Author: CNN Newsource

By Naveen Dhaliwal

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    New Jersey (WCBS, WLNY) — A tanker truck carrying over 8,000 gallons of fuel erupted into flames Sunday on I-287 in New Jersey, killing the driver of a Jeep, injuring three others, and shutting down the highway for most of the day, according to officials.

Large orange flames burst from the truck and plumes of smoke filled the air after the crash occurred just before 6 a.m. in Metuchen, bringing traffic to a standstill on both the northbound and southbound sides near Exits 1 and 2, as well as nearby Routes 27 and 1.

The New Jersey State Police said a Jeep traveling north struck the rear of the tanker, causing both vehicles to be fully engulfed in flames. The driver of the Jeep suffered fatal injuries. The driver of the truck, a passenger in the Jeep, and a firefighter were injured, officials said.

The mayors of Edison and Metuchen said the tanker was carrying approximately 8,800 gallons of fuel.

“It was a completely fully loaded tanker that lit up in flames,” Edison Mayor Sam Joshi said. “The fire departments responded very quickly using foam to cover it up, making sure the fire would not spread.”

More than 150 firefighters were on the scene, with mutual aid from multiple departments, before I-287 was able to fully reopen. The southbound lanes reopened first, followed by the northbound ones after debris was cleared and the roadway was inspected for damage.

Sadiq Sarwari works at the Shell gas station on Route 27 and said the station had to close for hours due to the crash.

“It was very thick black smoke,” Sarwari said. “We lost the whole day of business.”

Officials said crews working to tow the tanker truck away from the scene had to drain any remaining fuel from it first. They said they were working closely with the State Department of Environmental Protection to track any fuel runoff.

“Miles and miles of traffic. You had to zigzag to go through,” said John Bickert, of Edison.

“Everybody getting on, getting back off. It’s been a zoo,” said Ted Green, of Edison.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Mark Prussin contributed to this report.

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 Rian Stockett

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    LAKE LURE, North Carolina (WLOS) — An iconic western North Carolina lake is back open after being closed for more than a year and a half.

“It’s been a dark 20 months,” said Tom Halladay, the owner of Fae Nectar, a Celtic eatery and entertainment venue that sits next to Lake Lure. Business owners across Lake Lure and Chimney Rock faced many uncertainties after the devastation of Helene.

The main economic driver, the lake itself, was drained for Helene debris removal.

Lake Lure Mayor Carol Pritchett says revenue has been down 50% and that not having tourists has been devastating for business owners.

“I’m not sure people could have gone through another season without revenues,” Pritchett said.

But 20 months after Helene, Nick Sottile, the owner of Chimney Rock Smokehouse, says the area has now reached the light at the end of a dark tunnel.

“We’re finally there, but there’s many lights,” Sottile said.

The lights he’s describing are the various milestones in Lake Lure and Chimney Rock’s recovery, like the reopening of Chimney Rock State Park and the reopening of U.S. 64.

Now the lake has reopened.

“Now with the lake, it’s kind of that icing on the cake for us,” Sottile said.

A sentiment shared by Halladay.

“The grass is growing back, the lake is clean and beautiful, the roads are reopening,” Halladay said.

Fae Nectar happened to host their monthly Renaissance Festival on the same day as the lake reopening.

Across the lake, Rumbling Bald on Lake Lure hosted the grand reopening of its beach, which was destroyed by Helene.

“It’s an amazing feeling to have a beach back that you hadn’t seen since September 26th, 2024,” said Jeff Geisler, the General Manager of Rumbling Bald on Lake Lure.

At the Grand Reopening, we talked to Lake Lure Resident Eunike Stenersen, who says the destruction from Helene took away a summer staple for her family and many others.

“It is so nice to see that it’s finally coming back,” Stenersen said.

Mayor Pritchett tells us the celebrations are far from over.

The town will celebrate the lake’s reopening next Saturday with food, games and fireworks.

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 Cecilio Padilla

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    CALIFORNIA (KPIX) — Pacific Gas & Electric Company is warning residents in several Northern California counties that power shutoffs will be likely starting later this weekend.

High winds and dry conditions are forecasted across the region in the coming days – prime weather for fire danger.

A Red Flag Warning is already set to go into effect for parts of Solano County, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the Sacramento Valley and the entire Central Valley by Saturday.

Now, PG&E is alerting customers in parts of the following counties that shutoffs are likely on Sunday and Monday: Alameda, Colusa, Contra Costa, Fresno, Glenn, Lake, Merced, Napa, San Benito, San Joaquin, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tehama and Yolo.

Likely shutoffs are also listed on Tuesday, but only for Colusa, Glenn and Tehama.

The exact number of possible customers facing shutoffs has not been fully detailed by PG&E, but outages in recent years have been less widespread.

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 Loureen Ayyoub

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    SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — Founded in 1854, the Mechanics’ Institute has managed to maintain its presence after earthquakes, wars and sweeping changes across San Francisco, all while continuing to serve as a cultural hub in the city’s downtown core.

Led by CEO Katherine Bella, the private nonprofit library and cultural institution has spent nearly two centuries adapting to the needs of the community while preserving its historic roots.

“We were started almost 172 years ago by a group of forward thinkers of their time, and we have adapted over the years since,” Bella said.

Among the institution’s longstanding traditions is its chess club, considered the oldest in the United States. Originally established for unemployed gold miners during the Gold Rush era, the institute now offers a broad range of public programming and community resources.

“We offer a general interest library here, lots of arts and cultural programming, including author talks and writing workshops, discussion panels,” Bella said.

The institute is also celebrating a rare literary acquisition: a poetry book dating back to 1874 that once belonged to the library and is believed to have survived the fires following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

“I think it’s symbolic of San Francisco’s resilience. We’re able to rebuild, we preserve history,” said Myles Cooper, library manager. “And this work is so potent too because it’s about the Gold Rush, it’s about Western life, and so it’s really fitting that it came back to us. And it’s really an interesting volume that people can still read if they become members here.”

Annual memberships typically cost $120, though many cultural programs and public events remain open to nonmembers.

“We are right here at the BART and Muni stop in downtown San Francisco, and we are a part of the fabric of downtown as well,” Bella said. “We have a very wide range of community residents – doers and thinkers and makers, writers, people interested in arts and culture that gather here. And it’s really a cultural home for folks that live here in the Bay Area.”

After more than 170 years, the Mechanics’ Institute continues to stand as both a center for culture and a living piece of San Francisco history.

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 Charlie Lapastora

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    ELK GROVE, California (KOVR) — Walking into civil engineer Rick Deml’s home, you’re immediately greeted with a “Welcome to Rick’s gameroom” sign. It started with two pinball machines and now there are 13.

“It just brings back childhood memories,” Deml said. “It’s a good relaxation for me. Gets my mind off of the daily grind.”

While he manages highway and bridge projects for local agencies like Caltrans, he’s engineering ways to master his pinball craft when he clocks out. Around five years ago, he found out there were tournaments and so he decided to compete.

“In terms of compensation for going to tournaments, you’re not going to make money, it’s not like NBA basketball,” Deml said.

Deml said you may get money to pay for your trip, but that it’s more for the love of the game. Similar to any sport, practice pays off and it’s in his own home where he gets his training in and streams his games. The pinball pro is ranked in the top 255 in the world.

It’s getting to the point where Rick’s wife, Jeanette, said she needs to get him a trophy case after all those competitions. Jeanette said Rick plays for 12-15 hours some days in competitions, so she goes to get massages and facials wherever they are and brings him food, making sure he eats it.

The Demls bonded over pinball early in their relationship. Their love for each other and pinball continues.

“I enjoy playing for fun, but I don’t like the competition,” Jeanette Deml said.

There are also life lessons to glean from pinball.

“You got to be able to adjust, which is something unique about pinball,” Deml said. “Every game is different. Every situation you enter into life might be different. Take it in stride. Everything’s not going to always go your way. You’re not always going to win, but you put up a good fight and good things will happen to you.”

Including winning and taking home the Oklahoma State Championship in January, he doesn’t plan on stopping, looking to win back-to-back titles in Oklahoma.

Deml also recognizes the popularity of pinball today. He is involved in pinball communities that help each other fix and maintain their pinball machines, and has found lifelong friends through pinball–including inviting them to his home to play pinball.

“It’s not going away anytime soon,” Deml said. “In fact, the games are getting more and more complex with the rules, the light shows, the graphics, the shot layout, the ramps.”

The global pinball machines market size is projected to be valued at $90 million this year, with growth to $110 million by 2035, according to Business Research Insights. But this didn’t come without some bumps in the road, years after what Pacific Pinball Museum president Larry Zartarian says was the golden age, from the 1940’s to the ’60’s.

“The pinball industry was more profitable than the motion picture industry,” Zartarian said. “It was raking in money like you wouldn’t believe the reason why pinball did so well is because they were just about everywhere. I mean, they were at bus stops, laundromats, grocery stores, drug stores and then there were, obviously, arcades that were devoted to nothing but pinball machines.”

Then, video games were introduced in the late ’70’s.

“So, in 1980 through ’82, the video game industry took in more quarters than the city of Las Vegas,” Zartarian said. “It was at the slot machines. It was that popular. So pinball almost became extinct because of that. It almost died out completely.”

After some manufacturers produced pinball machines throughout the years, it wasn’t until 2005 when Zartarian said Stern Electronics and Jersey Jack started producing pinball machines again.

“And now, fast forward to today, there’s at least 10, maybe 11, companies producing these things still,” Zartarian said. “And it’s enjoying somewhat of a renaissance for the last, probably, 20 years, I would say.”

A renaissance, continuing for Rick and Jeanette, along with so many more pinball players who are playing for the first time or returning to the game they love and they’re just ramping up.

Rick will be competing in this weekend’s Golden State pinball festival at the Lodi Grape Festival Fairgrounds. Families are welcome to attend, where there will be at least 300 pinball games and proceeds will benefit local charities. Larry will also be recognized for contributing to the pinball community on Friday.

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 Laura Phillips

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    COLORADO (KCNC) — A Colorado man in need of a kidney was saved by a movie fan. Now he’s working to help others find donors through cinema.

A few years ago, Ricky Hernandez was living a happy, healthy, active lifestyle. Then seemingly out of the blue, he was diagnosed with kidney disease.

“It was a little hard to believe because I was competing in karate tournaments, and I was healthy. I felt healthy. I didn’t feel anything,” Hernandez said. “I started slowly seeing the symptoms, so it was hard, really hard to grasp it mentally.”

Eventually, he was told he needed a transplant.

“I walked around, and I’d look at things and wonder, is this the last time I’m going to do this? Is this the last time I’m going to see this person? Is this the last time I’m going to talk to my daughter?” Hernandez questioned.

But he found hope at work. Hernandez is the Director of Customer Service at National CineMedia (NCM), an advertising company that produces commercials for movie theaters. Soon Hernandez’s search for a donor hit the big screen. He says he received more than 300 applications, and at least one was a match.

“Without the ad’s help, I would not be here,” Hernandez said. “The ad really put my story out there in front of people I’d never even met. In every state.”

NCM ads appear on more than 17,000 movie screens across the nation’s three major theater chains.

After Hernandez’s successful kidney transplant, he was ready to pay it forward. He reached out to the non-profit organization Kidneys for Communities, founded by Atul Agnihotri. Agnihotri is also a kidney transplant recipient and wanted to create a pathway for living donors to play a role in who receives their kidney.

“We’ve studied the data quite extensively in how people donate to each other, and we’ve determined that 96% of individuals donate to someone that they either know or they identify with, which is what we call communities,” Agnihotri said. “For example, you could be wearing the same uniform, meaning you could be part of the first responders. You could have gone to the same high school. You could be attending the same church.”

Or you could be movie fans. Now Hernandez, Agnihotri and NCM have partnered to get more kidney patients in front of a captive, phone-free audience.

“Cinema advertising has this unique ability to reach millions of people,” Agnihotri said.

And he said that they’ve found that when potential donors answer the movie, even if they’re not found to be a match for the patient in the ad, they tend to remain on the list of potential living donors.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, receiving a living donor transplant has several benefits, including the fact that, on average, a kidney from a living donor lasts about 15 to 20 years, compared to seven to 10 years for a kidney from a deceased donor.

And this summer, Denver will host thousands of donors, recipients and their friends and families for the 2026 Transplant Games. Those interested can register to compete, volunteer, or donate to the cause.

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 Briseida Holguin, Doug Myers

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    FORT WORTH, Texas (KTVT) — “My son didn’t deserve to get gunned down like that.”

That’s how Emmitt Mayo began speaking out Saturday about the death of his 26‑year‑old son, Elijah Mayo, who was fatally shot by Fort Worth police during one of two officer‑involved shootings that started at the same location overnight.

As investigators continue piecing together what happened, the father says he’s still trying to understand how his son’s life ended in gunfire in a neighbor’s front yard.

Emmitt Mayo says Elijah had gone to a neighborhood party to perform under his stage name, Eastwood Dub. He says his son never made it to the stage because gunfire erupted before the performance.

“They said, well, we just had a shooting over here,” his father said. “So he asked the guy, could I still get my money right for his show and his flyer? And … they had a little altercation behind that.”

He says Elijah tried to get away from the situation when the police arrived.

“They fired shots at him first. He returned fire to protect himself,” Mayo said.

Police Chief Eddie Garcia said officers found the man armed with a handgun and opened fire after he allegedly pointed it at them and ignored commands to drop it.

The shooting happened in the front yard of neighbor Carolyn Green.

“One thing led to another, and he was laying there the ambulance came out I said, ‘That man is dead,'” Green said.

As officers were investigating Elijah Mayo’s shooting, Garcia said a driver sped past and allegedly tried to hit officers. A pursuit began, continuing onto I‑820, where police used a PIT maneuver to stop the vehicle.

Garcia said officers opened fire after the driver ignored commands and grabbed an officer’s handgun as they approached the vehicle.

The driver died at the scene and has not yet been identified.

Police have not said whether the two incidents are connected. Meanwhile, Emmitt Mayo says he is still waiting for clarity and wants to understand why his son’s night ended in gunfire.

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 Jermont Terry

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    MARKHAM, Illinois (WBBM) — The Markham Park District executive director caused quite the scene last weekend after hiring a helicopter for her daughter’s prom send-off, which landed in a public park without proper authorization.

Now, there’s new fallout about who paid for the stunt and how the city wants a restraining order to stop the spending.

There’s a split reaction about this prom helicopter send-off, with some saying no one was harmed while others, including city leaders, say the park’s director didn’t have the right to authorize the photo op for her daughter—a photo shoot with at least the deposit charged to a credit card that taxpayers pay for.

Less than a week after this helicopter landed at a park, catching many by surprise, the stunt for the park director’s daughter has turned political.

The Park District’s executive director, Quintina Brown, told officers she had the OK for the helicopter landing, but city leaders never authorized the landing in the public park where children were playing. The pilot told officers that day he had approval to land, even presenting a signed notice by the park director herself to the questioning officer

The company later handed over an invoice to the city attorney. The receipt raises many deeper questions.

The bill was for a minimum of $800 for one hour. At the bottom, there’s a credit card number linked to Brown. She named Markham Parks as the company and even used the address of the fieldhouse and provided her signature on a taxpayer-funded credit card.

“The plot thickens, as they say,” said city attorney Burt Odelson.

He says there’s no way Brown accidentally entered all that information by mistake. He also spoke with the helicopter company.

“They told me that the deposit was charged to the card, and they have not been successful in getting the remaining $800 off the card, for whatever reason,” he said.

Using the park district credit card either to pay or hold the reservation is why Markham’s mayor, Roger Agpawa, says residents should be concerned, asking why no one questioned the purchase.

In fact, the city started questioning the spending by the park district and its board in the fall of 2025.

CBS News Chicago reported when Brown was first caught on body cam getting served with an injunction. Leaders alleged she and the park board were not paying bills and left most parks with broken equipment and deplorable conditions.

“They’ve been landing helicopters in different ways over there,” said Agpawa.

There’s a line in the invoice that says every additional six minutes over the hour would be $80. It was learned that the helicopter was grounded for at least three hours.

Now the question is who will pay for the extra minutes and for the original booking? The company that booked it, Markham’s Park District, which is funded by taxpayers, or Brown herself.

CBS News Chicago reached out to Brown about the matter, but has yet to hear back.

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.