Author: CNN Newsource

By Andy Alcock

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    KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMBC) — A former University of Missouri-Kansas City volleyball star has been identified as the victim of a weekend murder.

Kansas City Police officers found Rhegan Spiegel, 28, lying in the street with a gunshot wound near the corner of 42nd and Forest late Sunday night.

Despite their best efforts, officers were unable to save her.  

“I just really hope that she was surrounded in her final moments by all the love that she poured out into her community and to her friends,” said Isa Rueda-Munoz, Spiegel’s friend.

There’s a memorial set up near where police officers found Spiegel.

According to Rueda-Munoz, Spiegel had been staying on and off with a man who lived in a home close to where she was found lying in the street.

“I don’t know much about him or the relationship. None of her friends I’ve spoken to have anything to say about him other than that he’s changed his story and none of the neighbors know where he is. People are looking for him,” Rueda-Munoz said.

Spiegel was a star volleyball player for UMKC from 2016 through 2018.

The Roos shared a video on social media when Spiegel, overcome with emotion, learned her sophomore year she had been given a full ride scholarship.

“Your outstanding work ethic, your loyal commitment to your team and your intense determination, you have been awarded a full ride scholarship,” Spiegel said reading the letter in front of her coaches and teammates.

Longtime UMKC Head Volleyball Coach Christi Posey issued a statement Tuesday.

“It is heartbreaking to hear of Rhegan’s passing, but we are so grateful for the time that we were able to spend with her as a member of the Roo family. Rhegan was always a go-getter with great positive energy who was respected and loved by her teammates. She was an incredibly hard worker and above all else I will remember the smile that she brought to practice every day. We hold her family, friends, and former teammates in our thoughts through this difficult time.”

Rueda-Munoz said Spiegel had been through her own tough times after losing her job and her home.

She said Spiegel had been staying with various friends.

Despite those issues, Rueda-Munoz said Spiegel remained very positive.

She met her working on an effort to set up an around the clock aid cabinet to help their neighbors in need with free food and other supplies.

“I just want to make my peace with the whole situation. I just want to tell my friend, like, I love you,” Rueda-Munoz said.

Spiegel’s family also issued a statement.

“Rhegan was a ray of light to anyone who had the pleasure of knowing her. Her kindness and outgoing nature made everyone around her smile. She was never afraid to be herself, and that made people love her even more. Rhegan was a huge music fan and concertgoer. She studied at UMKC where she was the starting libero for their volleyball team. Rhegan believed above all in community and being there for one another. She wanted more than anything for that to be reflected in the city she lived in. Rhegan will never be forgotten, and her light will continue to shine forever in the hearts of those who love her.”

A statement from KCPD Tuesday said, “The circumstances remain very much under investigation. Detectives will examine all available evidence and witness accounts to best determine the sequence of events and contributing circumstances.”

Detectives have canvassed the surrounding neighborhood to get statements from witnesses.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call (816)474-TIPS.

Callers can remain anonymous.

Information leading to an arrest is eligible for up to a $25,000 reward.

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 Jazmon DeJarnette

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    MONTEREY COUNTY, California (KSBW) — Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park has reopened to visitors after being closed for two months during the Timber Fire, which burned approximately 517 acres of the park.

“When we’re just looking around the place, you can see the burn scars. I just have to envisage what it was like for the firefighters to be here. But so grateful for what they do, putting their lives at risk for nature so that we can come back and enjoy it later on,” said David Dutton, a visitor.

The park had served as a base camp for firefighters battling the blaze. Now that the fire camp has moved out, cleanup efforts have prepared the park to welcome visitors once again.

“Now that fire camp has moved out, we have gone in, been able to clean up, and with their assistance as well, to just prepare the park to be able to welcome visitors again,” said Rachel Tuttle, Supervising Ranger for California State Parks.

Visitors now have access to the campgrounds, picnic areas, and the Big Sur River.

“The river is just fantastic. I mean, it’s just so peaceful. We’re able to get next to the big log and actually jump fully in and just enjoy it,” said Dutton.

“We’re glad it’s reopened. We’ve been able to see a lot. Not everything. Some things are still closed. You can see some of the burn scar, but we’re glad to be back and hope more people come,” said Judy Dutton, another visitor.

Several trails remain closed due to safety risks, including unstable trees, falling rocks, and debris.

“The trails that are remaining closed are Pfeiffer Falls Trail, Valley View Trail, the Oak Grove Trail, Mount Manuel Trail, Pine Ridge Trail, and the Big Sur River Gorge Trail,” said Tuttle.

Visitors are reminded that entering closed trails or burned areas will result in citations.

“We mainly wanted to go to River Gorge, but that’s closed still for the fire season. But we were able to find some cool spots along the river, too,” a visitor said.

California State Parks emphasized the importance of the reopening as part of the park’s recovery.

“It’s such a landmark in Big Sur, really. It has so many aspects of Big Sur that we all love to enjoy. So we have our redwoods, we have access to the Big Sur River. So we’re so excited to be able to welcome visitors back, which includes the locals, to be able to come and enjoy,” said Tuttle.

State Parks officials noted that the remaining closed trails could reopen by spring.

Here is a list of the closed and open areas.

Closed areas: – Big Sur River Gorge, Pfeiffer Falls, Valley View Trail, Oak Grove Trail, Mount Manuel Trail, Pine Ridge Trail, and Day Use Road.

Open areas: – Buzzard Roost Trail, Warden’s Path, River Path, Homestead Cabin, Campground.

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 Brian Sherrod

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    COLORADO (KCNC) — The Colorado Department of Transportation is unveiling its new crash prevention trucks that will help protect emergency crews responding to scenes. This is part of the agency’s traffic incident management training to keep everyone safe.

CDOT says each of these trucks will be used to protect emergency responders. If a driver is too close and they are not paying attention, the attenuators will take the impact of the crash. As drivers are going through an area of a crash, sometimes the secondary crash is a lot worse than the first.

CDOT says each of these trucks costs about $250,000 and will be mostly used around the Denver area. Right now, they have about two of them that would be used for crash protection. Each time one of these attenuators takes the blow, it protects the firefighters, police officers, tow truck operators, and EMS on scene.

CDOT says these are way easier to replace at $30,000 than it would be to replace a fire truck that was hit at $2 million. Now, even though they have these vehicles to help protect from a secondary crash, emergency responders say all crashes are preventable, so it should never happen in the first place.

“Secondary accidents are too common, and it’s unacceptable,” FHWA Administrator Sean McMaster said. “Zero is the only number of accidents we will accept.”

“Emergency responders are also reminding everyone of the Move Over law. If you see them responding, you need to either move over a lane or slow down past 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 Caroleina Hassett

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    SALT LAKE CITY (KSTU) — Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson posted an update on social media over the weekend about a suspicious letter headed to her office that was intercepted by a postal inspector.

Henderson attached a picture of what the envelope looked like. It appears to have been postmarked at the North Texas Processing and Distribution Center in Dallas. The return address printed on the envelope appears to read “DSA” in New York City, though it’s not clear if that’s a legitimate return address.

Suspicious Election Mail Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson “Last week, state election officials around the country began receiving envelopes containing suspicious white powder and threatening letters. Today, our local postal inspector was able to intercept ours and hand it off to the FBI before it could be delivered to my office,” Henderson’s post read. “We are grateful for his diligence and service! Also, nothing is going to disrupt the midterm election. We won’t let it happen.”

A spokesperson for the Democratic Socialists of America told Newsweek they are not involved with the letters sent around the country and were glad to learn no one was harmed.

FOX 13 News was told the Lt. Governor would not provide any new interviews on the incidents, which she had posted about on her social media accounts.

“Utah has kind of been in the limelight when it comes to some election issues,” said former FBI special agent Frank Montoya Jr. “It draws attention to the elected officials here. It draws attention to the electoral process here.”

Montoya referred to previous tension Henderson had with the Department of Justice, after denying their request for information on the state’s voter records list.

Damon Cann is a political science professor at Utah State University and said the envelopes bring to mind incidents from the past.

“There was an anthrax scare with mail being posted to several members of Congress in Washington, D.C., containing a white powdered substance,” Cann said. “That set of incidents somehow set a sad precedent.”

Whoever sent the letter appears to have handwritten the lieutenant governor’s address. Montoya said the envelopes might give investigators some leads.

“Are there any forensic clues on the envelope that it was sent in? DNA, fingerprints, hairs. Is there a postmark that they contract to a point of origin, and is that point of origin near where any of the others came from?” he said.

“This isn’t new. There’s lots of experience in this regard, but at the same time, it only takes one envelope with a real substance in it to get through the system, and then what do you have? Not just anxiety, but panic,” Montoya added.

The FBI released the following statement:

“The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating a series of suspicious mailings sent to various addresses nationwide, including Secretary of State offices and their related election offices. Some of the letters contained an unknown substance and we are working closely with our law enforcement partners to respond to each incident. We are also working with our partners to identify the individual or individuals responsible for the letters. This FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service will continue to safeguard the public and secure elections for American citizens.”

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 Jeremy Tombs

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    LEHI, Utah (KSTU) — It’s an everyday item you’d find in your car fob or your toy box. But for one Salem family, their daughter’s interaction with a button battery ended up causing a serious trip to the hospital this past weekend.

Erick Valenzuela and McKenzie Thompson were looking to enjoy a Friday night out together.

“We were getting ready to go on a date,” Thompson said.

Thompson said she was trying to fix the car seat for her one-year-old, Veya, when she saw her daughter playing with what looked like a coin.

“Literally 30 seconds later I saw her choking and not breathing and I started doing back blows,” Thompson said.

Thompson said the back blows got her daughter breathing again. But she still knew something was wrong.

“She was screaming, telling me to come downstairs,” said Valenzuela. “We called [911] right away.”

Veya was rushed to the hospital in Spanish Fork, where doctors found that she’d in fact swallowed a battery. She then had to be flown to Primary Children’s Hospital in Lehi.

“I had to drive over here from Spanish Fork while they flew in the helicopter and I was just praying the whole way,” Valenzuela said.

Dr. Laurie Baumann, a pediatric surgeon at Primary Children’s Hospital, said a timely reaction like theirs is critical in these cases.

“What happens is when the button battery gets stuck in the esophagus, secretions of the liquid that are naturally in the esophagus can activate the battery, and so the battery actually burns the tissue,” Baumann said.

Veya experienced these burns and continues to depend on a feeding tube days later.

Baumann said ingested objects are a frequent issue that comes through their doors, particularly around the holidays when children get new toys.

“It’s really important to understand that these need to be stored in a safe, secure environment,” Baumann said.

As Veya recovers and prepares to leave the hospital, Valenzuela wants to take his own steps to show other families how dangerous these batteries can be.

“When she cries, it just kind of breaks my heart a little bit,” Valenzuela said. “My goal is, this weekend, to do a long jog, almost like a marathon. Just to spread awareness on small objects and the big impacts they can have on kids.”

His route isn’t set yet, but he wants to share it so that anyone who wants to join can tag along.

Loved ones of Veya and the family have also put together a fundraiser to support them through this recovery process. If you’d like to help out, click this link to learn more.

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 Juli McDonald

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    FRANKLIN, Massachusetts (WBZ) — Sometimes the best love stories come with a surprise that you never saw coming.

A newlywed couple in Franklin, Massachusetts, recently discovered that their connection goes all the way back to their baptism.

“It was junior year of college and he did tell me that we were going to get married the day that he met me,” recalled Jessica McGinty, laughing.

It was love at first sight for Ryan McGinty, when then-Jessica Connolly came to visit her friends at his college campus. Quite the meet-cute for these now newlyweds, who grew up in neighboring Westwood and Walpole.

“Seven minutes away from each other our whole life and didn’t know each other,” she said.

Complete strangers, but both belonged to St. Timothy Catholic Church in Norwood.

“My dad’s still a lector here,” said Ryan McGinty. “We still come here. This is probably the best place to be because this is where we’ve been our whole lives.”

They grew up in different towns, had different friends, and went to different colleges. But when planning the details of their wedding day, God’s divine direction in their lives was clear – he makes everything beautiful in its time.

“Our moms both knew it was a day in February, and it was freezing cold, it was our baptism,” Jessica explained, of piecing it all together.

“I was looking at the registry books and sure enough they were baptized together,” said pastoral associate Michelle Gallo.

“I decided to look at the other sacraments, sure enough, first communion, confirmation, and now wedding. What are the odds of that? To think that you were together to receive all those graces four times? That’s pretty special.”

And as they look ahead to their future, the couple feels so blessed to build on this strong foundation, with supportive families, a parish that feels like home, and a real respect and admiration for each other.

“Even when I’m having a bad day, come home from work and I’m maybe in a bad mood, I still feel Ryan’s love all the time,” Jessica said.

“You would have a really hard time with all the people that know her, to find one person that had a bad thing to say about her,” her husband added.

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 Patrick Talbot

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    NEWCASTLE, Oklahoma (KOCO) — A heater sparked a fire at the Oklahoma Primate Sanctuary in Newcastle last week, though all animals and staff escaped unharmed.

The fire broke out Friday morning inside the macaque house, which housed five rhesus macaques. Staff quickly moved eight monkeys in total to safety, including those displaced by the fire.

“This is their safe space. This is their home,” Carly Gruntmeir, the sanctuary manager, said. “At 6:45 a.m., it was 74 degrees in there. At 6:55 a.m., 10 minutes later when staff arrived, this house was on fire.”

The Oklahoma Primate Sanctuary provides a permanent home for primates, including pets surrendered or confiscated from owners and those retired from medical research.

“We take in pets, so guys who are either confiscated or surrendered from pet owners, as well as retired-from-medical-research primates,” Gruntmeir said.

The indoor houses offer protection from extreme temperatures and a comforting retreat for the animals.

Staff are now working to restore the animals’ sense of security while addressing fire prevention measures.

“The monkeys are stressed and we’re stressed trying to figure out how to prevent them from experiencing this again,” said April Terrell, the sanctuary’s project coordinator.

Replacing the lost macaque house is estimated to cost $35,000.

“We are a nonprofit, so we run completely off of just the kindness and donations of people who support us,” Gruntmeir said.

The sanctuary staff said they are relieved that no animals or employees were injured and are focused on rebuilding to provide the primates with a safe and familiar space.

Those interested in donating to the Oklahoma Primate Sanctuary can do so here.

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.