Author: CNN Newsource

By Leanna Scachetti

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    BOSTON (WCVB) — For Boston singles, online dating has become a common form of making connections. But in a time when the CDC says 1 in 3 adults feel lonely, there’s a unique option to find a date in person.

“In this day and age, people swipe so quickly, it’s hard to find genuine connections,” said Emily Smith, organizer of the Boston chapter of Pitch-A-Friend.

The format, first started in Philadelphia a few years ago, is exactly what it sounds like.

Participants bring their single friend, prepare a presentation and pitch them “Shark Tank” style, highlighting what they’re looking for in a relationship, their hobbies, pet peeves and best qualities.

“I was really touched,” said Alex, who both pitched and was pitched by his friend Stephen. “You know, he said a lot of really nice things about me. It would be nice to maybe hear some of those things outside of a pitch event once in a while!”

So what does it look like IRL?

“I didn’t know what to expect, but it was so much fun,” said Marissa, a 23-year-old participant who came with a group of friends. “And I can’t wait to come back!”

Watch the video above to see how a night out at the Boston Public Market turned out.

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By Beccah Hendrickson

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    UPPER DARBY, PA (WPVI) — Police in Delaware County are investigating a theft involving used cooking oil, where surveillance footage captured two suspects siphoning oil from outdoor tanks.

The theft occurred around 7 a.m. Saturday at Wilson’s Secret Sauce on East Township Line Road.

Surveillance video shows two individuals using a rented Home Depot truck to back up to the oil tanks, remove a hose, and siphon out the contents. The entire operation lasted less than four minutes.

Steve Wilson, the restaurant’s owner, said he was inside at the time and discovered the theft the next day.

“I came in, and I noticed the oily footprints all over my driveway, which I keep pretty clean, and I looked over, and I saw the lock was missing, so I knew someone hit the oil tank,” Wilson said.

Wilson said the tank had a standard padlock and estimated the loss at a couple of hundred dollars. He collects used cooking oil to sell to biofuel companies, earning about 29 cents per gallon.

“What seems like waste to us is treasure to someone else,” Wilson said.

Other businesses say they’ve had similar incidents. RSL TOO, located on West Chester Pike, said someone broke their glass door in August and stole used oil.

“There’s profit in it,” said Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt. “You can take it to a recyclable or someone that’s willing to take it for you. They’ll give you a little bit of money on the dollar.”

Police say they are pursuing a strong lead in the investigation.

“I would say the eye in the sky. You can’t hide,” Bernhardt said. “So, here’s two guys who thought they were being clever, thought they were being slick. I don’t know that the Home Depot truck was anything but slick. Thankful for the videos and the camera, we’re going to be able to identify them and we’re going to be able to charge them.”

Wilson said the suspects likely pumped out around 100 gallons before leaving.

“Just pump it out, steal 100 gallons, and move on with their day,” he said.

He hopes the suspects are caught and emphasized that these crimes, while seemingly small, can accumulate.

“Kohl’s loses a shirt, Giant loses a steak, it’s not a lot, but it all adds up at the end of the day, the end of the week, the end of the month,” Wilson said.

Police are encouraging other victims to come forward to help determine how widespread the thefts are and whether the same suspects are responsible for multiple incidents.

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By Cheyenne Corin

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    GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (WPVI) — Police in Gloucester Township are warning residents and businesses to be on alert for counterfeit bills designed to resemble real U.S. currency but marked for “Motion Picture Use.”

Authorities say the fake bills, often purchased online as props for music videos or films, have recently been used in attempts to make real purchases.

“All types of bills we’ve seen them on, ones through 100s,” said Gloucester Township Police Lt. Paul Fisher.

The bills closely mimic authentic currency, using similar fonts and imagery.

“It uses a very similar font and very similar pictures to where it looks almost identical to which it would look like real money,” Fisher said.

Police refer to the counterfeit bills as “Hollywood” or “Motion Picture” money. They say the bills have appeared in multiple incidents over the past few months, including motor vehicle stops and reports from businesses and citizens.

“We’ve had several incidents in town over the last few months where we’ve come across it,” Fisher said. “Few on motor vehicles stops, and a few have reported it through businesses, and citizens reporting that they found it,” Fisher said.

Upon closer inspection, the bills reveal clear signs of being fake. The front reads “Motion Picture Use” instead of “Federal Reserve Note,” and the back says, “For Motion Picture Use Only” in place of “The United States of America.” The phrase “In God We Trust” is replaced with “Copy We Trust.”

Police say the bills are readily available for purchase online.

“So, it can be purchased online on Amazon or any other retailer as prop money,” Fisher said.

Despite their realistic appearance, the bills fail standard security checks, such as counterfeit detection pens. Police advise businesses to use the “three R’s” when handling cash: read the bill for wording and features like watermarks, repeat the process for each bill, and report any suspicious currency to authorities.

“We definitely like to let local retailers know to check and have their employees check the bills as they come in with either a market pen or UV light as the bills are coming in before they’re giving out change,” Fisher said.

Detectives are working to trace the origin of the counterfeit bills using surveillance footage and fingerprint evidence. The U.S. Secret Service is also notified when local departments encounter counterfeit currency.

“In New Jersey, it would be a forgery,” Fisher said. “It’s a 3rd degree indictable offense. You could get up to 5 years in prison and a fine.”

Police say reports of the fake money being used have continued as recently as this week.

They urge anyone who encounters suspicious currency to contact law enforcement.

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By Marielle Mohs

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    Minnesota (WCCO) — A Lakeville South High School senior did the unthinkable last month when she took her horses to a world riding competition in Kentucky.

“You and your horse have that connection and once it clicks, it’s just an indescribable bond,” Chloe Meche said.

That bond is on display every time Meche, 17, drives her horse Murphy at Westwood Farm in Plato, Minnesota. She has a gift to be able to communicate with her horse without speaking the same language.

“The horses will always be there for you. They don’t judge you,” Meche said.

She has the same bond with her saddle horse, Zara.

Meche took the two horses all the way down to Louisville, Kentucky, where she proved their special bonds in front of the judges at the World’s Championship Horse Show.

“They see that stage, they see the arena open up and they perk up and they know when it’s go time,” she said.

Meche took home two world championships.

“I was shocked when they called my number,” she said. “I immediately started bawling.”

Westwood Farm manager and trainer Jay Wood hadn’t seen his horses compete like this since 2005, when Zara’s parents took home the blue ribbon.

“I petted her on the neck and I said, ‘Be like your mom and dad,’ and Chloe did it,” Wood said.

While the horses are taking home prizes, they’re also helping the people riding them win in life.

“I have tourette’s syndrome and it really helps me focus in,” Meche said. “Riding taught me confidence. It’s taught me to be myself. Once I get on a horse, any worry at all just completely disappears.”

Meche is thankful for all the help she’s had along the way. Equestrian riding is a team sport and there are so many people who helped in her success, from the veterinarians who take care of the horses to the stable staff and her parents.

Meche’s next competition with Murphy and Zara is in October.

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By Rachael Perry

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    PORT ST. LUCIE, FL (WPBF) — A video capturing what might seem like a harmless prank is raising concerns, specifically because of what the person is wearing.

The video was posted to a local community Facebook page and shows what appears to be a teen, dressed in all black and wearing a mask, running up to a home, ringing the doorbell, and running away. People who live in the area say they feel the teen is lucky they weren’t hurt.

WPBF 25 News spoke with MSgt. Dominick Mesiti with the Port St. Lucie Police Department on how recent cases nationwide have ended in tragedy.

“It was 11 o’clock or later at night. You have somebody wearing black with a black balaclava covering their entire face, and all you can see is their eyes. I mean, that in and of itself, if a law enforcement officer witnessed somebody running from a residence, wearing that kind of outfit, we’re going to, at a minimum, detain them, and they may be facing a loitering and prowling charge,” Mesiti said.

He said, thankfully, they haven’t had any of these types of pranks end in a fatality, but said children and teens need to be aware of how dangerous it can be.

“Parents need to take that initiative, discuss these incidents with their children, you know, let them know that there is a danger associated with stepping onto somebody else’s private property unannounced, uninvited, because you don’t know whose home that is. You don’t know who’s behind that door,” Mesiti said.

Earlier this year, an 11-year-old boy was shot and killed in Texas while playing a game of “ding dong ditch” at a house down the street from their homes. According to Houston police, a person inside the house came out and shot the boy.

A few years earlier, in 2020, three 16-year-olds were killed when a man rammed his car into their vehicle in retaliation for pulling a “ding dong ditch” prank on him.

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy for kicking a resident’s door one night.

“That’s a good way to end up dead, especially in Florida,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood told sister station WESH.

Following the recent prank in Port St. Lucie, Mesiti acknowledged castle doctrine in the state of Florida and the stand-your-ground law; however, he said that doesn’t mean someone can use lethal force when a person just rings their doorbell or knocks on their door.

“There has to be some sort of well-founded fear and some sort of threat that’s occurring to be able to use force to prevent that threat,” he said.

Mesiti said that it can change if someone attempts to enter the home.

“We have seen nationally, not in Port St. Lucie, but the TikTok trends where it’s not just ding-dong ditching, they’re actually attempting to kick the door in and open it. Now, that changes things completely because you’re now forcibly entering a home. So in the state of Florida, that would be an occupied burglary or an occupied trespass, and a homeowner may be legally allowed to use necessary force to prevent the entry of that individual,” he said.

Officials across the country have raised concerns about the door-knock challenge, and Mesiti said it’s crucial that children and teens understand the consequences and dangers.

“I think a lot of children these days, they don’t really think their actions through, they see somebody do it online, and then they’ll want to mimic that. So just because it’s done online doesn’t mean it’s smart, doesn’t mean it’s safe, and it could end up very poorly for them,” he said.

WPBF 25 News spoke with people who live in the neighborhood where this most recent prank happened. One neighbor said she’d be terrified to see a masked person outside her home at 11 p.m., and her husband agreed, both saying they’re surprised the teen wasn’t harmed.

The homeowner who captured the video said seeing someone dressed in all black with their face covered was alarming at first until he realized it was likely a teen playing a prank.

As for what people should do if they have something similar happen at their home, Mesiti said it’s always a good idea to contact the police and notify them of suspicious behavior.

“Call 911, let us identify these people, let us ensure what it is, if it’s a simple prank, nine out of ten times, we’ll just return the juvenile to the parent, notify the parent, and hope that the parent takes the appropriate action,” he said.

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By Jake Shindel, Blair Young, David Collins

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    BALTIMORE (WBAL) — A 16-year-old girl who was in the custody of the Maryland Department of Human Services was found dead in a Baltimore hotel Monday.

According to police, the girl was found at the Residence Inn by Marriott in the 800 block of North Wolfe Street, and there were no signs of foul play or trauma on the girl’s body.

Her remains were taken to the medical examiner’s office to determine a cause of death, but results, including toxicology, might not be available for months.

On Thursday, police identified the 16-year-old girl as Kanaiyah Ward and are listing her death as questionable.

Maryland’s DHS confirmed the girl was in its custody and is investigating this incident. Lilly Price, a spokesperson for the department, released the following statement:

“The Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS) joins the community in grieving this heartbreaking tragedy. The well-being of Maryland’s children is our top priority, and we will not rest until every child in our state is safe, thriving in a permanent home, and surrounded by loving family.

“The Department is investigating this incident. If we find that our standards for care were not met, we will hold our contractors accountable. We are committed to transparency and being as open as possible while maintaining the confidentiality of children and their families, as protected by law.” Ward’s death comes after a scathing legislative audit that revealed the state may have allowed guardianship and foster homes where sex offenders lived.

The audit also found there were no procedures in place to ensure criminal background checks were done on vendors providing one-on-one services to foster care children in hotels.

“We will be having hearings about these issues in order to really uncover exactly what happened, and to fix it — not just to throw blame, not to point fingers as to something being wrong, but to fix it,” said Maryland Sen. President Bill Ferguson, D-District 46.

A DHS official told 11 News the state facilitated her living at the hotel.

“My God, we failed,” said House Minority Leader Jason Buckel, R-District 1B. “We failed that young girl killed in a hotel room in Baltimore City. We are not providing appropriate supervision. We are not providing appropriate care.”

Police said Ward had at least one family member who has been notified of her death.

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By Greg Fox

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    BREVARD COUNTY, FL (WESH) — One man has been charged, and three others have warrants for their arrests in a ring of gator poachers, according to documents obtained by WESH 2 News from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

They operated out of Hatbill Park in Mims, just north and west of Titusville, which has extremely remote access to the St. Johns River and connected lakes.

FWC investigators say the group would troll the river system and grab, mostly small gators, to harvest them for the meat and hides. Capturing alligators without proper authorization is a third-degree felony.

This week, FWC officers arrested Jacob Latreille of Edgewater and charged him with 13 counts of illegally capturing and killing gators.

Warrants have been drawn for the arrests of Luke David Michael Landry and two others, Wyatt Scott Lowe, and Robert Gage Martin. All three of them are from Mims and the Titusville area.

According to investigators, at least 14 alligators were taken by the four in April and May.

FWC says a tipster launched the investigation after seeing videos and images posted on Snapchat, including one that shows Landry pointing a handgun at a juvenile alligator.

He previously pleaded no contest to carrying a concealed firearm and was sentenced to 18 months’ probation.

The incident report also mentions a “deer that was poached, along with the alligators,” allegedly by Martin.

The report also says much of the evidence was collected at Landry’s home in Mims.

The FWC says illegally taking and handling wildlife is a serious violation of Florida law and poses risks to both wildlife and public safety.

If you have any information that can help wildlife officers as they continue to investigate this case, you’re urged to contact FWC.

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