Month: June 2026

By Itinease McMiller

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    ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — For many people leaving prison, freedom comes with a new set of challenges, including finding housing, securing employment and convincing others they deserve a second chance. A coffee shop in the basement of Trinity United Methodist Church in Asheville is helping people recently released from prison by giving them a chance to rewrite their stories, one cup at a time.

Deep Time Coffee is more than a place to grab a morning brew. The nonprofit coffee enterprise provides second-chance employment and support for people returning to society after incarceration, helping them build stable lives and brighter futures.

Deep Time Coffee is more than a place to grab a morning brew. The nonprofit coffee enterprise provides second-chance employment and support for people returning to society after incarceration, helping them build stable lives and brighter futures.

“15 years old, I was convicted of second-degree murder,” said Lamar McNeal, who was released from prison last February.

Stories like theirs are often defined by past mistakes. At Deep Time Coffee, those stories are being redefined through opportunity, mentorship and community.

“We are a ministry/enterprise that provides second-chance employment for returning citizens,” Underwood said.

Underwood spent 16 years in prison for selling drugs before deciding to change the course of his life.

“It was just like I got sick and tired of disappointing my mom,” Underwood said. “Once I opened my eyes and started really seeing the truth and the love of God and stuff like that, it allowed me to abstain myself from such activities.” A friend he met while incarcerated later connected him with Deep Time Coffee. Underwood now helps lead a team made up largely of people who have experienced incarceration themselves.

The organization operates through a nine-month Sojourner Program, which provides participants with workforce training, coffee-roasting skills, and a paid stipend while they work toward rebuilding their lives.

But the support extends far beyond employment.

“We’re gonna do what we have to do to help those who are being belittled, derogated, downgraded, whatever the case may be, those who are being outcast, barraged out here. Those who are being ostracized just because of the choices that they made in the past,” Underwood said.

For Lamar McNeal, that support came at a critical moment. After serving 25 years in prison, he knew returning to old habits could send him down a familiar path.

“I knew I had to do something for myself in order to keep from making the same mistakes, because I was on the verge of making the same mistakes,” McNeal said.

He said finding a brotherhood of people who understood his struggles helped him stay focused on a better future.

“Being around the people who were in the same situation with me or similar situations, and then seeing the steps that they took to get themselves in a better position,” McNeal said. “It made me want to try it.”

Deep Time also connects employees with mental health resources, peer support specialists and community organizations — services McNeal credits with helping him overcome a methamphetamine addiction.

“I didn’t think it was possible for me,” McNeal said.

Today, he is not only rebuilding his own life but helping others do the same.

McNeal now mentors men at his halfway house, sharing resources and encouraging them to pursue opportunities they may not know exist, pouring opportunities into the cups of others.

“They’re not understanding the resources they have out here to get the help that they need to get on their feet,” McNeal said. “I tell them about the help that’s out there so they can create a better life for themselves and their family.”

At Deep Time Coffee, every bag roasted and every cup served represents something bigger than coffee. It’s a reminder that second chances are possible, that past mistakes do not have to define a person’s future, and that sometimes the path to a new life begins with someone simply believing you deserve one.

To learn more about Deep Time Coffee’s Sojourner Program, visit deeptimeavl.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.

By Darius Johnson, Elyssa Kaufman

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — Two men are dead, and five others were injured after a mass shooting in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood overnight.

Chicago police said around 12:30 a.m., two armed men approached a group of people standing outside in the 5100 block of South Wood Street and fired shots.

Police said two men were critically injured and died at a local hospital. Officials have not identified the victims.

Police said a 23-year-old woman was shot in the head and is in critical condition.

Three men and a woman were taken to the local hospital and are expected to recover. The victims range in age from 21 to 54 years old.

No arrests have been made.

Area One detectives are investigating.

Two men are dead, and five others were injured after a mass shooting in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood overnight.

Chicago police said around 12:30 a.m., two armed men approached a group of people standing outside in the 5100 block of South Wood Street and fired shots.

Police said two men were critically injured and died at a local hospital. Officials have not identified the victims.

Police said a 23-year-old woman was shot in the head and is in critical condition.

Three men and a woman were taken to the local hospital and are expected to recover. The victims range in age from 21 to 54 years old.

No arrests have been made.

Area One detectives are investigating.

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 Stephanie Stahl

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    WILMINGTON, Delaware (KYW) — Sixteen-year-old Quin Duncan is a varsity lacrosse player in Wilmington is relieved to be back on the field after a bout with arteriovenous malformation (AVM).

“When I first started bleeding, I had passed out and had to go to the hospital,” Quin Duncan said. “And it was terrifying because I mean no one knew what it was.”

His mom, Kristin Duncan, says there were several scary episodes of bleeding coming from an abscess in his mouth.

“You don’t know it’s there. And then all of a sudden it was just, I was catching Quin’s blood in a bucket,” Kristin Duncan said. “In the moment, honestly, we just didn’t understand the magnitude of what it was.”

He was finally diagnosed with arteriovenous malformation, something that’s very rare and potentially fatal.

“An arteriovenous malformation is an abnormal connection between the arteries, which are vessels that pulsate, and the veins, which drain,” Dr. Anne Marie Cahill, an interventional radiologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said. “They can create a lot of local problems with the tissues and integrity of bones and teeth, et cetera, so it’s complex problem.”

Cahill says AVMs are often misdiagnosed as a dental problem.

“When teeth are loose, it is really important to stop and figure out what lies beneath and then give us a chance,” Cahill said.

Quin Duncan underwent four surgeries over the past 8 months and takes daily chemotherapy to control the condition.

“It’s just completely flipped my world upside down,” he said.

Recovering now, he’s relieved to be back for the playoffs and able to practice with his dad in the backyard.

“From where I was, sitting in a hospital bed, not too long ago, never thought I’d be playing lacrosse again,” he said.

Quin Duncan and his family credit the team at CHOP for getting him back to playing, along with his friends who made sure he had plenty of support and milkshakes during his recovery.

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 Brandt

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    Philadelphia (KYW) — Police are investigating a shooting at a Philadelphia public housing complex after someone ordered a pizza and then fatally shot a delivery driver.

The shooting happened just after midnight Friday in the Raymond Rosen Homes, on the 2300 block of Edgley Street in North Philadelphia.

Police officers were called to the scene and found the victim, who had been shot in the head. The 28-year-old man was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead before 1 a.m.

Investigators learned that someone had called in a pizza delivery order to a vacant unit in the housing complex. It appears the driver made the delivery to the property and was shot after leaving the building.

Philadelphia Housing Authority cameras caught the driver walking with the pizza order and being followed by two people wearing dark clothing and carrying a backpack.

The driver worked for a pizza place on the 2000 block of Ridge Avenue, according to police.

The shooting remains under investigation, and police are looking for more surveillance video that can help find the shooter or shooters.

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 Neal Riley, Logan Hall

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    Massachusetts (WBZ) — A 70-year-old man is charged with attempted murder for allegedly trying to drown a 21-year-old on crutches at a Hopkinton, Massachusetts beach following a residency dispute, police said.

Steven Dana, a Hopkinton resident, was arrested after police responded to a report of a fight at Sandy Beach Wednesday just before 7 p.m. Police said the fight was about the 21-year-old’s use of Lake Maspenock. The victim, 21-year-old Matt Duffy, said that Dana was irritated by his friends and him riding a jet ski.

“The only boat ramp to the lake, which straddles Hopkinton and Milford, exists on Lakeshore Drive, and it is limited to use by Hopkinton residents only from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend,” police said.

Police said video footage showed Dana slapping Duffy, who had been using crutches because he was involved in a severe motorcycle accident months before.

A struggle in the water followed, and police said Dana “is shown forcefully holding the 21-year-old under the water,” before others pulled Dana off him.

“He tackled me into the water, then we were fighting, and then he shoved my head under and was not letting me breathe until my friend came up and pulled him off me,” Duffy told CBS News Boston. “I just knew I couldn’t use either of my arms or my leg as they were both broken and it was just praying that he let go or my friends pull him off of me.”

Both men declined to be taken to a hospital for treatment. Hopkinton Deputy Police Chief Scott van Raalten said the “senseless violence” started because Dana did not believe the victim was a Hopkinton resident “and accosted him about use of the lake.”

“I’m really glad that they got him right away. He did say that he lived by the lake and he was very annoyed with jet skis for some reason. A lot of people think they should be banned even though we don’t bother people,” Duffy said.

“The Hopkinton Police Department asks that residents contact the proper authorities to investigate incidents that involve the enforcement of the town’s bylaws rather than taking matters into their own hands,” van Raalten said.

Dana is charged with attempt to murder, strangulation/suffocation and assault and battery on a disabled person. He was in Framingham District Court Thursday, but prosecutors said they need to review his prior charges before an official arraignment can be held. The defense argued that they do not believe the charges are relevant.

Dana is scheduled to be arraigned Friday.

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 Luis Miguel Echegaray

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    New York (WCBS, WLNY) — With the FIFA World Cup set to kick off shortly, Panini sticker trading has become all the rage in New York City.

CBS News New York’s Luis Miguel Echegaray went on Thursday to Rockefeller Center, where the decals of a lot of soccer stars were being swapped.

The mission is simple: fill the album The name of the game for those in attendance was trying to get as many of the 980 total stickers to fill their album.

“I only need 15 stickers, 15, but it gets difficult for you to find that much after a while. So I have to exchange with my friends,” said Rodrigo Costa, who was visiting from Brazil.

Many people like Costa said they have been doing the sticker album tradition all their lives.

“Since I was little. Yeah, it’s an amazing tradition. It is. It is. And I have two kids. They are 3 years old, but I pretend it’s for them, but it’s actually for me,” Costa said.

For others, this World Cup marks the first time taking part in the Panini sticker mania.

“I’m really excited, yeah, yes sir,” said Hank Johnson of Georgia. “I got the, like, multipack FIFA World Cup and the album.”

Collecting and buying stickers of players who will take part in the biggest tournament of the most popular has a stranger effect on people.

“I can’t wait for the World Cup,” Johnson said.

It’s a tradition like no other.

Eli Manning trades with an Italian legend New York Giants Super Bowl champions Eli Manning and Shaun O’Hara were on hand and exchanged stickers with Alessandro Nesta, a center back on Italy’s World Cup-winning side in 2006.

For Manning, the tournament in the U.S. represents an exciting moment.

“For me, I think it’s to see the fandom and seeing these countries representing coming here, seeing these fans singing the songs and waving the flags,” Manning said.

As they swapped stickers for their albums, Nesta, who is renowned as one of the best defenders in the history of the game, was asked to his pick who he thinks will be the player of the tournament.

“Yamal, Lamine Yamal. For me, he’s the best after Messi,” Nesta said, referring to Spain’s star right winger.

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 Jennifer McRae

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    Colorado (KCNC) — The Colorado Court of Appeals reversed the criminally negligent homicide convictions for the former paramedics in the death of Elijah McClain. The decision by the court states that both men will be remanded for a new trial on that charge, which was announced on Thursday morning.

McClain was walking home in August 2019 when the 23-year-old Black man was confronted by police officers who forcibly restrained him and then the Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics, Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec, injected him with ketamine. He went into cardiac arrest in an ambulance a few minutes later and died three days after that.

After McClain died, the coroner’s office in Adams County initially couldn’t determine how he died, but after social justice protests drew attention to the case, a medical examiner ultimately found that he died from complications of ketamine following forcible restraint. That led to a 2021 indictment of three police officers and two paramedics.

The case was prosecuted by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office in Adams County Court.

Cooper and Cichuniec were both convicted on charges of criminally negligent homicide in December 2023.

The Colorado Court of Appeals stated on Thursday that it affirms Cichuniec’s conviction for second-degree assault- unlawful administration of drugs. In September 2024, Cichuniec’s five-year prison sentence was vacated, and a judge reduced his sentence to probation.

Cooper was sentenced to four years probation, 14 months work release and 100 hours of community service in April 2024.

After the Colorado Court of Appeals vacated the convictions for Cooper and Cichuniec, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser issued this statement, “A jury convicted two paramedics for the death of Elijah McClain, an innocent Black man who did nothing wrong that tragic night seven years ago. Bringing these cases to trial was the right thing to do for justice, for Elijah McClain, and for healing in the Aurora community. The attorney general’s office is committed to defending these convictions through the appeals process. Justice demands it.”

Three officers from the Aurora Police Department have been tried in connection with McClain’s death. In the fall of 2023, two of the officers were acquitted in Elijah’s death, and a third was found guilty.

A jury found Randy Roedema guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault, while Jason Rosenblatt was found not guilty of manslaughter and assault in October 2023. A jury also found Nathan Woodyard not guilty of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in McClain’s death.

In January 2024, Roedema was sentenced to 14 months in jail along with four years of probation. He has filed an appeal and is asking the court to review nine different aspects of the case.

The City of Aurora agreed in 2021 to pay $15 million to settle a civil lawsuit brought by McClain’s parents.

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 Erin Jones, J.D. Miles

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    Texas (KTVT) — Jurors in Karmelo Anthony’s murder trial heard from eyewitnesses on Thursday, including coaches and an athletic trainer who were at the Frisco Independent School District track meet when the stabbing occurred.

Anthony, now 19 years old, is charged with murdering Austin Metcalf during a Frisco ISD track meet last year. He pleaded not guilty before testimony began Thursday morning.

In a packed courtroom, the families of both Anthony and Metcalf sat on opposite sides of the gallery.

During opening statements, prosecutor Bill Wirskye told the jury, “This case has nothing to do with race, this case has nothing to do with self-defense … This was an unprovoked, unjustified murder, it is senseless”.

Anthony’s attorneys argued the stabbing was an act of self-defense.

Jurors then watched both original and enhanced surveillance video from the stadium.

The video analysis expert testified that the footage appears to show one person push or shove another, and the other person push or shove back. However, he acknowledged the video does not appear to capture the actual stabbing.

Jurors also heard from Memorial High School head track coach Rob Starr. He testified that team tents are designated for specific schools and said, “It’s a big deal to keep everybody separated.”

He also emphasized that weapons are never allowed at track meets and students sign a code of conduct acknowledging those rules.

Fighting back tears, Starr described rushing to Metcalf after the stabbing and the condition he found him in.

Another witness, Heritage High School coach Vincent Hooper, testified he was asked to stay with Anthony after the incident.

Hooper told jurors he warned Anthony that if Metcalf died, it would change the rest of his life. According to Hooper, Anthony initially said Metcalf would not die, but later began crying after Hooper again stressed the seriousness of the situation.

The court wrapped just before 6 p.m. on Thursday, and jurors are expected to return on Friday at 9 a.m.

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.