Author: CNN Newsource

By Frankie McLister

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    WILLMAR, Minnesota (WCCO) — While many of the headlines have focused on the Twin Cities, greater Minnesota is feeling the impacts of the immigration crackdown, too.

In Willmar, community members say U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests have closed restaurants and left a community on edge.

The city has a diverse population of a little over 21,000.

“You have families that are scared for their life. People refusing to come out of their house,” said Abdullahi Mohamed of Willmar.

Streets on Friday appeared to operate as normal, but businesses were not.

Area establishments have posted signs saying they’re either closed or taking orders differently.

“They detained someone just across the street where I was working,” said Brentt Fees of Willmar.

Mohamed added, “I’ve seen with my two eyes ICE detaining people.”

El Tapatio Mexican Restaurant closed after WCCO confirmed agents visited the spot for lunch and later returned, detaining its owners and a dishwasher nearby after they had closed early due to the federal law enforcement’s previous appearance.

A 20-year-old, who says his parents own the restaurant and are now detained, says the business will reopen on Saturday under his leadership.

A visitor who stopped by El Tapatio to show his support says the liquor store he works at has lost 75% of its business since agents have appeared in Operation Metro Surge.

“I just wanted to make sure everything is okay,” said Fees. “And apparently it’s not because they’re closed now.”

WCCO asked a man who retired from Jennie-O, one of the town’s biggest employers, what he wants for his community right now.

“To get together and vote these people out. We’re not scared, man,” said Willmar resident Abdulcadir Gaal.

Willmar Mayor Doug Reese says he’s urging residents to stay calm and to respect one another to keep the community safe.

WCCO reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment on the matter. The Assistant Secretary responded to our inquiry in part:

“On January 14, ICE officers conducted surveillance of a target, an illegal alien from Mexico. Officers observed that the target’s vehicle was outside of a local business and positively identified him as the target while inside the business. Following the positive identification of the target, officers then conducted a vehicle stop later in the day and apprehended the target and two additional illegal aliens who were in the car, including one who had a final order of removal from an immigration judge.”

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 Chris Hoffman

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    SOUTH HILLS, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — We all have days where it’s a struggle, and life can be hard.

However, Chris Guy is going across the region to give a sign for everyone to keep their head up. He says, “Everyone deserves to have a good day at some point.”

On the day KDKA caught up with him, he was in Mt. Lebanon with a simple message, but one that is so powerful: “The world is a better place with you in it.”

“This is something that everyone should hear from their friends and family. If you don’t have that in your life, it’s an honor to be that person for someone,” Guy said.

For the last six years or so, Guy has been waving, smiling, and telling people they matter across the region, usually in the South Hills. He gives love to total strangers.

“That’s really what it’s all about,” Guy said.

To each person, he says, the message may have a different meaning.

“That’s the best part about it,” Guy said.

Guy has seen depression in his life, with loved ones and friends battling it. The idea is not to spread any ideology or political message. He doesn’t take any money either. He appreciates the smiles, waves, and honks, but he hopes people go home and think about the nine words on his sign.

“Even if one person sees my sign, goes home and thinks about it and decides they were having a better day than they had previously, all the more worth it,” Guy said.

While living in Meadville, he had someone thank him for his work as he battled some struggles.

“You’ve got to be the change you want to see in the world, and I think it’s a good first step for anybody, myself included,” Guy said.

On this day, another stranger thanked him as they battled some personal problems. He hugged Guy and thanked him for his positive message. While it’s some black lettering on a white poster board, it can change a life.

“It truly is a blessing that I get to do this,” Guy said.

According to him, anyone can help someone. He encourages others be a bright spot in a world that too often can feel dark.

“The world is a better place with you in it,” Guy 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 Eva Andersen

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    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — Philadelphia marked the third week of its “52 Weeks of Firsts” series Saturday with an event highlighting the origins of America’s first volunteer fire company — coinciding with Benjamin Franklin’s 320th birthday.

Franklin founded the nation’s first volunteer fire company, the Union Fire Company, in 1736.

Families and visitors toured Fireman’s Hall Museum in Old City, which is housed in a renovated firehouse from 1898, according to its website.

Guests learned how early firefighting in Philly relied on hand pumps, bucket brigades and later, leather hoses — some of the technology predating American independence.

“We’re celebrating how we started as a volunteer organization and we gravitated from that to a paid department,” Brian Anderson, a Philadelphia firefighter and the museum’s historian and curator, said.

Exhibits traced the evolution of tools and equipment used from the volunteer era to the paid era. One of the oldest hand engines on display dates to 1752.

“You’re actually pumping by hand to build the pressure to squirt water to extinguish fire,” Anderson said.

For many families, the event doubled as a hands-on history lesson.

“I think it’s crazy,” Dina Gigliotti, who attended with her 12-year-old son, said . “I was just looking at the wooden water main, how it was like wooden. I’m just trying to figure that out. Like, the water went through wood!”

Others reacted to early fire hoses.

“I didn’t know the old hoses were made out of leather,” Michele Jordan said.

A Boy Scout troop from Hatboro tried racing to put on fire uniforms the fastest.

“They seem to be enjoying it,” Troop leader Keith Grimes said.

Inside the museum, the event also underscored the risks modern firefighters continue to face. A memorial wall features the names of more than 300 Philadelphia fire fighters killed in the line of duty.

“I’m the person who puts those names on when members die in the line of duty,” Anderson said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s volunteer or paid: the mission is still the same. First responders have an obligation to keep the citizens safe and protect their property, and that mission is still carried on today.”

The “52 Weeks of Firsts” series is part of Philadelphia’s lead-up to America’s 250th anniversary, featuring a new historic “first” each week through the end of the year.

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 Liz Crawford

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    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — A South Jersey mom surprised her son with Eagles tickets Sunday, and it turned into a nightmare. When they left the game, her car was gone. She thought it was stolen, but police told her it was courtesy towed. As of Thursday evening, her car is still missing, and Jacquie Martin doesn’t know if it was courtesy towed, stolen, or both.

Martin was thrilled to snag tickets to the Eagles’ playoff game Sunday against the 49ers and couldn’t wait to surprise her 16-year-old son.

“He was like, what!?! He was very excited,” she said.

Martin said parking was impossible when she got to the sports complex, so she decided to park her car on 7th Street, not far from Pattison Avenue. She admitted she parked it illegally, along with a long row of other illegally parked cars on 7th Street.

After the game, she returned to the spot and said it was gone. Martin said at first, she thought it might have been stolen or towed to the impound lot because she parked in a No Stopping zone, but the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) has no record of it being ticketed or towed. On Monday, she says a police officer told her he had good news.

“Your car was courtesy towed. And I said what do you mean courtesy towed?” Martin said.

A courtesy tow is when a parked car gets legally moved to make way for utility work or a special event, among other things. Police, the PPA or a private tower could be behind the tow.

Martin said police told her, “An officer used an outside vendor to tow my car, somewhere, not in an impound lot, but on a street somewhere and I have to go find it,” she said.

On Monday, Martin said she and her 80-year-old mom drove all around the area and never found it. The next day, she went to the police department’s 3rd District.

According to the city, if a car is courtesy towed, the district should have a record of it, but they didn’t. Instead, Martin said an officer offered to drive her around and look for the car. They never found it, and she ultimately filed a stolen vehicle report. By Thursday, she said her insurance agent found a clue and sent her an email.

It showed her car had been spotted by a police license plate reader at 2 a.m. on Monday, less than a mile from where she says she parked it before the game. CBS News Philadelphia checked that location Thursday afternoon, and it wasn’t there.

“It’s a nightmare. It’s crazy. Because nothing makes sense, right?” Martin said.

She’s still hoping her car turns up, especially because she only has two payments left on the loan.

CBS Philadelphia also reached out to the Streets Department to see if they know anything. We haven’t heard back yet.

Meantime, she’s not the only one exasperated by the city’s towing policies. A CBS News Philadelphia investigation last spring found courtesy tows in Philadelphia can leave people searching for their cars and paying fines. In October 2023, Philadelphia City Council adopted a resolution to hold hearings to investigate courtesy towing. They have yet to hold a single hearing.

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 Mark Prussin, Naomi Ruchim

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    NEW YORK (WCBS) — Kianna Underwood, a former Nickelodeon child actress, has been identified as the woman killed in a hit-and-run early Friday morning in New York City.

The NYPD confirmed Underwood’s death Saturday, adding the 33-year-old was struck by two drivers in Brownsville, Brooklyn, after attempting to cross the street without the right of way.

Police said they were still looking for the drivers involved in the fatality and had not yet made any arrests.

As a young actress, Underwood landed a role on the 10th season of Nickelodeon’s “All That.”

Actress Angelique Bates, who was part of the show’s original cast, remembers meeting Underwood at a cast party in 2005.

“After giving her a hug, I said, You know what? I’m passing the torch to you.’ And she was just so happy,” Bates said.

In recent years, Underwood struggled with homelessness, police say. Bates raised concerns about Underwood in 2023, pleading for help on Instagram, and believes this tragedy could have been prevented.

“Everything that’s happening right now, I pretty much predicted,” Bates told CBS News New York. “I said, are people going to wait ’til it’s too late? That she’s gone or she’s in jail?”

Bates hopes Underwood is remembered for her humor and her talent.

“As much as she loved her supporters, as much as she loved the franchise, I think she would have loved to know that that love was reciprocated,” she said.

Among other roles, Underwood was also the voice of “Fuchsia Glover” in nearly two dozen episodes of Nickelodeon’s “Little Bill” from 1999-2004, according to IMDb.

According to police, the driver of a black 2021 Ford Explorer had a green light to cross Mother Gaston Boulevard from Pitkin Avenue and crossed the double yellow line to pass a car in front of them at around 6:45 a.m. Friday.

The driver of the Ford then struck Underwood, who police said did not have the signal to cross the intersection at the time, and did not stay at the scene.

Surveillance video shows Underwood waiting for a few seconds before crossing and a dark car in the wrong lane hitting her. It showed Underwood’s body rolling out from underneath the Ford near the corner of Pitkin and Osborn Street after she appeared to be dragged for nearly two blocks.

Police said Underwood was struck again by the driver of a black-gray sedan, who also fled.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

“It’s a tragedy,” said Andy Sierra, who supervises a store nearby. “She would come around and ask for a couple of dollars here and there. I used to give a couple of dollars and buy her food … I gave her some clothes and some sneakers last Saturday.”

Anyone with any information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on X, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.

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 Kristie Keleshian

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    NEW YORK (WCBS) — A new art installation is adding color and whimsy to New York City’s Flatiron District.

You may have spotted “Mr. Pink” on buildings or hiding between them. He has eight fingers, 10 toes and a bellybutton.

There are 10 sculptures across the Flatiron and NoMad neighborhoods. At each location, visitors can find a QR code to scan.

“And while you do that, you’ll be entered in to win some prizes from local businesses and that includes stays at some of our great hotels that are in the neighborhood,” Flatiron NoMad Partnership President James Mettham said.

The art installation is part of the Flatiron NoMad Partnership’s annual Winter Glow program – this year called “Flatiron NoMad Glows Pink” – which adds a splash of color during the winter months.

“It’s been so cold, it’s been so gray, and then to walk down the street and see this bright, vibrant pink man hidden in these little nooks and crannies all over Flatiron NoMad just brings joy,” Harlem resident Megan Marod said.

“I mean look at him. He’s beautiful. He’s pink,” Harlem resident Dave Madore said.

And there’s more to Mr. Pink, created by French artist Philippe Katerine. His weight and expression carry melancholy. He sometimes even points, giving passersby a sense of direction.

Katerine says the scar over Mr. Pink’s heart is a reminder that we’ve all been wounded.

“To get your heart broken, over and over again and try again and make something beautiful out of it? He needs a hug,” Madore said.

Washington Heights resident Lui Cabrera described Mr. Pink as a “sharing character.” Sharing what, exactly?

“Company, I would say,” Cabrera said. “Because this city, I have noticed this city is pretty, like, lonely.”

You can spot Mr. Pink, take selfies with him and even hug him, at some locations, while the art installation lasts. Mr. Pink will be in the city through Feb. 28, with a special Valentine’s Day activation on Feb. 11.

For more information, visit flatironnomad.nyc.

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 Nikiya Carrero

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    MIAMI (WFOR) — Thousands of fans crowded and rocked out at a weekend concert series in Miami Beach ahead of the College Football Playoff National Championship, with people spilling out of the gates and beyond the barricades.

Video obtained by CBS News Miami showed people pushing past the security barriers put in place at the AT&T Playoff Playlist LIVE! concert Saturday, causing organizers to take to social media to advise revelers that they reached capacity.

With so many people here to see big names like DJ and record producer Calvin Harris, there were some issues.

From early evening till sundown, people were breaching the gates of the free concert at South Beach. As part of the various free CFP title game events across South Florida, AT&T is hosting the two-day concert series. However, little did they know that thousands of people would flood the sand.

As DJs Xandra, John Summit and Harris played their hits in the background, people were jumping fences into the VIP area — but that didn’t stop the fun.

CBS News Miami was at the concert the entire evening and into the night, asking fans what it meant to them to be there.

“It’s everything,” said Jacob Palmer, who came with his father. “I’m also here with my sister and my mom.”

“Calvin Harris, come on,” added John Slow. “The O.G. is everything, come on.”

Around 9 p.m., event organizers stopped allowing people from coming in, but it was too late — the fences were knocked down, and people watched, standing along the water.

CBS News Miami reached out to Miami Beach Police regarding possible arrests and injuries, but have not heard back. On Sunday, fans can expect more big performances, where reggaeton artist Peso Pluma is headlining.

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 Cheryl Fiandaca

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    BOSTON (WBZ) — Dunkin’ has loyal customers across Massachusetts, but some aren’t happy about the changes the company made to its loyalty program last fall.

Aaron Braun of Stow is one of them. He had accumulated more than 93,000 points on the app over several years. But, before he could use them, Dunkin’ changed its rewards policy. Points now expire one year from the last day of the month they were earned.

That change cost Braun 62,000 points, which equals about 100 coffees or $260.

“A lot of money,” he said. Braun had originally planned to let his children use the points to get free food and drinks.

“My kids now have a driver’s license so they can order on the way to school if they want to, breakfast sandwiches, all the products are there. And it doesn’t cost anything,” Braun told WBZ-TV. Now, he’s making his coffee at home.

He told WBZ’s I-Team it took him five years to accumulate all those points. He emailed Dunkin’ but said it didn’t make a difference.

“I wrote and said, ‘I’ve been loyal to you, but you’re not showing any loyalty back to me.’ It’s a local company, I mean Dunkin’ was founded up here. They’re all over the place, but they started up in Massachusetts, so it’s rough,” Braun said.

He isn’t the only customer who felt slighted by the change in policy last fall. Dunkin’ received a lot of backlash on social media for the change.

“The rule of thumb I have is you gotta use it or lose it, because these things can change, in a moment’s notice, as we’ve seen here,” said Deidre Cummings, a legislative director for the consumer watchdog group MASSPIRG.

Cummings explained that companies have the right to change their loyalty programs at any time. She said they’re typically used as marketing tools and there are strings attached.

“It’s also important to remember that we are paying in terms of giving them our purchasing history and personal data. So, we should just keep that in mind. So, it’s not really free. I call it like ‘free not free,'” Cummings said.

Dunkin did not respond to WBZ’s requests for comment. It is not the only company changing its rewards programs. Airlines and credit card companies are also revising their loyalty perks.

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 Mike Hellgren

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    BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Through a translator, 22-year-old Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales spoke publicly for the first time about her fight to prove her citizenship and a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requirement that she now must wear an ankle monitor.

One of her lawyers called it “dehumanizing.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement first detained Diaz Morales in Baltimore on December 14th, 2025, despite her pleas that she is a U.S. citizen.

She was in custody for 25 days and transported to facilities in Louisiana, Texas, and New Jersey. In one detention center, she told WJZ Investigates she slept on the floor.

Her legal team provided documents, including her Maryland birth certificate and immunization records, along with other records they said they verified through an expert at Johns Hopkins University, but the Trump Administration is not backing down.

The Department of Homeland Security previously told WJZ she is “not a U.S. citizen” and illegally entered the country along the Arizona-Mexico border in 2023.

DHS did not respond to another request for comment after releasing Diaz Morales earlier this month.

Her lawyers said their client was incorrectly placed into removal proceedings after entering the United States without documentation during an emergency, and mistakenly processed as a non-citizen.

Zachary Perez, a member of Diaz Morales’ legal team at Sanabria and Associates, called what happened to her a “bizarre journey” and a “nightmare.”

“We’re a little exhausted with playing the ‘if you give a mouse a cookie’ game with the government because every time you give a new piece of evidence, they’re seemingly happy to accept it—and then give us exactly zero information on whether this moves the needle, on whether this gets us closer to a resolution date, on whether they’re even going to stop saying that we lied about this case,” Perez said. “The repeated times that she’s had to express herself and her truth… is a level of absurd that I’ve never had to see in my practice.”

Diaz Morales is working with Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen’s office to obtain a passport.

Perez stressed, “You do not need to carry documentation with you when you go out the door, when you walk on the street, when you breathe fresh air, and it’s not an acceptable position for the government to adopt. Period.”

Diaz Morales said she was “in shock” after her arrest.

She told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren about being apart from her young son.

“He is better now because so they’re happy that they’re together. Her own father communicated that her son had missed her deeply and that on the first day of her detention, he stopped eating,” Diaz Morales’ translator said. “He would cry every day.”

She also spoke about having to wear an ankle monitor.

“The monitor feels weird because it harms her sometimes, but she says it is better than being detained. Although she is uncomfortable, she recognizes it is the better option,” Diaz Morales’ said through a translator.

Another member of her legal team, Victoria Slatton, was more blunt.

“I don’t want to say retaliation, but I will say I feel that it’s very unfair to Dulce. She has been through enough and a lot of trauma in this whole ordeal, and this is just re-traumatizing her every single time she has to re-enter that [ICE] building,” Slatton said. “The ankle monitor, I feel, is very dehumanizing. I don’t, unfortunately, think that we’re going to get it off until the proceedings are terminated, but I wish that we could because it’s ridiculous. …She should be home with her child. She should be at work. She should be with her family, and the fact that she’s still under ICE supervision is just appalling to me.”

Diaz Morales also had a message for the Trump administration.

“Everyone who is born here has the same rights—no matter that she has Hispanic heritage—she is still born here, and she still counts as a United States citizen,” Diaz Morales said through a translator. “She still has the same rights as everyone else.”

Diaz Morales’ next court appearance is scheduled for July.

She had two check-ins with ICE in Baltimore this week, where she said she was questioned for hours.

Her lawyers hope they can get the case dismissed before she has to appear in court again.

Full statement from DHS

“Dulce Consuelo Madrigal Diaz is NOT a U.S. citizen—she is an illegal alien from Mexico.

She did NOT provide a valid U.S. birth certificate or any evidence in support of her claim that she is a U.S. citizen.

On December 14, ICE arrested this illegal alien in Baltimore, Maryland. On October 20, 2023, when CBP encountered her near Lukeville, Arizona, Madrigal-Diaz claimed she was a citizen of Mexico and was born on October 18, 2003.

Her case is being adjudicated.

Any allegation that ICE does not allow detainees to contact legal assistance is FALSE. All detainees have access to phones to communicate with lawyers.”

Full statement from Diaz Morales’ legal team

“Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales is a United States citizen by birth. She was born in Maryland on October 18, 2003. That fact is supported by a certified Maryland birth certificate, contemporaneous hospital records from Laurel Regional Hospital, affidavits from individuals who were at her birth, elementary school records, and Maryland public health immunization records beginning in infancy. A medical expert in pediatrics conducted an extensive and thorough review of these documents and confirmed that they substantially support Dulce’s claim of being a U.S. citizen born in Maryland.

Dulce was mistakenly processed as a noncitizen after entering the United States during an emergency without access to documentation. She was assigned an A-number and placed into removal proceedings. That administrative error did not and cannot change her constitutional status. She is a citizen.

When Dulce was detained, we notified ICE, OPLA, EOIR, and the district court of Maryland and submitted extensive evidence of her citizenship. Still, Dulce was held in immigration detention for twenty-five days. During that time, she was transferred five times between facilities, separated from her family, denied meaningful access to counsel, and confined in deeply troubling conditions. Her detention was not the result of any criminal conduct. It was the product of bureaucratic failure and institutional inertia. I was a failure of the U.S. government generally.

No U.S. citizen should be jailed, moved from facility to facility, and forced to endure weeks of confinement simply to prove what the government already has the ability and obligation to verify.

This case raises serious concerns about precedent. By forcing Dulce and her legal team to produce extraordinary volumes of evidence in order to secure her release, the government effectively shifted the burden onto a U.S. citizen to prove her citizenship while incarcerated. That inversion is dangerous. Citizenship and liberty should not depend on a person’s ability to gather paperwork from behind detention walls or retain legal counsel under duress. If normalized, this approach puts countless citizens at risk of detention first and verification later.

Although Dulce has been released from custody, her case is far from over. She remains under ICE supervision, and because DHS has refused a joint termination of these proceedings, she still faces the threat of deportation. Until these proceedings are formally corrected and safeguards are enforced, her freedom remains conditional. Her next hearing will be with Judge Hartye on July 1. We hope her proceedings will be terminated before then.

She is currently in the process of working with Senator Van Hollen’s office to obtain a U.S. passport. We are working to secure additional medical records from her childhood. However, none of this should be necessary as we have submitted ample evidence already to prove her citizenship.

Dulce remains under ICE supervision as a condition of her release. This is ridiculous, as ICE does not have jurisdiction over a U.S. citizen. On Tuesday (1/13), Dulce had an ICE check-in and was given an ankle monitor. The check-in lasted close to eight hours, during which time she faced intimidation by guards and was not allowed to eat.

On Thursday (1/15), our legal team submitted a response to the court based on issues raised by Judge Hartye. We also submitted new evidence and again requested termination of proceedings.

Last night (1/15), she was told to report to ICE again this morning (1/16). Attorney Zachary Perez and I accompanied her. She was interrogated for close to three hours. The questions asked were also confusing, unclear, and redundant, as they were similar to the request from the court, which we have already responded to.

We are hoping that this matter is cleared up in a matter of days instead of months. Dulce is a person who deserves to be able to live freely and move on with her life. She will no longer be taking requests from the media at this time. We hope this request is honored. Her legal team will update the media when we can.”

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.