Author: CNN Newsource

By DeAndria Turner

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    LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — Two best friends and their children are searching for a new place to live after gunfire ripped through their Park DuValle home early Saturday morning, shattering their sense of safety and leaving them unsure of what comes next.

They say more than 20 bullets struck the house around 2:30 a.m. At least one bullet landed in a child’s bedroom. No one was physically injured, but the women who live there say the emotional toll has been overwhelming.

The home was supposed to be a fresh start for Brittney Neff and Amanda McCrealy, who moved in together less than a year ago to help raise their children as one family.

“We decided it would be smarter for us to live together and help raise the kids together and just have our own little happy family,” McCrealy said.

That sense of security vanished early Saturday when gunfire erupted outside their home. Neff said bullets tore through windows and walls, narrowly missing where she had been sitting.

“My whole room just lit up,” she said. “I felt like I could feel the bullets fly past my head. There was glass bursting everywhere. There is a bullet hole exactly where I was sitting.”

The women say that more than 20 rounds penetrated the home, damaging walls, windows, and personal belongings, including winter coats. One bullet was later found in a child’s bed.

“This is the bullet I believe I found in his bed,” Neff said.

Both women said the shooting was the final breaking point after months of feeling unsafe in the neighborhood. McCrealy said her car was stolen just two months after moving in.

“The amount of things we’ve dealt with since we moved here in August, my car was stolen, and now this, it’s too much,” she said. “After bullets flew past my head, I got the message.”

That message, they say, is clear: they need to leave. But doing so isn’t simple.

“I’m scared to even bring my kids here to collect their things,” Neff said.

McCrealy said she has nowhere else to go for now.

“I don’t have family. I don’t have anywhere to go,” McCrealy said. “I’m just living here as best I can until I can get out.”

Police are still investigating who fired the shots. No arrests have been announced.

For now, the women and their children remain in the home, not because they feel safe, but because leaving takes time, money, and options they don’t yet have. In a place that once represented a new beginning, they are now counting the days until they can walk away.

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 Beth Carlson

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    COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KETV) — High wind gusts recorded in Nebraska and Southwest Iowa caused an increased risk for semi-truck drivers overturning.

Iowa State Patrol reported two flipped semi-trucks along I-35 in Iowa, one near Ellsworth, and a second between Ankeny and Elkhart. Truck drivers crossing through Omaha and Southwest Iowa say the winds they encountered were reason to slow down or even stop.

“The wind, it’s going to pull that truck right over,” Robert Meyer, a semi-truck driver, said. “Might as well park it because it’s going to roll over.”

Last week, Iowa State Patrol confirmed a semi-truck driver died after strong winds made him lose control on I-80.

But it’s not just truck drivers who need to watch out.

“Pay attention that that’s the biggest thing I would advise the cars to do. I see a lot of drivers with their phones in their hands racing down the road. Just slow down,” Anthony Anderson, a tow truck driver, advised.

Anderson says the threats of snow, winds and freezing temperatures make for the busiest time of year for tow trucks.

“If you don’t have the additives, you break down, you’re going to get cold. The weather conditions, being in a ditch, or something like that. It’s going to make it cold,” Anderson said. “Try your best to stay warm. We’ll get to you guys as soon as we can.”

Omaha and Southwest Iowa are expected to be hit with another round of winter weather, including high winds and possible snow this weekend.

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 Antoinette Antonio

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    AUBURN, Massachusetts (WCVB) — Auburn High School senior Panayiotis Poniros, known to friends as “Panos,” is used to staying busy.

On any given day, he could be found playing drums in the band room, DJing a school event, working behind the scenes of a musical production or responding to an emergency call.

“I’m definitely into the health care field,” Panos said. “I love helping people. There’s nothing quite like it and there’s such a need for it, especially now. It’s the only thing that I could see myself doing.”

That passion led Panos to take on a major challenge as soon as he turned 18: becoming a certified emergency medical technician.

While balancing school and extracurricular activities, Panos completed rigorous EMT training, often starting his days early and switching gears quickly between academics and emergency medicine.

“It goes from doing calculus to counting how many times someone’s breathing a minute,” he said.

After earning his EMT certification, Panos began volunteering on the sidelines at school athletic events and with the Auburn Fire Department, taking on long shifts and gaining hands-on experience responding to real emergencies.

“I was doing 12-hour days,” he said. “I was trying to get 24-hour shifts, as well. There was a lot going on.”

As he wraps up his senior year, Panos will be interning full-time, spending his mornings in class and the rest of his day at the fire station, ready to head out on 911 emergency calls.

His dedication is already paying off.

Panos has been accepted to College of the Holy Cross, where he plans to study pre-med. His long-term goal is to become an emergency room doctor, continuing to help people when they need it most.

“He could do anything he wants in life,” said Ginny Bailey, Auburn High School’s director of instrumental music. “If he wanted to be a professional musician, he has the work ethic to do that. The fact that he wants to go into medicine and is already working as an EMT just shows what a kind heart he has. He’s a servant leader who truly wants to give back to his community.”

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 LeeAnn Huntoon

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    LONGWOOD, Florida (WESH) — A Florida couple has filed an emergency lawsuit against a fertility clinic, alleging their newborn child is not genetically related to either of them after an in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure.

The couple, identified in court documents as John and Jane Doe to protect their privacy, is suing IVF Life, Inc. D/B/A Fertility Center of Orlando and Dr. Milton McNichol, M.D.

According to the complaint filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, the couple used their own egg and sperm to create three viable embryos at the clinic.

In March 2025, one of the embryos was implanted in Jane Doe, resulting in a successful full-term pregnancy. The couple’s healthy female child, Baby Doe, was born on Dec. 11, 2025.

The parents became suspicious when Baby Doe displayed physical characteristics of a child who was not racially Caucasian, despite both John and Jane Doe being Caucasian.

Genetic testing subsequently confirmed that Baby Doe has “no genetic relationship to either of the Plaintiffs,” indicating the implanted embryo was not one of the couple’s.

While the Does expressed a deep emotional bond with the child they carried and delivered, the lawsuit states their belief that Baby Doe “should legally and morally be united with her genetic parents.”

The couple also fears that another person may be pregnant with or raising one or more of their own embryos or children.

The couple claims they notified the defendants on Jan. 5, 2026, requesting cooperation to unite Baby Doe with her genetic parents and to determine the disposition of their remaining embryos. They have received no “substantive response.”

The Plaintiffs are seeking emergency injunctive relief, asking the court to compel the defendants to take several actions, including:

Immediately notifying all patients who had embryos in storage before Jane Doe’s implantation about the allegations in the complaint and providing them with a copy.

Paying for free genetic testing for all patients and their children whose births resulted from embryo implantation through the defendants’ services over the past five years.

Disclosing any parentage discrepancies discovered through this testing.

Official statement from Fertility Center of Orlando

We are actively cooperating with an investigation to support one of our patients in determining the source of an error that resulted in the birth of a child who is not genetically related to them. Multiple entities are involved in this process, and all parties are working diligently to help identify when and where the error may have occurred. Our priority remains transparency and the well-being of the patient and child involved. We will continue to assist in any way that we can regardless of the outcome of the investigation.

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 Muhammad Abdul Qawee

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    MATLACHA, Florida (WBBH) — Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials are investigating the deaths of three pelicans found this week at Bat House Park on Matlacha, a popular fishing spot in Lee County.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed it received a report Jan. 21 of multiple deceased pelicans at the park. An FWC officer responded to the scene to gather information, and the case remains under investigation.

People who regularly fish at the park said pelicans are commonly seen in the area and expressed concern and sadness over the birds’ deaths.

“It’s heartbreaking,” said Theodore Randolph, a fisherman who said he visits the waters near Matlacha almost daily. “They’re animals, and they’re just out here trying to get a meal.”

Randolph said he worries the birds may have been intentionally harmed, noting tensions that sometimes arise between anglers and pelicans competing for bait or fish.

“Some people are just downright rude,” he said. “They’re mad at the pelicans for taking their baits, taking their hooks. So they could obviously do some negligent things to pelicans.”

A viewer told Gulf Coast News that someone allegedly kicked the birds to death. Two pelicans were initially found dead, and a third was later discovered behind a fence at the park.

A Lee County ranger collected one of the birds, and FWC officers arrived within an hour to begin the investigation. The pelicans were placed into a collection basket for further examination.

Visiting Matlacha, Pauline Seeger said the situation was disturbing.

“It’s absolutely disgusting,” she said.

FWC officials said it is currently unclear what caused the pelicans’ deaths. Randolph said he hopes the investigation will bring answers.

“I hope they take care of it, and they figure out what happened, and they find the people responsible,” he said. “If they did negligently hurt them.”

FWC staff monitor bird mortality trends statewide and encourage the public to report sightings of dead pelicans and other birds through the agency’s Avian Mortality Reporting App. Suspected wildlife violations can also be reported to the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC.

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 John Ramos

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    SONOMA COUNTY, California (KPIX) — Sonoma County is home to a lot of dairy farms. But few have a herd quite like Audrey Hitchcock’s.

“This girl’s gonna give me a hard time,” she said, with a sigh, as she climbed out of her battered pickup.

Hitchcock owns Ramini Mozzarella, a line of authentic cheeses made from the milk of water buffaloes, Italian water buffaloes, to be precise. To meet the herd close-up, she said it’s safer for a stranger carrying a camera to stay in the pickup bed, up on top of the haybales.

She said it’s not that they’re super aggressive. They just get a little pushy when the hay truck arrives and avoiding being pushed by a 1,500-pound animal is for the best.

“They’re super sweet and super social,” she said, as she stood among them, patting one on the back. “They love affection and human attention. They have no intention of harming me, but we’re kind of doing this spontaneously, and they haven’t been fed. The only danger I face is if I’m in the crossfire of a fight over food.”

The whole idea began in 2009 when her husband, Craig, grew disillusioned working in the tech industry. His love of animals and the outdoors led him to purchase five water buffalo to begin a cheese-making business, offering tours to curious visitors. But Craig Hitchcock became sick and died in 2015, leaving Audrey Hitchcock alone to manage the farm.

Eventually, the herd got too big for its location in Marin County, and she moved the buffalo to the temporary site in Sonoma as she desperately searched for a permanent home.

“And my goal is to get it back into production as quickly as possible,” she said.

Her commitment is not just to the animals, which she considers to be her family, but also to fulfill the dream of her late husband.

“Given it’s the greatest gift he ever gave me, and he’s gone, I value that probably more than most,” she said. “My heart is completely committed to them. And it would devastate me if I had to give up. A devastation I never want to experience.”

She’s hoping an interested party may come forward to act as a partner or investor, because the business is a big job for one person to handle alone.

“We need to hang on to this, or it’s going to go away,” she said. “And it’s too special to go away.”

She said her dream is for dairies to become destinations for visitors, just like wineries. The ultimate goal for her herd is a new micro-dairy to create the savory cheeses that she said only buffalo can produce. And with it, enough land so her ladies and their children can live a life that most dairy cattle never know.

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 Madison Monroe Adams

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    PORT CHARLOTTE, Florida (WBBH) — A Port Charlotte man was arrested after a routine traffic stop escalated into a chaotic chase that ended with him accused of hiding inside a CVS store and a good Samaritan helping deputies take him into custody.

Loretta Matthews was finally able to pick up her prescription at a CVS in Port Charlotte Wednesday after a dramatic incident involving a man accused of fleeing deputies on a bicycle and hiding in the store Tuesday afternoon.

“We thought maybe somebody robbed the pharmacy,” said Matthews. “We just turned around.”

Moments before, an affidavit said a Charlotte County deputy had pulled over Andrew Brown for riding his bicycle on the wrong side of US-41. Serena Rodriguez, another Port Charlotte resident, noted the frequency of bike crashes in the area, mentioning her uncle’s knee injury from a bike accident.

“The bike was upside down. And there was like nobody. I was like, what’s going on? Is the bike getting arrested?” Matthews said.

According to a deputy, Brown threw his bike on the ground, before he was accused of running and jumping a fence, prompting the deputy to call for backup.

“There was like 10 cop cars, oh my gosh,” Matthews said.

Brown ran into the CVS off Midway Boulevard and US-41, where deputies found him and he was accused of hiding inside, pretending to be a customer. Store employees reported that deputies chased the suspect out of the CVS, and a good Samaritan tripped him into a ditch.

“Girl power!” Matthews exclaimed.

Deputies then tackled and arrested Brown, who is facing charges of fleeing, giving a false ID, and resisting without violence, unrelated to riding his bike on the wrong side of the road. He was unarmed during the incident. An affidavit revealed that a deputy had drawn a gun, fearing Brown might have a weapon, as Brown was accused of hiding behind a car in a parking lot.

“Everything would have been fine. But they ran, and then they got extra charges, and it’s just a lot more drama than it had,” Rodriguez said.

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 Hannah Hoffman

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    FORT MEADE, Maryland (WBAL) — Service members have seen Nick’s face when they log in to the Defense Department’s network each day since April 2023.

As of Wednesday, though, the Pentagon’s most recognized military working dog is off the job. Fort Meade celebrated Nick with a retirement party.

Nick earned the nickname “Doggles” for the goggles he wore in his picture.

Now in retirement, Nick will become the pet for his handler, Staff Sgt. Justin Peyton.

“He sets the standard for what it means to serve,” Peyton said. “Focused, fearless and loyal. But what really makes Nick special is his heart. He reminds us that strength can be gentle and that even in a serious job like ours, there’s room for warmth and connection. As Nick heads into retirement, I know Nick has earned every nap, every treat and every peaceful day ahead.”

There are about 1,600 military working dogs across the armed services.

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.