Category: CNN Regional

By Mariana La Roche, Hannah Hilyard

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    KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. (WISN) — The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office said investigators arrested eight people connected to a Mexican cartel following a months-long investigation into an organized retail theft ring operating across multiple states.

The investigation led to the execution of search warrants at an apartment on 28th Avenue in Kenosha and a storage unit on May 6.

“I want to say it was 5 or 6 a.m. I had heard like a loud boom,” one neighbor who did not want to be identified told WISN 12 News Wednesday about the apartment raid. “They were all suited up. They had AR-15s. I mean, you could just tell. They had shields. I honestly heard them throw, I believe, it was a flash bang.”

According to the sheriff’s office, the investigation began in March 2025 when Kenosha Drug Operations Group detectives were contacted by Oak Brook, Illinois, police regarding an investigation involving Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A criminal complaint said Illinois investigators “obtained a warrant to put a tracker” on a suspect vehicle and traced it to that apartment in Kenosha.

Investigators arrested the eight suspects and conducted the search warrants at the apartment and storage unit, finding thousands of dollars worth of clothing from stores like Lululemon, Nike, American Eagle and Victoria’s Secret. The total value of the stolen items was around $120,000.

Court documents said the thieves would “work in pairs” and conceal items underneath loose clothing before walking out of stores “without paying for any of the merchandise.” And they covered a lot of ground. Prosecutors said they hit places like the Pleasant Prairie Premium Outlets, Johnson Creek and Mayfair Mall.

The group has direct ties to Cartel La Familia Michoacana in Mexico. The sheriff’s office said four suspects, Fausto Gonzalez-Medrano, Manuel Perez-Sanchez, Yareli Salas-Ramirez, and Danna Paola Gomez, posted bonds up to $25,000 but were detained by ICE and deported to Mexico. They now have fully extraditable warrants.

The remaining suspects, Jose Antonio Baez-Fuerte, Jorge Alberto Villeda-Sevilla, Sharon Jazmin Villeda-Sevilla, and Ana Paola Villeda-Sevilla, remain in custody at the Kenosha County Jail.

“It’s kind of scary just knowing that they were affiliated with the cartel,” the neighbor said.

The operation involved collaboration between multiple agencies, including HSI offices in Houston and Milwaukee, Oak Brook police, and Katy, Texas, police.

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By Krista Tatschl

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    KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMBC) — If you walk by a tall man slyly placing green stickers, stuck to dollar bills, on tables, poles and even in weeds around Kansas City, you’ve probably just crossed paths with “CashStashKC.”

“We hide money around Kansas City for people to find, treasure-hunt style,” says the man, who goes by his social media handle. “This is a cool way to highlight business locations and things to do.”

On Wednesday, KMBC was the only station invited to tag along for a cash drop in the Link tunnel connecting Union Station to Crown Center.

Sporting a black hoodie and walking slowly, he waited until the coast was clear, stooped to place a sticker taped to $100 on a metal pole, and recorded the stash on his phone.

He then edited in a nearby location and posted on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.

“We’d better go back up. People usually show up within minutes,” he said.

He wasn’t wrong.

Within two minutes, a man sprinted to his car, sped into the Union Station parking lot and dashed into the Link. As he searched, he muttered to himself, “Don’t see it, buddy.”

CashStashKC watched with a huge smile from a distance, recording the search. After 10 seconds of hurried hope, the treasure was claimed.

The man took off his hat, held the money up and yelled, “CashStashKC! Hey! Bless up, KC!”

After a few “God bless yous,” he ran out of the Link a little richer, passing others who were only steps behind.

Treasure seeker Jason Wickersheim said, “I was sitting at my desk when he posted four minutes ago. I thought I had a chance. People are fast!”

Others ran into the Link saying, “Just missed it?!” or “I was so close!”

CashStashKC says he started the weekly hunt in April using his own money.

“Now I partner with businesses who want more foot traffic to their shops. Somebody gets to have $100, and that’s great. Why not?”

He currently has almost 48,000 Instagram followers who wait each week for clues to cash.

“People are a little hopeless these days,” he said. “I want to give them something to look forward to. I’m happy to do that.”

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By Miyoshi Price

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    FORT MYERS, Florida (WFTX) — Tiara Brown knows exactly which punch sealed her latest victory. When asked about her favorite weapon in the ring, the WBC featherweight champion doesn’t hesitate.

“That left hook to the body. I hurt her too really bad,” Brown said, describing the moment that changed her title defense fight in Houston. “She said, that’s when I knew, oh, it’s over for you. And then she started holding on.”

The Fort Myers native successfully defended her WBC featherweight championship, proving that her underdog mentality remains intact even as the champion. Brown’s journey from hunter to hunted hasn’t changed her approach – she still fights with the same intensity that earned her the title.

“I always feel like the underdog, you know, I always feel like I’m the underdog. I always feel like I have to give 120% and I’m going to always give 120% in all that I do in and outside of the ring,” Brown said.

Her preparation for the title defense was even more intense than her original championship pursuit. Brown trained in Fort Myers before heading to her gym in Hillcrest Heights, DC, for five weeks of focused preparation.

“I would say I actually trained 10 times harder to maintain and keep this belt than I did when I went to fight for it, because I’m the one like people keep saying,’ well, now you’re the one to target on your back, you went from being the hunter to the hunted,'” Brown said. “I tell them, ‘I’m from Fort Myers. I’ll never be the hunted. I’m always going to be the hunter regardless.'”

Brown’s success extends beyond her individual effort. Her support system includes family, friends, and sponsors who travel across the country to watch her fight. The financial commitment from her supporters doesn’t go unnoticed.

“It’s such an amazing feeling to actually have fans and friends and family that will spend it costs a lot of money, you know, to get a flight, book, a room, and to know that I have people in my life that are willing to do this, it’s just an amazing feeling,” Brown said.

Among her most significant supporters is sponsor Joe North, who attended her first title defense in Texas with his wife.

“Joe North, you know, he’s been such a great sponsor in my career as a pro. You know, he makes sure I have all the things that I need, regardless of what it is,” Brown said. “Everyone knows Joe North is an extremely busy guy. And the fact that he took time out him and his wife to fly to Texas to see me fight it just, oh my gosh, it made me feel so loved.”

The energy from her 239 supporters fueled her performance in the ring.

“I could hear everyone scream and do this, do that. And then people were saying, 239, they know that gets me going. I’m like, 239, for sure. I’m ready,” Brown said.

Brown’s connection to boxing royalty adds another layer to her story. Laila Ali, daughter of Muhammad Ali, not only awarded Brown her championship belt but has become a mentor and regular contact.

“Laila Ali actually awarded me this belt. Not only that, I talked to her last week and on Saturday, like she’s been checking on me, she’s become like a mentor,” Brown said. “And she told me, hey, lay it down on her. Don’t take it easy on her. You know. I’m just like, okay, I have the goat telling me these things.”

The relationship with the Ali family holds special significance for Brown, who considers Muhammad Ali one of her boxing heroes.

“I don’t have Muhammad, but I have Laila, and that’s the next best thing,” Brown said.

Looking ahead, Brown has ambitious plans for her boxing career. She wants to unify all the featherweight belts before moving up to the 130-pound weight class.

“I want to fight everybody with the belts. Anybody in my weight class with a belt. There are three other belts, Amanda Serrano, Nina Meinke, they have the belts. I want to become undisputed,” Brown said. “And then I want to go up to the 130 weight class, you know, to show, hey, I’m here. I’m here to step my name in. And I want to be a legendary fighter.”

Brown maintains her physical condition through disciplined habits, including eight hours of sleep nightly, healthy eating, and drinking at least a gallon of water daily. Her approach to rest differs from conventional wisdom.

“My body feels great, you know. No, I rest when I go to sleep. Other than that, no, it’s game time, baby,” Brown said. “Michael Jordan didn’t rest. Kobe Bryant didn’t rest. You know, they were winning the NBA championship games, and then while everyone else went home with their family, they were still shooting hoops.”

Brown plans to return to the ring in December or January, with her sights set on unifying the featherweight division. Her message to Fort Myers remains consistent with her championship mentality.

“Fort Myers, we are here. We aren’t going anywhere. 239 gang, gang,” Brown said.

“This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WFTX’s editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.”

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By JoBeth Davis

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    BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. (KMBC) — At least four people were taken to an area hospital after a school bus slammed into a building in Blue Springs early Thursday morning.

The incident happened at the corner of U.S. 40 Highway and Missouri 7 Highway around 6:45 a.m.

Video from a KMBC 9 News photographer at the scene shows the bus knocked a large hole into the back of a Comfort Dental location at that intersection.

According to a representative with the Blue Springs School District, the bus was carrying students from Blue Springs South High School at the time of the crash.

Blue Springs Police said the bus driver and three students were taken to an area hospital for treatment. Their injuries are not believed to be serious.

No word yet on what caused this crash. KMBC 9 News has reached out to Blue Springs Police for more information.

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By Matthew Rodriguez

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    LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will honor the employees of a Compton restaurant for helping its community during the anti-ICE demonstrations this summer.

When the protests began during the first weekend of June, La Ceiba Restaurante served as a haven for both deputies and protesters during the demonstrations, with owner Elizabeth Mendoza and her staff helping anyone who came through their doors.

Mendoza, who immigrated from El Salvador, said she sympathized with the protesters, giving them water, food and napkins because the immigration operations affected many of her longtime customers.

“My kids, my husband, we’re OK,” she said in June. “But, I know a lot of people. They don’t have papers. They don’t have anything, but they want to work.”

As the protests escalated on June 8, a violent clash between protesters, law enforcement and other agitators erupted a few feet away from La Ceiba’s front door. Mendoza described the altercation as a war zone.

Amid the chaos, two deputies stumbled into the restaurant after being exposed to tear gas. Mendoza and her staff quickly rushed to their aid, flushing out the chemicals from the deputies’ faces with milk. As more deputies walked into La Ceiba, the restaurant’s staff escorted some to the freezer so they could cool down and handed out food and water.

Mendoza said she helped both the protesters and deputies because they are a part of her community.

“I need to help when the people need me,” Mendoza said in June. “People like me, they work for the community.”

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By Quanecia Fraser

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    KENNARD, Nebraska (KETV) — Some farmers say the recent wet weather has been too much for their crops.

In Kennard, Nebraska, the Thomsen family has been farming for four generations now.

The farm has “corn, soybean, alfalfa and (a) cow-calf herd.”

Like many farmers, a lot of their work is impacted — good or bad — by weather.

This past Monday, that weather brought three inches of rain.

For farmers, rain is usually a good thing, but at the family farm, the rain has been more than typical. That’s caused issues, especially for the corn.

“Because we had rain all summer, the plants really never had time to dry off, so it was a great environment for disease pressure. And we do fungicide our corn for disease pressure, but the plants were so lush that that fungicide couldn’t get through the canopy,” Scott Thomsen said. “So even though we did apply fungicide, we still had disease pressure on the lower half of the plant.”

The farm lost about 30-40 bushels of corn per acre.

“Yields are actually below average from what we typically grow on a ten-year average, and we thought they’d be much above average like they were last year,” Thomsen said.

He said bad weather could impact the standability of their corn.

“So, any kind of storm, it would flatten it. And, if we had a bad windstorm, it would make it unharvestable because it’s about the worst I’ve ever seen it,” Thomsen said.

The hope is that the warm weather coming brings a timely harvest that their livelihood depends on.

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By Karin Johnson

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    MASON, Ohio (WLWT) — A 21-year-old Mason man pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to a felony charge of illegally transporting explosive materials.

James Phillips, 21, was arrested in April by the FBI after agents executed search warrants at his parents’ home on Sentinel Oak Drive in Mason as well as locations in Oxford and Liberty Township.

Investigators said at the time that Phillips spent 13 months building explosive devices in a shed behind the home and then transported them to parks, including the Lebanon soccer complex, to detonate them.

Phillips’ attorney, Scott Croswell, has maintained that this was a hobby for Phillips, who had an interest in chemistry, influenced by his chemist parents.

“Look, a condition of his plea is that he not engage in this type of conduct or even possess the type of chemicals that were used in this. I mean, he’s a young kid, this has been a traumatic thing for him. He’s learned his lesson. I don’t think anyone has to worry about. And frankly, I think if the government felt that there was any likelihood of him repeat misconduct, they would not have entered into the plea today,” Croswell said.

For those in the Mason community who had concerns, Croswell assured, “I think the probabilities of him engaging in this type of conduct, again, is virtually nonexistent.”

Phillips was not formally sentenced Wednesday, but both sides discussed a sentenced they agreed, which would include three years probation and 100 hours of community service cleaning up the park in Lebanon. A sentencing date has not been set.

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By Esme Murphy, Jason Rantala

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    SAVAGE, Minnesota (WCCO) — Police in Savage, Minnesota, are investigating after an infant died at a day care facility on Monday.

According to police, the child died at the Rocking Horse Ranch Childcare facility.

Families of children who attend the facility are asked to monitor their kids and seek medical care if they “exhibit altered mental status, unusual behavioral changes, or other concerning symptoms,” police said.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy and determine the cause and manner of death.

According to the Rocking Horse Ranch website, the facility is licensed to care for children 6 weeks old up through the fourth grade. They employ 22 teaching and support staff.

Neighbors told WCCO they saw a large police presence and an ambulance at the day care Monday morning.

A parent, who had her kids at the daycare up until recently, told WCCO that the news of the death is heartbreaking and shocking. She said she has had very positive experiences with the day care, which she said has an excellent reputation in the Prior Lake and Savage communities.

State inspection records found the day care had four violations. They were corrected in June, and six violations were found and corrected in March. The violations ranged from bathrooms not being clean to hazardous objects being accessible to children.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families said it temporarily suspended Rocking Horse Ranch’s license. The department said it was notified of two instances — one on Friday and one on Monday — of an infant exhibiting respiratory distress symptoms.

“While we cannot provide comment on open investigations, we extend our deepest sympathies to the child’s family and community,” said Randall Keys, the department’s inspector general. “The death of a child is heartbreaking, and the loss of this young life is especially tragic.”

A parent who had kids at Rocking Horse Ranch until recently told WCCO on Wednesday she had very positive experiences with the day care, which she said has an excellent reputation in the Prior Lake and Savage communities.

“I’ve never heard anything negative from families who attended,” she said. “The teachers are exceptionally caring and dedicated, which makes this news all the more heartbreaking and shocking.”

The parent said the last two days have been “confusing” amid swirling rumors.

“What is known at this point is that a baby experienced respiratory distress on Friday, and a 10-month-old tragically passed away on Monday after showing similar symptoms. I am heartbroken for the families,” she said.

State Rep. Nolan West of Blaine says it’s another example of why cameras should be required at day cares.

“If you had access to some sort of camera footage, or somebody did, it could be very quickly verified, what happened, and that’s better off for everyone,” West said.

West pulled his daughter out of a Blaine day care where two workers were charged with malicious punishment of a child and third-degree assault in July 2024. He said he received incident reports for bruising. West then proposed a bill to require cameras in all infant and toddler day care rooms. The legislature only passed a requirement for cameras with active maltreatment violations.

Savage police say they’re investigating the case alongside the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Detective Sergeant Andrew Dahmes at 952-882-2601.

Lisa Weiss, who owns Rocking Horse Ranch, said she had no comment regarding the incident.

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