Author: CNN Newsource

By Wakisha Bailey

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    PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (KYW) — As graduation season continues, one Philadelphia high school senior is preparing for her next chapter while leaving behind a legacy for future students.

Sobrielle Casimir, a member of Class 270 at the Philadelphia High School for Girls, created a student-run thrift store inside the school to give classmates access to fresh pieces to wear while promoting sustainability in fashion.

The store features racks of clothing, shoes, skirts and formal wear. The concept is simple: students can donate an item they don’t want, and take an item off the racks in exchange.

Casimir said the idea started when she was a junior. She wanted to help keep clothing out of landfills while encouraging her school community to think more intentionally about waste.

“I really wanted a way to educate the community and encourage everyone to be more mindful with where their waste is going, and consider more sustainable options,” Casimir said.

After submitting a proposal and getting approval, donations began pouring in.

Casimir said the project was not for a grade or class assignment. It was something she created to help her school community.

Now, as she prepares to attend Yale University this fall, Casimir is leaving behind more than a thrift store.

“It’s a little bittersweet. I’m going to miss the Girls’ High community here, but I know they’ll always have a place for me, and they’ll always be in my heart,” she said.

Casimir plans to stop by from time to time to check on the store, and Girls’ High already has a plan in place to keep donations coming for future students.

To learn more about how to donate clothing, you can visit the Girls’ High website.

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 Neal Riley

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    PROVINCETOWN, Massachusetts (WBZ) — There’s a smelly situation on the beach in Provincetown, Massachusetts after thousands of squid washed up on shore.

Social media video and photos from this weekend show the pink sea creatures stacked up in the sand. The Provincetown Harbormaster’s Office said they are Atlantic longfin inshore squid that are at the end of their life cycle.

“The squid are NOT dying from a toxic event, red tide, or pollution,” the harbormaster said. “This is a completely natural process!”

The squid have a lifespan of less than a year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries division. The harbormaster said they migrate near the beach to spawn, and die shortly after. The Provincetown-based Center for Coastal Studies had posted a video of squid swimming in the water close to shore Thursday.

“It’s a mass spawning die-off,” the harbormaster said. “Add in the right combination of wind and tide, and the dying animals get pushed up onto the beach instead of staying out in the water.”

The harbormaster said “this happens all the time,” but they usually die underwater and are quickly eaten by fish and other predators in the ocean.

To deal with the smell, the harbormaster says residents can scoop the squid up with a shovel and throw them back, “and the tide and critters will handle the rest.”

“So no need to worry,” the harbormaster said. “Mother Nature is just doing her thing.”

Provincetown is located at the end of Cape Cod, a 115-mile drive from Boston.

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 Morgan Rynor

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    LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA, Florida (WFOR) — A five-year-old boy drowned at a hotel pool in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, but in a stroke of fate, two off-duty firefighters were there and immediately got to work.

“It was the worst day of my life, the worst and the best day of my life because my baby got saved, but the feeling, as a father, as a parent, I’m just thankful,” Tyonne Nelson said.

Tyler’s father, Tyonne Nelson, said it happened so fast while they were celebrating his birthday over Memorial Day Weekend at the Plunge Beach Resort. Tyonne got out of the pool to order food for Tyler, while Tyler stayed back with his older brother, who is 20, and another adult.

“I should have took with me,” Nelson said. “I thought about it, contemplated it, Tyler was talking to Connor’s mom, and with Connor, and they were sitting at the edge of the water.”

Broward Sheriff’s Fire Rescue Firefighter and Paramedic, Broderick Espinoza, was off duty and in the pool with his sister-in-law at the same time.

“We noticed something in the water,” Espinoza said. “We didn’t know exactly what it was, so she kind of used her foot to bring it afloat, and we noticed it was Tyler. He was unresponsive, wasn’t breathing, and didn’t have a pulse. So I immediately started CPR on the side of the pool right there.”

Broward Sheriff’s Fire Rescue Firefighter and Paramedic, Broderick Espinoza, was off duty and in the pool with his sister-in-law at the same time.

“We noticed something in the water,” Espinoza said. “We didn’t know exactly what it was, so she kind of used her foot to bring it afloat, and we noticed it was Tyler. He was unresponsive, wasn’t breathing, and didn’t have a pulse. So I immediately started CPR on the side of the pool right there.”

Those seconds they didn’t have to wait for first responders to arrive saved his life.

“I know it was a miracle. I know god was there because he sent some angels there, and it didn’t just send one, he sent two,” Mom Markita Pittman-Nelson said.

Tyler made it to his kindergarten graduation just a week later, and swim lessons right after that.

“I wish I would have started earlier,” Pittman-Nelson said. “Iit just so happened this summer was the summer I wanted to actually go ahead and start it, and then the incident happened.”

Monday morning, Tyler reunited with Espinoza and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Lieutenant Jesus Fuentes. Tyler said he wants to be a firefighter when he grows up.

BSO says drownings are all too common. As we head into summer and children are out of school, spending time at the beach and pool, BSO said to make sure your child knows how to swim, is wearing floaties, and is supervised at all times, and to learn CPR.

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 Brian Unger

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    ATLANTA, Georgia (WUPA) — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security calls it the fastest-growing criminal enterprise in the world: human trafficking — the use of force, fraud, or coercion to exploit people for forced labor or commercial sex. And with FIFA Men’s World Cup matches just one week away in Atlanta, city leaders are pushing for heightened awareness and training for the frontline workers most likely to encounter it.

To ensure this message reaches those most at risk, the global awareness campaign “It’s a Penalty” is partnering with city leaders, equipping residents and workers to better identify trafficking.

“We’ve heard from survivors themselves that we’ve worked with that they have been trafficked during these events,” said Dana Hoyes of It’s a Penalty. “It’s in hotels and also rental property — just any place that people can have privacy behind closed doors.”

As part of these heightened prevention efforts, hotels like the InterContinental in Buckhead, part of IHG’s 7,000-hotel global portfolio, are expanding employee training—preparing staff who may be the first to notice something is wrong.

“It’s going to be your front desk agents that are checking in guests,” said Helena Killingsworth of IHG Hotels & Resorts. “It’s going to be your housekeepers that are in and out of the rooms, noticing what’s going on, the traffic that’s coming in. It could be your banquet server, delivering in-room dining.”

This training is especially significant in Atlanta, where IHG operates 70 hotels. Designed in part by trafficking survivors, the program reinforces Killingsworth’s approach: “It’s all about see something, say something.”

Mayor Andre Dickens has made anti-trafficking efforts a city-wide priority. Georgia First Lady Marty Kemp has made it a personal cause, pushing for tougher punishments for traffickers.

“We will find you, and you will face justice,” Kemp said at a recent press event for It’s a Penalty at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, referencing multiple pieces of legislation she spearheaded and that were passed by the legislature to stiffen penalties faced by traffickers in Georgia.

For those most vulnerable to traffickers, the crisis extends beyond policies—it’s deeply personal.

Christian Hall says he’s in a good place now. But for much of his life, he wasn’t. In and out of foster care, with no home, no food, and no family, Hall at one point slept in the offices of the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services.

“I was sleeping on the floor,” he said. “Did not have adequate food. Did not have adequate support. It was a very scary time for me.”

Hall is now a resident at Covenant House in Atlanta, where he’s found something that eluded him for most of his 21 years: choices.

“There were times when I felt like I needed to do things outside the norm,” he said. “You’re kind of faced with the question you ask yourself — if I do this, will it make my situation worse?”

Advocates say the uptick in attention is important, but caution that the reality of trafficking stretches far beyond a single tournament or event.

“Large sporting events bring attention to trafficking,” said LaToya McCall of Covenant House Georgia. “However, the work we’re doing at Covenant House Georgia — and the young people in Atlanta — they’re actually more vulnerable to trafficking every single day.”

For 26 years, Covenant House has been on the front lines of that daily fight. For Christian Hall, something as simple as a bed, a meal, and a safe place to sleep has made all the difference.

“Now I’m a student at Atlanta Technical College,” he said. “So I’m taking classes.”

Hall says he’ll eventually attend a 4-year college, maybe even go to law school, to advocate for vulnerable people.

If you believe someone is the victim of human trafficking, call the police or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

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 Monique John

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    ATLANTA, Georgia (WUPA) — Georgia Tech researchers and Zoo Atlanta are innovating technology to keep elephants healthy and sharp.

Building on this innovation, Arianna Mastali, a Georgia Tech PhD student, is developing an interactive wall that produces sounds elephants typically hear in the wild. Mastali says elephants’ keen ears can hear low-frequency sounds, and that the sounds from the wall keep them mentally stimulated.

She explains, “In the wild, they sometimes communicate through those low frequencies by being able to feel the vibrations and their feet,” Mastali said. “And that’s how they can communicate over long distances. Because of that, we wanted to avoid using any natural elephant sounds in our enrichment. And we specifically chose just basic low tones so that we weren’t interfering or potentially saying anything that could be confusing for the elephants.”

In comparison to other zoos, which have similar enrichment walls, the audio features in this one set it apart. Kirby Miller, Zoo Atlanta’s senior elephant care specialist, is working with Mastali to develop the system.

Describing how the features are tailored, Miller said, “It depends on what behavior we’re trying to elicit. So [if] we want trunk manipulation, object interaction, something sensory, so we can switch that out depending on what it is to keep it novel for them. So, that just keeps them stimulated and keeps their day really interesting.”

As a result of these efforts, the zoo says the elephants have doubled their time at the wall.

Looking ahead, Mastali said, “At this point, we are working towards taking things and removing them from the wall and using a camera with computer vision so that we don’t have to worry about wear and tear long term, or potentially elephants trying to break it. And we are in the process of trying to develop our algorithm to be more accurate in detecting whenever a trunk is present at one of these holes, so we can provide that sound enrichment to them long-term.”

Miller highlights the impact on the caretakers: “It’s been really great for us,” Miller said. “This is a type of enrichment that we can’t provide as caretakers. There’s only so much we can do. So having Arianna do that for us has been really great…”

Looking to the future, Mastali hopes the zoo’s care team can use the wall long after her research is finished.

She adds, “Over the next two years, I would say we are hoping to get something that works full-time, and we can make it so it’s usable for the animal care team to be able to use without our supervision.”

She hopes the interactive tech can be used to engage other zoo animals for years to come.

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 Mary Eber

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    BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — A Maryland woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer at 22 is now celebrating Cancer Survivors’ Month and hoping to encourage others.

Shelby Bennoit was diagnosed with breast cancer after discovering a lump in her breast. Her team of doctors at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital developed an aggressive treatment of chemotherapy followed by surgery.

Bennoit opted for a bilateral mastectomy. Now, at 24, she’s been cancer-free for more than a year and shared the moment she learned she was rid of it.

Diagnosed with breast cancer Bennoit said she did not have a family history of breast cancer or any cancer. But when she noticed a lump, her family and friends encouraged her to get it checked out.

She had a biopsy done, and two days later, got a call that she had breast cancer.

“When I first found the lump, I never saw this coming,” she said. “I was like it has to be something else, hormonal changes, a cyst, anything but breast cancer, especially not having any family history. I just never saw this coming. I am the first person in my family to even get cancer.”

Her official diagnosis was Infiltrating Duct Carcinoma Stage 2b Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

“I was in shock for a very long time,” Bennoit said. “It really didn’t set in until I began treatment and started to experience those effects like losing my hair and feeling the side effects from chemo. So, the first couple of weeks, I was really in shock for the most part. It didn’t really hit me until I started treatment.”

Breast cancer treatment Bennoit said her doctors prepared her, telling her that her treatment plan would be aggressive.

She immediately started chemotherapy, undergoing 16 rounds, some weekly and others bi-weekly. Surgery followed.

Bennoit said she opted for the bilateral mastectomy as she wanted to do everything in her power to ensure the cancer would not come back.

Her doctor, Kristen Fernandez, the surgical director of Ascension Saint Agnes Breast Cancer, would call with updates at all hours and was there to answer her questions.

“Under 25, it’s less than 1%, some of the data says .1%, so it’s exceedingly rare in young women,” Fernandez said.

Cancer-free Bennoit was diagnosed in August 2024 and was cancer-free by February 2025.

“Receiving the news that I was cancer-free was incredible,” Bennoit said. “I had never felt such an elated, joyful feeling in my life. I was so just so grateful to my team here and my family and everyone that supported me through all of my trials and tribulations. And I just felt so on fire to give back to the community. To help other women and to inspire others and just to let them know that, you do have hope, that I am a testament of that, and that there is something positive to look forward to after this.”

Now, Bennoit is encouraging other young women to look into their risk factors and have conversations with their doctors.

“To anyone going through a cancer diagnosis, whether it be breast cancer or not, please don’t give up, try to stay as positive as possible. Reach out for help when you need it. There are so many of us out there that are willing to hold your hand and walk you through this.”

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 Nicky Zizaza

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    BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — Four-year-old Grayson Wood of Maryland loves superheroes. His parents say that’s why every doctor’s appointment has become a “superpower test,” a way to make a difficult medical journey feel a little less scary.

Several years ago, he suffered a seizure that sent his family rushing to the emergency room. At the time, doctors believed a high fever may have triggered the episode.

When the seizure ended, his parents hoped it would be an isolated incident, but it wasn’t.

Hidden seizures The seizures eventually returned, this time without a fever and without warning.

One afternoon, Grayson was sitting on his mother’s lap watching television when she noticed something was wrong.

“It was just me and him in the house,” said his mother, Sherrie Wood. “We’re watching TV, he’s sitting on my lap, he stretches, he holds the stretch for a while. When I look at him, his eyes start to go back.”

For his father, Deaven Wood, the experience was terrifying.

“That’s the scariest thing I’ve seen in my life,” he said. “I’d seen seizures on TV before, but seeing one in real life, you don’t know what to do.”

Searching for answers Searching for answers, the family turned to pediatric neurologist Dr. Bilal Sitwat at LifeBridge Health.

There, doctors used a technology called Ceribell, a rapid EEG system that can detect seizure activity within minutes at a patient’s bedside.

Traditional EEG testing often requires multiple electrodes to be attached to a patient’s scalp before specialists can review brain activity. The Ceribell system instead uses a soft headband that can be put on quickly, allowing physicians to monitor brain activity almost immediately.

Detecting a seizure The technology proved especially valuable during one of Grayson’s emergency room visits.

After receiving medication, the preschooler appeared to be sleeping peacefully on his mother’s chest. To his family, it looked like he was finally resting.

The monitor revealed something very different.

“We were in the emergency room, and they gave him medicine, and he wound up taking a nap,” Wood said. “The nurse came in and said, ‘We’re going to give him some medicine because he’s having a seizure.’ He was peacefully napping on my chest. She showed me the readings on her phone.”

Doctors say seizures can sometimes occur without the dramatic symptoms many people expect, making rapid brain monitoring an important tool for diagnosis and treatment.

“It is quite a game changer,” Sitwat said. “It helps doctors detect and treat seizures early, but it’s even more helpful for patients because they can receive treatment earlier.”

According to Sitwat, LifeBridge Health is currently the only hospital system in the region using technology in this way.

For Grayson’s family, having answers has brought a sense of relief after years of uncertainty.

Today, he continues taking medication and attending follow-up appointments. While the testing and treatments haven’t always been easy, his parents say he approaches them with remarkable resilience.

“It’s a lot of tests, a lot of blood work and taking medicine,” Wood said. “But he’s okay with it because he knows it keeps the superpowers strong.”

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 Kennedy Mason

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    ORLANDO, Florida (WESH) — Hundreds of runners, walkers and supporters filled the streets outside Orlando City Hall on Saturday morning for the 10th annual Community Rainbow Run, an event honoring the 49 victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting and raising money for a permanent memorial at the former Pulse site.

The 4.9-kilometer race commemorates the 49 lives lost in the June 12, 2016, tragedy, which remains one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history. Nearly a decade later, participants said the event continues to serve as a powerful reminder of those who were killed and the resilience of the Orlando community.

“It’s a very sacred thing and having this event to remember those individuals, also celebrating Pride during Pride Month,” said Jordan Metellus, an Orlando resident who attended to support participants.

Metellus said taking part in the event was an opportunity to give back to a city known for its welcoming spirit.

“Being able to give back to my city, a city that’s always so welcoming to individuals, whether it’s outsiders, people born here, people who want to just express themselves freely — being a part of this and being able to help out the city of Orlando, it’s just an amazing opportunity,” he said.

The Community Rainbow Run was founded by a group of University of Central Florida graduate students in 2017 to mark the first anniversary of the Pulse shooting. Since then, it has become an annual tradition focused on remembrance, healing and community support.

Among the participants Saturday was Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan, who said she ran in memory of those lost in the tragedy.

“I’m running today for my friend Eddie, who was killed that night, Simon, whose family wouldn’t claim him after the tragedy but then they came around, thank God, and Amanda Alvear,” Sheehan said.

Proceeds from this year’s race will support the construction of a permanent memorial planned for the former Pulse nightclub property. Sheehan said the memorial will provide a meaningful place for reflection and remembrance.

“We’re going to make this happen,” Sheehan said. “I think Orlando is going to be really proud of this.”

Sheehan also addressed the city’s recent decision not to appeal a ruling involving the painted rainbow crosswalk near the Pulse site. She said city leaders determined an appeal was unlikely to succeed.

“I understand that people in the community are upset with us for not doing something, but if we go through with the appeal and we get denied, we’ll never do that,” Sheehan said. “So we’re trying to be strategic about it.”

As Orlando approaches 10 years since the Pulse tragedy, organizers and participants said events like the Community Rainbow Run help ensure the victims are never forgotten while supporting efforts to create a lasting tribute to their memory.

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.