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Rodeo star Spencer Wright's son awake after previously being considered brain-dead following river accident

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Rodeo star Spencer Wright's son awake after previously being considered brain-dead following river accident

Saddle bronc riding champ Spencer Wright and his family are clutching onto hope after 3-year-old Levi, feared to be brain-dead after falling off a toy tractor into the Utah River, opened his eyes and lifted his head Thursday night. 

On Thursday, the boy’s mother took to Facebook to share the miraculous update to the boy’s condition. 

“LEVI WOKE UP! I am shook,” mother Kallie Wright wrote. “We don’t know how much, but the doctor said it was okay for me to get excited about that and I AM! My baby is so tough!”

Wright family friend Mindy Clark, who has been posting updates about the boy on social media since the child was admitted to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City after his accident Tuesday, explained further in a post of her own. 

RODEO STAR SPENCER WRIGHT’S 3-YEAR-OLD SON HOSPITALIZED AFTER FALLING INTO UTAH RIVER ON TOY TRACTOR

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Spencer Wright, 33, is ranked No. 40 in the world in saddle bronc riding. His 3-year-old son Levi remains in critical condition after falling into the Utah River on his tractor. (Stacie Scott/The Desert News via AP)

“He opened his eyes and tried to lift his head,” Clark wrote. “The nurse was in the room and they were telling him how much he loved excavators, and wouldn’t you know it, there he was.”

In another post, Clark said Levi’s EEG monitor showed brain activity when he heard his sister’s voice telling him “how she was hoping he’d get better and couldn’t wait for him to come home.” The monitor also reacted when the family played him dinosaur sounds from one of his favorite books and when his mother kissed him, Clark said.

Days earlier, Clark and the family had a darker outlook on the boy’s condition, with the friend writing, “We… feel strongly that his spirit is no longer with us” because “his sweet little brain was without oxygen too long and there is no coming back from that.”

Levi was playing outside his family’s Beaver County home when his mother briefly went inside. When she returned, the toddler was nowhere to be found.

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“I need everyone in Beaver to come to my house and help find my son in the water,” she posted on Facebook during the search.

PENNSYLVANIA DAD DEMANDS ANSWERS AFTER SON, 5, HAS TEETH KNOCKED OUT IN BLOODY ASSAULT AT SCHOOL, LAWYER SAYS

Although they didn’t disclose the child’s name, the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a statement that it had received a call about a boy who had fallen into the river off a toy tractor around 6 p.m. that day.

After “life-saving measures were administered on scene,” Levi was transported via ambulance to Beaver Valley Hospital, then airlifted to Primary Children’s Hospital, the office wrote in its Facebook post. 

“[Kallie] saw his little tractor overturned and immediately dialed 911 and jumped into the water to find him,” Clark told KUTV. “We don’t know how long he had been in the water, but he had been carried quite a ways.”

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Initially, the family’s outlook was grim, but testing performed Wednesday began to lift their hopes. 

Spencer Wright competes in the saddle bronc riding BP Super Series during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo March 5, 2014, in Houston. (Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

“Our doctor was a little taken aback by her exam as they came in the room to end care. She felt strongly that we needed to give him more time,” the family said Wednesday. “Now this doesn’t mean that in 12 hours we won’t be right back in the same position with him in my arms preparing for goodbye but it does mean we have time for a miracle…. Don’t give up on my boy just yet.” 

Clark wrote that the family is “unbelievably humbled” by the love and prayers they’ve received since the child was injured.

“We miss our other babies, Mom hasn’t spent a night away from baby until now but Brae and Steeley are in the best hands!” Kallie said through Clark, referring to their other two children.

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3 DEAD INCLUDING CHILD AFTER AMTRAK TRAIN PLOWS INTO CAR ON TRACKS IN NEW YORK

Stetson Wright, Jesse Wright, Ryder Wright, Rusty Wright, Spencer Wright and Cody Wright pose onstage during the “Outside the Barrel” with Flint Rasmussen show during National Finals Rodeo’s Cowboy Christmas at the Las Vegas Convention Center Dec. 7, 2019, in Las Vegas. (Mindy Small/FilmMagic)

The toddler’s father, 33-year-old Spencer Wright, is ranked No. 40 in the world in saddle bronc riding. He and his three brothers made history in 2014 when all four qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Wright ultimately won the championship.

The family was the subject of the book “The Last Cowboys” and has been featured on an episode of “60 Minutes.” 

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Earlier this year, Wright won the Rio Grande Livestock Show and Rodeo in Mercedes, Texas.

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Montana

California woman sentenced for smuggling attempt at border in Montana

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California woman sentenced for smuggling attempt at border in Montana


A California woman who tried to smuggle her husband into the United States through northwest Montana has been sentenced to six months of probation, according to U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme.

Tracy Routh Lautenslager, 54, pleaded guilty in August 2025 to conspiracy to bring an alien into the United States at a location other than a designated port of entry. U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided over the case.

Court documents allege Lautenslager entered the U.S. through the Roosville Port of Entry on April 1, 2025, then drove to the Swisher Lake area near Lake Koocanusa. Border Patrol agents later learned a man had crossed the border on foot nearby. Canadian authorities eventually apprehended the man, identified as Lautenslager’s husband, a citizen of Great Britain with no legal status in the U.S.

Investigators say Lautenslager admitted the couple planned to avoid the port of entry by having her husband cross illegally while she drove into the U.S. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katy Stack and investigated by the U.S. Border Patrol as part of Operation Take Back America.

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Nevada

Centennial vs. Liberty: Watch Nevada girls high school basketball showdown live

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Centennial vs. Liberty: Watch Nevada girls high school basketball showdown live


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The defending 5A state champion Centennial Bulldogs (7-3) open conference play with a challenging road test Wednesday night when they travel to Henderson to face the Liberty Patriots (10-7) in a Nevada 5A Southern basketball clash.

Coach Karen Weitz’s Bulldogs, seeking their second consecutive state title, will rely on their formidable frontcourt duo of forwards Nation Williams and Inieye Oruh, complemented by standout guard Sanai Branch. They will face a Patriots squad that has shown marked improvement under head coach Lorenzo Jarvis, powered by senior leaders Samantha Chesnut and Kiana Harworth alongside junior standout Neviah Nick.

With Liberty’s home court advantage potentially neutralizing Centennial’s championship pedigree, this early conference matchup could set the tone for both teams’ title aspirations in the competitive 5A Southern division.

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Opening tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. PT on Wednesday, January 7 with a live TV broadcast on NFHS Network.

• WATCH: Centennial vs. Liberty basketball is livestreaming on NFHS Network

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How to watch Centennial vs. Liberty basketball livestream

What: Defending champ Centennial faces resurgent Liberty in 5A Southern showdown

When: Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. PT on Wednesday, January 7

Where: Liberty High School | Henderson, Nevada

Watch live: Watch Centennial vs. Liberty live on the NFHS Network



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New Mexico

New Mexico maintains full childhood vaccine recommendations despite HHS rollback

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New Mexico maintains full childhood vaccine recommendations despite HHS rollback


SANTA FE, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) – The New Mexico Department of Health says it will continue to recommend the full schedule of childhood vaccines.

State officials announced the move Tuesday, directly defying a new federal policy that scaled back routine immunization guidance.

The announcement comes after U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS), under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., reduced the number of vaccines it recommends for all children.

The New Mexico Department of Health stated the federal changes were “not based on new scientific evidence or safety data.”

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“New Mexico will not follow the federal government in walking away from decades of proven public health practice,” said Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. “Our recommendations remain unchanged.”

State health officials sought to reassure parents, emphasizing that vaccines remain widely available and covered by insurance.

“We know this is confusing for parents, but the science is clear: vaccines are safe, effective, and save children’s lives,” said Dr. Miranda Durham, chief medical officer for NMDOH.

All childhood vaccinations will continue to be covered under programs like Medicaid and the federal Vaccines for Children Program.

The state encourages parents to consult their healthcare providers using the American Academy of Pediatrics’ immunization schedule.

RECOMMENDED: CDC cuts childhood vaccine list, sparking healthcare professionals’ concerns

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