Philadelphia City Council calls for state to take action on license plate readers as privacy concerns grow

CNN Newsource on September 25, 2026

By Raymond Strickland, Alan Wheeler

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    Philadelphia (KYW) — Amid growing privacy concerns, leaders in Philadelphia are asking Pennsylvania to put guardrails in place for Flock cameras and other license plate readers.

Philadelphia City Council passed a resolution Thursday calling for the state to ban or regulate automatic license plate readers, also known as ALPRs.

The cameras, which can track cars and store license plate information, have been at the center of controversy due to privacy concerns.

City council members criticized the cameras and an ALPR company called Flock after reports of police officers misusing the database to spy on and stalk people who weren’t involved in a crime.

Councilwoman Rue Landau introduced the resolution. She said Flock and other ALPR companies need to be regulated.

“We are very quickly giving up our civil liberties under this theory of safety, but we are watching that it’s not making us safe. It’s actually surveilling us,” she said.

Before the vote on the resolution, community members weighed in.

“The cameras are a tool that our law enforcement can use to catch people that are stealing cars,” said one man during the public comment period.

Another speaker said, “Your journey today from your home to this hall has been painstakingly documented without your permission, and there is nothing that you can do about it.”

Philadelphia police said the department does not use Flock but confirmed it has 137 license plate readers across the city. The department said some of its vehicles also have the technology.

Pennsylvania State Police also said they do not operate Flock cameras, but a spokesperson did not specify whether the department uses other license plate readers.

Temple Police did not respond to our questions.

In response to the criticism and calls for a ban, a spokesperson with Flock said in a statement, “A blanket ban would take a proven investigative tool away from communities and officers who rely on it.”

A Flock spokesperson also said the company supports and would welcome bipartisan legislation to regulate the use of the cameras.

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.

Oil Eases, U.S.-China Truce Extended, Consumer Data Ahead

CNN Newsource on September 25, 2026

By Juliegrace Brufke | Quincy News Correspondent

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    Washington (Quincy News) — Market Recap: U.S. stocks finished nearly unchanged Thursday, recovering from earlier losses. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were essentially flat, while the Dow fell 0.3%.

Oil rose after a Houthi missile attack on Saudi Arabia renewed concerns about supply disruptions. Brent gained 3.4% to settle at $106.60 a barrel. The 10-year Treasury yield held near 5.2%, while the 30-year yield extended its rise to a fresh post-2004 high of about 5.50%. Higher Treasury yields have pushed the 30-year mortgage rate to about 7.45%, its highest since 2024, and credit card and auto loan costs could be poised to rise as well.

Today’s Focus: Stock futures pointed higher Friday morning as technology shares advanced. Oil eased Friday after Iran offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear talks within seven days if the U.S. accepts its conditions, though no agreement has been announced.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. and China agreed to extend their trade truce until Jan. 10, but no broader agreements were announced following Thursday’s Trump-Xi summit. The leaders meet again this morning for tea before visiting the National Archives.

August durable-goods orders arrive at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by the final September University of Michigan consumer sentiment index at 10 a.m. The preliminary sentiment reading fell to 47.8, its second-lowest level on record.

ON THE SCHEDULE FOR FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2026

-8:30 a.m. ET – August durable-goods orders

-10 a.m. ET – Final September University of Michigan consumer sentiment index

-Beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET – President Trump and first lady Melania Trump host President Xi and Madame Peng Liyuan for tea, followed by a visit to the National Archives

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Middle Tennessee woman paralyzed after man falls from tree at Louisville music festival

CNN Newsource on September 24, 2026

By Kelsey Gibbs

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    CLARKSVILLE, Tennessee (WTVF) — A Middle Tennessee woman is paralyzed after a man fell from a tree and landed on her during a music festival in Louisville last weekend.

Jamie Will Ulshoffer was attending Louder Than Life with her husband and friends Friday night when the incident happened.

Her niece, Cheyenne Will, said she learned something was wrong after getting a text from Jamie’s husband, Conor.

“I got a text message from her husband Friday night saying something happened at the concert and she was in the ER,” Will said.

When she called him, she learned a man had fallen from a tree and landed directly on Jamie.

“He told me they ended up in the hospital because some guy fell out of a tree and landed on her,” Will said.

Jamie suffered severe spinal injuries. According to her family, doctors said her spinal cord was severed, and she is now paralyzed from the waist down.

Will described her aunt as active and adventurous.

“We’re very big on kayaking, hiking, line dancing,” she said. “We like to stay moving.”

Despite the life-changing injuries, her family says Jamie is staying positive and determined.

“I don’t think she will let it set her back,” Will said. “I think she’ll be determined to still do anything and everything.”

Jamie is expected to remain hospitalized in Louisville for at least another week before her family hopes to transfer her closer to home in Clarksville.

Her family says the recovery ahead will include extensive medical care, rehabilitation and modifications to her home.

Will and her fiancé have set up a GoFundMe to help with medical bills and long-term costs.

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

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.

California sheriff unlawfully seized over 650,000 ballots and must return them, state Supreme Court rules

CNN Newsource on September 24, 2026

By Matthew Rodriguez, Chelsea Hylton

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    LOS ANGELES (KOVR) — The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco violated the state’s election law by ordering his deputies to seize more than 650,000 ballots tied to the Proposition 50 special election.

The justices ruled unanimously in two cases against Bianco, stating that he violated the law when he seized the ballots and also ignored directives from Attorney General Rob Bonta.

The court ordered Bianco to cease his investigation into election fraud claims and return the ballots to county officials. The court also said he must “refrain from further handling of the ballots except as necessary to comply with our order.”

“In short, Bianco’s arguments fail to persuade us that we should interpret section 15551 in a manner inconsistent with its plain text, which mandates that voted ballots remain in the custody of elections officials,” the court wrote in its ruling.

CBS LA has reached out to Bianco for a statement and is waiting for a response. When the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office seized the ballots earlier this year, Bianco, who lost his bid for California governor in the primaries, seized more than 611,000 ballots from the special election in which voters approved a redistricting measure that shifted five of California’s Republican U.S. House seats to be more favorable to Democrats in the midterm elections this year.

Bianco claimed his agency was investigating a complaint from a local group alleging a possible discrepancy in which about 45,800 more votes were reported to California’s Secretary of State. He described the probe as a “fact-finding mission.”

The investigation faced fierce backlash, including legal challenges from California Attorney General Rob Bonta, UCLA’s Voting Rights Project, whose lawsuit resulted in the court’s decision, and local leaders in Riverside who petitioned to have the ballots returned to the Registrar’s Office. County elections officials also disputed Bianco’s claim, saying the machine count and the final count submitted to the state differed by about 100 votes. The Riverside County Registrar of Voters said it “will continue to comply with all lawful court orders and with all legal obligations applicable to election materials and election administration.”

After the filings, Bianco said in late March that he would pause his investigation “because of the politically motivated lawsuits and court filings” before the state Supreme Court ultimately issued a formal order to halt the probe in April.

The ballots were confiscated and held in an undisclosed location during the case, according to Riverside City Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes, one of the local leaders who petitioned the court.

Bianco echoed President Trump’s allegations of election fraud in the 2020 election during a podcast appearance on the Ben Maynard Program in October 2025. “We absolutely know there was fraud,” Bianco alleged, claiming that “mail-in ballots are purposely designed for fraud.”

He reiterated similar claims while the court heard oral arguments, claiming that the investigation was about “corruption in California.”

“There’s not one state constitution that allows for an individual to stop a lawful investigation into a crime,” Bianco said in late August. “This is about whether or not a corrupt attorney general can stop a lawful investigation.” The court also ruled unanimously that Bianco ignored directives from Bonta when he was told to pause his investigation.

“I’m grateful that our State Supreme Court reaffirmed my authority as Attorney General to supervise county sheriffs,” Bonta wrote in a statement. “I take my responsibility to exercise that authority in the public interest seriously. This was an extraordinary situation that required extraordinary action.”

Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former state attorney general Xavier Becerra is part of UCLA’s Voting Rights Project.

Over the weekend, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of bills that would prevent anyone from seizing ballots. “Today’s ruling affirms that in California we will defend democracy — using every branch of government. And the new laws I signed just last week add new protections so attacks like this cannot happen again,” Newsom wrote in response to the rulings. “People deserve to know their ballot is counted and secure, and in California we will do everything we can to protect that constitutional right — this year, and beyond.”

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Jury awards $11 million to children of man fatally shot by LAPD officers in South LA

CNN Newsource on September 24, 2026

By Julie Sharp

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    LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — A Los Angeles jury awarded $11 million to the two children of Wilver Blanco, who was fatally shot by Los Angeles police officers in 2024.

Jurors found two LAPD officers liable for battery and negligence for the South Los Angeles shooting death, with Attorney Christian Contreras calling it unjustified.

During a Thursday news conference, Contreras called 42-year-old Blanco a hard-working man with no criminal history, while Blanco’s children testified in court that their father was their best friend. The shooting took place after police responded to a May 2024 assault with a deadly weapon call, where officers were told Blanco was possibly under the influence of narcotics and that he was chasing an elderly male at the South LA home.

According to a 2024 LAPD statement, when officers arrived, they found Blanco standing behind a vehicle, holding a knife in his hand. Officers ordered him to drop the knife several times, and Blanco allegedly ran toward one of the officers while holding the knife, at which point officers opened fire.

Contreras noted that although the officers had access to less-lethal options, including a taser and pepper spray, they failed to use them. He argued the officers acted as “judge, jury, and executioner” rather than attempting to preserve Blanco’s life.

The $11 million is awarded to Blanco’s 9-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter, who can have access once they turn 18, Contreras said. “My dad was very kind, powerful. Me and him had a very strong bond together. He was always there for me when I needed him. I feel sad without him being here no more,” Blanco’s daughter said at the news conference.

Contreras said the city can still appeal the trial court judgment.

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No signed contract, no upfront payment — and yet a Tenn. couple can’t escape a $16,000 debt

CNN Newsource on September 24, 2026

By Hannah McDonald

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    CLARKSVILLE, Tennessee (WTVF) — A Clarksville couple says a local plumbing company installed a new septic system in their backyard without their consent — and then took them to court when they didn’t pay.

Bernard and Julia Sullivan, both in their 60s, say Freedom Plumbing of Clarksville showed up last October and installed a complete septic system, including field lines, in a project that cost more than $16,000. The Sullivans say they never agreed to the work.

“I didn’t get to talk to my husband about it because it happened so quick,” Julia Sullivan said. “Cause I come to the door and go like, what’s going on? And they said we’re putting in a septic system and running field lines.”

The Sullivans say they were in the middle of working out financing through the VA and were not ready to move forward.

“I wanted to wait until everything got done and settled with the VA people,” Bernard Sullivan said, adding that he also wanted to secure enough money to refinance his home before paying for the project.

Freedom Plumbing started the work anyway, without receiving any payment upfront. When the Sullivans still had not paid, the company took them to court.

“They talking about how if I don’t pay and stuff they’re going to put a lien and stuff on my home,” Bernard Sullivan said.

In January, the Sullivans were sued for $16,401.90 in Montgomery County General Sessions Court.

The lawsuit accuses the couple of breach of contract, wrongfully keeping someone else’s property, and benefiting from work they did not pay for.

At a court date in early September, the Sullivans — without an attorney — met privately with the plumber’s lawyer, without a judge present, and agreed to a payment plan. Their daughter, who was not present and learned of the situation after the fact, said her parents told her they were scared they would lose their home if they did not agree.

Their daughter, LeShonda, said she contacted Freedom Plumbing directly after learning what happened.

Bernard suffers from memory loss after developing sepsis following a UTI.

“I called Freedom Plumbing. We spoke very cordially. He said he’s sorry this happened, he could understand, or he could see that my dad was babbling a lot and didn’t know what was going on, and in my brain I was like, if you knew this, you shouldn’t never even went and did this big of a job,” LeShonda said.

I spoke by phone with the owner of Freedom Plumbing and then with the company’s lawyer. The lawyer says Bernard Sullivan met with the company twice and was given multiple estimates before any work began. The lawyer says the owner scheduled the job with Mr. Sullivan. The Sullivans also had a construction permit from 2024, valid for three years, which I obtained a copy of from TDEC. The company says that permit meant nothing was preventing them from getting started.

But on one key point, everyone agrees: there was no signed contract.

“It doesn’t exist. It’s just an invoice with numbers on it,” LeShonda said. “They just literally went and did this job and then billed my parents this tremendous amount of money.”

The owner of Freedom Plumbing says a verbal agreement is a binding contract. He also says his company called multiple times, pleading to collect payment, and was hung up on.

LeShonda says her parents receive a lot of sales calls and mistook the calls for spam.

Needless to say, the situation has taken a toll on the family.

“He’s been up at night, can’t sleep, and of course it messes with me,” Julia Sullivan said.

The case raises a broader legal question: can a contractor be paid when there is no signed contract, and the homeowners say the work was only supposed to proceed if financing came through? The family is now looking for an attorney experienced in helping older adults navigate this complex legal dispute.

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.

How a bad prom haircut launched an Atlanta barber’s lifelong career

CNN Newsource on September 24, 2026

By Jamal Goss

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    ATLANTA (WUPA) — For master barber Ali Da Barber, a haircut is about more than what a client sees in the mirror. It’s about how they feel when they get out of the chair.

Ali says that understanding started with his own haircut years ago when he was in the eighth grade and preparing for prom. His barber made a mistake, and Ali went home determined to fix it himself.

His mother brought him clippers.

“I had to fix my own cut, bro,” Ali said.

The experience gave him confidence that he could cut hair. Before long, his classmates wanted to see whether he could do the same for them.

“Two weeks later, everybody that went to the prom was like, ‘If you really cut your hair, then shake me up, bro,'” Ali recalled. “I was like, ‘Have a seat.’ And that’s how it all started.”

Those three words eventually became a career. Ali went on to barber school and earned his license. But over the years, he said he learned that clients often bring more than their hair into his chair.

“I mean, a fresh cut, it relieves a person from any and everything that they’re going through,” Ali said. “I done cut people that lost their job. I done cut people to have interviews. I done cut people that got raises. I done cut people that went on tour.” For Ali, those experiences are part of what makes barbering personal.

“The cut makes you feel alive,” he said. “It makes you go get yourself together.” That philosophy was on display as Ali worked on a client named Red. From the wash to the clippers, edge-up, and final look in the mirror, Ali said the visible transformation is only part of what he hopes a client takes away.

“Just knowing that the person is satisfied, man, and knowing whatever they’re going through is going to be all right,” Ali said.

Then he put it more simply.

“A cut is like magic,” he said. “It’s magical.”

Ali also sees his work as part of a tradition that extends beyond individual haircuts. He remembers a time when the neighborhood barber was a fixture in the lives of families and children.

“The barbering was a staple in the community,” Ali said.

He said that’s one reason he cuts so many children and tries to remain involved in their lives. For Ali, the finished haircut may be what people notice first. But some of the work he values most can’t be seen in the mirror.

It shows up in the way someone walks out the door.

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.

Guatemalan national pinned under ICE vehicle while running from agents, state patrol says

CNN Newsource on September 24, 2026

By Christopher Harris

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    ALBANY, Georgia (WUPA) — The Georgia State Patrol says a man was pinned under an ICE vehicle while attempting to run from an immigration stop in Albany, Georgia.

The agency said a trooper was sent to a “vehicle-versus-pedestrian crash” at 5:34 a.m. on Sept. 17 on the Liberty Expressway at Exit 1 in Dougherty County. Dougherty County police officers were already there when the trooper arrived.

According to the GSP, ICE agents had stopped a vehicle in the area, and everyone inside the vehicle ran away on foot. A 2021 Dodge Charger driven by an ICE agent and one of the people who ran “collided in the grassy gore area between the main travel lanes of the Liberty Expressway and the northbound exit ramp,” the patrol said. The collision left the man pinned under the Charger.

Dougherty County EMS took the man to Phoebe Putney Hospital in Albany. The patrol identified him as 28-year-old Edgar Gomez.

An ICE spokesperson gave a different description of what happened when asked for comment by CBS News Atlanta. In a statement, the agency said three people ran from the vehicle stop, and Edgar Borromeo Cabrera-Gomez, a 28-year-old Guatemalan national, lost his footing and slid under an ICE vehicle as the officer tried to stop in front of him. ICE said his injuries were not reported as life-threatening and he is in stable condition pending discharge.

The crash remains under investigation. The GSP said its investigators are still collecting and reviewing additional facts and body camera video from ICE.

ICE said it has removed Cabrera-Gomez from the U.S. four times before. The agency said he will be processed for reinstatement of his prior removal order once he leaves the hospital.

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Man wounded during 2024 Trump rally shooting in Butler County, Pennsylvania dies

CNN Newsource on September 24, 2026

By Patrick Damp

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    PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — One of the men who was wounded in the attempted assassination of President Trump at a 2024 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, has died.

According to the House Republicans’ social media feeds, Jim Copenhaver died two years after sustaining serious injuries.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Jim Copenhaver, who was gravely wounded in the horrific shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania,” the tweet from the House GOP account read. “Jim endured unimaginable hardship with strength and perseverance. We join his family and loved ones in mourning his loss and praying for them during this difficult time.”

Copenhaver was one of two rally-goers injured during the shooting on July 13, 2024. David Dutch of New Kensington was also injured and Corey Comperatore was killed.

One bullet hit Copenhaver in the triceps and another was lodged in his body after it took chunks of his colon, leaving him with nerve damage.

About a week after he was hospitalized, Copenhaver was discharged.

Both Copenhaver and Dutch spoke with KDKA-TV nearly a year after the assassination attempt and recalled the terror that broke out during the campaign rally for Mr. Trump. “I was standing up looking at the Jumbotron behind me, and next thing I know my sleeve has been yanked,” Copenhaver said. “I could see a portion of it going by pretty fast, and I heard ‘pew.’ I heard it, and I didn’t realize at the time that I had gotten shot. But I turned around, and that’s when I got the second shot.”

Copenhaver was 76 years old.

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Ed Sheeran ticket refunds available for Gillette concerts after Massachusetts attorney general steps in

CNN Newsource on September 24, 2026

By Neal Riley

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    BOSTON (WBZ) — Anyone with tickets for Ed Sheeran’s Gillette Stadium concerts can get a refund after Macklemore and other opening acts were dropped from the “Loop Tour,” the Massachusetts attorney general said Thursday, but they have to act fast.

Attorney General Andrea Campbell said dozens of people reached out to her office to complain that they couldn’t get a refund for Friday and Saturday’s shows, which won’t be as long now due to the lack of openers.

“After hearing from nearly 200 consumers who were struggling to obtain refunds from Ticketmaster for Ed Sheeran’s shows at Gillette Stadium this weekend, my office jumped into action to demand that consumers be provided a clear path to get their money back if they no longer want to attend due to significant changes to the lineup,” Campbell said in a statement.

The attorney general said she sent a letter to Ticketmaster “demanding” that the company make an exception to its policy that usually allows artists to cancel or change their opening acts without having to provide a refund to concertgoers.

Campbell said she told Ticketmaster that “unfair or deceptive acts and practices in commercial activities violate the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act.”

“In this case, changing nearly all of the acts and performers at the same time constitutes such a dramatic change in the service that Ticketmaster’s reliance on the purchase policy appears unfair,” the letter stated.

Campbell said anyone who wants a refund can call Ticketmaster customer service at 1-800-653-8000 or follow instructions on their website. Refunds have to be requested at least 24 hours before the show starts, according to Ticketmaster. Ticket prices for the Sheeran concerts have “fallen way off” amid the Macklemore controversy, one reseller said. Floor seats are selling for under $150, according to Ticketmaster.

Macklemore was dropped from the tour after saying “Free Palestine” onstage at a New Jersey concert earlier this month. Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft called Sheeran and said Macklemore wouldn’t be allowed to perform, saying that he has a “broader history of antisemitic rhetoric.” The other two opening acts for Gillette and Sheeran’s backing band also pulled out of the tour after Macklemore was dropped.

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.