Month: August 2026

By Jorge Torres

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    SCOTTSDALE, Arizona (KNXV) — There is a lot going on at the Granite Reef Senior Center off Granite Reef Road and McDowell. Two decades of it.

“The Granite Reef Senior Center has been open since 2006. We just celebrated our 20th anniversary this year,” said Jessica Rapp, the Human Services Manager at the center. “It’s just a fun community center geared for seniors.”

This week, they added one more activity to the list.

“Hi, my name’s Mary Helen Garduno. I’m here at the Granite Reef Senior Center in Scottsdale, and the highs today will be 100,” Garduno said, microphone in hand.

The whole thing was Rapp’s idea. Like many ABC15 viewers, she had been watching our KidCasters segments at home. Then she started thinking.

“Well, why can’t our seniors do that? They’re young and fun still,” Rapp said. “So let’s do SeniorCasters.”

So we handed them the microphone. Then we asked one question. What is your core weather memory?

The answers came from all over the map.

“The haboob. I’ve actually watched it. I’ve been in it, and I’ve watched it from afar,” Garduno said. “So it’s very, very exciting and interesting.”

For Radhakrishna Jethani, the memory came from a long way north of the Valley.

“A few years back, when I was in Wisconsin, 14 inches of snow came in 48 hours,” Jethani said. “We could not get out from the house.”

Paul Diamond has been here long enough to remember what the monsoon looked like before the Valley filled in.

“Probably before all the development, the intensity of the monsoon storms we had,” Diamond said.

Ask him to pick a favorite storm and he will not do it.

“There’s been so many. There’s not really one,” Diamond said. “But they’re all my favorite.”

Decades of weather in a few sentences. Storms they drove through. Winters they left behind. And a new skill these kids at heart have picked up in their golden years.

“A big thing in everybody’s life right now is finding your purpose,” Rapp said. “That’s what we’re here for. To help people connect with each other and help find their purpose.”

By the end of the morning, Rapp sounded like she had just watched her students nail a school play.

“I’m so proud of them. I feel like a teacher or a mom today,” Rapp said. “They had the courage, and they were brave, and they got up here and asked their questions.”

Rapp hopes SeniorCasters spreads across the Valley, and that other senior centers get their chance.

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 Dave Biscobing, Ford Hatchett

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    PHOENIX (KNXV) — Two Phoenix officers under criminal investigation for a violent and unreported traffic stop have been arrested and fired, the Phoenix Police Department announced Saturday.

ABC15 first confirmed the arrests of Officers Luis Vasquez Jr. and Antonio Felix through multiple sources.

Police say Officers Vasquez Jr. and Felix stopped a vehicle on Aug. 5 at around 11:30 p.m. in the area of 19th Avenue and Broadway Road and proceeded to use force on a man and woman.

The traffic stop was not reported, and there was no body-worn camera activation, according to the Phoenix Police Department.

“Detectives have confirmed that the two former officers physically assaulted both the man and woman during the traffic stop. The investigation also shows that a taser was used on the victims during the traffic stop,” Phoenix Chief of Police Matt Giordano said.

Both officers were arrested on several felony charges, including:

Aggravated assault Aggravated robbery Kidnapping Felony assault involving a bound and otherwise physically restrained individual Threatening and intimidating Criminal damage Hindering prosecution Tampering with evidence

ABC15 also received an email that was sent to department staff.

While officials state there is no video evidence showing the assault, Giordano says they have proof both were in their city vehicle through AVL technology (automatic vehicle locator system) and were able to confirm that they were in their traditional police uniform.

Both officers gave voluntary statements in the presence of their attorney.

Both officers were placed on administrative leave on Aug. 13, according to authorities.

There is no indication the officers knew the victims involved.

The Professional Standards Bureau will move forward to identify any other individuals involved and determine whether there are broader systemic concerns.

“No community members should suffer what happened here. We recognize this erodes community trust, and I am committed to rebuilding that trust starting today,” Giordano said.

Vasquez Jr. and Felix first appeared before a judge late Saturday night.

“Your Honor, these offenses were committed by on-duty police officers in a fully marked Phoenix police Tahoe,” said Tom Van Dorn with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

Van Dorn said they believe both men are a danger to the community and the victims, along with a flight risk.

Vasquez Jr. and Felix were ordered to be held on a $100,000 secured appearance bond. If released, they will have wear a GPS monitor.

ABC15 confirmed Sunday that Vasquez Jr. had bonded out of custody, while Felix remains behind bars.

The criminal investigation into Vasquez Jr. and Felix began after Tempe police received a call about a disabled vehicle.

See previous ABC15 Investigator coverage of the incident in the player above.

According to a police report released by Tempe police earlier this week, the city’s officers spoke to one of the car’s passengers who escaped and reported being assaulted during a violent and chaotic traffic stop in south Phoenix.

A Tempe officer found the man’s story so concerning that he thought it had to have been done by criminals posing as police officers and reported it to Phoenix for further investigation.

Sources told ABC15 that’s how Phoenix figured out it could have been two of its own officers who conducted the unreported stop.

Both officers worked out of the South Mountain Precinct.

No other officers are on leave.

One officer had been with the Phoenix Police Department for eight years, and the other for nine years. According to Giordano, both officers had prior “policy violations.”

As of now, the motive behind the traffic stop is unclear.

The officers will be transferred to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Saturday evening.

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 Vanessa Gongora

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    TUCSON, Arizona (KGUN) — A local ice cream truck owner is making sure everyone in his community can enjoy a sweet treat — regardless of what they can afford.

Matthew Lenne, owner of Sweet Tooth ice cream truck, serves underprivileged and low-income neighborhoods across Tucson.

He wants families to know they won’t break the bank at his truck. He has ice creams that range from $1 to $3.

“My goal is to help families create core memories without walking away feeling jaded or like they just got ripped off honestly. That’s my goal,” Lenne said. “Our mission is to make sure every kid gets a popsicle because everybody deserves a sweet treat regardless of where you come from.”

His motto is simple: people over profit.

“Because at the end of the day it’s helping your community, it’s helping people. That’s really what I wanna do with my life. Like that’s what I’ve decided to be my purpose,” Lenne said.

“One of my big things is I don’t let any kid walk away without a popsicle. If they can’t afford it, I still got popsicles I can give them and it comes out of my pocket, it’s OK.”

Lenne has been in business for about five months. He partners with organizations like Barrio Restoration, handing out free popsicles to volunteers who clean up neighborhoods, and Para Todos, an organization that hosts all-inclusive monthly birthday parties for kids.

Lenne came out to the August drop-in birthday party hosted by Para Todos and Amore for Medically Complex Families on Sunday.

9-year-old Kaysen Serrano lined up with other kids at the truck, weighing the tough decision of which ice cream to get. He approves of what Sweet Tooth is doing.

“I think it’s really nice and I like ice cream, so it’s great,” Kaysen said.

For families like Ethan Bennett’s, events like these make a significant difference. Ethan is disabled and, according to his 13-year-old sister Elliott, he’s not always invited to parties. What Para Todos does, she said, makes him feel seen.

“It means a lot because at birthday parties here, he’s a lot more accepted and he gets invited here and is welcome, but other birthday parties, he may not be invited,” Elliott said. “He’s much more happier and he loves interacting with all the other kids here. He’s like covered in blue Sonic ice cream.”

Krystina Diaz, founder of Amore for Medically Complex Families, said the partnership between organizations reflects a shared commitment to the community.

“It’s really nice when you get to collaborate with people who have the same vision as you and they just want to help the kids and make memories and just lasting things they can talk about later,” Diaz said.

Lenne says as a father of six kids, he knows how hard it is, so if he can make a difference for other families, that’s what he’ll do. He says the reward is in the smiles.

“The smiles are absolutely worth it. That’s one of my favorite things is, even when adults come up. I mean when they walk away with a smile, I’ve succeeded at my job,” Lenne said.

Lenne said he meets people where they’re at, financially and physically.

“I just charge you for whatever you guys buy. If you wanna book me for an event, you just call me, and if I have an opening on my schedule, I’ll just show up, you know,” Lenne said.

Lenne did recently have a setback, having to buy another generator to keep his ice cream truck and business running.

Community members started a fundraiser to help him continue giving back. K. Alexandra Monaco said what truly inspired her to launch it is how Sweet Tooth treats the children.

“We have all seen it: a group of kids gathers around an ice cream truck, but one or two have to stand aside because they don’t have the money to buy a treat. Sweet Tooth routinely steps in to bridge that gap. They quietly give free ice cream to children who cannot afford it, ensuring that no child ever feels left out, excluded, or less-than when they are with their peers. That simple act of dignity and inclusion means the world to a child,” Monaco told KGUN 9 in a statement.

Lenne was not expecting this at all.

“The gesture was monumental. I mean, I read it and I got teary eyed. I got emotional about it because she went out of her way to do something that grand gesture for me, which she’s like, well, you deserve the recognition. But that’s not why I started it, but I will take it. Like I said, it’s just about helping people,” Lenne said.

He said the reciprocation is just beautiful.

If you’re interested in booking Sweet Tooth or would like to show some support, you can find it on all social media platforms and 520-354-3671.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KGUN verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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 Tony Geftos

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    DETROIT (WXYZ) — Ed Sheeran surprised a small crowd at a Detroit sushi bar Wednesday night, stepping up to the karaoke mic and performing a duet with a fan just minutes before closing time.

Kevin Reddy, a karaoke night regular at Sakazuki in Detroit’s Book Tower, spotted Sheeran at Hiroki-San, the restaurant downstairs, and struck up a conversation.

“And so then towards the end of that conversation, I was like hey, you know, I did queue up ‘Thinking Out Loud,’ and he’s like, ‘let’s do it.’ And so he immediately was game and we walked up here and it was, I mean, probably only like six or seven people left because it was like 10:50 and they close at 11,” Reddy said.

Naomi Scott, general manager of both Sakazuki and Hiroki-San, said her staff could hardly believe what was unfolding.

“They just were talking about what if he came up and he did his song for karaoke, and then little did they know, you know, he did,” Scott said.

Scott said her team was elated as Sheeran performed for the handful of people still in the bar.

“It’s just a once-in-a-lifetime experience for everyone, for the team, for all the guests, for all of our regulars that come every karaoke, every Wednesday,” Scott said.

Tyler Hedley was in the bar and captured the moment on video. The clip has since racked up tens of thousands of likes on TikTok.

“I am the biggest fan. Like he’s my all-time favorite. I stood right there and he was singing right there,” Hedley said.

Hedley said he had hoped to get a little more out of the night.

“Maybe, I’ll get to sing with him this time. That was what I really wanted,” Hedley said.

Reddy said the impromptu performance was made even more memorable by how down-to-earth Sheeran was throughout the night.

“And just the fact that he was just so willing to get to know us and talk to us, just icing on the cake for sure,” Reddy said.

Reddy said the two genuinely connected.

“I feel like at any point, he could have been like, you know, good to see you, have a good night, but he, I think it was just we built that rapport. I made him laugh, which is like crazy to say and then we had just a blast. I mean, you could see with the video, it was just an amazing, amazing time,” Reddy said.

With Sheeran set to return to Detroit next Saturday for a concert at Ford Field, the staff at Sakazuki is hoping he stops by again — maybe even for an encore.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WXYZ verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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 Groh

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    ST. FRANCIS, Wisconsin (WTMJ) — You’ve probably never seen a 15-foot-tall metal origami crane. Well, one is sitting in a St. Francis parking lot. It was made by a group of Milwaukee-area artists, and it’s going to the iconic festival, Burning Man.

“We can make stuff here in this space, and people can appreciate it, but there’s something magic that happens when you’re just kind of standing around doing a thing, changing a battery, and you hear somebody go, ‘That is so cool.’ I love that,” Sarah Davitt, a member of Steel Tiger Lillies, the group that made the sculpture, said.

Steel Tiger Lillies is an inclusive art organization originally formed to teach women trades like welding and heavy fabrication. Now, it’s open to everyone.

“Allowed people to feel comfortable building stuff that they normally would say, ‘You should let your husband do that,'” Davitt said.

The origami crane has a kaleidoscopic and mosaic rainbow aesthetic. Burners, people who attend Burning Man, will be able to enter it and follow instructions to make their own smaller origami cranes.

“That we will actually hang in the piece, so that you will have origami cranes kind of taking and changing the environment every day. And later, those will be burned in one of the many fires that are available at Burning Man,” Davitt said.

The design was inspired by the novel ‘Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes’, which is about a girl diagnosed with leukemia from atomic bomb radiation after World War II.

“It is a really big wish for peace,” Davitt said.

It’s also a really big moment for the artists who spent the last year creating this 15-by-27-foot sculpture. It has the potential to be seen by tens of thousands of people at Burning Man.

“It’s just larger than life, and that is what Burning Man is, making dreams come true,” Sarah Spottswoods, another member of the Steel Tiger Lillies, said.

The group has been building the sculpture since Nov. 2025. They were putting on the final pieces on Aug. 21, the day before they began transporting it to Nevada.

Steel Tiger Lillies has a fundraiser to help support travel and transportation costs.

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 Caitlin Hunt

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    LORAIN COUNTY, Ohio (WEWS) — The Ohio State Highway Patrol is using an airplane to catch speeders on Northeast Ohio interstates, keeping troopers out of dangerous high-speed situations.

Pilot Milan Milosevic has been with the Ohio State Highway Patrol for 25 years. For 15 of those years, he has piloted one of several highway patrol airplanes, assisting fellow troopers with operations such as pursuits, missing-person cases, and speeding enforcement.

“It’s a lot safer. It’s like you have big brother up there watching to make sure, ‘Hey! Slow down. Be careful. I can watch what they’re doing,'” Milosevic said.

Milosevic said OSHP planes are mostly used for speed operations.

“The bread and butter of the airplane is to catch violators for speeding,” he said.

The Ohio Department of Transportation helped establish one-mile air zones along Northeast Ohio interstates. From the air, pilots like Milosevic use white lines painted on the roadway as a timing tool to calculate vehicle speeds.

“If the vehicle is traveling and the front bumper hits that line, I start a watch,” he said. “I maintain visual on the vehicle that is going through the zone, and when the front bumper hits the next line, I lap my watch. On my watch, it tells me how fast the vehicle is going and how long it took that vehicle to go from point A to point B.”

Once a speeding vehicle is identified, Milosevic relays information to troopers stationed at entrance ramps below. His role does not end when a trooper makes a stop.

“I hover over the violator and the officer to make sure that the violator doesn’t take off or they get out of their car and run into the woods,” Milosevic said.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol says the program is producing results. On Aug. 18, the patrol used the aircraft in a speeding enforcement operation in the construction zone along Interstate 90 in Lorain County. According to the agency, 28 citations were issued to drivers traveling 21 miles per hour over the posted speed limit.

Milosevic flies up to five hours each day when weather permits. He says every part of the job has been fulfilling — from supporting fellow troopers to helping the public.

“It’s safety from above that these officers can count on,” he said. “When you can help other people… the missing kids that we find… then the thanks is more than enough pay than what we receive.”

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is currently recruiting pilots and state troopers.

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 Jack Watson

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    CATONSVILLE, Maryland (WMAR) — Tom Pless spent more than 40 years teaching in Baltimore County. Now, he runs a metal radio station from his basement, which he says reaches a quarter million listeners worldwide.

Pless has a man cave most can only dream of; basement jam sessions are next-level. For thousands of followers across several platforms, he runs 97 Underground.

Pless taught at Dundalk High School for 42 years, where the origin story of 97 Underground begins: broadcasting on FM radio waves.

“My students, because I taught there for many years, decided we wanted to go and put up a radio station in-house,” Pless recalled.

Around the rise of grunge in the 1990s, the Underground left traditional airwaves. It found a new home on the internet, and it’s still rocking today from his home.

“I’m excited about it. It just continues to go. The legacy goes with it. I could write a book if I had time to put all the ideas together, but it’s been really fun,” Pless said.

DJs, many of whom worked for the old station, send in their work. The station does play old school metal, but also gives a boost to newer artists; playing at local venues makes for quite the community-builder in Music City Maryland.

“I just think [Catonsville is] a nice little place to involve yourself in. We have a lot of local bands in the area that play the kind of genre we have, and I’m here to support and interview them and try to give them some credence to what they do,” Pless said.

You can find O’s gear and movie posters in thousands of Maryland basements, but you won’t find the subterranean community Pless has built.

“I’m not a young man anymore, and I’ll go as long as it takes for me to continue to enjoy it. When it stops being fun, then it’s over,” he concluded.

“But I don’t think that’s ever going to stop being fun,” he laughed.

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 Nick Sloan

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    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KMBC) — Kansas City has played a starring role in the return of “Ted Lasso,” but one local landmark featured in the show is already seeing the impact beyond the screen.

The Season 4 premiere took viewers across the Kansas City metro, highlighting familiar locations including the Country Club Plaza, CPKC Stadium and spots in Blue Springs and Lee’s Summit.

But the episode also spent time inside the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, using the Kansas City institution to introduce viewers around the world to the history of the Negro Leagues and one of baseball’s most legendary pitchers, Leroy “Satchel” Paige.

Nearly two weeks after the episode debuted, museum President Bob Kendrick said the response has been noticeable.

“We have just been flooded with folks, local folks who are fans of Lasso, who saw the museum featured in the show, and that prompted them to come and visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum,” Kendrick told KMBC photojournalist Eddy Lozano.

The interest isn’t limited to people walking through the museum’s doors.

Google Search trends indicate searches related to Paige and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum have increased by more than 5,000% compared with the same period last year.

For Kendrick, it demonstrates both the enormous reach of “Ted Lasso” and what can happen when Kansas City’s history is introduced to an audience that may have never encountered it before.

“Whatever it takes,” Kendrick said of bringing new visitors to the museum. “But it also speaks to how big that show is.”

Kendrick credited “Ted Lasso” star and co-creator Jason Sudeikis, a Kansas City-area native, with giving the museum and its history special attention in the episode.

Kendrick was there when the scenes were filmed nearly a year ago, but he said seeing the finished product still caught him by surprise.

“When I saw it in the show, it was a little emotional for me as well,” Kendrick said.

Kendrick credited the episode for capturing the feeling the museum represents while introducing a new generation and audience to Paige.

Paige was one of the most celebrated players in the Negro League’s history and lived in Kansas City.

“The thought, the care, the concern that he gave this piece of history. I thought it came out beautifully,” Kendrick said.

Kendrick believes another wave of fans could come through following the Kansas City metro fans who stopped by after watching the show.

“I think not only will we see more local folks come, we will see people from internationally who will now plan a visit because they saw the museum in Ted Lasso,” Kendrick said.

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.