Month: March 2026

By Jennifer McLogan

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    NEW YORK (WCBS) — A chilling cold case that goes back 52 years has been solved on Long Island, police say.

Sophisticated DNA technology linked a former Oceanside sanitation worker to Barbara Waldman’s 1974 murder.

Waldman, a 31-year-old New York University graduate, was discovered on the second floor of her family’s Oceanside home by her son Eric, just after he got off the kindergarten school bus.

“I’ve had the image of my mom in my head since I’m 5. So it won’t go away until I die,” Eric Waldman said.

“Although many citizens and neighbors came together and reported sightings, murder of the dentist’s wife was put away and never solved,” daughter Marla Waldman Conn said.

Her family would not give up, and the FBI and Nassau Police persevered, trying to determine who wanted the respected wife and mother dead, and why.

“A violent sexual assault against the mother and then put a bullet in the back of her head as she lay on the floor tied up with the stockings that she was wearing,” Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said.

More than 50 years later, science linked Thomas Generazio, a local Oceanside sanitation worker, to the cold case, police said. While sketches were made from witness accounts at the time, it was investigative genetic genealogy that solved it.

“He was a local. He was literally living among us. I was shocked,” Marla Waldman Conn said.

Generazio died of cancer in 2004 before genetic genealogy matched him to the brutal rape and murder, according to police.

Suspicion had swirled around Barbara’s husband Gerald, a local dentist who was innocent.

“Vindication for my father, Gerry Waldman, who went to his deathbed not knowing who or why,” son Larry Waldman said.

“It’s not about seeking legal punishment. It is an emotional, psychological resolution,” Marla Waldman Conn said.

It’s bittersweet justice for a family seeking the truth.

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 Miami Team

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    MIAMI (WFOR) — An award-winning high school theater program in South Florida is using the power of performance to teach students about the Holocaust while connecting its lessons to modern-day social issues.

Holocaust Impact Theater (HIT), based at the Alper Jewish Community Center in Miami, brings together dozens of high school students each year to write, produce and perform original plays that explore the consequences of hate and the importance of tolerance.

Created by educator Ruth Gordon, the program celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, marking two decades of student-driven storytelling designed to educate audiences and spark conversations about discrimination, injustice and diversity.

Through the program, students learn how to develop their own scripts and take part in every stage of the production process, including directing and performing. Organizers said the experience helps young participants build confidence, leadership skills and a deeper understanding of how historical events continue to shape society today.

Using the Holocaust as a foundation, the productions explore how prejudice and intolerance can affect communities, while encouraging audiences to reflect on present-day social challenges. Students also share their own perspectives and experiences through the performances, creating what organizers describe as a platform for young voices.

Each year, the program brings together about 70 to 80 students from diverse backgrounds. The collaborative productions often lead to discussions among students and audiences about empathy, respect and standing up against hate.

The program’s work has received recognition from local governments and education leaders, including proclamations from the Village of Pinecrest and the Village of Palmetto Bay, as well as recognition from the Miami-Dade County School Board. HIT has also been featured in multiple news outlets highlighting its impact on students and the broader community.

Organizers say community support helps keep the program running and allows future students to continue using theater as a way to explore history, challenge injustice and promote understanding.

All performances will be held at the Alper Jewish Community Center in Miami.

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 Samantha Chaney

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    MERRIMAC, Massachusetts (WBZ) — Two police officers and a good Samaritan helped save a woman’s life after a house fire in Merrimac, Massachusetts early Wednesday morning.

Just after 5:30 a.m., while on his way to work, Jeff Strogney said he was driving down Bear Hill Road when he noticed something unusual.

“I came around the corner and saw flames out the back side of the house,” he recalled. “It was bad, probably 10-to-15-foot flames.”

Instead of panicking, Strogney said he immediately stopped and began trying to alert someone inside.

“I went banging on the doors first because there were lights on in the house,” he said. “I tried banging, but couldn’t get nobody to answer, so I called 911.”

Within minutes, Merrimac police officers Paul DeCoste and Adam White arrived at the scene.

“There was heavy smoke and flames coming out of the left rear of the building,” White said.

DeCoste said he kicked in the home’s front door to get inside in search of residents.

“I made it approximately 10 to 15 feet inside yelling ‘police, police, is anybody in here?’ but I couldn’t hear anything,” he said.

Eventually, the officer said he found a woman in her 70s asleep in a bedroom.

“When I woke her up, she was confused and distraught,” he said. “We tried to calm her down and explain that her house was on fire.”

Authorities say the officers were able to get the woman to safety without any injuries.

“I made it approximately 10 to 15 feet inside yelling ‘police, police, is anybody in here?’ but I couldn’t hear anything,” he said.

Eventually, the officer said he found a woman in her 70s asleep in a bedroom.

“When I woke her up, she was confused and distraught,” he said. “We tried to calm her down and explain that her house was on fire.”

Authorities say the officers were able to get the woman to safety without any injuries.

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 Aaron Parseghian

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    CAPE COD (WBZ) — After the snow has melted, the impact of the brutal winter is still visible along the Cape Cod shoreline, where powerful storms have accelerated long-standing erosion concerns at local beaches.

At Town Neck Beach in Sandwich, the February blizzard dramatically reshaped the coastline, pushing back the sand dune, leaving behind a steep drop to the entrance of the beach and tearing down the public access staircase.

Residents who have watched the coastline change over decades say the latest winter storms caused some of the most dramatic damage yet and want a more permanent solution.

“It’s really bad,” said Bill Boles, who has lived in Sandwich for more than two decades. “What you’re looking at, especially to the left, was a 25-foot-high dune. And now, as you can see, it’s a sandbar, which at high tide is completely covered with water,” he added pointing near the salt marsh area.

Boles says erosion has worsened over the years, pointing in part to the federal government’s extension of a jetty on the Cape Cod Canal.

The Blizzard of ’26 also wiped out much of a recent restoration effort. A $10 million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project that brought more than 300,000 cubic feet of sand back to the beach there last year had already begun eroding before the latest storms struck.

“By November, half of that had gone away already, and these last two storms were devastating,” Boles said.

Damage can also be seen nearby Springhill Beach, where residents are scrambling to deal with toppled stairs, decks and shifting sand.

“You see that post hanging down used to be a support beam,” said Laura Wing.

In some areas, she says the face of the dunes has lost significant ground.

“That dune face has lost, in some cases, 10 to 15 feet,” Wing said.

Both residents are part of the nonprofit Trustees of Sandwich Beaches, a group calling for continued state and federal support to help stabilize the coastline, to protect properties and the beaches tourists flock to in the summer.

“We need help,” Boles added.

Local officials say stronger renourishment policies from the state could help communities maintain beaches that serve both residents and visitors.

“It just goes to show you that, you know, Mother Nature is stronger than all of us,” said Assistant Town Manager Heather Harper. “We certainly would really love to see the state have a much more robust coastal beach nourishment policy, which is not as strong as it is in other places, and has just so having that in place would be helpful for us.”

Harper said securing additional federal funding would likely require another erosion study, but as part of an existing permit, sand dredged from the canal could help fill gaps in the interim.

“The federal government accepted responsibility for some of the damage that’s been done to those beaches over time, so that we’re hopeful that we’ve been very fortunate to have included in the Army Corps’ ongoing permit that any time that the canal is dredged, that the spoils from that dredging then can be placed on our beaches,” said Harper. “That’s probably the best bet that we have, is to look forward to the next dredging of the canal, which won’t produce the same volume of sand that we saw this most recent time, but enough to hopefully keep the sand in place and available.”

Town leaders say they are also exploring short-term solutions to ensure Town Neck Beach can get back open and remain accessible ahead of the summer tourism season.

“In the long term, the community invested an awful lot of resources and will continue to do so as best we can,” Harper added.

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 WBZ Staff

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    FOXBORO, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A deal has been reached to get the town of Foxboro, Massachusetts the security funding it needs to host the World Cup at Gillette Stadium in June. The town had threatened to cancel the seven matches if it didn’t get $7.8 million for security.

Foxboro says it needs the money to pay for equipment, police and firefighters across the 39 days in which World Cup events will be at Gillette, called “Boston Stadium” for the tournament.

Last week, Boston Soccer 2026, the local partner for FIFA, proposed reimbursing the town up to two days after each of the seven soccer games were played. The town said that was not good enough.

On Wednesday, Kraft Sports, Foxboro and Boston Soccer 2026 released a joint statement saying the town will not incur any costs.

“As part of this arrangement, the Town of Foxboro will not incur any cost or financial burden related to the FIFA World Cup, with Boston Soccer 2026 providing advance funding for security-related capital expenditures and the full extent of deployment that public safety officials have determined is needed to execute the event with Kraft Sports + Entertainment’s backing,” the statement said.

This clears the way for the event license for the games to be approved at the March 17 Foxboro Select Board meeting.

Bill Yukna, the Foxboro Select Board Chair, said he was very pleased “that all of our funding concerns have been addressed.”

“I want to personally thank Kraft Sports & Entertainment and Robert Kraft for his involvement in bringing the funding concerns to a resolution,” Yukna said in a statement Wednesday. “We expect that any open issues in the license will be resolved before the 17th public hearing and we look forward to a very successful and safe World Cup event.”

The first match is at Gillette Stadium on June 13.

Over three million people are expected to visit the Boston area this summer for the tournament.

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 Joe Ripley

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    ATLANTA (WXIA) — Asa Temple and his dad Austin love spending time together. The therapy and healing it fosters, even in the hospital, is priceless. Last August, doctors diagnosed Asa with leukemia.

“I noticed he had a whole bunch of bruising on his knee, and I had been thinking back the whole week,” Austin said. “He was taking extra naps, was more sluggish, didn’t eat very much. “I was like no, surely not. It changed everything really.”

After months of going in and out of the hospital and rearranging schedules to take care of Asa’s three siblings, Austin found a little relief that went a long way in Asa’s healing journey.

Patients at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta got to hit golf balls on a minigolf course, pet some dogs and take a few swings in the golf simulator as part of PGA Superstore’s minigolf all-stars event.

“It gets him out of the room, gets his energy back, starts having more fun and lights up more than having to sit in the bed the whole day,” Austin said.

Jaleesa Warren, creative program supervisor at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Arthur M. Blank Hospital, said kids often go through challenging times, whether they’re getting a routine checkup, scans, devastating diagnoses or even surgeries.

“Kids learn and grow and heal through play, so coming into the Zone is great for them to be able to do just that,” Warren said. “It ranges from something really light and simple like a typical visit, or getting some news they may not have thought about or getting some scans or getting surgery, getting out and having a place to have fun and take the load off a little bit. It shows our patients and families that everyone is here to support them through their journeys.”

The newest PGA Superstore, which opened Saturday in Buckhead, teed up some fun in partnership with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Brian Williams, general manager of PGA Superstore Buckhead, said there’s a special connection to the Arthur M. Blank Hospital because Blank Family of Businesses owns the Roswell-based company. He said each PGA Superstore location would donate to Children’s throughout the summer as part of a giving campaign.

“One of our core values in our company is to give back to others, and I can’t think of a better way before we get our store crazy with customers, to take some time so our associates can volunteer their time and make some connections,” Williams said. “We want a chance to get out and make a difference in the community. It’s just a great way to spread the joy of golf and to get to know some new people.”

Even on the most challenging course, Austin hopes his son Asa, a name that means healer, finds healing of his own.

“You think through all the hardship, and I want to take it,” Austin said. “I want to do it for him, but obviously that’s not an option. Who knows, this is part of his journey and what it looks like. Healer, who knows what he’ll do someday. He’s mighty, he really is.”

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.