Author: CNN Newsource

By Jennifer Borrasso

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    PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A shooting at a property rented through Airbnb in Pittsburgh on New Year’s Day has reignited calls for regulation on short-term rentals in the city.

Police were called around 12:30 a.m. to the area of Constance Street on the city’s North Side on Jan. 1 for a reported shooting. At the scene, officers found a woman inside a home who had been shot in the leg. Sources told KDKA it’s believed a large group of juveniles was at a house party across the street, and that home was rented through Airbnb. Gunfire erupted, and the woman across the street was shot when bullets went through her home, sources said.

It’s the second shooting at an Airbnb in Pittsburgh in under four years. On Easter Sunday in 2022, two people were killed and 10 were injured in a mass shooting at an Airbnb rental property, where police said about 200 people, many of them underage, were at a party when gunfire erupted.

Neighbors told KDKA on Tuesday that they are fed up and ready to put pressure on the Pittsburgh City Council to take action.

“I’m actually pretty furious right now that it takes a shooting to get people to pay attention to the fact that short-term rentals are diseminating our neighborhoods,” city resident Callie Disabato said.

“This is a city problem. It needs to be regulated by the city,” Disabato added.

Pittsburgh City Councilperson Bobby Wilson, who represents the area, is working with Councilperson Deborah Gross on legislation to limit the number of Airbnbs in the city and to make sure Airbnbs are owner-occupied. A bill could be introduced as soon as this week.

“It’s unacceptable,” Wilson said. “This company continues to have issues, and so we are looking to do something on city council.”

In the wake of the tragedy in 2022, Wilson demanded accountability and crafted legislation requiring operating permits, inspections, a database of the owners, and emergency contact numbers in the event of trouble. Council passed Wilson’s bill, but it’s on hold because of a court challenge.

KDKA reached out to the company on Tuesday but did not hear back. On its website, Airbnb says it prohibits parties.

“We take action, and may block certain reservations that we determine to be higher risk for unauthorized parties,” Airbnb’s website says.

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 Matt Flener

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    OLATHE, Kansas (KMBC) — An Olathe, Kansas, woman seeking a therapy dog for her son was scammed out of $1,500 on Facebook Marketplace when a puppy delivery never arrived.

After her experience, Kristen Crandall has a warning for anyone looking for a dog on Facebook.

“I’m hoping eventually this person gets caught,” Crandall said.

On Dec. 22, Crandall began communicating with someone she believed to be a breeder on Facebook Marketplace about a new Cane Corso puppy.

The supposed breeder requested payment through text messages using gift cards.

The breeder assured her that a delivery driver would bring the new puppy, but the driver never showed up. The delivery driver also demanded payment, saying he was holding the dog at a location in Johnson County, until she paid.

Crandall said that during the process, she believed there was a real dog involved. She eventually realized that the pictures and videos of the dog were created using AI.

“So today I’m at the point where I’m out of money. I’ve got no dog. Lesson learned,” Crandall said.

Crandall shared her experience to warn others to slow down and ensure any dog seen online is also seen in person before any money is exchanged. She now plans to look for a companion for her family at a shelter.

Crandall said Olathe police have opened a fraud investigation into the case.

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 Nick Sloan

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    TOPEKA, Kansas (KMBC) — Kansas Senate leaders introduced bipartisan legislation Tuesday that would ban cell phones in K-12 classrooms across the state.

The proposal, Senate Bill 302, would prohibit student cell phone use in public and private schools accredited by the Kansas State Department of Education. Supporters say the measure is designed to reduce classroom distractions and improve student mental health.

Senate Majority Leader Chase Blasi, a Republican from Andale, said phones interfere with learning and social development.

“Phone-free schools give students space to think, build authentic human relationships, and protect student mental health from constant digital pressure,” Blasi said.

Democratic Minority Leader Dinah Sykes of Lenexa said studies show schools without phones see stronger student engagement and improved academic outcomes.

“Classrooms without phones have more engaged students leading to face-to-face conversations, stronger peer relationships, safer school environments and better academic outcomes,” Sykes said.

Lawmakers described the bill as a high priority during the 2026 session.

The legislation has 28 co-sponsors, more than two-thirds of the Kansas Senate, and is expected to pass the chamber later this month before moving to the House.

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By Alexa Herrera

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    NEW YORK (WCBS) — Plastic New York City MetroCards that used to cost $1 are now being sold on eBay for thousands of dollars, just days after the cards were discontinued.

The blue and yellow cards that previously got riders onto the subway were retired after more than 30 years in use. On Jan. 1 the MTA officially switched to the contactless OMNY system.

The classic cards are already making a comeback online, with listings from $4 to $5,000 on eBay.

Some sellers are listing the original cards, while others are selling special editions, including a student MetroCard from 1989 and a collection of The Notorious B.I.G. cards from 2022. There are numerous others listed with pictures of artists, TV shows and other brands printed on them.

For many New Yorkers, the end of the MetroCard feels like closing a chapter.

A group of riders even gathered in Washington Square Park on Dec. 31 to mourn the end of the cards with posters, cakes and clothing dedicated to the cards.

The card was first introduced in 1994 to replace subway tokens and became a staple for New Yorkers, who kept them in back pockets, winter coats and just about anywhere else.

To usher the MetroCard into retirement, The New York Transit Museum has a special exhibit open called “Farewell MetroCard” to honor the card and its history.

A group of riders even gathered in Washington Square Park on Dec. 31 to mourn the end of the cards with posters, cakes and clothing dedicated to the cards.

The card was first introduced in 1994 to replace subway tokens and became a staple for New Yorkers, who kept them in back pockets, winter coats and just about anywhere else.

To usher the MetroCard into retirement, The New York Transit Museum has a special exhibit open called “Farewell MetroCard” to honor the card and its history. The tap-and-go system, which stands for One Metro New York, also accepts payment from a contactless credit or debit card, smartphone or smart watch. Like MetroCards, the physical OMNY cards are reloadable.

The old cards can still be used for riding the subway and buses, but no additional money can be added to 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 Noel Brennan

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — The Savannah Bananas have turned baseball into a full-blown party, featuring dancing players, trick plays, and packed stadiums wherever they go.

Now, Chicago wants to get in on the fun.

The new Chicago Snowballs took the first step toward creating its own entertainment-style baseball team with tryouts that officially got underway on Monday.

But what does it take to make the cut?

One thing to note, a rocket arm doesn’t guarantee a roster spot.

Jonah Campbell knows he needs all-around talent.

“This is certainly not a normal baseball team,” he said. “So, we’re doing our baseball stuff. We’re also showing a little razzle dazzle.”

Even home run hitters have to bring something extra to the plate.

“If I do bad, it’s the bat’s fault, okay. It was not me. It was not me,” said Miranda Wesolowski.

Wesolowski, otherwise, is at home in the infield and on the dance floor, and that’s exactly what this team wants.

“We want huge entertainers. We want people to come in and have fun,” said the team’s co-owner, Cherie Travis.

Cherie and her brother, Paul, are fielding a new, co-ed team called the Chicago Snowballs – inspired by the success of the Savannah Bananas.

“There was this discussion of like, why snowballs in the summertime? and we’re like, that’s exactly why,” Paul said.

Tryouts are being held for people who can play ball and just about anything else.

“Yes, we’re making plays. We’re playing baseball, but it’s more than that. It’s about making sure that everybody comes away feeling like they had a show,” Campbell said.

The team owners call it pro baseball’s first co-ed “sportsainment” experience.

“So we’re creating a whole new opportunity to continue playing for both men and women, and for them to keep playing the game they love,” Cherie said.

When asked about the team and what they think will draw people in.

“Probably the intermixing of all of the personalities together and everybody’s got something different to bring to the table,” she said.

Players need to bring the fundamentals, but also the fun — Just like the one guy who came to the tryouts on stilts.

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 Vanessa Murdock

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    FAIR LAWN, NEW JERSEY (WCBS) — A convicted serial killer recently confessed to a 60-year-old New Jersey cold case murder, police said.

Alys Eberhardt, an 18-year-old nursing student, was brutally murdered in her Fair Lawn home on Sept. 24, 1965. Now, her family finally has some answers about her death.

Early attempts to find Eberhardt’s killer failed and her case went cold for 55 years.

Then, in 2021, Fair Lawn Police Det. Brian Rypkema got a phone call from a classmate of Eberhardt’s, who asked him to start looking into it again.

The case was reopened that spring with Rypkema and Sgt. Eric Eleshewich.

“The first thing that we’re doing is we got a case here from 1965, so we’re looking at everything,” Eleshewich said.

Then, a man named Richard Cottingham, also known as the “Torso Killer,” started making local headlines.

“He was on no one’s radar back then,” Eleshewich said.

While imprisoned, serving three life sentences for other murders, Cottingham confessed to the 1974 murders of Bergen County teens Loraine Marie Kelly and Mary Ann Pryor.

Eleshewich said they realized Cottingham lived in the area at the time of Eberhardt’s murder and decided to go visit him at Trenton State Prison.

“We said we were detectives from the Fair Lawn Police Department, and right away, he was intrigued by that. He said, ‘Ah, Fair Lawn,'” Rypkema said.

Rypkema and Eleshewich spent five hours building rapport with Cottingham.

In conversations with Fair Lawn Police, Cottingham claimed he had murdered at least 80 people. In 2022, he confessed to murdering six Long Island women.

During their second visit, Rypkema and Eleshewich brought up Eberhardt.

“Just little ways he reacted to questions, things of that nature, we were like, this is definitely our guy,” Eleshewich said.

One specific question that came up left them with zero doubt Cottingham murdered Eberhardt.

“I asked him about how he entered the house, and he corrected me and told me the perpetrator did it a different way,” Eleshewich said.

Rypkema and Eleshewich said they visited Cottingham in prison more than five times, finally securing a confession on Dec. 22, 2025.

“It was a huge sense of relief,” Eleshewich said.

An agreement between the Bergen County prosecutor and Fair Lawn Police means no criminal charges will be filed against Cottingham for Eberhardt’s murder.

“He’s going to spending the rest of life in prison [for other murders],” Eleshewich said.

Eleshewich added, “To be able to finally make that call [to Eberhardt’s family] on the 23rd, that’s what it’s all about.”

In a statement, Eberhardt’s nephew Michael Smith wrote, “Our family has waited since 1965 for the truth … to be able to tell my mother, Alys’s sister, that we finally have answers — was a moment I never thought would come.” Cottingham’s entire confession was recorded on video. CBS News New York asked the Fair Lawn Police Department when it will be made public and learned no timeline is set.

Cottingham has been incarcerated with the New Jersey Department of Corrections since 1981 and remains imprisoned at South Woods State Prison.

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By Jenna DeAngelis

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    NEW YORK (WCBS) — A Long Island travel agent is accused of defrauding people out of tens of thousands of dollars.

Tavia Thomas, who police say operated as the sole travel agent of Destiny Travel, was recently charged with grand larceny and scheme to defraud.

Investigators say in three different instances, Thomas is accused of collecting money but never booking trips and not giving refunds, allegedly defrauding multiple people of a total of $53,448.14.

According to a police report, on July 8, 2024, Thomas allegedly received a total of $35,753.98 from nine people who believed they were purchasing tickets for a Royal Caribbean cruise departing from Bayonne.

Police said when the victims arrived at the port, an employee told them their tickets were fake and that the cruise they booked did not exist. About a week later, on July 16, 2024, Thomas allegedly received a total of $7,660 from several people for a destination wedding, but never booked the venues and did not provide refunds.

Later that year, in September, police said Thomas received $10,034.16 from 51 people who were booking a 75th birthday trip to the Dominican Republic, but she did not pay for the accommodations and did not provide refunds.

In court Tuesday, Thomas pleaded not guilty. Her defense attorney described the 47-year-old as a social worker who has two children, cares for her mother who is blind, and is in the process of adopting a baby. Prosecutors, however, pointed out a criminal history.

Her next court appearance is scheduled for Thursday.

West Babylon resident Rosalind Gross-Hall said her family used Thomas as a travel agent to book flights for about three to four years and never had any issues, but when Gross-Hall tried to plan a cruise for her daughter’s graduation in July 2024, what was supposed to be a dream trip turned into a vacation nightmare.

She said Thomas provided trip confirmation for their party of 34, along with an itinerary via email.

Upon arrival to the port in New Jersey, however, Gross-Hall said the cruise line couldn’t find any of their information.

“The employees of Royal Caribbean was doing the best that they could to help us, to do anything to make this easier because they kind of knew after a while that this was a scam,” Gross-Hall said. “[Thomas] blamed it on everybody else but her, saying that it was their fault.”

The family immediately filed a police report.

“It was just unbelievable. My daughters were so heartbroken,” Gross-Hall said.

She was able to get some of her money back from her credit card company; however, she said her mother-in-law sent her deposit through Zelle.

“So she never saw that money again,” Gross-Hall said.

Gross-Hall said she has since connected with other people who say they had a similar experience with Destiny Travel.

Now, a year and a half later, she said Thomas’ arrest is a relief.

“We just didn’t want her to hurt anybody else,” she said.

Destiny Travel is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau, which says it began receiving complaints about the agency in July 2023. A total of three complaints were filed.

“At that time, if anyone had looked on BBB.org about them, they would have seen it was a D+, which quickly fell to an F in September of 2023,” said Claire Rosenzweig, president and CEO of BBB Metropolitan New York

The BBB stresses doing your research when booking trips.

“What you want to be cautious about is companies without a track record that just came to you through some website that you saw online, or some social media text or ad that you got,” Rosenzweig said.

She added to look out for red flags, like requesting payment through peer-to-peer platforms, cash, gift cards or by wiring money.

“If you choose to work with a company and you’re going to pay, we always say consider using credit cards because credit cards do have the most protection,” she said. “But even with a credit card, you have to be careful, because if you’re getting the runaround from someone, they know that there are time limits on chargebacks.”

Nassau County Police are asking anyone who believes they may be a victim to contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS or call 911.

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 Marybel Rodriguez

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    MIAMI (WFOR) — A Venezuelan artist is expressing himself through art. Soon after Nicolas Maduro was captured, he grabbed his spray paint and left his mark in Wynwood.

Pedro Martin, better known as Marthi, proudly stands before his most recent work of art in Wynwood. The mural features the famous picture of Nicolas Maduro after he was captured.

“This mural is for all the Venezuelan people,” said Pedro “Marthi” Martin.

Martin, who was born in Caracas, has been living in Miami for the past four years and is now doing what he loves freely — something he says would never be possible in his homeland of Venezuela.

He says that right now, he would be in danger for doing so, and that what he misses most about his country is the freedom of expression.

After hearing the news of Maduro’s capture, Martin expressed himself the best way he knows how: through art. Next to Maduro is Martin’s trademark angel painted in the colors of Venezuela, along with the anthem of freedom, “abajo cadenas,” which means “down with the chains.”

Hours later, someone painted over the mural. But Martin, who came to this country in search of a better life, repainted the slogan of freedom for all Venezuelans — including his family, who still live there.

“My mother, my father, my brother live there. I miss him very much,” said Martin.

Through his art, Martin says he is hopeful that change will soon come and he will be reunited with his family. He says he will come back as many times as needed if his mural needs to be fixed.

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 Leondra Head

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    HIRAM, GEORGIA (WUPA) — A Hiram City Council member who rushed into a burning home to save her neighbors was sworn in for a second term Tuesday night — just days after the dramatic rescue.

Councilwoman Melissa Bayardelle says she was leaving her neighborhood shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day when she noticed flames shooting from the second story of her neighbor’s home. Without hesitation, she pulled into the driveway and started banging on the door.

“There was fire on the second level. I pulled into their driveway and banged as hard as I could,” Bayardelle said.

When no one answered, she noticed the lights were still on inside. The door, she said, was unlocked — so she ran in.

“Fortunately, the door was unlocked, so I allowed myself in,” she said.

“I was screaming and yelling, ‘Hey! There’s a fire. Your house is on fire!'”

Upstairs, Isaiah Richardson and his girlfriend Dalasia Mitchell were just getting ready for bed. Richardson says at first, he didn’t understand what was happening.

“I said, ‘Whose house?'” he recalled.

“She said, ‘Sir, it’s your house. Get out.'”

The couple escaped as flames quickly engulfed the roof. Richardson says they had no warning. “The fire started on the roof. There was no smoke or anything through the house, so we had no clue,” he said.

The home is now uninhabitable, and investigators are still working to determine the cause. Richardson believes fireworks may have sparked the blaze.

“There was a lot of fireworks going on in the neighborhood,” he said. “We have some tall pine trees in the back. So we’re thinking a firework caught something in our gutter on fire.”

During Tuesday night’s council meeting, the couple hugged Bayardelle and thanked her publicly for saving their lives.

“The roof collapsed on the second floor. That could have been us laying up there dead asleep,” Richardson said. “She saved our lives that day.”

Richardson and Mitchell say they lost everything in the fire and are now raising money as they work to rebuild.

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.