Author: CNN Newsource

By Lauren Victory

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    CHICAGO, Illiinois (WBBM) — The battle over the budget was set to continue at City Hall on Monday, as alders and the mayor were poised to duke it out over a chunk of money related to the city’s parking meters.

A few weeks ago, alders approved a deal allowing Chicago’s private parking meters to be sold to a new company. Alders voted 46-3 in late September to deal the remaining 57 years of the lease on the city’s meters to New York City-based Stonepeak Partners LLC for $2.63 billion. The dried ink came with a perk for taxpayers — a onetime $75 million transfer fee the city will receive.

The deal was negotiated by Finance Committee Chair and Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd), Ald. Nicole Lee (11th), Ald. Walter Redmond Burnett (27th), Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd), and Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th).

They called for the special hearing Monday to nail down how the money can be used.

A group of alders wants to use it to chip away at the city’s $36 billion pension debt, which needs to be paid for retirement plans for police officers, firefighters, and other city employees.

Mayor Johnson agrees that the debt needs to be dealt with, but he is going about it a different way. Johnson built the $75 million transfer fee right into his entire 2027 budget proposal, which includes pension payments.

This is upsetting to alders who want the onetime payment to be on top of what the city would normally cough up, so as to get a handle on pension debt faster.

People who support the mayor’s plan were set to rally outside City Hall around 8:30 a.m. They say making an “extra” pension payment is not necessary, and they would rather spend the $75 million on city services.

The debate moves inside City Hall at 10 a.m.

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 Leondra Head

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    ATLANTA, Georgia (WUPA) — The familiar Georgia peach “I Voted” stickers have been around for several years during election season. Now, Georgia voters are getting a new sticker with a new design.

Steve Penley is the Atlanta artist who created the design for the new Georgia “I Voted” stickers. It shows the Georgia State Capitol and state flag.

“I’m painting a replica of the painting that I painted to use as the new I Voted sticker. So I’m trying to paint it is true to the original, as I can remember,” Penley said.

Penley created the original painting a couple of years ago.

“So I did it for the cover of this magazine. We sold that painting for $13,000 to Phil Kent, a good friend of mine,” Penley said.

Penley said someone from the secretary of state’s office called to ask about using his design.

“They just called me out of the blue a few weeks ago,” Penley said. “I mean, of course I love that.”

Although Penley created the design, he hasn’t seen the new sticker in person yet.

“I plan to vote on Tuesday, Election Day. I can’t wait to see my sticker because I haven’t even seen it in person. I’m going to steal as many as I can if there’s nobody looking,” Penley said.

Penley’s art gallery is in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood. He said drawing and painting can be cathartic and help relieve stress.

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 Garrett Behanna

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    PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — A live Civil War-era artillery shell was found in the basement of a newly purchased home in South Connellsville, Fayette County, on Sunday, prompting a response from the Allegheny County Police Bomb Squad.

Fayette County 911 confirmed that first responders were requested around 1:20 p.m. to the 1900 block of Fourth Street after the homeowner reported finding what they believed was a mortar.

Sergeant Bryan Kendi with the Connellsville Police Department said a younger couple had recently purchased the home and was cleaning out items left behind by the previous owners when they discovered a suspicious-looking object in the basement.

The couple contacted police, who responded and also concluded the item appeared suspicious. Officers took a photograph of the object and sent it to the bomb squad for review.

The bomb squad responded to the scene and determined the object was a live Civil War-era artillery shell.

The bomb squad proceeded to collect the shell, which will be properly disposed of.

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 Aaron Parseghian, Matt Schooley

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    BOSTON, Massachusetts (WBZ) — Amazon has withdrawn its controversial proposal for drone deliveries in Westboro, Massachusetts, though the company said it plans to resubmit a revised project in the near future.

Prime Air planned to use autonomous drones that measure about 5 feet by 5 feet to deliver packages directly to customers’ properties. The drones would allow purchases to be delivered within an hour of an order being placed.

Some residents in Westboro have pushed back against the plan. At a special town meeting in October, residents passed a new bylaw by a vote of 510-13 to regulate noise, nuisance and privacy issues associated with commercial drone deliveries.

In a letter to the Town of Westboro Planning Board on Friday, Amazon requested to withdraw the plan without prejudice.

On Sunday, Amazon spokesperson Lindsay Hamilton said the company plans to submit a new plan.

“As residents learn more about it and see it for themselves, Prime Air is a welcome addition to communities because it provides customers convenient fast delivery, reduces traffic on the roads, brings highly skilled jobs, and generates minimal short-lived sound, comparable to a passing car,” the Amazon spokesperson said. “We look forward to continuing our community engagement efforts, working with state and local lawmakers, and continuing the local approval processes to bring drone delivery to customers in Massachusetts. We will be resubmitting a revised project soon, after further discussions with local stakeholders.”

The Federal Aviation Administration, which largely controls the use of airspace, has already approved drone deliveries. Westboro residents say they are hoping to regulate commercial drone operations from the ground.

Opponents say Amazon should not be allowed to use its current facility on Otis Street to launch drones.

The topic is expected to come up Monday at the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting.

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By Andrew Adeolu

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    HOWARD COUNTY, Maryland (WJZ) — Howard County issued a precautionary health alert after a 33,000-gallon sewage spill in Savage on Friday.

According to the health department, the leak was caused by a damaged seal on a bypass pump at the Little Patuxent Water Reclamation Plant at 8900 Greenwood Place.

The Department of Public Works was first notified of the potential overflow at 1:45 p.m. on Friday.

Officials say the sewage entered into storm drains, a wooded area near the plant, and the Little Patuxent River.

Lime has since been applied to the wooded areas where the sewage ended up, and signs were placed along the river.

Workers were able to replace the damaged seal and to stop the overflow by 2:00 p.m.

The Maryland Department of the Environment was notified of the spill and all subsequent response actions.

To find more general information about the circumstances surrounding the overflow, reach out to the Howard County Bureau of Utilities at 410-313-4900.

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By Monique John

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    ATLANTA (WUPA) — Amiaya Brown realized she wanted to become an author when she started coming up with short stories while writing her book reports.

“I just started writing it. And I would be like, ‘Mom, look, read it. I made 10 pages today.’ And she would just be like, ‘Oh, OK, cool.’ And she would be like, giving me pointers of what she thought was good and thought I should edit.”

That led her to write her first book, “The Unassuming Hero.” It follows a teenage girl on a mission to save her best friend after she is abducted at a theme park. Brown, who battles sickle cell, says writing is her way of putting her thoughts out into the world.

Then Yes Day discovered her work. The nonprofit creates personalized events to bring children joy, hope, and connection during some of life’s hardest moments. For Brown, they threw a book signing in her honor in Dunwoody.

“It’s like, exciting, overwhelming. When I first came out, I was like–because everybody was just standing right by the bookstore,” Brown said.

Brown’s mother, Ashley, says it’s been difficult watching her daughter fight sickle cell.

“Earlier in her life, she wasn’t hospitalized often. But the last two years, Amiaya was in the hospital literally every month for sickle cell pain. So, what that meant is sometimes she was unable to walk,” Ashley Brown said. “We ended up in rehab multiple times. She had some issues with the medications she had where if I–if a feather touched her, it would burn. So, she’s been through a lot.”

She says that’s what makes Yes Day’s event for her and all the people who showed up even more special.

“We don’t live in Dunwoody, right? But to see how a community can come together as a collective for a child they’ve never met, for a family they’ve never met, but because they just felt something or are just altruistic people is beautiful,” she said.

The Brown family says Amiaya’s sickle cell may make basic activities like going to the park and into stores riskier. But her writing keeps her spirits up. She’s currently on her third manuscript with aspirations of writing a memoir, going to Spelman College, and becoming a heart surgeon someday.

“You can do anything that you put your mind to,” she said. “There is no ‘I’m too young, or I’m too old.’ Or ‘That’s too big of an idea.’ Or ‘That’s crazy,’ because you literally never know what eyes will get on your story. So yeah. I think that you should just go for it.”

Brown is slated to undergo a bone marrow transplant for her condition next month. Her 4-year-old brother, Malcolm, will be her donor.

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By Mika Edwards

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    LONG BEACH, California (KCBS, kca) — A sewage spill early Saturday morning has closed down parts of the coast in Long Beach.

The city says a pressurized pipe broke, spilling 29,000 gallons of raw sewage. Crews say about 14,000 gallons of sewage made it into the ocean.

In response, health officials ordered a temporary closure of all open coastal swimming areas, including open coastal beaches, bay swimming areas, and lagoons.

State law requires temporary closure and posting at beaches in these situations out of an abundance of caution until water quality meets state requirements. Water sampling will begin Monday because of the rain expected this weekend and will continue until results meet state standards.

City officials told CBS LA that the spill has been contained and crews are working to repair the sewer main, which is nearly complete.

Officials say the spill has not impacted any services.

For the latest on the water quality, please visit longbeach.gov/beachwaterquality for more information.

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 Megan De Mar

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    Burbank, ILLINOIS (WBBM) — An elderly couple in Burbank, Illinois, said they lost their life savings after a caller convinced them he was an FBI agent investigating suspicious activity at their bank.

The scam involved trips to two different Chase branches, a courier in a black SUV and a man claiming to work for the FBI.

“I received a phone call I’d say between 11 and 11:30 from a man who claimed to be a banking investigator,” said Gail Walsh.

Walsh said she got the call from the main claiming he worked for the FBI on Aug. 15. He was asking for her help and even sent her an official-looking email.

“He seemed to know how much I had in my bank account, how much I had in my checking account, and he said I want you to go to your bank and withdraw $18,400,” she recalled.

That was pretty much everything she and her husband had. The caller, who kept her on the phone the whole time, walked her through the process as she entered her Chase bank branch at 79th and Cicero and took out the cash.

Then she was instructed to read off some of the serial numbers printed on the cash. The caller told her some of the bills were counterfeit, so she needed to drive to the Chase bank at 95th and Pulaski where she met a man in a black SUV who took the money.

The man on the phone told her someone from Chase would be coming out the front door to meet her momentarily to give her the “genuine cash,” but that person never came.

“That’s when it hit me in a sickening way that I was never going to see this money again,” Walsh said.

Walsh said she reached out to Chase but was told there was nothing they could do. She questioned why alarm bells didn’t go off when she made such a large withdrawal.

“When I look back, I beat myself up because there are so many places I should have stopped,” she said.

CBS News Chicago Investigators reached out to Chace Bank. A representative said they are “working directly with our customer as she cooperates with law enforcement to pursue the criminals responsible for this scam.”

“I just don’t understand why these people just pick on older people,” she said. “I mean, we’re not rich.”

CBS News Chicago Investigators also reached out to the FBI about the case. While they said they can’t comment on any pending investigations, a spokesperson said these kinds of FBI impersonation scams, in particular, are on the rise.

Walsh and her husband are hopeful something can be done to recoup some of the money. And just as importantly, they want to warn others not to fall for it.

“You have to be so careful what you say over the phone, to whom you say it,” Walsh warned.

The FBI also said to be wary of providing money or personal information to someone with whom you did not initiate contact.

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