Month: July 2026

By Jasmine Franklin

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    PEWAUKEE, Wisconsin (WISN) — Cases of a violent stomach illness are surging across the country. Cyclosporiasis is a sickness that causes severe diarrhea.

Wisconsin’s Department of Health says there have been 43 reported cases in the state.

Newlywed Gretchen Pleuss, formerly of Milwaukee, caught the stomach bug during her honeymoon.

“It was just like incessant diarrhea. It was watery and constant,” Pleuss said.

The camping trip to Yellowstone National Park has been filled with a lot of stops to the bathroom.

“I felt fine until we got out here, and a couple days into camping here, I started having symptoms,” Pleuss said.

A few days into her vacation, the pain became so intense that she had to go to the emergency room.

Doctors confirmed the Cyclospora parasite is in her system.

Pleuss thinks she caught it from shredded lettuce in a sandwich.

“It feels like your intestines are really tight, like something is seizing them,” Pleuss said.

While it’s been anything but the perfect start to happily ever after, the couple is staying positive.

“It’s still our honeymoon, so we’re making the best of it. Our vows said in sickness and in health, so we’re just getting an early start on that,” Pleuss said.

She’s not alone; dozens of Wisconsinites are dealing with this stomach bug, including one woman in Pewaukee who says the pain is intense.

“Last night was the first time I was able to eat and maintain all the food I took in,” said Jacque Lebreck.

Lebreck said she thinks she caught Cyclospora from an alcoholic drink with fruit.

“It was a fruit-based drink that I had at a lovely restaurant, there were many of us that had the same drink and they all got sick as well. It’s been inconvenient, but it’s not something that’s going to kill me,” Lebreck said.

Both women are getting rid of the parasite with prescribed antibiotics.

Doctors encourage people to thoroughly wash fresh produce, especially lettuce, bagged salads, and raspberries.

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 TJ Dysart

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    MILWAUKEE (WISN) — Judges at the Milwaukee County Courthouse are calling for an immediate replacement for the nearly 100-year-old safety building at the Milwaukee County Courthouse as extreme heat disrupts operations and threatens the legal process.

On Wednesday, as outdoor temperatures reached 93 degrees, conditions inside the courthouse safety building were nearly as hot.

“It is 95 degrees in the courtroom, you are sweating through your clothes, you can barely concentrate,” Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Laura Crivello said.

Courtrooms, jury rooms, and holding cells climbed into the 80s and 90s, with ceiling fans providing little relief.

“I am dripping sweat standing here,” Crivello said.

Inside Crivello’s jury room, where jurors deliberate on cases, the temperature hit 81 degrees Wednesday afternoon.

“This is unacceptable, this is unacceptable,” she said.

Chief Judge Carl Ashley expressed concern about the impact on jurors.

“You expect jurors to come in here and deliberate Judge Crivello’s cases, which are so serious, and we stuff them in this room and tell them to do that,” Ashley said.

In a nearby holding room, where up to five defendants wait for their cases to be called, the temperature reached 89 degrees.

Ashley and Crivello said the heat highlights the urgent need for major improvements to the courthouse.

“We have the opportunity to provide this new facility that is going to really provide what we should expect from any judicial facility, and that is good accommodations, and this is not it,” Ashley said.

County leaders have proposed tearing down and replacing the safety building, a project estimated to cost nearly $900 million. They are seeking state assistance to reduce the financial burden on taxpayers, warning that delays will only increase costs.

“We want the project done. Do we have to shave here and there? Maybe so, but the ultimate goal is to get this new facility,” Ashley said.

After decades of issues, Ashley emphasized the need for immediate action.

“If someone says to you, ‘Well, do it later,’ what a statement to the people who work in this building, the people who have to come to this building. It’s not fair, it is not justified, and we are finally at a point where we can do something about it,” he said.

While the project is still in its early stages, a financing proposal is expected to come before the county later 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 Pamela Comme

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    PORT ORANGE, Florida (WESH) — Seven years after they thought they had lost her forever, one phone call changed everything.

The Jones family adopted Copper when she was just 4 weeks old. A few months later, they believe the dog was stolen along with one of her puppies.

“We drove around every day for about a week looking for her,” the family said. “As time went along, we just kind of gave up hope.”

What they didn’t know was that Copper was still alive, hundreds of miles away.

Jennifer Baker found the dog wandering alone in Port Orange, right off Commonwealth Boulevard, and took her in.

“She was in god-awful condition,” Baker said. “Her nails had grown into the pads of her feet, and she had infections all across her back.”

Baker spent two weeks caring for Copper before taking her to a veterinarian to check for a microchip.

The scan identified Copper’s owners and led to an emotional reunion.

“She and I just broke down crying,” the family said. “Her first words were, ‘I want my baby.'”

When Copper was reunited with her family, Baker said the dog recognized them immediately.

“He called her name, and I watched her ears perk up,” Baker said. “She wagged her tail and slowly walked over.”

Copper is now back home with her family in Alabama, where she is receiving treatment for years of neglect.

Her owners say the veterinary care has been expensive, but they are grateful to have her back.

“It’s been pretty extensive and kind of expensive,” they said. “But it’s well worth it to have her back.”

While Copper is still recovering, her family says she is finally where she belongs, safe, loved and getting her spark back.

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 Randall Newsome

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    BALTIMORE (WMAR) — A Baltimore bookstore owner is taking her mission to inspire young readers directly into neighborhoods across the city with a bus full of free books.

The Black Star Line Literacy Bus, created by Tia Hamilton, is making stops throughout Baltimore this summer with one goal: put books into the hands of children and help close the city’s literacy gap.

“It’s free,” Hamilton said. “And just to be able to say that means everything.”

Hamilton says too many neighborhoods are what she calls “book deserts,” where families have limited access to books and literacy resources.

“There are children who aren’t getting the necessary literacy tools that’s needed,” she said. “It’s time to get to the literacy. It’s time to educate.”

Wrapped in vibrant Pan-African colors, the Black Star Line bus is impossible to miss. Inspired by Marcus Garvey’s historic Black Star Line ship, the mobile library also features images of influential Black leaders, including Malcolm X.

As a person who was formerly incarcerated, she draws inspiration from the civil rights leader because a pivotal part of his story included turning his life around from behind bars.

Hamilton says education transformed her own life, and now she’s determined to help children avoid the barriers she once faced.

“If 54% of America’s adults can’t read above the sixth-grade reading level, that’s why I exist,” Hamilton said. “That’s why my mission exists. That’s why my foundation exists.”

At every stop, children are encouraged to choose books to take home and build their own personal libraries. Hamilton hopes those books become the foundation for lifelong learning.

“If children are reading 20 minutes a day, they will expose themselves to 1.8 million words a year,” she said.

Hamilton believes investing in literacy today can help prevent much bigger problems tomorrow.

“It takes $54,000 for one child to take care of them inside a prison,” she said. “So instead of investing in that, invest in this cause and invest in me and let me go out here and do the work to make our children literate.”

The work isn’t easy. Hamilton loads, unloads and distributes hundreds of books herself at each stop, bringing plenty of enthusiasm along the way.

“I don’t know,” she laughed. “I wake up like this.”

Still, she says community support is essential to keeping the bus rolling.

“Donate your time and donate gently used books,” Hamilton said. “This is why I’m asking for books and donations because it’s not about me. It’s about our children, our youth, our legacy.”

Hamilton’s goal is to give away 100 books at every stop this summer, totaling 5,000 books across Baltimore. She also hopes to expand the program next summer by adding two more literacy buses to reach even more communities.

“They are going to change the world,” Hamilton said. “We give them an opportunity.”

People interested in donating books, volunteering or supporting the Black Star Line Literacy Bus can find more information through Hamilton’s organization here. Hamilton has also launched a “Bookmark It” program to help families, kids and adults, where you can join a reading club and get a discount on books.

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 WLOS Staff

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    ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Nearly 60 years after she first walked through the doors of Saint Joseph’s Hospital as a volunteer, Rose Seleska is being recognized by Mission Health as its longest-serving employee.

Seleska began her time at the hospital in 1966 as a candy striper. Now approaching six decades with the organization, she said the relationships she has built with patients and their loved ones have been the most meaningful part of the job.

“What I enjoy most about working is the people and the patients,” Seleska said.

“I get to know the families when they come up. I hear their stories, I give them hugs, listen to them, give the families tours,” she said. “It’s just been a blessing to be here.”

Seleska also said the hospital has been central to her personal life: She met her husband there and delivered all three of her sons at the hospital.

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.