Month: June 2026

By Patsy Montesinos

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    NASHVILLE (WTVF) — The Nashville Zoo is pushing back against a proposal to build a nearly 70,000-square-foot data center on the edge of its property in South Nashville, warning the project could harm thousands of animals — including some of the rarest in the world.

DC Blox, the company behind the proposal, wants to build the facility in the Grassmere Business Park, directly adjacent to zoo property. An online petition against the project has gathered more than 180,000 signatures.

Zoo CEO Rick Schwartz said the facility’s potential light and noise pollution pose a serious threat to the zoo’s 3,000 animals.

“We have some of the most delicate and rarest animals in the world, specifically our clouded leopard, which is our signature species. We’ve bred more than anyone else in the world. We just had our 50th baby born, and they’re very sensitive to mechanical noises and light infiltration,” Schwartz said.

Schwartz said DC Blox has not engaged with the zoo about its concerns. He is calling on the public to get involved before the city makes a final decision.

“We want the community to do exactly that, to stand with us to help fight against this data center. There’s got to be a better place that it can go instead of around the number one attraction that’s focused on animals and children,” Schwartz said.

The zoo drew 1.4 million visitors in 2025 and is preparing for what Schwartz calls the largest project in its history.

“It’ll be a $65 million exhibit featured around Indonesia. [It] has orangutans, clouded leopards, tree kangaroos, underwater viewing of otters, giant hornbills, bird of paradise. It’s going to be an amazing project,” Schwartz said.

Zoo leaders had also hoped the site could potentially be used for a children’s education and conservation center.

In a statement to NewsChannel 5, DC Blox said it is committed to minimizing its impact on the surrounding area:

“DC BLOX is proposing the development of a data center to be located in the Grassmere Business Park in Nashville with the goal of bringing much-needed digital infrastructure to area.

The project would replace two buildings that previously occupied the site. A data center was previously permitted to operate on this same site. The facility will not be an AI factory placing a burden on local resources.

From our past projects, as well as the proposed Nashville facility, we commit to using closed-loop or waterless cooling designs to minimize ongoing water use. We commit to the local utility to pay for all power used as well as any new energy infrastructure required to support our project. And we commit to maintaining and testing noise levels to measurable and acceptable levels and adhering to all local environmental requirements.

DC BLOX understands and appreciates the concerns that have been raised about our newly proposed data center in Nashville near the zoo. We look forward to working with local officials, community members, and the Nashville Zoo to minimize local impacts and to assure that there will be no health risks to residents and animals.”

Data centers are large facilities filled with computer servers that keep the internet running. They require massive amounts of electricity and water to operate. Tennessee is already home to 60 data centers, and the Tennessee Valley Authority expects data center growth to double by 2030.

A new state law passed this year requires data center developers to pay for their own infrastructure costs, aiming to prevent utility companies from raising power bills to cover the increased energy demand.

Zoo leaders are asking the community to stay involved in the public process before the city makes a final decision.

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 Wakisha Bailey

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    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — At just 20 years old, Jonathan Suarez is already a certified pilot and flight instructor.

For Suarez, operating an airplane takes skill, discipline and confidence — but it’s also the dream he once hoped would take flight.

“It’s the freedom,” Suarez said. “You’re in the airplane and you’re just free.”

CBS News Philadelphia first met Suarez four years ago when he was a 16-year-old student at Frankford High School. At the time, he was taking his first steps into aviation through Tailwinds Academy of Aviation.

“I’m getting one step closer to becoming what I want to be,” Suarez said in 2020.

Tailwinds Academy of Aviation was founded by Howard Cooper in 2019. The nonprofit introduces young people to careers in aviation and helps them see opportunities they may have never imagined.

“We saw this opportunity to use aviation to open doors for young people,” Cooper said.

With support from the School District of Philadelphia, Suarez became one of the program’s first students to begin flight training. Now, he is helping other students follow the same path.

“As a first-generation American, it stuck with me how aviation connected people worldwide,” Suarez said.

Cooper said the program is about more than flying planes. Students must be accepted into the program and maintain their grades, learning discipline, responsibility and confidence along the way.

“The knowledge that they have succeeded at something very few people have,” Cooper said. “Self-confidence that I can do this.”

For Suarez, that confidence helped change the course of his life.

“I went from being that kid in Philadelphia to being a professional pilot,” Suarez said.

Recently, Eagles cornerback and new Philadelphian Jonathan Jones, who is also a pilot and plane owner, stopped by Tailwinds Academy to encourage students to chase their dreams and remind them their future has no limits.

For Suarez and the students following behind him, Tailwinds Academy is proof that with the right opportunity, big dreams can take off.

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 Paul Burton

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    FOXBORO, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A Massachusetts boy is about to take center stage as the FIFA World Cup comes to Foxboro.

Graham Phillips, who is a cancer survivor, will get a front row look at some of the best soccer players in the world as he will be one of the flag bearers before kickoff at Gillette Stadium, which has been rebranded Boston Stadium during the tournament.

The Watertown 13-year-old is a seventh grader at Learner Prep School in Newton. He will be representing Boston Children’s Hospital as a former patient and cancer survivor during pre-match festivities on June 13 when Haiti and Scotland play.

“I think I am going to be in the middle of the field,” he said.

It was just three years ago when Graham, who was 10 at the time, was diagnosed with cancer.

“It was terrifying. It was non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. A very aggressive malignancy and we caught it early,” his dad, Jonathan Phillips said.

But through his cancer treatment, Graham remained positive and shining light to those around him.

“It felt the best because they have all these nurses that were very nice and cared for me a lot,” he said.

Just recently the family was informed by Boston Children’s Hospital that Graham had been selected as a flag bearer through the Children’s Miracle Network.

“Thank you for letting me do this and it’s going to be fun,” Graham said, when asked for the people who made it happen.

Graham is now cancer-free and excited to be part of the World Cup. He has an important message for other kids facing a similar battle.

“That it can be defeated, and the doctors and nurses try super hard to let that happen,” he said.

“He taught me that you can be positive through some of the worst things that are happening and to focus on what is positive,” Jonathan Phillips 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 Edie Kasten, Marie Saavedra

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    TINLEY PARK, Illinois (WBBM) — What do you do when the most beautiful, blessed event ends in tragedy? A woman from southwest suburban Tinley Park turned that tragedy into compassion.

Colleen Connelly and her husband, Pete, have lived through the best of times and the worst. When Colleen was 24 weeks pregnant, they learned they would never be bringing their baby home.

As they awaited their first child, everything was going well for Colleen and Pete, until suddenly, it wasn’t.

“That morning, I had just gone to the doctor myself. I figured it was just another ultrasound, and then I went in, and the tech said, ‘I’ll be right back,’ and it was a very awkward kind of interaction,” Colleen said. “I was just kind of hoping everything would be okay, but then the doctor comes in and says, ‘I’m sorry, your baby doesn’t have a heartbeat anymore.'”

Catherine Frances Connelly had died in the womb.

“Our OB called us and said, ‘Unfortunately, you still have to deliver, because you’re so far along,” Colleen said.

Colleen said the team at Advocate Christ Medical Center was remarkable.

“When she was born, you know, the doctors do everything, and they put her in an outfit that we kind of already had brought for her,” Colleen said. “They actually encourage pictures, which, at the time, you’re like, ‘How could anyone take a picture of these moments?’ But it’s true, you’re never going to get these moments back.”

It all happened so fast, there was no time to grieve.

“We went to the hospital, I believe it was a Tuesday. She came Wednesday morning, and we stayed until about noon or so with her on Wednesday, and then we had to plan a funeral, too. So, yeah, it was a lot,” Colleen said.

Colleen keeps a curio cabinet full of mementos of a baby loved in her all too short life and beyond.

“We’ve always wanted to keep Catherine’s legacy alive someway, somehow,” she said.

Colleen and Pete do that by talking about Catherine to her little sister and brother, Ellie and Christopher.

And Colleen has founded Catherine’s Cause, a nonprofit that provides compassion and care packages to families who have lost an infant.

“I want to do something, because I’m always like a doer,” she said.

They keepsakes like blankets, key chains, pins, and more to donate to families who have lost an infant. The keepsakes are gathered together in cupcake boxes.

“We just keep donating them back to the hospital so nobody has to leave with empty arms,” Colleen said.

Catherine’s Cause held its first big crafting event in February. An army of volunteers packed boxes and heard each other’s stories.

“People were talking about their babies they had lost recently or years ago,” Colleen said. “We have volunteers who say all the time, like, ‘I’m willing to talk if they need me.'”

Colleen said that need never really goes away.

“I will never get over it. I always say you never learn to get over the grief. All you learn to do is kind of build a life around it, because time doesn’t heal. Everything doesn’t happen for a reason all the time. Those filler statements are very hard,” she said.

But Colleen believes there is hope, and she wants Catherine’s Cause to be a light in the darkness.

“I just hope that everybody knows that there’s a community, and it’s a safe space where you can openly and freely say your baby’s name and talk about your baby and know that they’re not alone,” she said.

Because of privacy concerns, Colleen doesn’t know who gets the care packages, but she calls them gifts between friends who just haven’t met yet.

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 McGill

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    FAIRFIELD, California (KOVR) — Community members gathered Saturday evening in Fairfield to support one another and begin the healing process following a shooting after a high school graduation ceremony that left an 18-year-old dead and three others injured.

The shooting happened on Wednesday evening following a graduation ceremony for Sem Yeto Continuation High School at Schaefer Stadium. Cell phone video captured the chaotic scene as people ran for safety after gunfire erupted.

Fairfield police identified the victim as 18-year-old Jamario Baker. The Fairfield Police Department says the three other people injured in the shooting are in stable condition and recovering.

Just days after the violence, dozens of residents came together at Fairfield Civic Center Park for a community healing circle focused on grief, support and unity.

“The question before is what do we do now, where do we go from here?” said Nikila Walker Gibson, president of the Tri-City NAACP. “Do we become more divided, do we retreat from one another, do we allow the fear to define the story of our city or do we choose something different?”

Among those helping lead the discussion was Ebony Antoine, founder of Broken By Violence. After losing both her husband and brother to gun violence just 90 days apart, Antoine has dedicated herself to helping families navigate the aftermath of tragedy.

“Who’s going to pay for the final preparations, who’s going to pay for the mental health, is there going to be justice?” Antoine said, describing the questions families often face after losing a loved one to violence.

Antoine said preventing future violence requires communities to address the underlying issues that contribute to crime before tragedy strikes.

“It’s no secret, we understand where the crime comes from,” she said. “When we know what the problem is, we can respond ahead of time and save lives.”

Local leaders said the healing process starts with showing up for one another during difficult times.

“There might be a couple of different perceptions out there, but what I know to be true is that when something hurts in our community, people come together to uplift each other,” said Suisun City Mayor Alma Hernandez.

Organizers said the healing circle was not intended to provide all the answers surrounding the shooting. Instead, it created a space for residents to grieve, connect and begin moving forward together.

“What we want community members to know is that we’re here for you and we will continue to be here for you,” Hernandez said. “We will continue to support each other, one step at a time.”

As the investigation continues, Fairfield police are asking anyone who may have video from Wednesday night’s shooting to share it with investigators as they work to determine exactly what happened.

While many acknowledge healing will take time, community members said they hope coming together now will help prevent fear from defining what happens next.

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.