Author: CNN Newsource

By Alina Hauter

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    SPRING LAKE, Michigan (WXMI) — Eleven-year-old Ben Bator loves music, swimming, and being outside. He is also one of fewer than 1,000 people in the world diagnosed with KAT6A syndrome — and this Friday, his school is walking for him.

Spring Lake Public Schools, a Special Olympics Unified Champion school district, is hosting its second annual KATwalk at the middle school football field and track, capping off an inclusion spirit week for fifth through eighth graders aimed at raising awareness and funds for KAT6 syndrome research.

Middle school students will head to the track with their homerooms at 7:55 a.m. and walk until 8:30 a.m. Intermediate students will follow at 8:45 a.m. and walk until 9:15 a.m.

Ben’s mother, Katie Bator, is a sixth grade teacher at Spring Lake Public Schools. For her, the community support surrounding the event is invaluable.

“Ben has just an amazing personality. He loves to just kind of go with the flow. He loves music. He loves lights,” Bator said. “He loves to swing. He loves to be outside. He loves to ride on his dad’s tractor or the four-wheeler. So anything that’s fast and loud.”

KAT6 syndrome is an ultra-rare genetic disorder affecting fewer than 10,000 people globally.

“When he was born, we were seeing about 300 people that had been diagnosed globally with KAT6A,” Bator said.

KAT6 syndrome refers to two related genetic disorders — KAT6A and KAT6B — caused by mutations in either the KAT6A or KAT6B genes. The condition presents across a wide spectrum.

“You may see some people who they walk and talk and they look normal, and then you see some children or adults who are completely nonverbal, have to be tube-fed,” Bator said. “We’re fortunate with Ben. He has the appetite of like a grown man. He loves to eat.”

People with KAT6 syndrome can also experience global developmental delays, gastrointestinal complications, and sleep challenges.

“GI issues is probably one of our scariest concerns in the community, especially when someone can’t communicate verbally to tell you if they’re having pains. Bowel obstructions can become very common,” Bator said.

As a member of the KAT6 Foundation, Bator has worked to raise awareness and fund research since Ben’s diagnosis. She said the foundation currently has 13 active research projects and recently opened its first clinic at Boston Children’s Hospital.

“Really just to find ways to help our individuals with KAT6 to thrive,” Bator said. “Studying their cells and what makes them healthy and how can we continue to have them grow and develop?”

Friday’s KATwalk is part of a broader international fundraising effort. Families in Canada, Spain, and the United States are hosting walks this year, with a collective goal of $175,000. Bator said the effort is already more than halfway to that target.

“Team Benjamin, this is the fifth year in a row that we’ve done a walk, and our team alone has raised over $100,000 in the last five years,” Bator said.

Students can purchase a KATwalk shirt for $15 during all lunch hours this week. The school’s Peer Connect elective class is also hosting a can drive this week, with all proceeds going directly to the KAT6 Foundation.

The spirit week and walk are organized in part by Peer Connect, a new elective introduced this year that brings together students with and without intellectual disabilities.

“With each trimester, they are responsible for a whole school engagement activity, a fundraising activity, as well as youth leadership. And they are knocking it out of the park with the Kat6 Walk,” said Ashley Reynolds, a special education teacher at Spring Lake Public Schools. “They have come up with ideas for the Inclusion Spirit Week — today was day one of our can drive, and we are well over $120 worth of cans.”

Spring Lake’s district joined the Special Olympics Unified Champion School program three years ago. Reynolds said the program is built around three pillars.

“Youth leadership, whole school engagement, and unified sports. So really, the whole program just celebrates inclusion and everybody’s differences and just shows that everybody belongs,” Reynolds said.

Spring Lake Intermediate and Middle School Principal Jon Fitzpatrick said inclusion is woven into the school’s everyday culture — not just reserved for special events.

“For us, this is a state of being. Our staff that support students with needs are one facet, but really it lies on the shoulders of the entire staff and our entire student body,” Fitzpatrick said. “We look at it as celebrating everybody’s strengths, and it’s just commonplace. Throughout the month of September, yes, there’s some activities, there’s some special events, but it’s to engage the culture of our building.”

That culture of inclusion has opened doors for the Bator family personally.

“In 2018, our superintendent Dennis Furton came to me and he said, Katie, our district is going to open an SXI program, which is special ed severely impaired, at Holmes Elementary, and Benjamin will be able to be a Laker,” Bator said.

This year, the connection became even more personal — Ben is now in sixth grade and in his mother’s class.

“He’s able to be in my homeroom class for inclusion. It’s pretty neat to have your own kid in your class, and then I tell him, you better behave yourself because you got to go home with your teacher,” Bator joked.

For Bator, watching Ben participate in the community has meant everything.

“When you’re first having a child, you have all these dreams for your child, and one of them was playing sports. And last year, Benjamin participated in our Special Olympics Inclusion Unified Club, and he was the goalie with another one of his buddies for a soccer game. And, you know, I thought in that moment, like, he is playing sports, and he’s changing a lot of lives,” Bator said.

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.

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 Kayla Davis, Ryan Lovell, Shannon Delcambre

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    TUSCALOOSA, Alabama (WVTM) — Police say an arrest has been made after seven people were shot during an event in Tuscaloosa Saturday night.

Tuscaloosa Police provided an update Monday, saying Keyontae Jones, 23, has been arrested and charged with eight counts of assault.

The arrest comes after shots were fired during a block party called “Shack Town Reunion.”

Police believe as many as 500 to 1,000 people were in attendance at that event.

When police arrived, they found a total of seven gunshot wound victims, in the ages of 12, 14, 17, 17, 18, 20, and 40 years old.

Police had reported an eighth victim had shown up at a hospital with a minor bullet graze wound, but that injured person was not involved in the community event, police said.

The Violent Crimes Unit said two of the victims had critical injuries and remain in hospitals.

The other five victims have been released from the hospital as of Sept. 14.

FBI Birmingham agents are assisting in the investigation and has a tipline webpage.

In addition, anyone with information, photos, or video from the scene should contact the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit at 205-464-8690, Crime Stoppers at 205-752-STOP (7867), or submit an anonymous tip through the TPD mobile app.

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 Jon Schoenheider, Jackson Stoever

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    LACONIA, New Hampshire (WMUR) — Investigators are putting a call out to the public hoping to find any video that could help them determine what caused a motorcycle crash that left three dead Saturday night in Laconia.

First responders were called to the scene on Route 3 near the Looney Bin Bar around 11 p.m.

Officials say two motorcycles with two people on each bike crashed head-on, and the cause of the crash is still under investigation. Police say they’re now looking for video in connection with the crash.

Police say Cameron Mosher, 28, of Dennis, Mass.; Miles Colette, 32, of Gilford; and Jeanine Fereshetian, 33, of Laconia, died at the scene of the crash.

“We’re certainly investigating whether speed or alcohol or factors, but there’s nothing to indicate that at this time,” said Laconia Police Chief Matt Canfield.

News 9 spoke exclusively with one of the first people on the scene.

Candace McGrath from Leominster, Mass., said she came across the wreck right after it happened while she was driving down the road.

“We’re slowing down, coming over here, and hit the plastic,” said McGrath. “And I went, ‘Oh my God, that’s an accident.'”

After checking a man’s pulse nearby, McGrath ran to a woman lying by the wreckage. She says the two motorcycles were tangled together against an electrical pole.

“(It) was all engulfed in flames, and everybody was like, ‘Get back, the bikes are going to blow,'” said McGrath.

McGrath comforted the woman as she pulled her away from the fire.

“I was just like, ‘You’re at peace, honey. You’re not alone. Don’t be scared. It’s OK. I’m here with you.'”

McGrath tried performing CPR before first responders told her it was too late.

“Watching someone take their last breath. This is a very hard thing to watch. That was probably the hardest thing for me, but I just want her family to know that she wasn’t alone,” said McGrath. “I stayed with her. I stayed talking with her.”

A second woman involved in the crash was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

“I am a mother of six kids. My son rides bikes, and I’m telling you, I can’t imagine the pain that these parents are going through right now,” said McGrath.

For McGrath, watching the woman die became a solemn reminder.

“I just encourage people to live every day like it’s your last, because you never know when it’s going to be,” said McGrath.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation. Police noted that the Looney Bin was not connected in any way.

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 Lucy Yang

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    NEW YORK (WABC) — A New York City effort to plant more trees is facing opposition in Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst neighborhood, where members of the Chinese American community say they were not consulted about the placement of new trees and are concerned about the impact on feng shui.

Residents object to markings for new tree wells that have been placed in front of some homes. They say the planned locations could interfere with beliefs about energy flow and personal fortune.

“You cannot plant right directly in front of someone’s home. Basically, we believe that’s going to stop the good energy coming in, bad for the health,” Brooklyn Councilwoman Susan Zhuang said.

Bensonhurst is home to a large Chinese American population, and residents say the locations were laid out without warning or input from the community. They contend that the new trees could disrupt the neighborhood’s feng shui.

“Right here, they want to plant a tree right in front of people’s entrance,” Zhuang said.

“They can block the people, the personal luck,” another resident said.

Zhuang said she hopes city officials will work with the community on alternative locations for the trees.

“We also want to work with the Parks Department, find better location,” Zhuang said.

She also emphasized the importance of respecting cultural traditions.

“That’s Chinese culture. It’s 5,000 years transfer to today,” one resident said.

As the city moves forward with its tree-planting efforts, residents and local leaders are urging officials to consider community concerns and cultural beliefs when determining where new trees will be planted.

The Parks Department told Eyewitness News they met with Councilmember Zhuang to discuss the issue, and look forward to working with her and members of the community to “accommodate community concerns while ensuring we fulfill our mandate to expand the City’s urban tree canopy.”

They released a statement saying, “Trees are a vital part of a healthier, more resilient city, and we’re undertaking an ambitious effort to plant new trees in every possible corner of the city. Trees cool our streets, filter our air, and absorb stormwater, and they are among the most affordable and accessible tools we have to adapt to a changing climate. The cityrecently launched the Urban Forest Plan, an ambitious roadmap for preserving our existing tree canopy, planting more trees citywide, and cultivating local stewardship.”

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 Katrina Markel

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    SILVER CITY, Iowa (KMTV) — A southwest Iowa family has officially set a world record: five consecutive generations all share the same birthday.

Fred Harlow is in the middle of those five generations — all born on September 14. His grandfather Wilber, his mother Addie, his daughter Emma Bell, and her son Arthur are now being recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the family with the most generations born on the same day.

“You know, when you have children yeah, they’re a gift, this is a very unique gift,” Fred said. “We always thought it was pretty cool, but we never really — I never thought much of it as far as record holder. Just kind of figured everything happened for a reason.”

Only recently did they pursue official recognition.

“We always joked about it. Like, ‘Oh, it’s four generations, it should be a world record,'” Emma said.

She learned the family had actually been tied with other families at four generations, but never thought to submit the paperwork. That changed after her grandmother Addie died and Emma learned she was expecting her second child, with a due date of September 14.

“I grew up with my grandma saying ‘You have to have a boy on September 14th.” Every year, is what she would say,” Emma said. “I went early with my first, so I was bound and determined to make it our due date.”

Her son Arthur arrived right on time.

“Lo and behold, he’s a record breaker,” Fred said.

They believe her Addie would have been thrilled.

“I think she’d be pretty proud and pretty impressed that we actually made it happen and had it be a boy on the 14th,” Emma said.

The shared birthday comes with another remarkable pattern.

“It starts with Wilber, so it actually goes boy, girl, boy, girl, boy — the entire way through,” Emma said.

Neither Emma nor Fred want to put any pressure on the next generation. For now, they will continue to enjoy celebrating their record-setting birthdays together.

“It’s just amazing,” Fred said.

“It’s been fun,” Emma said.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KMTV 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.