Author: CNN

WJZ

By Mike Hellgren

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    MARYLAND (WJZ) — A software error caused 293 former state workers to receive twice their buyout payments, WJZ Investigates has learned.

Maryland officials are advising those who received the excess funds not to touch the extra money in their accounts, which will be taken back automatically.

The payments will be taken out of the accounts over the next several weeks, and the state promises to put the correct amounts into the accounts by November 19.

Maryland officials said they notified those impacted by email and by phone.

Maryland formally eliminated more than 500 positions in state government on Wednesday, most of them from a voluntary buyout program. The move helps Maryland’s struggling budget.

The state’s spending board approved the cuts without question during its meeting on Wednesday.

Gov. Wes Moore authorized the buyouts for 332 employees. Almost 900 workers applied for the Voluntary Separation Program.

Approximately 170 positions that were already vacant are also being eliminated to save the state tens of millions of dollars.

“None of these choices is easy,” Gov. Moore said at the Board of Public Works meeting. “I do want to ensure the public, including all of our public servants, that we will continue to protect our people.”

The position eliminations are expected to save the state $10.5 million during fiscal year 2026 and $22 million in general funds during fiscal year 2027.

The glitch in the Voluntary Separation Program (VSP) was revealed this week. WJZ Investigates found the state mistakenly double-paid 293 of those workers, and they are now working to take the money back.

That includes $40,000, instead of the agreed-upon $20,000 lump sum, plus double the $300 for each year of service.

One of those workers who asked to remain anonymous is outraged at how it was handled.

“It’s sad for our government,” she said. “It’s sad for our state. It’s sad for the employees.”

In an email she received, the state blamed a “software error” and asked those who received the buyout payments to “please retain these funds. The entire amount (correct payment and overpayment) you received will be automatically debited from your account within the next 2 weeks. A new, correct payment will be transmitted to you on November 19th. Apologies for the inconvenience this may cause… .”

“I’m not giving them permission to go to my account and take out money,” the former worker told WJZ Investigates. “Yes, I know it’s not my money, but let’s talk about it. Don’t just send me an email and say, ‘Don’t touch any of that money. We’re taking it back sometime in two weeks when we decide.'”

She continued, “I was alarmed, scared, frustrated, and to think that they can now just go back into my account, really without my authorization, and take the money.”

In a statement to WJZ, Senior Advisor and Communications Director David Turner said once the overpayments went out, there was nothing they could immediately do.

“On October 20, the Department of Budget and Management discovered a file error that resulted in double payments to 293 VSP participants,” Turner wrote. “As the electronic payment process for all state employees was already in progress, there would have been considerable risk in modifying the payment file. Therefore, the state paid all state employees on schedule—providing notice to VSP participants that, due to a software error, the funds they received will be recalled and the correct amount reissued.”

Turner warned that Maryland will take action to get the overpayments back.

“If overpayments are not returned in full, the state may pursue recoupment via employee leave balance payouts, standard collection procedures, or, in the worst cases, tax refund intercepts to recover the funds,” Turner said.

The former worker who discovered the problem said it has shaken her trust in the state government.

“I didn’t go to you and say, ‘Hey, buy me out to fix your deficit.’ You offered that to me,” she said. “We’re publicizing that we want to help federal employees with employment. Well, you’re not paying the employees who have dedicated themselves to you already. I would’ve rather them just not give me anything and to say, ‘Hey, there’s a glitch, you’ll get paid in two weeks.'”

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KPIX

By Sharon Chin

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    OAKLAND, California (KPIX) — A retired stockbroker is giving some elementary school students in Oakland a foundation in finance to break the cycle of poverty.

“They’re getting a foundation, a foundation and exposure for finance,” Val Chapman said.

The retired stockbroker wanted to help break the cycle of poverty among at-risk children. So, she founded Financial Literacy for Kid$ in 2020.

“They’re learning about managing their own money, saving for college, building their own businesses, and they’re having fun at it,” said Chapman,

She teaches four classes a week at Franklin Elementary School in Oakland. Fourth and fifth-graders like Maurice Young manage their own simulated portfolios and share their moneymakers.

“Trump Media,” said the fifth grader. “‘Because he’s going up $2.”

They’re also learning diversification. And, like fifth grader Praise Tamang, the right time to buy.

“I like to buy them while they’re down,” Tamang said. “I’ve made $200 in equity so far.”

Student Anuhea Lopez understands that if she starts young, she can grow a nice nest egg.

“You could have more money and live a better life,” said the 5th grader.

Teacher Benita Yeager said Chapman’s lessons are turning a profit in student learning.

“They’re broadening their horizons, and expanding their minds, and they really love it, which is the best part of it all,” Yeager said.

It’s evident Chapman loves it too.

“You can see the joy,” Yeager said. “This is her passion. This is what she wants to do.”

On this day, students pitched new product ideas to a guest speaker from ELF Beauty in Oakland. It’s the entrepreneurial arm of Financial Literacy for Kid$.

Students build their own startups and compete in Tiger Tank, their school’s version of Shark Tank. They pitch their products like homemade soap and jewelry.

“We have students who’ve hired other classmates to work with them. And they’re earning 30 to 40 dollars a week,” Chapman said. “That’s pretty impressive, and that also helps them build their math skills and research skills.

Some of the students have won regional prizes in the National Stock Market Game, where they manage a hypothetical $100,000 portfolio.

Financial Literacy for Kid$ is fiscally sponsored by the Oakland Public Education Fund. Chapman is seeking more corporate partnerships and grants, so she can bring the literacy lessons to all of the 4th and 5th graders in Oakland’s public schools.

She also teaches a weeklong tuition-based summer program on financial literacy. Chapman is seeing early returns on her investment, students are opening savings accounts, and there’s a ripple effect at home.

“Not only are students learning more about investing, but they’re also talking to their parents and families about saving and investing as well,” Chapman beamed.

So, for opening doors of economic opportunity through Financial Literacy for Kid$, this week’s CBS News Bay Area Icon Award goes to Val Chapman.

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WCBS

By Dave Carlin, Renee Anderson

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    NEW YORK CITY (WCBS, WLNY) — A newborn baby girl with her umbilical cord attached was found unattended at a New York City subway station during the morning rush in Manhattan, police said.

The NYPD said the child was discovered wrapped in a sheet at around 9:30 a.m. Monday on the steps leading down to the southbound 1, 2 and 3 trains at the 34th Street and 7th Avenue stop at Penn Station. Investigators closed off the stairwell to collect evidence.

The girl was conscious, alert and did not appear to have any injuries, police said. She was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.

“Miracle on 34th Street”

Investigators are trying to determine how long the baby was left on the stops before she was found, and locate the responsible party, or parties. Police said there was no sign of the baby’s mother. Investigators are now reviewing surveillance video from inside the station to determine who may have left the child.

Police said no evidence has been found indicating the baby being born in the station, and nothing indicates the birth was on a train.

MTA New York City Transit president Demetrius Crichlow praised police officers who took the newborn to the hospital themselves instead of waiting for paramedics to respond.

“Just grateful for the work of the NYPD in responding and caring for the baby,” Crichlow said. “I’m calling it the miracle on 34th Street.”

“I don’t know how someone could do that to a little baby, it’s really sad,” commuter Hibah Agha said. “It’s really unsanitary, it’s really unsafe to just leave the poor baby out here. I’m glad someone was able to do something about it.”

“I’m a new parent, my girl is 16 months. So I can’t imagine the desperation that they must’ve felt to do that,” commuter Susan Lee said.

“That’s insane, honestly, I’m so sorry to hear that,” commuter Louis Ospjna said.

It is a felony to abandon a child under the age of 14. New York State’s Abandoned Infant Protection Act allows a parent to abandon a newborn baby up to 30 days of age anonymously, if the child is left in a safe space, like a fire station, police station or hospital, and in a safe manner.

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KPIX

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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KPIX

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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