Category: CNN Regional

By Adam Bartow

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    SABATTUS, Maine (WMTW) — Police say a vehicle that crashed into Sabattus Pond in Sabattus early on Sunday morning had been stolen from Auburn and was filled with teenagers.

The Sabattus Police Department says several people called to report a vehicle driving recklessly and without lights on early Sunday morning. Officers say they saw the car go through a red light at the intersection of Pleasant Hill Road and Route 126.

A short time later, police say the driver lost control and crashed into the edge of the pond.

Police say there were seven teenagers as young as 13 inside the vehicle at the time. When officers arrived, they say two of the teens had run into the woods. They were found a short time later, with help from a police K9.

Police said no one was hurt but charges were pending in the case.

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 Keenan Mills

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    OLD ORCHARD BEACH, Maine (WMTW) — Due to an infestation of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, volunteers at Guild Park in Old Orchard Beach had to work toward cutting down more than 500 trees in the park.

The action was a part of the forest management plan, according to the Ocean Park Association Environment and Natural Resources Committee members.

The plan has the goal of making the area sustainable for the future by removing the impacted trees, most of which the committee says most were dead. The efforts opened the canopy in the area and allow the forest to regenerate itself more easily.

“I think even members of the committee, myself included, had to be kind of brought along that cutting down any tree was a good thing,” said committee member Janet Anderson. “And so I became convinced over time that for the long-term health of the park, this is sort of a necessary thing to do.”

According to the committee, the invasive insects are about the size of the ballpoint of a pen and their nests can be found in the spring, appearing like a white puff on tree branches.

“Each one of those white puffs has 100 woolly adelgids that come crawling out as larvae,” commented committee member Mark Lauritano. “And then they attach themselves to the base of each needle on the branch. And just suck the sap right out of the tree.”

Lauritano said that the goal of the Ocean Park Association as a whole is to make the public areas accessible not just for visitors now, but for generations to come.

The removal of the trees isn’t the only way the group is doing that. Logged in to a database and tagged with a specific number were over 3,000 trees in the 20-acre park that have a diameter of 10 inches or more.

Several trees also have an orange ribbon representing those trees as a candidate to receive a pesticide that battles adelgid. Along with the release of 500 beetles this year and last year that have the sole purpose of feeding on adelgid, the group is trying to prevent future tree removal.

“Ocean Park has been a thriving summer community and turning into more of a year-round community within Old Orchard Beach since the 1880s,” added Lauritano. “So, it’s been around a while, and we want to keep that and continue to make it sustainable for future generations.”

The group is hoping to even capitalize on the free space where tree removal equipment was placed in the park.

According to Anderson, a woodland garden could be coming to Guild Park. It would be the home to several native plants that will bring a variety of wildlife and add to the educational aspects of the space.

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 Sidney Steele, Olivia Acree

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    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KSHB) — Cattle were on the loose in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, after a semi-truck carrying 120 head of cattle crashed and overturned on the highway Sunday morning.

Just before 1 p.m., KCPD said all cattle had been accounted for. The highway near I-29 and 71 Highway remains closed.

The Kansas City Fire Department says they responded to a two-vehicle crash on I-29 near Admiral Blvd. around 3 a.m. Sunday. One of those vehicles was an overturned semi-truck carrying 120 cattle.

The fire department says one patient from each vehicle was taken to a hospital for injuries.

Some of the cattle on board did not survive, according to KCFD. Of the surviving cattle, some remained in the trailer, while others wandered downtown KC, some even making it to KCK.

“We’ve had reports as far as Pershing in Maine, and reports that KCK’s had a couple calls of cattle,” said KCFD battalion chief Michael Hopkins.

Hopkins says KCPD has contacted resources to help wrangle the loose cattle. KSHB crews watched as they tried to wrangle five cows from a backyard near 13th and Brooklyn Ave. The homeowner woke up when police asked for help trying to block the cows from escaping the yard.

“I’m thinking I better go and let my brothers know I’m going to probably not be coming into church on time because I got cows in my backyard,” said the neighbor.

Alongside the true Kansas City cowboys were neighborhood cowboys that came to help corral. Including young August, who was happy to see all the cows on her street safe.

“We were looking for them, and then we came over here, and the cow was magically saved,” said August.

Hopkins also says the crash spilled diesel on the highway, which crews are working to clean up.

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 Lauren Pozen

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    LOS ANGELES, California (KCAL, KCBS) — Hundreds of people gathered in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday for the latest “No Kings” rally, though this time the much smaller crowd was pushing a different message.

Though the group was smaller, they still joined together to make their voices heard on Saturday, hopeful to inspire greater voter participation ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.

“In this case, helping as many people vote early as possible to maximize voter turnout and quite simply make the midterms too big to rig,” said Hunter Dunn, a 50501 Movement Media spokesperson.

The “No Kings” movement initially started as a protest against the Trump administration, and many still joined to speak out against the current immigration policies and ICE enforcement,

“I care about democracy, and what is happening in the world is not right,” said Rebecca Beals. “Our neighbors and friends and American citizens being treated so poorly, and even people that are not American citizens being treated like this is unacceptable.”

The downtown rally was one of dozens held across Los Angeles County on Saturday. Los Angeles Police Department officials told CBS LA that Saturday’s demonstration didn’t have a permit, but that it remained peaceful and no arrests were made.

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 Ashley Sharp

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    SACRAMENTO, California (KOVR) — A Sacramento mother says her son acted on instinct when he confronted and fatally shot a gunman during a deadly school shooting in Oregon, an attack that killed three children and a teacher.

Police said Friday they believed the teenage gunman was targeting a class of children with special needs when he opened fire at the school.

36-year-old Kaylub Giamanco was identified as the armed bystander who pursued the shooter into Silver Rail Elementary School in the city of Bend on Thursday. Giamanco is a father of two children who attend the school.

His mother, Kenda Freeman, said Giamanco is originally from Placerville, roughly 45 minutes northeast of Sacramento, but has lived in Oregon for more than 30 years.

Freeman, a Sacramento resident, spoke with CBS News Sacramento exclusively about her son’s actions and the emotional toll she said he has experienced since the shooting. She described her son as someone who cares deeply about the people around him.

“Kaylub has a genuine heart and he loves his community and his family and his children,” Freeman said. “He’s just a good person, in general.”

According to Freeman, Giamanco was heading home during his lunch break when he saw the 16-year-old shooter on the school’s campus.

“Kaylub knew something was not right, so he pulled up onto the grass, grabbed his gun and basically stalked the gunman back into the school,” she said. “He crawled through a window that the gunman had shot out. He army crawled through the window.”

Freeman said her son called her shortly after the confrontation and told her what had happened.

“He said, ‘Mom, I just shot and killed somebody.’ I said, ‘Kaylub, tell me about it.’ He said, ‘A man went into my daughter’s school and shot kids,’ and he said, ‘and I looked at him point-blank, and I shot and killed him, Mom.’ “

Giamanco works as a contractor and has been around firearms for much of his life. Freeman said he legally owns and carries his own firearm.

Freeman said the experience has left him traumatized.

“I told him he was a hero, he did what he had to do, and that he did the right thing, and that I was proud of him and that he was a hero and he saved a lot of lives,” she said. “And he said, ‘Mom, I couldn’t save them all.’ “

Three children and a teacher were killed in the shooting before Giamanco fatally shot the suspect, authorities said.

The shooter has since been identified by Bend police as 16-year-old Griffin J. John II. Law enforcement sources told CBS News that John used a shotgun that was bought by his mother. Police said Friday that that up to 15 rounds were fired by the suspect during the classroom shooting.

Another child and a teacher were wounded in the attack, and both remained hospitalized Friday. Both of Giamanco’s children survived.

“It’s tough because, well, I’m thankful that my babies are OK. There are babies that are not, and that’s hard to swallow because my heart goes out to those families that didn’t get to bring their babies home,” Freeman said through tears.

Giamanco’s actions have drawn praise from community members and Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, but Freeman said her son is struggling with the idea that he could not save everyone.

“He’s having a hard time with it — again, the idea of not being able to save them all, right? When he closes his eyes and the things that he thinks about: ‘What could I have done differently? How could I have done it better?’ ” Freeman said.

Freeman said she hopes people will take the tragedy as a reminder to appreciate their loved ones: “Hug your babies, love your neighbors.”

Family responds to questions about gun ownership Shootings of this nature usually spark national discussion about gun control.

Freeman said those broader political debates are not the family’s priority as they process what happened. She said Giamanco grew up hunting, has long been familiar with firearms and legally owns and carries his weapon, as many do in his community.

According to Freeman, his intention in owning a firearm was to have a way to protect his family.

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 Julia Avant

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    DETROIT, Michigan (WWJ) — A Detroit chef put down his knife and fork for a moment on Sunday and brought people together to educate them on gun violence.

The anti-gun violence rally came after several recent shootings in the area, many of them involving children.

Chef Greg Beard, who owns Chef Greg’s Soul-N-The Wall on Curtis Street, said he was leaving his restaurant in April when a teenager attacked him in the parking lot and another randomly shot at him from afar.

“I have been on this corner for 21 years; first time this has ever happened to me,” Beard said.

He was shot in the leg.

“I was told someone was apprehended, but no charges … They were, like, 15, 16-year-old teenagers,” Beard said.

He later added, “I’m pushing 70, and you want to shoot me, for what?”

The encounter with gun violence inspired Sunday’s event in the parking lot of the restaurant. With it, Beard says he wants to equip the community with resources and a safe space to rebuild and bring the community together.

Other than Beard, local leaders spoke to people of all ages just trying to make their community a safer place.

“I thought it was a good function for us to participate [in] and be aware of gun violence because there needs to be a stop to it,” Carol Tarber said.

Earlier this month in Detroit, a child was shot by their sibling. Authorities confirmed the weapon was not locked away.

On Monday, a 7-year-old girl was shot in the arm when a bullet that struck her mother during an argument also hit the child.

“It’s sad to see our community has to go through things like that,” Kyla Kiel said. “It’s sad to see people are ok with harming people that don’t do anything to them.”

Beard hopes his story and the event will refocus and remind people that nothing should be solved with a gun.

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.