Category: CNN Regional

By Hannah Hilyard

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    KENOSHA, Wisconsin (WISN) — A former teacher aide in Kenosha County will spend the next 50 years in prison. A judge delivered that sentence to Anna Marie Crocker on Tuesday after the 34-year-old pleaded guilty to multiple sex crimes involving four young boys.

“I take full responsibility for what has taken place,” Crocker said through tears during Tuesday’s sentencing. “I am disturbed by the harm and distress, along with the trauma that you have to endure. I am deeply sorry that this has caused confusion, pain and anger, and that you have to live with this the rest of your lives.”

During the sentencing, investigators detailed Crocker’s crimes, including forcing a 12-year-old to have sex with her and luring a 14-year-old out of his home to sexually assault him.

“She couldn’t help herself. She was juggling all these boys at the same time,” prosecutor Rosa Delgado said in court.

A court order prohibited the recording of the victims and their families, but one mother told the judge, “This person destroyed my son’s psyche and loving and caring spirit.”

As a result of the defendant’s actions, that family moved out of state.

Crocker, a mother of four herself, pleaded for a lighter sentence, saying, “I am asking for mercy and compassion even though I understand the seriousness.”

Judge David Hughes ultimately sentenced Crocker to 51.5 years of incarceration and 32 years of extended supervision.

“She sought out children, she used children and she took advantage of children,” the judge said.

Crocker showed little emotion as the judge handed down the hefty sentence.

She will be in her 80s by the time her sentence runs out. The judge said she will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life.

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 Addison Kliewer & Jonathan Greco

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    WEST OKLAHOMA (KOCO) — Oklahoma isn’t done with the fire danger after warnings prompted evacuations and injured firefighters in the western part of the state, as wildfires burned thousands of acres.

Gov. Stitt requests resources from across Oklahoma, out of state to help with wildfires

On Tuesday, evacuations were issued in Beaver, Texas and Woodward counties. More than 155,000 acres burned across Oklahoma.

The fire risk continues Wednesday, with the danger increasing in central Oklahoma, including the OKC metro.

What to Know

Two wildfires near Woodward have been contained, and evacuation orders were lifted. Evacuation orders were still in place for the town of Tyrone, which is in Texas County, at about 8 p.m. Wednesday brings another high fire danger day, with a red flag warning stretching all the way to the Oklahoma City metro. Numerous structures were destroyed in Woodward, Texas and Beaver counties, including two USDA facility buildings. Four firefighters were injured while battling the flames across Oklahoma. Another High Fire Danger Day Wednesday The fire danger is higher on Wednesday than it was on Tuesday, especially in central Oklahoma and the OKC metro.

KOCO 5 Meteorologist Jonathan Conder says humidity has absolutely tanked for Wednesday because of a dry line that moved through the state.

Another red flag warning has been issued for western, southwestern, central and northern Oklahoma. Counties in the OKC metro are all included in the warning.

The area with the highest risk of seeing fires is western and northwestern Oklahoma. The risk is 3 out of 5. Southwestern to central and east-central Oklahoma have a 2 out of 5 risk, and it’s 1 out of 5 in western Oklahoma.

Fire Danger Continues Thursday

Oklahoma won’t be done with the fire danger on Wednesday, as the threat increases throughout the state on Thursday.

Jonathan says winds pick up and the humidity drops. The risk for central, western and northeastern Oklahoma is 3 out of 5. Surrounding areas have a 2 out of 5 risk.

The OKC metro is included in the 3 out of 5 risk zone.

While a red flag warning hasn’t been issued yet for Thursday, much of the state outside of southeastern Oklahoma is under a fire weather watch. Jonathan expects that to be upgraded to a red flag warning.

Relief is coming in the form of a cold front this weekend.

Wednesday Burn Bans

The Oklahoma Forestry Services officials say five counties are under a burn ban on Wednesday. Those counties include Texas, Cleveland, McClain, Garvin and Pottawatomie.

You can see Oklahoma Forestry Services’ burn ban map here.

Woodward Fire

On Tuesday afternoon, evacuations were issued for the southwest parts of Woodward near 13th Street and Oklahoma Avenue south and west. Those evacuation orders were lifted on Tuesday evening.

Woodward Emergency Management said at least three structures were destroyed, including two at a USDA facility.

At least 2,000 acres burned in what is being called the “43 Road Fire.”

KOCO 5 First Alert Storm Chaser Amanda Benton was in the city, where heavy black smoke was seen filling the sky. Open the video player below to watch.

A second fire popped up southeast of Woodward, near Hunter Road and East Hanks Trail, in the evening hours. Firefighters told KOCO 5 that no evacuations were planned for the wildfire on the southeast side of town.

At about 6:10 p.m., the Woodward County emergency manager provided an update on the fire. Open the video player below to watch.

He explained that the evacuation area is south of Highway 412, which runs east and west through the center of Woodward, and 13th Street, which runs north and south. He said that the southwest part of Woodward, a heavily wooded area, was being evacuated.

The fire was burning through an area previously impacted by a tornado in 2012, which resulted in six deaths and the destruction of 90 homes.

“It’s in an area that’s been impacted already. As we talked about years ago, we’ve been on, unfortunately talking about a number of incidents that happened in this area right now,” he said.

Beaver County Fire

The Beaver County Emergency Management said numerous outbuildings were destroyed in a wildfire known as the “Ranger Road Fire.”

Oklahoma Forestry Services officials said they estimate about 145,000 acres burned in Beaver County from the wildfires.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol posted pictures of a fire in Forgan, where Trooper Travis Burgess has shut down the eastbound lanes of U.S. Highway 64. Authorities said the fire has crossed the highway.

Forgan is a town in Beaver County that’s more than 220 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.

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Texas County Fire

Texas County Emergency Management reported two wildfires on Tuesday. One of the fires, known as the “Side Road Fire,” started after a seven-vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 54, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Emergency Management.

Evacuation orders were issued for a wildfire known as the “Stevens Fire.” Those orders were still in place for the town of Tyrone, which is in Texas County, at about 8 p.m. The community was told to evacuate at about 3 p.m. Tuesday.

The Texas County fire moved over the state line into Kansas.

Shelters were opened in Liberal, Kansas, for those displaced by the fire at CrossPoint Church, 204 North Sherman Avenue.

At least five structures were destroyed by the fires, and more than 8,300 acres burned in Texas County.

Oklahoma Fire Warnings and Evacuations

Evacuations were still in place Tuesday evening for the community of Tyrone in Texas County.

The wildfire that prompted evacuations for the areas southwest of Woodward, near 13th Street and Oklahoma Avenue south and west, was contained and orders were lifted on Tuesday evening.

Evacuations were issued for Beaver County, near the community of Gate, after a wildfire sparked.

Mass Care Shelters

The American Red Cross will provide food for those forced to evacuate at the shelters below. The Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief will provide food for first responders in Beaver, Texas and Woodward counties.

Cheyenne & Arapaho ERC: Woodward, Oklahoma

Mooreland Community Centers: 105 SE Fifth St., Mooreland, Oklahoma

Mooreland United Methodist Church: 302 S. Elm, Mooreland, Oklahoma

Reported Injuries

Four firefighters were injured while responding to the Beaver County wildfires. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported a fire truck from Rosston Fire overturned, injuring three firefighters.

They were transported to hospitals in the area.

The Oklahoma Forestry Services also said another firefighter was injured and taken to a hospital on Tuesday. It wasn’t clear who the firefighter was or where the incident happened.

State’s Response to Wildfires

Gov. Kevin Stitt joined KOCO over the phone after being briefed at the Emergency Operations Center about the fires burning across the state on Tuesday.

“We’ve evacuated the town of Tyrone and then right now the big fire we’re watching is southwest of Woodward,” Stitt said.

Gov. Kevin Stitt gives update on wildfires as Oklahoma braces for escalating fire danger Stitt said that state resources, including the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, were assisting with evacuations, and the Oklahoma Forestry Department and local firefighters were actively engaged in combating the fires.

However, helicopters and other aerial assets were unable to fly due to strong winds and smoke.

“Right now, we do not have any reports of homes being damaged in Woodward. So, that’s a good thing,” he said. “And we hopefully we get that line kept out of Woodward proper.”

The governor has been in contact with local officials in Woodward to assess their needs and coordinate state support.

“I’ve already talked to the mayor and the city manager and Woodward to find out what resources they needed and what they were seeing on the ground there,” Stitt said.

He has instructed forestry assets from the eastern part of the state to assist in the firefighting efforts.

“Most of them are already there just to put every fire hose we have and every bulldozer, make sure that we get those lines prepared, and then we’ll just we’re trying to fight those wildfires and keep them out of those major population areas,” Stitt said.

Stitt acknowledged the fire threat is expected to increase, with the potential for fires to move into central and eastern Oklahoma on Wednesday and Thursday.

“It’s supposed to move a little bit more to the middle part of our state, and then maybe on Thursday to the eastern part of our state as well,” he said. “They’re going to get me an emergency declaration for that part of the state that will allow me to request assets from other states.”

Air assets have already been requested from Texas, although conditions remain too windy for them to operate.

“We just want to make sure I give them all the tools they have to be able to fight these fires and keep Oklahoma safe,” Stitt said. “So, man, we just hope it’s not like last March where it went crazy. But that’s why I’ve got every asset possibly in the state over there in the western part of our state right now.”

Crashes Due to Smoke

The Woodward County emergency manager said at least one firetruck was involved in a crash due to low visibility caused by smoke. There was no information on if anyone was injured.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported a fire truck from Rosston Fire overturned, injuring three firefighters.

The “Side Road Fire” in Texas County started after a seven-vehicle crash on U.S. Highway 54, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Emergency Management.

Advice for Motorists

Oklahoma Highway Patrol officials also are using the situation to remind motorists not to drive into smoke as the fire danger continues throughout the week.

“Be careful out there,” the Oklahoma Highway Patrol posted on social media.

Firefighters in Woodward told KOCO’s Amanda Benton that evacuations caused traffic issues through town.

Reporting Damage

Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management is asking residents impacted by the fires to report damages to their property at damage.ok.gov. Reporting damage helps local and state emergency managers better coordinate response and recovery efforts and can help connect residents with resources. Residents can report damage to homes, businesses or agriculture through the online survey, according to the department.

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 Charlie Lapastora

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    SACRAMENTO (KOVR) — Manteca has seen its fair share of bicyclists taking over public streets and even the highway. Tuesday evening, city leaders hoped to do something about it.

Manteca police saw how a nearby Ceres ordinance reduced the number of bike groups in the middle of the street, creating hazards. After some recent incidents in Manteca, they’re trying to implement something similar in their city.

“Nothing good can come out of riding your bicycle towards a moving vehicle and hoping you swerve out of the way,” Manteca Chief of Police Stephen Schluer said.

It’s why the police force wanted an ordinance to curb bicyclists from riding on streets.

After Manteca Mayor Gary Singh, Vice Mayor Regina Lackey, and city council members talked about the agenda item Tuesday evening with the Chief Schluer and interim city attorney Riana Daniel, who beforehand announced her resignation, it passed unanimously 5-0.

“We encourage you to be safe,” David Breitenbucher, Manteca city councilmember, said. “If you’re going to do this, be safe. There’s a safe way to do it and there’s a stupid way to do it, and we have an ordinance to take care of the stupid way.”

If caught on a street takeover, bicyclists could be handed a misdemeanor with a maximum of a $1,000 fine. For those 16 and under, the penalty could be a bike safety course and getting the bike impounded.

“We want these kids to be safe,” Chief Schluer said. “We want them to ride safely and we have nothing against bicycle organizations and creating safe bike rides and following the rules of the road that they’re supposed to.”

The main focus would also be to penalize the organizers of the bike rides.

“In the long run, it’s just to protect the kids who are going out, they’re riding directly at cars traveling at them at 25 miles an hour, and they swerve out of the way at the last minute or there’s a group of them that are obstructing traffic and try to prevent them from doing that,” Chief Schluer said. “Last month, they even took it as far as to get on the freeway and drive on the freeway with it. The behavior’s unacceptable, and so this is our way to try to end it or stop it, at least here in Manteca.”

Council members and police recognize the benefits and fun to be had by biking. The goal is just to keep bikers and drivers safe on the roads.

“Sometimes these kids are younger,” Chief Schluer said. “Between maybe, 14, 15, 16 years old, they don’t think of the consequences. You know, they just think it’s fun.”

Chief Schluer told CBS Sacramento he doesn’t want to “punish” bikers but just to correct their behavior to bike in the proper spots, like the sidewalks and recently improved bike lanes in the city that he says are clearly marked and green. He recognizes this may not put an end to street bikers but the hope is to curb it.

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By WABC Eyewitness News

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    NEW YORK (WABC) — Delta is responding to a woman’s call for help after her specialized wheelchair was damaged during a flight and she is stuck at her home in Yonkers.

Latavia Sturdivant says what should have been a routine flight turned into a nightmare after she claimed Delta broke her wheelchair during a flight.

Sturdivant was Ms. Wheelchair America 2026.

She was traveling home from an event when the wheelchair was damaged and can’t get on the road again to do her advocacy work.

“There is no other chair that I can use because it keeps my body in proper alignment, prevents me from having contractions and so Delta needs to do better in taking proper care of our wheelchairs,” Sturdivant said.

In a statement, Delta said, “Delta understands the fundamental impact that any damaged mobility aid has on an individual and their daily life. We sincerely apologize for this customer’s experience that did not live up to our standards, and we are in touch with them to ensure we make things right.”

Delta officials said it will cover the cost of her wheelchair repairs in full.

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 Casey Zanowic

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    INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — A range of reproductive health products and other essentials, all free of charge, for anyone in need. That’s what a new vending machine on the north side is offering to those in the community.

“We want to make sure that people have access to that in a safe, accessible, beautiful way, without judgment, without scrutiny,” Anjuli Shivshanker, a volunteer with Indiana Task FORCE, said.

Everything from pads and tampons, condoms and Plan B, even Narcan and Fentanyl test strips. Those are the variety of products available now at All Souls Unitarian Church of Indianapolis.

“It is becoming more and more difficult to access our basic needs right now,” Reverend Katie Romano Griffin, Senior Pastor at All Souls, stated. “And so I think having this vending machine, and near a food pantry, is critical to meet the needs of our community.”

It’s a partnership between the church and the Indiana Task FORCE: Feminists Organizing & Re-imagining Civic Engagement.

“The idea for the vending machines came because here in Indiana we have some of the strictest abortion laws in the country and people want to make them even stricter,” Shivshanker, who coordinates these machines statewide, explained.

She and other volunteers work with local churches and small businesses to provide better access to reproductive health products.

“We believe, fully, that if it is a choice to have kids or not, you have to be able to get the supplies to make that choice,” Shivshanker said.

As a Unitarian clergy, Rev. Romano Griffin knew these products would be beneficial to her community.

“‘Unitarian universalists have a long history of supporting reproductive justice,” Romano Griffin explained. “If you have to make a choice between contraception and feeding yourself or someone you love, that is an incredibly difficult choice to make, and this machine helps [make that easier].”

The goal is to make these products an option, long-term, for anyone in need.

“It’s about people being able to access their full humanity, feeling empowered and not experiencing that shame that comes from a lack of access,” Serena Van Orman, an instructor in Human Sexuality at Indiana University of Indianapolis, stated.

“‘I hope that in years, we don’t need this… I hope that, that accessibility there it’s global,” Romano Griffin said.

The vending machine was just opened at the church on Sunday. They hope to continue stocking it with more products in the near future.

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.