Author: CNN Newsource

By Andrea Nakano

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    SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — In San Francisco, minimum wage is currently $19.61 an hour, what an average dishwasher would take home. But one San Francisco restaurant is offering more than double that amount to lure the best dishwasher in the city.

Alexis Meyer is one of thousands of people interested in the dishwasher position at Pho De Nguyen in the city’s SoMa neighborhood. The hourly wage was posted on Instagram, and the post definitely caught her attention.

Her reaction? “Sounds like a dream come true,” she replied.

Meyer was the second candidate to be called in on Friday for an in-person interview. Chef Phong Nguyen says the job is physically demanding. They have to be fast, thorough and able to work on the restaurant’s busiest nights, Fridays and Saturdays.

“Being able to stand on your feet for 8 to 12 hours a day,” Nguyen said. “A lot of us are doing four 10s or 12-hour shifts.”

With a DJ on hand on those nights, it’s like a party in the dining room and in the kitchen. Phong says he has posted a dishwasher wanted ad every six months, but it didn’t really catch on until he advertised that the job pays at least $50 an hour.

“It’s the Bay Area where labor is so hard to find,” he said. “You have one of two options. You either turn and burn all your employees or you try to make it livable.”

So how can a restaurant in SoMa offer a high wage for an entry-level position? Phong says it’s simple, instead of the server taking home all the tips, he’s spreading the wealth.

“It’s nothing out of the ordinary,” he said. “I think it’s just out of the ordinary because it takes mom-and-pop restaurant offering that.”

Good news for Meyer. She got a call back to work an 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. shift since the restaurant serves until 3 a.m. While the current dishwasher opening may soon be taken, Chef Phong is planning for this location to be open 24/7 which will probably mean another position will be posted soon again.

“We’re hoping for our business to grow,” he said. “For our dishwasher to have a full-time position on the line. Then continue on finding that dishwasher again. Rinse and repeat.”

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 Monique John

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    ATLANTA (WUPA) — Jonathan Sculley was blown away when he got to get up close and personal with the robotic surgery system that saved his life.

“I’ve never even seen anything like this before,” Sculley said. “It’s quite easy to use, actually. It’s quite intuitive.”

It’s called the Intuitive da Vinci 5 robotic surgical system, technology that helps doctors perform surgeries with precision in a less invasive way using cameras and robot arms. Intuitive, the developer, says it leads to faster recovery times and minimized risk of complications.

Sculley says he had to have a lobectomy and bronchoplasty to remove a cancerous tumor from his lung. More than 200 of these systems are across Georgia, but Emory Healthcare, where Sculley had his surgery, is leading the way with more than 30.

Dr. Manu Sancheti, the director of robotic thoracic surgery for Emory Healthcare, was Sculley’s doctor who performed the surgery.

“Jonathan’s case was quite complex in terms of where the tumor was actually located and the amount of lung I had to remove,” Sancheti said. “So I knew that I was going to be able to do the surgery, but I wanted to give him the best chance of a full recovery and a quick recovery, as he is. He’s young and active, and so I knew this was going to be the technology that I used, and fortunately it was successful for him, and he’s back to his normal life.”

“Basically, for this procedure, because they’re removing a lobe, the traditional way without a robot is they have to make a large incision to be able to go in and take out a full lobe,” Sculley said. “But because they’re using the robot, they made actually five smaller incisions. I have them down here and then down to my back. They made five incisions, so each of those heals a lot faster.”

Sancheti says Emory Healthcare uses the system every day on a variety of patients.

“It’s fun in the fact that it’s advanced technology. It’s fun in the fact that we can use these instruments that can provide patients quicker recovery and more complex care. And that’s, that’s where most surgeons get their fulfillment from,” he said.

Sculley says he’s grateful to his wife and mother for encouraging him to keep searching for answers for why he was having breathing problems.

“We are thankful that, like, he listened that day and we went to the urgent care and everything,” said Aditi Jain, Sculley’s wife. “We wished this didn’t happen at all. But … it was caught very early, like it was stage 1 and low grade. So it hadn’t spread anywhere else.”

“Jonathan was not resistant at all, but he had been to many doctors over a couple of years’ period, and I think he had been dismissed,” said Karen Sculley, his mother. “We’re so thankful for the series of events that led up to it being diagnosed correctly and then having a treatment with doctors.”

“It was obviously a very tough experience. By far, the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through in my life. But coming out the other side, I feel totally fine now,” Sculley said. “I feel positive about the outlook.”

Sculley is currently in remission. He says he won’t have to have another surgery as long as he doesn’t develop another tumor.

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By Daniel Wilkerson

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    ATLANTA (WUPA) — For nearly five decades, female impersonator Lena Lust has been stealing the show and earning tips in Atlanta’s drag scene.

Lust, whose official name is Lester West, has worked in Atlanta’s drag scene since 1977. Her career as a performer offers a window into decades of change, as well as challenges Black members of the community have faced over the years.

“I think a lot of them do not understand it until they are confronted with it, when someone brings it out,” Lust said, referring to the challenges members of the LGBTQ+ community have faced over the years.

Now 75 years old, Lust has worked the front door at Blake’s on the Park in Midtown since the early 1990s. She also performs Saturdays at the Atlanta Eagle.

Lust said that although considerable progress has been made, she has faced prejudice not only from audiences but from club owners.

“I survived them all. They are all gone. I am still here,” said Lust.

She said early on, Black performers faced many obstacles.

“I came up during a time where only one Black entertainer was allowed to perform in a show,” said Lust.

Lust said she has been HIV positive since 1987. She lived through the AIDS crisis and lost many of her friends. She and other performers, including the late Atlanta drag legend Charlie Brown, would organize benefit shows to raise money for people dying of AIDS.

“Charlie Brown spearheaded most of it. … The president of our country looked at it as a gay disease,” said Lust.

Lust said she has crossed paths with performers who went on to national fame, including RuPaul.

“He used to come to my shows before he got famous back in the day. I worked at 5-5-1, and there was a bar called Weekends. He worked one side of the bar as a stripper, and I was the other side as a show director. I am very proud of him,” said Lust.

She said events like Atlanta Black Pride remain necessary.

“I wish we did not have it because I think we all should be together as one. But we need it because we are not treated as equals,” said Lust.

She now sees part of her role as making sure younger performers and customers understand what came before them.

“I have had a lot of people come to me and say, ‘Because of you, Miss Lust, I am alive,’ because they had thought about committing suicide until they talked to me. You just never know,” said Lust.

Lust said she believes she is now the oldest living female impersonator still working in Atlanta. Atlanta Black Pride’s signature events continue through the weekend.

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By Frankie McLister

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    MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — On one of its last few days, one woman flew home to spend a few magical moments at the Great Minnesota Get-Together.

Emily Schmidt lives in Los Angeles, but surprised her dad, Larry Schmidt, at his St. Louis Park home on Saturday morning.

To Emily Schmidt, every penny of that ticket to take her dad to the fair was worth it.

“I was surprised,” Larry told WCCO. “I had no idea. I see her standing there and I’m like, ‘What’s this all about?'”

Larry Schmidt is 85. They hadn’t seen each other since March.

“I’m excited to spend the day together; it’s so much fun,” said Emily Schmidt.

This year marks Larry Schmidt’s 75th Great Minnesota Get-Together.

“They add new things, and all of that, but it was still the same big excitement, big crowds,” said Larry Schmidt.

“The fair has always been about family. We have cousins that show cows,” Emily Schmidt added.

With traditions like this, the Schmidts celebrate the little things in life.

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By Jeff Wagner

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    MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Behind the fried foods and thrilling rides, farming remains at the heart of the Minnesota State Fair, where farm families work around the clock to get their animals ribbon-ready.

The livestock barns are one of my favorite attractions at the Minnesota State Fair. But for the farm families on-site, it’s truly their home away from home.

What goes into caring for the animals at the fair? Good Question. We looked for answers at the cattle barn.

“It is continuous work the entire time we are here,” said Holly Meimann. She’s part of the Wagner Family Farm (unrelated to Jeff) from Black River Falls, Wisconsin. Joining them at the fair is their small herd of cows, 14 to be exact, plus two calves and a yearling.

“At home they go out and pasture and graze, and you’re working on other things at the farm. But here, you are 100% taking care of them all day long to make sure that they stay clean, ready to do whatever,” she said.

A shining example of that dashed past our camera mid-interview. Holly’s daughter, Hope, noticed one of the cows starting to “use the bathroom” right above a cow that was laying down. She swooped in to prevent a mess.

“We didn’t want the heifer to go (to the bathroom) on the cow because that would be very unfortunate. We’d have to wash the cow then and we don’t really have time for that because it’s show day,” said Meimann.

Primping and prepping for showing is paramount, but most of the days are spent feeding and quickly scooping up what animals leave behind.

“In the morning, our crew is about six people. We get up at 4 a.m.,” she said. After more cleaning and feeding, each cow gets a bath. One of her sons sleeps during the day so he can tend to the cows overnight.

That consistent effort can help the animals feel relaxed, which isn’t easy in such a foreign environment. On top of that, there’s a constant flow of strangers suddenly within arm’s reach.

“(The cows) behave differently. You know, some get a little sassy. We always have to be in check with them,” said Meimann. “But they do know that you’re the person that they’re familiar with. So, you’re what they trust.”

The Wagner Family is uniquely here all 12 days. But many farming families only visit for a 4-day stretch, meaning a big changeover happens on nights 4 and 8 of the fair.

“The barns close early on those days. And then the animals move out, and everything that you see here, all the bedding, any of the excess whatever, all of that gets removed and hauled away to composting,” said Doris Mold, superintendent for the Milking Parlor and Moo Booth in the cattle barn. “Then a state veterinarian inspects the barns and makes sure that they’re adequately cleaned and sanitized, and then the next group of animals moves in.”

Farm families are required to bring their own feed for the animals. The fair does offer a unique service however for cows that are lactating. “They can come in and milk their cows in our milking parlor, and then that milk gets sold on behalf of the farmers,” said Mold. The farmers then get paid for the milk that came from their cows.

More than 8,000 livestock competitors like the Wagners will fill the barns, along with more than 20,000 animals. A family affair passed from one generation to the next. “The work that goes into it is crazy, and it’s neat to see my kids get to experience it all,” said Meimann.

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By Joy Benedict

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    NEWPORT BEACH, California (KCAL, KCBS) — The city of Newport Beach is rushing to build berms on both sides of Balboa Pier to protect the land from potential impacts of Tropical Storm Marie.

Marie shifts from hurricane to storm by the time it makes landfall in North America. This weekend could see abnormally high humidity, rough surf and tropical rain, forecasters say.

Dueling excavators and Bobcats are trying to work faster than Mother Nature, building berms in the sand.

“We heard reports that it (Hurricane Marie) might turn towards us, but if it does turn towards us, we wanna make sure we’re prepared for it,” Zac Gentry, municipal operations director, said.

So, as a precaution, the city of Newport Beach started digging, bringing in not only city crews but also paying contractors to do what usually takes two weeks in just four days.

“Realistically, we’re more worried about Sunday and Monday. We’ll have additional crews here to make sure it’s protected if anything goes on,” Gentry said.

Hank Wiessner’s Fun Zone Boat Cruises business is on the other side of the peninsula, and he knows what can happen when the waves hit the shore and break the berm.

In 2020, king tides broke down the berm by the pier, flooding the parking lot, a dozen cars, and grounding a sailboat. That berm was 20 feet high and 6 feet wide. This time, the berm will be 20 feet high and 20 feet wide.

“We probably used 200,000 cubic yards, give or take,” Gentry said.

Concern is also heightened as the biggest holiday weekends of the year lie ahead, leading to more swimmers and ocean recreators.

“It can sweep your feet out from under you and wipe you out to sea in a very short matter of time,” Newport Beach Lifeguard Battalion Chief Adam Yacenda said.

Lifeguards say look for the warning flags and stay close to the lifeguard towers, something the Williams family from Las Vegas is already doing.

“You know we do the best we can, we keep them nice and close and don’t take our eyes off of them,” Taylor Williams said as she watches her young children.

The berm usually takes two weeks to build, and the city is spending $20,000 to hire extra contractors to get it done in four days.

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By Jennifer McRae

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    DENVER (KCNC) — Some high school students in Colorado organized a walkout to protest ICE actions on Friday. Around noon, students from more than 100 schools across the state left class to join the demonstrations.

Some students also protested Flock surveillance.

Students from North High School were seen walking along the sidewalk, some of them carrying signs that read “Stop, Stop Terrorizing Your Own People” and “ICE = Nazis.”

They were walking toward La Alma Park, where a rally was scheduled, and Democratic congressional candidate Melat Kiros was set to speak to the crowd.

The students behind the walkout at Mountain Vista High School in Douglas County said they have presented a platform of specific policy demands, including calling on the Douglas County School District to implement a written immigration enforcement policy. Those students marched along the Wildcat Reserve Parkway in Highlands Ranch.

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By Adi Guajardo

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    NEW YORK (WCBS) — New York wildlife advocates are calling for a ban on underpass netting, saying pigeons are getting trapped and dying.

Nabeela Van, a New York state wildlife rehabilitator, says she and follow bird rescuers noticed netting at the Eighth Street and Broadway underpass in Bayonne, New Jersey, less than two weeks ago.

Saturday, a pigeon appeared trapped behind that netting and another looked motionless.

“We’re looking at a dead baby that was alive a few days ago,” Van said.

She believes the netting is an expansion of an ongoing project aimed at deterring pigeons, but she and follow bird advocates say it’s only putting their lives at risk.

“I think this is very inhumane for the birds. They are starving to death,” she said.

“I heard the babies crying, running back and forth. I come back the next day, and they’re dead,” wildlife rescuer Darlene Dynega said.

Van and Dynega said they’re taking matters into their own hands. They used a ladder to open the netting and retrieve a bird, but she said their rescue efforts were too late; the bird was already dead.

Bird rescuers say shortly after, police arrived and told them they were tampering with city property.

Van says they want the netting to be banned.

CBS News New York reached out to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. They told us the city of Bayonne is responsible for the netting. We reached out to the city but did not immediately hear back.

Port Authority says they’ve only installed netting in the overhead area above Fort Washington Avenue near the George Washington Bridge. Wildlife advocates say at least 50 birds have been trapped in that netting, with some requiring emergency care.

According to Port Authority, bait traps are currently in place to help safely capture and release birds that get trapped, but some bird rescuers say bait traps in New York and New Jersey are not enough; they need immediate action.

“We just need to take the babies out securely before any more die,” Van said.

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By Matthew Rodriguez, Lauren Pozen

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    CRESTLINE, California (KCAL, KCBS) — A Crestline grandmother was nearly beaten to death with a metal baseball bat after she helped a stranger who claimed he had just been robbed.

Described as a kind-hearted woman who always tried to help others, Therese Garcia welcomed Erik Eduardo Navarro, 26, into her home after he told the 71-year-old grandmother that someone had stolen all of his belongings while he was camping and that he had an upcoming job interview at a nearby hardware store.

Family members said Garcia cooked for him every night and believed that he had just fallen on hard times and needed help. Her opinion of Navarro changed after several days when he became demanding and slowly took over her home.

“He was there a total of six days, and he started, kind of making demands,” daughter Abbie Garcia said. “He wasn’t really helping with any of the things that he agreed to in the beginning.”

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office said Garcia asked Navarro to leave her home. Garcia’s family said Navarro waited until she was asleep at night before ruthlessly beating her with a metal baseball bat.

“That night, when she was sleeping on the couch, he just started beating her with a metal baseball bat,” Abbie Garcia said.

Relatives said Navarro beat Garcia for hours, taking breaks when she lost consciousness and hit her every time she woke up.

“He just kept beating her until he finally thought she was dead,” Abbie Garcia said.

Garcia’s family said he ran off with her phone, credit cards, keys and e-bike before deputies arrived.

After neighbors asked for a welfare check, deputies found Garcia on Aug. 25 with significant injuries to her hands and face, to the point where she could not clearly see. Her family believes Garcia would have bled to death if her neighbors hadn’t asked for help.

Garcia has been in the hospital ever since. Her family said she vomited blood for days and had multiple broken bones in her arm, hand and face. Doctors treated her for a traumatic brain injury, brain bleed and multiple deep lacerations that required extensive stitches.

While still in excruciating pain, Garcia’s condition has stabilized over the past week, but her family still doesn’t know how long it will take for her to recover. The 71-year-old may need facial surgery once her swelling subsides.

Without health insurance, Garcia’s family set up a GoFundMe to help pay the already mounting hospital bills, the cost of the possible surgery and any follow-up care.

Deputies are still searching for Navarro. Abbie Garcia said her family is terrified that Navarro will hurt someone else.

“I truly believe he will kill somebody if he’s not caught,” she said.

San Bernardino County investigators urged anyone with information about the case or Navarro’s whereabouts to call the Twin Peak Station at (909) 336-0660. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can call or text “REPORT” to We-Tip at (844) 909-3006.

Tips can also be submitted to deputies through the department’s website: mobile.catapultems.com/sbcsd/Sites.

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