Category: CNN Regional

By Jermaine Ong , Jazlyn Dieguez, Max Goldwasser

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    SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A brush fire broke out in San Diego’s Sorrento Valley area Monday morning, forcing mandatory evacuations and a large response from firefighters on the ground and in the air.

The fire was reported at around 9:20 a.m. in vegetation near Vista Sorrento Parkway and Sorrento Valley Boulevard, just east of Interstate 805, according to Watch Duty.

By 9:50 a.m., the fire burned at least three acres with a “moderate to dangerous rate of spread,” Watch Duty said.

At around 12:30 p.m., San Diego Fire-Rescue Department officials said the fire grew to at least 80 acres and was burning east.

At its peak, fire officials said more than 2,200 homes and businesses went under evacuation orders. Another 6,400 were placed under evacuation warnings.

More than 400 fire personnel from across the county rushed to the scene.

Dan Eddy, assistant fire chief with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, said the terrain made the firefight especially difficult.

“But the actual angle of that hill, it’s incredibly hard for us to hike through there, especially in initial attacks,” Eddy said.

Seven aircraft were deployed in total, including a Cal Fire C-130H that came on board last week. SDFD Information Officer Jason Shanley said the aerial attack was critical to preventing a far more destructive outcome.

“Firefighters getting to the places that this fire was, it wasn’t going to happen. It wasn’t going to happen. We’re seeing a completely different fire had it not been for all the air resources,” Shanley said.

The fire was ultimately held to approximately 90 acres. It remained at 40% containment as of late Monday.

Hilary Doneux, brand manager and afternoon DJ at 91X FM, said the fire was visible from the station’s parking lot on the other side of Mira Mesa Boulevard.

“I would like talk about the fire on the air and then I could walk out into our parking lot and you could see the smoke from here. It was way too close to comfort,” Doneux said.

Doneux said the fire affected station employees throughout the day.

“A lot of our employees live nearby and so had to leave the building to go to their residences in case they were being evacuated. It’s been kind of freaky all day,” Doneux said.

The Metro Arson Strike Team was called to the scene. Eddy said investigators will work to determine when, where and how the fire began.

As the fire began to spread, the San Diego Police Department initially issued mandatory evacuation orders for residents in the 10500 block of Sand Crab Place and 10500 block of Corte Jardin Del Mar. An evacuation warning was in place for residents in the 5000 block of Sea Mist Lane.

SDFD officials said a temporary evacuation point was established at Mandell Weiss Eastgate Park at the intersection of Eastage Mall and Regents Road.

Just after 11 a.m., San Diego police expanded evacuation orders and warnings to include the Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve and surrounding homes.

By 8 p.m., all evacuations were lifted, according to the Genasys Evacuation Map. The temporary evacuation point at Mandell Weiss Eastgate Park was closed shortly after the update.

Road closure remains in place on Sorrento Valley Boulevard from the I-805 while crews continue containment efforts overnight. Residents with proper identification will be allowed access to Sorrento Valley Boulevard.

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 Wakisha Bailey

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    PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (KYW) — As graduation season continues, one Philadelphia high school senior is preparing for her next chapter while leaving behind a legacy for future students.

Sobrielle Casimir, a member of Class 270 at the Philadelphia High School for Girls, created a student-run thrift store inside the school to give classmates access to fresh pieces to wear while promoting sustainability in fashion.

The store features racks of clothing, shoes, skirts and formal wear. The concept is simple: students can donate an item they don’t want, and take an item off the racks in exchange.

Casimir said the idea started when she was a junior. She wanted to help keep clothing out of landfills while encouraging her school community to think more intentionally about waste.

“I really wanted a way to educate the community and encourage everyone to be more mindful with where their waste is going, and consider more sustainable options,” Casimir said.

After submitting a proposal and getting approval, donations began pouring in.

Casimir said the project was not for a grade or class assignment. It was something she created to help her school community.

Now, as she prepares to attend Yale University this fall, Casimir is leaving behind more than a thrift store.

“It’s a little bittersweet. I’m going to miss the Girls’ High community here, but I know they’ll always have a place for me, and they’ll always be in my heart,” she said.

Casimir plans to stop by from time to time to check on the store, and Girls’ High already has a plan in place to keep donations coming for future students.

To learn more about how to donate clothing, you can visit the Girls’ High website.

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 Neal Riley

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    PROVINCETOWN, Massachusetts (WBZ) — There’s a smelly situation on the beach in Provincetown, Massachusetts after thousands of squid washed up on shore.

Social media video and photos from this weekend show the pink sea creatures stacked up in the sand. The Provincetown Harbormaster’s Office said they are Atlantic longfin inshore squid that are at the end of their life cycle.

“The squid are NOT dying from a toxic event, red tide, or pollution,” the harbormaster said. “This is a completely natural process!”

The squid have a lifespan of less than a year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries division. The harbormaster said they migrate near the beach to spawn, and die shortly after. The Provincetown-based Center for Coastal Studies had posted a video of squid swimming in the water close to shore Thursday.

“It’s a mass spawning die-off,” the harbormaster said. “Add in the right combination of wind and tide, and the dying animals get pushed up onto the beach instead of staying out in the water.”

The harbormaster said “this happens all the time,” but they usually die underwater and are quickly eaten by fish and other predators in the ocean.

To deal with the smell, the harbormaster says residents can scoop the squid up with a shovel and throw them back, “and the tide and critters will handle the rest.”

“So no need to worry,” the harbormaster said. “Mother Nature is just doing her thing.”

Provincetown is located at the end of Cape Cod, a 115-mile drive from Boston.

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.

WBZ

By Neal Riley

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    PROVINCETOWN, Massachusetts (WBZ) — There’s a smelly situation on the beach in Provincetown, Massachusetts after thousands of squid washed up on shore.

Social media video and photos from this weekend show the pink sea creatures stacked up in the sand. The Provincetown Harbormaster’s Office said they are Atlantic longfin inshore squid that are at the end of their life cycle.

“The squid are NOT dying from a toxic event, red tide, or pollution,” the harbormaster said. “This is a completely natural process!”

The squid have a lifespan of less than a year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries division. The harbormaster said they migrate near the beach to spawn, and die shortly after. The Provincetown-based Center for Coastal Studies had posted a video of squid swimming in the water close to shore Thursday.

“It’s a mass spawning die-off,” the harbormaster said. “Add in the right combination of wind and tide, and the dying animals get pushed up onto the beach instead of staying out in the water.”

The harbormaster said “this happens all the time,” but they usually die underwater and are quickly eaten by fish and other predators in the ocean.

To deal with the smell, the harbormaster says residents can scoop the squid up with a shovel and throw them back, “and the tide and critters will handle the rest.”

“So no need to worry,” the harbormaster said. “Mother Nature is just doing her thing.”

Provincetown is located at the end of Cape Cod, a 115-mile drive from Boston.

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 Morgan Rynor

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    LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA, Florida (WFOR) — A five-year-old boy drowned at a hotel pool in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, but in a stroke of fate, two off-duty firefighters were there and immediately got to work.

“It was the worst day of my life, the worst and the best day of my life because my baby got saved, but the feeling, as a father, as a parent, I’m just thankful,” Tyonne Nelson said.

Tyler’s father, Tyonne Nelson, said it happened so fast while they were celebrating his birthday over Memorial Day Weekend at the Plunge Beach Resort. Tyonne got out of the pool to order food for Tyler, while Tyler stayed back with his older brother, who is 20, and another adult.

“I should have took with me,” Nelson said. “I thought about it, contemplated it, Tyler was talking to Connor’s mom, and with Connor, and they were sitting at the edge of the water.”

Broward Sheriff’s Fire Rescue Firefighter and Paramedic, Broderick Espinoza, was off duty and in the pool with his sister-in-law at the same time.

“We noticed something in the water,” Espinoza said. “We didn’t know exactly what it was, so she kind of used her foot to bring it afloat, and we noticed it was Tyler. He was unresponsive, wasn’t breathing, and didn’t have a pulse. So I immediately started CPR on the side of the pool right there.”

Broward Sheriff’s Fire Rescue Firefighter and Paramedic, Broderick Espinoza, was off duty and in the pool with his sister-in-law at the same time.

“We noticed something in the water,” Espinoza said. “We didn’t know exactly what it was, so she kind of used her foot to bring it afloat, and we noticed it was Tyler. He was unresponsive, wasn’t breathing, and didn’t have a pulse. So I immediately started CPR on the side of the pool right there.”

Those seconds they didn’t have to wait for first responders to arrive saved his life.

“I know it was a miracle. I know god was there because he sent some angels there, and it didn’t just send one, he sent two,” Mom Markita Pittman-Nelson said.

Tyler made it to his kindergarten graduation just a week later, and swim lessons right after that.

“I wish I would have started earlier,” Pittman-Nelson said. “Iit just so happened this summer was the summer I wanted to actually go ahead and start it, and then the incident happened.”

Monday morning, Tyler reunited with Espinoza and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Lieutenant Jesus Fuentes. Tyler said he wants to be a firefighter when he grows up.

BSO says drownings are all too common. As we head into summer and children are out of school, spending time at the beach and pool, BSO said to make sure your child knows how to swim, is wearing floaties, and is supervised at all times, and to learn CPR.

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 Brian Unger

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    ATLANTA, Georgia (WUPA) — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security calls it the fastest-growing criminal enterprise in the world: human trafficking — the use of force, fraud, or coercion to exploit people for forced labor or commercial sex. And with FIFA Men’s World Cup matches just one week away in Atlanta, city leaders are pushing for heightened awareness and training for the frontline workers most likely to encounter it.

To ensure this message reaches those most at risk, the global awareness campaign “It’s a Penalty” is partnering with city leaders, equipping residents and workers to better identify trafficking.

“We’ve heard from survivors themselves that we’ve worked with that they have been trafficked during these events,” said Dana Hoyes of It’s a Penalty. “It’s in hotels and also rental property — just any place that people can have privacy behind closed doors.”

As part of these heightened prevention efforts, hotels like the InterContinental in Buckhead, part of IHG’s 7,000-hotel global portfolio, are expanding employee training—preparing staff who may be the first to notice something is wrong.

“It’s going to be your front desk agents that are checking in guests,” said Helena Killingsworth of IHG Hotels & Resorts. “It’s going to be your housekeepers that are in and out of the rooms, noticing what’s going on, the traffic that’s coming in. It could be your banquet server, delivering in-room dining.”

This training is especially significant in Atlanta, where IHG operates 70 hotels. Designed in part by trafficking survivors, the program reinforces Killingsworth’s approach: “It’s all about see something, say something.”

Mayor Andre Dickens has made anti-trafficking efforts a city-wide priority. Georgia First Lady Marty Kemp has made it a personal cause, pushing for tougher punishments for traffickers.

“We will find you, and you will face justice,” Kemp said at a recent press event for It’s a Penalty at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, referencing multiple pieces of legislation she spearheaded and that were passed by the legislature to stiffen penalties faced by traffickers in Georgia.

For those most vulnerable to traffickers, the crisis extends beyond policies—it’s deeply personal.

Christian Hall says he’s in a good place now. But for much of his life, he wasn’t. In and out of foster care, with no home, no food, and no family, Hall at one point slept in the offices of the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services.

“I was sleeping on the floor,” he said. “Did not have adequate food. Did not have adequate support. It was a very scary time for me.”

Hall is now a resident at Covenant House in Atlanta, where he’s found something that eluded him for most of his 21 years: choices.

“There were times when I felt like I needed to do things outside the norm,” he said. “You’re kind of faced with the question you ask yourself — if I do this, will it make my situation worse?”

Advocates say the uptick in attention is important, but caution that the reality of trafficking stretches far beyond a single tournament or event.

“Large sporting events bring attention to trafficking,” said LaToya McCall of Covenant House Georgia. “However, the work we’re doing at Covenant House Georgia — and the young people in Atlanta — they’re actually more vulnerable to trafficking every single day.”

For 26 years, Covenant House has been on the front lines of that daily fight. For Christian Hall, something as simple as a bed, a meal, and a safe place to sleep has made all the difference.

“Now I’m a student at Atlanta Technical College,” he said. “So I’m taking classes.”

Hall says he’ll eventually attend a 4-year college, maybe even go to law school, to advocate for vulnerable people.

If you believe someone is the victim of human trafficking, call the police or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

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 Monique John

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    ATLANTA, Georgia (WUPA) — Georgia Tech researchers and Zoo Atlanta are innovating technology to keep elephants healthy and sharp.

Building on this innovation, Arianna Mastali, a Georgia Tech PhD student, is developing an interactive wall that produces sounds elephants typically hear in the wild. Mastali says elephants’ keen ears can hear low-frequency sounds, and that the sounds from the wall keep them mentally stimulated.

She explains, “In the wild, they sometimes communicate through those low frequencies by being able to feel the vibrations and their feet,” Mastali said. “And that’s how they can communicate over long distances. Because of that, we wanted to avoid using any natural elephant sounds in our enrichment. And we specifically chose just basic low tones so that we weren’t interfering or potentially saying anything that could be confusing for the elephants.”

In comparison to other zoos, which have similar enrichment walls, the audio features in this one set it apart. Kirby Miller, Zoo Atlanta’s senior elephant care specialist, is working with Mastali to develop the system.

Describing how the features are tailored, Miller said, “It depends on what behavior we’re trying to elicit. So [if] we want trunk manipulation, object interaction, something sensory, so we can switch that out depending on what it is to keep it novel for them. So, that just keeps them stimulated and keeps their day really interesting.”

As a result of these efforts, the zoo says the elephants have doubled their time at the wall.

Looking ahead, Mastali said, “At this point, we are working towards taking things and removing them from the wall and using a camera with computer vision so that we don’t have to worry about wear and tear long term, or potentially elephants trying to break it. And we are in the process of trying to develop our algorithm to be more accurate in detecting whenever a trunk is present at one of these holes, so we can provide that sound enrichment to them long-term.”

Miller highlights the impact on the caretakers: “It’s been really great for us,” Miller said. “This is a type of enrichment that we can’t provide as caretakers. There’s only so much we can do. So having Arianna do that for us has been really great…”

Looking to the future, Mastali hopes the zoo’s care team can use the wall long after her research is finished.

She adds, “Over the next two years, I would say we are hoping to get something that works full-time, and we can make it so it’s usable for the animal care team to be able to use without our supervision.”

She hopes the interactive tech can be used to engage other zoo animals for years to come.

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 Mary Eber

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    BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — A Maryland woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer at 22 is now celebrating Cancer Survivors’ Month and hoping to encourage others.

Shelby Bennoit was diagnosed with breast cancer after discovering a lump in her breast. Her team of doctors at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital developed an aggressive treatment of chemotherapy followed by surgery.

Bennoit opted for a bilateral mastectomy. Now, at 24, she’s been cancer-free for more than a year and shared the moment she learned she was rid of it.

Diagnosed with breast cancer Bennoit said she did not have a family history of breast cancer or any cancer. But when she noticed a lump, her family and friends encouraged her to get it checked out.

She had a biopsy done, and two days later, got a call that she had breast cancer.

“When I first found the lump, I never saw this coming,” she said. “I was like it has to be something else, hormonal changes, a cyst, anything but breast cancer, especially not having any family history. I just never saw this coming. I am the first person in my family to even get cancer.”

Her official diagnosis was Infiltrating Duct Carcinoma Stage 2b Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

“I was in shock for a very long time,” Bennoit said. “It really didn’t set in until I began treatment and started to experience those effects like losing my hair and feeling the side effects from chemo. So, the first couple of weeks, I was really in shock for the most part. It didn’t really hit me until I started treatment.”

Breast cancer treatment Bennoit said her doctors prepared her, telling her that her treatment plan would be aggressive.

She immediately started chemotherapy, undergoing 16 rounds, some weekly and others bi-weekly. Surgery followed.

Bennoit said she opted for the bilateral mastectomy as she wanted to do everything in her power to ensure the cancer would not come back.

Her doctor, Kristen Fernandez, the surgical director of Ascension Saint Agnes Breast Cancer, would call with updates at all hours and was there to answer her questions.

“Under 25, it’s less than 1%, some of the data says .1%, so it’s exceedingly rare in young women,” Fernandez said.

Cancer-free Bennoit was diagnosed in August 2024 and was cancer-free by February 2025.

“Receiving the news that I was cancer-free was incredible,” Bennoit said. “I had never felt such an elated, joyful feeling in my life. I was so just so grateful to my team here and my family and everyone that supported me through all of my trials and tribulations. And I just felt so on fire to give back to the community. To help other women and to inspire others and just to let them know that, you do have hope, that I am a testament of that, and that there is something positive to look forward to after this.”

Now, Bennoit is encouraging other young women to look into their risk factors and have conversations with their doctors.

“To anyone going through a cancer diagnosis, whether it be breast cancer or not, please don’t give up, try to stay as positive as possible. Reach out for help when you need it. There are so many of us out there that are willing to hold your hand and walk you through this.”

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.