Author: CNN Newsource

By Colter Anstaett

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    HAMPTON, Virginia (WTKR) — As NASA makes final preparations for the launch of the Artemis II mission, some of your neighbors who work at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton are talking about their roles in the mission.

As of February 3, The Artemis II moon rocket remained on the launch pad after a hydrogen leak was discovered during a pre-launch test February 1-2.

“We learned a lesson again of how small hydrogen is,” said aerospace engineer Dave Piatak.

Piatak was involved in Monday’s test.

“I do transonic and supersonic, supersonic wind tunnel testing to understand the aerodynamic performance of the rocket,” Piatak explained.

“We have different assets that we’ll be videotaping and even live streaming,” aerospace engineer Shan Rufer said.

The video Rufer’s team gets helps them monitor what happens with the rocket during launch and re-entry. That includes how the engine’s exhaust affects the rocket.

“You want to understand how that interaction occurs so you can tell if, maybe, there’s going to be more heat in one area than another,” said Rufer.

Rufer and Piatak’s work won’t end when Artemis II’s mission is over. They’ll use what they learned to help with future missions, including the next Artemis III which, as of February 3, was scheduled to put astronauts on the moon for the first time in over 50 years.

“It’s an honor to be part of this generational moment,” said Piatak.

“It’s almost unbelievable, like you’re living in a dream,” Rufer 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 Kim Rafferty

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    NASHVILLE (WTVF) — A Nashville man with disabilities has been without power for 10 days, sleeping in his car to stay warm as temperatures dropped to 15 degrees.

Alfred Faler lives alone in a mobile home and relies on a medical bed and oxygen equipment that don’t work without electricity. He has been making calls to Nashville Electric Service multiple times daily, but says he’s getting little help from the automated system.

“I don’t ever get a text or nothing. Same thing that goes through every time. And I called down there during business hours customer service and finally talked to somebody one day and they just blew me off,” Faler said.

The automated outage reporting system only asks for his phone number, which Faler said isn’t reassuring given his vulnerable situation.

Faler said reporting outages online isn’t easy for him, and he’s exhausted. As one of the city’s most vulnerable residents, he has been forced to sleep in his car for warmth while waiting for power restoration.

According to his zip code, Faler’s address is scheduled for power restoration within two to four days. Nashville Electric Service said they are looking into his specific situation.

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

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    LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — You may know the names of many African-American influential figures from Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks to Maya Angelou and Jackie Robinson. They’ve made an imprint on every aspect of American life.

But do you know Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler, the first Black woman physician in the United States?

Or how about Mary Eliza Mahoney, the first Black licensed nurse in the United States?

It’s people like this that inspired Dr. Jade Norris, the founder and medical director of Nspire Primary Care in Las Vegas, to do what she does every day.

“At 4 years old, I started saying I wanted to be a doctor, and that dream just never changed,” Norris said.

Born and raised in the Las Vegas Valley, Dr. Jade Norris saw there was a need at a young age.

“Finding quality healthcare was really difficult. We just kind of grew up going to urgent care. I didn’t even know primary care was a specialty,” Norris said.

Norris says that perception of healthcare reaches deep in the African American community.

“Most Black people are struggling the most with chronic diseases, and almost every chronic disease we talk about is linked to obesity and lifestyle, and prevention could help,” Norris said.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for African Americans. They are more likely to have hypertension but less likely to have it controlled. African Americans have higher mortality rates for most cancers and are more than 50% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than white counterparts.

Njeri Gitao with the African Diaspora of Las Vegas says part of the solution is knowing the history.

“We know that Black History Month isn’t just about the past. It’s also about protecting our future, and health disparities to a very large extent still impact the black community,” Gitao said.

She says it’s not only important to find the right medical professionals but also to take hold of the wellness aspect of your health.

“Fitness is a very important part of health and wellness because it supports more than just physical health. It helps reduce stress, improves mental well-being, and builds consistency and confidence,” Gitao said.

She and Norris say they want to encourage people to start now and make health a top priority, not just in February, but throughout the entire year.

“Most people don’t know that most chronic diseases are not only preventable, but also reversible,” Norris said.

“We all have a choice, right? And we can choose to value prevention, or we can choose to be reactive in our health,” Norris said.

Their goal is to help create longevity within the Black community.

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

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    LAKEWOOD, Colorado (KMGH) — The Lakewood Police Department is the first police department in all of North America to have the newest tool in evidence collection. It’s called Blindsite Scene.

It’s a portable forensic camera used to scan crime scenes and collect DNA, latent fingerprints and bodily fluids, without the need for chemical enhancement.

Denver7 anchor Shannon Ogden met the inventor, Dr. Alexander Smyth, of Leicester, England, at Lakewood police headquarters where Dr. Smyth was assisting with training on the device.

“This is completely non-contact approach. So there’s no fingerprint powers, no mess. You can search and capture with it,” said Dr. Smyth. “With the current method you have to first search the room, mark where traces are. Then you have to enhance them through chemical process, then you have to process them. This is one step.”

Dr. Smyth said Blindsite is 10-times faster than traditional evidence collection, and because it’s among the latest high-tech tools against crime, it comes with a hefty price tag.

How much, you ask? Each camera costs $40,000. The Lakewood Police Department has purchased only a single camera for now.

Training was held Wednesday and crime scene techs will begin using it Thursday.

It is being used initially by the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority (CATPA) and the Metropolitan Auto Theft Task Force.

“CATPA is proud to support programs like the CATPA-Metropolitan Auto Theft Task Force, who strive to be on the cutting edge of investigative techniques,” said CATPA Director Robert Force. “Investments in technologies like the Smytek device improve these investigations, by reducing the time for evidence processing and success in evidence capture. These factors all increase the strength of the investigations and support our goal to make Colorado safer by enhancing enforcement and prosecution strategies to better address the complex crime of auto theft,” Force said in a statement.

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 Roland Beres

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    BOISE, Idaho (KIVI) — Ron Martinez crashed his Porsche during a speed run at the annual Tour De Force event outside Sun Valley in 2024.

The fact that Martinez is alive — much less practicing martial arts at a high level — is remarkable.

We spoke with Martinez at his gym, Boise Cities Krav Maga, about the crash and what happened that day.

We watched Martinez teach and practice Krav Maga, and it is hard to imagine that he and his nephew survived the unthinkable less than 2 years ago.

“We’re the only people to survive a 200-plus mile per hour crash in a convertible with the top down,” Martinez said.

The convertible was a 9-11 Turbo S, which can go 0-60 in just over 2 seconds.

Martinez had participated in the annual charity speed run three times before. His fourth run, however, ended in disaster.

“That year the road was pretty bumpy,” explains Martinez, “and one of the tires on the Porsche turbos came off and I flipped 14 times, going 200 mph with my nephew, Zach.”

Both he and Zach are nearly back to normal now.

Martinez just had another surgery on his hand, and his right forearm is missing a chunk of flesh, but considering he broke 54 bones, collapsed both lungs, and had a brain bleed, lucky is hardly adequate to describe his survival.

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 Laura Acevedo

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    CHULA VISTA, California (KGTV) — A Chula Vista woman has stepped up to help two children whose parents were detained by ICE last week, offering to foster their family dog after seeing the story on ABC 10News.

Julie Rieth contacted ABC 10News just 30 minutes after Friday’s story aired about two children left in the care of a family friend after Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained both their parents in Chula Vista. The family friend, Itzel Jimenez, had been forced to surrender the family’s boxer, Bella, to a shelter because of her own child’s allergies.

On Tuesday, Rieth met Jimenez and the boys at Chula Vista Animal Services to pick up Bella. The emotional reunion captured the moment the boxer recognized the children she had been separated from.

“I see them crying, and it hurts my heart. I wish I could do more,” Jimenez said.

Rieth, who has been a boxer owner for 30 years, said she felt compelled to help after seeing the story.

“I saw the story on ABC 10, and when they put her picture up there when she was in the lobby, I just thought, ‘What is going on?’ It just broke my heart,” Rieth said.

She agreed to foster Bella while the parents’ immigration case remains ongoing.

“That’s just not where family dogs belong, and she’s probably so scared and so stressed out,” Rieth said.

ABC 10News has reached out to ICE multiple times over the past few days, both locally and at its headquarters, to request information about the parents’ case. So far, they have not responded.

The family now has an attorney, and Congressman Juan Vargas is also getting involved in the case.

Despite never meeting the family, Rieth said offering to help felt like the right thing to do.

“Although we’re not having issues like Minnesota, it’s right here all the time and when you see it go on in your own community, you gotta step up and step in,” Rieth said.

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

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    ROSEVILLE, California (KCRA) — Athletes and their coaches are already in Milan with the Winter Olympics opening ceremony set for Friday.

Meanwhile, coaches in Northern California, like Julia Durkee and Paolo Borromeo from Skatetown Roseville, are preparing to inspire the next generation of athletes.

Most days, you can find Durkee and Borromeo on the ice, sharing their expertise from years of training and competing.

“Before becoming a coach, I competed until I was like 21,” Durkee said. “And then I became a show skater.”

Borromeo is still competing, having reached the Olympic qualifiers in October, although he fell short of skating for the Philippines in Italy.

“I had a great time, and it was a good experience going for it,” Borromeo said.

Durkee has her own Olympic journey, as she is going to Italy to watch the pair skating and to coach.

“I coach in person here at Skatetown, but I am so passionate about getting to coach virtually as well,” she said.

Durkee runs a virtual skating club and a YouTube channel, with more than 100,000 subscribers, where she trains people worldwide online. She plans to host clinics and sessions to coach some of them in person while in Europe.

“It’s incredible getting to be part of people’s skating journeys,” Durkee said.

Both coaches are dedicated to sharing the sport they love.

“I want to kind of help provide like other kids the same experiences and feelings that skating has provided for me,” Borromeo said.

“You get to help develop their character, you get to help develop their belief in yourself. And it’s just a really beautiful thing to be part of that,” Durkee added.

The Olympic figure skating events begin on Friday.

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 Lisa Crane

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    PELHAM, Alabama (WVTM) — A St. Clair County teen was killed in a car crash in Canada on Monday. He was playing hockey on a junior league team in Alberta and died along with two Canadian teammates when their car was hit by a semi-truck loaded with gravel.

For 17-year-old Caden Fine, hockey was his life. He started playing when he was nine, and last year he signed with the Southern Alberta Mustangs junior league team and moved to Canada. Craig Simchuk is the head coach for the Birmingham Bulls. He coached Fine when he was younger.

“For local guys here, that’s kind of their way out is to move up the ladder either to Nashville or some bigger cities where hockey is more predominant,” said Simchuk.

Learning of his death on Monday in a car crash has been devastating to those at his home rink in Pelham. Taylor Dickin coached Fine when he played on the Birmingham Bulls junior team.

“It’s a small hockey community here, and all the kids play with each other right when they start playing and maybe as young as five, right? So, they get to know each other really, really well and spend a lot of time on the road in hotels and things like that. So, I know all the kids involved are hit pretty hard, with the news,” said Dicken.

His coaches brag on Fine’s hockey skills. One thing they all mentioned was that fine was considered small for this sport, but that didn’t hold him back. His love for the game made up for his size. Simchuk added, “The old cliche is, you know, you need to be big and tough to play the sport. But he made up for it with his heart and his grit, like he knew that he was smaller, but that didn’t stop him. And it actually probably propelled him and drove him to where he was fearless.”

Fine leaves behind a heartbroken family including an older sister and younger brother. His father said in the depths of his grief he wants to make sure people remember his son for not only being a good hockey player but also for being a great kid.

Another one of Caden’s coaches has started a fundraiser to help his family deal with transporting his body back home and funeral arrangements.

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.