Category: CNN Regional

By Forrest Sanders

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    CLARKSVILLE, Tennessee (WTVF) — Two people would seem quite different. They grew up in different ways and from different parts of the country. They’re even 85 years apart in age. None of that matters in this wonderful friendship.

“Well, I don’t feel 100,” laughed Col. Joseph A. Peterburs. “Number one, I don’t know how I’m supposed to act at 100-years-old!”

I first spoke to Peterburs in April when he was among 16 World War II veterans boarding a plane for the National WWII Museum.

“We’re going to New Orleans!” Peterburs said.

It was a partnership between the Gary Sinise Foundation and American Airlines. Some Rossview High students out of Clarksville joined to learn the vets’ stories.

“I served 36 years in the United States Army Air Corps and the United States Air Force,” Peterburs said.

In his aircraft Josephine, named after his then-fiance and future wife, Peterburs flew missions over Germany in WWII.

“Ended up being shot down on my 49th mission after destroying six aircrafts,” Peterburs continued. “I became a POW. I escaped.”

Peterburs is today a veteran of WWII, and the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

Flash forward to Tuesday in Clarksville. Olivia Buehler is a 15-year-old at Rossview High in the JROTC program. She was on that flight to New Orleans back in April.

When the Kiwanis Club of Clarksville held its Interview a Veteran Essay Contest, Buehler decided to write about Peterburs.

“He’s definitely had the most experience in the military that I’ve ever met!” Buehler said.

From his home in California, Peterburs read Buehler’s essay. He liked it enough that he flew all the way to Tennessee to be present for the essay reading event.

“It’s an honor!” Buehler said. “I’m very happy he could make it. I knew it was a long shot.”

“I read her essay, and it was just so heartwarming, and I loved it so, so, so much,” Peterburs said. “I just couldn’t miss this. It was a no-brainer.”

There were more than 6,500 essays sent in to the Kiwanis Club of Clarksville. As it turns out, Peterburs is not the only one who thinks Buehler’s essay is pretty great.

“The high school grand winner, Olivia Bueler!” a voice announced.

A surprise congratulations video was sent in from actor Gary Sinise, founder of the Gary Sinise Foundation.

“Joseph, obviously, is a great hero,” Sinise said. “[Bueler], you were moved to write that about him. I just wanted to congratulate you, once again, on winning the essay contest.”

“WWII often seems like a chapter of a textbook,” Bueler read from her essay to the room. “When you sit with someone who lived it, the weight of their courage and sacrifice makes the history come alive once again. At only 19, [Peterburs] drove a P-51 Mustang into a sky of only chaos, fire, and steel to defend vulnerable bombers from German jets. True leadership is not measured in titles or victories but by the courage to shoulder sacrifices for others. Thank you for becoming such a meaningful part of my life.”

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.

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By Tim Fang

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    SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — A jury has convicted a San Francisco man of murder, robbery and other felony charges in connection with a 2019 crime spree that predominantly targeted Asian Americans in the city.

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’ office announced Tuesday that 25-year-old Keonte Gathron was convicted of first-degree murder during the commission of a robbery and burglary. Gathron was also convicted of eight counts of robbery, one count of kidnapping for robbery, two counts of carjacking, two counts of burglary, along with elder abuse and child endangerment.

Prosecutors said the jury also found that Gathron personally used a firearm in three of the incidents.

“Mr. Gathron is now being held accountable for his crimes that terrorized so many in our community,” Jenkins said in a statement. “My office is committed to fighting for justice in every case for as long as it takes.”

Prosecutors said in January of 2019, Gathron robbed seven people over the span of 13 days, with six of the victims being Asian. Three victims were elderly, while three were youths on the way to or from school.

Authorities said one of the victims, 88-year-old Yik Oi Huang, was brutally attacked by Gathron at a park in the city’s Visitacion Valley neighborhood during the crime spree. Huang died from her injuries a year later.

The park, which was next to her home and where she had exercised every morning, was renamed in her honor last year.

Prosecutors said most of the victims spoke little or no English.

“During this trial, each of the surviving victims and witnesses not only had to directly face their assailant who was representing himself – but did so through the use of interpreters, where so much can be lost in translation,” said Assistant District Attorney Nathan Quigley. “It was inspiring to see them each stand up for themselves and each other – to ensure that this man who has already taken so much from so many members of our community will never harm anyone again.”

According to the DA’s office, Gathron remains in custody ahead of sentencing, which is scheduled for Nov. 25.

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By Tori Apodaca

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    WOODLAND, California (KMAX, KOVR) — People across the Northern California city of Woodland were woken up early Tuesday morning by a loud, mysterious boom that rattled windows, set off car alarms and left neighbors wondering what caused it.

A home security camera captured the strange sound and aftermath. In the video, you can hear it start with a whistle, followed by a flash of light and then a big boom.

“I thought it was a bomb, actually,” said Jennie Buse, who heard the loud noise.

What the 5:20 a.m. wake-up call was is still a mystery to investigators with the Woodland Police Department.

“The first thing I thought was it was probably a home that exploded or something,” said Pablo Cruz, who also heard the boom.

People across the Northern California city of Woodland were woken up early Tuesday morning by a loud, mysterious boom that rattled windows, set off car alarms and left neighbors wondering what caused it.

A home security camera captured the strange sound and aftermath. In the video, you can hear it start with a whistle, followed by a flash of light and then a big boom.

“I thought it was a bomb, actually,” said Jennie Buse, who heard the loud noise.

What the 5:20 a.m. wake-up call was is still a mystery to investigators with the Woodland Police Department.

“The first thing I thought was it was probably a home that exploded or something,” said Pablo Cruz, who also heard the boom.

Residents say they have never heard or seen anything like this.

“It was kind of scary,” said Buse. “It kind of threw me off.”

Police said that at this point, they cannot determine what caused it. No injuries were reported.

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By Laurie Perez

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    LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — A couple said their dog became violently ill after eating meth after a Sunday morning walk in North Hollywood.

Karla Vicuña said her dog Atreyu started acting erratically, crying and whimpering after the morning walk.

“His eyes were like just moving around, so something that we’ve never seen before on him,” Vicuña said.

After Atreyu tested positive for methamphetamines, Vicuña and her husband believe the husky-shepard mix may have eaten something in the alley behind their home.

“The doctor said that he was grateful that we got there so fast because he could have had a seizure,” Vicuña said. “His heart rate was over the charts. He had a fever.”

Vicuña said the 12-hour hospital visit cost them $2,000.

In 2023, the California Animal Health and Food Safety Lab System found that marijuana and amphetamines were among the top 20 toxins most asked about on the pet poison helpline.

“So either they start acting very erratic, or on the opposite, some downers will cause them to act very sleepy and depressed,” Dr. Julio Lopez said. “Many times, they have tremors or twitching. Sometimes they will urinate just on their own, without having any reason to urinate.”

In Santa Monica, residents have found flyers suggesting pet owners carry Narcan and warning that narcotic residue in human feces can be deadly to animals if they eat it.

Lopez said that’s probably not needed. While toxic exposure can happen in an instant, he suggested pet owners carry a flashlight at night and monitor their dogs to make sure they don’t ingest anything.

“The quantity that would be in that fecal matter is probably a very small amount, so I don’t expect the dog to be able to ingest enough to really cause any significant danger to them,” Lopez said. “If your vet determines that your pet’s exposure history in the past and likelihood of re-exposure in the future warrant it, they may discuss you having Narcan handy. But again, for the majority of pet owners, it’s not something that you’ll need to do.”

Vicuña said the experience has made the couple nervous.

“He’s not an easy dog, that’s for sure, but we love him,” she said. “He’s a good dog, like he didn’t deserve what happened to him.”

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By Beccah Hendrickson

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    PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — A restaurant review scheme is targeting several Philadelphia businesses and bringing down their online ratings.

At least eight Philadelphia restaurants found dozens of fake one-star reviews on Google last week, potentially impacting their bottom line.

The scam immediately brought down the ratings of all those restaurants and sent owners scrambling to take down the fraudulent reviews.

“We maybe get one or two reviews every few weeks,” explained Nicholas Bazik, the owner of Provenance. “We went from 4.8 to 3.9 overnight.”

He was shocked to find 39 new one star reviews on Thursday morning on Google. Then he started reading them.

“The pizza was soggy or whatever, when we don’t serve pizza, or the curry was watery when we don’t do curry. That was very telling that they’re all fake,” he said.

He also quickly learned he wasn’t the only victim.

At least eight Philadelphia restaurants were targeted, including Ambra and Southwark in Queen Village and Mish Mish in South Philadelphia.

“I turned to my wife and I was like, ‘I think we’re being cyber attacked right now,'” said Alex Tufik, the owner of Mish Mish.

Alex Tufik found the exact same 39 one-star reviews on Friday.

“I saw the review mentioned pasta, which we don’t serve at Mish Mish, we’ve never served pasta at Mish Mish,” he said.

As he kept scrolling, he saw a final post that read, “My WhatsApp number are in my profile picture. You should contact me so that we can remove all these one-star reviews.”

He didn’t message the number, which traces to another country. Instead, he tried to contact Google.

“It’s a really scary process and a really scary time when you’re a business owner and every dollar matters, every day counts,” he said.

While several of the restaurants say the reviews are slowly being taken down, they worry about customers overlooking their businesses because of this scam.

“We don’t have the resources to combat this, and there’s no contact page on Google for us to be like, ‘Hey, this is obviously fraudulent, can you take it down?” said Bazik.

The owner of Mish Mish says when he reached out to his Instagram followers about what happened, they flooded his Google reviews with positivity, helping bring back his rating.

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By Zitlali Solache

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    BOYNTON BEACH, Florida (WPTV) — A Boynton Beach nonprofit is stepping up to help those devastated by Hurricane Melissa, traveling all the way to Jamaica to provide medical care and support.

Living Well Community Care, founded by Dr. Joan Williamson, is a faith-based organization dedicated to serving communities in crisis. Dr. Williamson, a local family nurse practitioner who was born and raised in Jamaica, said her own experiences living through destructive hurricanes in the 1980s inspired her to create the nonprofit.

“When you have experienced poverty of your own, and now you see others going through the same thing, you put yourself in their position,” said Williamson. “And for this reason, I have always had this desire to always go back.”

Last year, her team of doctors, nurses, and medical professionals traveled to assist more than 600 patients after Hurricane Beryl. This time, the impact of Hurricane Melissa has reignited that mission.

“My entire family lives there. Many of them have lost their roofs, they have lost their houses,” said Williamson. “They have still can’t find some of my family members, so this is now more personal for me.”

Williamson and her team plan to travel to rural areas of Jamaica to provide medical assessments, first aid, and antibiotics while also working to prevent chronic diseases through early intervention.

“I’ve just seen extreme devastation. Extreme,’ said Williamson. “Bodies still can’t be found. There’s stench because there are still bodies underneath. The rescue teams-they are doing a great job. But nowhere to live. The houses are damaged. Cuts and bruises and infections.”

WPTV reporter Zitlali Solache also spoke with Veroll Smith, a resident of Jamaica, who described the fear of living through the storm.

“It was one of the most terrifying experiences,’ said Smith. “In Jamaica, we have a style where we say everything is alright, man, everything will be alright, but everything is not alright. I can tell you that. We are not good, we need the help.”

Williamson hopes her organization’s work will bring relief to families like Smith’s. Fifty medical professionals with Living Well Community Care will be on the ground in Jamaica from Nov. 21 through Dec. 6.

“I want people to live well and that’s our ultimate goal,” said Williamson.

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By Ricardo Tovar

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    SALINAS, California (KSBW) — The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office announced that a miniature horse will be sworn in as an “Honorary Community Ambassador.”

Cookie, a 15-year-old miniature horse, will be sworn in on Wednesday.

The sheriff’s office says Cookie was rescued from a “slaughterhouse pipeline” and was severely malnourished.

She was rescued from a Texas “kill pen,” where she had been scheduled to be sent to Mexico for slaughter. According to the sheriff’s office, she was also suffering from multiple health issues.

Monterey County Sheriff’s Deputy Rebecca Gordano saw a social media post announcing Cookie’s arrival at a rescue in Paso Robles. Gordano had recently lost a horse and was seeking a companion for her blind donkey, Violet.

Cookie was adopted and is being raised at the Gordano family’s small farm in Monterey County, along with 30 rescued animals, including pigs, sheep, dogs, cats, turkeys and chickens.

Over the past year and a half, Cookie has made an extraordinary transformation. Once timid and withdrawn, she is now social and curious and enjoys interacting with people—especially children. “Her gentle nature has made her a symbol of compassion and second chances. Her care and well-being are funded 100% by the Gordano family,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release.

Cookie’s first public appearance will be at the Salinas Farm Day event on Thursday, Nov. 6, at the Salinas Sports Complex.

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By Molly Demrow

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    ROCKCASTLE COUNTY, Kentucky (WLEX) — 13-year-old Wynter Wagoner disappeared from her foster home bedroom on Oct. 14, and her family is doing everything they can to bring her home.

“We’re not gonna stop. Like we’re just not. No matter how long it takes. I mean we’ll go anywhere. We’ll do whatever,” said Dovie Kirkland, a family friend helping with the search.

Wynter has been missing for three weeks as of Tuesday, leaving her family with more questions than answers about what happened to her and where she might be.

“She’s been gone for three weeks today. That’s too long for a 13-year-old. You usually have a trail to follow with a child, and she’s a child,” said Haley Whitehead, Wynter’s aunt.

Whitehead believes if Wynter is still out there, she would have to be depending on someone else for help. However, the teenager’s social media accounts have remained inactive, and she hasn’t contacted any family members since her disappearance.

“I do feel like if she could’ve reached out, she would have messaged my daughter. They’re pretty close. They kept in contact pretty steady. And my daughter has been looking for anything, any kind of activity. Nothing,” Whitehead said.

Search crews have spent weeks combing the steep hills and rough terrain along Wolf Creek Road. The challenging landscape reinforces Whitehead’s belief that Wynter didn’t simply run away on her own.

The emotional toll on the family has been overwhelming.

“We go to bed thinking about it. We wake up thinking about it. We can’t concentrate on anything else. And honestly, we’re not going to until we find her,” Whitehead said.

Taking matters into their own hands, Whitehead and Kirkland created a Facebook page called “Where is Wynter B. Wagoner” to spread awareness across the nation.

“We have to be her voice. That’s the goal is just to find out, you know, where she’s at, to know that she’s safe, to get her brought home. I mean, it takes the community,” Kirkland said.

Whitehead has also hired private investigator Sam Cornett to work alongside her in searching for any clues about Wynter’s whereabouts. Cornett can be contacted at 606-550-8888.

If Wynter is out there somewhere, her aunt has a simple message for her.

“We’re just… we’re lost. I don’t wish this on anybody, not knowing if somebody you love is okay. If they’re smiling, if they’re happy, if they’re sad, you know, you don’t where they’re at. Just call us Wynter,” Whitehead said.

The family is offering a $5,000 reward for information that helps them find Wynter.

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