Author: CNN Newsource

By Paul Burton

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    MASSACHUETTS (WBZ) — From giant craters in Newton, to sinkhole size tire busters in Brighton, potholes are popping up in cities and towns across Massachusetts. “It’s pretty bad, just driving back and forth in the neighborhood trying to get around the craters,” said Susan Higgins of Watertown.

Now that temperatures are climbing and the ground is beginning to thaw, potholes have become the bane of almost every driver on the road.

On Norwood Ave in Newton, cars swerved at the last minute to avoid a pothole and some even crossed the double line to protect their cars.

It’s a busy time at Sullivan Tire on North Beacon Street in Watertown.

“Sometimes you’ll get a pothole big enough where you actually blow out both [tires] on the right side of your car,” said David Velazquez of Sullivan Tire.

Velazquez says tire repairs from pothole damage are a common thing this time of season.

“It keeps us busy,” Velazquez said. “A lot of tire repairs, a lot of tire alignments, even rims being cracked because of potholes.”

There are some cases when a city or town might be responsible for paying for damage caused by potholes. It often depends on whether the community was aware of the issue. It’s always best to check to avoid paying for damage to your car.

Ned Moan said his son’s car became the victim of a massive pothole, which is why he’s replacing all of his tires. “My son was driving his car through Watertown Square at Galen Street to get on the Mass Pike and ran into a pothole that was very deep, and the tire just practically exploded,” Moan said.

Susan Higgins says some roads are so bad potholes are almost impossible to miss. “I probably will get a new alignment at the end of the season once they start fixing the roads,” Higgins 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 Tara Lynch

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    BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Some Baltimore City residents are saying no to the city’s deer management program. The city says it will begin killing deer with sharpshooters to bring the population down to healthy levels.

City residents said they feel the city should use a less harsh method to solve the overpopulation problem.

Baltimore City Rec and Parks officials say deer are overpopulated in the city.

Starting Monday, March 9, sharpshooters from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be brought into Baltimore’s Leakin Park to reduce the deer population.

“This problem has been going on for decades. We’ve let it go for far too long,” said Shane Boehne, leader of the city’s deer management program.

Three parks will be targeted this month, including Leakin Park and Druid Hill Park in Northwest Baltimore, and Herring Park in East Baltimore.

Baltimore officials said that sharpshooting was chosen as the method because it is cost effective and less disruptive to surrounding communities.

“The whole point of sharp shooting is to kill these deer on impact,” Boehne said. “We don’t want to spook, spook these deer and make them flee the area and go out into residential areas.”

The operation will take place at night, and the parks will be closed off to the public to limit public safety risks The goal is to bring the deer population to 20 per square mile, which means more than 100 deer will be targeted at Leakin Park.

“If you’re able to bring it down to that 20 deer per square mile, and if you basically go hands off for a little while, you’ll have an increase back in the population. So we have to do constant management,” Boehne said.

This project starts Monday when Leakin Park will be closed from 4 p.m. until 7 a.m. This work will continue through March 19.

The project will continue to Herring Park and then Druid Hill Park at the end of the month.

The meat harvested from this operation will be donated to the Maryland Food Bank, and is estimated to create 40,000 meals.

Some neighbors in Northwest Baltimore’s Windsor Hills community said they don’t feel like they were included in the process despite the operation focusing on marginalized communities.

They said they want the city to focus its efforts elsewhere.

“I’m more of one who believes in taking a balanced approach, maybe sharp shooting is a percentage of how we get to the attrition, but maybe there are other modest and milder methods,” said Linda Batts, with the Hanlon Improvement Association.

“When we talk about disadvantaged and marginalized communities, we’re talking about changing the economic mainstream, eliminating the long standing effects of redlining that have some communities impoverished and without their basic needs, while other communities are living their best lives and have access to goods and services and the economics that make them thrive.”

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 Jermont Terry

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — A vape shop stocked with lighters that look more like weapons, available for anyone to walk in and buy.

The issue? They’re popping up in multiple neighborhoods, despite being banned years ago. Now, community leaders and law enforcement are warning of the potential risks of possessing one.

Inside the box, it doesn’t look as threatening. Once opened and pulled out of the package, the flame from the novelty torch lighter is the least of its troubles.

“Just think about what that looks like if I have got an all-black 9mm replica that’s a torch lighter and holding it in my hand,” said Councilman Joseph Williams.

Williams is the 7th District council member with the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability—representing Englewood, where one of the torch lighters from a vape shop was purchased for just $30. Multiple gun replica lighters, including long guns, were also for sale.

“It’s more about the concern for the community, the safety of the community, and making sure these type of things aren’t really allowed and sold in our community,” Williams said.

In 2010, Illinois passed a law making it illegal for any businesses to sell novelty gun lighters, but as more vape shops pop up across the city and suburbs, the 16-year-old law doesn’t appear to be enforced.

“Someone could lose their life because of this,” Williams said.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, or COPA, is currently recommending that a Chicago police officer be fired for shooting and paralyzing a 13-year-old back in 2022. The officer says they mistook the teen’s cell phone for a weapon and fired.

Robbins Police Chief Terry White said even though we purchased the lighter at a store in Chicago, it could impact any police officer.

“To a child, this is a toy, to an adult, this is maybe impressing someone—either way, it’s a nightmare to any police officer,” Chief White said.

He said even if the person is not pointing the lighter at someone, it puts an officer on the defensive, which can potentially turn into a bad scenario.

“That’s why that’s the biggest issue,” Chief White said.

An issue Williams said he’s seen in other vape shops and will work to ensure those businesses comply.

“We just gotta bring awareness,” he 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 Jason Burger

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    CADDO COUNTY, Oklahoma (KOCO) — A Caddo County deputy has been charged with domestic assault and kidnapping after a woman reported she was a victim of domestic abuse, according to court documents.

Logan Davis, a Caddo County deputy, was arrested following an incident at the end of last week and now faces charges for domestic assault/battery by strangulation, feloniously pointing a firearm, and kidnapping.

According to a new probable cause affidavit filed Monday, the victim informed the sheriff’s office that she was a victim of domestic violence.

Court records indicate that on the night of Feb. 26, she and Davis got into an argument, prompting her to leave the house. However, she claims Davis chased her down in his pickup truck and blocked her from driving.

Later that night, the documents state she attempted to talk to him, but he became angry and threw her back onto the bed.

The documents say, “knowing he was about to pin her down because of all the other times he had done this, she kicked him in the stomach to keep him from getting on top of her.”

She then alleges Davis threw her into a TV stand and choked her for about three seconds, during which she could not breathe.

The victim told investigators she tried to call 911 but heard Davis approaching, prompting her to hide the phone, which hung up. When the communications center attempted to call back, Davis took the phone from her.

The affidavit states he also pointed a gun at her and then walked away while on the phone.

The documents say, “She said she thinks Logan called the 911 Communications Center because she heard him say something to the effect of ‘This is Logan, everything is fine.’”

Attempts to reach the Caddo County Sheriff’s Office for comment were unsuccessful.

Court records show Davis bonded out Monday 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 Erin Lowrey

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    TICKFAW, Louisiana (WDSU) — A Tickfaw woman has been arrested and is facing multiple charges after she was accused of trying to abandon her child multiple times.

According to the Ponchatoula Police Department, Jeanette Edmonds, 43, is facing charges of cruelty to juveniles, child desertion, and criminal abandonment.

On Sunday, March 1, police responded to a child who was abandoned in a laundromat.

A witness told police they saw Edmonds drive away and leave the 8-year-old alone.

The child was safely picked up from the police department by a family member.

According to the Ponchatoula Police Department, officers learned that Edmonds had twice tried to abandon her son earlier that same day.

The first failed attempt was at a cemetery, and the second was at a nearby farm, according to police.

Edmonds was found in Harvey and taken into custody by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, where she was booked.

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 Addie Meiners

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    LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — It’s been a long two months of rehab for 22-year-old Tyler Bright, who was shot in the neck on Jan. 11, but you wouldn’t know that based on his attitude.

“As long as I control what I can control, that’s what’s going to make me happy and how I can control my peace at the end of the day,” said Bright.

Bright was getting gas at the Dura Mart on 7th and Hill streets when he was approached by two men.

“They came up to me and said, ‘We’re running up on you’, but I didn’t really pay attention to it at the time. So, I just got into my car, and that’s when all of a sudden I got stuck with the bullet,” said Bright.

Bright is now paralyzed from the waist down.

“There’s a lot of frustration for sure. But, you know, I try not to dwell on the past too much. You know, you can’t really, can’t really change anything from it.”

Bright has been recovering at Frazier Rehab since the incident. Dr. Camilo Castillo has been overseeing his recovery.

“His actual injury entrance is on the neck. But [the bullet] is lodged in the thoracic area, which is amazing, because you will see he’s considered a tetraplegic, which is a neck injury, but he’s able to move his upper, upper extremity,” said Castillo. “His spirit is still intact, so that makes a huge difference when you want to participate.”

Bright undergoes three hours of therapy per day at Frazier: occupational, physical, and speech. Speech was the most important to Bright, who recently graduated from UofL, with hopes to become the next Jim Nanz.

“My voice is my career. So, it’s very important and imperative that I get my voice back,” he said.

While one of Bright’s favorite pastimes has been telling the stories of great athletes at UofL, he hopes his story of resilience and recovery can be remembered alongside theirs.

“You see it all the time with players. They tear their ACL, and then they have to go through a long process, and it takes time. But eventually, they get back. So I look forward to having something like that. Whatever that [come back] looks like, only time will tell,” said Bright

Bright got to get back to one of the places he loves on Tuesday, as UofL Health provided him and his dad with tickets to the Cards Men’s Basketball game against Syracuse.

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.