EDITOR’S NOTE: Reference to a seat belt has been changed for clarity.

AUDRAIN COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 66-year-old Mexico, Missouri, man was seriously hurt after crashing a lawnmower around 5:30 p.m. Thursday in Audrain County, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report states the man was on a Craftsman LT1000 lawn mower on Route NN when it flipped over into a creek, throwing the man from the mower.

The man was flown to University Hospital with serious injuries.

The report states the man was using a “safety device” at the time of the crash but the report does not make clear what that device was. The mower was totaled.

When Ellie, a British-Iranian living in the United Kingdom, tried to call her mother in Tehran, she heard a robotic voice instead.

The voice said: “Alo? Alo? Who is calling?” It then added, “I can’t heard you. Who you want to speak with? I’m Alyssia. Do you remember me? I think I don’t know who are you.”

Ellie, 44, is one of several Iranians living abroad who have heard strange, robotic voices when trying to call family in Iran since Israeli airstrikes began over a week ago, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The callers spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity or using only first names, as they fear putting their families in danger.

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Experts who listened to recordings shared with AP suggested the messages might be pre-recorded or made by simple artificial intelligence. Calls from abroad could be getting diverted. Four experts believed Iran’s government was behind the messages, while one thought Israel was responsible.

The strange messages have unsettled Iranians trying to reach their families. Israel’s attacks have targeted military and nuclear sites, while Iran has fired missiles and drones in return. The Iranian government has also imposed a large internet blackout, saying it is needed for security.

“I don’t know why they’re doing this,” Ellie told AP. Her mother, who lives outside Tehran and has diabetes, is low on insulin. Ellie wants her mother to leave the city but cannot reach her directly.

A woman in New York described it as “psychological warfare.” She told AP: “Calling your mum and hearing an AI voice is one of the most scary things I’ve ever experienced.”

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Some messages are even stranger. A woman in the UK shared with AP a recording where a voice said, “Thank you for taking the time to listen. Life is full of unexpected surprises. These can bring joy or challenge us.”

Others said their calls just rang and rang with no answer.

Colin Crowell, a former Twitter executive, said it looked like Iranian phone companies were diverting calls to default systems. Amir Rashidi, an Iranian cybersecurity expert in the US, said the messages match government tactics to control communications.

“It would be hard for anybody else to hack,” added Mehdi Yahyanejad, an internet freedom activist. He said Israel would have little reason to do this.

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Shops remain shuttered Tehran’s historic Grand Bazaar. (AP) Shops remain shuttered Tehran’s historic Grand Bazaar. (AP)

Some Iranians abroad have found ways to contact relatives. Ellie managed by using someone near the Iran-Turkey border who called her mother on an Iranian phone and held it next to a Turkish phone so Ellie could listen in.

“The last time we spoke to her, we told her about the AI voice,” Ellie said. “She was shocked. She said her phone hasn’t rung at all.”

Others, like M. in the UK, feel helpless. When she calls her mother-in-law in Tehran, she hears a message saying, “Close your eyes and picture yourself in a place that brings you peace and happiness.”

“The only feeling it gives me is helplessness,” she told AP.

By Robert Boyd

Click here for updates on this story

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (WFTS) — From defending freedom around the world to entertaining audiences across the country, there is a band of military veterans creating hope and inspiration everywhere they go. On Friday, June 20, they will take the stage at Jannus Live in St. Petersburg.

From a lead singer in a wheelchair, to a one-armed drummer, to a guitarist with a prosthetic leg, every veteran musician has been to the brink and back. They call themselves The Resilient.

“I got hit in Afghanistan, it was an IED buried in a wall next to me,” said lead singer Tim Donley, who lost both his legs and suffered permanent injuries to one arm.

Donley spent three years recovering at Walter Reed Medical Center. That’s where he discovered the MusiCorps Program.

“It’s really where we came together, found our passion for music, but also working together and performing with a purpose,” said Donley.

In 2012, Donley, along with some of the other veterans from the program, were approached by one of rock and roll’s biggest names.

“We did a show with Roger Waters from Pink Floyd for Stand Up For Heroes, and he wanted injured vets to play with him on stage, and that’s how we kind of ended up with this group, and the rest, as they say, is history,” said Donley.

Fast forward to 2025, The Resilient have now performed in dozens of cities across the country, offering free concerts for military veterans and first responders.

Drummer Juan Dominguez said his favorite part of the band is being around so many good musicians who have also experienced similar circumstances.

“It’s home, it’s familiar. Tim is in a wheelchair, I’m in a wheelchair. We’re together,” said Dominguez.

Dominguez was a guitarist when he entered the military. After losing both legs and one arm in combat, he could have easily quit music altogether, but instead, he just switched instruments.

“I never thought once when I lost my arm or my legs that I wouldn’t play music again. It was just a matter of how I’m going to do this again, so music has always been my second language, and it’s all I know,” said Dominguez.

Guitarist Nathan Kalwicki said he knew the band was therapeutic for him, but what he didn’t expect was the impact it would have on the audience.

“They were sort of telling us stories of how it affected them. It gave them some hope, some inspiration, could give them a little spark,” said Kalwicki.

They’ve even started writing their own songs, incorporating their personal journeys into the lyrics. The Resilient aren’t just a voice on stage, but a voice of the community.

“And have our own message for veterans, but people in general, that you know that we are all resilient, we all have that steel, that fire buried in us. Sometimes we just need that reminder,” said Donley.

The Resilient performs Friday at 7 p.m. at Jannus Live. Military veterans and first responders are admitted free of charge. For more information, go to jannuslive.com or theresilientband.com.

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Tel Aviv, Israel CNN —

Karen and Omri Mamon, dual American-Israeli citizens, traveled to Israel last month to attend the wedding of Omri’s sister. They didn’t know they would end up spending their holiday moving from one house to another, searching for shelter.

A week after the wedding, Israel launched its surprise attack on Iran, and missiles began flying over the skies, forcing both airspaces to shut down. Most flights out of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport were canceled, leaving many stranded and unable to get home.

“The first night, we went down to the shelter three times, and since then, we’re just jumping between houses trying to find safe rooms. We’ve been trying to find a way out of Israel back home to Florida since then,” Omri Mamon told CNN.

Mamon said they’ve lived in Israel before and experienced having to shelter, “but this time is different.”

“The bombs are bigger, the noises are extremely high … you hear bombs everywhere,” he added.

Dozens of Americans who have been trying to leave Israel gathered at a hotel in central Israel on Saturday, where US embassy consular staff began processing their departures.

Earlier in the week, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced on social media that the embassy was arranging evacuation flights and ships for American citizens who wished to leave. Huckabee did not say when the evacuation efforts would begin.

According to US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, more than 25,000 people have sought information from the State Department about the “situation in Israel, the West Bank and Iran.” There are about 700,000 Americans living in Israel, according to Huckabee.

Several Americans at the hotel told CNN that the embassy had organized flights to Athens, and from there, they would be able to catch flights back to the US. It was unclear, though, when those flights would be scheduled.

The Mamons were on the list to go, but others, like Elana Hayman, are still waiting to be processed.

Hayman traveled to Israel with her family from Los Angeles at the beginning of June for a holiday. An Iranian missile struck a building right next to the apartment they were staying at in Tel Aviv. Apart from experiencing an earthquake, Hayman told CNN she had never felt such strong shockwaves before.

Elana Hayman (left) and her daughter Noa (right) told CNN on Saturday June 21 they are still trying to find a way out of Israel after an Iranian missile struck a building right next to the apartment they were staying at in Tel Aviv. CNN

“It was so intense that I thought it hit our building. It shook us to the core. … I actually hear the sound every night. When I think about it, I can hear it over and over again,” she said.

Her 18-year-old daughter Noa, who has anxiety, said it was a terrifying experience.

“It was really bad. I was really scared. I just wanted to find any way to leave. … It’s a scary time to be here right now,” she said.

As the evacuation process progresses slowly, Hayman — like many others — are still trying to find a way out of Israel. The US embassy said in a security alert last week that the land crossings from Israel to Jordan and Egypt are options but acknowledged that each comes with its own risks. Jordanian airspace has closed sporadically since the conflict began, and the US cannot offer emergency services to American citizens traveling through the Sinai Peninsula to catch international flights out of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Some of those waiting at the hotel, who did not wish to be named, told CNN around 30 Americans were there for three hours to get processed but were told to come back another day because the priority was for the elderly, sick and families with children.

The Mamons suspect they were processed so quickly because their son has autism.

“The main thing was to bring him back home; he was our priority. … He had a really rough time here with the sirens, noises, the shelters, and lots of people shouting,” Karen Mamon said.

Despite feeling relieved to have been processed, Omri Mamon still says “anything could happen.”

“We’re not celebrating yet,” he said.

Iran after it was reportedly struck by an Israeli airstrike (Image credits: AP)

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As tensions escalate between Iran and Israel, Iranians living abroad are encountering an unsettling new challenge, robotic voices answering their calls home.Since Israel launched airstrikes on Iran a week ago, targeting nuclear and military sites, communication with loved ones inside the country has become nearly impossible,reported news agency AP.The Iranian government has imposed a widespread internet and phone blackout, leaving families abroad desperate for any news.Ellie, a 44-year-old British-Iranian woman, was shocked when she tried to call her mother in Tehran. Instead of hearing her mother’s voice, a robotic female voice responded in broken English: “Who you want to speak with? I’m Alyssia. Do you remember me? I think I don’t know who are you,” as cited by AP.The same experience has been reported by eight other Iranians in the UK and US.Also Read: Middle East conflict: Israel strikes Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site again, centrifuge facilities targeted “Calling your mom and expecting to hear her voice and hearing an AI voice is one of the scariest things I’ve ever experienced,” said a woman in New York.The robotic messages range from eerie to oddly comforting. One caller heard a voice calmly saying: “Life is full of unexpected surprises, and these surprises can sometimes bring joy while at other times they challenge us.”Another message told callers to imagine peaceful places like forests or seashores, even as their families remain unreachable in a country under attack.I ranian cybersecurity experts suggest these diversions could be a government tactic to prevent hacking or spread confusion. In the early days of the conflict, mass voice and text messages were sent to Iranian phones warning citizens to prepare for emergencies.The ministry of information and communications technology oversees Iran’s phone systems, and the country’s intelligence services are believed to monitor conversations. One expert said it would be difficult for anyone but the government to implement such a large-scale voice diversion system.However, some experts also speculate that Israel could be behind it, referencing similar tactics used in past military operations in Lebanon and Gaza.For many Iranians abroad, these strange voices are not calming, they’re haunting reminders of how disconnected they are from their families during a time of crisis. “The only feeling it gives me,” said a woman in the UK, “is helplessness.”Elon Musk announced that his satellite internet service, Starlink, has been activated in Iran, where a limited number of people are believed to be using it despite its illegal status. Authorities have been urging citizens to report neighbors possessing the devices amid an ongoing crackdown on suspected espionage. Some Iranians also rely on illegal satellite dishes to access international news.