Milwaukee mother killed with rock, court documents reveal daughter’s violent past

CNN Newsource on October 14, 2025

By Hannah Hilyard

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    MILWAUKEE (WISN) — A Milwaukee mother is dead after police said someone hit her with a rock in her own backyard.

The medical examiner identifies the woman as 64-year-old Carrie Zettel. On Monday, WISN 12 News obtained a search warrant that identifies the suspect as 29-year-old Lauren Spors, Zettel’s daughter.

“She called me at 3:53 this morning,” close family friend Loretta Moyer said. “Lauren was here beating on the doors, throwing rocks, trying to break in. She called the police.”

Less than 12 hours later, police returned to Zettel’s home near South 23rd Street and West Ramsey Avenue to find a violent crime scene.

The search warrant revealed that Zettel called 911 at 2:06 p.m. Sunday, claiming her daughter was “being violent.”

MPD District 6 officers responded and found Zettel dead.

“It happened in the backyard, and she beat her mother to death with a rock,” said Susan Henderson-Hoffmann, another family friend.

The warrant states that officers found Spors “covered in blood” and arrested her.

“I cannot believe Carrie is gone, but you want to know something? I’m not surprised,” Henderson-Hoffmann said.

She’s not surprised based on Spors’ violent past. 12 News uncovered a trail of run-ins with the courts.

In 2018, Zettel was granted a restraining order against her daughter after penning a handwritten plea detailing her fears of Spors, who struggled with mental health issues. Court records show Spors is accused of violating that order four times. Each time, Spors was found incompetent for the case to move forward.

Court documents show she was taken to the county mental health facility after the fourth event, when she had “thrown a rock through one of the double pane windows” at Zettel’s home. Public records do not indicate how long she was held.

“The girl should have been stopped years ago, and I don’t understand why. And that angers me,” Henderson-Hoffmann said.

Zettel’s restraining order against her daughter expired in 2022.

Spors has not yet been formally charged in Sunday’s crime. Police booking records show she is in custody for first-degree intentional homicide.

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Missouri inmate Lance Shockley denied clemency by Gov. Kehoe, execution scheduled for Tuesday

CNN Newsource on October 14, 2025

By JoBeth Davis

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    BONNE TERRE, Missouri (KMBC) — A man convicted in the death of a Missouri State Highway Patrol Sergeant has been denied clemency by Gov. Mike Kehoe.

Lance Shockley is scheduled to face execution by lethal injection Tuesday in connection with the 2005 murder of MSHP Sgt. Carl DeWayne Graham Jr.

“The murder of Missouri State Highway Patrol Sergeant Carl DeWayne Graham, Jr., who was investigating Lance Shockley’s criminal actions at the time, was an attack not only on a dedicated law enforcement officer, but on the rule of law itself,” Kehoe said in a statement Monday. “Violence against those who risk their lives every day to protect our communities will never be tolerated. Missouri stands firmly with our men and women in uniform.”

Shockley, now 48, was under investigation for his connection to a deadly drunk driving crash in Carter County during which a passenger allegedly riding in the car with Shockley was killed.

Graham was in charge of the investigation into that crash.

In Monday’s release, Kehoe’s office said Shockley went to Graham’s home, where he shot the sergeant from behind, paralyzing him. He was then shot again in his face and shoulder, killing him.

Shockley has maintained his innocence since 2005, with anti-death penalty advocates arguing that Shockley’s trial was “marred with errors” and that the only evidence against him was circumstantial.

Shockley was convicted of first-degree murder with three aggravating factors. His case was reviewed and upheld by the Missouri Supreme Court, the federal district court, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

“Mr. Shockley has received every legal protection afforded to him under the Missouri and United States Constitutions, and his conviction and sentence will remain for his brutal and deliberate crime,” Kehoe said Monday.

Shockley is scheduled to be put to death at the Missouri Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

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Snakes play tug of war with frog on Iowa boat ramp

CNN Newsource on October 14, 2025

By KCCI Web Staff

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    DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCCI) — Friends fishing for walleye in northeast Iowa stumbled upon an epic lunch battle between two snakes this month.

Adam Maas and Chris Valentine were at the Massey Marina in Dubuque County when they saw the snakes snacking on the same frog. Valentine snapped a couple of photos (see them below) and Maas posted them Monday in the Iowa Critters Facebook group.

Maas said they’re not sure which snake won the game of heads or tails.

“The snakes (wrestled) each other into the Mississippi River and drifted downstream, rolling and fighting as they disappeared out of sight,” he said.

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St. Charles Skeleton House displays Taylor Swift engagement, Coldplay jumbotron scandal

CNN Newsource on October 14, 2025

By Metia Carroll

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    Louisiana (WDSU) — Boo! The beloved St. Charles Skeleton House display is now up for all to enjoy with eye-conic moments from this year.

The home at 6000 St. Charles Ave. scares up some great laughs, using skeletons for “punny” lines.

This year, the display continued paying homage to Taylor Swift and the scERAS tour and also included Taylor Swift’s engagement to Kansas City Chiefs Tight End Travis Kelce.

The skeleton house also displayed the spooky viral jumbotron moment that happened in June during a Coldplay concert.

Other fan-favorite and local eye-conic skeletons also made their return this year.

The skeleton display was started by Louellen Berger and has become a tradition in New Orleans.

The home sees as many as 2,000 trick-or-treaters on Halloween night.

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Sheriff warns of dangerous new drug trend ‘green fentanyl’

CNN Newsource on October 14, 2025

By Erin Lowrey

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    TANGIPAHOA PARISH, Louisiana (WDSU) — The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office is warning the public of a new drug called “green fentanyl.”

According to the sheriff’s office, the new trend is rising on the Northshore and in the Metro New Orleans area.

According to the sheriff, green fentanyl has been seized in recent investigations and is known to have the consistency of sidewalk chalk, gel or tar.

The drug can also easily be mistaken for cannabis, which is less potent, according to the sheriff’s office warning.

The drug is extremely potent and has been linked to recent spikes in overdoses on the Northshore.

Green fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin, according to the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office shared the following warning signs of an overdose and encouraged anyone witnessing a possible overdose to call 911 or administer Narcan if available.

TPSO also participates with Operation Angel, a program offering those struggling with addiction to turn to the sheriff’s office to seek treatment, at no charge, without fear of consequences.

Anyone seeking help through Operation Angel can visit any TPSO office or call 985-747-9696.

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OSU fans’ viral shirtless section started with a bet between siblings

CNN Newsource on October 14, 2025

By Alyse Jones

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    STILLWATER, Oklahoma (KOCO) — A shirtless section in Stillwater caught the attention of sports fans across the nation.

Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium wasn’t what many Oklahoma State University football fans hoped for as the Pokes were losing, and the bleachers weren’t full of fans.

“It was the lightest I’ve ever seen it at the beginning of a game,” OSU fan Callista Bradford said.

But the energy changed after Bradford and her brother made a bet.

“I was looking at the student section and seeing just how empty it was and was like, ‘I’ll give you $10 if you go over there and wave that shirt,'” Bradford said.

What started as a $10 bet has now gone viral on social media. Fans said they hope it’s a tradition that continues.

“Maybe it’ll show potential recruits that even in the down season, the fans show up, have a good time, support you. Come join us,” Trent Eaton, Bradford’s brother, said. “(I) sat down, took off the shirt, waved it, nothing happened. A couple seconds later, (I) started waving again and 30-45 seconds after that, a guy showed up and was like, ‘Do you mind if I join you?'”

That second person was an OSU student, one of the few left in the stands.

“I kind of thought to myself this would be a good idea to get the crowd hype and boost the morale in the stadium, so I ran over there, took my shirt off – blinked, and there was thousands of us,” Luke Schneberger, a junior at OSU, said.

The stands got busier and busier.

“We’re watching all these people run across the stadium, just laughing, cheering them all on,” Schneberger said. “I think now it’s more important than ever to rally around our guys and show them they have our support 100%. I wake up every day grateful that I’m an OSU Cowboy, and it’s important to not lose sight of what’s important.”

While the shirtless section started as a bet, Cowboys fans said they hope it continues, win or lose, because it brought a smile during a challenging season.

“Whether they were laughing with me or just laughing at a guy with his shirt off, if you’re laughing, it’s going to make your day better,” Eaton said.

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The special significance behind Nebraska and Minnesota’s ‘Broken Chair Rivalry’

CNN Newsource on October 14, 2025

By Quanecia Fraser

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    Nebraska (KETV) — Nebraska’s game against Minnesota Friday will be special in more ways than one.

Each year, the rivalry raises several thousand dollars for cancer research and more.

And that rivalry is symbolized with a broken chair.

“It started as (people on the) internet having fun,” said Evan Reeder, who is part of the group behind the trophy.

In 2014, a parody Twitter account for Nebraska’s then football coach posted, “OK how about if we win you give me $5, if you win I get to smash a wooden chair over your back.”

That’s when an account under the name “Goldy the Gopher” replied, “Just as long as we can turn that $5 or bits of broken chair into a trophy for next year’s game.”

“Within a week, there was an actual trophy built,” Reeder said.

And within a few years, it was about more than a trophy.

Reeder told KETV, “In the last three or four years, it’s really grown to the fact that when we walk around, people are like, ‘Is that the chair?'”

It’s now turned into a challenge to see which fan base can raise the most money for two important causes.

One of them is the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. The other is the Team Jack Foundation, which raises money for pediatric brain cancer research.

“It’s actually raising significant funds and helping us further our missions, so it’s been really fun to do, but it’s also been very impactful,” said Kylie Dockter, the executive director of the Team Jack Foundation.

In the last eight years, more than $170,000 has been raised for the charities.

Dockter says that with Jack Hoffman passing away earlier this year, the tradition is even more special.

“With anything we do this year after Jack has passed away. For us, it’s more urgent and it’s more important. And really, we’re going to continue to push as hard as we can,” Dockter said.

Both Dockter and Reeder hope people take the time to continue the tradition that goes well beyond the football field.

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Good Samaritan, dispatcher team up to save man from burning car

CNN Newsource on October 14, 2025

By Rachel Whelan

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    BATESVILLE, Indiana (WLWT) — What started as a drive down a quiet country road quickly turned into a life-or-death situation for one man — and a stranger who refused to look the other way.

Robert Chamblin says he was driving along St. Marys Road in Batesville on Aug. 29 when he saw a car lose control, flip over into a ditch, and catch fire. Instead of just calling for help, Chamblin jumped into action.

“There was no one else there to help him and he needed help,” Chamblin said. “I would hope someone would do the same for me.

Chamblin called 911 as flames began to spread from the bottom of the car. On the other end of the line was Ripley County dispatcher Tim Costello, who calmly guided Chamblin through what became a tense rescue.

“Just one person, he’s getting out of the vehicle and I’m going to help him get out of the car because there is smoke and flames coming from the bottom,” Chamblin told Costello during the call.

Chamblin put his phone down to pull the driver away from the burning vehicle. Costello stayed on the line, waiting for several tense minutes. Then finally, Chamblin said he driver was safe and about 40 to 50 yards up the hill from the flames.

“Alright, Robert, good job, good job,” Costello said in the recording. “We’ve got everyone coming to you as quick as we can.”

Weeks later, Chamblin and Costello met in person for the first time. The Ripley County Sheriff’s Office honored Costello with a Life Saving Award for his steady guidance during the emergency.

“He did an amazing thing and I was very inspired by his actions,” Costello said. “I feel he needed the recognition.”

But Chamblin insists the real heroes are dispatchers like Costello.

“I helped a guy one time,” Chamblin said. “They do it every day. These guys deserve all the respect and recognition in the world.”

Due to privacy laws, officials cannot release the injured driver’s name. Chamblin says he hopes to learn more about his condition — the last he heard, the man was flown to UC Medical Center with a hip injury.

If you have any information or know the driver involved, contact newsdesk@wlwt.com.

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Woman hospitalized after wooden plank crashed into her while taking shelter during Redwest weather delay

CNN Newsource on October 14, 2025

By Devin Oldroyd

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    SALT LAKE CITY (KSL, KSL TV) — A woman is in the hospital after a large piece of scaffolding from a nearby construction site struck her during a wind burst Saturday.

Lt. Leigh Willis with the Salt Lake City Police Department said the incident occurred at 1055 West North Temple, close to where the Redwest Festival was scheduled to take place.

According to Willis, promoters for the event had paused the festival due to the wind, heavy rain and hail at around 5 p.m.

During the pause, the woman got into her car to take shelter from the weather. At some point she got out of her car and stood nearby it.

During a burst of wind, a large plank from the scaffolding of a nearby construction site crashed into the woman and her car.

She was then taken to a local hospital to treat her injuries. Willis said she is in critical condition.

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Zach Martin chasing his lifelong dream through a viral TikTok shop

CNN Newsource on October 14, 2025

By Emma Hamilton

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    RICHMOND HILL, Georgia (WJCL) — For five years, the familiar scent of French fries had been the backdrop to Zach Martin’s life. Every shift, he put on his uniform and greeted customers at the Richmond Hill McDonald’s, a steady, reliable presence. His manager, McDonald’s Second Generation Director, Justin Stanberry, attested to his dedication. “Zach was a great employee,” he said. “He was great on the customer service side. Everybody loved to see him. He just made everybody feel good on a daily basis.”

But last Friday, with a box of celebratory donuts in hand, Martin walked through the restaurant’s doors as an employee for the final time. He’s taking a leap of faith, trading his steady job for a brand-new adventure—one that has already taken the internet by storm.

Martin is 26-years-old and on the autism spectrum. He has always had a dream of doing art for a living. He’s making that dream a reality. “I wanted a dream job,” he simply stated when asked why he opened the shop. He’s creating woodland-themed ornaments and cards and selling them through his own TikTok shop.

With the help of his mom, Erika, Zach launched his online store. The small, handmade items—like a beautiful Christmas tree card featuring a design Zach had personally drawn—has quickly captured the hearts of the internet. The response was immediate and overwhelming. In just six weeks, Zach’s shop generated $23,000 in sales.

The sudden boom shocked both Zach and Erika. “Completely overwhelmed. It took us by surprise. We weren’t prepared,” Erika admitted. She had been hesitant at first, unsure if people would trust a new shop on TikTok. But the community support was massive, and now, their home has become a bustling workshop as they work hard to fulfill hundreds of orders. Every single ornament and card is carefully handmade by the mother-son duo.

For Erika, there is no greater joy than seeing her son’s art appreciated by so many. She hopes their story sends a powerful message about ability and opportunity to others. “A lot of people don’t think that people on the spectrum have these capabilities or these possibilities, and they really do,” she said. “We just have to learn to make the world accessible to them and help them do it.”

Now, Zach is fully focused on his booming TikTok shop. When asked if he was ready to take on the shop full-time, his answer was a resounding “Yeah.” He’s already thinking of new creations, like turning some of his other paintings into new card designs.

Zach is having his own art show on Friday, November 7, from 6-8 p.m. at the Richmond Hill City Center in JF Gregory Park. Not on TikTok? You can also purchase Zach’s work on his website.

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