CNN – National

By Zoe Sottile, CNN Bargain retailer Ollie’s says it broke a world record on Wednesday — with a 16.5 foot tall, 600-pound bobblehead replica of their mascot. The massive, fully-functioning bobblehead depicts Ollie, the company’s mustachioed mascot. The company unveiled the huge statue as part of their 40th birthday celebration, according to a news release.

By René Marsh, CNN It was a bright, sunny day, but Jackie Jones was still overwhelmed with anxiety at the prospect of rain. “It’s psychologically traumatic for me because I’m on constant alert — waiting, dreading the next rainfall,” Jones said. When the 59-year-old bought her southeast Georgia home four years ago, she had no

By Nicole Chavez and Kacey Cherry, CNN A street in San Francisco will now be renamed after a 84-year-old man whose death brought national attention to the rise of anti-Asian hate last year. City officials approved a resolution to rename Sonora Lane as “Vicha Ratanapakdee Lane” earlier this year. The new street sign was installed

By Lianne Kolirin, CNN For many armed forces veterans, the return to civilian life can be a challenge. But one organization is taking an unusual approach to helping ex-service personnel find their feet — involving them in archaeological projects to bring home the remains of fallen soldiers. Stephen Humphreys, a 40-year-old former US Air Force

By Paul P. Murphy and Laura Oliverio, CNN Many beach cottages that lined the shores of Sanibel Island were wiped away by Hurricane Ian’s storm surge, new aerial imagery from NOAA shows. Most homes on Sanibel and Captiva islands are still standing, but appear to have sustained some form of roof damage, in addition to

By Caroll Alvarado, CNN Hope Labriola stood naked on her bed, the water rising in her mobile home, as Hurricane Ian roared overhead. For a few moments, the 45-year-old Fort Myers Beach woman was able to talk on her cell phone with her friend Lisbeth Whelan before losing phone service. The phone call, which Whelan

By Catherine E. Shoichet and Nicki Brown, CNN Judah Samet survived two unthinkable tragedies: imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp and the 2018 massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue. But still he held onto his faith in humanity — and made a point of sharing what he’d witnessed. Samet died on Tuesday of complications

By Rosa Flores, CNN Authorities in Austin, Texas, said Friday that there was no active shooter at a local hospital after police responded to a call of “shots fired.” “Officers have secured the scene and it is safe,” Austin police said on Twitter Friday afternoon. “This was not an active shooter incident. No injuries reported,

By Ray Sanchez, CNN Less than two weeks after Hurricane Fiona barreled through Puerto Rico, the island’s health department says at least 25 deaths may be linked to the storm. Fiona hit the US territory as a Category 1 storm on September 18, dropping record rainfall, unleashing mudslides, flooding neighborhoods and leaving most of the

By Ashley Killough and Ed Lavandera, CNN The former warden of a Texas prison and his brother were arrested and now face manslaughter charges in the fatal roadside shooting of a migrant this week, according to information CNN obtained Friday. A migrant woman also suffered a gunshot wound to the stomach in the Tuesday incident,

By Christina Zdanowicz, CNN Rob Cohen had been waiting for the perfect moment to propose — and that moment dawned on him as Hurricane Ian approached Florida. Cohen had a feeling that the site of his first date with Mary Fixl — along Lake Eola in Orlando — would soon be flooded by the monster

By Nick Watt and Stephanie Becker, CNN In Alameda County, just across the bay from San Francisco, 45 sheriff’s deputies have had their guns taken away. They’re now confined to desk duties. They cannot arrest anyone. They cannot even issue traffic citations. The department’s admission comes after an internal audit found those 45 deputies had

By Bill Weir, Paul P. Murphy and Ray Sanchez, CNN An older couple who rode out Hurricane Ian in their home on Sanibel Island in Florida could not agree on evacuating after parts of the causeway to the mainland were destroyed. “We’re going. We’re going,” the unidentified man told his partner as she looked down

By Jay Croft, CNN Particularly hard hit by Hurricane Ian, the Fort Myers area in southwest Florida is in shambles. “It’s horrific,” Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson told CNN’s John Berman Friday morning at the city’s devastated marina, its boats strewn about and cement slabs ripped from the water and dropped onto land. “Look at