Author: CNN Newsource

By Shelly Andrews

Click here for updates on this story

    FRAMINGHAM, Massachusetts (WCVB) — Firefighters rescued two residents from an apartment fire in Framingham, Massachusetts, on Sunday night.

Fire crews were called to 33 Interfaith Terrace at 7:30 p.m. for reports of a fire and people trapped, Fire Chief Michael Dutcher said.

Crews experienced heavy fire and smoke upon arrival and made their way to rescue a 49-year-old woman and a 22-year-old woman who were trapped on the second floor. The residents were taken to a local hospital for treatment.

One firefighter was also transported to an area hospital with minor injuries.

The fire was contained to one unit, but seven units sustained fire or smoke damage, officials said.

The Red Cross is helping the displaced residents.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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 Allen Cone

Click here for updates on this story

    OKEECHOBEE, Florida (WPBF) — The Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office wants people to see the dangers of leaving someone in a locked vehicle — even when it’s November.

On Saturday, the agency posted video of Tuesday’s incident on Facebook from north of the county.

“The video is graphic in nature and shows the real and immediate dangers of leaving an animal inside a vehicle — even for a very short period of time,” the post reads.

Both dogs involved in this incident were saved and made a full recovery after receiving emergency veterinary treatment from Dr. GW Jarriel at Okeechobee Veterinary Hospital.

Sgt. Richard Varnadore busted open a window with a device as the temperature inside was rising.

He carried one dog out of the vehicle and gave the animal some water from a bottle. The rescuer noticed the dog felt really hot.

After retiring the one dog, Varnadore and K-9 handler Carson Reno rescued the other one.

The vehicle was equipped with an automatic shut-off feature that turns the engine off after 15 minutes. The owner thought the feature had been disengaged, but the system activated and the vehicle shut down.

When the owners realized they had no way to enter the locked vehicle, they called the sheriff’s office for help.

The interior temperature rose rapidly — a dangerous scenario.

“This incident is a direct example of how quickly conditions inside a vehicle can become life-threatening for pets,” the sheriff’s office posted. “Our intention is not to shock, but to educate and prevent future tragedies. Please help us share this message responsibly to protect our pets, our children, and our community.”

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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 Rachael Lardani

Click here for updates on this story

    EAST PENNSBORO TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (WGAL) — A group of pickleball players from the Susquehanna Valley broke the world record by playing for 48 hours.

The athletes played at Ace Pickleball Club in East Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County, surpassing the previous record of 36 hours.

The players were allowed to take short breaks throughout the game, but had to make up the lost playtime.

While trying to break the record, each player was playing for a different charity or cause.

“We’re all doing four different charities, I’m doing Homelessness in Harrisburg within my church, Market Square Presbyterian Church. Renee is doing Four Diamonds, Steve is doing suicide awareness and Steve is doing borderline disorder,” said Andrew Hunter, one of the players.

The group raised more than $4,700 for their charities of choice.

Andrew Hunter (Homelessness): $2,200 Steve Dunham (Borderline Personality Disorder): $870 Steve Lesko (Suicide Prevention): $815 Renee Sipos (Four Diamonds): $828

Sources tell WGAL that a group in Texas has heard about the Cumberland County record and is now trying to beat it already.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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 Michelle Meredith

Click here for updates on this story

    ORLANDO, Florida (WESH) — Harold Sauter, an 85-year-old retired Air Force veteran and former coach, is a dedicated volunteer at Second Harvest in Orlando, where he has logged more than 1,300 hours of service, impressing fellow volunteers and staff with his commitment and energy.

Surrounded by thousands of pounds of food, Sauter is part supervisor, part comedian, and a full-time hard worker.

“You impress us. Good, I’ve been around long enough. It’s time for me to impress somebody. Tell my wife that, though,” he said.

Known as “Coach,” Sauter could be lounging in an easy chair with his feet up, but that’s not his style.

“When I retired when I was 70, I said I’m not going to just go somewhere and drink beer and take cruises, I’m going to go try to help people,” he said.

Sauter, who coached women’s softball and soccer at a college in Massachusetts and Celebration High School in Florida, began volunteering at Second Harvest during the pandemic when other organizations closed.

Inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s words during his college years, Sauter said, “This guy named John started talking about not what the country can do for you but what you can do for the country — and that kind of stuck with me.”

Mindy Ortez from Second Harvest praised Sauter’s dedication, saying, “And it’s physical work. You’re standing for three to four hours at a time. You’re moving boxes, you’re moving pallets. He’s doing all that twice a week.”

Sauter’s wife, Lorna, who has been married to him for 57 years, also admires his commitment.

When asked what she would rate her husband on a scale of 1 to 10, Lorna said, “Probably a 9. I give very few people a 10.”

Despite her modest rating, Sauter is considered a “10” by those who witness his volunteer efforts, embodying style and grace in his service.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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 Will Doran

Click here for updates on this story

    CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (WRAL) — One of the most heavily debated new laws is what sponsors call “Iryna’s Law,” which makes it harder for people to get out of jail on bail for low-level crimes. It also attempts to restart the death penalty in North Carolina.

It’s named for a woman who was stabbed to death on a train in Charlotte. The homeless man accused of killing Iryna Zarutska had been released from jail earlier this year, without being required to pay bail, following his arrest on a separate misdemeanor charge in another case. Police allege he misused the 911 system in that case. He was charged and arrested after calling from a hospital, claiming his body was being controlled by someone else, but then quickly released back onto the street.

After he was later accused of murdering Zarutska in the seemingly random attack in public, many scrutinized the earlier arrest and questioned why he hadn’t been held in jail longer, or potentially committed to a mental hospital.

Iryna’s Law requires stricter scrutiny on judges and magistrates when considering pre-trial release. It bans one type of cashless bail in North Carolina. And it makes it easier for people who have a history of mental health issues to be involuntarily committed to a mental hospital after an arrest.

The law also attempts to bring back the death penalty in North Carolina, ordering the administration of Democratic Gov. Josh Stein to find a solution to get around the fact that lethal injections are essentially banned due to a series of court rulings and other factors. No one has been executed in North Carolina since 2006, even though more than 120 prisoners remain on death row.

The law requires Stein’s top prison officials to recommend new ways of executing people, such as firing squads or the electric chair. Stein is opposed to that piece of the law, saying that as long as he remains governor, no one will be executed by firing squad.

Democratic lawmakers heavily criticized other parts of the law as well, saying it contained no funding for mental health care and does nothing to try stopping violent crime, instead focusing solely on punishments to be doled out after a crime has already been committed.

Stein signed the bill into law but echoed many of those same concerns. He said he signed the bill even though he was “troubled by its lack of ambition or vision. It simply does not do enough to keep you safe.”

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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 WABC Eyewitness News

Click here for updates on this story

    NEW YORK (WABC) — Family, friends and community members gathered on Saturday morning to honor a young man killed in a deadly car crash in Queens.

A street renaming ceremony was held at the corner of 107th Street and Northern Boulevard in honor of 23-year-old Justin Diaz.

The street is being renamed to “Justin Diaz Way.”

The 23-year-old died after prosecutors say former firefighter Michael Peña was allegedly drunk and high when he sped through a red light and slammed into Diaz’s car in February.

In April, Peña pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and DWI charges.

Officials say the 23-year-old was just a block-and-a-half from his family’s home on his way to an early morning shift at LaGuardia Airport during the time of the crash.

Diaz had just graduated from Vaughn College with a degree in aeronautics, and loved ones say he had a passion for aviation. Diaz received his college degree in the mail on the day on his wake.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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 Alina Hauter

Click here for updates on this story

    ZEELAND, Michigan (WXMI) — A Zeeland man has turned a decades-old dream into reality with the release of an action figure line based on his original comic series, Defenders of Eden.

Matthew Rodriguez, who works at a local car dealership, said his passion for creating characters began in childhood.

“Ever since I was little, just drawing and always sketching, always having paper, always having a pencil,” Rodriguez said. “One of my uncles was around a lot when I was younger, and he’s a very, very good artist, and he taught me how to do, like graffiti letters and draw different characters.”

Inspired by the 1980s television show Masters of the Universe, Rodriguez began making characters in that world before deciding to build his own with two friends, CJ Edwards and Andrew Kramer.

“It just got too big to be pretending in another world or another sandbox. It was like, let’s make our own sandbox,” explained Rodriguez.

The comic series begins with “an evil character named Lady MaryWeather, and she kind of wants to take over the kingdom,” Rodriguez said.

The storyline follows a group of heroes banding together to defend the realm of Eden.

Three issues of Defenders of Eden have been published, along with three mini-comics, as well as an issue connected to the series called Armies of Ashmore. His work blends new ideas with nostalgic influences.

“A lot of my passion comes from stories that came out in the 80s,” he said. “That’s what I hope, to kind of marry that freshness of a new concept and new idea, but then marry it with the nostalgia of like, this feels good. It’s family friendly, kids like it, adults think it’s fun.”

A Kickstarter campaign raised “just shy of $150,000” for the first wave of five figures, produced by Four Horsemen Studios in New Jersey.

The characters include Rydoor, Vasapo, General Cerros, Cuzzo, and Milwick.

Rodriguez said, “Each of the characters in this first wave, their names kind of resemble different people in my life… something about their personality kind of stuck out to me.”

The figures arrived in March, and Rodriguez has shipped more than 4,000 units across Michigan, the U.S., and internationally.

His action figures can be found at Big Bad Toy Store online, which has sold out of its initial run but is reordering, and at local comic shops Tardy’s in Grand Rapids and Tardy’s Underground in Allegan. Limited quantities are also available directly through Rodriguez for local buyers.

He’s currently working on “wave 1.5,” which will introduce a snapping turtle and a crocodile character, along with “wave 2,” a different-sized series featuring five new characters.

Rodriguez said his journey shows that creativity can be pursued at any age.

“I think that we’re all born creative. When I see kids and I see adults are like ‘Oh, I have this idea,’ it’s like, go for it. You have this idea, just go for it,” he said. “The world, from a creative standpoint and from a financial standpoint, is in a place now where you can think of the craziest thing, and if there’s enough people that believe in it, they’re like, ‘Hey, go for it.'”

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

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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 Jolie Sherman

Click here for updates on this story

    DETROIT (WXYZ) — Today is Cyber Monday, a day packed with online deals and discounts. As you fill up your virtual shopping cart this holiday season, you may notice something: the price of items seem to constantly change.

You may have experienced dynamic pricing before with airline tickets, hotels, and rideshare services; the price constantly changes.

“You can check one minute, and it’s one price and two more minutes, and it’s $20 more,” said Eric Mitchell.

Online businesses like Amazon and Wayfair are doing this, too, adjusting their prices more frequently with the help of artificial intelligence.

“Essentially, you can think of AI agents serving as essentially other data analysts, who are making these somewhat algorithmic decisions of essentially monitoring how different products are performing, and making these price adjustments on the fly,” said Jason Miller, a Supply Chain Management Professor at Michigan State University.

Miller said dynamic pricing is based on a number of factors, including prior sales, inventory levels, and how competitors are pricing the product.

“In a weak demand environment, in many instances, consumers will benefit if the retailer you’re shopping at is saying, ‘ok, wait, are they looking elsewhere, that elsewhere is right now charging 4% less than us, we may lose the sale, we need to lower our prices’, versus, again, in a demand environment that’s much stronger…where algorithms like this may result in prices rising even more rapidly than you would otherwise expect,” Miller said.

But these constantly changing costs are difficult for Tracy Burks, who works for an insurance company based in Southfield and prices thousands of items a day for clients that have lost their homes in disasters.

“Every single little thing in your home. I’m pricing everything, I’m looking at everything,” she said. “It’s what I do all day long, and yeah, it’s always changing.”

With holiday shopping in full swing, here are a few strategies for when to buy:

-Use tools like price trackers to set price alerts. -Keep items in your shopping cart for a few days. Retailers might actually lower the price of those items. -Stores may also adjust prices based on your location, so try changing the zip code to see if prices differ.

Shoppers we spoke to say AI-powered prices are frustrating, especially after hearing that algorithms can adjust prices based on your purchase history.

“Maybe we need to start working with brick and mortars, at least there your price is not going to change by a blink of an eye, by some algorithm, by some AI,” said Canton resident Devankar Mukhi.

“It feels like it’s unethical in a way because it kind of takes advantage of the customer,” said West Bloomfield resident Roseann Karana.

Miller said it’s safe to assume the item you’re eyeing is dynamically priced.

“I’d say it’s just the world that we live in, that we can adjust pricing quite quickly compared to 20-25 years ago, where it was just a different, you know, different availability of data,” he said.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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 Kim Rafferty

Click here for updates on this story

    BRENTWOOD, Tennessee (WTVF) — A 100-year-old former teacher celebrated her milestone birthday surrounded by past students, family and friends who lined up to reconnect with the woman who touched their lives.

Josephine Newbill’s centennial celebration in Brentwood drew dozens of visitors eager to wish her well and share memories from decades past.

“I was in your 5th grade class,” one former student said.

The interactions continued throughout the day as visitors expressed their love and gratitude.

Long before this celebration, Newbill studied how to fly planes during World War II. She later spent years researching at Vanderbilt before beginning the career she’s most known for — teaching.

Newbill said she learned the value of work early in life.

Newbill’s husband passed away more than 30 years ago. Together they raised two children. She now has seven great-grandchildren. At 100, she remains a social butterfly, engaging with each visitor who approaches her.

Throughout the celebration, Newbill shared the same lesson with each person who approached her.

“If you are nice and kind to people, they will be nice and kind to you,” she said.

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

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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.