Author: CNN Newsource

By Andrea Nakano

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    SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — A Bay Area woman has made it onto the USA national team to represent her country in the first World Cup of cricket in India.

She’s played sports all her life, but she hasn’t always been on a level playing field until now.

Asanda Pavlacka is a multi-sport athlete with a background in martial arts, running, swimming and gymnastics. While she has overcome many hurdles, her biggest challenge came about 28 years ago when she lost her sight.

“I had a degenerative eye condition when I was born, so I was able to see up through my teens,” Pavlacka said. “Then diminished a little by little. Then I ended up having nothing.”

Losing her vision hasn’t stopped Pavlacka from playing sports.

“That’s how I live my life,” she said. “I don’t let too many things stop me and if they do, I figure it out and find a different way.”

That’s what she did when a fellow blind athlete approached her about playing cricket.

“For blind cricket, we’re actually kneeling down to the ground and using the full length of the bat,” Pavlacka said.

After several training camps across the country, Pavlacka was selected to represent Team USA in India.

“In November, we’re going to the first-ever blind World Cup for cricket,” she said.

Pavlacka said that playing cricket is the easy part. The challenges have come off the pitch, from getting their visas to making sure expenses are covered while they are away. She started an online fundraiser to help her and four other teammates.

“There’s five of us on the team that’s kind of flying solo in a sense,” she said. “We don’t have a lot of at-home support.”

Pavlacka said that while the goal is to bring home the gold, it’s a big win to be invited to play a sport on the world stage. If anything, she hopes to use this as a learning experience to improve her skills and go back next year a better player.

“Knowing that I’m not the awesomest awesome person doing something like that is a little ego blow,” she said. “I mean, it’s all about sticking with it and getting better every day and not comparing yourself. Comparing yourself to me.”

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By Kara St. Cyr

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    SAN BRUNO, California (KPIX) — Satsuki Ina’s earliest memories are of barbed wire and internment camps.

“We went from Tule Lake, my father went to Bismarck, North Dakota,” Ina said, thumbing through a photo album.

Her family, like 125,000 other Japanese Americans, was hauled off to camps across the United States during World War II. Ina was born while her parents were already incarcerated, but the family wouldn’t stay together for long.

After denouncing U.S. citizenship out of fear, her father was sent to several other camps around the country. The Inas would remain separated for more than four years.

“We were reunited in 1946. This is after the war. We’re still in prison and reunited in Crystal City, Texas,” Ina said.

Her family endured violence, isolation and hopelessness during internment, which she said she doesn’t believe they’ve ever recovered from. Now, nearly 80 years later, she said the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids are forcing her to relive that history.

“It took a lifetime for me to figure out, put all these pieces together and look at what happened to my family and my community, to see that the trauma effect continues today,” Ina said.

In January, the Trump administration removed the sensitive locations policy that kept ICE agents from entering churches, schools and hospitals.

Ina said there’s a connection between WWII internments and ICE raids. That’s why she’s helped gather a community of Japanese Americans to demonstrate for No Kings Day, a nationwide protest, at the Tanforan Assembly Memorial in San Bruno, California.

“When we were being removed, we essentially disappeared, and there were no marches or petitions or advocates on our behalf. So it feels like we’re being called to respond,” Ina said.

To her, it’s an act of solidarity and defiance, but Nick Berg, the vice chair of communications for the San Francisco GOP, doesn’t see the protest this way.

“Nobody is advocating for a return to monarchy in this country, not even Trump. So I think that it’s really a false narrative,” Berg said. “We have Democratic mechanisms in this country. They are still intact.”

Berg said the No Kings protests misrepresent the Trump administration and that internment camps are an unfair comparison. He condemned the actions taken against Japanese Americans during the war but still said the ICE raids are different.

“I mean, California is still part of the United States. It’s subject to federal law,” Berg said. “And so, federal immigration activity needs to happen, and I don’t know why states, including California, think that they can pass special laws to exempt themselves from enforcement of federal law.”

But Ina is worried that what happened to her family may happen again if the connection between the two events is not made.

“Want to educate people, and this is not an exception in our American history,” she said.

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By Michele Gile

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    HUNTINGTON BEACH, California (KCAL, KCBS) — A youth-restricted area containing books Huntington Beach city leaders deemed too obscene for children remains at its Central Library despite a judicial order to eliminate the section.

In 2023, the City Council ordered librarians to move materials with “sexual content” from the children’s section to the youth-restricted area on the fourth floor of the library. The action met stiff resistance, leading the American Civil Liberties Union to join a lawsuit filed by residents, including former librarian Erin Spivey, who left her job following the order.

“The instructions we expect the city to follow are returning the books to the children’s section, taking down the signs about restricted books, establishing the teen section and making sure that employees are protected from any pushback from the City Council,” Spivey said.

Spivey’s lawsuit accused city leaders of a censorship scheme that violates California’s Freedom to Read Act, which prohibits removing public library books from shelves solely because of their content. The judge ruled in her favor in September. The city filed an objection to the judge’s order to move the books.

Huntington Beach’s Susie and Tom Davidson consider themselves to be conservative and are against kids having access to sexual material, yet they want the city to comply with the judge’s order.

“I just think they kinda jumped the gun on all the restrictions,” Susie Davison said. “Now, they’re finding out that it’s not working, but they should be listening to the government and let’s get it back in there.”

The city said it will discuss the issue during a closed session meeting, but couldn’t comment further.

In June, voters rejected Huntington Beach’s library review board and approved a measure to eliminate the panel.

In the weeks leading up to the special election, Councilman Chad Williams’ political action committee paid for “Protect Our Kids from Porn” signs to be placed across Huntington Beach, sparking outrage from some parents.

Williams claimed the city’s libraries contained pornographic content. It’s a similar allegation made by the former mayor, which led the council to approve an appointed committee to oversee which books are allowed in the children’s section.

“Children should not have access to these books,” said former Mayor Gracey Van der Mark. “If you’re an adult go for it; you can read whatever you want. But, it is our job and our responsibility to protect children from material that could be harmful for them and if they’re not mentally mature enough to read these books we shouldn’t be exposing them and only the parents can decide that. The government should not be deciding if this is appropriate for their children.”

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By Megan De Mar

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    BENSENVILLE, Illinois (WBBM) — A driver in west suburban Bensenville thought dashboard camera video showing another driver rear-ending her would be enough to get the damage covered by insurance, but two months later, her car is still undrivable, and she has a warning for other drivers.

Emily Mendiola was driving on Grand Avenue in Bensenville with her friend and toddler in the backseat of the car on Aug. 9 when her dashcam shows her slowing down gently as the car behind her rams into the back of her 2024 Toyota Highlander.

The other driver told an officer that “he was unable to stop in time to avoid collision,” according to a police report on the crash.

“Obviously, the bumper needs to be repaired,” Mendiola said.

Just from a visual inspection, the officer noted there had been more than $1500 in damage to the car.

Mendiola went to her repair shop in Elmhurst, which estimated the damage at over $8000.

“The liftgate’s completely smashed in half,” she said. “This whole thing’s cracked open.”

More than two months later, the other driver’s insurer, Direct Auto, has repeatedly told her — despite the police report and the dashcam video — they couldn’t “establish liability” in this case.

“It’s been nothing but a nightmare,” Mendiola said.

The mother a 2-year-old hasn’t been able to drive her car for two months. Mendiola went to the Illinois Department of Insurance for help.

In a response to the Illinois Department of Insurance, Direct Auto said they were in dispute about the cost of the repairs and that the repairs could be performed at one of the company’s “preferred vendors” – not for $8,000, but for less than $1,300.

“You should be able to use any licensed repair shop, and insurers can’t require that you use theirs,” said Scott Holeman, spokesman for the Insurance Information Institute.

Holeman said that’s the law in Illinois, but insurance companies might only cover damages equal to the estimate from their preferred shops, which explains Mendiola’s situation.

She said the insurance company has given her until Oct. 26 to take their offer or leave it.

“I’m giving up at this point,” she said.

Holeman said his best advice for Mendiola is to get her insurance company involved.

“Even if you’re not at fault, you may want to have your insurer work out the details with the other insurer to recoup costs. Now, initially, you may have to pay your deductible, but often your insurer will go negotiate those claims for you and get that deductible back,” she said.

Mendiola said that’s what she plans to do, and she wants other drivers to know it’s something they might have to consider from the start.

“Even if you do everything right, you still might not get the answers that you know you actually need; not even that you want, that you need,” she said.

A Direct Auto spokesperson said the company “does not comment on any individual claim nor do we provide any documentation to outside parties not relative to the claim. Direct Auto has no comment.”

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By KMTV Staff

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    OMAHA (KMTV) — A child brought a loaded handgun to a northwest Omaha preschool during “show and share” prompting an investigation by the childcare center and police. No one was injured during the incident.

According to an update sent to families, the child had the handgun in their bag and carried it to the carpet area at Cadence Academy, near 176th and Maple Streets.

A statement from the center says the teacher immediately placed weapon in a tote bag, removed the children from the area, and notified the front office, where managers alerted law enforcement.

The child will not return to school until an investigation is complete, according to the statement.

The school praised the teacher’s response to the situation.

“The teacher handled the situation calmly, ensuring all children were safe, that the firearm was secured, and law enforcement was alerted,” the statement said.

The preschool said it has reached out to families to ensure they are aware of all school rules and protocols that contribute to a safe environment.

“We are grateful that our teacher’s quick actions ensured that no one was harmed,” the preschool said in a statement. “While our response procedures worked as intended and our staff responded swiftly and appropriately to ensure everyone’s safety, we are taking several actions to increase our vigilance following this occurrence.”

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KMTV verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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By Molly Hudson

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    OMAHA (KMTV) — An Omaha man is organizing meal deliveries for TSA agents at Eppley Airfield as the government shutdown continues.

“It kind of started making me think, they are not really appreciated right now,” said Mike Scofield, a Dundee neighbor.

Mike Scofield started the effort after witnessing a conversation during the last government shutdown while waiting in an airport security line.

“There was a person between us who basically kind of turned around and said, ‘well, they are going to get paid, it’s totally fine,’ and I was like, but their pay has been disrupted, right, they are not getting paid right now,” Scofield said.

He decided he wanted to do something to give back, and make sure they know they are appreciated, and he is doing it again this time.

“My friends basically last time, just got together and we just started putting money in a pot and then once a week we would actually just find a local restaurant and just bring food down to the, down to the airport,” Scofield said.

One of those restaurants has been Mangia Italiana. Owner Tony Constantino said he didn’t know the full story behind what Mike was doing until reporter Molly Hudson told him on the phone.

“He didn’t ask for anything, he just mentioned that he was doing it and that was it, and we are honored that he chose us to do it,” Constantino said.

Molly: “Knowing that you were kind of a smaller part of neighbors helping neighbors, how does that feel?”

Constantino: “Great, great, it’s uh, we need more of that, and what he is doing I think is wonderful, and helping people out when they are in a little bit of a need is fantastic.”

Mike says about 40 people have given money, raising about $4,000 so far. They made their first deliveries on Tuesday and plan to deliver again this weekend.

His message to others: Say thank you.

“Thank the TSA agent that’s in line, you know, thank somebody who is doing their job, you know, just be a little bit more patient with them because they are underneath a lot of stress right now,” Scofield said.

Scofield is accepting donations for the meal delivery effort. He says the best way to connect with him is through Facebook.

Scofield says if he has donations left when the government reopens, he will donate the money, likely to a food bank or pantry.

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By Jazmon DeJarnette

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    MONTEREY BAY, California (KSBW) — Leave it to fans of Taylor Swift to bring a classic 32-year-old Monterey Bay Aquarium T-shirt back to life.

Liz MacDonald, one of the masterminds behind honoring the Swifties’ request, said this was an all-hands-on-deck effort.

“We were in the archives, digging through. We were contacting former aquarium staff members, all trying to find out more. And then, of course, all the Swifties online were also doing their own sleuthing. And I think it was really a whole group effort to bring the aquarium and Liberty Graphics together so that we could make this happen,” MacDonald said.

This is the aquarium’s way of saying “thank you” to Swift for the shout-out and to fans who not only flooded the aquarium’s comments but also supported the aquarium’s mission in the way Swifties know best.

“We also saw an uptick in $13 donations, which is wonderful. That’s like a little thank-you from the Swifties. So we really appreciate that,” said MacDonald.

The aquarium added a special spin to claiming a tee: They’re asking fans to donate $65.13 (Swift’s lucky number) to match Swift, letting fans show their appreciation for the adorable sea otters and the aquarium’s history of ocean conservation. As always, Swift fans were ready for it.

“It came out this morning at 9:40. I bought it at 9:50, and I’m so excited for it to come,” said Margaux Burnham, a Swiftie.

After the fundraiser went live at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, it met its goal of $1.3 million in less than eight hours. A day after launch, the fundraiser sits at $2.3 million.

“Ever since I saw the movie, I’ve been, like, checking online—on Reddit, on social media—like, are they going to re-release a shirt?” Burnham said.

All the money raised will go back to the aquarium to help otters like Ivy, Ruby, and Opal, whose names happen to reference lyrics in the star’s songs.

“Opal—yeah, you know—her name was voted on by the fans, so we don’t know. Was Taylor one of the ones who voted? I’m not sure who can say, but only she knows,” said MacDonald.

Theaquarium has paused orders and backorders for now after raising over $2.3 million.

“Our small team is working as fast as pawsible to catch up—delivery may take a bit longer than usual due to high demand. We appreciate your patience! Those whose gift is on backorder we will reach out when we have an estimated shipping timeline,” said the aquarium in a social media post.

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