Author: CNN Newsource

By Heath Kalb

Click here for updates on this story

    DETROIT (WWJ) — Former Eastern Michigan football player Freddie McGee III went viral on Monday, doing anything he possibly could to get the Lions’ attention for a tryout to make the team.

“I felt I just needed to take matters into my own hands,” said McGee.

The Canton, Michigan, native, and reigning Defensive Player of the Year in the Arena Football League, says he arrived at the Lions practice facility in Allen Park at 8:45 a.m. Monday to beg for a chance to walk onto the Lions, just like how he walked onto Eastern Michigan’s football team a few years ago.

“This morning was a little nerve-racking, you know, this is definitely stepping outside of my comfort zone,” said McGee. “Just wanted to come out here, maybe catch the right scout, the right personnel person pulling in here, maybe take a look at the sign I have and get to know my story a little bit, maybe give me a shot today.”

McGee’s brave pitch to the Lions is that he’s not just a dreamer; he dominated the AFL last year with 14 interceptions and 25 pass breakups. And his story is one that he says exemplifies everything Dan Campbell and the Lions should be looking for: grit.

“Other than just being a local kid and growing up loving the Lions, I feel like I’m the epitome of grit, like my career hasn’t been easy, I’ve overcome a lot of adversity,” said McGee.

“Freddie believes in himself and is going after his dream. He walked on here and earned a scholarship. He has been super productive in the AFL. He wants to keep going and I absolutely love that,” said EMU coach Chris Creighton.

CBS News Detroit reached out to the Lions organization for comment and is awaiting a response.

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 Beret Leone

Click here for updates on this story

    MINNESOTA (WCCO) — Most people run to their basement during severe weather, but Melanie Metz instead runs toward the storm.

The National Weather Service confirms three tornados hit southern Minnesota Monday night in Amboy, Matawan and Elmore. That’s on top of dozens of hail reports and even some gusts of wind nearing 60 MPH in southern parts of the state.

The weather allowed Champlin based meteorologist and storm chaser Metz to capture some seriously captivating footage. Metz has been chasing storms for 25 years.

“I can’t believe it, honestly. I mean, that’s a long time when I started chasing it was before we even had smartphones, so I couldn’t see radar when I was on the road. It’s been a long time,” she said.

Monday night, her vantage point was from Truman, Minnesota — near Fairmont. She met up with a fellow meteorologist and friend to stake out the storm. She captured some incredible videos, including one which depicted an intact, super cell tornado. Metz believes it the tornado NWS pegged in Amboy.

“We ended up chasing this storm for quite a while until it finally started to organize and became a supercell and produced a couple of tornadoes right in front of us,” she said.

Metz says the chase is thrilling, fascinating and combines her love of storms and photography. But—it’s not something to try without experience.

“There’s so much passion and excitement and energy in it, it’s also very dangerous, and we have to remember that, because we can tend to forget that, especially now, with just so much video out there, tornadoes and people trying to get really close, it’s important to remember how dangerous it can be,” Metz said. “If you get in just the wrong spot, it can happen quickly.”

Metz describes Monday night’s storms as “potent” and “explosive.” She says this kind of weather is typical in Iowa and Kanas this time of year, but it’s a bit unusual for Minnesota in April.

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 Sara Tenenbaum

Click here for updates on this story

    CHICAGO (WBBM) — After surveillance video showed a delivery robot smashing into a CTA bus stop, the little guy and the company he works for have issued an apology.

The pint-sized courier busted through the glass of the shelter in West Town at Grand and Racine in March.

Serve Robots, the company behind the robot, posted an ad on the bus stop with a picture of the delivery boy displaying the message, “Nasir is sorry.”

“Dear West Town neighbors,” the speech bubble above him reads. “I took ‘breaking into the market’ too literally. I’m really sorry about the bus stop… and the dramatic entrance. I promise to do better.”

The crash happened right outside Centre Construction Group, where they were not without sympathy.

“I actually felt bad for the guy a little bit,” said Bayard Elfvin, CEO and founder of Centre Construction Group.

At the bottom of the ad, a message from Serve reads, “We are committed to learning from our mistakes and continuing to improve our technology. We want our robots, like Nasir here, to help reduce traffic, empower local businesses, and be good neighbors that communities want to see on their streets.”

The robots are working in Chicago as part of a pilot program, and its expansion is still being assessed. There is a grassroots effort to put the brakes on it, and a petition with more than 3,700 signatures argues the pilot program has been too disruptive. The petitioners also say the robots “cause safety and accessibility issues for Chicagoans.”

The pilot program is scheduled to run through May 2027.

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 Max Williams

Click here for updates on this story

    ELKHORN, Nebraska (KMTV) — Nebraska has the highest rate of Parkinson’s disease cases per 100,000 people in the U.S., according to a research study from last October. For Omaha resident Dave Arneson, a diagnosis changed his outlook on life and led him to pick up a new hobby to battle the disease: painting.

A decade ago, doctors gave Arneson 10 years to live. Today, he still has not retired from his job and uses art as a mental exercise.

“I watch a ton of Bob Ross and a lot of my paintings look like Bob Ross’ so I enjoy doing them,” Arneson said.

Arneson, who has lived in Omaha for decades, attended a Parkinson’s Foundation educational event in Elkhorn on Monday that around 250 neighbors attended. He believes education on the disease should be more accessible.

“Looking back I had all the symptoms I just didn’t really pay attention,” Arneson said.

Arneson’s son, Nick, watched his father change from quiet to outgoing on a mission to spread awareness. Arneson remembers consoling a mutual friend when they were diagnosed.

“I told her which strangely enough I think I’m a better person with Parkinson’s,” Arneson said.

Arneson does not want to sugarcoat the disease. He opted for a brain procedure to cut down on side effects from his medication.

Rachel Spooner, who works in neuroscience research at Boys Town National Research Hospital, spoke at the presentation. She said Arneson’s painting hobby is a great example of a mental exercise proven to help those with Parkinson’s.

“Those painting and those motions with the strokes might help improve their handwriting so it becomes legible again,” Spooner said.

Arneson looks forward to the Parkinson’s Foundation’s Moving Day, an event where neighbors can get active at Werner Park. The event takes place on June 7 this year.

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 Rachel Ripp

Click here for updates on this story

    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KMBC) — A Kansas City woman with an extensive grant-writing background just created a new AI-powered app to help nonprofits.

Barbara Wright created an app called Grant Builder Pro Max.

“I wrote raps, rhymes, songs, plays, never knowing — and stories — never knowing that that would end up being a part of my destiny and something that I would do,” said Dr. Wright, president of Certified Dream Builder Inc.

She has experience writing grants for the Housing Authority and Kansas City Public Schools. She also taught at JCCC and UMKC for years.

“I started to develop some systems that expedited the grant process using PDFs and using Excel and using some of the technology that was already existing at the time. I didn’t even realize that I was developing a system that goes out and scrapes search engines and pulls the information in. I didn’t realize I was developing an AI myself, for the grant writing,” Wright said.

This tool, which makes the grant writing process easier, is available on the App Store for iPhones and the Google Play Store for Androids.

Important features within the app are completely free, including the questionnaire and readiness profile.

Depending on answers submitted in the questionnaire, the app will generate suggestions and advice on how a nonprofit can improve its readiness.

Wright and her team launched the first version of the app about two years ago, but they went back to the drawing board several months ago to build a new version with AI. The AI version has only been available for about two months.

“I want as many people as possible to have the things that they need,” Wright said. “Take your dreams and your ideas and turn them into reality. I say my slogan is, ‘I help manifest millions for missions who are providing miracles to many.'”

She hosts a free virtual class in conjunction with the app, covering topics of grant writing for child care, veterans programs, homelessness and housing.

In it, she asks the important questions:

Have you thought about how to sustain when the money is gone? Have you developed your goals and objectives? Have you considered how you want this to be successful and who you’re going to serve?

Wright is currently helping entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders from Kansas, Colorado and Florida.

“I can take my software and empower families in the Florida area and do what I need to do to serve them in a quicker motion,” said Evelyn Deterville, executive director of Extra Mile Club Str8 Up.

Some of these people taking her class tell KMBC the app has allowed them to be more responsive to vision and mission, converting solutions into income.

“I’m really appreciative of it, and as I said, Dr. Barbara is touching and serving as a catalyst for social entrepreneurs all over the country, and her app has given us a powerful tool to make that happen,” said Daniel Haupt, director of Destiny Community Development Center.

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 Ted Wayman, Danae Bucci, Imani Clement

Click here for updates on this story

    WEBSTER, Massachusetts (WCVB) — A vigil was held Monday for a 10-year-old girl who died after she was struck by a vehicle in Webster, Massachusetts.

Marleigh Rose Guevara was Saturday hit while she was playing outside on School Street near her home.

A passerby with their own automatic external defibrillator initiated CPR before first responders arrived and took her to UMass Memorial Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, police said.

According to both the Webster and Dudley police departments, the driver in the crash was arrested on April 3 for drug possession and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

The driver was stopped in the middle of Center Road in Dudley just after 9:30 p.m. and appeared to be asleep behind the wheel, police said.

Inside the car, police found a green container containing a substance believed to be crack cocaine and two other baggies believed to be either heroin, fentanyl or crack cocaine. The driver was arrested and released on personal recognizance.

Carmen Borerro said she heard the impact of the School Street crash and stayed with Marleigh until police arrived.

“The person stopped. The person who hit her stopped,” Borerro said in Spanish. “They were talking to her until they eventually let her go.”

In a letter from Webster Public Schools, the superintendent said Marleigh was a fourth grader at Park Avenue Elementary School.

“When a community tragically loses a child, it loses a piece of its soul. Our hearts go out to Marleigh’s family and friends as they endure this terrible loss,” the police department said in a statement.

Marleigh’s mother wrote on a GoFundMe that she is “shattered in a way I didn’t know possible.”

“Marleigh was everything. She had the kind of light that you don’t come across often, the kind that made people feel safe, happy, and loved just by being near her,” her mother wrote. “Her laugh was contagious, her heart was pure, and her presence made this world a better place. To know her was to truly love her.”

Neighbors said drivers frequently speed down School Street.

“Notorious. They need to sit on this road and catch people. I don’t know, put speed bumps on the road,” neighbor Jason D’Andrea said.

The driver has not been charged in Marleigh’s death.

The crash is being investigated by the Central Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council Accident Reconstruction Unit, along with the Webster Police Department and the Worcester County District Attorney’s 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 Brett Kast

Click here for updates on this story

    HAMTRAMCK, Michigan (WXYZ) — A 16-year-old girl is safe after being abducted at gunpoint while walking to her school bus stop in Hamtramck, thanks to the quick actions of a Detroit gas station clerk, fellow students and police.

The kidnapping happened just after 7 a.m. near Edwin and Brombach in Hamtramck streets. The girl, a student at Frontier International Academy, was waiting for her school bus. Hamtramck Police Department Chief Hussein Farhat said the two did not know each other.

“This is a random incident. This suspect could have driven anywhere, saw the opportunity and took advantage of it,” Farhat said.

Roughly 30 minutes later, around 7:30 a.m., the suspect brought the girl into a Sunoco gas station at the corner of Nevada Street and Conant in Detroit. The suspect asked for cigarettes and told the girl to pay for them.

“When he ask her to pay for the cigarettes, I stop and go there’s something wrong. And she mouthed talked to me, like with no sound, ‘help,'” store clerk Abdulrahman Abohatem said.

Abohatem came out from behind the protective glass, confronted the man and ushered the girl to safety.

“I go out, I kick him out, I ask the girl go behind me,” Abohatem said.

According to the school board president, Fellow students who witnessed the kidnapping helped police track the girl’s phone location. As Abohatem was escorting the man out of the store, police pulled into the parking lot.

“I see the police outside. I point to him. I go that’s the guy,” Abohatem said.

The suspect was quickly taken into custody. City of Hamtramck Mayor Adam Alharbi noted the suspect’s criminal background.

“It’s a criminal who had a history of rape charges, and we will make sure he gets what he deserves,” Alharbi said.

The girl’s family said she is safe at home processing the incident and is thankful the community stepped up. More details about the suspect are expected to be released once he is arraigned in the near future.

“I feel good when you save somebody. Sixteen years old — she is child,” Abohatem said.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WXYZ 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.