Author: CNN Newsource

By Nick Lunemann

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    BLOOMINGTON, Minnesota (WCCO) — On a rainy spring day, residents from Friendship Village of Bloomington, Minnesota, spent time brushing, walking and connecting with horses as part of an equine-assisted therapy experience at Hold Your Horses.

The visit came ahead of Mental Health Awareness Month in May and focused on supporting emotional well-being through mindfulness, connection and hands-on interaction with animals.

For resident Karnie Moesenthin, the experience was calming.

“Calm and very, very happy, because it’s just so nice to be able to touch an animal,” Moesenthin said.

Moesenthin, who lives with Parkinson’s disease, said brushing the horses gave her a chance to do something she cannot easily do on her own.

“This is fun. It’s things that I can’t do on my own,” she said.

Hold Your Horses is a local nonprofit that provides therapy alongside horses and the natural world for people of all ages and abilities. Kenz Becco, its executive director, said the organization works with people navigating physical disabilities, trauma, grief, loss, major life transitions and other challenges.

Becco said horses can help people slow down and focus on the present moment.

“Being present, being grounded with the horses, letting the past be the past, letting the future be the future and just being in the moment,” Becco said.

According to information provided by Friendship Village, more than 5.5 million older adults in the U.S. report frequent mental distress. The World Health Organization also reports more than 14% of adults age 70 and older live with a mental health condition.

For Friendship Village residents, the visit offered a quiet way to connect with animals, nature and each other. Resident Barbara Bartholomew said the experience brought back memories from her years around horses.

“It feels good,” Bartholomew said.

Moesenthin said her favorite part was brushing the horses.

“Oh, it’s very smoothing, very soothing. It’s just, it’s soft,” she said.

Hold Your Horses offers programs for people of all ages, including children, adults and seniors. With its herd of therapy horses aging, the organization is working to bring in new horses to continue providing services in the years ahead.

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 Derek James

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    MINNEAPOLIS-ST.PAUL, Minnesota (WCCO) — Rising gas prices are putting financial pressure on rideshare drivers in the Twin Cities, with some drivers saying the increased costs are making it difficult to earn a living.

Steven Mayer, who drives full-time, said the jump in gas prices has been significant.

“Going from $2 and now you’re at what, $4.09,” Mayer said.

Mayer explained that the higher prices add up quickly for drivers who are on the road every day.

“I would say about $20 a day. Add that on to possibly one to two fill-ups a day. So that’s $40 a day. You do that five days a week. It definitely can impact,” Mayer said.

While Uber and Lyft offer fuel rewards and other relief programs, drivers say these measures are not enough to offset the rising costs. Romeo Tillman, a longtime driver, said, “I’m not even making half of what we did a year ago today.”

Tillman also noted that the problem goes beyond gas prices, with fewer rides available.

“Within the three hours I’ve been out here working, I’ve made zero dollars,” Tillman said.

Lyft said it recognizes the financial pressure on drivers and pointed to a 60-day relief program that offers cash back rewards and fuel savings. In a statement, the company said, “When costs spike, we want drivers to choose Lyft because they feel like the platform works for them, not against them.”

Despite these programs, drivers like Tillman say the support is not enough.

“If we get anywhere beyond where we are right now, it’s going to be catastrophic. These drivers right now, none of us are making it at all. It’s a huge struggle,” Tillman said.

With gas prices still climbing, some drivers say they are reconsidering how long they can continue working in the industry. Rideshare drivers in Minnesota are also pushing for a change in the law to allow them to unionize and bargain for better wages.

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 McCrea

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    SAN FRANCISCO, California (KPIX) — At the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University, an incredible collaboration is taking place between a 16-year-old high school student and the medical staff.

The ReCap Project, founded by Brandon Lin in 2023, was formed to keep certain medical plastics out of landfills and incinerators.

“So far, I’ve saved over 2,100 pounds of plastic out of the landfills,” said Lin. “And that’s the equivalent to over 1 million actual, like, pieces of plastic.”

Medical plastic waste is a massive, growing problem, generating microplastics and toxins. A 2025 study found there are 2.1 million metric tons of single-use plastics used every year in healthcare across North America and Europe, with less than 5% recycled, resulting in 9.3 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually.

“It gives me nightmares,” said Karen Ceresnak, pediatric ICU nurse at Packard Hospital and a founder of the hospital’s Eco-Green team. “There is a lot of plastic waste here in every hospital.”

Some medical waste is necessary to keep things sterile and prevent the spread of infections. Lin collects uncontaminated plastics which include needle and medication caps, as well as plastic containers.

“It hasn’t touched anybody. It’s not a biohazard, and it’s really clean, and frankly ideal for recycling,” said Lin’s father, Dr. Ken Lin, pediatrician at Sutter Health San Carlos.

Lin’s collaboration with Packard Hospital is key. Instead of throwing away the “safe” plastics, the staff now puts them into recycle bags found in each patient’s room. There are also recycled plastic containers in supply rooms that serve as receptables for used plastic tips and medication caps. When they are full, the Lin family picks them up.

The collaboration has raised awareness within the hospital community.

“It’s been very rewarding since we started working with him,” said Ceresnak.

Once the boxes are loaded into the car, they head back to the Lin home where the entire family helps to sort the plastic by size, type, and color.

“Because each type of plastic needs to be processed a little bit differently because of its different properties,” explained Lin.

The sorted plastics are brought to a local plastic recycler Peninsula Precious Plastics, where they’re shredded and made into things like combs and clipboards.

Lin donates the combs to Samaritan House in San Mateo. He also brought some of the clipboards to Packard’s pediatric ICU as a “thank you.”

Registered nurse Clayton VanLiere picked the purple and white model, which was made from the ubiquitous Super Sani-Cloth germicidal disposable wipe containers found in hospitals.

“These are from the purple wipes,” said VanLiere, marveling, “These things are sick.”

Pediatric ICU nurse Uriel Contreras selected a bright orange clipboard, made from the tops of insulin caps.

“To see it just come to life like in a clipboard, it’s just crazy that we can recycle them and put it to a good use,” Contreras said.

It’s a good prescription for a healthier planet Earth.

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 Doug Myers

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    DALLAS, Texas (KTVT) — A suitcase that broke open onboard a flight from Las Vegas to Dallas Love Field exposed a significant stash of marijuana, prompting an investigation that led to the arrest of a 25‑year‑old woman, authorities said Friday.

Jennifer Manzanares‑Herrera was arrested before she left the airport and charged with possession of marijuana between 50 and 2,000 pounds, a second‑degree felony, according to the Dallas Police Department.

Airline staff alerted officers on Thursday Police said the department’s Narcotics Unit maintains a presence at Love Field to prevent drug trafficking through the airport.

Officers were alerted Thursday when airline staff reported that a suitcase on the Las Vegas flight had broken open, revealing a large quantity of marijuana.

Two more suitcases discovered Narcotics detectives later found two additional suitcases containing vacuum‑sealed packages of the drug.

In total, detectives recovered 75 pounds of marijuana, police said.

CBS News Texas will provide updates should additional information become available.

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 Jermont Terry

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    ALBANY PARK, Illinois (WBBM) — The woman who was pistol-whipped during an armed robbery at a Family Dollar store in Albany Park last weekend said she was horrified to learn one of the two men who were arrested was also accused of later shooting two Chicago police officers, killing one of them.

Maria Velezquez was still badly bruised nearly one week after the attack, but despite her physical scars, she was speaking out, because she wants people to hear what she endured while simply working at her job; a job she’s terrified of returning to now.

Velezquez was working at the Family Dollar store at the corner of Lawrence and Sawyer avenues on April 25, when two men robbed the store. One of them hit her three times in the face with a gun, breaking her nose.

Her bruises are undeniable.

“My physical is not good; and me and the health, it’s too much pain,” she said.

The pain is much deeper than the scars. Velezquez said, right after opening the store, two men walked in, one of them armed with a gun, and demanded money from the safe and registers.

When she told them she didn’t have keys for the safe, one of the men immediately hit her in the face with a gun.

The man accused of beating her – 26-year-old Alphanso Talley – is the same man police said was spotted on scooters with his accomplice soon after the attack and robbery.

Talley was arrested and claimed to have ingested drugs, so police took him to Swedish Hospital. While there, investigators said when police removed his handcuffs for a medical scan, Talley pulled out a concealed gun, and shot and killed Officer John Bartholomew, and critically wounded his partner.

“He no have heart … for police, for mine, because I have family,” Velezquez said.

As Velezquez recovers from her own injuries, she was horrified to learn Talley was on electronic monitoring at the time of the robbery and his alleged accomplice, Jeron Tate, was on parole following an earlier conviction for multiple robberies when he was a juvenile.

“It’s crazy. I’m sorry, but it’s crazy,” Velezquez said.

She said she doesn’t buy Talley’s family’s defense that he has mental health issues. Yet she’s in disbelief a judge refused to keep Talley behind bars despite his history of repeatedly violating electronic monitoring.

“If they didn’t let him out or let him free, the cops wouldn’t be in that situation, and neither would I,” she said through a Spanish interpreter

For 13, years the single mother of three worked at Family Dollar to care for her children, but now she’ll be out at least two months as she recovers. Her family has set up a GoFundMe to help with medical bills until she feels safe going back to work.

Velezquez said she’s scared to leave the house, reflecting on what happened to the officers, and thankful she survived her attack. She said, every time she closes her eyes, she sees her two attackers.

Despite the robbers wearing face coverings, she said she was able to identify Talley from his large size. It’s that same size investigators believe helped him hide the weapon he used to shoot Bartholomew and his partner.

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 Shannon Delcambre

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    BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (WVTM) — Doctors at UAB have completed Alabama’s first bone marrow transplant using preserved stem cells from a deceased donor, marking a major breakthrough in the treatment of life-threatening blood cancers.

Experts said one of the biggest challenges has been finding a matching donor in time.

This new approach allows doctors to use preserved stem cells, cutting delays and giving more patients a chance at life-saving treatment.

“This advancement reflects our commitment to ensuring more patients have access to curative therapies when they need them most,” Omer Jamy of the UAB O’Neal Cancer Center said. “Expanding the donor pool helps us reach patients who may not otherwise have a viable donor option.”

Jamy encourages younger patients from all racial and ethnic backgrounds to join the registry to improve match rates and save lives.

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 Nicholas Brooks

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    CANTON, Mississippi (WAPT) — 16 WAPT News has obtained exclusive and intense body camera footage showing the moments a Canton police officer rescued a severely burned man from a burning home on Grand Street Sunday night.

According to police, officers responded to reports of smoke and a possible fire at a home on Grand Street. Neighbors said the homeowners had just moved in over the weekend and that the house had recently been remodeled.

One neighbor, Billy Smith, described the chaotic scene.

“When I heard the boom, I thought it was like thunder or something. When I walked outside, I saw a little kid sitting by a firetruck. He had a big burn on his leg,” Smith said.

When crews arrived, the situation quickly escalated.

Body camera video captures the confusion and urgency as officers tried to determine what happened.

“He lit a cigarette, and then it went boom,” one person can be heard saying.

“You got burned? OK, we’re going to get you checked out,” an officer tells a juvenile.

“He got burnt, and the guy up there got burnt,” another voice says.

The video then shows Canton police Officer Jason Wells rushing toward the burning home and helping a badly injured man escape.

Moments later, Wells is seen collapsing and coughing after being overcome by smoke inhalation.

Officials said Wells was treated and later taken to the hospital, where he was released the next day.

Canton Police Department Assistant Chief Steven Johnson said while Wells’ actions were heroic, they did not follow standard protocol.

“They are the ones that have to go in there with the equipment to get the individual out. But in his mind, he was thinking I just need to help this individual,” Johnson said.

Johnson added that officers are trained to wait for fire crews in situations like this to avoid putting themselves in danger.

For Wells, however, the decision to act came down to what he heard at the scene.

“I heard a child hollering, saying, ‘Please save my daddy. That’s what drew my attention to make sure that he was all right,” Wells said. “My safety was making sure that he was OK. That’s what our job is, to make sure the citizens are OK.”

The father and son who were injured in the fire remain hospitalized with severe burns and are recovering. It is still under investigation what caused the fire.

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.