Category: CNN Regional

By Logan Smith

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    Colorado (KCNC) — Denver Public Schools board members voted unanimously May 20 to dismiss a 50-year-old foreign language teacher following a district investigation and an independent review into student complaints about a class assignment.

The board voted 7-0 after meeting in executive session to consider the firing of Jennifer Honka. Honka taught French Language and Culture at Northeast Early College for all of her eight years with the district. Officially, Honka was fired for incompetence and neglect of duty. There was no public debate among the board members prior to the vote.

Honka’s classroom instruction first came into question during the 2023-24 school year. She had received the highest possible rating in district assessments the prior three years. But then students approached other teachers and complained about skits in Honka’s class in which they were asked to kiss one another.

According to the independent review, issued on April 30th, a copy of which was obtained by CBS Colorado, those students were always the same sex.

One student told an NEC chemistry teacher about the skits in April 2024.

“The student was very uncomfortable and did not know what to do,” the report stated. “She went ahead and kissed another student at (Honka)’s direction. The student then shared a digital meme with (the chemistry teacher) that included a picture of (Honka) and the caption ‘she makes girls kiss.’ The meme had circulated among the students.

“After this incident, the student’s attendance decreased dramatically.”

One student interviewed directly in the independent review also testified that Honka always selected girls to act in the skits. Despite a nearly 50/50 split among boys and girls in the class, the student “could not recall Honka choosing a boy actor.”

This student refused to participate and testified that she received a zero score for a grade on this assignment.

Another student said she walked out of the class.

An NEC English teacher testified that several students approached her as well. One of the students “appeared upset and defeated,” as stated in the independent review. “The student told (the English teacher) that she had been asked to kiss three other girls in one of (Honka)’s skits.”

Those skits were titled “The Neighbors Saw Everything” and “The Boring Kiss,” according to the report. The latter involves characters who were dating. The script for “The Boring Kiss” includes three different moments when the characters are directed to kiss each other.

One student told the independent reviewer that Honka posted a classroom rule – “the answer is always ‘yes'” – that was commonly referenced by Honka and used to pressure students to take part in the skits. Part of students’ grades relied on their performance in the bi-weekly skits, according to the report.

Honka, per the report, had openly disclosed to the class and the school’s principal that she was a lesbian and active in LGBTQ support.

Warren, the principal, filed a report with the Denver Police Department after a third student reported the kissing during skits. She collected statements from the three students and presented them to authorities as a mandatory child protection reporter, according to the independent review.

No criminal charges resulted from the filing of the police report.

No staff witnessed the alleged kisses during skits, either, per the independent review.

Meanwhile, Honka testified that she did not force students to kiss and would give them alternatives such as blowing a kiss or “fist bumps” if they were uncomfortable. One of the complaining students, in fact, did testify in the independent review that Honka “would allow students to pretend to kiss.”

Honka was described in the independent review as having 24 years of experience as a teacher. CBS Colorado was unable to reach Honka for comment. Honka told investigators she believed she was the subject of discrimination based on her sexual orientation. But, according to the independent review, Honka has filed 18 grievances against the school district as a representative of the teachers’union. According to the school board, none of them included a discrimination claim.

An administrative law judge from the State of Colorado, Keith J. Kirchubel, wrote the independent review.

“Regardless of whether (Honka) ‘forced’ the participants to kiss, her choice of script forced them to express their preferences and consent about a very personal and sexualized activity on the spot in front of their peers,” Kirchubel stated. “They were also forced to determine whether they were comfortable dissenting from the direction of the script to their teacher, who was in a position of control over the situation.

“[W]hile the notion of using skits as a way to teach French Language may have been effective in general, the way it was implemented by (Honka) was irresponsible and inappropriate.”

At the same time the complaints arose about the skits, other reports were made about Honka. Those included allegations that she conveyed personal information with her class — including details about her history as a victim of child abuse, her struggles with infertility, and her consideration of suicide.

Honka, in the report, claimed sharing those details was an attempt build rapport, to make students feel safe and able to relate with an adult they could safely talk to.

It didn’t work on one student in her class who had suffered suicidal ideations of his/her own, according to the independent review. That student walked out of the class.

Honka claimed she had no knowledge of that student’s mental health history.

The state’s administrative law judge did not agree with her tactics.

“(Honka)’s disclosure (about her own history of abuse) was reckless and completely disregarded the potential effects on the class,” Kirchubel wrote, and exhibited, in addition to the other complaints, he wrote, Honka displayed “a troubling pattern of poor judgment and neglect of the best interests of the students in her charge.

“Her choice of skits, her implementation of them, and her repeated disclosure of sensitive and potentially traumatizing information amounted to incompetence and neglect of duty as it was shown to have negative effects on (Honka)’s students with little or no educational value.

“Interestingly,” he added, “for all of her asserted interest in a diverse and accepting environment at school, it was (Honka) who attributed the outcry by the students to their strong Christian backgrounds. That statement had its own discriminatory ring.”

At the conclusion of its initial investigation, DPS staff recommended Honka be terminated. Honka appealed that recommendation, a right granted through the Teacher Employment, Compensation and Dismissal Act (TECDA) of 1990. That then brought in Kirchubel, an administrative law judge from the state. Kirchubel heard testimony presented from both sides – Honka and the district.

Kirchubel, referred to by the board as the hearing officer in its May 20 meeting, supported Honka’s dismissal.

The board had the choice to retain Honka, place her on a one-year probation, or terminate her, according to a district spokesperson.

Honka was described in the independent review as having 24 years of experience as a teacher.

Rob Gould, a special education teacher and president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA), released a statement:

“Every student—regardless of race, identity, or socioeconomic status deserves to feel safe, seen, and welcomed at school. The safety and well-being of our students, families, and educators must remain at the center of every decision we make.

“When safety concerns arise, they must be taken seriously and addressed with care. That means allowing time for a thorough investigation while ensuring due process is respected.

We recognize that the Board of Education has taken action and understand the importance of addressing these concerns in a thoughtful and responsible manner. As we move forward, we remain committed to ensuring every student has the safe and supportive learning environment they need to learn, grow, and achieve their full potential.”

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 Christa Swanson

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    Colorado (KCNC) — Colorado Parks and Wildlife has salvaged over 1,000 trout from Antero Reservoir as Denver Water continues its efforts to move water downstream.

Due to Colorado’s prolonged drought, the reservoir is being drained into the Cheesman Reservoir. Denver Water says approximately 25% of the water would have evaporated over the year if it had stayed in Antero, and the move will preserve approximately 5,000 acres of water.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife approved a fish salvage for Antero in April in anticipation of the reservoir’s closure. Bag and possession limits for all species were lifted at the reservoir through May 13, before it closed to public access.

CPW aquatic biologists and Denver Water staff also worked to remove as many fish as they could, salvaging over 1,000 trout through electrofishing. They say 981 rainbow, brown, cutthroat and other hybrid trout species have been relocated to Eleven Mile Reservoir. The remainder was released into the South Fork South Platte River.

“It felt great to be able to salvage fish from Antero Reservoir and relocate them to another location where they can be enjoyed by anglers,” said CPW Northeast Senior Aquatic Biologist Kyle Battige. “Antero can grow some really nice trout, and we were able to move 981 fish over to Eleven Mile State Park. We appreciate the close coordination and support from Denver Water along with the thousands of anglers that participated in the emergency public salvage effort, a key to ensure some of Antero’s fish did not go to waste.”

CPW says the fish were moved to Eleven Mile to keep them in the South Platte River basin. They added that stocking operations at Antero will resume once the reservoir is refilled.

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 Kassia Bonesteel

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    California (KPIX) — Richard Tillman, brother of the late National Football League star and U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman, was sentenced on Monday to five years in federal prison for setting a San Jose post office on fire in 2025.

In February, Richard Tillman pleaded guilty to one count of malicious destruction of government property by fire for setting fire to the U.S. Post Office on Crown Boulevard on July 20, 2025. The post office’s lobby went up in flames around 3 a.m. after Tillman backed up his vehicle into the building, doused it with lighter fluid, and then set fire to it – and the fire logs that were in the vehicle.

The fire quickly spread from the vehicle to the Post Office, destroying its lobby. It has not been available to the public since.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Tillman said he set fire to the facility to “make a point to the United States Government.” Tillman’s family said he had been suffering mental health issues for years.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila also sentenced Tillman to three years of supervised release and ordered Tillman to pay restitution of $2,371,682 to the United States Postal Service.

The 45-year-old Tillman is the youngest brother of Pat Tillman, the Bay Area native who ended his football career with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the Army with his other brother Kevin and become Rangers. Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan in 2004 by friendly fire.

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 Carmela Karcher

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    SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY, California (KMAX, KOVR) — Tony Faso has been in the boating business for 23 years. In that time, he’s never been able to see the fish swimming near the shores of the San Joaquin Delta, until now.

“The clarity of the water is wild,” Faso, owner of the Delta Marine Yacht Center in Stockton, explained. “It’s sad to say, but we could never even see that deep.”

That clear water is a clear warning sign of the invasion happening below the surface as hundreds of thousands of golden mussels filter the water while wreaking havoc on critical infrastructure.

“I don’t want to say it’s a foregone conclusion that we can’t stop it, but we have to find a way to slow it down,” Faso said.

The golden mussel is tiny but mighty, multiplying fast and nearly impossible to get rid of.

Thick colonies are already coating boats, piers and pipelines.

As the owner of the Delta Marine Yacht Center, Faso has a front-row view of the invasion as he hauls boats daily coming from the web of waterways around the region.

“We get to really kind of view a whole host of environments that these mussels are showing up in,” he continued. “It’s a really good kind of concentrated way to get a lot of data quickly and it’s just our normal course of business.”

He’s also part of a county committee trying to find ways to combat the invasive mollusk.

“That’s our big push. We need data, we need information and we need people to do little things like we’re doing,” Faso said.

His job is to test an ultrasonic transducer that sends pulses along a surface to deter mussels from attaching.

“We’re trying to specifically prove it out on agricultural pipes as the Delta is so agriculturally sensitive,” he explained. “We have a system in place but we need time to prove it.”

He says the results have been positive but the need to stop the spread of these mussels is urgent.

“If we have a problem here, and we do, it’s likely showing up in all other regions hundreds of miles away,” Faso continued. “These boats that are traveling from body of water to body of water can unwittingly be transmitting or conveying those mussels to an otherwise unaffected area.”

By working with local to federal partners, they hope it will bring in additional resources so waterways across California can be set free.

“We’re looking to find a solution and that seems unlikely,” he said. “In the meantime, what we’re trying to do is get education out there.”

The county Board of Supervisors is asking for funding, technical assistance, mitigation strategies and infrastructure protection resources through local, regional, state and federal partners through an emergency declaration, which was declared at the end of April.

They plan to review the status of the emergency every 60 days.

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 Kate Bilo, Casey Kuhn

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    Pennsylvania (KYW) — For childhood cancer families, the journey never ends. Even when children are cured, there can be side effects from the treatment, and the possibility of a relapse is always lurking.

For the Isaacs family, life can be chaos.

But that has become pretty normal for this family of five. Life has thrown them more than one curveball.

“I remember my mommy saying I felt more tired,” Emilia says about the beginning of the journey.

When Emilia was about two years old, she had on-and-off fevers for about two weeks, her mom said.

They went to the doctor, and the next day, the family received an alarming message.

“She told us to take Emilia to the children’s hospital,” mom Kathrin Isaacs said.

Emilia had cancer — B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

“You hear kids can get cancer, but you never thought it would be us,” Kathrin said.

It was the day before Thanksgiving 2021. Emilia started treatment immediately.

“The worst day ever,” Emilia recalled.

The first month of leukemia treatment, called induction, is intense, and there were complications.

“She couldn’t walk anymore after three weeks,” Kathrin said.

“And I just remember … thinking to myself, just not even get to the next day, just get to next hour,” Emilia’s dad said.

By Christmas Eve, Emilia was in remission.

But treatment wasn’t finished. In fact, treatment lasted about 2.5 years.

And there were more complications — pneumonia that required a breathing tube, lack of appetite and a feeding tube.

“You didn’t have time to think. You’re just really in survival mode,” Kathrin said.

Emilia finished treatment.

“We even celebrated, she rang the bell,” Kathrin said. “We actually had 19 months of thinking this life, this cancer life is behind us.”

That all changed in October.

“The one time she woke up because she was so sweaty … and she just looked at me, and there I knew, I knew that the leukemia is back,” Kathrin said.

Treatment started again.

“You always know this can happen. You always fear that this could be us again, but you still don’t think it’s gonna hit you,” Kathrin said.

The side effects were severe.

“She couldn’t talk anymore, she couldn’t walk, she couldn’t move,” Kathrin said.

“Well, I could talk, but it sounded silly,” Emilia said.

Emilia’s treatments didn’t clear all of the cancer, so she had CAR-T cell therapy.

“I remember the exact moment when I got the T-cells out of my body,” Emilia said.

So far, the treatment has worked: Emilia is in remission.

They say they couldn’t have gotten here without community support, especially from the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

“And as soon as another family has a child with cancer, I tell them, go to Alex’s. They will know how they can help you,” Kathrin said.

Right now, the Isaacs family is focusing on life and celebrating with the viral T-cell dance.

Join CBS Philadelphia for the 20th annual Alex Scott A Stand for Hope Telethon, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday. Funds are being raised for childhood cancer research.

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 Garrett Behanna

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    PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A woman has died after falling about 30 feet from construction scaffolding at Obama Academy in Pittsburgh, authorities said on Monday.

Pittsburgh EMS, fire crews, and Zone 5 officers responded just before 9 a.m. to the 500 block of North Highland Avenue for a report of an injured person.

Police said construction workers were performing work on the school’s pool area, where scaffolding had been erected. Responders found the adult woman at the bottom of the empty pool after the fall.

According to a press release from a Pittsburgh Public Schools spokesperson, the woman was part of a contracted construction team performing work related to a pool lighting project at the school. No students or district employees were involved in the incident, the district spokesperson added.

The woman suffered severe head injuries and was transported by EMS personnel in grave condition. She was pronounced dead at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital shortly after arrival, according to police. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified her as 36-year-old Noelle Mansour.

Violent Crime Unit detectives responded to the scene as part of standard procedure, police said.

The incident remains under investigation.

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.