Month: December 2025

By DeJanay Booth-Singleton

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    DETROIT (WWJ) — A package of bills aimed at cracking down on ticket bots in Michigan is heading to the governor’s office.

The “Taylor Swift” bill package, which includes House Bills 4262 and 4263, authorizes the Michigan attorney general to pursue action against anyone using ticket bots. The individual would be subject to a penalty of up to $5,000 per ticket that was fraudulently claimed.

Additionally, Senate Bill 158 would create the Event Online Ticket Sales Act to regulate online ticket sales for entertainment events to prevent bots from taking over the purchases.

The bills are tie-barred, meaning that they would not become law without the other.

HBs 4262 and 4263 were initially passed by the House in June before they were sent to the Senate for a vote. It went back to the House for a final vote and will now head to Gov. Whitmer’s desk.

“These scams have turned buying tickets into a rigged game,” said state Rep. Mike Harris, R-Waterford, who sponsored the bill. “Fans shouldn’t need insider tricks or outrageous budgets just to enjoy a concert or a ballgame. This legislation restores fairness and makes sure ticket sales aren’t decided by bots playing ‘mastermind’ behind the scenes.”

The bills come after the 2022 Eras Tour ticket sale fiasco. Ticketmaster, which sold most of the tickets, was sued by fans for its mishandling of ticket sales, prompting an investigation by the Justice Department. The platform blamed a massive bot attack for crashing its website when the tour ticket presale launched in November 2022, resulting in the company temporarily suspending sales.

Since then, Michigan lawmakers have been proposing bills to regulate online ticket sales in the state. In 2024, the House passed House Bills 5661 and 5662; however, the bills did not move any further. Those bills were reintroduced in 2025 as Senate Bills 158 and 159.

“For too many families, trying to buy tickets has felt like a ‘cruel summer’,” Harris said. “You refresh the page, watch prices climb, and realize the system was never built for you. This legislation helps make ticket buying ‘fearless’ again.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Jeff Wagner

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    MINNESOTA (WCCO) — Snowboarding can be tricky, especially if your board is designed for something else. It’s a challenge 11-year-old Mickey Watkins embraces as he tries to stand on a plastic tote bin lid while sliding down a small but precarious hill near his home.

“It does not work,” he said with a frustrated smile after another failed attempt nearly sent him falling.

The tattered, flimsy lid is all he has to work with, along with the desire to emulate what the pros showed him last winter.

“He just gravitated towards us and started hanging out and watching the guys snowboard,” Mike Yoshida, a professional photographer, said. He’s traveled the world capturing incredible shots of snowboarders shredding mountainsides and soaring between manmade structures.

One stop included north Minneapolis back in February. Yoshida was there for a photoshoot that involved snowboarders doing tricks along a set of stairs and railing next to an apartment complex. Watkins, ever curious and never shy, was their up-close audience. He then grabbed a nearby tote bin lid and showed them his style of urban snowboarding. Yoshida happily snapped a photo of Watkins sliding down the hill.

“It’s cool to be able to see his face,” said Yoshida of Watkins’ picture. “In snowboard photos, a lot of times people are wearing goggles and are covered up.”

But not in this picture, as Watkins’ eyes and smile reveal emotions snowboarders know well: a blend of excitement and apprehension as the “board” starts to slide.

“I think pretty much any snowboarder can relate to, like, that first time they stood up and just slid down. It’s a very simple process, but it just feels so good,” Colin Wiseman said. He’s the content director for The Snowboarder’s Journal.

The monthly publication dives into the culture of sport. Photos that make an issue’s cover are often a mix of majestic settings and exhilarating stunts.

But for December’s issue, he wanted to go in a different direction. Wiseman’s team decided Yoshida’s picture of Watkins would grace the cover.

“It was a bit of an ongoing discussion because it does break the mold. And I don’t know, I just felt that one in my gut. In my heart, I was just like, ‘This one just feels good.'” said Wiseman. “Thankfully, people reacted to it the same way as me.”

The journal posted a picture of the cover featuring Watkins on Instagram, leading to a flood of comments praising their decision, some calling it their best cover yet.

It even caught Yoshida off guard. Watkins’ photo wasn’t part of his initial submission to the journal, just one he posted to his personal Instagram. Wiseman saw Yoshida’s post and requested he take the photo down so the journal could potentially use it in the future. Now, it’s capturing the hearts of the snowboarding community far and wide.

“I want to say this is probably one of the more important photos that I’ve ever shot because of the places it’s going and the attention it’s getting in a positive manner,” Yoshida said.

Watkins’ mom, Bathsheba Burks, learned of her son’s newfound fame through social media as the cover photo was getting shared in local Facebook groups. She somewhat remembers her son talking about how he was hanging out with snowboarders last winter, but didn’t think much of it at the time. She’s proud of what that interaction and picture has led to for her son.

Wiseman’s team sent Watkins a package loaded with The Snowboarder’s Journal swag and several copies of Watkins’ issue.

“That’s amazing. He should cherish that. He’s going to cherish it,” Burks said.

Watkins said he had fun flipping through the issue’s pages, marveling at the snowboarders pulling off thrilling jumps.

But it’s the image of a kid smiling on the cover with nothing but a tote bin lid that Wiseman hopes will inspire others to give the sport a try.

“I hope it sends that message that snowboarding is for everyone, and you don’t have to be doing it in some far-off exotic place. Just grab what you can and slide down a hill,” Wiseman said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By S.E. Jenkins

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    TEXAS (KTVT) — A man in his 70s died trying to rescue his wife from a fire in their Dallas home on Monday afternoon, officials said.

Just before noon, Dallas Fire-Rescue crews were called to the 1200 block of Whispering Trail, where a mailman had called 911 to report a house fire.

Firefighters saw smoke and fire coming from the home when they arrived, and the mailman told them that people were still inside.

Crews were able to put out the fire and rescued a woman in her 70s from a bedroom near the front of the house, Dallas Fire-Rescue said. Firefighters also pulled the woman’s unresponsive husband from inside the house. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Dallas Fire-Rescue said the fire began in the back of the home, and the husband went back inside to try to rescue his wife when he was overcome by smoke and died.

The cause of the fire will be listed as undetermined pending the final ruling from the ME’s Office on the victim’s cause of death, Dallas Fire-Rescue said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Jeramie Bizzle, Jermont Terry

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — As the cta says it’s ramping up safety protocols on buses and trains, following a string of violent attacks, the family of a man brutally beaten on a bus is speaking out.

Larry Gilkey, 62, was badly hurt after being attacked by three teens on a bus on the West Side. Two of those teens were charged on Monday night.

Gilkey spent days in a medically induced coma with severe bleeding in his brain. Injuries from when three teens attacked and robbed him on the Chicago Transit Authority bus. His family said their loved one is in the hospital only after he tried helping one of the teens who targeted him.

For nearly a week, Gilkey could not speak as doctors tried to reduce internal bleeding in his head.

“He’s one of the people who taught me everything I know,” said Tavarris Harvey, nephew.

Harvey couldn’t believe the call he received to rush to the emergency room.

“My uncle Terry called me, which is Larry’s identical twin brother. He called me hysterically crying and could barely explain what was going on,” he said.

Harvey arrived to find one uncle standing at the bedside of his twin.

“I just see him connected to all types of machines,” he said.

Chicago police would later tell him three teenagers viciously attacked his loving uncle while on a CTA bus along Cicero and Flournoy in West Garfield Park.

One of three teens asked for money to get on the bus, and just as Gilkey pulled out his wallet to help out, the other two jumped the 62-year-old.

“I feel like it was a setup, just the bait and switch to see if a person actually has some money on them,” Harvey said.

The teen either stomped his uncle in the head or his head hit an object during the attack, resulting in Gilkey being taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital in a coma for nearly a week.

Two of those teens in the attack were charged on Monday night.

A boy and a girl, both 15, were charged with felony counts of aggravated battery to a transit employee, aggravated battery to a person over 60, and aggravated battery with great bodily harm to a person over 60.

The girl was also charged with attempting to steal a vehicle on Dec. 21, in the 5600 block of West Bloomingdale Avenue, according to police.

Charges are still pending for a third person from the incident, police said.

“They should be held accountable. It shouldn’t be any break, they should be treated like adults,” Harvey said.

The family set up a GoFundMe to help with mounting medical bills just days before the holidays.

“He has a long way to go, and he’s gonna need extra care at home,” Harvey said.

Gilkey is out of that coma, and I’m told he gave thumbs up and a smile when told about the arrest.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.