Category: CNN Regional

By Addison Howard

Click here for updates on this story

    ROSWELL, Ga. (WRCB) — The Chattahoochee Nature Center (CNC) is reminding the public of the dangers of rabies after a man unsafely brought a rabid raccoon to their shelter.

In a social media post they said does not intend to shame or embarrass, they told the full story as a cautionary tale.

A gentleman in Cherokee County, GA found a raccoon vocalizing in the road earlier this week.

“Not having anything to contain it, he wrapped it in his coat and held it against his chest as he drove for over an hour to CNC,” the post said.

The center is not licensed for raccoon rehab, and only accepts raptors, reptiles, and amphibians.

During the drive, the raccoon freed its head and bit the man on the face and hands.

He drove back home, wrapped the raccoon in a blanket with duct tape, and continued to the center:

“He arrived an hour before the Wildlife Clinic opens, just as children were arriving for CNC Camp Kingfisher’s Thanksgiving Break camp. The Camp Director radioed Wildlife to alert us to the situation. Wildlife staff met the finder in the parking lot with a kennel to secure the animal. After much forceful insistence on our part, he finally agreed to go to the hospital for treatment while we dealt with the raccoon.”

Partners at a nearby veterinary hospital agreed to accept the raccoon for euthanasia and submission to the Cherokee County Health Department. They say it had to be killed to be tested.

Fewer than 48 hours later, the center learned the raccoon tested positive for rabies.

The condition of the man, who refused to identify himself to staff or the hospital, is unknown.

The center provided some “important take-aways:”

– Unlike domestic pets, lone wild animals in pain and distress do not vocalize since this could attract predators – Always ensure rehab centers are licensed for the type of animal you have – Be honest and truthful when asked for information – Rabies in human has a >99% fatality rate without treatment

“While the finder’s heart was in the right place, he put himself, his family, CNC’s staff, volunteers, and visitors, the GWN transporter, and the staff of Bells Ferry all at risk,” the center said. “PLEASE take a minute and assess the situation before attempting to capture wildlife without direction.”

If you find an animal you suspect may have rabies, call your local health department.

Please note: 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 Lauren Pozen

Click here for updates on this story

    COVINA, California (KCAL, KCBS) — A Covina family is struggling to recover from a Thanksgiving Day tragedy after their home was burglarized and their beloved pet dog Rocky was killed.

“I can’t understand,” said Monica Lopez. “Only cry, cry and cry.”

Lopez’s beloved dog, whom she refers to as her angel with paws, was home when she locked up to meet her family for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. She says that she left him with food and water and told him that she would be back soon.

When she got home at around 10:30 a.m., she instantly knew something was wrong when she saw that the back door was open. She said that her bedroom was ransacked, with drawers and clothing tossed on the floor, along with pieces of glass from the shattered window. She believes that the thieves took her jewelry, including her wedding ring, and cash that she was using to pay her home’s mortgage.

Lopez says that Rocky probably ran after the burglars when they left the back door open. Her son, who rushed to her house after learning of the burglary, found him about 400 feet from the home with severe head trauma. Despite the best efforts of a local veterinarian, Rocky died.

“He is not an animal,” Lopez said. “The animal was the people who come here, and they don’t care.”

Though he’s not sure it’s the same people, Lopez’s son says that in October, a man and woman knocked on the window outside of his mother’s bedroom. That duo ran off when they realized someone was home.

He says that Rocky had been the heart of his mother’s home since her husband passed. Now, he says the empty food and water bowls are a heartbreaking reminder of her angel that is now gone.

“It’s not good. Why kill my dog? Why kill my dog, Rocky?” Lopez said.

The family says that the Thanksgiving holiday delayed the law enforcement investigation, and that detectives said they would be back on Monday to dust for fingerprints and try to collect additional evidence.

Police have not yet told CBS Los Angeles how many suspects they’re looking for, or if they have a description.

As the investigation continues, the family has set up a GoFundMe to help cover the damage to Lopez’s home, the money she lost and other expenses, including security cameras to help with security in the future. The fundraiser can be found by searching for the keywords: “Help Covina widow recover from tragic Thanksgiving burglary.”

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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 Terell Bailey

Click here for updates on this story

    DETROIT, Michigan (WWJ) — The Detroit Police Department confirmed that it responded to a call concerning a baby found on a porch on Thanksgiving night.

Police responded to a home on Cruse Street near Fenkell Avenue. Police said their child abuse unit is investigating.

However, CBS News Detroit spoke with a source who confirmed the child wasn’t left on the porch. A teenage family member at the home, in fact, gave birth to the child, according to the source.

On Friday, a family member told CBS News Detroit that a teenager living at the Cruse Street home was pregnant, and that the family was unaware of the news. When the family initially received the news that a child was on the porch, the police were contacted.

Attorney Jeff Abood with Abood Law believes charges could be forthcoming.

“If somebody were to abandon an infant or child, then they could face criminal charges,” Abood told CBS News Detroit.

In 2001, a safe delivery law was implemented in Michigan. It allows parents to surrender their newborn child, no more than 3 days old, to any uniformed on-duty employee at a hospital, fire department, or police station. State records show nearly 400 babies have been safely surrendered in Michigan.

“You could do that without any sort of criminal responsibility, assuming it was done properly and done right,” Abood said.

With these latest developments, Detroit police haven’t said what will happen next.

According to the family member who talked to CBS News Detroit, the baby and mother are in the hospital and expected to be OK.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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 Frankie McLister

Click here for updates on this story

    Minnesota (WCCO) — Video from Peru shows first responders racing to rescue a Minnesota man after he was killed in a lightning strike. Now, his family is trying to figure out how to get his body home.

“You will be missed greatly by your family and son, especially,” said Brett Skoog, Yuri Botelho’s brother-in-law.

Brett Skoog said if he could tell his brother-in-law one last thing, he’d say, “We know you’re in a better place.”

On Thanksgiving Eve, Botehlo was biking in the mountains of Peru with his friend James and a guide when tragedy hit out of nowhere. A sudden lightning strike killed Yuri and left his friend critically hurt.

“Kelsey was tracking his watch, saw it wasn’t moving,” said Brett Skoog.

Botelho, 36, was on an annual Thanksgiving trip with his beloved wife of three years, Kelsey, and their 15-month-old son, Tyson.

“We’ll make sure we do our part in making sure Tyson knows how much he was loved,” said Mandy Skoog, Botelho’s sister-in-law.

Botelho, a jujitsu-loving Brazilian native, posted about how proud he was to become an American citizen in May on Instagram.

He had recently relocated to Minnesota with his wife and son to be near her family and worked for the city of St. Louis Park.

“If you met Yuri once, you’ll never forget him,” said Mandy Skoog.

When WCCO asked her, “Why?” She responded, “He is just the happiest person I have ever met.”

As of Friday night, his wife and baby boy are in South America, fighting logistics to get his body back home.

“You almost feel helpless, which is why I’m very thankful my brother and Kelsey’s friend pretty much hopped on a plane as soon as they could,” said Brett Skoog.

Mandy Skoog added, “She’s fighting as a spouse trying to get Yuri home and fighting for her son, making sure he has everything he needs. Man, we were lucky to have him”.

The City of St. Louis Park said the following in response to the incident:

“We at the City of St. Louis Park are aware of the very tragic news about Yuri Botelho. This is a tremendous loss for his family, his friends and for all of us as his colleagues. Yuri had only been with the city for a short time but was already a trusted and valued employee and friend. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”

Financial support and prayers are what the family says they need most. An online fundraiser has raised nearly $30,000.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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 Jeremiah Estrada

Click here for updates on this story

    HILO, Hawaii (KITV) — Another live skunk was captured by agriculture inspectors at Hilo Harbor this month.

Agriculture inspectors from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity Plant Quarantine Branch (PQB) were told that the relative of a stevedore at Hilo Harbor saw a skunk on Thursday morning, Nov. 27, on Kanoelehua Avenue. He tried to run over the skunk but missed.

After the attempt, he said he saw the skunk run under a fence at the Hilo shipyard. Inspectors immediately searched the area where they found the skunk and caught it using a net.

The first incident also at Hilo Harbor took place on Nov. 6 — dockworkers tried to barricade the skunk at Pier 1 near cement pilings, but it was able to escape before inspectors arrived.

According to another report from that incident, a skunk had taken refuge in the undercarriage of a vehicle on the dock. Though the skunk was visible, inspectors were not able to reach it because the vehicle was enclosed in a shipping container.

Traps were set up by inspectors and the following morning, the skunk was found caught in the trap. The area was searched for any more skunks, but none were found. Inspectors set up more traps throughout the container yard for at least a week just in case, but no additional skunks were caught.

Both skunks were humanely euthanized in order to be tested for rabies. The first skunk caught on Nov. 7 tested negative and the results for the most captured are pending.

Skunks are invasive to Hawaii and they frequently arrive in the islands by hitchhiking cargo ships. The origin of these two Hilo skunks is unknown, but it is presumed that they came aboard a cargo ship because they were found near the harbor. It is also unknown whether both skunks arrived together or at separate times.

Previous skunk incidents where they have been captured include Nov. 13, 2025 at Honolulu Harbor, along with June 2025 at Kaka‘ako Waterfront Park, Feb. 2023 from a Hilo resident, Aug. 2022 at Kanaha Pond State Wildlife Sanctuary on Maui and several other Honolulu Harbor captures at Pier 1 took place in Feb. 2018, Jan. 2021, July 2021 and June 2022.

Skunks are prohibited in Hawaii and are only allowed in a municipal zoo with a research and exhibit permit. The animal is one of the four primary wild carriers of rabies in the United States. Hawaii is the only state in the U.S. and one of the few places in the world without rabies.

Any illegal and invasive species that are spotted or captured should be immediately reported to the state’s Pest Hotline at 808-643-PEST (7378).

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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 Ellie Nakamoto-White

Click here for updates on this story

    KENOSHA, Wisconsin (WDJT) — Jourdan Feasby had a happy Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 27, with her three children before she sent them off to visit their dad for the holiday, with whom she shares custody.

She didn’t know that would be the last time she saw Rylee Levi, 10, Connor Liam, 9, and Alena Ellen, 7.

“It just doesn’t seem real yet to me,” Feasby said through tears on Saturday morning, Nov. 29. “And I can’t believe that this is my reality right now.”

Kenosha police responded to a call for an apartment fire on the 5200 block of 43rd Ave. Just before 10:40 p.m. Thanksgiving night.

There, officials were able to get the fire extinguished — but for the three children, it was too late.

Rylee and Connor both died from the fire, and Alena was airlifted to a hospital for treatment but later passed.

“I was so excited for Christmas shopping but now it’s just caskets,” Feasby said. “They brought all of this light that now I don’t have.”

Police said the kids’ father was treated for smoke inhalation, and Feasby added that he’s now with other family members.

“You can sit here and say all you want to that I would’ve done this, this, and this, but when you’re in the situation, it’s completely different,” Feasby said. “But I will tell you that if I was in that situation, without a doubt, my kids would’ve been out or I would’ve been dead with them.”

Officials are still investigating what happened and the cause of the fire.

Feasby said she hopes their results will provide clarity as to the timeline of the situation and how it all unfolded.

“I feel so alone, to go from having my whole world to nothing,” Feasby said. “Hug your babies and enjoy them this Christmas because you could’ve been in my position and you never know when it’s the last day.”

A GoFundMe has been set up to cover the funeral costs.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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.