Author: CNN Newsource

By Kelsey Jones

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    NEWPORT NEWS, Virginia (WTKR) — Scammers are targeting grieving families in Newport News, posing as funeral home staff to steal money during their most vulnerable moments.

Alinda Wheeler and her sister were planning their mother’s funeral when they received what seemed like a legitimate call Monday evening.

The caller claimed to be affiliated with C.C. Carter Funeral Home in Newport News and knew specific details about their pre-arranged services, the Wheelers say. The imposter demanded $600 through Cash App to continue with funeral arrangements.

Wheeler says she thought the account was legitimate and sent $580 before realizing she had been scammed.

Chris Carter, the owner of C.C. Carter Funeral Home, says scammers are using his name and posing as fake family members of his to target vulnerable families. He says the fake callers demand money and threaten families, telling them, “The state will take the body back if they don’t pay immediately.”

Carter discovered the scammer had stolen his photo from the funeral home’s website to make the Cash App account appear legitimate.

Newport News police say this type of scam is sadly common across Virginia and they are investigating this incident.

Carter says there were nine other victims the imposter allegedly tried to swindle money from. In some cases, the scammer told families they were on their way to the bank to get a check when the Cash App transaction didn’t go through.

Carter’s staff had to call potential victims to warn them it was a scam. The funeral home has now posted a warning message on their website alerting people about the ongoing scam.

They advise families not to send any funds through email or over the phone. Carter says, “It’s sick that scammers would exploit people during such a vulnerable time in their lives.”

He believes there’s a special place in hell for people who prey on grieving families.

Police encourage families to never provide payments over the phone when funeral services are involved. They recommend asking for written confirmation of any service or payment request and advise people to trust their instincts if something feels strange about a phone call.

Wheeler says her experience has taught her family an important lesson about protecting themselves. She says they will never conduct any financial transactions over the phone again.

The scam highlights how criminals target people during their most emotional and vulnerable moments. Funeral directors across the region are now warning families to be extra cautious about unexpected payment requests.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

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By Ange Toussaint

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    WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (WPTV) — A U.S. veteran is walking 98 miles from West Palm Beach to Miami over nine days to remember the 98 victims of the Champlain Towers South collapse that occurred four years ago.

Tim Roberto, who works at Beachway Therapy Center and founded the Stomping Out the Stigma Foundation, began his journey on Thursday with friends joining him along the way. The walk serves as both a memorial to those who died and a tribute to the first responders who worked at the collapse site.

“It’s kind of hot but it feels really good because of the cause,” Roberto said during a stop at a West Palm Beach fire station. “Every minute counts when you’re going down to Surfside Miami.”

Roberto said he has spoken with many first responders through his foundation’s therapeutic work and understands the mental trauma they experienced during the Surfside response.

“A lot of the first responders that I talked to in Stomping Out the Stigma help therapeutically. I was very aware of what they all went through,” Roberto said.

The Champlain Towers South condominium building in Surfside collapsed in June 2021, killing 98 people. The tragedy highlighted ongoing concerns about building safety and the mental health impact on emergency personnel who responded to the scene.

Retired Battalion Chief for Palm Beach Fire Rescue Sam Eaton said mental health support for first responders is often overlooked.

“When it comes to first responders, firefighters, law enforcement, military, it’s to bring awareness of the impact of the mental trauma that those organizations and those populations are affected by,” Eaton said.

Roberto plans to continue his walk over the next few days as he completes his nine-day journey to raise awareness about first responder mental health, while honoring the victims of the Surfside collapse.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

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By Linnea Hoover

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    WESTMINSTER, Maryland (WMAR) — A good suit can mean the world, and the seniors of McDaniel College know that better than most.

Thanks to 60-year-old Tom Green, every senior on the football team now has a fitted suit, shirt, tie, and shoes from Men’s Warehouse in Westminster.

“It means everything,” one player said. “It was really having Tom around was really awesome and then for him to do something like this, like of course he gave us a lot of knowledge from his experience, but now truly doing something like this for us means a lot.”

Green didn’t stop at just providing suits. He also shared life wisdom with the players. “Life is like an EKG. You hit your peaks, you go to your valleys, and you can hit your peaks again,” Green said.

Green is at a peak right now, but he’s also had his share of valleys. He was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer in May of 2015.

On Christmas Eve, 2017, Green says, “My wife prayed for me through the night that God would heal me because I was dying,” Green said.

Then came a miracle. By May 2018, Green was completely cancer-free and left with a question: What do I do with the gift of life?

His answer was football at McDaniel College.

“I certainly got the energy for it, and, you know, I’m trying to stay in shape for it, and I wanna play football without so sad I didn’t get on the field with these guys because, you know, I’m looking forward to next year,” Green said.

The gesture meant more than just new clothes to the players.

“It shows me that people still, there’s still joy in the world,” one player said.

“I feel like the big boss got the suit on and all that,” another added.

“It shows your character because you know how you carry yourself is how people are gonna look at you,” a third player said.

Green’s teammate described the impact of his generosity.

“He did not need to do any of this. Tom just did it because he wanted to, and it makes him feel good,” the teammate said.

Now these football players are ready to go out and tackle life, dressed for success.

“These young men are the future. They’re the future of the workplace, industrial, you know, financial, or other sports teams.

That’s where these guys are headed,” Green said.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WMAR verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

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By Maki Becker

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    KIANTONE, New York (WKBW) — A Jamestown-area restaurant that served 1,000 free meals during last month’s federal government shutdown is now fighting to stay open after experiencing a dramatic drop in business.

Now Lee Cain, the owner of Phatties restaurant on Foote Avenue in Kiantone, says business has plummeted by 75 to 90% since daylight saving time ended.

“Right around the time daylight savings and the clocks fell back, started getting dark at 5:30, no one was really coming for dinner anymore,” Cain said.

The restaurant was serving only about 10 customers per day, which Cain called unsustainable for a business in its first six months of operation.

“That’s just not a sustainable business model. Whenever you see a 75% to 90% drop in sales, especially in your first six months…you have to adapt and overcome or bow out,” Cain said.

Facing the possibility of closing after Christmas, Cain turned to Facebook on Tuesday to ask the community for help. His aunt Sherri Shaw, who waits tables and makes pie for the restaurant, echoed the plea for support.

“We need people to come in as much as they can,” Sherri said.

The social media appeal appears to have worked. Customers responded to the restaurant’s generosity during the shutdown and showed up to support the business.

“I heard about all the nice stuff he did over Thanksgiving. And my friend and I always go out once a week, and I thought we gotta try this place,” one customer said.

Another patron said the restaurant’s charitable actions motivated their support.

“I thought that was such a good gesture that I’ve decided to support him and I’ve been here. This is probably my fourth time here,” they said.

Cain expressed optimism about the response to his Facebook post and the increased customer turnout.

“Yeah, I honestly, I’m feeling really good right now,” Cain said.

Cain has been tweaking the hours to better suit customers. He posted on Facebook Friday that they will be open until 7 p.m. this Friday and Saturday.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WKBW verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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 Blake Phillips

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    CLEARWATER, Florida (WFTS) — A very loud Sunday morning filled Clearwater as thousands of motorcycles gathered for the 9th annual Burt’s Christmas Toy Run. This year brought a special push to break the world record for the largest motorcycle toy run, drawing more eyes and bikes to an already popular event.

“I look forward to this every year. I won’t even sell my bike because this is what I want to come to every year. This is awesome,” said Mike Carriere, who brought several different toys for the toy run.

Christin Mosca, who was riding with her husband Doc, shared in that excitement: “It’s a fun event, and I love seeing all the motorcycles here and all the people getting together for this. It’s really fun.”

“Every year I kept looking at the thing. I’m going, we got to do this one. We got to do it. And then I saw this thing where trying to break the record and I said we got to be involved in this one,” said Jim Pouba.

While the record attempt adds excitement, Jim Pouba, one of the organizers and sponsors from Our Town America, says there is a deeper purpose behind the event.

“The need is really the most important part, especially at this time of the year. People who need that little extra help. By having the event tied into it, it’s only going to help raise the awareness and raise the total amount of money that’s raised in the toys that are distributed,” Pouba said.

The event featured plenty of festive fun alongside the charitable mission, including riders dressed in holiday costumes.

After the ride, all toys will be counted and distributed back to the community. Our Town America says they’ll know if they set the record by the end of this week.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

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By Christa Swanson

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    Colorado (KCNC) — Several bear cubs in the care of Colorado Parks and Wildlife were recently released back into the wild.

According to CPW, the five orphaned cubs have been at the CPW Frisco Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation Facility near Del Norte since last summer. Three of the cubs were discovered in a Broadmoor-area neighborhood in Colorado Springs last July. Another two were rescued north of Woodland Park in August.

CPW said the bears can now survive on their own. They released three of the cubs in northwest Teller County on Thursday. Another two cubs were released in the southeast of the county.

Two of the cubs were fitted with GPS transmitters as part of a partnership with Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to study the effectiveness of bear rehabilitation and release. Officials said the devices will transmit location data every 10-14 days, allowing CPW to track their movements on a delayed basis.

“We are grateful for our partnership with the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, whose members help fund conservation efforts, including these GPS devices, to help Colorado Parks and Wildlife study pressing issues,” said Deme Wright, CPW District Wildlife Manager.

CPW said the study will help rehabilitation efforts and mitigate urban bear conflicts.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

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