Month: February 2026

By Trevor Sochocki

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    RICHARDSON, Texas (KTVT) — Splashing around in the J.J. Pearce High School pool in Richardson isn’t just another practice for the swim team; every kick has a purpose.

“He’s like the nicest guy ever,” junior Sophia Nidam said. If you see him in the hallway, he’ll give you a high five or a hug, and he’s just so sweet.”

Nidam is talking about Van Le, the custodian at the high school.

“The more we found out about him,” Nidam explained. “The more we’re like, this is the guy to do it for.”

“It” being a swim-a-thon, for Mr. Le, as the kids call him.

Over the past months, Mr. Le was in the hospital, racking up bills, unable to work. When the swim team heard about this, they decided to do what they do best: swim.

“We want to change a life,” swim coach Eric Ewing said. “We want to do things that will help other people.”

With every lap, they raised more money than they ever thought possible. When it came time to surprise Mr. Le, even the kids were surprised.

“We’re going to take care of all your medical bills. Ms. Christine is going to negotiate for you with the hospital. We have a brand-new bike from Richardson Bike Mart. But just in case it’s raining, and you can’t ride your bike, we got you a car,” Ewing told Mr. Le with the group cheering on.

Though he doesn’t speak much English, Mr. Le didn’t need words to express his gratitude as he hugged the kids through cheers and laughter.

“I think it’s very surprise [ing] for me,” Mr. Le said. “A big thank you for everybody, for the professors, for all the teachers, and all the students.”

It was a schoolwide effort, something the students won’t forget, and neither will Mr. Le.

“This school is my future and my life,” he 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 CBS New York Team

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    NEW YORK (WCBS) — The Police Benevolent Association is calling for arrests and charges after a group of people were captured on video throwing snowballs at NYPD officers on Monday in a Lower Manhattan park.

The incident happened during a planned meet up for a snowball fight in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village.

The footage shows officers followed and taunted by the group as they walked to their police van.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch took to social media to denounce what happened, saying, in part, “The behavior depicted is disgraceful, and it is criminal. Our detectives are investigating this matter.”

Added Staten Island Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, “This is disgraceful. @NYCMayor and every elected official in our city should denounce this juvenile attack on our #NYPD. Back the blue and hold those who disrespect them accountable.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also weighed in on social media.

“Our NYPD officers put themselves on the line to protect us every day. It is never acceptable to throw anything at a police officer, full stop,” she said in a statement.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani said “Officers, like all city workers, have been out in a historic blizzard, keeping New Yorkers safe and cars moving. Treat them with respect. If anyone’s catching a snowball, it’s me.”

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 Steven Yablonski

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    MIAMI (WFOR) — A South Florida man has been charged with multiple felonies after he “looted the finances” of a 71-year-old retired nurse who lived with her disabled and vulnerable adult daughter in Miami Shores, the Miami-Dade State’s Attorney’s Office announced on Tuesday.

According to information provided by Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, 55-year-old Lyne Bien-Aime was arrested after a lengthy investigation.

According to Rundle, the victim suffered a major health episode that left her with a cognitive impairment and the need for around-the-clock care before her death in December 2022.

Bien-Aime appears to have originally met the victim through associations with her church, and then allegedly misrepresented himself as the victim’s nephew when he was in contact with medical officials, Rundle said.

According to the investigation, Bien-Aime allegedly spoke with the victim’s sister and family, who were living in New York, and told them he was a doctor who was going to oversee her care.

Rundle said that Bien-Aime was not a relative of the victim, which he allegedly claimed to be when speaking with medical professionals, and was not a medical professional, which he claimed to be when speaking with the victim’s family.

However, those claims allowed him to gain access to the victim and allowed him to isolate and manipulate her for his own gain, Rundle claims.

According to Rundle, Bien-Aime had the victim sign legal documents, including power of attorney, which helped him to “empty various bank accounts of her life savings.”

He was also able to use the documents to keep the victim from being able to spend her last days in her Miami Shores home, which she owned, and instead kept her at his own home, Rundle said.

He then continued to steal from her, Rundle claims, by fraudulently transfering her property into his name.

The victim’s life savings and home were supposed to be used to held “safeguard the future of the victim’s severely disabled daughter after the victim’s death,” Rundle said.

The victim’s daughter was taken to New York to be with family during the victim’s health crisis, Rundle said, where she remained until the victim’s death on Dec. 16, 2022.

Bien-Aime now faces several felony charges, including exploitation of an elderly/disabled person, grand thheft from a person over 65 and scheme to defraud in an amount over $50,000. He’s also charged with unlawful filing of false documents or records against real or person property.

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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    COWETA COUNTY, Georgia (WUPA) — Deputies in Coweta County say they’ve arrested a woman accused of stealing a school bus and taking it for a joyride earlier this month.

Officials say 48-year-old Allison Marie Lynes is facing charges of theft by taking, criminal trespass, and three counts of entering auto.

According to investigators, they were notified on Feb. 9 that a school bus had been taken from Arbor Springs Elementary School over the weekend.

The bus was later found in Temple, Georgia, nearly an hour away from the school, without any damage.

After sharing surveillance footage taken inside the bus of a woman behind the wheel, authorities say members of the community identified her as Lynes.

The Temple, Georgia woman was arrested in Carroll County. She’s now in custody at the Coweta County Detention Center.

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 Shelly Garzon

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    BAT CAVE, North Carolina (WLOS) — A local fire chief from western North Carolina will be recognized Tuesday night at the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., for his leadership during and after Hurricane Helene.

Chief Steve Freeman of Bat Cave Fire and Rescue is being honored for what community members describe as a crucial role in helping residents navigate the storm and its aftermath.

“I had a near-death experience during the hurricane where God pulled a post back just enough for me to get my head freed,” Freeman said.

From residents to first responders like Freeman, Helene changed countless lives across western North Carolina. As the storm approached, Bat Cave Fire and Rescue worked around the clock to get the community ready.

“We went door to door asking them to evacuate. If they didn’t want to evacuate, at least write down their names and next of kin on that pad so we would know who was there,” Freeman said.

Colleagues said the chief’s commitment to serving others — even while facing his own hardships during the storm — is what sets him apart as a leader.

“We had no idea he was that concerned for everybody else. He didn’t even allude to the fact that he was in such dire straits,” Assistant Fire Chief Ronald Sobin said.

After Helene, Bat Cave was without power for nearly 40 days. Despite the prolonged outage, Freeman and his department continued working daily to help residents return to their homes and land on their feet.

Freeman said the recognition in the nation’s capital reflects the collective effort of his department and the community.

“It’s very humbling for this honor, and it’s really not me – it’s all God, and if it weren’t for God and the community and all my members coming together, everybody… It’s just overwhelming, and it’s great to be getting the recognition for the community. It’s really not about me,” Freeman said. Freeman has served the Bat Cave area for 36 years. He said helping others has always been at the heart of his work.

“It’s just the fact of helping the neighbors, everybody in the community. It’s been that way from the start. You kind of get it in your blood, and it’s just the great benefit of being able to know you can help somebody in their time of need,” Freeman said.

The State of the Union address is scheduled for 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

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 Jonathan Raymond (11Alive), Alvieann Chandler, Reeves Jackson

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    COBB COUNTY, Georgia (WXIA) — Officials in Cobb County came forward Monday to address a case about a man’s death that has generated concern on social media and in the community.

A young Black man, 21-year-old Kyle Bassinga, was discovered last week dead at Fair Oaks Park; Chairwoman Cupid said Monday he was found “in a horrific manner, hanging from a tree.” The death has been ruled a suicide, and both Cobb Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Lisa Cupid and Cobb Police Chief Dan Ferrell reiterated that finding in a press conference.

But they also promised transparency and more information from the case forthcoming, as soon as they are able to meet with Bassinga’s family to first give them a private case overview. They said there’s been a delay in that so far because a family member of Bassinga’s has had to travel in from out of the country.

Speaking of Bassinga’s death and the circumstances in which he was found, Chairwoman Cupid said “this is a violent manner that has caused many to think of the days of slavery and of Jim Crow, and this type of violence shown toward African Americans, particularly men, during that historical time has caused many to respond to what is occurring with great disbelief.”

She said she wanted to “say that I hear you, I understand, and we are sensitive to that here in this county.”

“We want to see the truth of the matter first for the family, who is deserving of understand that as they go through their own grief at this time, but it’s also important for our community to know the truth,” Cupid said. “But I don’t want us to lose the thought that it’s also important to our men and women in law enforcement for them to be able to identify and convey the truth.”

Chief Ferrell said that from the evidence collected to this point, there are “no indicators that another person was involved in this incident.” He said, however, the investigation remains active “and we will continue to evaluate all the evidence thoroughly.”

Ferrell said that evidence will include videos, phone data, witnesses and additional physical evidence from the scene “that has not been shared up to this point because we have not had time to sit down with the family and talk to them about that.”

He estimated a meeting with the family can happen now in the next day or so.

Last week, family members who spoke to 11Alive confirmed Bassinga was the individual found dead on February 18 at Fair Oaks Park. He had been reported missing on February 15.

The discovery of Bassinga, in the deeply unsettling manner he was found, led to a number of social media posts and community members expressing skepticism that there would not have been foul play involved. One resident told 11Alive’s Sefenech Henok “do I believe throughout the history of this country that that young Black man did that to himself? I’m going to say no.”

The family at that time said “online speculation is the least of our worries.”

“We are focused on burying our son and am happy to have found him,” the family said last week.

Chief Ferrell meanwhile stressed Monday there investigation has not uncovered “one piece of evidence so far that would indicate anyone else was there” when Bassinga died.

“I do understand when information is limited that speculation grows, the social media commentary can certainly amplify the uncertainty, but our responsibility is not really to respond to speculation, it’s to follow the evidence and communicate and verify facts,” the chief said.

But he added he understood that “this case has created an emotional response, I recognize the historical sensitivities surrounding circumstances like this and I do not dismiss the weight that carries — the concerns being expressed in our community are real and I know they deserve to be acknowledged.”

Chairwoman Cupid said she appreciates “the heart that our community has, not only as a chairwoman but being a mom of two young Black men.”

“We appreciate that heart and concern,” she said. “I’m asking for them to also appreciate the process that our men and women in law enforcement need to have to be able to bring clarity to everyone with respect to this, I know that they are doing this with a great deal of thoughtfulness and sensitivity.”

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 Chris Hoffman

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    PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Unrest in Mexico between the government and the cartels has led to dozens of deaths. For travelers, many flights are now being canceled in and out of Mexico.

Travel agencies said that in the last year or so, there has been apprehension about traveling to Mexico. News like this isn’t going to help the situation.

According to the U.S. Department of State, people are advised to exercise caution in Mexico. It’s recommended for any international traveler to have an agent.

“(Someone) who stays abreast of all of these situations and can help you monitor to see whether it’s safe to go through with your trip or whether you might want to think about going somewhere else,” AAA East Central spokesperson Lynda Lambert said.

Shadyside Travel says they booked a trip for someone on Monday morning. The agency said Cancun is popular and there are ways to be safe and still have a good time. It’s advised to go to all-inclusive resorts and to not leave them at night.

“If they want to go out during the daytime and shop or sightsee, we recommend doing that on a group-organized tour,” Shadyside Travel’s Joe Weigler said.

If you have booked a trip and you are now changing your mind, it will cost you if you don’t have travel insurance.

“Which is why we always recommend taking trip cancellation insurance,” Weigler said.

AAA said the State Department has a state traveler enrollment program. It allows the country to know where you will be and when you will be there.

“And they will keep you informed of any pertinent information you need to know in that country or in that area of the world,” Lambert said over Zoom.

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.