Author: CNN Newsource

By Caitlyn Scott

Click here for updates on this story

    PITTSBURGH (WTAE) — Charges have been filed after police said a woman, who was in the process of being evicted, intentionally set fire to the home she was staying in as she retrieved her belongings in Pittsburgh Wednesday.

Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said at 11:40 a.m., police were called to the 5300 block of Mossfield Street in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood for a reported break-in.

The property owner reported to officers that a 48-year-old woman, who was in the process of being evicted, had entered the residence to retrieve her belongings.

A state constable had served the eviction notice and stayed on the scene as the woman went inside the home to get her belongings, officials said.

An hour later, fire officials were called to the home after a passerby reported smoke coming from a second-story window.

As the state constable entered the home to check the property, the woman left the scene in her vehicle. Upon entering the bedroom, the constable encountered heavy smoke.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire, which was declared under control by approximately 1:30 p.m.

No injuries were reported.

The city’s fire investigation unit determined the fire was intentionally set by the woman who was being evicted.

The woman, later identified in a criminal complaint as Keila Fiqueroa, was taken into custody after being found at the intersection of East Liberty Boulevard and North Highland Avenue.

According to the criminal complaint, Fiqueroa caused damage to the second-story bedroom and an AC unit in the window. The estimated cost for the damage totaled roughly $80,000.

Fiqueroa faces multiple charges, including arson and criminal mischief.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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 Stephanie Moore

Click here for updates on this story

    MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WYFF) — A Horry County judge declared a Myrtle Beach motel a nuisance after hundreds of police and fire calls tied to drug activity and growing safety concerns, according to police.

The Myrtle Beach Police Department said the judge signed an order declaring the Twilight Surf Hotel a nuisance as of Nov. 17.

Police said the nuisance action was filed by the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, which worked in conjunction with the police department, to stop and correct dangerous and illegal activity happening at the property.

State law says a place is considered a nuisance when it is used for repeated drug activity or ongoing breaches of the peace. Police say the Twilight Surf has been a location for both and therefore meets the definition of a nuisance.

According to police, for several years, there has been very little management or oversight at the hotel. Because of that, drug activity and disturbances have grown out of control, creating serious safety concerns for the community.

From May 18, 2025, to Nov. 17, 2025, the Myrtle Beach Police Department responded to 284 calls for service at the Twilight Surf Hotel. The Myrtle Beach Fire Department responded to 22 additional calls.

These calls included keep checks, disturbances, drug-related reports, and other safety issues. This high number of calls shows that the property has become unsafe for neighbors, visitors, and first responders, according to police.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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 Joyce Ogirri

Click here for updates on this story

    CHARLESTOWN, Ind. (WLKY) — A Charlestown 9-year-old is proving you’re never too young to make a big difference.

After learning some neighbors were going hungry, Paxton Aldridge turned kindness into action, creating a small food pantry outside First Baptist Charlestown where anyone can drop off donations or take what they need.

“Please help us. Help us in this time of need,” Paxton said.

His plea sparked a community response. A couple from Sellersburg purchased the box, and a local Charlestown builder who asked to remain anonymous brought Paxton’s idea to life.

The “God’s Way Blessings Box” has been open just a week and is already filling up. “We have cereal, stuffing, spaghetti, some fruit, rice, snack packs. We got a lot of canned food,” Paxton said.

He hopes the shelves stay full for anyone who needs them.

“All this food is from people buying it and giving it to us … so you can put it in this box to help people in need.”

He was guided by faith and a simple conviction: “It’s great to help people and it’s kind. And God likes kind.”

Paxton is expanding his mission. He’s organizing a turkey drive to make sure dozens of families have a Thanksgiving meal.

“I hope people come and get food and leave what they can,” he said.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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 Angela Williams

Click here for updates on this story

    NEW ORLEANS (WAPT) — A man who has already pleaded guilty and been sentenced in Mississippi and Louisiana to murder and kidnapping charges, had a sentencing hearing Wednesday in U.S. District Court in New Orleans.

Erin Brunett, 4, and her 6-year-old sister were the subjects of an Amber Alert in June 2024 after they were kidnapped from Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana. Their mother, Callie Brunett, was murdered before the girls were taken.

Investigators traced Daniel Callihan, 38, to a home on Boozier Road in Jackson, where Erin Brunett was found dead. The other girl was later reunited with her family.

Callihan confessed after his arrest in Jackson to killing 4-year-old Erin and on Sept. 29 was sentenced to life in prison in Mississippi. Callihan was also sentenced to two life sentences in Louisiana.

During the Nov. 19 federal sentencing hearing, a video message from Callihan was played.

“I hurt a wonderful friend and two very innocent kids. There’s nothing I can do to take that back, not even a life sentence, not getting a death penalty, not killing myself,” Callihan said on the video. He then began crying.

“(There is) nothing I can do that would ever take back what I done and that hurts. I don’t even try to think of ways to fix what I’ve done because there’s nothing to really undo what I done. I feel like if my life had been successful, I would’ve never hurt them and that would have been better for me, for them,” Callihan said. “I still have problems dealing with myself, taking medication to not do stupid things like suicide or hang myself.”

Callihan said he had known Callie Brunett for 20 years before he killed her and kidnapped her daughters, killing one of them.

“I’ve been given the option to live and that’s something. The hardest thing is living. I’m really sorry for what I did to them. Not just them, their family, their friends. I took two very special people out of this world,” Callihan said.

Callihan was sentenced to two life sentences in federal court and ordered to pay $260,000 in restitution. The sentences will run consecutively. He will serve his sentences at the Angola State Penitentiary in Louisiana.

Victoria Cox, Callihan’s accused accomplice, is set to go to trial on Dec. 8 in Hinds County. Cox is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and sexual battery.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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 Tori Apodaca

Click here for updates on this story

    SACRAMENTO (KOVR) — A social media challenge is causing some costly damage in Elk Grove, with at least five children recently arrested for vandalism.

Elk Grove police said it is called the “Door Kick Challenge,” where kids are running up to people’s doors, kicking them in and then running off.

Sergeant Jason Jimenez said that over the last 30 days, the department has gotten eight reports of this challenge and has made five arrests, with two of those being arrests of 13-year-olds. The ages of the other three weren’t given, but police described them in a press release as “youngsters.”

Jimenez said one doorframe was busted so badly that it cost upwards of $900 to fix. Anything above $950 could be felony charges, and the parents would be held responsible for paying for the repairs.

The fear it is causing the people on the other side is immeasurable.

“Somebody could come out with a gun, and you could never know, these kids could be dead just for a stupid prank,” said Ronnie Monroe, who showed CBS13 his dented garage door.

Monroe said his garage got kicked in by kids in back-to-back weeks in September. The first kicks came at 1 a.m. one week and the next ones around 5 a.m.

“The granddaughter came flying in and she was scared, all panicky, which I can understand that,” Monroe said.

His family hopped in their cars to chase the kids, only to find them at another neighbor’s door doing the same thing.

“It sounds like someone is kicking down your door to try and hurt your family,” Jiminez said.

Jimenez said school resource officers have been helping identify the kids in the videos.

“What starts off as a simple challenge or trend may be fun to some, but can be traumatizing and traumatic to others,” he said.

Another door-kicking victim shared a video with CBS13 of the alleged door kickers riding up on their e-bikes. You can then hear a big boom. The person said the kicks were so intense, they thought a car accident had happened.

“You can’t catch them if you can’t see them,” said Monroe. “They get on electric bikes, and they are gone.”

Police hope kids will kick this trend to the curb before a kid kicks on the wrong person’s door.

Sgt. Jimenez is asking all parents to please have a conversation with their children about the dangers of this challenge, and if it happens to your home, call 911.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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 Abigail Kurten

Click here for updates on this story

    EDDYVILLE, Iowa (KCCI) — An Eddyville restaurant is cutting salads off its menu due to skyrocketing lettuce costs.

In a Facebook post Wednesday morning, the owner of the Welcome Inn Bar and Grill posted a photo of the cost of 20 pounds of shredded lettuce, totaling just under $80.

Normally, she says, it’s at most $23.

“I was like, what the heck?” Owner Netty Johnson said. She only came to the decision to remove salads from the menu entirely after she tried three different distributors to no avail.

“They’re all way higher,” she said.

Andrew Olsavsky, the Sales and Marketing Vice President of Des Moines-based produce distributor Loffredo Fresh Foods, says price spikes this year are expected.

Most lettuce seen in stores and restaurants is grown in California from April to November. This time of year, production shifts to the Yuma Valley in Arizona.

“When they transition all that production from Salinas (Valley) to Yuma, the supply tightens up and causes our prices to go up,” he explained. “If they have some late-season weather in the Salinas Valley or some early-season weather in Yuma, it can really tighten up supplies and drive up costs.”

Though he says the early yields in Arizona are promising, costs will likely come down in the coming weeks.

But in the meantime, Johnson says it’s not something she can easily find solutions for.

“I cannot run 30 miles this way or 60 miles this way to try and go and get this or that,” she said. “I really rely on my distributors.”

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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.