rare Pokémon cards, and the reported losses are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

No arrests have been made in either incident.

On Sunday night at RWT Collective in West Los Angeles, one of the shop’s regulars was robbed at gunpoint of a collection of rare cards in the building’s underground parking lot.

Co-owners Danny Leserman and Christopher Chou shared images of the two suspects behind the robbery. When Los Angeles police detectives showed up, the victim positively identified them as the two men who robbed him.

“He was just leaving, just trying to go home,” Lesserman said.

The owners say they’re already working on adding more security.

“We’re going to keep increasing our security systems, too. We’re going to get more cameras into the building, things like that, Chou said.

There was already evidence of that on Monday. Property management had a crew installing surveillance cameras in the parking area and around the building.

The owners also say they’re working with property management on having armed guards at the store and the building.

The approximate value of the rare Pokémon cards stolen from the RWT Collective customer is around $300,000.

There’s been a string of similar robberies across Southern California. Also over the weekend, burglars broke into Simi Sportscards in Simi Valley, taking valuable Pokémon cards.

But what makes the cards so valuable?

“Most of the time, they’re used, and they’re not in good enough quality to be considered collectible. And so when they do rise to a level, that’s when the dollar amount can really get to be something pretty out there,” Leserman said.

Law enforcement officials say they’re comparing notes to see if the recent robberies are connected.

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 Melissa Luck

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    SPOKANE, Wash (KXLY) — The Mead School District commented Tuesday on the death of a person hit by a district bus Monday night.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office says a bus driver hit a woman attempting to cross the street in a crosswalk near Mead High School.

The person killed has not been officially identified, but the district confirmed the victim was a former student.

The Mead School District shared this statement Tuesday morning:

We are devastated by the loss resulting from the tragic accident involving a Mead School District bus. Our hearts are with the family, friends, and loved ones, and we extend our deepest condolences and stand with them during this profoundly difficult time. Any time we lose a member of the Mead family, whether a current or former student, it has a widespread impact.

The district has dedicated counselors and additional support staff available on site to provide care and assistance for any students or staff who may need it. We will also continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement as they conduct their investigation.

The sheriff’s office says the investigation is ongoing, but they don’t believe the driver was impaired.

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.