Month: September 2026

By Rian Stockett

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    ARDEN, North Carolina (WLOS) — A struggling business owner is getting a boost because of Biltmore Championship Asheville.

Anthony Lynch owns Curbside Laundry, an Asheville-based mobile laundry service. He says he lost many clients after Helene and has struggled since.

“A lot of houses got damaged during the hurricane, so that kind of stopped my contract with a lot of the short-term rentals here in the area in western North Carolina. It was to the point where I almost got evicted from apartments,” he said.

But thanks to a referral from a fellow business owner, things are starting to look up.

“I’m able to help him out, and he’s able to help me out from time to time,” said Marvin Thomas, the president at Swannanoa Cleaners.

Thomas said the PGA Tour contacted him before the tournament.

“I knew Anthony was in the business and thought it was more in line with his business model, so I called him and gave him the guy’s number and things worked out for him,” said Thomas.

“I was super grateful for the opportunity to get this passed along to me and was told that they needed some help. I’m glad I was able to be the person that they were able to help,” said Lynch.

Now, Lynch says he’s washing all the caddie bibs and towels for the tournament, which can lead to some interesting finds, including pencils, tees, and even a golf ball.

Lynch said the PGA Tour gig is providing him much-needed relief.

“Of course, financially it’s helping me out. So, I’m able to make sure all of my bills are paid, make sure that I’m able to move to the next step, and it also gives me exposure,” said Lynch.

He hopes to sustain that momentum.

“I really just want to push forward and grow as big as possible,” said Lynch.

The Biltmore Championship Asheville is expected to elevate many local businesses in western North Carolina, like restaurants and hotels.

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 Eva Andersen

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    MOUNT LAUREN TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (KYW) — Olympic gold medalist Dominique Dawes opened the ninth location of her gymnastics academy Saturday in Mount Laurel Township, New Jersey, bringing her approach to youth gymnastics to South Jersey.

Hundreds of children and families attended the grand opening of the Dominique Dawes Academy, which offers programs for children from 18 months through age 14.

Among them was 3-year-old Amira, whose mother, Niaisa Wise, said she wanted her daughter to become more comfortable with movement.

“I just wanted her to get a good atmosphere, and start to learn how to move her body more,” Wise said.

The academy offers gymnastics and tumbling classes, as well as “ninja” programs featuring obstacle courses and other activities designed to get children moving.

“It’s not only good for our daughters, it’s good for our boys,” Brittany Johnson-Brown said. “Our boys like doing gymnastics as well. So we are allowing them to come and explore.”

Dawes, a three-time Olympian and member of the gold medal-winning U.S. women’s gymnastics team at the 1996 Atlanta Games, spent part of Saturday meeting young gymnasts and their parents.

“I’ve been trying to explain it to [my kids] — they don’t get it,” Erica Wade said. “I’m like, this is the Simone Biles of my time!”

Dawes said the Mount Laurel location is part of her broader effort to create a healthier culture within gymnastics.

“It’s more of a compassionate and empathetic environment, which is quite different from what I experienced in my childhood,” Dawes said. “I’m a mother of four kids, and this is what I want for my young son as well as my three daughters.”

Academy leaders said the goal is not necessarily to produce elite competitors.

“We are not focused on churning out Olympic athletes,” the academy’s general manager, Gavin Reath, said. “We are focused on creating that social, community-driven environment that every family can enjoy.”

Classes at the Mount Laurel academy begin Monday and will be offered seven days a week.

The facility will also hold open gym sessions.

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 Gustavo Atencio Flores, Mike Toole, Amanda Callahan

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    PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (WBZ) — A University of Massachusetts Dartmouth football player was killed and a second player wounded early Saturday in a stabbing in Providence, Rhode Island, police said. A fellow UMass Dartmouth student was later arrested and charged with murder.

The incident occurred after freshman running back Marvins Antoine and other players from the team went to a night club in Providence Friday night, just hours after they lost a home football game to Framingham State.

Providence police said there was an altercation at the nightclub, called the Mezzo Lounge, around midnight. It moved across the street to the parking lot of a Wendy’s restaurant, where two players were stabbed.

Antoine, 18, was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital where he died from stab wounds to the chest. The wounded player, identified by the school as 19-year-old freshman defensive back Kensley Macean, was taken to the hospital with what police said were “non-life-threatening injuries” to his head, neck and left arm.

At a news conference Saturday afternoon, Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said another UMass Dartmouth student, 19-year-old Chukuwnonoso Uzoma Eze, had been arrested on campus and was being held by UMass Dartmouth police until he can be brought to Rhode Island to face a murder charge.

The chief said Eze is not on the football team, and investigators are still looking into what led up to the stabbing.

“There was an altercation between a female and some of the victims that were in line,” Perez said. “And then the altercation moved over to the parking lot of the Wendy’s but we have no indication that they knew each other.”

Perez also said that Flock cameras in the area were used to identify the car in which Eze fled the scene. The chief said that helped investigators find him on campus. UMass Dartmouth is about 30 miles southeast of Providence and about 60 miles south of Boston.

“Our hearts and prayers are very much with Marvins’ family, friends, classmates, and teammates as we mourn his loss together,” UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Mark Fuller said in a statement. “We also send our prayers and best wishes for Kensley’s recovery, and hope that he will be able to resume his education here soon.”

According to the university, Antoine graduated from Durfee High School in Fall River, Massachusetts. Orlando Delgado, one of Antoine’s former high school teammates, told WBZ-TV that Antoine was a role model for many of the younger players.

“He always wanted to say how he wanted to be in the NFL. He always wanted to either have me and him be on the same team or me and him play against each other and go touchdown for touchdown,” Delgado said. “He was super loyal. He was an example setter. He was just always a good person to be around.”

“He was a peacemaker. So to hear about a situation like this it’s very devastating. It’s hurtful. This is a sad situation because he’s not that type of child,” said Delgado’s mother Ashania Chambers.

“He was just a good person all around. He was like an older brother to everybody, to all of us, like my friends, and just everybody in the grade,” said Xavier Gracia, another former high school teammate.

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.