Nurses throw surprise graduation for Colorado School of Mines senior diagnosed with cancer

CNN Newsource on May 22, 2026

By Olivia Young

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    GOLDEN, Colorado (KCNC) — A Colorado School of Mines senior recently diagnosed with leukemia graduated in the halls of his oncology ward in a surprise ceremony put together by his care team.

David Boylan’s sister says he is an outdoorsy 21-year-old who loves hiking and camping. He was about to graduate a whole year early from the Colorado School of Mines with a degree in chemical engineering when the shocking diagnosis upended his life.

Days before graduation, Colorado School of Mines senior David Boylan got a stomachache. When it intensified, he went to urgent care and then the ER, where a high white blood cell count raised serious concerns.

“Within those labs, they saw something wrong with his blood counts, being his white blood cell count and his hemoglobin, his platelets, and within that determined that he was pretty high risk of having some kind of blood disorder at that point. And that’s when he got sent over to us, and that’s kind of our specialty,” said Alex Meier, a registered nurse in the UCHealth Bone Marrow Transplant Unit.

He was quickly admitted to UCHealth’s Bone Marrow Transplant Unit with a diagnosis of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, an aggressive blood cancer.

“I met David that morning,” said Meier. “It’s really tough to see somebody kind of just starting their life, just getting ready to graduate, receiving that diagnosis right at the beginning.”

The diagnosis meant that crossing the commencement stage was not an option; Boylan needed immediate treatment. Come graduation day, instead of tossing his cap, Boylan found himself preparing for his first round of chemotherapy.

“Cancer is not picky, and it oftentimes shows up in times when no one would expect it,” said Elise Slater, charge nurse at the UCHealth Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. “I just felt for him, and then quickly pivoted to, like, ‘Well, what can we do?'”

But little did Boylan know, the nurses caring for him had something up their sleeves.

“First thing in the morning, a few people came to my desk and said, ‘You know, David’s supposed to graduate today,’ and I said, ‘I did hear about that,’ and next thing I knew, we were getting the balls rolling,” said Slater. “I knew the accomplishments he had achieved at that point, and knew what was supposed to happen for him that week, and our team took it upon themselves to make that a special moment for him, and it was a huge group effort.”

Providers rushed to buy supplies and covertly set something up in the hall.

“Our advanced practice providers were running all over the hospital, finding a cap and gown. Our manager was going to get balloons. It turned into a bigger thing than I ever anticipated,” said Meier.

Then Meier asked Boylan to take a walk with him.

“At that point my heart was beating, and then I walked around that corner and just saw how many people had come out and all the work they had put in, and that was just shocking for me, and just incredible,” said Boylan.

“Oh. Oh wow!” Boylan exclaimed in a TikTok video of the surprise posted by his sister, Sara.

After putting on a Mines hat and gown, David Boylan walked his very own processional as a team of medical staff cheered him on.

“This week wasn’t supposed to look like this,” Meier said emotionally in the TikTok video. “There were supposed to be caps and gowns and a stage.”

“I definitely about lost it with the first couple of words, and then again inspired by him and his strength in that moment,” said Meier. “The strength that David showed in that moment, and just taking life as it comes, and you never know what’s around the corner, and never know the hand you’re gonna get dealt, but just being able to manage that and push through that.”

A one-of-a-kind ceremony honored a young graduate facing his hardest challenge yet.

“He just showed so much appreciation, family showed so much appreciation. And that just really reinforced that we did the right thing in that moment, and we really made that a special day for him. And [we] weren’t just viewing him as a cancer patient, but viewing him again as a person, and highlighting all the good things that he had done up to that point and will continue to do throughout his life,” said Meier.

“It was beautiful. I’m just so glad that we were able to do it,” said Slater. “I think that it filled everyone’s cup, not just David and his family. Our specialty is hard. Working in oncology is hard, and anything that we can do to celebrate victories, whether they’re related to disease or not, is, I think, something that anyone on our team would jump at the chance to do.”

Boylan’s sister says she’s never seen such an act of love and described his reaction as emotional and extremely grateful.

She says the first phase of his treatment at UCHealth is expected to take about a month.

Boylan already has an engineering job lined up in Colorado. His sister says he has faith he’ll be able to start it later this year.

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Newport Beach family members say they are terrified that grandmother’s murderer could be granted parole

CNN Newsource on May 22, 2026

By Michele Gile

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    NEWPORT BEACH, California (KCAL, KCBS) — A Newport Beach family is living in fear after the man who murdered their grandmother 30 years ago may be considered for parole.

Shannon Wadsworth, the victim’s granddaughter, is speaking out, pleading for Gov. Gavin Newsom to block the release.

“I’m terrified. My entire family is terrified,” Wadsworth said. “He should not be on the streets; he’s not safe. He even said in his parole hearing that he has the possibility to commit this crime again, a crime of sexual nature, and that says it all.”

In the 1990’s, teenager James Dennis Lynch made headlines after pleading guilty to the brutal rape, robbery and murder of his Stockton neighbor Hilda Boggianno.

Lynch was sentenced to 36 years to life in prison. He’s served 30 years, and Wadsworth worries a release could happen at any time.

In an email, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation responded that Lynch is not scheduled for release.

“The Board of Parole Hearings made a preliminary decision on Jan. 15, 2026, regarding this case. A grant of suitability does not mean the automatic release of an incarcerated person,” CDCR wrote. Any decision will still go through a comprehensive review.

The convicted killer, according to Wadsworth, qualifies for early parole under the youth offender program.

Adding to her fears, Wadsworth says her personal information was provided as a crime victim, and she was told it was mistakenly passed on to her grandmother’s killer.

About a dozen years ago, the letter from Lynch arrived.

“I was hysterical. I had panic attacks. I consulted an attorney. I talked to the warden,” Wadsworth said. “The warden stripped-searched him and his cell and found all my information hidden in his mattress.”

If Lynch is granted parole, Wadsworth said she was told he would have to wear an ankle monitor for a period of time, between three and 10 years. “But even so, those can be faulty; they can’t keep track of him all the time. The battery could wear out, he could take it off,” she said.

The CDCR noted in its email that grants of parole are proposed decisions and become final only after a “thorough and comprehensive review by the Board of Parole Hearings and the Governor, which can take up to 150 days.”

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LAPD officers clear rat-infested homeless encampment in Pico Union

CNN Newsource on May 22, 2026

By Lauren Pozen

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    LOS ANGELES, California (KCAL, KCBS) — Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department cleared a rat-infested homeless encampment in a Pico Union neighborhood on Thursday. But hours later, people started setting up tents on the sidewalk again.

Neighbors and business owners said this is the frustrating cycle they’ve become accustomed to near the intersections along West Olympic Boulevard.

The crackdown in District 1 was part of the city’s CARE+ program, in which outreach teams, sanitation crews and LAPD work together to clear encampments. LAPD’s Rampart Division posted videos and photos of rats darting through the sprawling encampment on Instagram.

“When people ask why we do enforcement at homeless encampments, this is why,” officers wrote in the Instagram post.

Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez said the area has been a longtime hotspot for public health and Americans with Disabilities Act violations.

“Staff from our office were on-site during the operation alongside outreach workers and community partners, and have been working to connect these individuals with housing and resources,” Hernandez’s office wrote in a statement.

City leaders said the operations, including Inside Safe, are part of a bigger effort to reduce homelessness across LA, something that the Mayor’s Office said is working.

“This is why Mayor Bass, in contrast to past city leaders, created the city’s first comprehensive strategy to address encampments,” Mayor Karen Bass’ office wrote. “Before she took office, homelessness was rising year after year. Under her leadership, it has declined for two consecutive years, including a nearly 18% drop in street homelessness.”

The neighboring businesses and residents believe the operations are short-term solutions. Similar to what happened on Thursday, they said they report it to 311, the area is cleared, and within hours, people are back on the sidewalk again.

“It is very difficult because people don’t come inside,” business owner Cruz Varilla said in Spanish. “They see the people who live on the street.”

Varilla, who owns Varilla Pizza on Alvarado Street, said there’s also a growing concern about safety.

“I am afraid,” Varilla said in Spanish. “I put cameras because of the people.”

Hernandez’s office said crews will continue working to connect people living in the area with housing and services. LAPD said the operation led to several arrests and multiple citations.

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Fairfield police release video of officers arresting 2 high school students involved in fight

CNN Newsource on May 22, 2026

By Brandon Downs, Steve Large

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    FAIRFIELD, California (KOVR) — The Fairfield Police Department released body camera footage of officers breaking up a fight and arresting two students at Fairfield High School on Wednesday as a video of the incident circulated on social media.

Officers said they responded to the high school shortly after 12:30 p.m. due to a fight on campus that involved multiple students.

One student fought a school official who was attempting to break up the fight, police said. The officer requested emergency help and saw one student attempting to pull something out of a backpack during the fight.

The officer believed the student was grabbing a weapon and confiscated two backpacks. Police said they later found sharp objects in the backpacks, including a screwdriver.

The student was then escorted to a school office by the officer, as a large crowd followed them. Once that student was in the office, the officer contacted a second student, who they say was still trying to fight.

Police said the student refused to listen to the officer and ran into the large group, where more fights were taking place.

When the officer tried to detain the student, police said the student hit the officer. The officer was able to grab the student and escort him toward the school office.

But the student pulled away and was “displaying aggressive behaviors,” police said. At this time, additional officers arrived at the scene, and one officer took the student down to the ground.

Police said the student continued to resist arrest and placed his hands over his head and covered his face. An officer tried to place the student’s hands behind his back, but was unsuccessful.

This is when police said the officer hit the student, calling it a “distraction strike to the second student’s hands.” The officer then tried again to place the student’s hands behind his back, but was still unsuccessful.

“The officer applied additional distraction strikes, which resulted in the second student complying and placing his hands behind his back,” police said.

That student was then arrested as a large group of students surrounded officers.

The first student who was placed into the school office then escaped, but was soon after arrested, police said.

The police department addressed a video on social media, saying it’s committed to transparency and released body camera footage. Viewer discretion advised.

Police said the two students, who were not identified, were arrested for causing a disturbance on a school campus and resisting arrest. They were not injured in the incident, police said. No officers were injured either.

“That officer needs to be investigated, the school needs to be investigated and these kids need more safety by the staff or the police that they have on campus,” said Anhloc Harris, a friend of the student’s family who came to the school to protest the actions by police.

Fairfield Suisun Unified School District issued a statement reading that the police department is conducting an investigation, as is the site administration.

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San Francisco’s “canine court” expected to reopen amid growing backlog of cases

CNN Newsource on May 22, 2026

By Kenny Choi

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    SAN FRANCISCO, California (KPIX) — San Francisco’s “canine court” is expected to reopen after a year without hearings for vicious and dangerous dog cases.

The pause has left a growing backlog of cases and frustrated dog bite victims who say they have had no legal route to proceed.

San Francisco resident Ati Soleimani says her dog Charlie isn’t the same these days after he was mauled by a pit bull in Golden Gate Park three years ago.

“He’s been fearful. He gets scared pretty much by everything and anything,” Soleimani said.

“She sees a pit bull, and plants himself, starts whining, and does not want to go forward. He just changed completely.”

Soleimani said the attack was so vicious that Charlie had to undergo emergency surgery.

Vicious dog attacks, including the 2001 case of Diane Whipple, a woman who was mauled and killed by two dogs in her apartment building, eventually led to the formation of San Francisco’s canine court.

SFPD’s Vicious and Dangerous Dog Unit, which investigates cases with only a few officers, says reported dog attacks have been rising over the last several years.

“The vicious and dangerous dog hearing process is really important for the city and when you do have a problem dog,” said Sally Stephens. “We were very distressed to hear that there had been a year-long process with no hearings happening.”

SFPD says this year, only 66 cases are ready for hearings, out of about 1,000 reported attacks piling up since last summer.

City officials say backlogs are growing because there’s no dog court judge to hear cases since last year, partly because of budget issues and lack of funding.

District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill has been pushing to reopen canine court.

“This about keeping dogs safe and people safe,” Sherrill said. “Accountability is incredibly important in San Francisco. Above all, this is about safety. This is about us living in a city together, and this is about government doing the right thing.”

Soleimani says the absence of a dog court and backlogs led to hostile exchanges with the pit bull’s owner.

“I was actually fearful because that guy really threatened me and my dog over the phone,” Soleimani said.

The city’s canine court determines whether a dog should be classified as “vicious” or “dangerous,” and what restrictions should be imposed to protect public safety, including mandatory muzzling, obedience training, or, in extreme cases, euthanasia.

San Francisco Chief of Public Safety Steven Betz says the mayor’s office has found long-term funding to reinstate a hearing officer.

“The police department will manage clerical work for the hearings, and we have a fund where a hearing officer shall be hired who will independently hear these cases,” Betz said.

Dog owners like Soleimani believe the restart of dog court is a much-needed step in the right direction.

“After you know all this, I spoke with a lot of people. just on the street, a lot of people get attacked by dogs and people get attacked by other dogs,” Soleimani said.

City officials say they are in the process of hiring a new hearing officer and that the city’s dog court will be operating again starting in July.

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Former Livermore LDS bishop charged with sexually abusing minors decades ago

CNN Newsource on May 22, 2026

By Carlos E. Castañeda

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    LIVERMORE, California (KPIX) — A former bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was charged with sexually abusing minors in Livermore during the 1990s and early 2000s, authorities said.

On Thursday, Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson announced that Michael Delar Morris was arraigned Wednesday on 18 felony counts of non-forcible sexual assault involving four separate victims. The alleged crimes happened approximately between 1991 and 2001 while Morris served as an LDS bishop in Livermore and supervised a church-affiliated boys’ youth group, according to a press release.

“This case involves deeply troubling allegations of abuse of trust and authority involving children,” Jones Dickson said in a prepared statement. “Our office remains committed to pursuing justice for survivors of sexual abuse, regardless of how much time has passed, whenever the law permits prosecution.”

According to the complaint, the charges include multiple counts of oral copulation of a person under 16, lewd acts upon a child, and sexual penetration by a foreign object. The crimes allegedly took place at victims’ homes, the defendant’s home, and at the LDS church on Hillcrest Avenue in Livermore.

Prosecutors have filed several special allegations alongside the primary charges. These include claims that the offenses involved great violence or cruelty, targeted particularly vulnerable victims, and were carried out with deliberate planning, the complaint said.

The DA’s Office said that the case was investigated by more than one law enforcement agency in coordination with the office. The circumstances of Morris’s arrest, including the day and location, were not immediately disclosed.

The Livermore Police Department directed all requests for information about Morris’s arrest to the District Attorney’s Office. CBS News Bay Area has contacted the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for comment.

Morris’s bail was set at $920,000, the DA’s Office said. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office said Morris posted bail on Thursday. His next court date was scheduled for Friday at the East County Hall of Justice in Dublin.

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Chicago couple doing their best to stay strong as husband battles ALS

CNN Newsource on May 22, 2026

By Edie Kasten, Joe Donlon

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    CHICAGO, Illinois (WBBM) — May is ALS Awareness Month, and a Chicago couple is tackling the devastating disease head-on.

Falling in love and getting married was easy for Cecil Puvathingal and Grace Christian

“I like to say that I knocked it out of the park on August 3rd of 2018. That’s the night that I met this beautiful young lady,” Puvathingal said.

“Within the first five minutes we met, I told him, ‘Listen, I don’t want to date for an infinite amount of time,'” Christian said. “‘If you want the same thing, we can move forward. If not, I can go home right now,’ and he said, ‘You know, the food’s really good here,’ and next thing you know, it’s history.”

Building their family was not as easy as that first date, but after five rounds of IVF, Puvathingal, who works in the tech industry, and Christian, a nurse, finally got the news they’d been waiting for.

“We found out I was pregnant in March of last year,” she said. “We were so happy, and then all of a sudden, he kept saying, ‘Oh, I’m not feeling well. Something’s going on.'”

Puvathingal started feeling numbness and tingling sensations.

“I could see him trying to open the window and struggling,” Christian said.

Puvathingal was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, on July 9, 2025. Christian was four months pregnant, and their joy quickly turned into dread.

“It was like someone just punched the heck out of everything that we had planned,” she said. “As a nurse, it’s a curse. It’s a curse, because I know where this is going to end, and, as mean as it sounds, I hope the Lord has mercy; either he gives a miracle, or he takes him before.”

ALS is a fatal neuro-muscular disease. It affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control the ability to move, walk, and talk.

People with ALS eventually lose voluntary movement, the ability to chew and swallow, and even the ability to breathe on their own. There is no cure.

ALS patients also lose the ability to do simple tasks that we all take for granted. Puvathingal’s caregiver has to help him with those every day.

Puvathingal and Christian’s baby, Lizzy, is just six months old, and Christian feels like she’s being torn in every direction.

“I play chess with my husband’s life. I try to stay ahead of everything,” she said. “Sometimes I feel like I’m not doing a good enough job for either of them, I’m not giving 100 percent.”

But Puvathingal calls his wife “Amazing Grace,” his saving grace. He believes that life is all about how you look at it.

“I don’t think anyone would blame us for being upset, angry, frustrated. They wouldn’t blame us for yelling at the world, but I just don’t choose to look at life that way,” he said. “I’m in a wheelchair, but I can still kiss my wife. I’m batting a thousand, because I have my wife by my side. I have our daughter that she’s holding.”

“I have my family and my friends that jump in every single day to help us,” he added. “I still have a lot going for me. We still have a lot going for us.”

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Brother and sister charged with attacking Chicago police officer who tried to give them ticket in McKinley Park

CNN Newsource on May 22, 2026

By Marissa Perlman

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    CHICAGO, Illinois (WBBM) — A brother and sister have been charged with attacking a Chicago police officer with brass knuckles after he tried to give them a ticket Tuesday night in McKinley Park.

Michael Sopher, 33, has been charged with aggravated battery to a police officer, one count of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, and one count of violating the sex offender registry. His sister, 31-year-old Monica Mejia, is charged with two counts of aggravated battery to a police officer and one count of criminal damage to property.

Cook County prosecutors said the pair have a history of violence against police and knowingly attacked Officer Kevin Mangan while he was in uniform on Tuesday night, knocking out his teeth.

Mangan’s family said he was just doing his job when he was attacked.

“These are violent criminals, career criminals, and they should have never been let out for their previous crimes,” said Mangan’s mother, Carol.

Investigators said Mangan was on scene at 37th and Marshfield when Sopher and Mejia pulled up and blocked Mangan’s squad car and an ambulance from leaving.

Prosecutors said Mangan tried writing them a ticket. That’s when the confrontation started.

Police said Mejia tried to break the window of Mangan’s squad car, and then pushed him and his partner when they tried to detain her. Prosecutors said Sopher attacked Mangan with brass knuckles, punching Mangan in the face.

Mangan lost several teeth in the attack, and was still in the hospital on Thursday, recovering from his injuries

Mejia’s defense attorney argued the siblings were responding to an emergency at their father’s home, and had begged the officers not to write them a ticket before the confrontation turned physical.

Prosecutors and the officer’s family said Mangan was attacked because he was in a uniform.

“I think that also what our family wants to convey is that no police officer should have to second-guess their actions when their life is at risk,” said Mangan’s aunt, Denise McBroom.

Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), whose ward includes the scene of the attack, said “there is nothing simple” about police officer’s jobs anymore.

“The job of a police officer is already difficult. We have a society that rewards lawlessness, we have a city that elevates criminality, and we have institutions and political leaders that seek to demonize the police on a daily basis,” he said.

Prosecutors said both Sopher and Mejia have a history of violence against police officers.

According to prosecutors, Mejia was convicted of aggravated battery against a police officer in 2022. In 2023, she was charged with resisting arrest.

Prosecutors said Sopher also has a lengthy criminal background dating back to 2021, including convictions of sexual assault of a child in Indiana, and several car break-ins. Court records show he also was charged last year with domestic battery and resisting police, but the charges were dismissed.

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Community mourns 14-year-old Aledo student killed in ATV crash hours before graduation

CNN Newsource on May 22, 2026

By Amelia Mugavero

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    ALEDO, Texas (KTVT) — The Aledo community is mourning the loss of 14-year-old Brayden Martin after school officials confirmed the 8th grader was killed in an ATV crash Wednesday night, just hours before he was supposed to graduate middle school.

Aledo Independent School District confirmed Martin’s death to CBS News Texas. An Aledo ISD trustee and Martin’s select baseball team also said the crash involved an ATV.

In a statement to families, the district said extra support staff were on campus Thursday for students and teachers grieving the loss.

“We had extra support at Aledo Middle School this morning for our students and staff,” the district wrote in part. “We have asked our entire community to pray for Brayden’s family, friends and teachers.”

Martin’s death has sent shockwaves through the close-knit North Texas community, where friends, classmates and teammates have shared tributes online.

His select baseball team, the Wildcatters NTX 14U Place, posted a heartfelt message honoring their teammate.

“Brayden was more than a teammate — he was family,” the team wrote. “His love for the game, his smile, and the impact he made on everyone around him will never be forgotten.”

The post continued: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Martin family, his teammates, coaches, and all who knew and loved him during this unimaginable time. Forever a Wildcatter. Forever #10.”

Shane Davis also shared condolences online as memories and prayers poured in across social media.

Another Aledo family says they understand the unimaginable grief the Martins are now facing.

Glen Bates lost his 11-year-old son, Noah, in a UTV crash four years ago while riding on a ranch with friends. Bates told CBS News Texas that the pain of losing a child never goes away.

“You know, when you lose a child, you enter into a club that no parent ever wants to be a part of,” Glen Bates said. “And, it’s a lifelong journey.”

Glen Bates said his son was thrown from the vehicle after the boys lost control. He was killed instantly.

After Noah Bates’ death, the Bates family created the Noah Bates Memorial Foundation, focused on ATV and UTV safety education and training.

Federal safety data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission shows children under 16 make up a significant number of ATV-related deaths and injuries nationwide. A majority of those deaths are boys.

“These accidents are preventable,” Glen Bates said. “It just takes engagement. It takes conversation.”

Martin’s family has asked for privacy as the community continues to rally around them.

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Family seeking justice after woman’s death at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility

CNN Newsource on May 22, 2026

By Terell Bailey

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    YPSILANTI, Michigan (WWJ) — The Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti, Michigan, is back in the headlines after two women died in the prison within a week.

One of those women was 28-year-old Khaira Howard, who died on May 13.

“I had to go and see my baby lying on a table,” said Howard’s mother, Shaquillia Deshields.

“I want to say my daughter was in distress medically, and they did not take care of her.”

Howard’s family is now on a quest for justice. The family says she had only been at Huron Valley for less than a year.

Howard’s death comes days before the death of 57-year-old Rebecca Fackler. An investigation is also ongoing in that case.

“Two dead women in under a week – that means something’s wrong,” said family attorney Timothy Holland.

Howard’s family claims the 28-year-old was denied proper medical care while in prison. They claim red flags started almost immediately once she was transferred to the Washtenaw County facility.

“She also called me and reached out and said, ‘ Dad – they had me cleaning some type of ventilation system. Mold was coming down as she was putting the water up. Mold was coming down on her,” Howard’s father, Don Howard, told CBS News Detroit.

Howard was set to be released days before her death.

“The system failed here. I don’t think there’s any other way to say it,” Holland said.

Current and former inmates allege inhumane conditions and a lack of medical care at the prison. State lawmakers also reviewed a report released earlier this year by a nonprofit organization about alleged conditions.

The family says it isn’t quite clear how Howard died, but they’re seeking accountability from the state and the employees at the prison.

Following Howard’s death, the Michigan Department of Corrections said in a statement, “Life saving measures were initiated by onsite staff and EMS was called where they continued life saving measures upon arrival to the facility, but attempts were unsuccessful.”

“The department takes the safety and security of its facilities, staff, and those under our supervision very seriously and has comprehensive processes and medical protocols for health emergencies. This includes processes for assessing patient health by qualified onsite staff, requesting outside emergency medical services if needed, and conducting life saving measures such as CPR.”

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