Author: CNN Newsource

By Forrest Sanders

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    NASHVILLE (WTVF) — We’re in March, so St. Patrick’s Day is coming soon. A big event is going to feature a whole lot of talent. With that talent comes a truly amazing story of an overcomer.

Shoes thundered on the floor at a rehearsal for the Nashville Irish Step Dancers. Maureen Gannon sat in the next room over, surrounded by costumes for an upcoming show.

“It spoke to me,” Gannon said, reflecting on her years dancing. “I felt very close to my Irish heritage doing that. Oh, so this picture. It’s 1973. We’re at a feis, which is an Irish dance competition. I danced with a school in Queens, New York where I grew up from ages 7 to 9.”

After some time away from the costume changes, sequins, rhinestones, and true precision of this form of dancing, Gannon returned to this world in her 30s.

“I’ve been dancing with the Nashville Irish Step Dancers for almost 30 years,” she explained. “It gives me such joy dancing with other people. It’s a sensation of flying.”

The Nashville Irish Step Dancers have a big show every year. For last year’s, Gannon decided to sing but not dance. She was recovering from surgery related to Crohn’s Disease.

“I had eight inches of intestines removed in February of 2025,” she said.

Then came a date that changed her life; March 7, 2025.

“That’s the day I found out I had breast cancer,” Gannon said.

Gannon, whose titles include dean for faculty development at Vanderbilt University’s School of Medicine, began chemo and radiation at Vanderbilt Health.

There was a question if she could ever return to the dancing that’d been part of her life for so long.

“I had to stop cause I got this thing called chemo legs,” Gannon explained. “Your legs just feel really heavy.”

Gannon finished her treatments in August and is still waiting to hear if she’s in remission. In these past months, she’s been working very hard with the Nashville Irish Step Dancers. Gannon has returned to dancing.

Gannon was taking part in rehearsals for the Celtic Rhythms on Fire show. It’s being held at the Capitol Theatre in Lebanon the night of March 7. It’s one year to the day that Gannon was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Gannon is singing some numbers and dancing in nine. She’s still going at 61.

“If there’s something you are passionate about, I think getting that cancer diagnosis doesn’t mean you have to give it up,” Gannon said.

“I’ve known some of you for a long time, some of you I haven’t known as long,” Gannon said, speaking to the group in rehearsals. “Your encouragement, your love, your support has meant so much to me and made that burden and that challenge I was going through last year a lot lighter. I just want to thank you all, and I’m just thrilled to be dancing with you all again this 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 Kate Hussey

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    FORT PIERCE, Florida (WPTV) — Billy Leon Kearse is scheduled to be executed Tuesday at 6 p.m. for the 1991 murder of Fort Pierce Police Sgt. Danny Parrish — a killing that has haunted the victim’s family, friends and fellow officers for more than 35 years.

The execution will be Florida’s 22nd in just over a year. WPTV Investigative Reporter Kate Hussey has been tracking the case, reviewing files and speaking with family and friends.

She will witness the execution at Florida State Prison.

On Jan. 18, 1991, prosecutors said 29-year-old Parrish was working a late shift when he stopped 18-year-old Kearse for driving the wrong way down a one-way street.

Investigators said Kearse fought Parrish, grabbed his gun and shot him more than a dozen times.

Parrish’s wife, 27-year-old dispatcher Mirtha Busbin, had spoken with her husband just 15 minutes before the shooting.

“He was just going to lay low the rest of the night, take it easy. He was going to go have some dinner. I said, ‘Okay, I love you, You know where I’m at.’ He said, ‘I love you, too.’ And we hung up,” Busbin said.

Fort Pierce Police Officer Greg Kirk was among those who responded to the scene.

“I heard sirens coming from all over the city, and I’m like, ‘What is going on?’ I told my partner, I’m like, ‘Hey, we need to go. Something’s up.’ So we ran out and jumped in our unmarked vehicle, and I asked the dispatcher, ‘What happened?’ He said, ‘We have an officer shot.’ I’m like, ‘Well, where?’ And they said, ‘Fifth & Avenue A,” Kirk said.

Kirk said when he arrived, he could not immediately tell who had been shot.

“I saw legs sticking out, and a bunch of guys hovering over top, and you know, they were working feverishly, and I could not tell who it was. And I’m like, ‘Who is it?’ They’re like, ‘It’s Danny.’ And I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, it doesn’t look good.’ And so, you know, at that point, I knew there was nothing I could do other than try to find a bad guy,” Kirk said.

Former officer Dennis McWilliams learned of Parrish’s death by phone.

“Got a telephone call. The guy at the end of the phone said, just like this, ‘Danny Parrish was shot and killed tonight.’ And I, you know, I still think about it today. I never forgot how he said that. I never forgot what he said,” McWilliams said.

Deputies with the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office arrested Kearse hours later. Busbin was rushed to the hospital, where she learned her husband had not survived.

“They said, ‘Bring her through the employee side of the hospital. There’s too many on the other side of the hospital.’ So when we got there, the medical unit was waiting for us, and you could see, like, sirens, lights, everything, you know, the whole parking lot. So I sat down, and Chief Kerlikowske grabbed my hand, and he said, ‘Mirtha, Danny was in an incident tonight, and he was hurt.’ And so I said, ‘Can I see him? Is he okay?’ He said he did not make it,” Busbin said.

Law enforcement officers from across Florida attended Parrish’s funeral. Busbin, then 27, addressed the crowd.

“He always told me when we left this house that this was just a part of life — and that life should go on. He just wanted me to be proud of him,” Busbin said.

More than three decades later, she still reflects on the time she lost.

“I was young, so to look back, I wished I’d had more time with you, you know, because you’re still a kid. I mean, I got married, but I didn’t… You’re learning marriage, you’re learning finance, you’re learning different things. And you know, so I wish, I wish that I had more time to get more time with him,” Busbin said.

For Kirk, the grief was compounded by the bond he and Parrish had built just months before.

“It was just tough to sit there and see your buddy that I just got done going through a SWAT school [with] three months prior, and of course, you develop a bond that is just unbelievable and unbreakable. It was terrible. You know, to have your buddy shot down like that, and knowing that his last thoughts were, this was this guy standing over him with a gun, and he’s telling him, don’t do it, man, please don’t do it. Yeah, it’s tough,” Kirk said.

The killing fell on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. Parrish had been part of the honor guard preparing for a parade that Monday.

“When we did the parade on Monday, we obviously did it with a missing man formation. It was very emotional,” McWilliams said.

In October 1991, a jury convicted Kearse of first-degree murder. Court records show his defense called multiple witnesses who cited a troubled childhood and possible brain damage. Days later, the jury recommended death.

Busbin said she never forgot the moment Kearse was sentenced.

“When he was actually sentenced, and he was in the courtroom, Judge Cianca said, ‘Is there anything you’d like to say before I sentenced you?’ He turned around, he looked at me, winked and he smiled. And that’s when I decided this mission was going to be ongoing,” Busbin said.

Over the next 35 years, Kearse filed 17 appeals — 11 to the Florida Supreme Court and 4 to the U.S. Supreme Court. Busbin said the appeals arrived like clockwork, reopening old wounds each time.

“My packets would come right before Christmas, and then you’re reliving it all over again, and then what if one of those appeals ends up being life in prison with eligibility of parole?” Busbin said.

In 2018, court records show another appeal was denied — and then the case stalled. Still, Busbin waited for justice, but no answer came.

“Frustrating that nothing’s been done,” Busbin told WPTV’s Jon Shainman in 2021.

State Attorney Tom Bakkedahl echoed that frustration during a January press conference, when we announced Gov. Ron DeSantis had signed Kearse’s death warrant after 35 years.

“I am so sorry that this criminal justice system would take us 35 years,” Bakkedahl said.

“This isn’t about me. This is justice for him. It’s all been, it’s always been about justice,” Busbin said.

McWilliams said the news brought him to tears.

“I was with my family, and I cried, and the tears were just relief,” McWilliams said.

“We’re finally getting closure,” added Kirk.

Not everyone agrees with the execution. Bridget Maloney of Floridians Against the Death Penalty is working with Kearse’s family on a last-minute appeal.

“At eight years old, Billy was begging officers to send him to a detention facility so that he could get food,” Maloney said.

Maloney said it is possible to hold two perspectives at once.

“I think that you can hold recognizing that what Billy did was horrific, and holding some anger toward him while also recognizing that this is, you know, a loved one and a family member who, who will be, you know, gone,” Maloney said.

“It’s really, really difficult to describe, sort of, the call that you get when you find out that — not only has your loved one done a horrific thing and has been in prison for so long — but now has, you know, 29, 30 days to live, and that’s not to pit against a victim’s family. It’s just, it is a different experience when you don’t necessarily have that public support, it can be really isolating,” Maloney added.

As of Monday evening, the Florida Supreme Court has not yet ruled on Kearse’s latest appeal. His last appeal failed by a single vote in a 4-3 decision.

Kearse’s execution comes as Florida has carried out an unprecedented number of executions in 2025.

The state shattered its previous record of eight executions set in 2014 by carrying out 19 executions — a pace that sparked debate between those seeking justice for victims’ families and advocates fighting for death row inmates.

Defense attorneys raised concerns that the rapid pace could strain the appeals process. State records show only 36 qualified attorneys statewide handle post-conviction death row cases, with just 60 days to file last-minute appeals once a death warrant is signed.

Gov. DeSantis, the sole person who can sign death warrants, has defended the pace.

“We’ve heard from a lot of the family members of the victims over the years, and there’s a saying justice delayed, justice denied. So I felt that I owed it to them that this ran smoothly and promptly,” DeSantis said.

Kearse’s execution will mark the third in 2026. Two more are scheduled for March, which will make 25 executions in 13 months.

On all sides, those who knew Parrish said he should be remembered for how he lived, not how he died.

“He was a great police officer, and he had a way that made you look up to him. I think he would have, had he survived, been a natural leader in our department. We kind of looked up to him. I really think he would have made something of himself,” McWilliams said.

“He was so loyal. He was one of those guys where if I said, ‘Hey, Danny, I need —’ ‘Okay, I’ll be there,'” Kirk said.

“He was fun, he was funny. There’s still a piece of your life that you can’t change, and he would want me to go on,” Busbin said.

Kearse’s execution is scheduled for Tuesday at 6 p.m.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WPTV 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 Jeff Hager

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    FALLSTON, Maryland (WMAR) — An affectionate bully breed with a gentle demeanor, workers display a dog, which remains available for adoption at the Humane Society of Harford County.

“China is eight years old and I believe she came in as a stray so we really don’t have much history on her,” said Erin Long, the marketing & development manager at the shelter. But it’s China’s long history, the dog’s age, which is working against it.

“I think the challenge with senior pets is that people see an animal, an older animal, that might start to have health problems and they may or they may not,” said Long, “but I think people—they have this misconception that they’re going to fall in love with an older or maybe middle-aged pet or an older pet and they’re not going to have it very long.” With a growing number of aging animals at the shelter, it got creative—promoting an adoption event with a theme tied to the Oscars, called the Pawscars.

“Let’s turn this into something really fun,” explained Long, “I could see putting stars on the kennel and maybe just doing something really fun.I thought about maybe rolling out a red carpet for the animals.” The promotion allows any animal six years of age and older, including cats and even guinea pigs, to be adopted at half of their normal rate.

Unlike the Oscars, which will be limited to one star-studded evening, the Pawscars will be continuing throughout the month of March. It’s a bargain for people interested in picking up a pet with a chance to measure its future in companionship rather than days, months and years.

“Dogs can live 12, 14, 15 years.Cats, same thing, so take a chance on an older pet,” said Long, “I mean they’re kind of my jam.I love an older animal, because what you see is what you get.”

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 Jack Watson

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    JERUSALEM (WMAR) — A Maryland group which was in Israel as this weekend’s Middle East fighting started is back in the U.S., the executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council told WMAR-2 News.

Howard Libit, executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council, said the locally-based men’s mission group was in Israel Saturday, scheduled to leave not long after, as the U.S. and Israel struck Iran and Iran retaliated.

“That was among our top concerns was, the 20 or so people we had there in Jerusalem,” Libit said.

The Associated Jewish Federation of Baltimore posted a video on Friday, hours before the strikes, showing the group holding a flag displaying their Baltimore roots, and the Israeli flag.

Libit told WMAR-2 News the group had spent the last week visiting Israel, seeing the sights, and were in their hotel in Jerusalem on Shabbat when the war started, having to keep safe in the shelter in the hotel.

Libit said the group made it out safely.

“My understanding is fortunately they got out across land to Jordan, and are on a flight now that’s supposed to be landing in Chicago this afternoon. So they’re home, wonderful news,” Libit told WMAR-2 News on Monday.

While the local group appears to have found safety, the danger persists across the Middle East; a conflict many Maryland leaders are speaking out against.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore wrote: “We can stand with the Iranian people who support the cause of democracy and freedom without risking another conflict that sends another generation of American troops into combat.”

Brandon Scott, the Baltimore mayor, posted on X: “Trump is a liar and a chaos agent. He’s never been anti-war or pro-public safety. He’s choosing to cause violence in our city streets and across the globe, because he’s failing on his promises to bring down prices and invest in communities.”

When news broke that a strike had killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian Supreme Leader, Andy Harris, the state’s lone Republican Congressman, wrote on social media: “The leading sponsor of terrorism worldwide has met an appropriate fate. Let’s all hope that the people of Iran can be freed from the yoke of an oppressive theocracy.”

Libit said many in the local Jewish community see the strikes as a chance at security from the Iranian regime.

“I think what I’m hearing a lot is a resolve, and a hope, that maybe once and for all, we can get rid of this four decade plus Iranian threat,” Libit said.

“Will we seek absolute and total peace? I think that’s unlikely, but maybe this is a major step forward,” Libit concluded.

Following the weekend’s strikes, the Naval Academy has raised its security measures, suspending general public visitation and conducting 100 percent ID checks.

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.