Month: February 2026

By Andie Bernhardt

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    WEST ALLIS, Wis. (WDJT) — February is Black History Month, and a post meant to celebrate local Black-owned businesses in West Allis is sparking a big reaction.

“It had a couple of likes and a couple of comments and then all the sudden, 24 hours later, it had completely exploded,” said West Allis Mayor Dan Devine.

On Sunday, Feb. 1, to mark the first day of Black History Month, the City of West Allis made a post highlighting Black-owned businesses. The post, Mayor Devine says, escalated quickly in the comments.

“We have really made strides to be an inclusive community and welcome everyone,” said Mayor Devine. “Some days you feel like you are really making progress and other days you just feel like you are spinning your wheels.”

In just 24 hours, the post gained more than a thousand comments, many of which had a racist tone. This caused major concerns for people both on and offline.

“My hope is people read that and recognize we still have a lot more work to do, and that’s evident, unfortunately,” said Mayor Devine.

Unlike Moore, who’s owned The Diamond Collection for five years in downtown West Allis, who says the comments were upsetting but not surprising.

“Not shocked, you know, this is what comes with the community,” said Moore. “It’s sad because it is 2026 and you will be very shocked that it’s still happening, but it is still happening. There’s nothing much you can do about it, but you know, keep working.”

Moore says people need to support Black-owned businesses and what they add to the community, not tear them down.

“I feel like it’s very important, because why not show up and show out for our month?” said Moore.

Brandon Hawthorne, who owns Twisted Plants, less than two miles away, says negative comments aren’t new and won’t stop him from providing for his community.

“For negative people and the negative comments, we try to look past it,” said Hawthorne. “You know, here we are in 2026 and it’s still some of the same old, same old, but you know, we have our head held high and just try to push forward.”

Both owners say now is not an easy time for local businesses and that every ounce of support matters.

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 Conor Wight

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    MINNESOTA (WCCO) — As thousands in Minnesota grapple with loved ones facing deportation, the fight in the immigration court system has become a critical lifeline. For at least two Ecuadorian women, their efforts to find legal assistance turned out to compound their problems, telling WCCO that they believe they’ve been scammed.

Geovana Patricia said that when ICE detained her husband, she didn’t know who to turn to; that is, until a friend, Alexandra Chorlango, recommended an attorney whom she contacted for help after her brother was detained.

Patricia called a number with a Florida area code on a digital flyer for “Inmigrate & Asociados L.LC.” A woman claiming to be an attorney, whom WCCO is not yet naming, told her that she could help, but immediately asked for a payment of $1,500 to start the process.

“I was so desperate that I sent it to them,” Patricia said. “I was scammed, maybe because I was desperate. I just wanted to help my husband.”

As the days ticked by, Patricia said that she was getting inconsistent information from the woman. At one point, she was sent a supposed document related to an order of release for her husband. WCCO found that the document had several typos and grammatical inconsistencies.

As of Thursday night, Patricia’s husband is still detained in Texas, telling her on the phone that he has never met or been contacted by the woman claiming to be their attorney.

Chorlango said she eventually ran into the same problem. After paying this woman $1,500, she said that she began to suspect she was being scammed as well, as she saw no concrete movement for her brother after he was detained in Bloomington and taken to Texas.

Chorlango said that her cousin also paid the same woman $1,500 for legal services after her son was taken from Bloomington to Louisiana. In that case, Chorlango explained that her cousin got a pro-bono attorney to step in to help. After her son was already released on a habeas corpus petition, the original woman whom she paid $1,500 to was still talking about working to free him.

WCCO spoke to this woman on the phone with Patricia. She declined to respond to scam accusations and declined to provide any proof that she was a practicing attorney.

The Minnesota State Attorney General’s Office recommends calling the American Bar Association office of the state in which an attorney claims to be practicing to check their credentials.

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) — The woman charged in connection with the death of a newborn baby whose body was found 24 years ago in a ditch in Johnson County has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, officials announced Thursday.

Shelby Ann Stotts, of Covington, pled guilty on Monday to manslaughter. On Thursday, a jury sentenced her to the maximum allowable sentence of 20 years in prison.

“After 24 years, 2 months, 18 days, 4 hours, and 10 minutes, justice was finally done on behalf of the infant girl whom this community named ‘Angel Baby Doe,'” Johnson County District Attorney Timothy Good said in a statement.

“Angel Baby Doe” In 2001, a newborn baby was dumped in a ditch between Burleson and Alvarado. The baby, who still had its umbilical cord, bled out because it did not receive medical care, investigators said.

Investigators have since referred to the newborn as “Angel Baby Doe.”

In 2024, Stotts was taken into custody after investigators in Johnson County received help from the Texas Attorney General’s Missing Persons and Cold Case unit. DNA technology revealed Stotts was the baby’s biological mother.

Good said the baby’s biological father was not aware that Stotts was even pregnant with the baby and only learned about the child 2 years ago. He gave an impact statement in which he named the child “Taryn Angel Moreno.”

The Safe Haven Law was in place when Angel Baby Doe was abandoned. It allows any parent to drop off an infant younger than 60 days old at a “safe place.”

That would include places like fire stations, hospitals, or EMS stations. No questions are asked and there is no threat of getting in legal trouble.

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 Stephanie Stahl

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    Philadelphia (KYW) — A Philadelphia toddler and a dog from Los Angeles have a unique bond that came together thanks to a CHOP doctor and a story from CBS News Philadelphia.

Cameron Knowles, 3, and a dog named Panini both have the world’s smallest pacemaker.

It’s an unlikely connection that was put together by Dr. Maully Shah of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Two and a half years ago, Cameron had a heart block and was too small for a conventional pacemaker. He became the first baby at CHOP to receive a specially modified device that was placed outside his heart.

Panini, who lives with Heather Ashley Boyer in Los Angeles, has the same kind of heart block, and like Cameron, sizing for a pacemaker became an issue.

“So I found an article, your article online, that reported on baby Cameron,” Boyer told CBS News Philadelphia.

Then, when veterinarians said they couldn’t help, Boyer called CHOP.

“They’re like, ‘Oh great, what’s your patient’s date of birth and insurance info,’ and I was like, ‘Oh crap,’ and so eventually I had to fess up and say, ‘Well, my patient has four legs and a tail,'” Boyer said.

When Boyer reached out to Shah, she sent a photo of Panini.

“Once you see that picture, there is no turning back, right? I’m all in,” Shah said.

There were massive regulatory hurdles, but Shah and Boyer kept pushing. Three months ago, Panini got the special pacemaker at Cornell Veterinary Hospital.

“She’s been doing amazing,” Boyer said. “She’s very active now.”

Boyer was back on the East Coast for Panini’s check-up and visiting her parents as Shah arranged for everyone to meet.

“It’s so great to see that they’re connected by such a small device,” Shakiara Pressley, Cameron’s mother, said.

Both Cameron and Panini are thriving now, with their identical tiny pacemakers, defying the odds

“This is why you have to believe in the goodness of people, even in the hardest of times, right?” Shah said.

Panini is a Chiweenie, which is a mix between a chihuahua and a dachshund. Panini the Chiweenie has 6,600 followers on Instagram.

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 Dan Raby

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    ATLANTA (WUPA) — A proposed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding center for detainees in a small Georgia town could be open as early as April, despite city officials pushing back against the plan.

In December, the Washington Post reported on a draft solicitation by ICE that would use “large-scale warehouses holding 5,000 to 10,000 each” before deportation. Social Circle was one of seven cities named as being the proposed site for one of those warehouses.

Social Circle leaders have called the plan unfeasible, saying that it could overwhelm the city’s resources and more than triple its population.

On Wednesday, the city leadership took to Facebook to say they had participated in a call with Georgia Rep. Mike Collins and his staff about the plan.

According to the city, they learned during that meeting that a PNK property currently in escrow was “moving toward final purchase by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.”

“The site was initially considered as an alternative location; however, certain operational metrics ultimately aligned, resulting in the property being identified as a preferred site,” the post reads, in part.

City officials say they were also told that DHS has conducted an engineering evaluation of city utilities, which Social Circle was not involved in at any point. Social Circle has previously argued that the city did not have the water or sewer infrastructure to support the massive influx of people. DHS’s economic impact report has not been finalized.

Collins and his staff reportedly indicated that detainee housing could begin in April. The city has asked for information about the plan be given to them in writing.

Along with Social Circle, the ICE draft mentions one possible site in Jefferson, Georgia, as well as others located in Virginia, Louisiana, Texas, Arizona, and Missouri.

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.