Category: CNN Regional

By Itay Hod

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    SANN FRANCISCO, California (KPIX) — After nearly a month in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention, Alevtina Soboleva and her daughter emerged through the doors at San Francisco International Airport Sunday morning.

“It’s been really hard for both of us. I’m glad we made it home,” her daughter, Daria, said.

The 59-year-old Russian asylum-seeker from Sunnyvale arrived in the Bay Area two days after being released from a federal facility in Louisiana.

Soboleva was detained on July 20 at the Buffalo airport as she and her daughter prepared to fly home from a trip to Niagara Falls.

Daria said immigration officers stopped her mother before their flight and took her into custody, despite her asylum application still being under review.

For days, Daria did not know where her mother was. She said Soboleva was held in a cage and denied water and bathroom access.

“She was crying and my heart was breaking because she was very scared,” Daria said.

In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said that Soboleva “is an illegal alien from Russia who was admitted to the United States lawfully in 2021 but failed to depart the country in the required time frame.”

“Any allegations of poor medical care and inability to contact family are false,” the Department of Homeland Security said.

Soboleva came to the U.S. on a visitor visa. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, she applied for asylum.

On Wednesday, she appeared before an immigration judge who set her bond at $10,000.

Bill Hing, professor of law and migration at the University of San Francisco, said Soboleva has a compelling case.

“The rule of law says that if you have a one-in-10 chance of being persecuted, you should be granted asylum. That’s only a 10% chance and so based on that, I believe that she will be granted asylum,” he said.

Soboleva’s detention, he said, should serve as a warning to other immigrants who may be considering air travel, both internationally and domestically.

For Soboleva and her daughter, the immediate focus is much simpler: tea, a warm blanket, and some rest.

“I’m hopeful. I’m very grateful for all the help that we had so far. We have loads of her friends waiting for her,” Daria said.

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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    DENVER, Colorado (KCNC) — The Jewish Community Center in Denver is working to help families in need by providing gently used baby items and essential supplies.

Sunday marked the grand opening of the center’s Community Baby Closet, which offers resources such as diapers, wipes, newborn clothing, baby gear and postpartum supplies. It’s open to anyone, and the supplies are free of charge.

Community Baby Closet sponsor Natalie Siegel said, “Having a child is expensive. It’s a lot to consider, and it gets to be a lot for families. So, to be able to come here, get what you need and feel supported in the community is what we’re after.”

Organizers say it’s also a great way to protect the environment.

“The cost of diapers, formula, clothing and other basic baby supplies can place a significant financial burden on families, particularly during the already demanding transition to parenthood. The Community Baby Closet helps ensure local parents experiencing a hardship can access essential items for themselves and their babies at no cost. It also creates a community-based system for sharing usable goods that might otherwise go to waste,” the JCC said.

Families can also give back by donating what they no longer use. The JCC encouraged the community to donate gently used clothing, baby gear, and supplies they have to reduce waste through reuse.

The baby closet is open on:

– Mondays from 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. – Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. – Wednesdays from 9 a.m. until 10 a.m. and from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

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 Julia Avant

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    STERLING HEIGHTS, Michigan (WWJ) — What looks like a routine traffic stop is actually part of additional driver training done by police in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

“I really don’t know how to describe it; it’s a dream come true,” said Lucas Crescentini.

Lucas Crescentini is a karate-loving teenager. He just got his driver’s license and saved up his money to buy his first car. But his current new driver fear is a little different, with him having autism.

“Trying to, like, understand what might happen and what’s happening around you because it’s wired differently for me, personally,” said Lucas Crescentini.

“We just have to trust their instinct, trust their intuition and let them explore,” said Lucas’s father, Luciano Crescentini.

That’s why Luciano Crescentini reached out to the Sterling Heights Police Department.

“We have the resources. We have this program, and as you can see, it’s very beneficial,” said Lieutenant Aaron Susalla with the Sterling Heights Police Department.

It’s called the SAVES Project. Through it, police officers create situations to teach those with special needs what to expect if they were to be pulled over.

For Lucas Crescentini, the officer he worked with was his high school resource officer.

Drivers are given a blue envelope to put their insurance and vehicle registration in to alert officers that the driver has special needs, and a bumper sticker that police can spot on the road.

“It makes me feel a little more prepared for the future,” said Lucas Crescentini.

The program has put his parents at ease.

“I definitely feel better and I definitely feel more relieved that he’s going to know what to do. I was nervous that if he got pulled over with his autism that he was going to be nervous and scared, and the police officers wouldn’t understand,” said Luciano Crescentini.

Lieutenant Aaron Susalla wants the community to know their officers are well-trained to recognize these situations on the road.

“What it looks like is the officers can identify that, and they have the ability to safely conduct a traffic stop and bring down the tension in those kinds of situations,” said Susalla.

The police department hopes to host more students through the program. Contact the Sterling Heights Police Department if you are interested.

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 Dawn White

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    DALLAS, Texas (KTVT) — You may think of flag football as something for boys, but a former NFL player hosted an all-girls clinic Sunday at Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas.

Girlpower Flag Football Dallas is a program for girls ages five through 18. About 100 girls of all experience levels were expected to attend the clinic.

Former St. Louis Rams running back Trey Watts helmed the event, and he hopes to show girls the importance of persevering through struggles. He played as a walk-on at the University of Tulsa.

The Rams signed him as an undrafted free agent, where he had a two-year career in the NFL. Watts has been vocal about being suspended indefinitely from the league for violating the substance-abuse policy. He’s now a motivational speaker and author of “The ALTAR Method: From Broken to Restored.”

He has a five-year-old daughter and plans on giving back to other young girls.

“My daughter is starting kindergarten this year, and part of why this matters so much to me is wanting girls her age to grow up believing they belong in football too,” Watts said.

Girlpower Flag Football Dallas will host clinics in the fall and in the spring of 2027. Click here for more information.

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 S.E. Jenkins, Briseida Holguin, CBS Texas Staff

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    HOOD COUNTY, Texas (KTVT) — Hood County has shut down and covered Flock automated license plate reader cameras after county commissioners and residents raised concerns about privacy and mass surveillance, officials said.

Flock cameras, the automated license plate readers, are used by law enforcement across the country. They say the data helps them quickly track down missing people or dangerous criminals — but not more in Hood County.

On Saturday, Hood County Constable John Shirley shared photos of Flock cameras being covered.

He said this weekend, the work of shutting down and covering Flock cameras in the county is done, following a request from county commissioners and residents who expressed concerns about privacy and mass surveillance.

Shirley captioned the photos, “These cameras were constantly scanning and recording regular folks just going about their day. That kind of permanent, warrantless tracking doesn’t belong in a free society.” He went on to add, “To Flock safety systems: come get your garbage out of my county.”

Flock CEO Garrett Langley sat down with CBS News last week. He acknowledged the potential for misuse and said new safety measures are coming, including cutting data storage and audits to flag possible exploitation of the technology.

Flock CEO apologizes for cases where surveillance technology was abused This comes after a Washington Post report that police officers were accused in 46 cases of improperly using access to Flock’s license plate camera network, in some instances allegedly stalking women.

“Hindsight tends to be very clear,” Langley said. “And I think, of course, we could have done more earlier, and we listen, and we learn, and we’ll continue to move forward because until everyone has an equal level of safety in this country, we have work to do.”

Langley defended his company and the service it provides law enforcement agencies with its network of 120,000 cameras around the country that record license plate numbers and other details from passing vehicles.

“It gets to this issue that when you are given power, which many people are, particularly in law enforcement, you should have higher standards of accountability,” Langley said. “And so, I don’t think that Flock created police abuse. I think we’re the first company to ever shine a light on it and build the tools to find it.”

Among the changes the company announced Thursday, Flock is reducing the default period of time data will be retained from 30 days to seven days. However, if data is tied to an investigation that needs more time, it can be preserved in a setting it calls “Evidence Mode.” The company also said every search of its data will now require a case code to be entered beforehand. But that can be overridden in an emergency, like if a child goes missing.

The American Civil Liberties Union has criticized Flock, accusing the company of violating people’s privacy rights. In a statement Thursday, the ACLU said the company’s plan to reduce how long data is retained “may be a step in the right direction.”

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 Ricky Sayer

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    BETHEL PARK, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — Bethel Park Police are investigating after they said someone threw kittens from their vehicle.

The kittens died, police said.

At least one of the kittens was still alive when it was thrown, said Tracy Flaherty, who manages the Dairy Queen on Library Road. She saw it moving along the road and believes a car hit it. She and another individual moved the kitten to the side of the road.

“As we were petting it, it took its last breath,” Flaherty said.

Bethel Park Police received calls on Saturday between 3:30 and 3:45 about an individual throwing “items” from a vehicle in the area of Connor Road and Old Connor Road, as well as on Library Road near the Dairy Queen plaza, the department wrote on Facebook.

“Upon investigation, the items were unfortunately determined to be deceased kittens,” the post said.

They did not specify how many kittens were found or if they were all alive when thrown from the vehicle.

Bud Demart saw the Connor Road police scene unfold in front of his home. At first, he thought it was a dead squirrel on the road.

“It was small and had a big tail, and I’m-I mean, who would have thought there was a kitten on the road,” he said. “That’s a shame that happened. I’m not a big cat person, but they don’t deserve to be thrown out of a car and run over.”

At Bailey’s Cat Haven in nearby South Park Township, manager Barb Brown reacted to what happened.

“It was horrific,’ Brown said. “You know as a rescue we don’t understand what possesses people to do this?

Theres a variety of rescues the person could have contacted to give their kittens to, she said, adding she wishes she could have helped.

“Generally, when people are this desperate, they’ll release them in a park or a wooded area, but the fact that they threw them out the window-that’s a horrible way for any any animal or pet to to pass away,” Brown said.

Rick, who volunteers at the same shelter, was equally disturbed by what happened.

“It’s absolutely heinous,” he said. “You know, it just it made my blood boil thinking that somebody could do something like this.”

Cross Your Paws rescue in Greensburg put up a $500 reward for information leading to an arrest. Rick said he’d give them another $500 so they could increase their reward.

“Somebody has to care for those who don’t have a voice,” he said. “We want to know who did it.”

Demart was asked about what he thought of the person responsible.

“I think somebody ought to throw them out of the car,” Demart said. “I mean, I just can’t understand how somebody could do that to a harmless animal.”

Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed anything to please contact them. They added that no matter how insignificant it may seem, it could help them.

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.