Month: August 2026

By Hannah McIlree, Paula Wethington

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    Detroit (WWJ) — A longtime Troy church is facing an uncertain future after a fire heavily damaged the building early Thursday morning. Despite the loss, church leaders say their faith community remains strong and plans to continue gathering while working toward recovery.

Firefighters spent hours battling flames at Troy Church of Christ, a congregation that has been part of the community since the 1950s. Nobody was inside the building at the time, and no firefighters or civilians were injured.

“It’s kind of a second home, so there are a lot of memories that are packed into that building of the life of this congregation,” said Minister Manuel Florescu. “So seeing those kind of go up in smoke, it’s a little bit heartbreaking.”

According to Florescu, the church was established before many of the surrounding homes were built and has long served as a neighborhood gathering place.

Still, he says the focus now is on the congregation rather than the building itself.

“The church is not the building, the church is the people,” Florescu said. “The building is beautiful, but they can rebuild one. So the church is gonna go on. We are gonna worship this Sunday just like any other Sunday, but another location.”

The Troy Fire Department was called to the church at approximately 3:14 a.m. Thursday. The first crews on scene saw smoke coming from a corner of the building, according to a fire department report. Firefighters say the situation quickly became more challenging when part of the roof collapsed. At that point, the command officer ordered all firefighters to get out of the building and work to deal with the fire from outside. They remained in the area until about 9 a.m.

Lt. Keith Young said crews initially believed the fire may have started near the rear of the building, but the collapse made it difficult to determine the origin.

“When we arrived, we initially thought it was maybe on the rear side of the building,” Young said. “But once we made entry, we already had the roof collapse. And so it’s hard for us to get exactly where it started until investigators can get inside.”

The fire ultimately escalated to a fourth-alarm response, bringing roughly 60 personnel to the scene.

As church leaders begin planning for the future, Bible study has been canceled for the remainder of the week while they determine where Sunday services will be held.

Star EMS and Troy Police also assisted on scene.

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 Steven Rosenbaum

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    TEXAS (KTVT) — A Tarrant County town is one step closer to hosting a large data center. The planning and zoning committee in the town of Westlake, north of Fort Worth, voted this week to approve the site plan, which is located on nearly 88 acres of land near Highway 377.

On Tuesday, at the end of a meeting that was crowded with concerned neighbors, the committee approved the project, setting up a vote on final approval in the town council.

“After reviewing the application, Town staff concluded that the site plan satisfied every applicable approval requirement and, in several areas, including architecture, setbacks, buffering, and landscaping, exceeded the Town’s minimum standards,” the town said in a statement. “Given the site plan’s compliance with the applicable approval criteria, there was no available basis on which the Commission could deny the site plan.”

According to a presentation by the developer, the campus will contain four buildings including a private electrical substation and backup generators. The plans also include new trees, landscaping and other features to keep the center largely hidden from view.

Neighbors raise concerns over noise, traffic and water use Among the opponents of the data center are residents of the Marshall Ridge neighborhood in Keller, which borders the data center site. The nearest homes would be 506 feet from the building line, which Westlake says far exceeds the 150-foot minimum.

The other concerns voiced about the project include traffic, noise, electricity use and water consumption.

An FAQ on Westlake’s website says the data center will use less water than an average golf course and will not impact water or electricity bills. The town also says the impact on traffic will be minimal once the center is operational, with about 75 employees at the site at any given time.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the developer also agreed to add more sound mitigation than was already planned to help make it less bothersome for neighbors.

In a statement, Keller Mayor Ross McMullin said the city remains in full support of its residents.

“We also expect our neighbor to the north to treat our residents with the same courtesy and respect as they have over the longstanding history of our towns,” McMullin said. “In that spirit, we will continue to fully review the processes and procedures related to Westlake’s project, and will continue to work with our residents to best support them.”

Westlake’s next town council meeting is on Aug. 18, but an agenda has not yet been published.

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 Tim Fang, Maddie White

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    ALAMEDA COUNTY, California (KPIX) — Alameda County officials announced a settlement in the civil lawsuit over the death of Sophia Mason, a young girl from Hayward whose killing in 2022 exposed failures in the county’s child welfare system.

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors agreed to pay $12 million to Sylvia Johnson, Sophia’s grandmother and the only heir to her estate. The settlement also includes the release of a county-ordered independent investigation, along with a public memorial bench to be in a Hayward park.

“Sophia Mason was an 8-year-old girl who deserved protection and a full life. We mourn with her grandmother and extended family for what could have been,” said Supervisor Lena Tam, who chairs the board’s Social Services Committee.

In March 2022, Sophia was found dead in a Merced home, where investigators said she was deceased for more than a month. Evidence showed she was the victim of continuous physical abuse.

Sophia’s mother, Samantha Johnson and her boyfriend, Dhante Jackson, faced murder charges in the girl’s death.

In March, Johnson was sentenced to nearly 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and child abuse. The murder charge against Jackson was later dropped.

The Board of Supervisors also ordered the release of the independent investigation, which they said outlined deficiencies in the county’s handling of Mason’s case and included 25 recommendations for policy and procedural reform. Officials said the report, with limited redactions, would be posted on the county’s website.

Last week, the State of California ordered formal intervention and monitoring of the county’s child welfare system. The California Department of Social Services ordered the formal investigation after a review this spring found multiple problems.

Investigators said they found abuse hotline callers waited more than an hour for help, 72% of screened-out referrals were missing key information, and 59% of emergency cases were downgraded without documentation.

The review also found the county failed to begin roughly half of its investigations on time. This, despite receiving nearly 57,000 abuse and neglect reports over the past five years.

On Tuesday, the county said it had made progress on a 2025 California State Auditor review, which found seven of 15 reform recommendations were fully implemented. Officials said staff vacancies at the Department of Children and Family Services had fallen from 32.8% to 21.2% and that the backlog in cases has dropped from 3,900 to about 1,500.

The county said it implemented changes including new protocols for identifying and assessing physical abuse and expanding use of search warrants to secure medical exams in suspected abuse cases, along with new staff training and documentation standards.

“The Board is holding leadership accountable, providing support, monitoring and technical assistance that protects our children and lead to system improvements. Critical work remains but the momentum heartens us,” Tam 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 Marvin Hurst

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    TEXAS (KTVT) — The six suspects indicted in an alleged decade-long investigation into prostitution and racketeering were arraigned Monday.

Not guilty pleas were entered, according to the office of Timothy M. Good, the Johnson & Somervell County district attorney.

Four of the suspects qualified for bond with conditions.

Michael and Ashley Ketcherside remain in jail. According to Good’s investigation, the Ketchersides were running a prostitution operation that involved local law enforcement. The couple is charged with participating in a racketeering and money-laundering enterprise involving $150,000 to $300,000. Michael Ketcherside also faces a charge of promotion of prostitution.

Out on bond are former Godley police chief Matthew Cantrell, his mother Regina Cantrell, and former Godley officers Solomon Omotoya and Jeremy Arbuthnot. All were indicted in the DA’s office-led and Texas Ranger-supported investigation.

Cantrell’s charges expanded after he was initially arrested for promotion of prostitution. He was indicted on that charge as well as two counts of sexual assault, stalking, and engaging in organized crime. Court documents show he had knowledge of the Ketchersides’ alleged business enterprise and assisted in running criminal histories on their adversaries.

His mother was fired from the Johnson County jail after allegedly checking the system to see whether warrants existed for her son and his wife.

Omotoya, according to court documents, was a GPD officer who was aware of the Ketchersides’ alleged criminal enterprise. Investigators said he also became a customer. Court papers said he cut Ashley Ketcherside’s lawn and babysat in exchange for sexual favors. He was indicted for engaging in organized crime and solicitation of prostitution.

Arbuthnot faces a charge of engaging in organized crime. Most, if not all, of the suspects are scheduled to return to court for a hearing in October.

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.