Remote Surveillance Trailer in Chico, CA

CHICO, Calif. - A couple living on Keefer Road north of Chico are raising concerns after rainy weather flooded the area between their home and barn – leaving their animals, including donkeys, turkeys, chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs, stranded.

The couple said they spent the night anxiously watching the footage from the cameras on the barn as their animals faced the elements.

"I mean, just as anybody that owns animals, I mean, you care for them, it's like do your own family and it's like, you can't get to them,” they said. “You're stuck over here, but animals are over there, and you can hear your dogs barking, and they're probably freaked out because there's water in the barn, and they're standing and standing water, you know, and it's like, here, it is Christmas Eve, and we can look out our back door and see how high the water is, and you look at the cameras and see there's water going in our barn and out of our barn and have no ability to do anything."

The couple also expressed worry for their neighbors who were also stranded.

“It's the neighborly thing, you worry about your neighbors,” they said. “It's Christmas, you know, and we've seen them go through this twice before last year, and you know, it's heartbreaking to see them go through it again, as you can see, they have two small little kids over there, and it's Christmas Day, and they're stranded."

The couple expressed frustration saying they have dealt with this issue before – even losing some of their smaller animals to past floods.

County Supervisor for District 2, Peter Durfee, explained that bifurcation is causing water to flow in both directions on Rock Creek. Durfee said early Christmas morning and into the evening the county had crews out keeping the bridges clear off of Keefer. He added that 5 mile is flowing better than it did at this time last year.

Despite the county's efforts, the couple feels more assistance is needed.

While the couple has not been able to get to their barn, they said the neighbors who are stranded on the other side did grab the 5-month-old puppy from the barn last night and has fed the other animals in the meantime.

Michelea Ponce, a nurse from Orland, California, is facing public backlash after posting a TikTok video in which she confronts an elderly Target employee over a Charlie Kirk “Freedom” shirt the worker was wearing while stocking shelves.

In the video, filmed inside a Target store, Ponce repeatedly questions the employee about the shirt as the older woman asks why she is being photographed. The Target worker responds that she is allowed to wear any red shirt. Ponce continues the confrontation, calling the employee “stupid” and accusing her of supporting a “racist.” The worker calmly denies the claim and later walks away, wishing Ponce a nice day.

According to her Facebook profile, Ponce works as a nurse at Enloe Health, a nonprofit healthcare system based in Chico, California, where she has held patient care roles. On TikTok, where she uses the handle @motherofballers, Ponce has approximately 19.6K followers and more than 1.1 million likes.

Ponce demands to speak with a manager during the incident and declares the shirt “unacceptable.” The video has since circulated widely online, drawing criticism and calls for disciplinary action, including demands that Enloe Health terminate her employment and that Target ban her from stores. Enloe Health has not publicly responded to the controversy.

In a separate TikTok video, Ponce is seen arguing over her mother wanting to buy a Bible for her teenage son, stating that he lives in a “military house with two lesbians.” It is unclear who she is referring to. Ponce frequently posts about being married to a Mexican man.

Ponce previously made local news in October after Orland City Council members discussed which flags would be permitted on city flagpoles. Ponce, who initiated the Hispanic Heritage Flag Society, submitted a request asking the city to display Mexican flags on holidays such as Cinco de Mayo, Mexican Independence Day, and Dia de los Muertos.

At the time, Ponce said she shared her interactions with city officials on social media, stating, “I went to the city hall and I am publicly sharing on social media the facts and the laws and the feedback that I'm getting… But it's only based on opinion. No facts. They're not stating the law. They're stating their own personal beliefs.”