Author: CNN Newsource

By Jamy Pombo Sesselman

Click here for updates on this story

    HOPKINTON, Massachusetts (WCVB) — A Hopkinton, Massachusetts, man was charged with attempted murder after he allegedly held a man who walks with crutches under water during an altercation over the use of a residents-only lake Wednesday, police said.

Steven Dana, 70, got into a fight with a 21-year-old man at Sandy Beach on Lakeshore Drive just before 7 p.m. after he confronted the victim about his use of Lake Maspenock.

The only boat ramp to the lake, which straddles Hopkinton and Milford, is on Lakeshore Drive, and use of the ramp is limited to Hopkinton residents from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, police said.

Police reviewed video footage that showed Dana slapping the victim across the face before they ended up in a struggle in the water, at which point Dana forcefully held the victim under the water, officials said. Bystanders then pulled Dana off the man.

“This is an incident of senseless violence that could have had tragic results, and we treat matters like this with the utmost seriousness,” Deputy Police Chief Scott van Raalten said. “The Hopkinton Police Department asks that residents contact the proper authorities to investigate incidents that involve the enforcement of the town’s bylaws rather than taking matters into their own hands.”

Dana and the alleged victim declined medical treatment.

Officials learned that the 21-year-old had been involved in an accident a few months prior that caused severe injuries and that he was walking on crutches.

Dana was charged with an attempt to murder, two counts of strangulation/suffocation, and assault and battery on a disabled person and is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday.

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 Russ Reed

Click here for updates on this story

    KITTERY, Maine (WMTW) — A New Hampshire man has been arrested for the murder of a Maine woman who was found dead inside her Kittery home more than 30 years ago.

Daniel Jolly, 59, of Portsmouth, was arrested shortly before 6:15 a.m. Thursday on a warrant charging him with murder in connection with the 1993 killing of 73-year-old Maxine Bitomski, according to the Maine State Police.

Bitomski’s body was found on Jan. 16, 1993, by Kittery police officers who responded to her Colonial Road home. An autopsy was conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner the following day. The cause of Bitomski’s death remains withheld pending the unsealing of court documents, but the medical examiner ruled her death a homicide.

Detectives from the Kittery Police Department and Maine State Police continued to work the case over the next three decades and determined that Jolly knew Bitomski through his employment with Medical Market, a Portsmouth-based medical supply company that provided oxygen equipment and services to Bitomski prior to her death.

Beginning in 2021, the case was re-examined by the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit – South. Detectives continued to pursue leads, review evidence and utilize advances in DNA testing, which ultimately led to Jolly’s arrest.

“This arrest reflects the determination and commitment of investigators who never stopped working this case,” said Maine State Police Lt. Tom Pickering, who oversees the agency’s Major Crimes Unit – Unsolved. “The work completed by current and retired Maine State Police detectives, members of the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory and the Kittery Police Department over the past 33 years was instrumental in bringing this case to this point.”

Jolly was transported to the Rockingham County Jail in Brentwood, New Hampshire, where he will remain held pending extradition proceedings.

The investigation into Bitomski’s death remains ongoing. State police are asking anyone who has information related to the case to call Major Crimes Unit Sgt. Justin Huntley at 207-624-7076, ext. 9.

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 Caitlin Ashbaugh

Click here for updates on this story

    HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (WYFF) — The jury in a horrific wall collapse from 2021 has decided a record-setting, multi-million-dollar verdict for the state of North Carolina, bringing a yearslong dispute and six weeks of trial to a close.

$101 million will go to two of the four workers involved and one of their wives. Hajoca Corporation, the defendant and site of the incident, opted for a confidential settlement.

Hajoca provided the following statement to WYFF News 4:

“Hajoca disagrees with, but respects the jury’s verdict in this case. Rather than endure a lengthy appellate process, we were able to settle the case after verdict, and the terms of that settlement are confidential. Hajoca is pleased to conclude this matter after more than five years of ongoing litigation, and looks forward to continuing to serve its customers and the community of Hendersonville.”

The remaining workers settled cases before the trial began.

A 54-page complaint describes the moment a 12-foot retaining wall toppled over in 2021, burying four construction workers under tons of dirt and construction materials. The crush killed one man, a brick mason, and for hours the survivors were stuck and waiting for rescue.

Three of the workers survived with excruciating injuries, revealed in X-rays provided to WYFF News 4.

“As you can imagine, it is one of the most difficult things for them to talk about. He was conscious. He was slammed face down into the pavement. He was broken,” Attorney John McCabe said. “They define themselves by their work and by their family. And just were very committed. The voids in their lives are huge. When that wall fell, it shattered their bodies, and it shattered their lives. Their lives will never, ever be the same.”

Court documents claim the original wall was damaged in a storm months before, and this was an attempt to rebuild the structure. The complaint accuses Hajoca Corporation of negligent practices, including a lack of required permitting.

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 Clay LePard

Click here for updates on this story

    AUSTINBURG, Ohio (WEWS) — Inside the garage of Shawn Shannon’s home, a team of volunteers operates like an assembly line, building a massive display for America’s 250th anniversary.

The display, dubbed “Project Postcard,” consists of drawings made by kids at Jefferson Area Local Schools, St. John School, Grand River Academy and SPIRE Academy, as well as from area churches.

“We used the theme of where would you like to go in America for your vacation or around the world — and draw your picture of where you want to go,” Shannon said.

Shawn Shannon remembers watching an enormous flag fly over Geneva Elementary during the Bicentennial in 1976.

“I believe it was 35 feet high and 90 feet long, and all the kids, they sewed the stars, and they sewed the stripes,” Shannon said. “This was really the thought that started all this.”

That memory inspired Shannon to dream big for America 250, an idea that is now inching closer to the same size as that bicentennial flag.

“We’re probably going to have 1,000 or better posters, and these are all going to go up,” Shannon said. “We have kids in kindergarten, preschool, all the way to high school. My guess is we’re going to be 20 feet up this way. So you’re looking 20 feet by 150 feet, so it could be very massive.”

For Shannon, an Army veteran and longtime history teacher, the project is personal.

“I get nostalgic when it comes to history, so this is right up my wheelhouse,” Shannon said. “We’re just trying to give America a little bit of love, make our community a little bit better at a time where community is fighting and a lot of things [are] going on in our world — here’s one day we put all of it away and celebrate together.”

The completed postcard display can be seen at two upcoming events.

The first is this Friday at Austinburg Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. as part of the annual Nickel Day Carnival.

The second is on the Fourth of July in downtown Jefferson as part of Ashtabula County’s America 250 celebration.

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 Emily Sanderson

Click here for updates on this story

    NORWOOD, Ohio (WLWT) — The Norwood Skyline community is rallying around the family of a waitress who was stabbed to death at work Tuesday.

27-year-old Alyssa Hill was working during the lunch rush on Tuesday when her ex-boyfriend, Rick Wright, entered the restaurant and stabbed her.

Hill later died at the hospital.

Wright has been charged with murder and is being held without bond.

Countless messages online described Hill, a mother of two, as a hardworking, devoted mother who loved everyone she knew unconditionally.

Many people have come to the Skyline on Montgomery Road, laying flowers outside the place where Alyssa worked.

Skyline Chili posted to social media Thursday as the Norwood store reopened, sharing it’s devastated by the loss of Hill, a longtime server at the restaurant.

To support Hill’s family, Skyline said it will be donating 20 percent of the restaurant’s sales for the week of June 8 – 15 to an established fund that will directly benefit her two children.

Skyline says it has contributed $25,000 to this fund and its partners at Coca-Cola Consolidated have also contributed $25,000.

A GoFundMe has also been set up by family to help cover funeral expenses and provide support for Hill’s two children.

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 Metia Carroll

Click here for updates on this story

    NEW ORLEANS (WDSU) — Actor Shia LaBeouf has pleaded guilty to a Mardi Gras Day incident in New Orleans.

On Wednesday, LaBeouf pleaded guilty to 3 misdemeanor counts of simple battery.

As part of that plea, he will be on probation and take anger management classes.

“The DA’s investigation proved exactly what Shia LaBeouf said from the beginning: this was nothing more than a Mardi Gras bar tussle. He came to court wanting to take accountability, and he has done so,” said LaBeouf’s attorney, Sarah Chervinsky.

Investigators say he was reportedly causing a disturbance and becoming increasingly aggressive at a Royal Street business.

A staff member attempted to remove Mr. LaBeouf from the establishment. Once removed from the building, NOPD says the victim told police LaBeouf punched him several times.

Detectives say LaBeouf then reportedly assaulted another person, punching him in the nose.

He will receive no jail time, and any allegations of a hate crime have been dismissed.

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 DeAndria Turner

Click here for updates on this story

    LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — Volunteers planted fruits and vegetables on Wednesday in Louisville’s Smoketown neighborhood at a site tied to Muhammad Ali’s early life, marking the 10th anniversary of the boxing legend’s death with service projects across the city.

The garden sits at the former Presbyterian Community Center, one of the first gyms where Ali trained. Now part of the Smoketown Family Wellness Center, the space is being used to help address food insecurity in a neighborhood leaders describe as a food desert.

“We are located in the old Presbyterian Community Center, which housed one of the first gyms that Muhammad Ali trained in,” Charlotte Gay Stites said. “So to be a part of this Day of Compassion, and to uphold his beliefs and core values, is a big part of who we are.”

Stites said access to healthy food remains a challenge in Smoketown, making the garden especially meaningful.

“In some neighborhoods, particularly like Smoketown, we’re in a food desert,” she said. “Getting healthy foods is very difficult and challenging.”

Volunteer Vincent Zialen said spending a few hours helping was a simple way to honor Ali’s legacy.

“If we can get out here for two hours to kind of give back in that little sense, and kind of follow that same path and honor his legacy, it’s the very least we can do,” he said.

The gardening effort was one of more than 30 service projects organized for Ali’s annual Day of Compassion. More than 1,000 volunteers worked with nonprofit groups across Louisville, including at Feed Louisville, where volunteers, among them Ali’s widow, Lonnie Ali, packed food and supplies for people in need.

Garret McCorkle said the idea grew out of conversations about how best to remember Ali a decade after his death.

“It came about with me and a few colleagues going to Mrs. Ali and asking how she envisioned the 10th anniversary of Muhammad’s passing,” McCorkle said. “True to Muhammad and true to Mrs. Ali, they said they would love to see the city of Louisville giving back.”

Organizers said the goal was to reflect the spirit that filled Louisville after Ali’s death and to channel it into action.

Ten years later, the city is honoring its hometown champion not just with remembrance, but with service.

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 Alex Suckow

Click here for updates on this story

    LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — Not one or two, but three new babies just joined the Louisville Zoo.

A trio of Amur tiger cubs were born on May 27 to parents Viktoria and Timmy. Viktoria just arrived herself in January.

These are the first Amur tiger cubs born there in 22 years.

The cubs are currently bonding with their mother behind the scenes under the care of the Zoo’s animal team.

You won’t be able to see them for awhile. The zoo said the outdoor habitat debut is still months away.

When asked whether the zoo would put up cameras to watch the babies, Director Dan Maloney said, “We’re hoping that we get a webcam up soon. There were two earlier attempts to get a webcam up, and one she bit right through the mesh. And the other one, she decided that it was better if she sprayed on it, and that cut it down as well. So apparently Viktoria doesn’t like to be watched too closely. But we are trying our best to get a cam in there.”

This comes just after the announcement of a new giraffe and a colobus monkey, the zoo teased the birth of yet another baby on Tuesday.

The monkey was born May 7, and the giraffe, recently named Silvia, was born May 3.

“Looks like it’s officially baby season at the Louisville Zoo,” the zoo 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 Eric Graves

Click here for updates on this story

    RIVERSIDE, Missouri (KMBC) — Riverside, Missouri’s more than 4,000 residents are getting ready to welcome one of the biggest fandoms in world soccer.

The Netherlands National Team will soon drive into town to practice at the KC Current’s training facility.

Even though the team won’t be staying in town, Riverside is going all out to make the Dutch feel as welcome as possible.

Welcoming everyone to town right now are giant wooden cutouts of some of the most prominent Dutch players, a lion and the message “Welcome Oranje Legion.”

On the roads around the art, orange soccer balls have been painted onto the road, street posts have banners proclaiming “Oranje” and even restaurant employees are wearing orange shirts.

“I’d say we’re pretty ready here in Riverside,” said Shannon Rousseau, the Communications Director for the City of Riverside.

The Dutch national team will arrive in Kansas City next Tuesday, June 9, and they’ll start training at the KC Current’s practice facility on Wednesday, June 10.

Rousseau said they’re hoping the team takes note.

“I know that we are trying to rework their route to potentially come through the city so they can see everything we’ve set up,” Rousseau said.

If not, the 60 goodie bags the city has made for each player and coach on the Dutch national team might deliver the message.

“It has local items from our businesses,” Rousseau said. “So, we’ve got bourbon balls from down the street, we have Hallmark ornaments.”

The Riverside local businesses have all bought in.

For nearly 40 years, the Corner Cafe has been an institution in Riverside and the Kansas City metro.

Owner Jason Rule said they’ve added more orange in the landscaping, decorations and the staff are even wearing orange shirts.

One thing they aren’t changing is the food. Rule said he thinks Dutch visitors will want to try classic American eats like their cinnamon rolls and pie.

“Anytime that you visit another country, you want to embrace the food and the culture and I believe that, yes, the Dutch will be here in force,” Rule said.

The first training session for the Netherlands in Riverside will be open to the public.

Riverside is giving out 120 free tickets to Riverside residents.

“We have had 1,300 responses so far,” Rousseau said. “So, we’re going through the list verifying who is actually a Riverside resident, because that is exclusive to our residents who we’re going to pick.”

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.