Author: CNN Newsource

By Emma Benson

Click here for updates on this story

    DRAPER, Utah (KSL) — Emily Taylor said her 7-year-old son Jerett, who goes by Rett, is the fifth of six kids and full of personality.

“He’s genuinely so funny,” she said. “He loves playing Minecraft — it’s kind of his thing.”

But for the past two years, his life has looked anything but typical.

He was first diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia right after his 5th birthday in 2024. The diagnosis began a long and difficult journey of treatment that has kept him out of school and in and out of the hospital. His family quickly shifted to homeschooling as his care became their top priority.

Emily Taylor also made the difficult decision to close the dance studio she had owned for 16 years so she could focus on Rett’s care.

“We try so hard to make it normal, you know, but it’s hard,” she said.

Just months ago, doctors delivered unexpected news: Rett had developed a second cancer — anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

The combination of leukemia and lymphoma at the same time is extraordinarily rare. Emily Taylor said doctors told them they had never seen a case quite like Rett’s.

Rett has been undergoing treatment and spends long days at the hospital.

Now, the next step in his fight is critical: a bone marrow transplant. Rett’s 12-year-old sister, Daphne, is going to be the donor.

“Their relationship is super cute, and they have started taking care of each other more already. It’s really fun to see,” Emily Taylor said.

As they prepare for the transplant, the family said they’ve felt an overwhelming amount of support, something they say is helping them stay hopeful for what’s ahead.

“Everyone just kind of rallies around. It’s amazing actually,” Emily Taylor said.

The transplant is expected in the coming weeks, and they’re hoping it will give Rett a chance at a healthier future. A *GoFundMe has been set up to help the family with medical expenses.

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 KCCI Staff

Click here for updates on this story

    IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCCI) — A mother visiting Iowa City for University of Iowa Moms Weekend says a night meant for bonding and celebration turned into a terrifying scramble for safety when gunfire erupted near the downtown Ped Mall early Sunday.

Aly Davis, of Waukee, whose daughter is a freshman at the University of Iowa, said the two were wrapping up the evening and preparing to head back separately when they suddenly heard what she first thought were fireworks.

“All of a sudden, we just heard a series of ‘bang bang, bang bang,’” Davis said. “My initial response was not to think that it was gunshots.”

But when a second round of shots rang out, and crowds began running, Davis said the reality of the moment hit hard.

“I, unfortunately, just given the world we live in, thought it was an active shooter,” she said.

According to Iowa City police and university officials, five people were wounded in the shooting, including three University of Iowa students. Police said officers were responding to reports of a large fight in the downtown nightlife district around the Ped Mall when they heard gunfire. One victim was reported in critical condition, and four others were stable Sunday. No arrests had been announced early in the investigation, though police later released photos of persons of interest.

Davis said she and her daughter were about 200 feet from where the shooting happened.

In the chaos, Davis said her first instinct was to protect her daughter.

“I turned to my daughter and said, ‘There’s a shooter. I want you to run as fast as you can, get safe, even if you have to hide,’” she said.

Her daughter and a group of friends ran toward the residence halls. Davis stayed behind, believing she might slow them down — and feeling, as a mother, that any disruption she could create might buy her daughter more time to get away.

“I know I don’t have the physical strength to overtake a person, and definitely not a firearm,” Davis said. “But if I can cause some kind of a delay for her to get further and safer, that’s what I needed to do.”

She briefly hid in an alley. Then her daughter came back.

“She said, ‘I’m not leaving you. Come with me,’” Davis said.

The two eventually persuaded an Uber driver to take them away from the area.

By Sunday morning, Davis said both she and her daughter were still processing what had happened. She said her daughter felt grateful they were safe, while also thinking about the victims and their families.

“Lives are still lives,” Davis said. “Just really thoughts and strength and comfort to the victims and their families.”

Davis also said the support from other mothers during Moms Weekend helped. At a final scheduled event the next morning, she said families embraced one another and checked in.

She praised the response from Iowa City police, emergency crews and the university, saying the law enforcement presence grew quickly and university alerts were sent out while they were still trying to leave downtown.

The University of Iowa told students to avoid the area and later said there was no indication that university students were the intended targets. University President Barbara Wilson also urged students and staff to lean on one another and seek support if needed.

For other parents, especially those who were not in Iowa City with their children, Davis said the experience reinforces the importance of awareness.

“The biggest thing is just always be mindful of your surroundings,” she said. “Never go anywhere alone.”

The pedestrian mall in Iowa City, built in 1979, is a centerpiece of the downtown urban renewal project and a popular gathering spot for University of Iowa students and staff.

While not located on the university campus, the mall is widely known as a favorite hangout for the community.

The last shooting at the pedestrian mall occurred in 2017, when two people were hospitalized in critical condition. That incident also took place in the early hours of a Sunday morning.

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 Conor Wight

Click here for updates on this story

    WISCONSIN (WCCO) — Dozens of former employees are now suing their former bosses after they were all abruptly laid off from a metal fabrication plant in western Wisconsin.

David Olsen is one of those employees. He said that ownership at Northern Metal Fab, Inc. called a meeting early on Monday, March 30, where they were told to pack their bags.

“There absolutely was no warning that the company was potentially going belly up, that was a shock to everyone,” Olsen said.

Since 1987, Northern Metal Fab, Inc. took on large metal welding and crafting projects that Olsen said others in the area simply couldn’t handle. There had been highs and lows over the years, he said, but he felt blindsided when his bosses told him and his colleagues that the plant was no longer financially viable.

That was the first surprise. The second would come days later when Olsen and others said that they did not receive their final two weeks of pay; they claim that Northern Metal Fab, Inc. also failed to provide them the financial equivalent for their unused vacation days. Most alarming, Olsen said, was that they learned their insurance was canceled as of late February despite the employees still paying their premiums.

“We have one employee where his family actually delivered a baby in March. Come to find out now they had no insurance to cover that,” Olsen said. “Fifteen, 20, 25 years people have been here and they’ve got nothing to show for it here at the end. This is how they’re treated.”

President and co-owner John Felix declined to speak to WCCO, directing us instead to attorney Joseph Skokan, who provided a statement. Co-owner Jeffrey Cabson was not immediately available on Sunday.

“After a thorough review of business operations and the current economic climate, the owners of Northern Metal Fab. Inc. determined the business was no longer financially viable. Despite their best efforts to find alternatives, they made the difficult decision to cease operations and seek relief through a chapter 7 bankruptcy. The case is expected to be commenced early next week, Northern Metal Fab. Inc. hopes that the liquidation of its business assets will result in a quick and meaningful distribution to its employees and other creditors,” Skokan said in an email.

The class action lawsuit against Northern Metal Fab, Inc. accuses ownership of violating both state and federal laws surrounding failure to pay owed wages and the lack of warning ahead of the layoffs. The state of Wisconsin confirmed that an investigator is now looking into the latter issue; typically, a company with more than 50 employees like Northern Metal Fab, Inc. is meant to provide 60 days’ notice before a plant closure.

As of Sunday evening, there was no indication on the company’s website that it had shut down. In fact, there were still multiple job openings listed with links to apply.

Jody Olsen, David Olsen’s wife, used to work at the facility in Human Resources. She left of her own accord in 2025 and is now working to support her husband and try to help his laid-off colleagues find work.

“A failure is one thing, to then take advantage of employees is another,” she 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 Sarah Horbacewicz

Click here for updates on this story

    NEDERLAND, Colorado (KCNC) — Residents in the Colorado community of Nederland sheltered in place for most of the day on Sunday after a possible pipe bomb was found by a man walking his dog on Sunday morning.

Ben Lauderdale and his dog George are in the middle of moving to a new home in Nederland. Lauderdale says he went to visit the neighborhood around 8 a.m. Sunday morning, when he found the briefcase on a residential road off Highway 72.

“Closed on the house on Tuesday. We moved in yesterday. Found the pipe bomb today,” Lauderdale said, “I put one buckle back, and that went easy. Then the second one, I was like, this has kind of got some weight. And so I was like, I shouldn’t open it, but I still did.”

He says he backed away right away and called the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office. First responders shut down the road for 11 hours. Just after noon, the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office issued a shelter-in-place order near Ponderosa Way. Bomb squad technicians deployed a robot to handle the device.

The sheriff’s office says the device appeared to have the components of a functioning bomb, but they will need to look at it further to make sure. Officers are continuing to investigate how the briefcase got there and how long it was there.

“I was like, we should probably get away. And George came up and smelled it, and I was trying to get him away,” Lauderdale said, “There are a lot of people who take walks over there… Just glad people are good and… I found it and… no one’s hurt.”

The shelter-in-place order was lifted just after 7 p.m. Sunday.

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 KMTV Staff

Click here for updates on this story

    FLORENCE, Nebraska (KMTV) — Volunteers joined forces Saturday afternoon to restore the Florence Train Depot Museum after it was vandalized.

Graffiti, broken glass and residue from fire extinguishers covered the inside of the neighborhood landmark, leaving it unrecognizable.

Many of the volunteers were members of the Florence Historical Foundation and the Florentine Players, a community theater group that supports the foundation.

“Florence is a family, and when one of us hurts we all hurt, so we are all feeling this right now. We want to make sure we get this back to looking the way it did before,” Derek Kowal said. He is part of both the Florence Historical District and the Florentine Players.

The Florentine Players are hoping to get the museum back in shape before their melodrama performance. The first night of the show is April 30 and runs over two weekends.

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.

By Stephanie Moore

Click here for updates on this story

    ORANGEBURG, South Carolina (WYFF) — A South Carolina man pleaded guilty after he was accused of throwing a puppy in a fire and then kicking it while streaming on Facebook Live.

Desmond Levon Brown, 29, of Orangeburg, has pleaded guilty to animal crushing, which includes burning, under the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act (PACT Act), according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of South Carolina.

This is the first known PACT Act Conviction in South Carolina.

Investigators said the evidence showed on Dec. 18, the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office received reports of a Facebook Live video showing Brown throwing a puppy into a fire that day.

Deputies said they found the deceased puppy in a wooded area near the incident location.

Federal law enforcement obtained the Facebook video, which they say showed Brown holding the puppy above the fire, dropping it into the fire, and repeatedly kicking the puppy into the fire, burning it alive.

Further evidence showed that the fire, which was started by Brown’s associate, was made using a brand of rum that was imported from the Caribbean and bottled in Kentucky.

After his arrest, Brown was recorded on jail calls admitting to burning the puppy.

“Brown’s gruesome torture of a puppy was heinous,” said U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling for the District of South Carolina. “He showed no mercy in his crime, and we look forward to his sentencing. Our office will lead the fight to protect the welfare of animals in South Carolina.”

Brown faces a maximum penalty of seven years in federal prison. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000, restitution, and three years of supervision to follow the term of imprisonment. United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis accepted the guilty plea and will sentence Brown after receiving and reviewing a sentencing report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

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 Jolie Rodriguez

Click here for updates on this story

    WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (WPBF) — A Florida pilot has filed a lawsuit challenging the renaming of Palm Beach International Airport to “Donald J. Trump International Airport,” arguing the state lacks the legal authority to make the change.

The lawsuit was filed by George Poncy Jr., a Federal Aviation Administration-licensed pilot who regularly flies in the area.

Palm Beach International Airport is owned and operated by Palm Beach County. The lawsuit claims the renaming law violates the county’s home rule authority, which grants local governments control over county-owned facilities.

“I just felt, growing up in a country that I thought was what it was, and seeing what it’s become, I didn’t think I had a choice,” Poncy said.

Poncy also argues that even if county commissioners supported the renaming, he believes it was not legally binding.

“You can ask anybody if they thought it was good, but it’s not legal,” Poncy said.

The lawsuit raises concerns about aviation safety, claiming the change was advanced without coordination with the FAA. As a pilot, Poncy argues the renaming could create confusion in aviation systems.

“If you’re not totally up to date on this, you’ve got the wrong airport identifiers, you’ve got all kinds of charts, you’ve got navigation stuff, and if you’re in a transition period, you don’t know what you got,” Poncy said.

The complaint also questions the estimated $5.5 million cost of the renaming, arguing the final cost could be higher and could ultimately affect taxpayers.

Poncy is asking the court to declare the renaming unlawful and stop it from taking effect.

The FAA said it does not comment on ongoing litigation. The governor’s office, Palm Beach County and airport officials have been contacted for comment.

Before the lawsuit was filed, airport officials stated the law would change only the airport’s name — not its code, ownership or day-to-day operations — and said service would continue without interruption.

The renaming is set to go into effect on July 1.

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.