Category: CNN Regional

By Karina Vargas

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    SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The ongoing federal government shutdown is forcing thousands of Transportation Security Administration officers in San Diego to work without pay during the busy spring break travel season.

At San Diego International Airport, TSA officers are still showing up to keep travelers safe, but behind the scenes, many are struggling to make ends meet.

Alondra Galvan is a single mother and a TSA officer currently working without pay because of the partial government shutdown.

“It’s very frustrating for everything, from financial restraints to mental instability. There’s times that at night I’m like what am I going to do, how am I going to do it,” Galvan said.

Galvan has been working as a TSA officer for two years. She said she has been trying to bounce back from the longest government shutdown in U.S. history last year, where she went without pay for 43 days. Now, it is happening all over again. For her, this shutdown is more than just politics; it is personal.

“I’m a single mom right now, my son usually goes to spring break camps, and I can’t afford that right now because there’s no money coming in, and I just don’t know what to do anymore. There’s no babysitter. I don’t have money to pay a babysitter, so it’s all around bad,” Galvan said.

The union representing TSA workers held a food bank for them. Galvan said anything helps.

“It’s just eggs, milk, and some vegetables, and some rice, but for me, that’s what we eat on the daily basis,” Galvan said.

Galvan said she decided to continue going to work, but she does not know how much longer she can handle it. She is already starting to look for other jobs to fall back on because she is being stretched thin financially.

“I’m down to my last like $100 and I just put gas in my car that was $50 I don’t know how I’m going to do it the next two weeks,” Galvan said.

The Department of Homeland Security said that since the shutdown started, over 350 TSA officers have left the force, and more continue to call out. TSA workers like Galvan want this to end.

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.

By Michael Martin

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    SALT LAKE CITY (KSTU) — Three people have been arrested, including two listed as juveniles, after the site of the proposed ICE detention center in Salt Lake City was vandalized.

The vandalism at the warehouse located west of Salt Lake City International Airport included graffiti with a swastika that had a line going through it, and the words, “Kill all Nazis.” Several windows at the facility were also smashed, and what appeared to be paint was on the door.

The incident occurred during a large protest held at the warehouse Wednesday in which hundreds gathered to express their anger over the planned detention facility after ICE purchased the building last week. Multiple state and city leaders, including Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Republican Sen. John Curtis, have denounced the proposal for various reasons.

Chase Fredrickson, 18, was arrested early Thursday and faces charges of Property Damage and Riot. According to court documents, Fredrickson was allegedly captured on video throwing rocks at the exterior of the ICE warehouse during the protest.

“The throwing of the rocks caused the glass to shatter and break,” the arrest report said.

The identities of the two juveniles were not released. The court documents do not connect Frederickson or anyone else to the graffiti painted outside the building.

Federal agents on the scene told the arresting officer with the Salt Lake City Police Department that the damage was estimated to be $3,000.

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.

By Brad Hamilton

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    SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — Hard work done in the dark is about to bring the famed Bay Lights back to the Bay Bridge.

Bart Ney, who has spent the majority of his 30-year career at CalTrans, has focused on one of the busiest and biggest overpasses in the world.

“I was on the team that built the new eastern span. I’ve worked on the Bay Bridge for 20 years,” Ney told CBS News Bay Area.

On one particular night, he’s happy to work the late shift to see firsthand the finishing touches on the revitalization of the Bay Bridge lights.

First introduced in 2013, the original collection of over 40,000 bulbs that lit up the structure sparked attention like never before.

“The original Bay Lights were such a hit globally. We had media from all over the world doing stories on the Bay Lights, kind of putting the Bay Bridge kind of back in everybody’s view,” he explained.

However, in 2023, the lights were shut off after years of environmental wear. That decision was made by the artist behind the project, Leo Villareal.

“There was kind of an uproar in San Francisco. People said, ‘We want this back, this has become part of my therapy,’ it has become part of the city,'” Villareal told CBS News Bay Area.

The project, privately funded, cost $11 million to replace the original installation and embark on a new chapter.

“The exciting thing for me is that the way it provokes a sense of wonder and awe,” Villareal added. “It just dazzles people and people can’t help but talk to one another.”

Ney adds that the positive feedback they’ve received since announcing the return is just another sign that this project was worth the time and effort it took to make it happen.

“There is 48,000 individual LED lights in this installation. The western spans of the Bay Bridge are two miles long. They are over 500 feet above the water at the highest points, so it’s a lot,” Ney said.

On March 20th, an official ceremony will celebrate the relighting of the Bay Bridge.

But on this night, the crews who made it happen are having a little celebration of their own.

They’ve spent countless long hours in the dark, bringing the shine back to the Bay Bridge.

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.

KPIX

By Brad Hamilton

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    SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — Hard work done in the dark is about to bring the famed Bay Lights back to the Bay Bridge.

Bart Ney, who has spent the majority of his 30-year career at CalTrans, has focused on one of the busiest and biggest overpasses in the world.

“I was on the team that built the new eastern span. I’ve worked on the Bay Bridge for 20 years,” Ney told CBS News Bay Area.

On one particular night, he’s happy to work the late shift to see firsthand the finishing touches on the revitalization of the Bay Bridge lights.

First introduced in 2013, the original collection of over 40,000 bulbs that lit up the structure sparked attention like never before.

“The original Bay Lights were such a hit globally. We had media from all over the world doing stories on the Bay Lights, kind of putting the Bay Bridge kind of back in everybody’s view,” he explained.

However, in 2023, the lights were shut off after years of environmental wear. That decision was made by the artist behind the project, Leo Villareal.

“There was kind of an uproar in San Francisco. People said, ‘We want this back, this has become part of my therapy,’ it has become part of the city,'” Villareal told CBS News Bay Area.

The project, privately funded, cost $11 million to replace the original installation and embark on a new chapter.

“The exciting thing for me is that the way it provokes a sense of wonder and awe,” Villareal added. “It just dazzles people and people can’t help but talk to one another.”

Ney adds that the positive feedback they’ve received since announcing the return is just another sign that this project was worth the time and effort it took to make it happen.

“There is 48,000 individual LED lights in this installation. The western spans of the Bay Bridge are two miles long. They are over 500 feet above the water at the highest points, so it’s a lot,” Ney said.

On March 20th, an official ceremony will celebrate the relighting of the Bay Bridge.

But on this night, the crews who made it happen are having a little celebration of their own.

They’ve spent countless long hours in the dark, bringing the shine back to the Bay Bridge.

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.

By Chase Houle

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    MORROW, Georgia (WXIA) — Sabrina Wideman-Reese said she was eating at Las Trojas on Mt. Zion Road in Morrow on Sunday when she bit into something sharp.

“Why would somebody do this? It could have turned out worse.”

She said a 1.5-inch razor blade was mixed in with her lettuce, cheese and meat. According to Wideman-Reese, she felt something cut her lips and tongue before realizing what it was.

After spitting out her food, she said she saw the blade.

The incident comes at an already difficult time for Wideman-Reese. She says she buried her husband, the father of her two daughters, less than two weeks ago.

“He, he fought hard to stay here with us, but he God said otherwise.”

She said finding the blade only added to a very traumatic time in her life.

“I was thinking that my kids would have been orphans if I would have swallowed it,” she said.

The Morrow Police Department said there is an active criminal investigation into the incident, including whether the blade ended up in the food accidentally or intentionally.

Out of curiosity, 11Alive’s Chase Houle looked up when their last health inspection occurred.

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health Las Trojas was last inspected on Feb. 5, receiving a score of 81. The report noted about a handful of violations, including containers of food stored on the ground. The report also noted that many of the violations had be cleared up at the time of the inspection.

When Houle asked for a comment, the restaurant’s manager declined.

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.

By Paula Wethington

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    UPPER PENINSULA, Michigan (WWJ) — A horse that was wandering outside amid blizzard conditions in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula found shelter with the help of Michigan State Police.

The horse had escaped from its farm on Monday and ran about a mile north along M-129 during the winter storm, state police said.

Michigan State Police helped direct a horse to safe shelter during a winter storm on March 16, 2026, in the Upper Peninsula.

Troopers from the MSP Sault Ste. Marie post and a U.S. Border Patrol agent coaxed the horse to walk into a neighbor’s barn and stay there until the owner could arrive and retrieve the animal.

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula were hit by a late-season winter storm over the weekend that resulted in ice and blizzard conditions.

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.

By Sidney Moore

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    DOWAGIAC, Michigan (WBND-LD) — Weski Wesaw is a son, brother, but most of all a fighter; after going through a traumatic event, he managed to come out on top. But before that event, Wesaw had a very ordinary childhood. Wesaw was the first baby in the family who loved to play and wrestle, but unfortunately that all changed one winter day. Wesaw says, “I was wrestling, and my coach fell on it, so, like, he bruised it, and, like, my legs started, like, hurting really badly when I started walking. So we got to check that.”

The family then found out Weski had a form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma. Felicia Wesaw, Weski’s grandma tells ABC57’s Sidney Moore that the whole family tried their best to stay strong for Weski after hearing this devastating news. Felicia says, “You don’t cry in front of them. That’s because they’re already fighting the biggest battle of their life, which is life and death. And how do you explain that to a child? He was just a child. He was just a just a little kid, you know.”

Unfortunately, this diagnosis felt all too familiar as Felicia’s daughter, Yvonne Rosario Ortiz, had the same form of cancer, which she was able to fight until 2009, when she passed away. Weski quickly had to make a decision that would shape his life forever, to keep his leg or to lose it. His aunt chose to not amputate anything after her diagnosis, which then led the cancer to spread throughout her body.

Felicia Wesaw, Weski’s Grandma explains, “He got his leg amputated, a little bit above his knee, but they had to go back in and shave it again. So that was twice, and he was like, he’s just a young guy.”

After losing his leg, Weski explains that he fell into depression after this big change. “I didn’t go to school at all, like, I think I missed, like, I had to have award for like, missing the greatest number of days, or something. I didn’t go to school at all, and I didn’t have no motivation. I felt like I was out of place. I felt like by having one leg and walking around with a whole bunch of kids around my age, I felt like I was alone.”

But one day that all changed when speaking with the school secretary Tonya Brooks Weski decided he wanted to wrestle again. They brought the idea to Athletic Director Brent Nate who was unsure about the outcome but was all game. “I’m not going to lie to you, in my mind, I’m like, thinking, how in the heck is this going to happen? And Coach Brandt was like, absolutely. I think I just looked at him, like, okay, you say it. I go. The coach says it’s going to happen. We’re making it happen.”

After that conversation, it was game on. Tonya Brooks the School Secretary says, “You could see the light in his eyes, and you could tell how excited he was to have it was almost like an A moment of acceptance for him after everything had went on, and it gave him the drive, or it gave him a reason to come to school.”

With only one leg, Weski had to relearn the sport, telling ABC57’s Sidney Moore it’s a completely different approach. “It’s a whole different ballpark from normal wrestling. I have to really think about it like my moves and what works the best for me.”

Now he is competing between 144-to-165-pound bracket depending on where the team needs him.

Weski now is pushing to the future hoping to continue wrestling in college along with a double major in business and engineering.

He also hopes to get a prosthetic leg come may to be able to walk across the stage at graduation so Secretary Tonya Brooks can turn his tassel.

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.