Category: CNN Regional

By Adam Bartow

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    POLAND SPRING, Maine (WMTW) — A person from Maine has tested positive for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). This is the first case of HPS reported in Maine since 2011 and only the second documented case of HPS in a Maine resident since U.S. CDC surveillance began in 1993.

The Maine CDC says the adult patient was hospitalized with a multi-week syndrome of fevers, headache, myalgias, malaise, rash, abdominal pain, shortness of breath, anemia, thrombocytopenia, pericardial effusion, pulmonary edema, and pulmonary emboli.

The CDC says the person needed supplemental oxygen but recovered and was allowed to go home.

Health officials say the person has been exposed to a rodent infestation on their property but had no recent travel out of state.

The CDC did not say how old the person is or even what county they live in.

Hantaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause serious illness or death in people. HPS was first identified in the United States in 1993 following an outbreak of severe pulmonary illness among people in the Four Corners region of the southwestern U.S.

Hantavirus is spread by certain species of infected rodents through urine, droppings, or saliva. Humans become infected after breathing fresh aerosolized urine, droppings, saliva, or nesting materials contaminated with hantavirus, or when these materials are directly introduced into broken skin, the nose or the mouth after touching contaminated objects or eating contaminated foods. If an infected rodent bites someone, the virus may spread to that person, but health officials say this is rare.

HPS in the United States is not transmitted from person to person. Rodent infestations in and around the home are the primary risk for hantavirus exposure.

Symptoms of HPS begin one to eight weeks after exposure. Early symptoms include fatigue, fever, chills, headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and myalgia, especially in large muscle groups – thighs, hips, back and shoulders.

Late symptoms appear four to 10 days after the initial phase and may include coughing, shortness of breath, and tightness in the chest as the lungs fill with fluid. The illness can progress rapidly to severe respiratory failure and shock. About 40% of people who develop respiratory symptoms die.

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By Zach Fuentes

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    SAN FRANCISCO, California (KGO) — A place to live, work, play and learn: That’s San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s vision for downtown — and he’s got a new initiative he hopes will make it happen.

Lurie said his administration has leveraged more than $40 million in private funding to help boost downtown, in what he is calling the “Heart of the City” executive directive.

Lurie said that initiative will use the millions to support small businesses, clean up streets and activate public spaces. It also calls for converting empty office spaces into housing.

He said it’s going to put downtown on track to be a 24/7 neighborhood. The priorities are going to be measured through the next year.

“It’s not just that San Francisco is open for business. We are making it easier to do business here in the city,” Lurie said.

He also wants to streamline permits to encourage more private investments to help boost downtown’s growth. Some of the areas the plan is focusing on include Powell Street, Stockton Street and Fourth Street and Embarcadero Plaza.

Moving forward, different milestones will be measured in 100 days, six months and one year.

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By Kameron Macrorie

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    ROGERS, Arkansas (KHBS, KHOG) — Sept. 11, 2025, marks 24 years since the deadly 9/11 terrorist attacks.

As Americans across the country remember and honor the lives lost, one Rogers man is sharing his experience in the aftermath of the attacks.

Chuck Stout said this week is a time to remember the loss, devastation and work it took to rebuild a community after tragedy.

“It’s something that devastated America,” Stout said. “For those of us who worked it, it’s an even worse memory.”

In 2001, Stout was the owner of a McDonald’s franchise in Columbia, Pennsylvania.

After the 9/11 attacks, he was called to help feed first responders who were working to recover the bodies of the fallen in the rubble of the buildings.

“He would drive us down to what they called the pit, which is the heart of the zone, where the two buildings did stand,” Stout said. “It was mostly firemen who were down there looking for their buddies.”

From Sept. 26 to Oct. 1, Stout delivered fresh meals to firemen, policemen and construction workers in the pit.

He said even 24 years later, he has not forgotten the horrifying conditions.

“We got out to feed these two gentlemen that were sweating like crazy, even though it was September,” Stout said. “We saw body parts on the fire escapes, and I would smell the atrocious smell.”

He recalled the thousands of first responders from across the country who came to assist with recovery efforts, working around the clock to find and identify any bodies that they could.

He said that despite the terror of these memories, year after year, he makes sure he never forgets this experience.

“Three thousand and six hundred people died that day, and some were injured, and there’s still people dying that helped clean up,” Stout said. “We have to remember that we are vulnerable.”

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By Brett Rains

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    FORT SMITH, Arkansas (KHBS, KHOG) — For the first time, an Oklahoma tribal police department will be able to enforce laws on tribal land located in Arkansas.

A new memorandum of understanding between the Fort Smith Police Department and the Choctaw Nation Light Horse Police formally cross-deputized both agencies.

The agreement directly affects the Choctaw Casino area, where the casino building sits in Oklahoma, but the parking lot lies across the state line in Arkansas, allowing officers from both agencies to respond to calls on either side of the border.

“We’re not going to be policing or patrolling the casino parking lot. But if they call us and ask for help, then we will have the ability to respond and assist,” Fort Smith Police Chief Danny Baker said. “Likewise, they’re not going to be looking to enforce Fort Smith ordinances and an Arkansas state law on that tribal property.”

Act 594 authorizes cross-deputization between law enforcement agencies operating on federally recognized tribal land in Arkansas. The measure was sponsored by State Sen. Justin Boyd (R–Fort Smith).

“It puts the bureaucracy on the back end,” Boyd said. “This bill does not do anything to give the Choctaw authority outside of the tribal area. It doesn’t add any new authority to anyone. What it does is it just puts the structure in place to help ensure that we can keep Arkansans safe and people who happen to be in Arkansas safe.”

Fort Smith Mayor George McGill praised the agreement’s practical benefits.

“It makes a lot of sense. It provides a policing. The cross-deputization allows the police forces to operate as one,” McGill said. “A large percentage of the employees that casinos have are residents of Arkansas.”

Outcomes can differ depending on a person’s status and location if they are arrested on tribal land in Arkansas.

“If you are a Native American, Choctaw tribal member, and you’re on that particular piece of property, a different set of laws apply,” Baker said, referencing the implications of the McGirt decision for Indigenous people on tribal property. “If you’re not a tribal member, then those laws don’t apply. You’d be going to Sebastian County. (Choctaw officers) could arrest you for violations of Arkansas state law.”

Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton said the expanded cooperation will ultimately improve public safety for residents and visitors in the River Valley.

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By Greg Fox

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    ORANGE COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — UPDATE: Bodycam of the incident was released a day after WESH 2’s story.

The Westwood neighborhood off Silver Star Road in Orange County is known by people WESH 2 spoke with to be quiet and safe. Not crime-free, but non-violent.

That changed at a home on Sheringham Road on Aug. 23 when just after 3 p.m., some would-be home invaders broke in through a bathroom window at the rear of the house.

WESH 2 reached the man by phone who rents the home. He did not want his name revealed.

He told WESH 2, “The guys who broke in, I thought there were three of them, but learned later there were four. I shot at them. I have an AR-15. They ran out the back.”

He said after firing his rifle, the home invaders headed in the direction of Silver Star Road, which would have made it easy to get away quickly. The victim does not know if any of his bullets struck any of the people who broke in.

The home invasion victim then called 911 for help, but he says the response by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office nearly cost him his life.

“I told them on the phone (dispatch) that the home invaders were gone. So I went to the front door when the deputies were there,” he said. “I opened the door and everything happened so fast. There were about five deputies there and one of them shot me in the thigh.”

The man told WESH 2 he was treated by paramedics at the home and rushed to a hospital where he was treated and released.

So far, the sheriff’s office is not commenting on the break-in, the search for suspects, or the accidental shooting of the victim. They did tell WESH 2 the deputy accidently fired his weapon.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the incidents, and the deputy is on temporary paid administrative leave.

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By Hanna Lopez

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    KEWAUNEE, Wisconsin (WGBA) — A neighborhood dad known as ‘Cabbage’ has been grilling at Kewaunee High School games for over a decade, and the nickname has become just as well-known as the man behind the grill.

Jeff Christian or ‘Cabbage,’ or as just about everyone in Kewaunee knows him has been grilling up burgers at local games for the last ten years.

“They come down here and say, ‘Oh, you grillin’ again, Cabbage?’ And I say, ‘Yeah, I’m grillin’ again,” Jeff “Cabbage” Christian said.

Even the sports director and front office staff at Kewaunee High admit, they’ve been calling him ‘Cabbage’ for so long, they can’t remember his real name.

Around here, the name Cabbage is well known and it didn’t come out of nowhere.

“My mom said, ‘Get home as soon as possible after football practice,’ so I just showered and left my hair [wet],” he said. “Then I blow-dried it, and it came out to here and my head coach said, ‘Hi, Cabbage Head, how ya doin’?”

Kewaunee head football coach Randy Charles has known Cabbage for years he even played football alongside his sons.

“I always know the guys look forward to it. If he grills up a few too many burgers during the game, they know they’re getting some afterward. I think they kinda count on it and maybe he even does that on purpose. I know they appreciate it,” Randy Charles, Kewaunee head football coach said.

Cabbage says he keeps coming back because he loves the people and as long as Coach Charles keeps asking, he’ll keep manning the grill.

This Friday night, he’ll be at Kewaunee high school, grilling for the varsity football home opener.

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