DUNNELLON, Fla. — Authorities in Marion County are intensifying their search for a 17-year-old boy who disappeared after a reported shooting Thursday afternoon, sparking a statewide Amber Alert.

Deputies say Caden Speight, 17, was last seen around 4 p.m. near the 12800 block of Southwest Highway 484 in Dunnellon. Investigators believe he was wounded before vanishing.

 

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says Speight may be traveling with four unknown males, possibly Hispanic, in a light-colored van. His disappearance has prompted an urgent search involving helicopters, K-9 units and law enforcement partners across the state.

Speight is described as 6 feet tall, about 150 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt of an unknown color.

Marion County deputies found a vehicle connected to the incident with a bullet hole, but the teen was not inside. Officials say they are still working to determine how the shooting and the missing persons case are connected.

The Uvalde Foundation for Kids, a nonprofit crisis response group, announced it is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to Speight’s safe return. The group is also mobilizing volunteers to help distribute flyers in the community.

Anyone with information is urged to call 911, contact the Marion County Sheriff’s Office at 352-732-9111, or reach the FDLE Missing Endangered Persons Clearinghouse at 1-888-FL-MISSING.

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Michigan Appeals Court Rules Grandparents Entitled to Hearing in Visitation Disputes

LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan law has a “grandparenting time” rule that lets grandparents ask the court for visitation with their grandchildren in certain situations. This law explains how grandparents can file affidavits, request hearings, and present evidence in court.

When grandparents can step in.

Under Michigan law, grandparents can ask a court for visitation under specific circumstances. These include when the child’s parents are divorcing or already divorced, legally separated, or their marriage has been annulled.

Grandparents may also petition if one of the child’s parents has died, if the parents were never married and live apart but paternity has been legally established, or if the child is living with someone other than a parent. Click here to read more.

 

Suspect charged with attempted murder after stabbing man in back aboard NY train

A 25-year-old man was stabbed multiple times in the back with “an unknown object” while aboard a train New York train, according to authorities.

The suspect was identified as Louis Pallchisaca, 21, a spokesperson with the Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Public Information (DCPI) told The National News Desk.

Pallchisaca was arrested on Wednesday and charged with attempted murder and assault, according to DCPI.

The man was attacked Sunday night shortly after 11:30 p.m. on the No. 7 train at the 111th Street station in Corona, Queens, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the man was “conscious and alert” when police arrived at the scene, adding that he was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital-Queens in stable condition.

Citing an unnamed police source, The New York Post identified the man who was stabbed as Roberto Gaspar. The media outlet said one of Gaspar’s friends claimed Gaspar “was simply looking down at his phone” when a stranger approached him from behind and attacked him. Click here to read more.

 

The Truth About Michigan’s School Education Budget

There’s a lot for local school administrators to like in the budget the Michigan House passed in August. But they don’t seem to want to see it.

The House budget increases education spending in Michigan more than does the budget passed by the state Senate or the budget proposed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. At the same time, it eliminates a host of categorical grants (or “special programs”) that fund outside priorities such as special education, infrastructure spending, smaller class sizes, mental health and other areas. By transferring some of this money to the general education grant, the House budget lets school district officials figure out how they want to spend this money.

This needs to be emphasized: School districts will be getting more money overall in the House budget, and they’ll be getting it with no strings attached. Click here to read more.

 

Venezuelan Illegal Who Pretended to Be High Schooler Pleads Guilty. Case Puts Spotlight on Operation Take Back America.

The Venezuelan national who posed as an Ohio high school student for over a year pleaded guilty to four criminal counts Monday. The case highlights the role of a Department of Justice initiative, Operation Taking Back America, in helping fulfill the Trump administration’s promise to tackle illegal immigration.

The case involving 24-year-old Anthony Emmanuel Labrador-Sierra thrust the Northern District of Ohio into the national news cycle. Labrador-Sierra first came to the attention of law enforcement in May when he was discovered posing as a 15-year-old at Perrysburg High School. He was arrested a month later. Click here to read more.

 

How Benji’s case exposed a vet going to great lengths to change identity of a dog

TONAWANDA, N.Y. — Benji, a Yorkshire Terrier, was a godsend to Monica Crogan.

Crogan, a 57-year-old resident of the Tuscarora Indian Nation, adopted Benji in the summer of 2023 for a support dog to ease her anxiety and depression.

Benji’s energetic and social personality delighted Crogan and her grandchildren.

A year later, on July 17, 2024, Benji went missing, sending Crogan into a panic.

What happened in the next few months is a series of events described by those involved as one of the craziest, stranger-than-fiction stories of a year-long investigation involving a missing pet. Click here to read more.