Author: CNN Newsource

By Stephanie Stahl

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    HADDON TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (KYW) — February is Heart Awareness Month, and with Valentine’s Day approaching, the holiday holds special meaning for a South Jersey family.

In Haddon Township, 5-year-old Crew Dawson cuts out paper hearts with his family for Valentine’s Day weekend — however, his heart is a little more complicated.

“He’s had three open heart surgeries. At least two heart caths,” Crew’s mom Jana Dawson said. “There’s been a lot of scary moments but this kid is just so resilient.”

Crew’s fortitude earned him the nickname “Gritty.”

“His personality is very much like the flyers mascot — he’s bubbly and little crazy,” Crew’s dad Jared Dawson said. “He just had a spirit about him that was not going to give up.”

In his customized T-shirt, Crew and his family are helping the American Heart Association raise awareness for Heart Month.

At school, Crew is jumping rope as part of the “kids heart challenge,” where students learn about heart health, and help raise awareness and money for the heart association.

Patty Sayles is a Physical Education teacher who runs the heart challenge at Crew’s school and says she loves the program.

The family is focusing on fun activities, knowing Crew faces a lifetime of heart issues that he’s tackling with grit.

“Its a journey I never thought I’d be on,” Jana Dawson said. “You don’t know what this life is like until you’re in it.”

For now this journey is about celebrating love and joy.

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 Deanie Wimmer

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    MILAN, Italy (KSL) — Everen Brown is an Olympic superfan, attending almost 20 Olympic Games. After seeing all the preparation and training he does to pull it off, you may think he deserves a medal of his own.

“For many years, I’ve billed myself as Utah’s No.1 Olympic fan,” he said.

He’s got the swag and the stats to prove it. Brown has attended a total of 18 Olympic Games, 500 events and will attend 29 events just in Milan.

“I like the Olympic spirit of trying to bring the world together and have a party,” Brown said.

He was there when swimmer Michael Phelps made history, and again, for gymnast Simone Biles.

After all these years, does he have a favorite Olympics?

“Well, favorite Olympics, that’s like trying to say who’s your favorite child,” Brown said.

What about his favorite event?

“My favorite event is ice hockey. Primarily men’s U.S.A. is the team that I follow,” he said. “I played hockey as a kid, and I love hockey, and I know how to win at hockey. All I got to do is coach Team U.S.A. (at) one of these Olympics.”

Brown said the key to doing all this affordably is to plan in advance before prices go up to Olympic gold.

“Milano has tickets that start at €30. That’s cheaper, to get a preliminary hockey ticket at €30, than it is to go to a Utah Mammoth game,” he said.

Like every athlete, he has his training regimen. He gets all the shopping and sightseeing out of the way before the Opening Ceremony.

“Then once the games start, I just focus on the competitions,” Brown said.

He said he used to think the Olympics were just for the athletes.

“But it’s also for the fans,” he said.

For all his effort, KSL surprised Brown with a medal ceremony of his own. Granted, our medal was crafted out of a luggage tag and a lanyard purchased from the Olympics gift shop.

“Oh wow, I’m happy to accept this honor on behalf of the academy and KSL and the Olympic movement,” Brown said.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by KSL’s editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

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 Camryn Justice

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    CLEVELAND (WEWS) — Katie Spotz is from Mentor, but her work takes her all over the world. That has been by foot, by bicycle, by swimming, and of course, by boat. Spotz is an endurance athlete who has pushed her body to the limit time and time again, all for a good cause, and her next challenge is her biggest yet.

Spotz first made history 16 years ago when she became the youngest woman to ever row across the Atlantic Ocean solo. She was 22 at the time, spending 70 days at sea on a small rowboat, traveling unassisted from Senegal to French Guiana.

Before that, Spotz became the first person to swim the entire 325-mile length of the Alleghany River. She’s gone on to accomplish feats that include setting a Guinness World Record by running 11 ultramarathons (races longer than a standard marathon of 26.2 miles) in 11 days across Ohio, and winning a nonstop 200-mile ultramarathon.

A dedicated athlete and U.S. Coast Guard veteran, Spotz doesn’t stray from a challenge. But her tests of endurance aren’t simply for her to add her name to record books. When Spotz sets out on a challenge, it’s with purpose.

“To date, over 50,000 people have gained access to clean water all around the world through these endurance challenges and the goal for this upcoming challenge is to help 100,000 people in Fiji gain access to clean water. What’s really exciting about that is that if—when—we reach that target, it will mean that we’ll reach a point where everyone [in Fuji] has clean water, so it is a humanitarian first as well,” Spotz said.

Spotz is not only an endurance athlete but a clean water activist.

Her challenges include fundraising efforts that have helped nearly 300 projects and impacted people in 19 countries.

The goal Spotz mentioned is next, will come if she can do something no other American woman has done before.

“In December, I will be setting off from Lima, Peru to Papua New Guinea to row across the Pacific Ocean. So it’s a 10,000-mile row, no follow boat, completely unassisted, unsupported, nonstop,” Spotz said, smiling with excitement.

You read all of the right. A 10,000-mile solo row across the width of the Pacific Ocean.

Spotz spends hours a day at The Foundry, a rowing club in downtown Cleveland, training on the simulators.

She’s working on her nutrition, finding lightweight, high-calorie items to pack in the top-of-the-line boat currently being built for her journey.

Her food and clothes, medical gear, and every other item she must have prepared for her eight-month trek have to fit on the lightweight but extremely durable boat. There’s no one there to hand her something she forgot, something she’s run out of.

Spotz will be in her boat, which includes a small cabin overhead where she’ll sleep or shelter when needed, by herself for two-thirds of a year.

She won’t have a follow boat, and her only way to achieve any assistance is an emergency beacon to flag near ships or the Coast Guard if she isn’t able to go on.

“I think the Atlantic taught me a lot that I will definitely bring with me on the Pacific. No matter how hard, no matter how overwhelming something is, it is temporary. It’s really accepting challenges rather than fighting them,” Spotz said.

Now, Spotz doesn’t anticipate smooth sailing—or rowing, rather—for the entire journey. She’s very aware of the challenges ahead.

“The ocean is the ocean and it will probably present a lot of challenges. I probably will have 40-foot waves. There will be times where there’s just buckets of water on my head all the time. I probably will have salt sores and all of these things,” Spotz said. “More than anything, I think this will be a real mental challenge. There is a very big difference between two or three months and [eight] months at sea, so I’m very curious to see how I hold up and what challenges I might face psychologically just all that time alone.”

Spotz is planning to take some normalcy with her, even finding a way to pack pizza. Now, that pizza does include an MRE tortilla base, tomato sauce and a shelf-stable cheese packet, but it will be pizza nonetheless.

“I found a way,” Spotz said, grinning. “I will have pizza and sushi out there.”

If there’s room, she might even bring her red light therapy mask.

Spotz’s life in a few short months will be the ocean. Leaving her boat will only mean jumping into the sea to scrape barnacles off the bottom. It’s a massive test of strength, both physical and mental.

But the journey, for Spotz, comes with even more rewards.

She experienced that 16 years ago in the Atlantic Ocean.

“Sometimes when I was feeling a little bit low or unmotivated, pods of dolphins would show up, it seemed like right when I needed it,” Spotz said.”I saw sharks, fish, sea turtles.”

The awe-inspiring sights of nature are something Spotz is looking forward to.

But the biggest motivator of all isn’t seeing nature or making history—for Spotz, it’s making life better for others.

“Yes, it’s hard, but there’s a lot of joy, there’s a lot of purpose and gratitude to just be able to do it at all,” Spotz said. “It’s a privilege to be able to spend eight months on a boat rowing for clean water.”

Spotz is currently accepting donations and sponsors for her endurance journey.

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 Stef Manchen

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    TULSA, Oklahoma (KJRH) — A monument in Tulsa’s oldest park is sparking calls for removal or relocation, with community members citing concerns about honoring known Ku Klux Klan members.

The eight-foot stone statue in Owen Park bears the names of W. Tate Brady and Willard McCullough, identified as KKK members by historians. The monument pays homage to Tulsa’s earliest settlers.

“As a Muscogee citizen, living on my reservation, seeing this on my reservation, it’s a desecration, it’s a dishonor, it’s a disservice,” said Aaron Griffith.

Griffith, a concerned citizen, said he’s seen the monument vandalized over the years and questions the use of public funds for its maintenance.

“Considering the fact that this is a private monument and the group that originally erected it is now defunct, is no longer active, that shifts the burden of maintaining the upkeep of it onto the City of Tulsa,” he said.

The Tulsa Association of Pioneers was behind the monument, erected in 1935, honoring members from then through 1964.

Local sustainability group Kitty Gang Family Foundation offered to help fundraise, so money isn’t the reason change doesn’t occur.

“I don’t think it belongs in the park personally,” said James Taylor, treasurer of the group. “It would be fun to raise that money, you know, people are really giving. To me, the rock is like, they own the park, but really, it’s our park. It’s the people’s park, and we should be able to have say in what is deserving of being in our public spaces.”

When asked what a positive resolution for the monument would be, Taylor said he’d like to see it moved to a museum or for context to be added to the area to explain what the statue stands for.

The question of who would be responsible for removing it or relocating it remains unclear.

City Councilor Laura Bellis, whose district the park falls in, said that it falls to the parks department.

The parks department deferred 2 News to the city.

A city spokesperson said they are working to learn more about the effort and ‘will provide more information as the situation warrants.’

“I just find it kind of absurd to suggest or imply that the council is impotent to act in that regard, because they are absolutely able to do something to address the public’s concerns that are being expressed about this,” said Griffith.

2 News did find a petition asking former Tulsa Mayor G. T. Bynum to remove the monument, showing the issue has been a topic of conversation for years across the community.

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 Bianca Holman

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    LUCAMA, North Carolina (WTVD) — Springfield School, built in 1951 as a school for Black children during segregation, provided education to those denied equal opportunities.

Once a source of pride and a premier facility in North Carolina, it now sits abandoned, vandalized and neglected. Alumni are now uniting to preserve the historic campus.

Located in Lucama on Springfield School Road, it was the first local high school for Black children, succeeding the Rosenwald School that only served children through the sixth grade.

Rickey Kirby, a 1968 graduate, said: “It was just the perfect place for me to be because I wanted to know everything.”

Brenda Carter, another graduate, said her elementary school teachers made writing and arithmetic come alive.

“It feels so good to come back,” Carter said, “like you are at home again.”

In the ’50s, Black families were excited to finally have access to a high school education, however, not everybody was happy about it in Wilson County.

It made headlines. The Wilson Daily Times publisher even writing that “white folks should bring a lawsuit.”

“There were some very negative comments about Black kids getting a brand new school,” Kirby recalled. “Some person said ‘why did they get a new school? They don’t even know how to use indoor bathrooms.”

Even with a new facility, the district only provided Springfield students with used and outdated books from all white schools. Despite facing prejudice — such as criticism over its construction — Black students excelled, with Kirby later serving in the Marines.

Carter said they was a sense of pride that came with being a Springfield Wildcat.

“I looked forward to coming to school because it was you get the leave home, come play with your friends, and you learn something different every day,” she added.

In the 1970s, the school was integrated and became a middle school. High school students later attended Rock Ridge School, The school later closed in the 1980s.

Carter bought the property from a construction company. He and Kirby joined forces after Kirby shared a similar vision of creating opportunities for his rural hometown.

“It has so much potential, and it’s in a community where there’s no arts,” Kirby said.

With experience in general contracting, Kirby enlisted his daughter’s help to establish the nonprofit Springfield Community Center for Arts, Education, and Civil Rights Legacy. The group aims to raise awareness of the history and crowdfund donations to support the project.

“A nice, safe space for kids and people of really all ages to come in, to be creative and to learn and to enjoy community,” said Chandler Kirby, Rickey’s daughter.

The group plans to include multipurpose spaces, a cafe, a youth esports arena, and a makers space.

“The hope for this space is that we bring it back alive, have people to come in and learn different things and just have some for the community, ” Carter said.

“I think it sets a precedent for other rural areas,” Chandler said, “as well to be more intentional about providing things that aren’t necessarily just the basic needs.”

The project seeks to preserve history while building a new beacon of hope for future generations.

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 KABC staff

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    LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Traffic came to a halt on the 405 Freeway for a tiny rescue mission in the Harbor Gateway area, and it was all caught on video.

Last week, Officer Osorio responded to a call about a cat stuck in northbound lanes near Normandie Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol.

He stopped all lanes of traffic, got out of his car and gently grabbed the feline who was pressed against the freeway’s center divider.

The kitten was then taken to a nearby animal shelter.

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 Molly Bernard

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    EAGLE, Wisconsin (WISN) — Roses and buckthorn have thorns, but one is a sign of love while the other is an invasive species in southeast Wisconsin.

Waukesha County Land Conservancy is hoping to turn some heartbreak this Valentine’s Day into habitat restoration through a unique fundraiser, centered around clearing Buckthorn.

“It creates these really dense thickets that shade out the ground layer. And once you introduce too much shade into these, these native ecosystems, like prairies in oak openings, they start to die,” said Aaron Feggestad, an ecologist on Waukesha County Land Conservancy’s board of directors.

Feggestad said Eagle Centre Prairie State Natural Area, in Eagle, Wisconsin, is one of those impacted prairies. Just walking through the landscape, it’s easy to see where volunteers have cleared buckthorn, creating more open spaces with prairie grasses. Meanwhile, other parts of the kettle are completely covered in thick patches of buckthorn, with no prairie grass growing underneath.

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, the nonprofit is helping donors metaphorically take an ax to their ex, and buckthorn, for just $5.

“The whole premise is to name a buckthorn tree, which is an invasive plant here in Wisconsin, after your ex, and it’s open to interpretation,” said Helen Holtz, land management director for Waukesha County Land Conservancy.

Holtz suggested using ex-partners, ex-friends, even a past or current boss or co-worker you don’t see eye to eye with, as possible names to submit.

“After cutting it, we will also write the name of that person on the stump. And then we treat it with herbicide as well, so it never comes back. So it’s never a thorn in your side again,” Holtz said.

To add a little icing on top, all the cut-down buckthorn will also be safely burned. Each donor will also get a picture of the stump with their ex’s name on it. Holtz said she’s already heard back from a few individuals who said it felt cathartic.

“Really just kind of a great way to let go and start over and start fresh,” Holtz said.

Each donation will go toward prairie seeds. Since buckthorn shade out and eventually kill natural plants, new native species need to be planted to help restore the landscape and ecosystem.

Like some exes, buckthorn can be hard to get rid of. It easily spreads in southeast Wisconsin, but the work to save these landscapes doesn’t end with one organization or one fundraiser.

“It takes, again, a community, and it takes a long outlook, right? We can’t just be out here once working. We got to be out here caring for the land indefinitely, and that’s what we plan to do,” Feggestad said.

You can find the direct link to the “Let’s Get Rid Of The Thorn In Your Side” fundraiser here. It will be open through Feb. 14.

Waukesha County Land Conservancy is holding a volunteer event this weekend to help clear even more buckthorn at Eagle Centre Prairie State Natural Area. You can register to volunteer.

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 Sean MacKinnon

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    CINCINNATI, Ohio (WLWT) — Four puppies rescued from a suspected dogfighting ring are now in Cincinnati, getting much-needed care.

One of them is so badly hurt, he’ll need surgery that could cost tens of thousands of dollars.

The SPCA believes these dogs were part of a group of more than 100 dogs rescued in South Carolina and Florida through search and seizure warrants. Many of them stuck on heavy chains, underweight and with visible wounds.

Four of those puppies arrived Monday at SPCA Cincinnati. Their names: Barracuda, Crumble, Sleigh Bell and Sven.

A menagerie of names, all needing extra care.

“We’re very proud that we’re able to help other shelters around the country that might not have our resources,” Chris Seelbach, president and CEO of SPCA Cincinnati, said.

Five-month-old Sven is in the worst shape. He grew up in a cage, so his paws are splayed, and despite all his energy, he’s not walking how he should.

“[Sven] is walking on his knuckles, essentially,” Seelbach said.

The Terrier Pitt Bull Mix may need orthopedic surgery, which isn’t cheap. It could cost tens of thousands of dollars.

“But we have the resources to get any surgery he needs. Whether it’s in-house or we have to find a specialist to do it,” Seelbach said.

SPCA says they don’t receive grant money. They’re funded by donors and rely on outside help as they help these four dogs.

“They’re going to have a successful story. There’s nothing that we can’t treat that’s both behavioral and medical,” Seelbach said.

They haven’t been cleared for fostering just yet, but with some time and attention, they’ll be ready to find their home.

“So Sven is going to get all the care and attention he needs to be ready for adoption,” Seelbach said.

Right now, the puppies are recovering from being spayed and neutered. Sven will get another medical evaluation next week to see if he needs surgery.

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 Brittany Decker

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    JACKSONVILLE, Alabama (WVTM) — This week, the “On the Road” dart launched from our last stop in Randolph County and landed in Calhoun County, just outside Jacksonville.

On a rainy afternoon, WVTM’s Brittany Decker and photographer Andrew Baker drove through town, past Jacksonville State University, scanning the streets for a story and trying to stay dry. Then they saw it: a sign that quite literally pointed them in the right direction.

“Kangaroo.”

Yes, kangaroo.

The sign outside Effina’s restaurant immediately caught their attention, and apparently, they were not alone.

Owner Steven Katsinas says the buzz started recently as beef prices climbed.

“In order to give customers a deal and have some fun, we decided to do something different,” Katsinas said.

They told our WVTM 13 crew the kangaroo is ethically sourced and wild-harvested in Australia, where the animal population significantly outnumbers humans. At Effina’s, it’s prepared simply, with butter, rosemary and thyme sizzling in a hot pan.

Before you even see the dish, you hear it.

And then, you smell it.

That aroma begins answering questions your brain has not even formed yet.

The dish has quickly become a topic of conversation around town.

“When I was at the chiropractor, that’s all they were talking about … who would try it, who wouldn’t,” a customer said with a laugh. “People at construction sites, at the bank … they ask, ‘Are you really serving kangaroo?’ Yes, yes, we are.”

Some diners opt to play it safe, while others lean in.

Dean and Teresa Parks decided to share the entree.

“It was hoppin’,” Dean said. “Very tender. Very flavorful. Like elk.”

Another customer described it as “rich, gamey, but not overbearing,” adding they never expected to like it so much.

Gourd13 on the Road: The artful journey of gourds to glory According to Katsinas, more than 60 kangaroo entrees have gone out, and none have been sent back.

“That’s not curiosity anymore,” he said. “That’s confidence.”

Effina’s has built that confidence over time. Known for fresh ingredients and a casual yet sophisticated atmosphere, the restaurant has earned the trust of its regulars.

“If Effina’s is doing it, we’ll try it,” Katsinas said. “Give us the benefit of the doubt.”

He says offering unique menu items also keeps his chefs engaged.

“If you’re just cooking Italian every day, you’re not challenged,” he said. “This keeps it exciting.”

So, what did they learn in Jacksonville?

Sometimes, you take the challenge. Try something a little wild.

And sometimes, all you have to do is follow the sign.

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.