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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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Alaska

Alaska Air National Guard rescues injured snowmachiner near Cooper Landing

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Alaska Air National Guard rescues injured snowmachiner near Cooper Landing


 

An Alaska Air National Guard HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter, assigned to the 210th Rescue Squadron, 176th Wing, returns to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, after conducting a rescue mission for an injured snowmachiner, Feb. 21, 2026. The mission marked the first time the AKANG used the HH-60W for a rescue. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Joseph Moon)

Alaska Air National Guard personnel conducted a rescue mission Saturday, Feb. 21, after receiving a request for assistance from the Alaska State Troopers through the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center.

The mission was initiated to recover an injured snowmachiner in the Cooper Landing area, approximately 60 air miles south of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The Alaska Air National Guard accepted the mission, located the individual, and transported them to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage for further medical care.

The mission marked the first search and rescue operation conducted by the 210th Rescue Squadron using the HH-60W Jolly Green II, the Air Force’s newest combat rescue helicopter, which is replacing the older HH-60G Pave Hawk. Guardian Angels assigned to the 212th Rescue Squadron were also aboard the aircraft and assisted in the recovery of the injured individual.

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Good Samaritans, who were on the ground at the accident site, deployed a signal flare, that helped the helicopter crew visually locate the injured individual in the heavily wooded area.
Due to the mountainous terrain, dense tree cover, and deep snow in the area, the helicopter was unable to land near the patient. The aircrew conducted a hoist insertion and extraction of the Guardian Angels and the injured snowmachiner. The patient was extracted using a rescue strop and hoisted into the aircraft.

The Alaska Air National Guard routinely conducts search and rescue operations across the state in support of civil authorities, providing life-saving assistance in some of the most remote and challenging environments in the world.



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Arizona

Arizona NAACP responds to ‘Simon Says’ case, calls for police accountability

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Arizona NAACP responds to ‘Simon Says’ case, calls for police accountability


PHOENIX — The Arizona NAACP is responding to the violent arrest of Israel Devoe, a Phoenix man who was acquitted of all charges stemming from a 2024 traffic stop in which officers punched, kneed, and elbowed him.

Sarah Tyree, president of the Arizona NAACP State Conference, said the case is part of a broader and familiar pattern.

“What happened here reflects a pattern our communities know all too well. Time and again, we see policing tactics that are dangerous and deeply harmful to civilians, yet are later justified as ‘within policy’ through carefully crafted reports and the broad protections afforded under Graham v. Connor,” Tyree wrote in an emailed statement following an ABC15 investigation.

RELATEDPhoenix man to file lawsuit after dangerous game of ‘Simon Says’ with police

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Phoenix police officials found all four officers involved in Devoe’s arrest to have acted within policy, records show.

After a two-day trial, jurors unanimously found Devoe not guilty on all four of the felony charges against him — including aggravated assault on officers and resisting arrest.

In her statement, Tyree said true accountability is not possible without changing state law.

“Accountability remains out of reach in Arizona because the Peace Officers’ Bill of Rights continues to insulate misconduct from meaningful oversight, too often shifting blame onto the very communities most impacted by these encounters,” she wrote. “We also encourage Arizona voters to engage their state legislators and advocate for the repeal or amendment of the Peace Officers’ Bill of Rights to ensure systems of public safety are truly accountable to the public they serve.”

Devoe’s case again highlights problems with policing in Phoenix, which has been under scrutiny following a Department of Justice investigation that found the city had a pattern and practice of using excessive force, discrimination, and weak oversight.

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The push for federal oversight ended in 2025 after the Trump administration ended such efforts across the country.

Devoe’s civil attorney, Jesse Showalter, also represents Tyron McAlpin, a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy who was violently arrested by Phoenix officers in July 2024. Showalter has said both cases reflect what he described as an accepted norm of extreme violence within the Phoenix Police Department.

A Phoenix police spokesperson said the department declines to comment because Devoe is set to file a lawsuit against the city.

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This digital article was produced with the assistance of AI and converted to this platform based on the broadcast story written and reported by ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing (Dave@abc15.com). Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. 





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California

Rep. Kevin Kiley announces run in California’s redrawn 6th Congressional District

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Rep. Kevin Kiley announces run in California’s redrawn 6th Congressional District



Congressman Kevin Kiley has announced his plan to run in California’s newly redrawn 6th district.

In a statement on Monday, Rep. Kiley revealed he had considered running in the 5th District – which could have set up a possible showdown between two current Republican officeholders.

“It’s true that I was fully prepared to run in the new 5th, having tested the waters and with polls showing a favorable outlook in a “safe” district. But doing what’s easy and what’s right are often not the same,” Kiley stated.

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Kiley currently represents California’s 3rd district, which originally comprised counties making up much of the back spine of the state.

As of the Prop. 50 redistricting push, the 3rd district was redrawn for the 2026 midterm election to lean toward the Democratic Party – with those eastern spine of California counties lopped off and more of Sacramento County, including Rancho Cordova, added.

California’s new 6th district is now comprised of Rocklin, Roseville, Citrus Heights, much of North and East Sacramento, and the city of West Sacramento. Democratic Rep. Ami Bera currently represents the district, but will be running for the new 3rd district in 2026.

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Other declared candidates for the 6th district include Democrats Lauren Babb Thomlinson, Thien Ho, Richard Pan, Kindra Pring, Tyler Vandenberg, and Republicans Christine Bish, Craig DeLuz, and Raymond Riehle. 

Kiley was first elected to the House in 2022 and was reelected in 2024. 





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