Author: CNN Newsource

By Gina Tomlinson

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    MARCO ISLAND, Florida (WBBH) — A quick school pick up turned into a wild Florida moment when a Marco Island dad spotted something slithering along the side of the road — and it wasn’t a garden hose.

Sean Stuart was on his way to grab his daughter from Marco Island Academy when something thick and scaly caught his eye in the grass along Sheffield Avenue.

He hit the brakes, threw his truck in reverse, and took a closer look.

What he saw was an 11-foot Burmese python, as thick as a football, and creeping through a patch of grass just a couple hundred feet from nearby homes.

“I’m from Boston,” Stuart said. “We got lobsters and championship sports teams, not big pythons, right?”

Stuart, who owns Marco Island Roofing, did what many would; he grabbed his phone, recorded the moment, and posted it online.

“When you see something double the size of you, that’s kind of scary. I’m a roofer, not a python hunter,” he said. “So I wasn’t going after that thing.”

The video post alerted the community and sparked a swift response.

Paul Miller, a charter boat captain with “Florida Jaws,” also traps pythons on the side, showed up with a buddy and a game plan. The two headed into the brush, joined by neighbors, and started searching.

“That’s the biggest one I have ever seen on Marco,” Miller said. “We just went looking back in the woods with a few of the residents on the street, and we ended up finding him in a big brush pile, and it was not too happy to be found!”

The snake didn’t end up back in the wild. Miller handed it off to state researchers who plan to study it as part of ongoing efforts to understand, and hopefully control, Florida’s growing python population.

“They’re invasive,” Stuart said. “And we want to get rid of them as fast as possible. They’re going to keep getting bigger and more of them.”

Wildlife experts say if you see a python, don’t approach it. Instead, click here to call the FWC’s invasive species hotline or report it through the agency’s online form.

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 Britt Leoni

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    CAPE CORAL, Florida (WBBH) — The holiday season brings traditions that spark joy.

Among them are the countless Christmas stories we find ourselves drawn to.

In the media center of Skyline Elementary in Cape Coral, Brielle and Harrison Childs are not just watching or reading those stories.

They are living their own one, too.

“I’m excited for dad to come for Christmas,” said 7-year-old Harrison Childs.

As we know, not every story has the brightest start.

Harrison and Brielle’s dad, Chris, is in the Air Force. He has been stationed in South Korea for the past year.

During that time, the kids have made do with phone calls and FaceTimes, but their dad’s presence has been sorely missed.

Brielle and Harrison’s story took a cheerful twist when they heard the news that Dad is coming to town in two days, on Christmas, after a year apart that feels like forever.

That is why, when it came to asking Santa what they wanted for Christmas this year, greater than any phone, new gadget or the latest trendy toy, the best possible gift was his homecoming two days earlier than expected.

“It meant the world. Seeing a smile on their face, being back here in person, being able to hug them. They cried and everything. Just hold them tight and figure out what they want to do,” said Chris.

Their embrace was the moment that Brielle and Harrison’s story was complete.

The moment these kids got their hearts back.

The moment the true meaning of Christmas was revealed to us all.

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 Natalie Bailey

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    OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO) — Oklahoma Highway Patrol officials confirmed that troopers shot chickens that got loose following a crash on an Interstate 240 ramp Tuesday morning in OKC.

Authorities say a semi-trailer containing chickens crashed along the westbound I-240 ramp to southbound Interstate 44. The crash briefly caused the ramp to close, but it has since reopened.

A KOCO 5 photojournalist on scene said there were gunshots in the area as troopers worked to contain the loose chickens. OHP officials later confirmed that they did shoot chickens.

“We shot the chickens,” Lt. Mark Southall told KOCO 5. “We did all we could to get them under control but they became a danger to motorists. … We had no other option.”

OHP officials said about 50 chickens got loose, causing traffic issues for drivers. One truck hit a chicken.

The Department of Agriculture was called to the scene but told troopers that they couldn’t take the chickens, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

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 Jacqueline Aguilar

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    NOGALES, Mexico (KGUN) — A mother and her sons are living in a Nogales, Mexico, shelter after a dangerous border crossing attempt left her youngest son with a prosthetic leg and their family separated from everything they once knew.

Fany Esvedi thought she had found safe passage to the United States through recommended smugglers, but the journey took a devastating turn when they were forced to ride on top of a freight train.

Like many other migrants, Esvedi says she was trying to escape problems in her home city when she says she made the difficult decision to attempt the border crossing.

“Everything was going good, we were gonna cross with recommended people, but we did not have the same fortune as they did,” Esvedi said.

The smugglers changed their plans without warning, forcing the family onto a train despite Esvedi’s protests.

“They told us we were going to cross one way, but it ended up happening entirely different,” Esvedi said. “They told us we had to get on. Me and some other person told them we did not want to and we did not pay for this.”

When Esvedi refused to board the train, she watched helplessly as smugglers placed her youngest son Kevin on top of the moving freight car. The smugglers confiscated their backpacks and important documents, throwing everything away.

The family was ordered to jump off the train in Puerto Peñasco, but as the train began moving, a woman in front of Kevin slipped and grabbed onto him, dragging him down with her.

“A woman was in front of Kevin, and since we were told to get off as the train was starting to move, she slipped and grabbed onto him, dragging him down,” Esvedi said.

Esvedi heard her son screaming but didn’t immediately realize the train had run him over.

“People told me your son needs you. I asked if he was okay, but they said no. I saw the pool of blood and thought he was dead,” Esvedi said.

Kevin was given a slim chance of survival but recovered from his injuries. He now uses a prosthetic leg after losing his limb in the accident.

The family now lives at Casa de la Misericordia, a shelter in Nogales, Mexico, in a space meant to be temporary. Hermana Lika, the shelter’s director, helps families like Esvedi’s navigate their difficult circumstances.

“People have the right to live, we all have the right to live. So we can’t limit someone’s life because of our personal opinions,” Hermana Lika said.

Esvedi is trying to enter the United States legally but has been unable to secure appointments through the CBP One app. For now, Nogales, Mexico, remains her family’s home as they continue their pursuit of what one shelter message calls “migrando a la libertad” – migrating to freedom.

Statistics from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security show more than 600,000 immigrants have been deported as the country approaches President Donald Trump’s first year since taking his second term. Despite stricter immigration policies, many migrants remain determined to reach the United States.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Scripps editorial team 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 Hayley Crombleholme

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    DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (WESH) — A Daytona Beach man said he’s lucky to be alive after being hit by an alleged hit-and-run driver on Dec. 13.

Jim Waskowiak said he took to social media to try and find the person who followed that driver and led to an arrest.

Dec. 13 should have been a good day for him.

“It was my 54th birthday,” he said.

He had plans to head out around 10 p.m. that night on his motorcycle. He wouldn’t make it to his destination.

“Out of nowhere, just a pair of headlights and the grill of a car boom,” he said. “I couldn’t respond quickly enough, there’s just no way I had to absorb it. I guess I went over the hood.”

He said he doesn’t remember much from the crash, but an arrest report said it happened at an intersection on Rose Avenue in Daytona Beach.

“I woke up in the hospital probably 12 hours later,” Waskowiak said.

He said he was released from the hospital Sunday night, more than a week later.

“Scews into my pelvis and my femur. Screws into my wrist. I have a fractured sternum. A couple broken ribs,” Waskowiak said.

Waskowiak said that after he was hurt, a friend started looking into what happened to him.

“Told me how the pursuit went down that somebody had seen me get hit and followed them all the way over to the beachside,” he said.

When he got out of the hospital, he started posting on social media pages trying to track that person down.

“That person saved my life. That person was an angel,” Waskowiak said. “I could have died if that person hadn’t been there. I might not have been discovered for hours. I might have been dead.”

Waskowiak said he hadn’t had a chance to request a report from police yet. But we got it, and it said before Daytona Beach police officers responded to the crash, there just so happened to be a detective and a sergeant at an intersection nearby.

The report says, “They heard a loud bang consistent with the sound of a crash.” It says the detective looked in the direction of the noise and saw a car speeding from the scene with “extensive front-end damage,”

It says the detective followed the driver to some apartments. The driver was detained, according to court records, it was allegedly Ireshae Carn. She is now facing charges, including DUI, causing serious bodily injury and leaving the scene.

Waskowkiak said he’s not sure what would have happened if that detective and sergeant hadn’t been there. He plans to try and get in touch with them.

“Oh, without a doubt. I’ll never stop until I meet them,” he said.

And until then, he has a message for them.

“You are extraordinary human beings, and I can’t thank you enough. God bless you both,” Waskowkiak 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.

By Joyce Ogirri

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    LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — A Louisville elementary school student is getting national recognition this holiday season and a once-in-a-lifetime experience to go with it.

Pippy Raymond earned first place in America250’s America’s Field Trip contest, a nationwide competition asking students a powerful question: What does America mean to you?

Her winning artwork is now part of a beloved holiday tradition in the nation’s capital.

Pippy says being selected among students from across the country is both inspiring and humbling.

“I feel just really inspired and proud that so many kids are doing this and I’m part of this community,” Pippy said.

The America’s Field Trip contest invites students in grades 3 through 12 to share their perspective on America through art.

Nearly two dozen winning designs from across the country have been transformed into ornaments featured on the America250 Tree, displayed beside the National Christmas Tree in President’s Park in Washington, D.C.

Pippy’s artwork reflects her belief in inclusion and opportunity.

“A place where everyone can belong. Where my Black best friend can come vote with me. Where my Muslim neighbors can go anywhere,” Pippy said.

Her ornament depicts Old Faithful in Yellowstone.

“I painted it. It’s supposed to look like Old Faithful,” Pippy explained. “It has a lot of steam coming out. Lots of colors.”

Each ornament highlights iconic landmarks, historic moments and American values.

This year also marks the first time an additional tree, beyond the traditional 58, has been added to the display, as the country prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary next year.

For Pippy, seeing her work displayed alongside her family is a moment she will never forget.

“I’m really proud that my ornament is on this tree. My family gets to come see it with me,” she said.

As part of the competition, Pippy also earned her first-ever trip to New York City.

“I got to go to the Crown and the Statue of Liberty, which was really amazing. I really want to go back one day,” said Pippy.

The America250 Tree is on display through New Year’s Day.

Students in grades 3 through 12 can enter the next America’s Field Trip contest for a chance to have their artwork featured next year.

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 Jim Keithley

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    PARIS, Maine (WMTW) — A Maine woman who admitted to burying her best friend’s body in her backyard years ago will not go to jail.

Vernelle Jackson, 87, pleaded guilty to abuse of a corpse, theft and forgery during an appearance in Oxford County Court on Monday.

Jackson had also been accused of collecting checks that were in her dead friend’s name. As a result, the judge ordered Jackson to pay $10 per month in restitution.

On Sept. 16, 2019, members of the Maine State Police unearthed the body of Mae Shelton from Jackson’s backyard in the town of Norway.

The following day, Jackson told Maine’s Total Coverage that Shelton died of natural causes at the age of 80 in the Harrison Road home where they lived together. According to Jackson, Shelton’s dying wish was to be buried in the backyard.

“‘I want you to promise me, and don’t let me down, I want to be buried in your yard so I’ll be close to you,'” Jackson said Shelton told her.

Jackson told Maine’s Total Coverage that she put Shelton’s body in a tarp and dragged it to the backyard. She then spent about two days digging the hole.

“I have COPD. I couldn’t breathe that good,” Jackson said in September 2019.

Jackson said she and Shelton, who had met decades earlier in the South, only had each other and no close family. Daniel Dubé, Jackson’s lawyer, said Monday that his client was not telling the whole truth about that story.

“There were others involved in the case, and so I think that influenced behavior,” Dubé said.

Dubé claimed a relative helped Jackson dispose of Shelton’s body and then told her what to do with Shelton’s checks that were coming to the house.

In the years that followed Shelton’s death, prosecutors said Jackson was collecting Shelton’s Supplemental Security Income (SSI) checks and retirement checks from the state of Virginia, where Shelton previously lived. Jackson was also accused of using Shelton’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Court documents state the checks totaled more than $30,000.

Jackson was also accused of writing bad checks totaling more than $8,000 out of Shelton’s credit union checkbook.

“There were others involved in the financial side of it who pled guilty,” Dubé said.

Dubé said Jackson pleaded guilty so she could take responsibility for her role.

“She very much has always wanted to respect her friend Mae’s wishes. But at the end of the day, she did have to accept responsibility for the financial aspects of the case and for the technical violation regarding the corpse,” Dubé said.

The judge called this a sad case and said the penalties would have been much worse if Jackson had been in better health.

Jackson’s plea on Monday comes nearly three months after a previous plea hearing went awry.

In September, Jackson was expected to plead guilty to two counts of theft, two counts of theft by deception, one count of forgery and one count of abuse of a corpse as part of a deal with state prosecutors. She pleaded guilty to the two counts of theft and the charge of abuse of a corpse. But when the judge asked for her plea for theft by deception, Jackson pleaded not guilty, which invalidated the plea deal.

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 Matt Reed

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    SOMERSET, Massachusetts (WCVB) — In a corner of Somerset, Massachusetts, there is a sound that seems out of place. A rotary phone in a small wooden structure, allowing the living to connect with those not on the other line, but on the other side.

The concept of the wind phone started 15 years ago in Japan. A disconnected phone in a secluded area, where the person grieving can perform the ritual they did countless times when their loved one was still alive: pick up the phone and call them.

“I know you’re watching over us,” said Christina McGarry.

“I can’t really complain right now, except you know that I wish you were here,” added Drew McGarry.

The McGarrys’ call is to Drew McGarry’s older sister, Kyla, who died of cancer back in 2020.

“She broke the freshman hurdle record two weeks before she was diagnosed,” said Kyla’s mother, Christina McGarry. “It was Stage 4, so we knew it was bleak.”

The Blue Raider wind phone, located within the Elm Street Acres in Somerset, was the brainchild of Merilee Bowers, Somerset Berkley Regional High School’s arts teacher. Bowers taught both Kyla and Drew McGarry.

“Something just awakened in me, and I thought we need to bring one to our community,” said Bowers.

Bowers brought the idea to her students two years ago, who got to work designing the Blue Raider wind phone, which was ultimately built by Sarah Augusto and her team at the Lilac Thief.

“We wanted this structure to kind of just really blend in,” said Augusto. “You almost don’t notice it.”

One of the students who helped design the wind phone, Anya Kanalski, lost her father, Jack, when she was just 13 years old. Kanalski was skeptical when Bowers first told her class about the project but is now a believer.

“It’s kind of, like, beautiful to be able to see, like, grieving in a different way,” said Kanalski. “You think of it being sad, crying, but it doesn’t always have to be like that.”

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.