Author: CNN

KDKA

By Michael Guise

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    PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A fan suffered life-threatening injuries when he fell from the stands at PPG Paints Arena during Monday night’s game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Public Safety said.

The man fell from the 200 level, hitting another person in the suite level below before falling to the 100 level, Pittsburgh Public Safety said in a post on Facebook. The man who fell was taken to a hospital in Pittsburgh with life-threatening injuries, officials said.

The fall happened during the first period on Monday, and play did not stop at any point. First responders were called to the arena around 7:15 p.m., officials said.

The person struck by the falling man was evaluated by first responders and declined to go to the hospital. In a statement, the Penguins said, in part, that the organization and OVG Management Group, which operates PPG Paints Arena, are “closely monitoring the situation. Our concerns remain with the individual and his family at this time.”

A photo from the area on Monday showed about 10 200-level seats roped off with yellow tape. A pane of glass in the front of the section is also missing. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the fall. No additional information was released on Monday night.

“We saw a bunch of people scrambling over there … saw him taken away,” witness Devin Voop told KDKA. “Obviously, I hope he’s OK.”

The incident comes on the heels of a worker at Acrisure Stadium falling 50 feet from the stadium’s scoreboard on Saturday night. Authorities said the worker suffered severe injuries, mainly to his lower extremities, and was listed in critical condition.

Earlier this year, Kavan Markwood fell 21 feet from his seat onto the warning track at PNC Park during a Pittsburgh Pirates’ game against the Chicago Cubs. Doctors said he suffered several injuries, including to his skull, brain, spine, ribs and lungs. But at the time, they said he was recovering ahead of schedule, given the severity of his injuries.

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KYW

By Stephanie Stahl, Casey Kuhn

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    ROBBINSVILLE, New Jersey (KYW) — A new type of radiation therapy is showing promise in treating cancer in pets.

The new kind of treatment places radiation directly into cancerous tumors, so there’s limited damage to nearby tissue.

Anu is the Donnelly family’s beloved bulldog, who has the most common form of canine skin cancer. After surgery and medications, she recently had a new kind of radiation therapy.

“It’s like very concentrated and doesn’t go all over the place,” Terrie Donnelly, Anu’s owner, said. “It just sounded good.”

They went to NorthStar VETS in Robbinsville, New Jersey, for the isoPet treatment that uses something called radio-gel.

Veterinary oncologist Diana Sanchez said the gel contains a radioactive isotope that’s placed directly inside the treatment area to destroy cancerous tumors.

“The type of radiation, it’s a high-energy type of radiation, but it travels a very short distance,” Sanchez said. “It’s delivering the radiation in a way that you can make it safe for the surrounding tissue.”

Sanchez said it’s safer and less invasive than traditional external-beam radiation.

For the treatment, Anu first got some light sedation, and then the radioactive gel was injected directly into the cancer tumors.

Sanchez said it’s usually a one-time shot with the pet up and out, with limited side effects.

“To have the ability to have a medication that can be safe, and that can be easy, and that can be affordable and accessible for the owners, it’s amazing,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez said while it’s still a new treatment, early indications are promising.

Donnelly is hoping this will be Anu’s last, best treatment.

“We just love her,” she said. “She’s part of the family. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

The maker of radio-gel is working to get FDA approval to begin human trials, which they hope will eventually become a new targeted radiation option.

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WCBS

By Jennifer McLogan

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    RIVERHEAD, Long Island (WCBS) — Birders are going cuckoo for a rare sight on Long Island. The common cuckoo bird has been spotted only four times in U.S. history in the lower 48 states, experts say. Now, it’s in Riverhead.

Hundreds of people have traveled from dozens of states, hoping for a glimpse of the bird that is native to Europe and was blown off course.

“We started a crazy viral birder insanity,” said Roy William Gardner, the eagle-eyed golfer who first saw the cuckoo.

Gardner said he was in a golfcart moving between holes when he spotted “an unusual bird going post to post.” He texted photos of the bird to his nephew, an ornithologist from Cornell and now a bird biologist at UCLA.

“It’s pretty amazing that my uncle, who’s a non-birder, can send a text message across the country,” said nephew Christopher Sayers.

Within minutes, the bird species was identified by UCLA and Cornell.

“He said, ‘what you have there is called a lifer.’ He goes, ‘people go their whole lifetime and not see this,'” Gardner said.

Soon, bird lovers started arriving by ferry, plane and car.

“This is an amazing find,” one person said.

“He lives in Europe and he winters in Africa, so for him to be this far off course,” another marveled.

Was the cuckoo bird possibly blown into New York on the wings of the recent nor’easter?

Farms and golf courses have been allowing the visitors onto their properties to spot the cuckoo. The local Riverhead Times reported 225 sightings in two days.

“It does have a classic cuckoo song, but this is going to be a migrating individual,” Sayers explained.

It’s too young to be vocalizing, but it’s showing off its plumage, gray and white body and long tail.

“If you want to go see it, you’ve gotta go find it!” said Gardner.

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WBZ

By Logan Hall

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    EASTON, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A “paperwork error” is disqualifying teams from eight vocational high schools from a post season tournament in Massachusetts. Some parents are furious that this is how their students’ sports experience will end.

Becky DeOliveira’s son Vinny is a senior on the Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School boys’ soccer team. They had a great season with a 13-1-1 record, but they won’t get to play in the Massachusetts Vocational Athletic Directors Association (MVADA) tournament because of a scheduling oversight.

“They live for this, my son’s been on the team for four years,” DeOliveira said. “The kids themselves have put in a lot of dedication, a lot of teamwork, a lot of effort.”

Teams in the league were required to leave a placeholder game on their schedule, listing it as TBD (to be determined) to reserve a spot in the tournament. Southeastern and seven other schools didn’t do that. They were all ruled ineligible for the postseason.

DeOliveira said the ruling is especially painful for the team’s 10 seniors, many of whom won’t play competitively after high school.

“After this, this is it. Some of them might not go to college because it’s a voc-tech school. They are going out in the real world, like let them be kids,” DeOliveira said.

While many players have taken the news with grace, DeOliveira said it’s been harder for parents to accept.

“I went to my son and was like, ‘Hey, how you feeling?’ and he goes ‘it is what it is.’ I think most of the team’s like that. They are so good, they are so humble. I think the coach has really tried to instill in them that we have tried everything we can. But me, as a parent, I’m looking at it as like, I feel like there’s another choice.”

The MVADA did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

“We believe it is deeply unfair to remove student-athletes from postseason play because of a paperwork error, especially one that many schools struggled to interpret,” Southeastern Regional School District Superintendent Holly McClanan said in a statement.

DeOliveira is holding out hope that a solution can be found and her son will get to take the field with his team one last time.

“I’m always looking on the positive side,” she said. “And I feel like for a clerical error, for this to just happen the way it’s happening I feel like there has to be a better outcome.”

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KPIX

By Da Lin

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    SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — Bay Area seafood lovers hoping to serve fresh Dungeness crab for Thanksgiving or Christmas are out of luck again this year. California officials have postponed the commercial crabbing season once more because of the ongoing risk of whale entanglements off the Northern California coast.

At the docks near San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, crab pots are sitting idle.

The delay doesn’t come as a surprise, as the season has been pushed back four or five years in a row, but commercial fishermen said that doesn’t soften the economic blow.

San Francisco fisherman David Kemp pointed to his worn work clothes as a sign of how tough things have gotten.

“Look at me, I’ve got holes in my shirt. We’re barely holding onto our businesses,” he said.

It’s been a particularly rough year for Bay Area fishing crews. The state cancelled the commercial salmon season entirely, and now they’re missing out on the busy holiday demand for crab, one of their biggest revenue drivers.

“Who really misses out is the public,” Kemp said. “If they get crab that comes out of San Francisco, it’s been in a freezer for six months or eight months. If they get crab that comes out of Puget Sound, they’re paying $15.99 a pound.”

Most of the crab currently available in local markets and restaurants is coming from Washington state, driving prices up and profits down for local businesses.

“That means we’re probably going to be closed on Thanksgiving because people don’t come down here for turkey,” said Eli Fowler, a manager at Capurro’s Restaurant. “So that hurts us for Thanksgiving and [Christmas].”

He added, “It’s bad for business and it really just hurts Fisherman’s Wharf as a whole.”

Environmental advocates said the delay is necessary to protect endangered marine life.

“Anytime that they entangle more than three endangered humpback whales in a single year, the season will be delayed until the following year,” said Dr. Geoff Shester, Director of Fishery Innovation and senior scientist at Oceana. “There were four whales confirmed entangled in Dungeness crab fishing gear over the last year.”

Shester said a solution is on the horizon. The state is expected to approve new “pop-up” gear for the spring season, a technology that uses GPS and acoustic triggers to raise buoys and ropes only when harvesting pots, eliminating vertical lines in the water that whales and sea turtles can get caught in.

“This new technology has been tested successfully and shown to work in a limited context over the last few years,” Shester said. “We’re hopeful that this spring, that will be an option to allow these fishermen to stay on the water and really prevent further entanglements at the same time.”

But affordability is a major concern.

“I can’t be optimistic,” Kemp said. “Right now, there’s nothing to be optimistic about.”

He worries his boat is too small — and his finances too stretched — to invest in entirely new equipment.

The state said the earliest possible opening for the commercial Dungeness crab season would be in early January. Recreational crabbing, however, will still open Nov. 1 in some areas, including waters off San Francisco.

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KOVR

By Charlie Lapastora

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    LODI, California (KOVR) — The Lodi High School baseball field transformed into what felt like spring training in October for a brand-new T-ball league. The Lodi T-Rexes had their first practice on Sunday for kids of all ages who are on the autism spectrum.

“My inspiration is Niko, my son,” Jose “Jojo” Duenas, the founder of the Lodi T-Rexes league, said. “He’s 3 years old, last year we found out that he was autistic. I was kind of looking around, seeing what our options [were] as far as sports. I couldn’t really find anything in the immediate area of Lodi.”

So that’s when, about a month ago, Duenas, a local football coach, and his family stepped up to the plate and started the Lodi T-Rexes. He was expecting about a dozen kids to coach originally. On Sunday, 52 athletes showed up.

“My son, I wanted him to have a good experience,” Duenas said. “And for people like my wife, there’s some parents out there that really struggle. I’m doing this for them. I want to get them the opportunity to celebrate their kids, I’m doing it for the parents and the athletes. That’s all I need. Just the ‘thank yous’ of the smiles on people’s faces, some of the parents sharing their stories, what they go through every day. That’s all the motivation I need besides my son. So, yeah, it’s been beautiful.”

Duenas met with applied behavior analysis therapists and local baseball coaches for insight. He held training for the dozens of volunteers to spread awareness ahead of the practice because he said, “Every kid is so specific.”

One of those volunteers was 9th grader Landon Camarena. His favorite part was helping all the kids, and he said for the families, “they’re getting emotional seeing the kids having fun.”

“They deserve to wear a jersey and they deserve to be a part of the sports,” Camarena said.

Camerena helped at the hydration station. It was one of four stations set up for the T-ball athletes. The others were a home run derby, a throwing and catching area, and batting practice. Duenas said there were high school volunteers, even from rival schools, Tokay High and Lodi High, putting aside their rivalry to unite in helping by volunteering.

Parents, grandparents, and loved ones filled the stands at Lodi High School, which partnered with Duenas to provide the baseball field, to cheer on their athletes.

Jennifer Jurado was with her 5-year-old kindergartner grandson, Julian Camberos, now a Lodi T-Rex T-Ball athlete.

“To be able to meet other people, other families in the community whose children are on the spectrum, is amazing,” Jurado said. “In the autism community, for a lot of years, it hasn’t been diagnosed-it’s really coming in the spotlight now with acceptance and being recognized. It is very important for our children, grandchildren, our loved ones to be represented, and understood, and included.”

For Jhair Carmona and his son, Jhair Jr., it was a great father-son bonding moment for them. Carmona Sr. said his son means everything to him and enjoyed spending more time with him while seeing him have fun.

“Support your kids and do everything that you can to treat them like normal because even though we know this sometimes is [a] struggle, we need to be patient and encourage our kids to be more involved with daily stuff and games like this,” Jhair said.

Duenas said there were around 150-200 people total that showed up for the first practice on Sunday and that even people from Texas reached out to him to inquire about it. He also said there was a family from Merced that came to shadow what he was doing, hoping to bring something like this back to their community.

He said there is another similar program in Lodi, called Spark, offering soccer, but that it was hard overall to find something nearby involving sports to put his son and other kids with autism into and that it shouldn’t be this way. He wants to take this eventually on the road and branch out to other communities to help with this type of league.

An online fundraiser Duenas originally had is fully funded for this season and next.

For any parents who want to sign up their kids to play, it’s completely free and includes a jersey. All you have to do is message Duenas on the Lodi T-Rex’s new Instagram page.

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KYW

By Joshua Sidorowicz

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    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — Yilber Feruku diligently pays the tax bill on his Northeast Philadelphia home early every year and says this time was no different.

“We work hard for our money, and I don’t want to pay any interest on anything,” he said. “We cannot even afford it. I have a daughter that goes to medical school.”

Feruku paid his $4,552 property tax bill in January, two months before it was due.

“We don’t want to have to think about bills when we go to sleep,” he said.

So he was shocked to find a balance on his account that was accruing interest when he checked it several months later.

When he called the city, he said he was told they had no record of his payment.

“I was kind of [like], ‘What the hell is going on?'” Feruku said.

What followed was a months-long runaround that left Feruku feeling hopeless until he contacted In Your Corner.

“I have sent at least 30 emails, I have talked to 30 different people,” he said. “They told me that somebody will reach out to you in two days, and then two days went by, two weeks went by, two months went by, no answer at all.”

Feruku even went to his bank, which confirmed the city had withdrawn the money from his checking account. He provided the statement to the city — still, nothing.

By June, Feruku said he was so frustrated and ready to give up, he gave in and paid his balance again, this time with more than $200 in interest.

“It’s like at some point you just want to give up, but it’s hard-earned money,” he said.

That’s when he contacted In Your Corner.

CBS News Philadelphia reviewed his documentation and contacted the city’s revenue department on Feruku’s behalf.

Within a week, the city confirmed it had, in fact, received the January payment.

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Department of Revenue said, “Thank you for bringing the matter to our attention. Upon review of the account … our research found that the taxpayer used an incorrect Letter ID when making the payment.”

Any letter or notice you get from the Department of Revenue has a 10-digit Letter ID, according to the city. Taxpayers can use their Letter ID to make payments, respond to an inquiry, or provide requested documentation on the Philadelphia Tax Center website. The error caused the payment to be misapplied, according to the city, which confirmed the funds were now properly credited to Feruku’s account.

The spokesperson did not explain why the city didn’t work with Feruku initially to resolve the issue.

“I really appreciate and I cannot thank you enough,” Feruku said.

Feruku was given the option to either leave the second payment on his account to be applied to his next tax bill or get a refund. He opted for the refund.

So far in 2025, In Your Corner has helped recover more than $120,000 in money, goods and services owed to viewers.

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WLNY

By Naveen Dhaliwal

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    NEW YORK (WCBS) — A retired NYPD officer is being called a hero after he pulled a mother and her 5-month-old baby from the East River.

The rescue happened on Sunday at a park in Queens, and it showed instinct and training coming together at the right moment.

What was supposed to be a fun day at the Hermon A. MacNeil Park waterfront turned terrifying when retired NYPD Officer Paul Pinsdorf heard the screams, and then saw a woman walking into the river with a baby.

“She’s saying incoherent things, so I couldn’t really make out,” said Pinsdorf, who was volunteering for a local Halloween event but then found himself running toward the water’s edge. “She was crying, holding it, going deeper and deeper in the water.”

Pinsdorf said his police training immediately kicked in, and, without a second thought, he jumped in.

“I had to forcefully pull her in. She did not want to come back,” Pinsdorf said. “Another 30 seconds and the baby would have been under the water.”

His fellow volunteers called 911 as rescue crews rushed in to help pull the mother to shore.

“The woman was stressing over something,” said Brock Weiner, who is also retired NYPD. “She was fighting him, but she wouldn’t let go the baby.”

Police are still unclear why the woman entered the water, but if it wasn’t for Pinsdorf’s quick actions the outcome might have been very different.

“If Paul didn’t get here when he got there, I don’t know what would have been the outcome,” said retired NYPD Officer Kevin O’Donnell.

Pinsdorf may have left the force, but on this day his sense of duty was as strong as ever.

“It was meant to be, you know, and I would have had a happy ending. I go another minute, we would have had a different story to tell,” Pinsdorf said.

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WBZ

By Logan Hall

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    SALEM, Massachusetts (WBZ) — The streets of Salem were packed with witches, goblins, and ghosts this weekend as visitors from around the country flocked to the city for the final weekend before Halloween.

The historic city has seen record crowd sizes so far this year.

“It’s just fun to walk around and see so many people getting into the Halloween spirit as well,” said visitor Mira Lopez.

From elaborate costumes to haunted tours and themed pop-ups, nearly every corner of downtown Salem was alive with Halloween energy.

“People are coming here and they’re already excited to be interacting with someone and get fun photo opportunities, so everyone’s been an absolute delight, mostly large families,” one street performer said.

Despite chilly temperatures, crowds have not let up because visiting Salem in October is an annual tradition for many.

“The fun, outgoing craziness of Salem and the Halloween spirit coming about before the holiday,” said Jen Cook, who comes to the city every year with her friends.

The CEO of Essex Heritage, Annie Harris, said the busy season has been a major boost for Salem businesses, though it also presents challenges for city services.

“Certainly, hotels, restaurants, a lot of businesses do very well,” Harris said. “It’s a bit of a challenge for the city, police, fire, EMT, all that but basically it’s good for business.”

Harris said this has been the busiest Halloween season to date, with steady streams of tourists visiting all month long.

City officials estimate that more than one million people have visited Salem this Halloween season, which is a record turnout that residents say has been felt on every street.

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WBBM

By Jeramie Bizzle

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    Illinois (WBBM) — The Cook County Sheriff’s Office is praising one of its officers for saving a woman who was choking while driving last month in Ford Heights.

A video shared by the office showed a black SUV that slowed down before coming to a stop on the sidewalk on Ellis Avenue, where the woman got out of the vehicle with her hand on her chest.

That’s when officer Zachary Finn pulled over and attended to the woman and performed the Heimlich maneuver, dislodging the item stuck in her throat.

The office said paramedics later arrived at the scene for further treatment, but the woman declined. She was able to drive away afterwards safely.

“Hats off to Officer Finn for his quick thinking and life-saving actions!” the office said.

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