Month: April 2026

By Brooklyn Joyner

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    JACKSON, Mississippi (WAPT) — Dominique Grant, a survivor of domestic violence and an HIV diagnosis, is sharing her story to inspire others and raise awareness about abuse.

“My abuse came through my diagnosis. You’re talking to a Black queen living and thriving with HIV,” Grant said.

Grant reflected on her past, now four years removed from a stormy 10-year relationship. In 2015, she said she was diagnosed with HIV, learning she contracted it from her boyfriend.

“He had already known his diagnosis and failed to tell me,” Grant said.

Despite the diagnosis, Grant said her love for her partner kept her in the relationship.

“We continued our relationship and, in that relationship, he became violent, emotionally, physically and mentally,” Grant said. “I think that he never accepted his diagnosis, so it turned him into a monster.”

Grant recalled celebrating her 37th birthday with loved ones, music, and good vibes, but the night ended in violence.

“I remember being woken up out of my sleep and dragged out of the bed, kicked, hit, thrown out of my room. I remember crying and praying to God and asking him just to remove me from this situation,” Grant said.

Though it was not the first time she was assaulted by her partner, Grant said it was the last.

“A glimpse of my life flashed before my eyes, realizing, ‘You don’t deserve this. You never did deserve this,’ and he ain’t been back in my house since,” Grant said.

Grant chose to part ways with her aggressor.

“It hurt; it was hard but I got through it,” she said.

Her experience is not uncommon. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, one in four women aged 18 and older in the U.S. have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner.

Joy Jones, with the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, emphasized that abuse can take many forms, including emotional, religious, and sexual.

“Most people, when they think of domestic violence, they think about the bruises and the cuts and the broken bones and things like that. But it’s so important to understand what leads up to that,” Jones said.

Jones spends her days promoting legislation to combat domestic violence, noting its widespread impact.

“Children are watching the violence, so it’s not just the two people that are in the violence. It’s the job force — victims not being able to work because they have injuries on them. It involves law enforcement; statistically, more officers die in the line of duty answering domestic violence calls than any other calls,” Jones said.

Jones explained that abusers often seek to maintain control over their victims.

“Victims are not allowed to make choices for themselves. They are controlled by the abuser, and the abuser tells them what they will do and what they won’t do,” Jones said.

Grant said this was true in her case, as she spent years suppressing her feelings about her diagnosis because her abuser wouldn’t let her talk about it.

“I suffered in silence,” Grant said.

Now, Grant has found strength in sharing her story, touching the lives of others who have faced similar experiences.

“I didn’t understand my pain, and God was giving me purpose through it, so he told me to act and move and start telling my story and sharing it,” Grant said.

As a caseworker and domestic violence advocate, Grant travels the country sharing her testimony, including a recent trip to Washington, D.C., where she spoke in front of the Capitol.

“Becoming her is not waiting for permission; it’s doing what you need to do for yourself now,” Grant said. “However that looks for you, you have to do it. You have to have faith, and you have to believe in yourself,” Grant said.

Grant also emphasized that real love should never hurt and encouraged others to prioritize their well-being because their lives matter.

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 Ayron Lewallen

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    BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (WVTM) — If you’ve ever walked through downtown Birmingham, chances are you’ve stood at a crosswalk wondering why the walk signal takes so long to change.

For some pedestrians, the wait is more than frustrating. It’s enough to make them cross the street anyway. Now, the city of Birmingham is trying to do something about it.

City leaders have applied for a grant that would help make some of Birmingham’s busiest walking areas more pedestrian-friendly. The focus is on heavily traveled areas like downtown, Lakeview, Five Points South and other places where people regularly walk to work, class, restaurants and events. The city is now waiting to find out whether it will get the funding.

“We’ve all experienced getting stuck at a corner and just waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting to be able to cross the street,” City Councilor Clinton Woods said. “Maybe it’s a short light, so there’s some small tweaks that we can make to kind of get in line with the guidance that’s being presented, and we just have such a large footprint that there is everything from traffic signals to addresses to intersections and things. A lot of, but I think this will be a very important first step.”

Pedestrians said one of the biggest issues is long wait times at crosswalks. In some cases, they said it feels faster — and more tempting — to jaywalk than to wait for the signal. At some intersections, walkers said the problem is even more noticeable because there are no pedestrian push buttons at all, including at 20th Street and 3rd Avenue.

“It’s not bad,” downtown resident Sydney Austin said. “It’s just not ideal, especially if you want to go for a run. I’ve seen people running in place mainly and waiting for the lights to change or the jaywalk as well. I’ve jaywalked as well.”

If Birmingham receives the grant, the money will go toward improvements designed to make walking safer and easier. That could include better signal timing, improved visibility, and installing or upgrading pedestrian push buttons so people can activate walk signals more easily. Woods said the goal is not just convenience, but safety and accessibility, especially in areas where foot traffic is high.

UAB student Tristan Curtas said she uses the intersection at 20th Street and 3rd Avenue twice a day and sometimes feels like waiting simply is not an option when she is trying to get to class on time.

“Usually, other students are with me and jaywalking, and then more elderly people choose to wait,” she said.

Woods said Birmingham should know whether it got the grant sometime between July and September of this year.

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 James Curtis, Kyle Schmidt

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    COLLIER COUNTY, Florida (WBBH) — A man was arrested Sunday evening at a playground after he was accused of exposing himself and punching mailboxes in Collier County.

According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office’s arrest report, Stanley Gardy Pascal, 30, was arrested after deputies said they received reports from two callers accusing him of exposing himself, punching mailboxes and going into the playground in a neighborhood off Collier Boulevard and Greenway Road at 7 p.m.

Deputies said they recognized Pascal from previous calls where he was accused of trespassing and harassing people. When they talked to him, deputies said he had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and was uncooperative, while he denied the accusations, according to the report.

The sheriff’s office said that a mental health assessment was conducted on Pascal, but he reportedly refused the help. He was then accused of resisting deputies when they told him to place his hands behind his back, so he was pepper-sprayed twice and then arrested, the report states.

Pascal was taken in for a mental health evaluation and had a hold placed on him for criminal charges. He was reportedly aggressive towards the medical staff as well.

Pascal is facing charges of indecent exposure, disorderly intoxication and resisting an officer without violence.

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 Olivia Young

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    DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colorado (KCNC) — Neighbors in the small Douglas County community of Louviers can finally put their water worries downstream. After six years of dealing with radium-contaminated water flowing through the pipes, the water in town is finally safe to drink again.

“We love our village,” said Louviers resident LaVona Quinn. “When I moved here, 36 years ago, I lived next door to one of the couples that worked for DuPont. So I’ve heard all the old stories, the good old stories, and about the village.”

Founded in 1906 as a company town for DuPont, Louviers is rich in history — and minerals.

“It’s one of those communities where if something happens, your community is going to be there for you,” said Matt Collitt, president of the Louviers Water & Sanitation District Board of Directors.

Collitt says all 113 taps in town get their water from the Arapahoe aquifer.

But that geology spelled a problem in February 2020, when CDPHE issued a violation order. The community’s water had tested above the maximum contaminant level allowed for radium. That level is 5.0 picocuries per liter (pCi/L), and it’s set by the EPA.

Letters to Louviers Water & Sanitation District customers show that high radium levels started showing up in tests in 2018, with results as high as 9.3 pCi/L in early 2019.

“Huge shock. What is radium?” said Collitt.

Radium is a radioactive element. It’s naturally occurring in Colorado and can’t be tasted in water.

CDPHE says people who drink water with radium levels above 5 pCi/L for many years have an increased risk of cancer.

Louviers is not the first Douglas County community to encounter the issue.

“How do I describe this to the residents of the community? How do I tell them that their water is not safe to drink?” said Collitt.

Neighbors like Quinn have had water delivered ever since.

“It’s a little scary, but I wasn’t too blown away by it,” said Quinn.

“How do we fix this? Right? Because, you know, it’s going to be money, it’s going to cost a lot,” said Collitt.

After exploring different solutions, the water district was eventually able to secure $1.5 million to build a new water treatment facility, including an ion exchange filtration system that removes radium.

“I’m not an engineer, but it just basically takes molecules, and it takes the radium and attaches it to the isotopes of the ion,” said Collitt.

The money came largely from Douglas County American Rescue Plan dollars, as well as CDPHE and EPA grants.

“We’re under the radar, and we like that too. But when we need help, there’s help,” said Collitt.

While the cost of the new facility was covered by grants, there is now about an $8 fee per tap per month for operations of the new system.

When that system went online in late 2025, the tap water was finally tested safe. A Louviers Water & Sanitation representative says the recent levels have been under 1 pCi/L radium.

In March of 2026, CDPHE found the water district officially in compliance.

“It’s such a relief. I don’t know how to explain it,” said Collitt.

It means neighbors like Quinn can finally drink the tap water again.

“I think everybody’s really thankful about the water and all our big project that’s going on, the new water line,” said Quinn.

“The community is really patient with us, and they could see we were doing well, and it resulted in the solution,” said Collitt.

Collitt says there’s still about $6.5 million in infrastructure improvements needed on the water system.

Right now, the district is using a different $1 million EPA grant to replace its aging waterlines.

The water district’s next big hurdle is connecting to a larger water provider for emergencies. It’s an idea that became a priority after the Airport Fire last year, which was stopped just feet from some Louviers homes.

“I think we pivoted from radium to fire flow. So now we want to make sure when, if a fire truck shows up, it can hook to that fire hydrant and have the capacity to put out a fire,” said Collitt.

Collitt says the district is in discussions with local water providers like Dominion Water & Sanitation District, which serves Sterling Ranch.

“We think that there will eventually be a solution, and we can connect, at least in emergency capacity, to another water provider. So we are hoping Dominion eventually will. We’re not very confident of that. We have kept relations open with Roxborough Water and Sanitation District, and we can develop relationships with Highlands Ranch Water, for example,” said Collitt.

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 Krista Tatschl, Chloe Godding

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    INDEPENDENCE, Missouri (KMBC) — A violent act against some beloved geese has left community members heartbroken.

On Monday, store owners at Independence Center posted on social media a photo of a nest destroyed.

KMBC 9 spoke with staff at a local jewelry shop right by the eggs, which were in a large red flower pot. Employees say a customer saw a woman notice the eggs, retrieve a hammer from her truck and smash the eggs before driving off. The expecting goose parents flew down and began squawking at the wreckage of their nest, left without any goslings.

“Who would do such a thing?” said Tameka Bryant, the general manager at Independence Center. “We knew it was days, probably minutes before these babies would be born.”

Canada geese are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. That means it’s illegal to harm, kill, sell or possess them or to destroy their eggs or nests without proper permits. Breaking those laws could result in a fine of up to $15,000 or jail time.

That didn’t stop an attacker from ruining the nest.

“She needs to be prosecuted,” Bryant said. “You don’t come up and end someone’s — you just took a whole family and destroyed a family. … There are laws.”

But, in a moment of light, the geese got a taste of what they are ready for: parenthood.

Jen Cline with Babe’s Ducks Waterfowl Rescue in Blue Springs, Missouri, came out to Independence Center on Tuesday and brought a recently rehabbed gosling with her.

“The cool thing about Canada geese is they will adopt babies,” Cline said. “And so, since they lost their babies, and they clearly are very good parents, I feel like this baby will be good with them and for them.”

That gosling needs a little bit more time to rehab, but Cline said they plan to return the gosling back to the geese at Independence Center.

No one has been caught in the egg-smashing, but there are security cameras around the center. The Missouri Department of Conservation was notified of the crime.

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 Mallory Anderson

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    MILWAUKEE (WISN) — Rachel and Douglas Copher, a Milwaukee couple who grew their family through in vitro fertilization, are now hoping to donate their unused embryos to help another family experience parenthood.

The Copher home on Milwaukee’s south side is filled with the sound of little feet and laughter, a reality Rachel and Douglas once thought might never happen.

“We tried for about three years, probably, with all of the ovulation tests, all the crazy things, and we just couldn’t do it,” Rachel Copher said.

After one failed egg harvest and a few other bumps in the road, the couple eventually got pregnant through IVF, welcoming their son Dexter in August 2021 and their daughter Saya in May 2023.

“I can’t tell you how lucky we are that we were successful that easily with IVF, as so many people have trouble,” Rachel said.

Knowing the pain of dealing with infertility, the Cophers now want to help others experience parenthood.

“They are my everything,” Rachel said, tearing up. “And I want to help somebody else have that, too.”

With two leftover embryos, the Cophers faced a decision: keep the embryos frozen indefinitely, donate them to science for IVF research, destroy them, or donate them to another family. When they learned about that final option, they decided to give these potential daughters a chance at life and reached out to the agency Embryo Connections.

“What I discovered was that so many people wanted to donate embryos, but didn’t know how to do it,” said Deb Roberts, president of Embryo Connections.

Roberts founded Embryo Connections in 2018 after having her own two children through donated embryos. Her agency is now helping the Cophers find compatible potential parents through comprehensive questionnaires.

“We really want you to feel the fit, because my hope is that those two families are connecting in some way throughout their lives, because they have children who are genetic siblings,” Roberts said.

“You go through those thoughts of ‘What if?’ and it keeps you up a little bit at night, but it’s all about finding the right people you feel comfortable with,” Douglas Copher said.

“We’re trying to find somebody that has at least similar values to us, to raise our embryos, to give them a good life, and to know that they’re going to be treated well,” Rachel Copher said.

It’s not just Embryo Connections helping families on this journey. Dr. Jayme Bosler, a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist at Froedtert Hospital, said her clinic sees about 20 embryo donations a year, and there are various ways donor parents and recipient families connect.

“I’ve had couples that found each other on Facebook, and they knew each other in high school. So that, that was an option. Some just find each other anonymously through coworkers, and some go through these third-party companies,” Bosler said.

Donor parents do not receive payment for their embryos, but also do not bear any costs associated with the donation. Recipient parents take on costs for legal support and health screenings, which can be around $10,000.

“We also have processes where they meet with our clinical psychologist, both the couples that are donating and the couples that are receiving. So they kind of know what they’re getting into and have thought about all the extra emotional things that go along with this process,” Bosler said.

Embryo donation is not without controversy. Ethical concerns have been raised, and some religions, such as Roman Catholicism, condemn IVF entirely because it separates procreation from the marital act.

Roberts believes her agency is providing a solution for surplus embryos.

“The ability to give those embryos to somebody else is passing that gift forward and solving the problem of surplus embryos,” Roberts said.

“I think some people have the misconception that if they’re getting this embryo from someone else, that it’s not going to be their baby,” Bosler said. “But you are putting this embryo in the uterus. It’s growing entirely within you. You’re going to deliver it. You’re going to raise this child. So, honestly, it’s all perspective. I think it is definitely their child, whether it shares the genetics or not.”

The Cophers feel embryo donation opens the door to more choices for parents looking to grow their families.

“I feel like this is a great chance for whoever receives these embryos to go through the whole process. You know, the woman to go through process of growing that baby inside her, because that brings another connection,” Douglas Copher said.

Rachel reflected on the love she has for her children, emphasizing she hopes to bring that joy to another family through this journey.

“As they say, you never know true love until you have your kids,: Rachel said, holding back tears.

The Cophers are still searching for the perfect parental fit for their embryos and are open to hearing from local families who may be interested.

To learn more about the donation process, visit EmbryoConnections.org.

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.