Month: March 2026

By Ruta Ulcinaite

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    HARTLAND TOWNSHIP, Michigan (WXYZ) — A Fenton woman who thought her mother’s ashes were lost forever in a chemical spill has them back after an investigation revealed they were safely delivered by the United States Postal Service.

Joan Gray lost her mother, Sandra Chatterson, to a stroke on January 28. It took Gray weeks before she could bring herself to put on a memorial and share her mother’s ashes with family.

“I gave all of her grandchildren urns with some of her ashes in it as a memory,” Gray said.

On February 26, Gray went to a Hartland Township post office and sent one small urn to her nephew in Colorado using priority shipping.

Weeks went by, and when Gray tried tracking her package, she received a message stating tracking was not available. She called United States Postal Service customer service and says she received the devastating news over the phone.

“She said, ‘ Oh, your package was involved in a chemical spill, and it was marked undeliverable and do not accept, and I said, ‘ But this is my mother’s ashes,” Gray said.

A chemical spill did occur at a FedEx facility in Memphis, Tennessee, on Feb. 25. Gray said customer service told her the package was affected.

“I will try to locate it for you, but at this point, it could already be disposed of,” Gray reiterated what the customer service representative told her. “I was crying, I was devastated, I said, so you’re telling me my mother could wind up in a landfill somewhere?” Gray said.

7 News Detroit reached out to USPS to see where the package was and if there was any way to salvage the remains. Minutes after our interview with Gray, officials responded.

Their statement is below:

Thank you for reaching out regarding a package containing cremated remains. We sincerely understand the sensitivity and importance of this matter. The package was shipped from Hartland, Michigan, and, although initially scheduled for delivery on March 2, it experienced a delay. We can confirm our scanning process shows the package was safely delivered to its PO Box destination in Wiggins, Colorado, on March 24. We are waiting for the customer to verify and pick up the package. USPS is committed to the safe and respectful handling of all mail, especially sensitive items such as cremated remains. We regret the delay and any inconvenience experienced and appreciate our customer’s patience. When we shared the news with Gray right after our interview, she was relieved.

“Oh, it makes me feel so happy beyond belief,” Gray said through tears. “To know that she’s not in a landfill somewhere.”

We are still investigating why customer service told Gray she would not receive the package due to the chemical spill.

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This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Scripps editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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 Kaicey Baylor

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    BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Baltimore’s Sandtown Safe Streets is celebrating more than a year without homicides in the community.

“Since March 15, 2025, the Safe Streets Sandtown site has gone 374 days without a homicide in their zone,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott. “We understand that this work is a part of how homicides and non-fatal shootings in Baltimore have fallen nearly 60% since 2021.”

Mayor Scott said this is the first time this site has ever gone more than a year without a homicide. He added that historically, the Sandtown-Winchester community has been considered one of the most violent neighborhoods in the city.

“Y’all are providing a safe space for my young people at Lillian Jones [Recreation Center] when no one else was willing to be for them after a young lady who was 13-years-old was murdered in front of that recreation center,” said Baltimore City Councilman James Torrence.

Sandtown Safe Streets team members grew up in the neighborhood.

“I’m the little girl who used to walk up and down here,” said Site Director Nicole Warren.

She and her team interrupt violence each day.

“When I got on Nikes or New Balances, they know I’m on the ground,” she said. “So, I’m going to keep marching.”

“These people are intervening in conflicts, putting their lives at risk every single day to save other people’s lives,” Mayor Scott said.

They also build relationships with neighbors and have been sharing necessary resources to turn the violent trend around.

Safe Streets members said now it’s about continuing the work they do each do while also pushing for more resources to this community.

MONSE reports Sandtown Safe Streets mediated 91 potentially violent conflicts in 2025.

MONSE Director Stefanie Mavronis said in 2025, across all Safe Streets locations, they mediated about 1,700 conflicts. So far this year, the agency has recorded roughly 350 mediations.

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 Kerri Corrado

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    MEDFORD LAKES, New Jersey (KYW) — Jake Tapia, a police officer in Medford Lakes, New Jersey, received the Medal of Honor Wednesday night for his heroic efforts on the job that saved a woman’s life.

Tapia rescued a 25-year-old woman who crashed into Ballinger Lake near Stokes Road and Lenape Trail shortly after 5:00 a.m. on March 8.

Tapia was conducting a traffic enforcement when he heard a loud bang and a woman screaming.

“When I went to go look, I saw a vehicle in the lake, and I quickly dropped my gear and got in there and swam her back to shore,” Tapia said.

Tapia then swam about 25 feet to the woman. While he remained humble talking about the rescue, he says his training and instincts kicked in, safely pulling her to the shoreline.

“I just had to go in and go get her, there was no choice. I seen her kind of bobbing a little bit, and I went in,” he said.

Despite being one of the Medford Lakes Police Department’s newest officers, Talia was not officially sworn in — until now.

Talia was sworn into the police department Wednesday night, in addition to receiving the medal. The department waited to hold his formal swearing ceremony so his mom, who had health complications, could be there.

His mom stood right next to him holding the Bible as he took the oath to protect and serve.

“That was special just because my mom,” he said. ” My mom just means a lot.”

Chief John McGinnis Jr. says he is extremely proud of Talia.

“Jake is a new officer and has been with us over a year, and it was a miracle he was there to hear the noise and commotion,” McGinnis said. “He reacted back to his training and instinct and did what he had to do to help.”

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 Grant Stephens

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    KANSAS CITY, Kansas (KSHB) — Amazon’s Prime Air drones are officially flying in the Kansas City, Kansas area, giving the public an up-close look at the new delivery system.

Amazon opened the gates at its Kansas City, Kansas site to show exactly how the drones get orders from their launch pad to a customer’s backyard.

Here’s how it works – inside the MKC6 fulfillment center, a special box is loaded on a dedicated line. Those boxes are then wheeled outside to the launch pads and a crew of Prime Air workers.

“Our MK 30 drone. This is the drone that actually completes the customer deliveries,” said Josh Brundage, senior manager of commercial operations for Prime Air, explaining the delivery process.

“So if you live within about an eight mile radius of this building, you’ll be eligible for drone delivery. Depending on your order, it has to be less than five pounds, and it has to fit in this box right here. And as long as your order fits that profile, even if it’s multiple items that go in this box, you’re eligible for drone delivery. And also, if you get multiple items, and we get multiple boxes, you can also get, you know, back to back and get multiple drone deliveries in the same day.”

Once a customer places an order, they pick a delivery spot. Because drones do not need driveways, many people choose their backyard.

“A lot of people really prefer the backyard, because it’s a lot more private, a lot safer. So you select your delivery point, the drone then flies to that area of your property. It comes down to about 12 feet and hovers at 12 feet, the back of the drone opens up and the package comes out and falls out the bottom. So the drone actually never lands. And when the drone gets to the delivery area, it uses an onboard camera to make sure that there is nothing or no one in the way,” Brundage said.

While someone monitors the flight stats back at the base, the drones fly completely on their own once a new battery and a package are slotted in. Eric Ramos, a Prime Air operations manager, detailed the launch sequence.

“You can see we have a little bit of movement on the pad. It’s going through its initial checks, like I said, to check whether check other aircraft in our airspace and do a system check as well,” Ramos said.

The drones are smart enough to adjust if something or someone is in the way.

“If your dog is out in the backyard and the drone gets there, the drone will actually identify that… if the dog follows, it will not drop the package on your dog, and it will come back, and we’ll get you your package another way,” Brundage said.

Beyond the novelty of the delivery method, the service has the potential to make life a little easier for customers.

“I think at first people want to get a drone delivery just to get a drone delivery, but then they realize that, you know, I can leave work and have something at my house by the time I get home… or I have a sick child, I can just have something dropped off in my yard for it,” Brundage said.

Amazon said the Kansas City, Kansas, site is the seventh facility to have Prime Air operational. The company hopes to start up more locations across the country this year.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Scripps editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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 Morgan Rynor

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    MIAMI (WFOR) — A South Florida couple expecting their first baby is letting March Madness choose their daughter’s name.

High school sweethearts John and Maria Ruiz fell in love with each other – and basketball.

“When she went away to college to go to (University of North Carolina), obviously a really big basketball school, her love for the sport grew as well and so we kind of bonded over that,” John said.

They found out in November they were expecting their first baby, a girl.

“When you find out you’re pregnant, you have this list of potential names that you start building out, right?” John said. “So, as the list grew, it was already perfect for, like, setting it up this way with the bracket.”

He’s referring to the massive bracket they set up on their living room wall with the 64 teams playing in the NCAA tournament. Next to each school, is one name option. The higher the team is ranked, the higher the name preference.

“The top, top name up here is Duke,” John said. “Overall, one seed, is Sophia. That is one of the preferred names. They were going against 16 seed, Sienna, which we just gave them the name of their school, Sienna. Figured that worked out perfectly.”

As Carolina fans, it was not easy assigning their top name choice, Sophia, to their rival, Duke.

“For her to (potentially) be named after a team that we do not like is going to be very interesting for her,” John said. “If she grows up being a fan of them because of it, that’s on us, but we’re fully willing to accept that.”

They’re willing to accept any of the names.

“Craziest name on here, I would say, is assigned to Villanova, which is an eight seed, so not so low,” John said. “That name is Ffion. My friend went to Villanova, and he lives in Wales, and Ffion is a very popular girl’s name in Wales.”

If you ask CBS News Miami’s Morgan Rynor, who met the couple, it’s not the craziest name on the bracket.

“Here we got number one seed, Valentina, so again, preferred name, going up against Khaleesi,” John said. “Game of Thrones fans, you might recognize that name.”

Maternity Madness, as their friends and family call it, has them invested. They’ve set up multiple TVs in the living room to watch multiple games at once.

For the University of Miami fans, that name would have been Casey.

For the University of Florida, it would have been Olivia.

“Princess is probably a pretty crazy one, they’re playing the Florida Gators,” John said. “So hopefully Olivia takes that one and Princess does not, does not advance.”

If you want to follow along on their journey to naming their baby girl here are their Instagram handles: @Johnruiz77 and @Mariaandruiz_

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.