Author: CNN Newsource

By Jessica Brown

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    BOSTON (WCVB) — Kevin Morrison always felt at home and at his best in high-stress situations.

He’s got boxes of awards, photos, and trading pins that he collected during a legendary career on a hockey rink and a softball diamond.

“If I’m going to umpire, you’re going to notice me,” Morrison said. “Always hustling like crazy.”

So as an umpire, he’s in the USA Softball of Massachusetts Hall of Fame.

As a dad, he’s raised two exceptional student-athletes.

“This is Michael’s rookie card from Topps when he made it to the NHL with the Oilers,” he said, pointing to a framed photo of his son, Michael Morrison, a former NHL goaltender.

But at age 76, Morrison now faces Stage 4 prostate cancer.

It’s his fiercest competition yet.

His doctor recommended chemotherapy.

“And that’s where it went to hell,” he said.

The hell was in his stomach.

Suddenly, Morrison was at his worst.

“They’d say, ‘What’s your pain? Compare 1 to 10, what do you have?'” he told doctors. “I said, ‘I have a 10.'”

Doctors prescribed pills. They didn’t work.

Doctors ordered tests. They showed his prostate cancer responding well to treatment, but no clear source for his stomach pain.      

Morrison’s wife, Rose, was worried.

“It was just getting worse and worse and worse,” she said. “He was losing more and more weight, more and more hope.”

Morrison was desperate — and becoming despondent.

“No one knew what this 10 was and how to get rid of it,” he said. “No one knew. Now I know, I’m at the end of the line with this, so now to figure this out, I’m ready to go to a florist, a gas station, anywhere. I’ll go anywhere to take this away.”

His doctor sent him to Dr. Tamara Vesel, the chief of palliative care at Tufts Medical Center.

“When he walked in, it was very clear to us that he was suffering a tremendous amount,” she said.

Vesel reviewed his medical file, then asked him to tell his story.

She learned about umpiring, being a goalie dad, and the stomach cramp he sometimes felt when he was stressed.

“I saw a pattern,” Vesel said. “The pains went away as soon as he stopped doing his umpire business and came back a decade later when his son was a player. Again, they went away. Then, during cancer care, they returned back.”

She diagnosed Morrison with chronic visceral pain, a common condition that has different triggers, such as inflammation, blockages, and — in Kevin’s case — stress.

The intensity can vary, but many people describe it as a deep ache or pressure.

She prescribed a medication called nortriptyline.

It’s been used for decades to treat depression, but researchers found it also controls this type of pain.

Morrison was ready to try anything.

“They could have given me a quart of gasoline,” he said. “It wouldn’t have mattered.”

The change was immediate.

“Miracle, miracle,” he said. “Within a year, I had a full head of hair, no pain. I was eating like a hog and I’m back to 205 pounds.”

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 Rachael Perry

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    BOCA RATON, Florida (WPBF) — A retired firefighter said he was assaulted by a man while protesting against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

WPBF 25 News spoke with the victim, Luis Garcia, a retired Boynton Beach firefighter, who was attending the anti-ICE protest in Boca Raton on Saturday. Garcia said the suspect, Thomas Landry, aggressively approached him, accusing him of stolen valor.

“He immediately came up to me, I’m holding an American flag, and he’s immediately spitting out, screaming, you’re not a real fireman. Where do you work? Where do you work?” Garcia said.

Garcia maintains that Landry punched him in the chest before Garcia can be heard telling nearby protesters to video the incident and call 911.

“That’s a video segment you see. And then I’m backing up, I just tell him to back up, and he just comes at me again, swinging for my head, but I turned slightly. So he managed to knock my firefighter helmet off my head,” he said.

Before approaching Garcia, the police report shows Landry is accused of knocking a sign out of a woman’s hand.

Garcia told WPBF 25 News he has since seen comments of people asking why he didn’t defend himself.

“We were right next to a moving lane of traffic. That would have been pretty stupid. He could have gotten hurt. I could have gotten hurt. We both could have gotten killed,” Garcia said.

At the time of the incident, Garcia was wearing his firefighter helmet and an International Association of Fire Fighters t-shirt. He said Landry continued to yell at him while accusing him of stolen valor.

“He felt it was within his right to attack me because he was also starting to scream stolen valor, stolen valor. He and his wife were yelling at us, calling us illegals, saying we had stolen valor. And I get it. He thought I was just some fat middle-aged guy who bought a helmet online and a t-shirt,” Garcia said.

He explained his T-shirt is from the 2020 campaign supporting former president Joe Biden.

“My belief system is that if I served in the U.S. Marine Corps, I have the right to stand there with an American flag. If I’m a U.S. citizen, I have nothing to be afraid of. If I spent 28 years saving lives, protecting property, helping people, and going into burning buildings, I certainly have earned the right to wear my retiree helmet, even at a political protest,” he told WPBF.

Garcia said Landry seemed fixated on his shirt and couldn’t let it go.

“I’m doing nothing wrong. I’m not impersonating anybody. But he was sure in his mind that there’s no way I could be a real firefighter or a retired firefighter,” he said.

While the incident was shocking, Garcia said he’s dealt with similar issues in the past.

“I’ve encountered Trump supporters who spit in my face, tear my sign out of my hand, and push me, trying to get me to fall to the ground, but it’s always been face-to-face. This is a weird dynamic now that he came up behind me,” he said.

Garcia said he’s been protesting against the Trump administration for several years.

“I think just in the last year, I’ve seen an increase of more people being aggressive and confrontational,” he said. “Just ignore us. If you don’t agree with us, you can shoot the bird, you can say Go Trump, whatever. Drive by. You don’t need to park and sneak up behind us. But I’ve definitely seen a dramatic shift in the last year.”

Deputies with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office were nearby and arrested Garcia, who has now been charged with two misdemeanors. PBSO, which was nearby, was contacted and Landry was arrested on suspicion of battery of Garcia and a woman.

Garcia said he didn’t sustain any injuries but says the incident left him shaken and even feeling a little sorry for Landry.

“In five, 10, 15 years, we’re all going to look back and think about whatever our experience was. Maybe some of us will be proud that we stood up for either side, whatever you believe in on either side. Maybe some people will look back and say with shame that maybe they were misled. And maybe somebody will realize I shouldn’t have attacked other people. At the end of the day, we’re all human beings. We’re all Americans,” Garcia said.

Landry was booked in the Palm Beach County jail and has since bonded out.

A spokesperson for the PBSO said the majority of participants complied with lawful directives and remained within designated protest areas, and no widespread issues involving traffic disruption, property damage, or disorderly conduct were observed.

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 Gail Paschall-Brown

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    BREVARD COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — John Brittingham rescued two toddlers who wandered into the middle of busy A1A traffic in Brevard County on Sunday, reuniting them with their unaware parents.

Brittingham stopped traffic with one hand and scooped up the toddlers along the busy road.

“I was terrified thinking of what could have happened to them. The rest of my life would have been ruined,” Brittingham said.

He was driving home southbound on A1A when he noticed the two little girls in the middle of the road. He immediately pulled over and ran out because one of them was already in the middle of the road. He grabbed that one first and then picked up the second, getting them off the road in about six seconds.

“My adrenaline spiked. I had a migraine when I finally got home. I was drained completely for the rest of the day,” he said.

Dash camera video from his vehicle’s front and rear cameras captured it all.

“You see the dash cam, they put their little arms out, oh my God, they’re adorable,” Brittingham said.

He then went looking for their parents, found an Airbnb, and knocked on the door, but no one answered. He went around the house, yelling for someone, but nobody seemed to hear him.

The girls, who he guessed to be about 2 years old or younger, could only point at things and say, “Ohh.”

Finally, he looked in the back gate, which he said was open. He added that’s how the children got out, and their parents were clueless to the fact that they were gone.

“There was an elderly couple and a young girl, and they immediately went into like, ‘Oh my God, we’re so sorry.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I know, I’m just glad I could get them back to you. They were out in the road, and your gate was open,'” Brittingham said.

Brittingham did not call the police.

“My main concern was to reunite them, and by that time I was glad they were with their parents,” he said.

Bottom line, Brittingham emphasized the importance of watching children. He and his wife have five children and grandchildren.

WESH 2 contacted Cocoa Beach Police and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.

Cocoa Beach said it’s not its jurisdiction, and the sheriff’s office said there have been no reports or calls relating to the incident.

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 John Paul

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    YEADON, Pennsylvania (WPVI) — The Yeadon police chief says families across the country are reaching out in fear that their loved ones’ remains may be among more than 100 skeletons authorities say were recovered from the home and storage unit of a Lancaster County man.

“It’s a shock. It’s a shock you have to tell someone their family member is gone,” Yeadon Police Chief Henry Giammarco said.

Giammarco said he spent much of the weekend responding to more than 60 messages from people with relatives buried at Mt. Moriah Cemetery. Some callers reached out from as far away as Hawaii and California, worried that the remains of their family members may have been taken.

“We’re answering phone calls, we’re answering emails because that’s their loved one. That’s important,” Giammarco said. “As I said before, rest in peace is rest in peace.”

Police say Jonathan Gerlach broke into mausoleums and underground crypts on the Yeadon side of Mt. Moriah Cemetery. Last week, investigators revealed that more than 100 skeletons, in various states of decay, were found in Gerlach’s basement and a storage unit. They believe he was selling the remains online.

“To feel violated is putting it, is just the beginning of the feelings,” said former Philadelphia Police Captain Drew Techner.

Techner said he learned from Action News that the mausoleum of his relative, Francis Charlton, had been broken into. Charlton was the son of a Philadelphia City Councilman and operated a coal company before his death in 1908.

“My family has been buried in the cemetery for over 100 years,” Techner said.

He said mausoleums can be difficult to secure and have long been targets for criminals. As a police captain, he recalls investigating similar incidents two decades ago.

“I knew about 20 years ago these mausoleums were being broken into for the intent of burglaries,” he said. “As a former police captain in the city of Philadelphia, I knew what their motive was: it was to go in there and get valuables. But this takes it to a whole new level.”

Gerlach’s preliminary hearing, originally scheduled for Jan. 20, has been postponed. He faces more than 500 charges.

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 Briana Smith

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    BLUE BELL, Pennsylvania (WPVI) — An 11-year-old Eagles fan from Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, has become a social media sensation after a video of his passionate reaction to the team’s wild-card loss to the San Francisco 49ers spread widely online with more than 18 million views.

The clip shows Sam Salvo expressing frustration after Sunday night’s game.

“I want AJ Brown packing his bags and going somewhere else that is not here,” he says in the video.

He adds, “I want Kevin Patullo flipping burgers at the local McDonald’s or something. Whenever he’s an offensive coordinator, it’s like he’s flipping burgers. One side, he’s cooking. The other half, he’s completely raw.”

Salvo said the Eagles’ loss was disappointing, but the attention that followed has been exciting.

“This is a dream come true. I never thought this would happen,” he said.

Known to his family as “Slammin’ Sam,” Salvo describes himself as a devoted Eagles fan.

“This is my room, guys. I have my football jerseys over here,” he said while showing off his collection. He added that his love for the team goes back years.

“Well, since I was a tiny boy. I was so small when I first started watching the Eagles. I love the Eagles so much,” he said.

Despite the defeat, Salvo said he walked away with a memorable message.

“I heard something at the game that really made me think about my life: ‘Win or lose, we’re the bleeping Birds baby.'”

His father, Paul Salvo, said the phrase came from a fan sitting behind them.

“He learned that from the guy behind him; shoutout to that guy,” said Paul

He added that his son’s personality shines both on and off camera.

“Sam is hilarious. This is how he is in real life all the time. He says ridiculous things. He does ridiculous things, but in his heart, he’s a really good kid. I love hanging out with him, and he’s the best.”

His younger sister, Marina, said the attention feels fitting.

“Sam loves football, and I feel like all that football talk has finally done him something good,” she said.

Salvo said he hopes to stay in the spotlight and has dreams of working in sports someday.

“That would be my second or third option. If I couldn’t make pro tennis, then I would try to be a sportscaster or something,” he said. For now, he has his sights set on one show in particular: “Yeah, the show with Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce on it.”

His mother, Zuzana Salvo, said the family is enjoying the moment. “We’re just riding the wave,” she said.

“I look at it like he’s an 11-year-old kid, let’s let him have fun. Let’s let him enjoy the moment, and make sure his grades stay good, and let’s make sure he’s playing good tennis. I’m just excited for him,” said Paul.

Salvo now has an Instagram account managed by his parents and is working on launching a YouTube channel.

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.