VENTURA, Calif. (KEYT) - Tree cutting at a known monarch butterfly habitat in Ventura was halted after city officials arrived at the scene and ordered crews to stop work.

Monarch conservationist Chris Amendt of Native Monarchs raised concerns as crews began removing trees at the Vista Del Mar site, a location long recognized as a monarch overwintering habitat.

City code enforcement initially issued a verbal stop-work order to the contractor.

After city staff left the site, work continued, with the contractor telling community members who remained that they would not stop without a written order.

Code enforcement later returned and issued a physical stop-work notice, which ultimately halted the tree cutting.

The area had remained untouched for more than a decade before drawing renewed attention following recent Ventura City Council discussions and increased activity on social media.

Ventura City Councilmember Alex Mangone was present when the stop-work order was enforced.

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WASHINGTON D.C. (KEYT) – Bipartisan legislation expanding death and disability benefits to first responders suffering from fire response-related cancers nationwide was signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026.

The legislation, originally entitled the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act (H.R. 1269), made the expanded cancer coverage retroactive, meaning first responders and their families can make claims from before the bill was signed into law.

"Occupational cancer is now the leading cause of death among firefighters," stated a 2024 report from the National Library of Medicine. "Three recent meta-analyses of firefighter cancer studies [125,126,127] indicate consensus in an increased risk of bladder, colorectal, skin (melanoma), lymph node (non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma), prostate, and testicular cancer [128]. The occupational exposure of firefighting (for both career and volunteer and both men and women) was recently classified as 'carcinogenic to humans' [125]."

Specifically, the new law amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to include exposure-related cancers as a line-of-duty death or disability covered by the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program alongside existing major injury or mental health coverage.

"Firefighters and other first responders put their lives on the line every day, often facing deadly carcinogens in the process," explained Representative Salud Carbajal, a cosponsor of the bill in the House. "Expanding the Public Safety Officer’s Benefits Program to cover service-related cancer deaths is the right thing to do to honor the first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice."

The program is administered by the U.S. Department of Justice and offers disability, death, and educational benefits to first responders who are killed or injured in the line of duty.

"Our first responders epitomize courage and selfless sacrifice, confronting both the immediate perils of their duty which are extreme and the lingering health risks associated with their service," said Republican Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota who cosponsored the bill with Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota in the Senate. "Their exposure to dangerous carcinogens happens on our behalf. When these heroes make the ultimate sacrific

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By CNN’s Logan Schiciano

(CNN) — Betty Reid Soskin, who was the National Park Service’s oldest active ranger when she retired at age 100, has died. She was 104.

She passed away “peacefully” at her home in Richmond, California on Sunday, according to a statement from her family.

“Thank you for your service, Ranger Betty,” the NPS wrote in a social media post marking Soskin’s death.

Soskin became a NPS ranger in later life, serving full-time at Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond from 2011 to 2022. She played a key role educating visitors on the work of Black Americans on the home front during World War II.

“It was her opportunity to tell her story,” one of Soskin’s sons, Bob Reid, told CNN. “There were waiting lists to hear her presentations, where she would give her perspective. I think that was probably the heart of her work.”

Reid described his mother as a “trailblazer.”

She grew up in Oakland, California, and worked as a file clerk in a segregated union hall during World War II, according to the NPS. That experience allowed her to bring a unique perspective to her duties, Reid said.

“Being a primary source in the sharing of that history – my history – and giving shape to a new national park has been exciting and fulfilling,” Soskin said when she retired from the NPS. “It has proven to bring meaning to my final years.”

Soskin’s life was “multifaceted,” according to Reid. She and her husband founded one of the first Black-owned music stores in California, Reid’s Records. She also spent stints as an office worker and political staffer.

Her time as a field representative for a California state assembly member brought her to meetings where the management plan for the park where she would later work was developed.

While representing that state at the table and sharing her story, NPS saw Soskin “as a valuable resource in building the park,” Reid said. “They convinced her to become a park ranger.”

The role made Soskin a local celebrity, and she eventually caught the eye of the White House. She introduced then-President Barrack Obama at a tree-lighting ceremony in 2016, where Obama gave her the presidential coin.

Soskin’s namesake will live on through the Betty Reid Soskin Middle School in El Sobrante, California. The school called Soskin a “national treasure” in a statement after her death, and said her “legacy of resilience, wisdom, and unwavering commitment to justice will forever inspire our community.”

Soskin published the book “Sign My Name to Freedom: A Memoir of a Pioneering Life” in 2018. A documentary on her life was in the works at the time of her passing.

CNN’s Zoe Sottile contributed to this report.

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