OMAHA, Neb. — Jay Johnson loves his two dogs. He says to him, they are family.

This past weekend, he came close to losing them after they escaped from the backyard of his Omaha home. The dogs escaped while Johnson was in the shower.

"(I) get out of the shower, notice there's a message on my phone, ‘I got your dog’,” said Johnson.

That's when Johnson came out, he realized his fence was broken which was how the dogs escaped. He said someone ran into and destroyed his fence the night before.

Luckily, Johnson was able to recover his animals, but he also has an $800 expense to replace the fence, and he's not alone.

The so-called "Kool-Aid Man Challenge" on TikTok is leading to a rash of vandalism in Omaha and surrounding areas.

In the challenge, someone runs into and destroys random fences in an effort to mimic the mascot of the popular powdered drink. The damage is not an easy fix, especially these days.

Surveillance video that was recently captured shows a group of several people charging another fence at a different home in Omaha.

The footage went viral on social media which is getting the attention of law enforcement.

“They get into a group mentality where one of them thinks they have a good idea and the others ones go along with it," said Lt. James Wrigley, Sarpy County Sheriff's Office.
"Once we meet up with these kids individually they tend to say they're sorry and wouldn't do this by themselves,”

Wrigley said say his department has responded to eight calls of this happening across the county. In the case of the aforementioned video, around $3,500 worth of damage was done to the fence.

Lindsay Anderson, Operations Manager at S&W Fence said this kind of damage is normally tough to fix. Current supply shortages make the job even harder.

“Vinyl pricing more than doubled when the pandemic hit as with everything," said Anderson. "The cost to repair them for some people is more than the price they paid to get their entire fence.”

Johnson said he wants to see the people doing this face real consequences.

“They need to learn a lesson, big time," he said. "It can't just be a slap on the hand.”

The Sarpy County Sheriff's Office said they're still looking for the individuals in the video.

Those responsible for the damage could face criminal mischief charges, and the severity of those charges would depend upon the damage to property.

This story was first reported by Ron Johnson at KMTV in Omaha, Neb.

Red light therapy has been rising in popularity, but with a lot of posts about it on social media, it's hard to know if what's being promised is backed by science. Physician and board-certified anesthesiologist Dr. Azza Halim, who works at the Sanctuary Medical Center, says red light therapy isn't new.

"Because of social media, TikTok, more people are trying it, getting on that bandwagon," Dr. Halim said.

An article published on NASA explains research funded by NASA used red light therapy to grow plants in space in the mid-1990s. Pretty soon, NASA scientists working under the lights discovered that abrasions on their hands were healing faster than normal. Dr. Rich Joseph is a chief medical officer for Restore Hyper Wellness, which offers red light therapy at more than 125 locations nationwide.

"Red light, in particular, we're learning, might have more advantageous properties for healing because of its ability to penetrate the skin because of its longer wavelengths," Dr. Joseph said.

Both he and Dr. Halim say there are a few medical studies regarding red light therapy.

One study suggests an increase in collagen density. Collagen provides structure and strength to your skin, muscles, bones and connective tissues. Another study suggests there are potential psychological benefits for people facing depression and anxiety.

However, Dr. Joseph cautions someone facing mental health issues should also seek out treatment from mainstream medicine like the use of anti-depressants. Dr. Halim says red light therapy should always be considered as an addition to your wellness practice.

"It needs to be used in conjunction with other therapies because there's been controversy with people trying to upsell red light therapy," Dr. Halim said.

Dr. Joseph says more clinical trials are needed to confirm its effectiveness as a treatment. What he can confirm is that red light therapy is safe because it won't cause skin damage like UV rays from the sun. Before you decide to spend your money on this growing trend, Dr. Halim suggests you talk with your physician to see what makes the most sense for you.

 

When it comes to products that are currently blowing up in the beauty industry, it’s safe to say that anti-aging skincare is at the top of the list. From the best eye creams for wrinkles to top-selling retinol serums, there’s no shortage of beauty picks that promise to prevent wrinkles and reduce the appearance of fine lines and age spots.

Related video above: Three things you can do to stop blue light aging your skin

Now, there’s an innovative product that’s taking the Internet by storm: anti-wrinkle straws.

That’s right, there are straws designed to prevent wrinkles from forming around your mouth as you sip beverages, and thousands of TikTok users swear by them. In fact, the hashtag for “anti-wrinkle straw” currently has over 350 million views and counting — and one viral TikTok user even claims that it “might be the best invention for anti-aging ever.” But do anti-wrinkle straws actually work?

To find out if this innovative new product truly prevents wrinkles, we tapped dermatologists to weigh in on the anti-aging claims—and whether they’re worth buying.

Can using straws cause wrinkles around your mouth?

Experts say that it indeed can. “Repeatedly pursing the lips, as is the case when drinking from a straw, may contribute to wrinkles,” said Dr. Marisa Garshick, a board-certified dermatologist in New York.

More specifically, the repetitive movement of your mouth muscles flexing in the same spot can lead to creasing in your skin. It’s similar to how expression lines in your face develop. “Every time you purse your lips to grab the straw, the muscles around your mouth are flexing and creating lines,” Dr. Peterson Pierre, a board-certified dermatologist at the Pierre Skin Care Institute, said.

The specific mouth muscle you’re engaging when sipping a straw is called the orbicularis oris, according to board-certified dermatologist Dr. Blair Murphy Rose.

It’s the same muscle that “allows us to purse the lips to whistle, to blow a kiss, etc.,” she said. “Use of this muscle folds the skin which, over time, often begins to leave wrinkles in the skin.”

In fact, the same lip-puckering motion is what leads smokers to develop what’s commonly known as smoker’s lines around their mouth, Garshick noted.

Once lines set in, they like to stay.

“The more you [pucker your lips], the stronger the muscles get and the deeper the lines,” Pierre said. “If done consistently over a long period of time, the lines become etched into the skin, and they can be very challenging to treat.”

How do anti-wrinkle straws work?

Anti-wrinkle straws allegedly work by “preventing the folding of the skin that occurs when using a regular straw,” Murphy said.

In contrast to traditional straws, which have a vertical opening at the top for you to wrap your lips around, these unique straws have a shape that curves horizontally at the top. They have an opening where you can place your mouth to sip without pursing your lips (similar to how you might play a flute). This design supposedly reduces the lip-puckering motion that’s required to sip through a regular straw, thereby helping to prevent wrinkles from forming.

So, can anti-wrinkle straws actually help prevent wrinkles?

The short answer is: Maybe.

“In theory, they should work because you are no longer pursing your lips to hold onto the straw,” Pierre said. “However, these straws won’t do anything to affect genetic and age-related changes.”

It’s also important to note that there currently isn’t any scientifically-backed research that proves anti-wrinkle straws truly make a difference — or even that using straws is a leading cause of wrinkles in the first place.

“While straws may contribute to the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles around the mouth, we don’t know the full extent of how straw usage leads to lines in terms of how often you need to drink out of a straw in order for it to pose a problem,” Garshick said. “So, swapping out straws may not be entirely necessarily, especially for someone who rarely drinks from a straw.”

That being said, anti-wrinkle straws are not particularly harmful, so there shouldn’t be any issue with using them, according to Garshick. In fact, Pierre says they might be “worth trying,” especially if you frequently use straws.

Where to buy anti-wrinkle straws:

As with any product that claims anti-aging benefits, you shouldn’t expect anti-wrinkle straws to magically prevent or reduce your wrinkles overnight. But if you want to try them out for yourself, there are plenty of options available to buy online, including the popular Lipzi Original Glass Drinking Straw. The top-rated pick currently has over a hundred five-star ratings from Amazon reviewers, who note that it’s both comfortable to use and easy to clean.

“I thought that it would be a silly gimmick, and I actually felt stupid for purchasing this but it really does work. You do still purse your lips a little to use this straw but so much less than with a regular straw,” one shopper wrote. “It also feels a lot more effortless to use this straw style,” they continue, adding that less suction force is needed. “As an added bonus, it’s also fun to use and makes me want to drink more water!”

Even beyond the popular pick from Lipzi, there are other affordable anti-wrinkle straws available to buy on Amazon (including one with a different design).

Hide Transcript
Show Transcript

I’M SAYING 14 DAYS MONDAY MORNING. OH, ABSOLUTELY OUR RECOVERING FROM A SUPER BOWL WIN AND PLANNING A PARADE AND THAT’S WHAT I THINK. YEAH. ABSOLUTELY. YEAH. UM, SO EXCITING. HERE’SHE T THING THAT NORTHEAST STORM THAT JUST WENT THROUGH. I MEAN MY PARENTS WERE EVEN SAYING THEY’REN I CONNECTICUT. THEY’RE LIKE, WE’RE WE’RE SHOVELED LIKE WE’RE SNOWED IN. YEAH. THEY GOT HIT REALLY HARD THEY DID AND WE POTENTIALLY MAYBE IN THE SHTIGSF O THIS NEXT WINTER STORM. OKAY IT NOW IT’S IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. SO IT’S ONE OF THOSE LIKE WE KNEW IT WAS COMING BUT THERE’S SOME DAYS TO KIND OF WORKUT O THE DETAILS HERE. OKAY, EVERY TYPE OF WINTER WEATHER ONIS TAP FOR US AS OF RIGHT NOW. YEAH. HAVE YOU HEAVY RNAI SLEET POTENTIALLY ICE ACCUMULATION, WHICH WOULD BE THE BIG ISSUE AND THEN SOME SNOW SO THAT’S THE SECOND HALF OF THE WEEK. LET’S START OUT WITH A GOOD STUFF HERE TOYDA AND TOMORROW IT’LL BE DRY AND COMFORTABLE WILL BE IN THE LOW 40S TODAY LOW 50S TOMORROW. WE’RE ALL EXCITED. WE’VE GOT TWO HERE TO KIND OF SOAK IT IN BUT ALSO TO PREPARE FOR WHAT’S COMING AFTER THAT. SO ON WEDNESDAY RAIN MOVES IN IT’LL BE HEAVY AT TESIMND A THEN THOSE TEMPERATURES WILL BE FALLING. OVERNIGHT WEDNESDAY IONT THURSDAY MORNING AND THAT RAIN WILL BE TRANSITIONING THEN TO SLEET AND ICE AND ICE ACCUMULATION IS THE BIG ISSUE. IT ISOT N OUT OF THE QUESTION THAT SOME AREAS COULD SEE UPWARDS OF AN INCH OF ICE ACCUMULATION. THAT COULD BE A VERY MAJOR PROBLEM FOR US LATER IN THE WEEK THURSDAY. AND THIS ENDS AS SOME SNOW ON FRIDAY HOW QUICKLY THAT COLD AIR BARGES IN THROUGH OUR ATMOSPHERE THAT REALLY WILL DICTETA HOW MUCH WE GET ICE AND SLEET VERSUS SNOW BUT IT REALLY IS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, WE’RE GONNA HAVE THE ISSUES HERE RIGHT NOW. IT IS 24 DEGESRE. IT’S CLOUDY. IT FEELS LIKE 18. HERE’S YOUR 12 HOUR FORECAST AND YOU CAN SEE THOSE CLOUDS QUICKLY CLEARING OUT. IT’LL BE A GREAT WHO DAY MONDAY HERE WITH A TEMPERATURE TOPPING. AROUND 41 SO THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM. IT’S GETTING ITSELF ORGANIZED ACROSS THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST FOR OUR AREA. HERE’S HOW IT’S GOING TO PLAY OUT HEAVY RAIN ARRIVES ON WEDNESDAY. YOU CAN SEE THAT SOAKING RAIN GONNA OVERTAKING THE AREAS WE GO THROUGH THE DAY THAT COLD AIR FOLLOWS AND WE TRANSITION TO SLEETND A ICE ON THURSDAY AND THEN IT MOVES OUT FRIYDA MORNING WITH SOME SNOW AND AGAIN DEPENDING ON WHEN WE TRANSITION FROM THAT SLEET AND ICE TO SNOW WE COULD SEE A LITTLE SNOW WE CAN SEE A LOT OF SNOW. IT’S ALL THE TIMING WHICH IS WAY TOOAR ELY TO CALL ON A MONDAY MORNING. SO FOR TODAY 41 DEGREES TURNING SUNNY SEASONABLE. JUST A GREAT DAY TO KEEP ON CELEBRATING TONIGHT. WE DROP TO 26 TOMORROW 53 BEST DAY OF THE WEEK, BUT BE READY FOR GROUNDHOG DAY, WHICH IS WEDNESDAY THAT DOES BRING IN THE HEAVY RAIN RAIN TO ICE AND SLEEP ON THURSDAY SOME SNOW ON FRIYDA AND CHECK OUT THOSE TEMPERATURES. DROPPING ALL THE WAY

Victory Mon-dey forecast

Who dey! Your victory Monday is shaping up nicely. A potentially high impact winter storm follows for the midweek.

Updated: 5:41 AM EST Jan 31, 2022

Who dey! Your victory Monday is shaping up nicely. A potentially high impact winter storm follows for the midweek.

Who dey! Your victory Monday is shaping up nicely. A potentially high impact winter storm follows for the midweek.