CBS News
Boy, 10, charged after driving stolen car near crowded Minneapolis playground
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis police arrested a 10-year-old boy for allegedly driving a stolen vehicle near a school playground last month — and it’s not the boy’s first brush with the law, police said.
The Sept. 20 incident was caught on video. The Minneapolis Police Department said it happened at Nellie Stone Johnson School in north Minneapolis when the playground was “crowded.”
“Fortunately, no children on the playground were struck by the driver,” the department said.
Police booked the 10-year-old into the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center Thursday. According to the department, this is at least his third arrest and he is a suspect in a dozen cases ranging from “auto theft to robbery to assault with a dangerous weapon.”
“It is unfathomable that a 10-year-old boy has been involved in this level of criminal activity without effective intervention,” Police Chief Brian O’Hara said. “Prison is not an acceptable option for a 10-year-old boy. But the adults who can stop this behavior going forward must act now to help this child and his family.”
Police said the boy’s family members are cooperating and “have asked for help to keep their son or anyone else from being injured or killed.”
Minneapolis Police
Justice for metro’s youth offenders is complex, daunting issue
On Friday, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office announced criminal charges have been filed against the boy, but couldn’t comment further due to his age.
The office says if a court-appointed psychologist deems any offender, including a child, incompetent to stand trial, and a judge agrees with the recommendation, the case “must be dismissed or suspended, and the child must be released from custody.”
“We are facing an urgent crisis in our community related to a small group of children who are not competent to stand trial in the juvenile justice system, but who cannot safely be at home,” an attorney’s office spokesperson said in a statement.
The office says it “cannot charge or prosecute our way out of this crisis,” and adds it’s working with law enforcement, county and state partners in the hope of creating “out-of-home placements” for young offenders with “complex needs.”
“What we need is clear: residential placements with varying levels of security in our community that are resourced and staffed to be able to accept and successfully treat our youth with complex needs,” the spokesperson wrote. “And we need urgent and immediate action to address this issue now.”
Why the metro’s juvenile facility centers are shuttered
In 2019, two metro facilities for juvenile offenders were closed after being in operation for more than 100 years: Minnetonka’s Hennepin County Home School and St. Paul’s Totem Town.
The closings came after leaders in Hennepin and Ramsey counties decided to move away from the practice of confining child offenders in favor of a new data-driven system emphasizing the use of alternative methods like intensive treatment homes and community- and cultural-specific programs.
Data show since the closures, crimes committed by youths like arson, auto thefts and robberies have increased in the metro between 2019 and 2021.
Critics, like Ramsey County Undersheriff Mike Martin, say the shift away from confinement has backfired.
“We’re failing these kids,” Martin told WCCO in 2022. “The criminal justice system no longer holds them accountable or provides meaningful intervention to them.”
MCF-Moorhead and MCF-Red Wing are two Minnesota juvenile facilities that take in the state’s most violent young offenders. But the rest are mostly sent home after being arrested.
Lisa Clemons, founder and chief executive officer of Minneapolis-based A Mother’s Love Initiative, told WCCO in 2022 that young offenders are emboldened by the lack of consequences.
“They know it’s a revolving door downtown,” Clemons said. “They take full advantage of being juveniles, and we have allowed the lawlessness long enough that they have absolutely no fear.”
CBS News
Surge in Helene relief efforts led to about 30 mid-air close calls over North Carolina in a single day
There were approximately 30 mid-air close calls over North Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 28, as relief efforts ramped up in response to Hurricane Helene, a federal official briefed on the matter confirmed to CBS News Friday.
The close calls resulted from a spike in aircraft that included planes, helicopters and drones arriving in western North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The federal official said the close calls did not involve commercial airline traffic.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the North Carolina Department of Transportation, say air traffic over Western North Carolina has increased by 300% due to relief efforts since the storm cleared.
Becca Gallas, director of the North Carolina Department of Transportation Division of Aviation, told CBS News by phone Friday that there has been a steep increase in government, search and rescue flights, as well as National Guard flights.
“When the images of the impact of Helene started to show up on TV screens, there was an outpouring of support and love from communities and people were trying to help get supplies on the ground very quickly, but there were safety issues with the air operations,” Gallas said.
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In addition to the mid-air close calls, there have been two incidents airport involving private aircraft dropping off relief supplies, Gallas disclosed. One had landing gear that did not deploy on landing, and another aircraft caught fire. There were no injuries in either incident, Gallas said.
Two small airports in the area were so overwhelmed by incoming traffic they ran out of fuel for a period, she added, but that has since been resolved.
The spike in air traffic has resulted in additional requirements being put in place for aircraft entering certain areas of North Carolina in order to meter the flow of air traffic. The FAA has instituted a Prior Permission Required designation, which means pilots and drone operators must get permission to use an airport facility or runway. The PPR is currently in effect at the Asheville Regional Airport and Rutherford County Airport, but could be extended to others.
Gallas said in response to the spike, the FAA and NCDOT have co-implemented three mitigation strategies to reduce the risk of an aircraft accident during Helene relief efforts.
The first involves establishing call-in lines at airports for incoming pilots to schedule landing and supply unloading times, as well as scheduling and reserving aircraft parking. The second establishes sky corridors, which are essentially “lanes” for civilian aircraft to use that are separate from the lanes being utilized by military or search and rescue flights. And third is implementing short-term targeted airspace restrictions in areas where multiple search and rescue aircraft are operating.
Gallas explained that with the exception of the Asheville Regional Airport, which does have commercial aircraft, these increase in traffic is at small general aviation airports that may typically have only three employees working, so it’s also an effort to keep ground operations sustainable and not overwhelm limited staff.
“We want every single pilot and aircraft to go home safely at the end of the night when they are doing that critical operation,” Gallas said.
As of Friday, at least 225 deaths across six states have been attributed to Helene, CBS News has confirmed, including 114 in North Carolina.
Western North Carolina specifically has been hard hit by the storm, with significant flooding that has devastated entire communities. Hundreds of roads across Western North Carolina remain closed, requiring state and federal teams to scour the region for survivors by air.
President Biden surveyed Helene’s destruction in the Carolinas by air Wednesday, and announced that the federal government will cover all debris removal and emergency protective measure costs in North Carolina for six months.
CBS News
Stellantis files lawsuit against UAW, claiming union does not have right to authorize mid-contract strike
(CBS DETROIT) — Stellantis has filed a lawsuit against the United Auto Workers union, which is continuing to fight over its 2023 bargaining agreement and the UAW’s threat to strike.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court Central District of California, claims that the UAW “filed sham grievances designed to justify mid-contract strikes against Stellantis that otherwise would violate [the collective bargaining agreement’s] no strike clause.”
Stellantis claims that the union ignored the language in Letter 311, which allows the automaker to make plans for future investments with company approval and are subject to change based on consumer demand, changes in market conditions and plant performance.
The automaker is seeking a court declaration that the union “acted in bad faith” and violated the bargaining agreement.
“Ignoring this negotiated-for and mutually agreed-upon language in Letter 311, the UAW and its agents, including President Shawn Fain, have embarked on a sustained, multi-month campaign against the Company to force the planned investments without Company approval and regardless of business factors,” read the lawsuit.
This comes as the UAW announced that a supermajority of members at Stellantis’ Los Angeles Parts Distribution Center voted to request strike authorization from the International Executive Board if they cannot settle grievances.
This is the first time Stellantis union members have held such a strike vote since multiple locals began filing grievances against the automaker, according to a news release.
“Stellantis made a contractual promise to invest in America and we are not going to let them weasel out of it,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement. “Our members won those investments during the Stand Up strike, and we will strike again to make Stellantis keep the promise if we have to.”
According to an internal email obtained by CBS News Detroit, Stellantis informed workers that the company would sue the UAW.
The email also said the lawsuit “would hold both the International and the local union liable for the revenue loss and other damages resulting from lost production due to an unlawful strike.”
However, Fain has repeatedly stated that the union earned the right to strike under the 2023 agreement over alleged broken promises. Fain also said other UAW locals plan to vote on strike authorization in response to claims that the company was attempting to move production of the Dodge Durango out of the country and delaying the reopening of the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois.
Stellantis cited market conditions as contributing to the delay of the Belvidere plant and proposed a consolidated Mopar Mega Hub, stamping operations in 2025 and allocating a new midsize truck in 2027, according to the lawsuit. The company also said Letter 311 included a planned future investment in the next-generation Durango in 2026 at the Detroit Assembly Complex. The plans are subject to committee approval due to “unpredictability” and “highly volatile” vehicle markets.
CBS News
Helene disrupts yellow jacket, bee nests in North Carolina, prompting massive Benadryl, EpiPen requests
Deadly flooding from Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina has disrupted the underground nests of yellow jackets, bees and other insects, causing them to swarm and sting people struggling to recover from the storm.
It has caused such a surge in requests for medication to protect people allergic to stings that the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is buying Benadryl and epinephrine injections to help fill requests through hospitals, emergency medical personnel and doctors.
Pharmacists in the state can also provide emergency refills for people who are already prescribed allergy medications, according to a state health department spokesperson. The state is planning to allow people to buy epinephrine injections such as EpiPens without a prescription, and it is working to collect and distribute donations of medicines.
While most people are not allergic to stings from bees and other insects, irritation and pain can be intense and stings can swell and remain painful for days, according to the Mayo Clinic. And some people can have a severe allergic reaction that can lead to anaphylaxis that can cause difficulty breathing, swelling of the tongue and throat, weak pulse and loss of consciousness. In these situations, it’s critical to administer epinephrine immediately.
Being stung more than a dozen times can also cause a buildup of venom in the body that can cause serious sickness that can include dizziness, fever, convulsions or vomiting.
To reduce the risk of getting stung, experts recommend wearing long and light-colored clothing that has a smooth finish, avoiding perfumes and smelly soaps and deodorants.
If there’s only one stinging insect around, they recommend staying calm and still, and to avoid swatting at it. But if several are stinging, they say it’s better to try to quickly get indoors or into a shaded area. Bees release a chemical when they sting that attracts other bees.
Surge in Helene relief efforts led to about 30 mid-air close calls over North Carolina in a single day
Stillwater high school football player saved after cardiac arrest
Stellantis files lawsuit against UAW, claiming union does not have right to authorize mid-contract strike
Surge in Helene relief efforts led to about 30 mid-air close calls over North Carolina in a single day
Stillwater high school football player saved after cardiac arrest