Category: CNN Regional

By Carlos E. Castañeda

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    SACRAMENTO (KOVR) — A bomb threat at two schools in Yuba County on Wednesday morning forced some classes to be canceled for the second straight day, school officials said.

The Wheatland School District and the Wheatland Union High School District issued alerts on Wednesday morning saying law enforcement was responding to another threat issued to Wheatland Union High School and a new threat at Bear River Middle School.

The high school canceled classes on Tuesday after an AI-generated voice called in a bomb threat that morning. Police swept the campus and later deemed the threat was not credible.

On Wednesday morning, the Wheatland Union High School District directed families to keep students home again until law enforcement officers swept the campus for the second day in a row, saying the goal was to get student back on campus with Wednesday already being a late start day.

Meanwhile, the Wheatland School District said classes at Bear River would be canceled for the day.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we are asking Bear River families to keep your students home for now while we get clear direction from the Wheatland Police Department and the Yuba County Sheriff’s Office,” Wheatland School District Superintendent Angela Gouker sai in a message to the community. “No students or staff will be on the Bear River campus until we have the all clear. The Wheatland Police Department has contacted the appropriate authorities and requested bomb-sniffing dogs to conduct a full sweep of the campus. Given the time required to complete this process thoroughly, we have made the decision to cancel school for the day at Bear River.”

Gouker said all other district campuses would remain open on Wednesday.

As of 10 a.m., the Yuba County Sheriff’s Office gave the all-clear at Wheatland Union High School after nothing was found, district Newman said. She added that Wheatland Road near Bear River was closed, and instructed students to arrive via Highway 65 to Wheatland Road.

Newman added that counselors would be available for students if they wanted to talk about the events.

Tuesday’s bomb threat also forced the cancellation of a monthly food bank distribution at Wheatland Union High School.

The 2026-2027 school year at Wheatland Union High and Bear River Middle schools began last Wednesday.

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 Lesley Marin

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    LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — An 11-year-old girl from Santa Ana experienced an unforgettable moment at SoFi Stadium when international superstar Karol G invited her to sing during last Friday’s concert.

April Salazar’s dream coming true is a lesson in love and hard work. April’s mom Blanca Salazar said she saved up earnings from the family’s tamale stand, No Tamales, No Vida, for a year to buy her little girl tickets to the sold-out show.

“You go to sleep late or wake up really early in the morning to go to work,” Blanca said.

All that hard work turned into front-row seats, with Blanca surprising her daughter with help from a local boutique.

“I was crying. The girls were crying. Everyone was crying,” Blanca said.

Right next to the stage, April said Karol G noticed her and beelined toward the girl.

“She looked at me and told her cameraman and she went to me,” April said.

She sang every word, impressing the international superstar. The latin singer then turned the microphone to Blanca and that’s how she learned about the family business.

“She’s saying to the whole SoFi Stadium that I sell tamales,” Blanca said. “I was in shock. I was shaking. I couldn’t even believe it.”

Since the concert, the family business has gotten even more popular than it already was.

April hopes the next customer will be Karol G herself.

“If Karol G comes, I’ll give her a dozen on the house,” April 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 Jeff Nguyen, Dean Fioresi, Chelsea Hylton

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    LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — The two people who went missing while riding personal watercraft off the coast of Long Beach over the weekend are sharing their stories of survival after they were rescued by first responders.

Paul Carbullido Jr., who was found 16 hours after he was first reported missing, spoke with CBS LA over the phone while still recovering in the hospital. He was one of two people who got separated from the large group they had rented the gear from near Rainbow Harbor.

He says that when he was found by U.S. Coast Guard personnel on Monday morning, his body temperature was only 86 degrees.

Donna Dubray, who was with Carbullido when he fell off the watercraft, says that he temporarily went unconscious during the ordeal. She says that he had fallen off when he ran into her wake as they rode past the breakwall near Alamitos Bay Landing.

“I was saying, ‘You have to swim,'” Dubray said. “He was saying, ‘No, no, no. Don’t splash, don’t splash. The sharks are gonna get us.'”

Despite her attempts to help him climb back onboard the watercraft, she was unable to do so. She called the company that they rented the watercraft from, but the water got rough and she decided to swim for help as Carbullido drifted away.

She eventually made it to the breakwall, where she screamed for help. Her calls were heard by a good Samaritan in a fishing boat, who promptly called lifeguards to help. She was saved and the search for Carbullido then got underway.

“My whole body was just shaking. I couldn’t even walk because my legs were just jumping,” Dubray said. “My teeth were chattering and I was so cold. I lay down on the rocks, and I screamed bloody murder.”

Coast Guard search and rescue crews found Carbullido floating nearly three miles south of the Seal Beach Pier at around 10:45 a.m. He said that his life vest helped him paddle all night.

He was just about ready to give up and was having a conversation with God when the helicopter crew arrived.

“I appreciate all the emergency response team and the search and rescue mission,” said Carbullido’s younger brother, Robert. “They found him.”

Dubray is also grateful for the response from emergency personnel, who never gave up on her longtime friend.

“The relief was so great, I just cried,” she said. “I was so happy he made it.”

Dubray and Carbullido both said that they received no instructions from the rental company and that when they picked up the personal watercraft on Sunday night it was about an hour before the company closed.

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By Jennifer McRae

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    COLORADO (KCNC) — Firefighters in Crested Butte said that a house fire was started by a bear after the animal got inside the private residence. The Crested Butte Fire Protection District posted on its Facebook page that crews responded to a residential structure fire in the Mt. Crested Butte neighborhood.

The department said that law enforcement “safely addressed the bear” and that the fire was contained to the kitchen. No injuries were reported.

CBFPD posted this advice to help prevent wildlife encounters as bears become more active due to drought conditions:

Locking doors and windows when you are away or asleep Securing food, pet food, and trash Cleaning up outdoor grills and food residue Never approaching or attempting to remove a bear yourself Firefighters said those simple precautions can help protect your home, family and wildlife. Anyone who encounters a bear inside or near their home is urged to move to a safe location and contact Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has received more than 6,000 reports of bear sightings so far this year, which is roughly double the same period last year. Wildlife officials say recent drought conditions have reduced natural food sources in parts of Colorado, pushing bears out of the mountains and into communities in search of food.

On Tuesday, a small bear was spotted near Eddy Hall in the morning as Colorado State University students moved into their new homes on the campus in Fort Collins.

A few hours after the original sighting, the bear was tranquilized so it could be relocated.

CPW has posted a Living with Bears section on its website to help educate Colorado residents about bears, their habits and how to keep both wildlife and people safe as they cohabitate.

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 DeJanay Booth-Singleton

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    Detroit (WWJ) — Tuesday’s Dearborn City Council meeting was not business as usual, with anti-Islam protesters gathering before and during the meeting.

Led by conservative activist Jake Lang, protesters gathered for the “Christian Crusader March,” which has gained national attention. Lang and his supporters, including Detroit pastor Lorenzo Sewell, and community members crowded the meeting space at the Henry Ford Centennial Library.

Tuesday night’s meeting was moved from its usual location, the Dearborn Administrative Center, as city leaders and police prepared for protesters. Last week, Police Chief Issa Shahin urged residents not to engage with protesters, saying, “These groups that are coming here are coming for one reason, and that is to provoke a reaction and generate attention.”

Residents in Dearborn and surrounding communities traveled to the library. The crowd tried to rush through the doors ahead of the meeting, with police providing crowd control.

“We are a Christian nation. We love Jesus, and that’s why we’re here to take freedom of speech, and it’s a free country, and that’s why we’re here,” said AnnMarie Clark from Livingston County.

“We stand up for our grandkids and our kids and our country. We believe in USA, and we believe in God,” said Denice Watts from Livingston County.

Meanwhile, Dearborn residents Mohammed Hijazi and Stephanie Butler called for unity and condemned any hate speech.

“I think we should all stand united together as one, you know. And I don’t think there’s room for people like Jake Lang to come cut us up, divide us,” Hijazi said.

“When you come into a city that you don’t live in, and you cause trouble, and you come and to just specifically burn their holy books, and, you know, incite violence by bringing bacon and wanting to do a pig roast and stuff, you are representing the worst of society,” said Butler.

Tensions flared at the council meeting as members opened public comment, allowing people from both sides to speak.

Sewell, the senior pastor of 180 Church in Detroit, accused the city of being “under Sharia Law” and demanded that councilmembers renounce it. The topic has been a hot-button issue in other U.S. states, including Florida and Texas. Sewell previously hosted then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and even spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention.

“America, we have lost this city. This is a city that is no longer under American laws,” Sewell claimed.

Lang, a former Florida U.S. Senate candidate, criticized the Muslim community, claiming that they are “looking to destroy us” and called for all Muslims to be removed from the country.

“Your time in this country is running short,” Lang said, adding that the “crusade has begun.”

Lang immediately left the meeting after his speech, but not before ripping pages from a book, which some observed as a Quran, and shouting, “Christ is King.” Following his speech, council members struggled to restore order as some of Lang’s supporters began shouting, and one was escorted out by police.

Lang was charged with assaulting an officer, civil disorder and other crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 riot before he was pardoned by President Trump.

Democratic state Rep. Alabas Farhat, who represents Dearborn, called out Lang and urged everyone not to bring hate to the city.

“Dearborn is a shining beacon of unity and co-existence,” Farhat said.

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud spoke of community members, including children, who were afraid of the protesters coming to the city. Hammoud said some business owners did not open for the day, and he did not send his own daughter to day care.

Hammoud also spoke of meeting a boy earlier Tuesday, who asked if the “crusaders” were coming to kill him.

“Children that age should be thinking about what game they’re going to the park to play. They should be thinking about whether they’re going to have another scoop of ice cream at the end of the night. They should be wondering if they’ll get an extra hour of time before bed. They should not be wondering whether someone wants to kill them because of how their family prays,” Hammoud said.

Hammoud had a message for the young boy and other residents: “You belong here as much as anyone.”

“Dearborn was built by people with different names, different accents, different traditions and different ways of worshipping God,” Hammoud added.

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By Conor Wight

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    MINNESOTA (WCCO) — When Fletcher Merkel’s family moved into the Kenny neighborhood in south Minneapolis, neighbors told him he wouldn’t have much luck casting his fishing line at Grass Lake.

He proved them wrong, which his mother said is a constant reminder of his perseverance and passion.

Mollie Merkel said that one day last summer, 8-year-old Fletcher caught a bullhead catfish. Mollie said it was “disgusting,” but Fletcher didn’t care. He paraded that fish around the neighborhood in a bucket.

Mollie shared that story with around one hundred of her neighbors in the Kenny neighborhood on Tuesday evening. She joined the Kenny Neighborhood Association in unveiling a bench that overlooks Grass Lake, designed to honor her son. Fletcher and 10-year-old Harper Moyski died in the mass shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis last August.

The bench is positioned so that the sunset is clearly visible in the evening, a daily event that Mollie says reminds her of Fletcher. The inscription references Fletcher’s bullhead catch, reading, in part, “For the boy who proved there are fish in Grass Lake.”

“Fletcher would have loved sitting here, but mostly, we would have loved running around it,” Mollie said, drawing laughter from the crowd, “but we used to watch the birds and the ducks here.”

Barbara Brady, chair of the Kenny Neighborhood Association, said that she and her team reached out to the Merkel family last fall to see what kind of memorial they could aim to set up in Fletcher’s honor. Once they settled on a bench, at one of Fletcher’s favorite spots, they raised $3,000 to make it happen.

“Everyone swung into action and the neighbors are just amazing for the Merkels,” Brady said. “People were bringing them food for months, anything they wanted; we were there for them.”

Mollie said that she was happy to see some of Fletcher’s friends be among the first to make use of the bench, which is now in place just ahead of the one-year marker since the shooting.

“We hope that this bench can be a place for calm and reflection,” Mollie said.

Earlier this summer, the Merkels started what they hope will be an annual event on Lake Harriet to teach kids how to fish and raise money for scholarships at Annunciation.

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By Adam Yamaguchi, Cho Park

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    WISCONSIN (WCCO) — The final 155 beagles from Ridglan Farms, a Wisconsin facility that bred dogs for biomedical research, are beginning new lives after being relocated to a Florida rescue — the last of more than 2,000 dogs released from the facility this year.

Despite a growing push to reduce animal testing, USDA records show that more than 37,000 dogs were used in U.S. research last year. Many research dogs come from commercial breeding facilities regulated under the federal Animal Welfare Act as well as state animal-welfare and licensing laws. But a CBS News investigation found a stark disparity between state and federal regulatory findings at Ridglan — raising questions about federal government oversight at these facilities.

Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection investigated Ridglan between 2024 and 2025 and identified 494 violations, with several pertaining to dogs being handled in a practicable and humane manner.

In January 2025, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Rhonda Lanford found probable cause to believe Ridglan had committed crimes under Wisconsin’s laws against animal cruelty, and appointed a special prosecutor to investigate alleged violations.

The facility ended up reaching a settlement to avoid criminal prosecution, agreeing to surrender its state license to sell dogs last month. Ridglan says it did not violate any state or federal laws.

Federal records, by contrast, reveal few signs of trouble. USDA inspection records reviewed by CBS News show federal inspectors cited four violations at the breeding facility and two at the research facility during inspections at Ridglan over the past decade, none classified as critical.

“To me that doesn’t make any sense,” Rep. Mark Pocan, a Wisconsin Democrat, told CBS News. “When you have that amount of state violations, clearly that stood out.”

Ridglan denies violating state or federal animal-welfare laws and disputes allegations that it mistreated dogs, saying it has a “well documented history of exemplary animal care.” It said the USDA was the “leading authority … that ensures animals involved in biomedical research are well cared for under strict federal guidelines” and that federal inspectors only found non-critical issues at its facility.

The USDA’s own inspector general has repeatedly raised concerns about federal oversight of dog breeders in general for the past three decades. Its latest audit from 2025 found problems with USDA’s inspection system and concluded that “inconsistent and untimely inspections may have contributed to the dog breeders’ continued violation of AWA [Animal Welfare Act] requirements.”

USDA told CBS News it works with state officials “to maximize enforcement outcomes” and has taken “swift and meaningful steps to strengthen oversight,” including implementing the inspector general’s latest recommendations.

The final group of 155 dogs was released to Big Dog Ranch Rescue, marking the end of a monthslong relocation effort. The rescue organization and its founder, Lauree Simmons, working with other rescue groups, helped negotiate the release of more than 2,000 beagles from Ridglan.

“They choose beagles because they’re easy to handle and they’re so forgiving. You hurt them one day and they’re going to forgive you the next and let you do it all over again. This is inhumane,” said Simmons.

“For me, it’s never enough until animal cruelty ends,” Simmons said. “I’ll do this till the day I die.”

The debate over how research animals are treated comes as the federal government is increasingly encouraging alternatives to animal testing. But many scientists say animals still play an important role in medical research.

Former veterinarian Larry Carbone, who has spent decades caring for animals in research laboratories, told CBS News that while scientists can increasingly use human cells and tissues, those methods cannot always replicate how a drug or disease interacts with an entire living body.

“Cancer was mostly a death sentence,” Carbone said. “Now most of us know people who are taking HIV meds or HIV preventions, who are living with cancers or living post-cancer — all from things that were developed using animals.”

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By Marissa Sulek

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after three different planes landing or taking off at O’Hare had tires blown out in just one week.

The FAA says all three incidents happened on different runways, everyone was evacuated, and no one was hurt.

It started with a United Airlines flight taking off to Phoenix last Thursday. Then, on Monday, another United flight popped a tire after landing, but just about three hours before, an American Airlines flight blew two tires after it touched down.

Passenger Steven Hill was on that flight.

“All of a sudden, out of nowhere, there was a loud bang and after that we heard, more instead of a smooth rolling noise, we heard a thump, thump, thump, thump,” he said.

He says no one panicked, but they sat inside their seats for about 30 or 40 minutes.

“I was most nervous about just being sitting there on an active runway and knowing that anything could happen.”

Eventually, all the passengers were taken down a flight of stairs, boarded onto buses and drove to the terminal.

“It makes me wonder if it’s the tires or something on the taxiway or who knows,” Hill said.

CBS News travel expert Peter Greenberg says it’s not unusual for airplanes to get a flat. He said he’s had planes land and blow tires.

“In this situation, it’s a combination of the temperature at the airport, the wear and tear on the tire and the weight of the plane,” he said.

Greenberg says that, with it being peak summer travel months, airplanes may be at their max takeoff weight, tires may be worn down or even defective, but says that’s unlikely.

“They are going to be going back to look, first of all, at the manufacturing records, but also the maintenance records as to when those tires were last rotated, literally rotated and retreaded,” he said.

For people with a flight coming up, he says they shouldn’t worry.

“They should be interested, I’m interested, I want to know what happened, but if you give it the idea of 47,000 planes in the air today and not much happened, I’ll go with that.”

If the FAA finds there is a systemic problem with the tires, Greenberg says the National Transportation Safety Board has the power to ground a lot of planes until they are replaced.

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By Jermont Terry

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    Chicago (WBBM) — A southwest suburban man accused of targeting a mosque was released on electronic monitoring after he was arrested with a backpack full of Molotov cocktails earlier this month.

Hamed Alsaidi, 31, was charged with eight counts of possessing an unregistered destructive device.

Earlier this month, Alsaidi was picked up by Mokena police because he was lurking around the streets. In his backpack, court records show he had eight glass bottles containing an ignitable liquid commonly known as a Molotov cocktail.

Investigators say that, besides the explosive devices, they also found a handwritten map of an area in Orland Park, including the Metra station and the words “you see the mosque” that referred to the Orland Park Prayer Center.

With everything police found on him and knowing he previously threatened the mosque, a Will County judge released him on electronic monitoring.

“Well, I think it’s a slap in the face to the residents here in Will County,” said Rep. Patrick Sheehan.

Sheehan represents the Mokena and Orland Park areas. He questions how a judge saw fit to release Alsaidi.

“The fact that this, you know, individual was released on an ankle monitor is just blowing people’s minds out here in the southwest suburbs,” he said.

Sheehan says we’ve seen the flaws electronic monitoring has produced in Illinois.

“We’ve already seen Cook County State’s Attorney Burke say that the electronic monitoring system is broken here in Illinois,” Sheehan said.

He contends the SAFE-T Act, which abolished cash bail, and sanctuary city policies are superseding common sense, especially when ICE had a detainer for Alsaidi for immigration status and the judge still released him.

Besides a full repeal of the SAFE-T Act, Sheehan says he is pushing for revisions.

“We’re talking about mandatory detentions for certain crimes. And, you know, if this were raised to the level of that, then this person would ultimately be detained, and it wouldn’t be up to a judge’s discretion in this instance.”

Alsaidi is now back in federal custody. He was free for two days on electronic monitoring before federal agents tracked him down and arrested him again.

He is now facing federal charges.

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By Jennifer Borrasso

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    PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Keith DiMarco, the mayor of Glassport Borough in Allegheny County, is facing two counts of violation of privacy after police said they found a hidden camera in a bathroom of his home.

DiMarco was first arrested for violating a protection-from-abuse order filed by his wife and adult stepdaughter on Monday, sources tell KDKA-TV. Then on Tuesday, he resigned as mayor. His resignation came four days after law enforcement received a call about a hidden camera found in a bathroom at the mayor’s home, according to the criminal complaint.

The adult stepdaughter spotted the camera hidden in a plant while she was taking a bath, according to the criminal complaint. DiMarco’s wife also found proof of purchases on DiMarco’s phone for two magnetic cameras and a small square camera, according to the criminal complaint. He allegedly admitted to investigators that he placed one in the bathroom to record his wife.

The Allegheny County Police Department confirmed on Tuesday that its officers were called to the home to help with the investigation. County police said they seized several electronics, including several small wireless cameras. An arrest warrant was issued for DiMarco on Tuesday charging him with two counts of invasion of privacy.

A day after law enforcement was at the mayor’s home, a protection order prohibiting DiMarco from contacting his wife was issued. He allegedly violated the order by leaving two voicemails and emailing her.

The borough council accepted DiMarco’s resignation on Tuesday night during a meeting. He served 8 1/2 years. KDKA-TV also learned DiMarco works in information technology at UPMC. A spokesperson confirms he is suspended.

Council president Anthony Colecchi is now the acting mayor. The council has to appoint a new mayor. That person will be sworn in at their next voting meeting on Sept. 15.

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