Author: KESQ

Jesus Reyes

NEW YORK (KESQ) – New York City’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner identified three more people killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, including a Palm Springs woman, 24 years later.

On Thursday, Mayor Eric Adams and Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason Graham announced the IDs of Barbara Keating of Palm Springs, Ryan Fitzgerald of Floral Park, and another woman whose name was not released. 

The announcement happened thanks to advancements in DNA testing, including increased test sensitivity and faster turnaround times. It has allowed officials to identify remains that had tested negative for identifiable DNA for decades.

“Nearly 25 years after the disaster at the World Trade Center, our commitment to identify the missing and return them to their loved ones stands as strong as ever,” Graham said. “Each new identification testifies to the promise of science and sustained outreach to families despite the passage of time. We continue this work as our way of honoring the lost.”  

News Channel 3’s Jeff Stahl highlighted Keating’s story in 2021, when St. Theresa Catholic Church in Palm Springs held its annual remembrance ceremony.

Keating was aboard American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles. It was the first flight to crash into the World Trade Center towers in New York on September 11, 2001. Keating wasn’t even supposed to fly that day, but was rushing home a day early from her annual summer vacation to help the family with childcare.

The remains of about 1,100 victims remain unidentified.

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Kenji Ito

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ)– The Coachella Valley Firebirds re-sign forward Landon McCallum to a one-year AHL contract for the 2025-26 season. 

NEWS: The #CVFirebirds have re-signed forward Landon McCallum to a one-year, AHL contract for the 2025-26 season.

Welcome Back, Landon!https://t.co/znLazY8h3H #LetsFly pic.twitter.com/JgFhIPxvT3

— Coachella Valley Firebirds (@Firebirds) August 7, 2025

McCallum, 21, played with the Kansas City Mavericks, the Firebirds ECHL affiliate, this past season. In 65 games, the 21-year-old had 15 goals, 24 assists, and 39 points.

Before his stint with the Mavericks, the Delhi native spent the past four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Sudbury Wolves. The undrafted rookie in 246 games found the back of the net 49 times, tallied 104 assists coming out to 163 points.

In his last two seasons with the Wolves, McCallum made his mark averaging a point per game. The 5’11” forward scored 120 points in 132 games.

McCallum will have the chance to be paired with two former teammates, David Goyette and Nathan Villeneuve.

Goyette had 18 points in 54 games, and Villeneuve had one point in five games played.

Both Goyette and Villeneuve have multiple years in their contract left, so the three former teammates will be reunited for quite some time.

Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing coverage of the Coachella Valley Firebirds all season long. 

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Athena Jreij

PINYON PINES, Calif. (KESQ) — As firefighters enter day four of containment on the Rosa Fire, News Channel 3 is giving viewers an inside look at the command center housing, feeding and sustaining fire crews.

The camp is set up near Lake Hemet where dozens of corresponding agencies have come together, including Riverside County Sheriffs, CalFire, and others.

Tune in this evening for a tour of the center and an inside look at how agencies are working to achieve full containment on the fire.

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Kendall Flynn

LA QUINTA, Calif. (KESQ) – Highway 111 is getting a roadway improvement in La Quinta through a $7 million project. The City said the project was delayed multiple times waiting for federal funding, but now they are anticipating an early end to the project in mid-September.

The roadwork is needed in the area after residents originally faced bumpy roads, pot holes and more. However, its causing long travel days for locals on their daily commute as lanes are closed, traffic lights are off and four-way stops are in place.

Many of the intersections along Highway 111 between Washington Street to Jefferson Street commuters cannot turn left onto side streets because of the inner lanes closure. But locals said they’ve seen drivers turn anyways, causing traffic, road rage and sometimes nearly accidents. 

Lana Clyde is an Indio resident, but takes the 111 through La Quinta daily, especially during the school year. She said she’s worried about safety and traffic once school starts in a few days. 

“Yesterday we had somebody stopped in the middle of the road. Nobody can turn until she moved out of the way, but she had to wait for the other,” Clyde said. “It’s just kind of a scary thing, especially with children.”

The City of La Quinta said it’s taking steps to find solutions for parents ahead of the school year. City officials will be meeting with Desert Sands Unified School District to make alternate route maps for parents. 

The City has also been working to decrease construction impacts by crews only working at night. The schedule change minimizes driver impacts and keeps crews safe in the heat. They will also start Saturday construction schedules Aug. 9 for extra hours, working toward the mid- September end date.

Stay with News Channel 3 to hear from residents about the construction impacts.

The City of La Quinta said all residents and Valley locals can receive updates through text messaging, emails or through the city website. 

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Jesus Reyes

OASIS, Calif. (KESQ) – Three mosquito samples from the Oasis community tested positive for St. Louis Encephalitis virus, the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District said today.

“Detections like this should serve as a reminder to wear insect repellent when outdoors,” Public Information Manager for the district Robert Gaona said. “Repellent with at least 30% of an active ingredient like DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR3535.”

The samples were collected near the intersections of Johnson Street and Avenue 81, Avenue 82 and Avenue 84.   

St. Louis Encephalitis virus spreads when a female mosquito bites an infected bird and that mosquito can become a carrier to transmit to people, the district said. If a person becomes infected, symptoms could develop with fever, headaches, body aches and in some rare cases, death.

There is no human vaccine for a mosquito-borne virus.   

With the addition of the three positive samples from Oasis, the number of positive mosquito-borne viruses in the Coachella Valley increased to five this year. However, no human cases of any mosquito-related viruses were reported in the state.  

The agency urges the public to take precaution to reduce the risk of mosquito bites, which includes to dump and drain standing water around homes where the insects can breed and to use EPA-registered insect repellents when outdoors, especially at dawn or dusk. In addition, to ensure any window and door screen were in good repair and to report any mosquito problems to the district.

District officials said they will deploy additional technicians to the affected areas to conduct treatment using truck-mounted applications in order to prevent further spread of the virus and reduce  mosquito populations.   

More information can be found at www.cvmosquito.org.

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Jesus Reyes

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (KESQ) – An outage left more than 10,000 customers without power for several hours during triple-digit heat in the Indian Wells area.

According to Southern California Edison, the outage was first reported just before 9 a.m. Power was restored to most customers after 1 p.m.

News Channel 3 received reports that Palm Desert residents were also impacted by the outage.

Click here for a list of cooling center locations

There was no word on the cause of the outage.

Stay with News Channel 3 for any updates.

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Garrett Hottle

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) Purple Heart Day honors the men and women of the Untied States Armed Forces who have been wounded or killed in combat. 

The Purple Heart was originally established in 1782 by General George Washington as the Badge of Military Merit, and is one of the oldest and most respected military decorations still in use. The Palm Springs Chapter of the Air and Space Forces Association said it’s “a symbol of courage, resilience, and dedication beyond self.”

Stay with News Channel 3 to hear from officials on the importance of the day of honor. 

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Luis Avila

LA QUINTA, Calif. (KESQ) – A week has passed since the Robinson family lost nearly everything in a devastating house fire that broke out in La Quinta.

News Channel 3 spoke exclusively with the father, Errin Robinson. He recounted the terrifying moment he learned about the fire. He immediately called his wife to make sure she was safe. She had just left the house minutes before the flames began to spread.

Although no one was home when the fire broke out, the family’s dog was inside. What remains of the house is a charred shell — boarded-up windows, warning signs, collapsed ceilings, and piles of debris.

“It was just like a bomb hit it. Everything was just burned.”

Errin Robinson, father

This comes as Robinson faces another battle: cancer.

Despite the devastation, Robinson, a beloved volleyball coach, says he has been overwhelmed by the support from the community.

“I never saw it coming so… I never do things to get things in return… but to see all that blessing and love to come back from the community was humbling and I’m thankful.” 

Errin Robinson, father

As they await answers about what caused the fire and navigate insurance, the Robinsons are temporarily staying with Errin’s mother in Salton City. He remains focused on giving his children a sense of normalcy through it all.

For information on ways you can help, click here.

Stay with News Channel 3 for more.

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María García

UPDATE 8/7/25 6:17 AM – One more eastbound lane has reopen. Officials confirmed that no one was inside the vehicle when it caught fire, and no injuries have been reported.

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif (KESQ) – A big rig caught fire early this morning on Interstate 10, shutting down traffic in the eastbound lanes.

The fire started just after 4 a.m., just west of the Bob Hope Drive exit. Flames and heavy smoke were seen rising from the truck, blowing across the freeway.

Tow trucks and Caltrans crews were called in to help clear the road. So far, there’s no word on whether anyone was hurt.

One eastbound lane has just reopened, but drivers should still expect delays in the area.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Stay with News Channel 3 for any new updates.

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Shay Lawson

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ)  – As students return to school and sports, desert temperatures remain a familiar concern.

Dr. Alex McDonald, a sports medicine specialist with Kaiser Permanente, said physical activity is critical but so is caution.

“We want to make sure our kids are healthy and active,” McDonald said. “However with the residual heat in August and September, we want to make sure we’re taking precautions.”

Palm Springs Unified School District (PSUSD) began its school year Wednesday, as it has for years.

In a statement to News Channel 3, Joan L. Boiko the Coordinator of Communications & Community Outreach, said:

PSUSD has started each school year the first week of August for the last several years. The reason for the earlier start is two-fold: 1) Our high school students are able to complete mid-terms or finals before winter break and come back to a new semester rather than having to spend their winter break preparing for exams or completing work and 2) While most districts have two weeks off for winter break and one week for spring break, PSUSD has three weeks for winter break and two weeks for spring break. 

While the other two valley districts begin a week or two after PSUSD, the heat factor is the same until way after Labor Day. Our students are protected from the heat on our school buses and in our classrooms. We monitor heat risks and ensure that students are not outdoors if it is unsafe. 

Matt Garrison, Desert Christian Academy athletic director, said they’re staying on top of heat protection.

“We’ll do a little more film time,” Garrison said. “We might be in the weight room a little bit more.”

Stay with News Channel 3 for the full report at 10 and 11 p.m.

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