Connect with us

California

A cat went missing in Wyoming. 2 months later, he was found in his home state, California.

Published

on

A cat went missing in Wyoming. 2 months later, he was found in his home state, California.


play

The love between a pet and its owner knows no bounds nor state lines.

After going missing in Yellowstone National Park, a two-year-old cat traveled more than 800 miles toward its California home.

Advertisement

Siamese cat Rayne Beau, pronounced “rainbow,” ran off into the trees during a trip to the Wyoming park in June, according his owners Benny and Susanne Anguiano. The couple, based out of Salinas in Monterey County, thought they had seen the last of their beloved pet.

However, two months later, they received a voicemail from an animal shelter in Roseville, about a 30 minutes northeast of Sacramento, informing them that Rayne Beau was ready for pick up.

The pair’s five day trip at Yellowstone took a downturn after several days spent scouring the park, with Benny roaming the forest wearing bear repellant. Their relentless search ended June 8 when their park reservation ended, and the couple returned home devastated. Benny told Susanne they could not stay at the park forever, and park rangers said they would inform them if Rayne Beau was spotted.

“I understood that, but I just made him stay until the very last minute, that’s for sure. And even as we were driving out, I had my window down. I’m still calling him and we’re still scanning the road. It was pretty traumatic,” Susanne told USA TODAY Thursday.

Advertisement

Rayne Beau’s twin cat, Starr Jasmine, called out for her brother from a carrier. Susanne said she knew her twin was gone. The ride home was sorrowful for her as the cat grappled with being apart from her twin for the first time ever.

Couple initially skeptical of shelter’s phone call

The Anguianos held onto hope despite mounting despair. Park officials said some pets are found months later, Benny said. As they crossed the state line into Idaho, the couple saw a double rainbow, assuring Susanne that Rayne Beau “is being taken care of.”

Yet, the pair found themselves in complete disbelief when a voicemail Aug. 3 from the Placer SPCA shelter in Roseville said that their cat had been found. Skeptical of a potential scam, Susanne said it wasn’t until her husband and daughter were also contacted that they began taking the message seriously.

“I said, ‘take a picture. I want to make sure I don’t drive three-and-a-half hours and it’s not my cat,’” Benny said. “So they did. About 20 minutes later, they sent a picture and yep, it was him.”

Advertisement

The two reserved their emotions until they could see the cat, afraid of false hope. But the moment they laid eyes on Rayne Beau, they knew they had been reunited.

“When we for sure knew, we were in tears. We were all hugging and crying,” Susanne said.

Rayne Beau and Starr Jasmine are back to sleeping, playing and jumping together after a brutal period apart. The couple now has three cats, including new addition Maxx, who they adopted as a companion for Starr while she was alone.

Advertisement

Cat lost nearly half his bodyweight while missing

While it’s unclear how Rayne Beau made his way from Wyoming to California, his appearance shows the journey did not come without struggles. Susanne said his paws were calloused, dry and cracked.

Rayne Beau weighed between 7 and 8 pounds, down from his initial 13 pound weight, according to Susanne. Veterinarians said bloodwork showed low protein levels from inadequate nutrition, leading the family to believe no one cared for him during those 60 days.

“Poor thing looked like he was six months old, nine months old. He was really little, all skin and bones. He had lost half his body weight,” Benny said. “He was in starvation mode. So now he’s worked himself out of that.”

Susanne said both Rayne Beau and Starr were microchipped as required by the local rescue shelter from where they had adopted the cats. However, she said she was grateful Starr wasn’t the one who ran off, as her microchip had shortly fallen out when she was spayed as a kitten, according to a local shelter that performed procedure.

Advertisement

She urges all dog and cat owners to not only microchip their pets, but register their owners name and contact information because life can be unpredictable.

“If you love your pet you will,” Susanne said. “You will do that if you ever want to see them again, because anything can happen. As careful as you can be, animals are animals and something can happen like with us, and they get away.”



Source link

California

DOJ charges 10 Southern California defendants in largest federal healthcare fraud crackdown in US history

Published

on

DOJ charges 10 Southern California defendants in largest federal healthcare fraud crackdown in US history


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Advertisement

Federal authorities on Tuesday charged 10 Southern California defendants in a series of healthcare fraud schemes, including one case involving nearly $270 million in fraudulent Medi-Cal claims and another that allegedly defrauded Medicare out of approximately $27 million.

The charges were part of the Justice Department’s broader “2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown,” which resulted in charges against 455 defendants nationwide in schemes involving more than $6.5 billion in alleged fraud.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche described the operation as “the greatest combined federal and state effort in combating healthcare fraud in history.”

“Fraudsters can no longer rip off American taxpayers,” Blanche said during a news conference announcing the initiative. “If you seek to harm or cheat Americans, we will find you, seize any assets and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”

FBI ADDS 2 FUGITIVES TO ‘MOST WANTED FRAUDSTERS’ LIST AMID HISTORIC $6.5B HEALTHCARE TAKEDOWN: PATEL

Advertisement

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a news conference announcing what federal officials described as the largest healthcare fraud takedown in U.S. history, resulting in charges against 455 defendants nationwide. (Ken Cedeno / AFP via Getty Images)

In the Central District of California, federal prosecutors brought criminal charges against 10 defendants accused of defrauding government-funded healthcare programs or abusing their positions as medical professionals to illegally prescribe controlled substances.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said five individuals were arrested in the greater Los Angeles area for allegedly participating in a scheme that involved submitting nearly $270 million in fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal for expensive prescription drugs.

Among those charged was Christina Mareik, 61, also known as Christina Marie Sanchez Hernandez, of Whittier.

HOSPICE FRAUD USES STOLEN IDENTITIES FOR FAKE PATIENTS

Advertisement

The Justice Department announced charges against 10 Southern California defendants in connection with multiple healthcare fraud schemes. (Department of Justice)

Prosecutors allege Mareik helped facilitate fraudulent prescriptions that generated nearly $270 million in claims to Medi-Cal, which ultimately paid out more than $178 million.

According to prosecutors, the claims involved expensive drugs containing low-cost generic ingredients that were either not medically necessary or were never provided to the purported recipients.

Authorities said Mareik also sent thousands of fraudulent prescriptions to a co-conspirator and caused the submission of fraudulent prescriptions under her own name.

LOS ANGELES HOSPICE FRAUD REACHES BILLIONS AS MEDICARE PROVIDERS SCAM FEDERAL SYSTEM WITH FAKE COMPANIES

Advertisement

Federal prosecutors allege Southern California defendants participated in schemes that defrauded Medicare and Medi-Cal of hundreds of millions of dollars. (Department of Justice)

Mareik was arrested June 17 and charged with healthcare fraud.

The charges also include a San Fernando Valley man accused of operating hospice care companies that fraudulently billed Medicare approximately $27 million, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors also charged Oren David Shachar, 59, of Van Nuys; Abraham Shin, 66, of Corona; and Jeannie Choi, 57, of Torrance.

The three defendants face a 16-count indictment alleging they conspired to defraud Medicare out of approximately $27 million.

Advertisement

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The charges include conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud, aggravated identity theft, monetary transactions involving criminally derived property exceeding $10,000, and violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute.

Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

California

Opinion: California is about to get a windfall. Let’s not blow it.

Published

on

Opinion: California is about to get a windfall. Let’s not blow it.


The IPOs of SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic could deliver billions of dollars to California’s coffers.

We’ve seen this movie before.

In 2022, California recorded a nearly $100 billion surplus, saved just $10 billion in its rainy day fund and then spent the rest. Two years later, a $56 billion deficit loomed.

Now, with the state facing ongoing operating deficits of more than $10 billion, we’re back in familiar territory.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

California

Shooting at a Northern California library kills 2, and a suspect is in custody

Published

on

Shooting at a Northern California library kills 2, and a suspect is in custody


CHICO, Calif. — A shooting at a library in Northern California on Monday left two people dead and a suspect is in custody, according to police.

Police responded to a 911 call soon after 5 p.m. in which the sounds of gun shots and people screaming could be heard coming from inside the Chico branch of the Butte County Library, Billy Aldridge, the city’s chief of police, said during a news conference.

Once officers were inside the library, the suspect fled out of the back, he said. Additional law enforcement behind the library took the suspect into custody, according to Aldridge.

“The incident this evening was obviously very sad, traumatic for a lot of people. Very traumatic for our community,” he said.

Advertisement

The streets around the library were closed temporarily and a family reunification center was set up for the people who were inside the building.

A child was also taken to the hospital with a minor injury.

Aldridge said there is no serious threat to the public and law enforcement are investigating the shooting.

The police didn’t release the suspect’s name nor details on what prompted the shooting. Law enforcement said they believe the shooter acted alone.

Law enforcement are also not releasing the names of the people killed until next of kin have been notified.

Advertisement

The county urged the public to avoid the area and said all Butte County library branches will be closed Tuesday.

The county in a post on Facebook offered “deepest condolences to everyone affected, including the victims, their loved ones, library staff, and all those impacted by this heartbreaking incident.”

Copyright © 2026 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending