Category: CNN Regional

By Emily Sanderson

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    CINCINNATI (WLWT) — A woman has died after emergency crews recovered a car that was seen on video going into the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati Wednesday, according to the Hamilton County coroner.

The coroner said a 39-year-old woman from Northern Kentucky died after the car was removed from the icy river Wednesday. The coroner ruled the incident an apparent suicide.

The call came in around 5 p.m., for a report of a car going into the Ohio River from a ramp on Broadway Street, near Great American Ball Park.

Boone County Water Rescue and Cincinnati dive teams were seen along the water throughout the night, before crews began to pull the car out of the river around 11 p.m. Wednesday.

The video shows a white SUV go into the water and then begin to float along the river.

According to police radio communications, a witness saw the car go into the water and then called 911. Officers then reviewed camera footage and confirmed the car had gone into the water.

“Maybe 30 miles an hour. It was not coasting in. It was going in pretty quick,” a dispatcher told an officer.

Cincinnati police said the car appeared to enter the water through a dock that is not meant to be accessible to the public. It’s not clear how the car gained access to that area.

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 Emily Sanderson

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    HEBRON, Kentucky (WLWT) — Emergency crews responded to the tarmac at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport after an Amazon cargo plane was forced to make an emergency landing.

Photos provided to WLWT show the plane on the tarmac with emergency vehicles nearby.

Another image shows what appears to be smoke coming off the left engine of the plane.

WLWT crews on scene also spotted several emergency vehicles near the cargo plane.

Air Traffic Control audio communication points to what may have happened in the air that prompted the emergency landing.

“Left engine. We took a bird intake, we just want to come back and land,” the pilot could be heard saying.

The pilot goes on to say, “we have smoke in the cockpit.”

More communications detail what happened next.

“Can they get a ladder up to our either door?”

“The fire was on the left side, the engine failure and possible fire so the right side would be better.”

“Earlier today, one of our air carrier partners experienced a bird strike shortly after takeoff from the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Airport. Thankfully, no one was hurt and the crew is safe. The aircraft returned to the airport as a precaution, and impact to our customers is expected to be minimal,” Amazon spokesperson Terrence Clark said.

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 Tim Fang

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    SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — Health officials in the East Bay confirmed a man has died from consuming toxic wild mushrooms, amid an ongoing spike in mushroom-related poisonings throughout California.

Contra Costa Health confirmed to CBS News Bay Area that a county resident in his 60s died. The man consumed wild mushrooms foraged at a regional park in the county.

Agency spokesperson George Barahona said preliminary information indicates the man may have mistaken the mushroom for a variety in his home country that is edible.

“Some edible mushrooms closely resemble toxic species found in California, including the Death Cap mushroom, which can be deadly even in small amounts,” Barahona said. “Mushroom foraging should only be done with expert knowledge or guidance.”

The East Bay Regional Park District said in an advisory on its website that mushroom collecting is not allowed anywhere within its parks.

According to the California Department of Public Health, the state is in the midst of an “unprecedented” outbreak of illnesses and deaths associated with Death Cap mushrooms. Between Nov. 18 and Jan. 18, at least 39 cases have been reported, with four deaths.

Hospitalizations have taken place in several Bay Area counties, including Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma. Additional mushroom-related hospitalizations have been reported in Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Sacramento and Santa Cruz counties.

State health officials say wild mushrooms grow in many areas of the state, especially after wet weather. Two of the most toxic mushrooms that pop up during the rainy season are the Death Cap and the Western Destroying Angel Mushroom.

The poisonous mushrooms can look and taste similar to edible ones. People new to California who are accustomed to foraging in their home country may mistake poisonous ones for ones that are safe, with officials adding that foragers “face great risk.”

Officials offer several tips, including watching children and pets closely where mushrooms grow and to buy mushrooms from trusted stores and retailers.

Symptoms, such as stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and fatigue are common. Mushroom poisoning can lead to liver damage, kidney damage, hallucinations, seizures and even death.

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 Sharon Chin

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    SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — Every Wednesday night, an Oakland woman makes sure that hundreds of people don’t go hungry while living on the streets of her city.

Bopha Ul and her volunteers pack a lot of love into grocery bags that they load up for special deliveries.

“I always say I don’t have much, but I have some, and I want to share my some with people who don’t have anything,” Ul said.

The Oakland woman started cooking for the unsheltered in 2018.

“And then one day, it was really cold, and I said, ‘I’m going to make soup for the people who live near my house in West Oakland,’ when I lived down there. And it just became this thing where I did it several weeks, and people loved it,” she explained.

And soon, recipients grew from a couple of dozen to a couple of hundred. So now, she packs and distributes sandwiches to the unhoused in Oakland. Ul takes a half day off from her job as a law firm file clerk every Wednesday to serve others. When she started, she was intentional about selecting Wednesday for her program.

“People were not getting food in the middle of the week, so that’s why I picked it,” she said.

Volunteers give away meals donated by a local bakery, Love Bite Bakers, plus blankets, hand warmers, hygiene kits and provisions for pets. Her team goes to encampments in a dozen different locations.

Most recipients want to remain anonymous, like Stephanie, who says she’s grateful for more than the meals.

“The emotional support and strength that these people have provided to myself and others has been phenomenal,” Stephanie told volunteers.

“We see people, we find people, we’ve seen people with newborn babies, and we’ve brought them diapers,” Ul added.

Fiscally sponsored by the nonprofit, Safer DIY Spaces, Ul named her meal program, Rogers and Rosewater, after two people. Rogers comes from TV’s Mr. Rogers, who showed kindness. And Rosewater, Ul said, is from Kurt Vonnegut’s Book, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, about an imperfect creature who uses kindness as a tool for healing.

Her own desire to give back finds roots in her childhood.

“I grew up poor, so maybe that’s why. We also had weeks and weeks of pancakes, so I understand what it means to be hungry. I’ve never been unhoused,” she said.

Even as an adult, she knows life can be tough.

“I was working low-wage jobs, and there are times where I had to choose between taking the bus and buying a meal,” Ul said.

And twice a year, Rogers and Rosewater partner with West Oakland Punks with Lunch and other groups to offer “care villages” for the unhoused, free services all in one place, from food and toys to legal aid and medical equipment.

Volunteer Moss Luster said Ul inspires people to want to serve with her.

“It’s just the deep, genuine part of her as a person. She cares about her fellow people and doesn’t want to see people fall through the cracks or get left behind,” Luster said.

So, for serving meals to the unhoused in Oakland through Rogers and Rosewater, this week’s CBS News Bay Area ICON Award goes to Bopha Ul.

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 Christa Swanson

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    COLORADO (KCNC) — A Colorado man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for trying to run over two women with his vehicle and then ramming their truck when they tried to flee.

Vitalie Oprea took his parents’ vehicle without permission on Feb. 19, 2023, and later spotted the two women at the corner of the intersection of E. Arapahoe Road and South Liverpool Street. Witnesses told authorities that he began yelling at them and making obscene gestures, then made a U-turn into oncoming traffic, heading towards them.

The women ran into a nearby grassy area by Grandview High School, and Oprea drove over the curb and across the grass toward them. When the women got inside a Ram pickup truck, Oprea rammed it with his vehicle. He got out of the car and kicked the passenger side of the truck before opening the door and attempting to pull one of the women out.

Oprea ran from the scene, and authorities arrested him later that day in Arvada. While the officer was placing him under arrest, Oprea said, “I drove at the women because I saw them kissing and they were lesbians and I wanted to kill them.”

He pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder after deliberation with a violent crime sentence enhancer.

Deputy District Attorney Lauren Agee said, “These women did nothing to provoke this violence. They were targeted, chased, and left fearing for their lives. Our office takes hate-motivated violence extremely seriously, and attacks rooted in hate will be met with accountability and significant consequences.”

On Wednesday, the 18th Judicial District announced that Oprea has been sentenced to 20 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections.

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 Tori Apodaca

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    SACRAMENTO (KOVR) — It has been a year and a half since Athena and Mateo Lee were last seen after their mother, Angelica Bravo, was found dead in a north Sacramento home.

Bravo’s family is still grieving her loss but believes that Athena and Mateo Lee are still out there somewhere.

“It’s been really hard,” said the children’s grandmother, Dawn Bodea. “There’s not a day that goes by where we don’t think about them and what they are doing.”

Athena is now five and Mateo is about to turn four years old. Bodea said she sees Angelica in both of them.

“Just being able to watch them grow up and knowing how much we are missing out on has been really hard,” said Bodea. “Athena was her mini-me, so much like her.”

Bodea said Athena is outgoing, and Mateo is athletic and sweet.

“It always used to surprise me at how high he would climb on jungle gyms. He had no fear,” Bodea said.

Investigators believe the children’s biological father, Camron Lee, took off with them on July 8, 2024. His car was seen crossing into Mexico the same day the children’s mother was found dead.

Investigators with the Sacramento Police Department said early tips showed that they may have been dropped off somewhere in Southern California.

A year and a half later, those children could now be anywhere.

“We believe every day until we know otherwise,” said Gina Swankie, with the Public Affairs Office of the FBI Sacramento Field Office.

The FBI is working with local and global law enforcement agencies, still offering a $25,000 reward for any information that leads them to the children, plus a $25,000 reward for information that helps them locate Camron.

They also shared photos of Camron Lee showing details of the tattoos he has.

“It feels like a failure to us every day that goes by that we haven’t been able to reunite them,” said Swankie.

Sacramento police spokesperson Anthony Gamble does not believe there were any mistakes made in the investigation, but there have been challenges.

“Law enforcement still has to act within the confines of the law,” said Gamble.

Gamble said the challenge was that Camron is the children’s father, so they could not initially call it a kidnapping, and they were also waiting on the coroner’s determination for Angelica’s cause of death. It took months before they could call it homicide.

“I do have a lot of hope,” said Bodea.

She is hopeful there will someday be a reunion with Athena and Mateo, and she said her faith in God is what is carrying her through. “My face is the one out there, but also there are so many people, family, that misses them so much,” Bodea said.

The Sacramento Police Department is still the lead investigator and urges anyone with information to contact them and speak 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.