Author: CNN Newsource

By Donald Fountain

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    ATLANTA, Georgia (WUPA) — At just 18 years old, Raja Green-Hornes is pursuing his passion for music as a singer, songwriter, and dancer while navigating the challenges of autism.

Green-Hornes began taking music seriously at 13, when he wrote his first song, “Better,” on the piano. Since then, he has recorded several songs, including “Dip” and “Roll the Dice,” which also has a music video.

For Green-Hornes, music is a way to communicate his feelings and connect with others.

“Music is like a way for me to express myself,” he said.

His passion extends beyond writing songs.

“I love performing in front of people. I love giving people a show,” he said. “It’s nice. It gives me a good feeling in my body.”

His music has also attracted attention from classmates. Green-Hornes said students at schools he has attended have watched his music videos in class, with some even asking to take pictures with him.

“Everybody’s like, ‘Man, this is so cool. We’ve got a celebrity walking the halls,'” he said.

One of his biggest supporters is his mother, Charlitra Johnson-Hornes.

Johnson-Hornes has encouraged her son’s musical interests since childhood. She still has home videos of him singing when he was young. However, raising Green-Hornes has also come with concerns.

Johnson-Hornes said her son attended speech therapy as a young child and was later diagnosed with autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

“It was scary at first,” she said, recalling her concerns that people would label him because of his diagnoses.

Green-Hornes said staying focused can sometimes be difficult.

“It caused me to get looked over by certain organizations or people because of how I acted,” he said.

His mother hopes his experiences will encourage the entertainment industry to become more accepting of artists with autism.

“The industry needs to be more aware that there are artists who have autism,” Johnson-Hornes said. “And it’s OK. There’s nothing wrong with them.”

Despite the obstacles, Johnson-Hornes said watching her son develop into a talented performer has been rewarding.

“Anything he touches, he does so well at it,” she said. “Raja, he’s just amazing.”

Still, she acknowledges having concerns about his future, particularly who will support him when she is no longer around.

“Who’s gonna be there for our kids when we’re gone?” she said. “I just want to make sure he’s OK.”

For Green-Hornes, those challenges haven’t stopped him from pursuing his dreams. He hopes to continue releasing music, performing and inspiring others who have faced similar experiences.

“It’s OK, though. I’m still doing good,” he said. “I’m still making it on my own.”

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 Christopher DeRose

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    WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — An underground fire continues to burn at the former Westmoreland Glass Company property in Hempfield Township, months after a lightning strike ignited buried waste material, including coal.

The factory closed in 1984, but during its decades of operation, tons of its waste were buried on the property, just across the railroad tracks from where the ruins of the old plant still sit.

The fire started last March and is burning an estimated 10 to 20 feet below the surface. Neighbors have reported seeing smoke rising from the ground, and KDKA cameras captured smoke venting from several openings on the property.

The affected land is privately owned by Will Shay, who invited media to tour the area beside his home on Monday.

Shay says he wants people to stay away from the area because of the potential dangers. He is also hoping officials can soon develop a plan to extinguish the fire so he can eventually use the property for its intended purpose.

“I purchased this property to build a small memorial to my late wife,” Shay said. “And that’s what I really want to do, and it is something that concerns me. You just don’t know what’s going to be allowed to be done to the property after everything is taken care of. I just want to be able to use it for what I bought it for.”

Hempfield Township and the Hempfield Township Fire Department say they are monitoring the situation from a public safety standpoint.

Shay says township officials and state Rep. Eric Nelson have been amazing in coordinating with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to assess the fire and develop a strategy to extinguish it.

“DEP, there are about five different entities of the DEP involved in this,” said Nelson. “So individuals that have experience with underground fires, water quality, we have their environmental team, so the DEP has done a good job and they are coordinating the core drilling to make sure we knew where this fire is and is it an immediate threat or is it something that we have some time to deal with.”

Officials are continuing to monitor the situation as they work toward a plan to address the underground fire.

In the meantime, the message from everyone involved is clear: Stay away from the property. In addition to being private land, the area around an underground fire can pose potential safety risks.

The Hempfield Township Fire Department’s full statement can be found on its Facebook page.

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 Tom Dougherty

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    PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (KYW) — A man and a woman allegedly targeted and tampered with the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia earlier this year, according to federal prosecutors.

Sean Gerlach of Fairview, North Carolina, and Dawn Hawa of Ephrata, Pennsylvania, are charged with alleged incidents from May 16, 2026, U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said in a news release Monday.

Gerlach was charged with tampering with a property in a national park and trespassing. Hawa, who also goes by Dawn Benitez, was charged with vandalism of property in a national park.

Prosecutors allege Gerlach and Hawa visited the Liberty Bell within the Independence National Historic Park on May 16.

Court documents allege Gerlach jumped over a barrier protecting the Liberty Bell and pushed it “with significant force multiple times, causing it to sway back and forth multiple times.”

Gerlach allegedly admitted to trying to ring the Liberty Bell in an interview with FBI agents on July 23, according to court documents.

Hawa was with Gerlach and allegedly flicked an “oily substance over the barrier toward the Liberty Bell,” court documents allege. The substance struck the bell and the surrounding areas, according to court documents. It’s unclear what the oily substance was.

Federal prosecutors said Gerlach faces up to one year in prison and Hawa faces up to six months in prison.

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 Joe Brandt

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    PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (KYW) — A SEPTA trolley struck and killed a 64-year-old woman who was jogging in West Philadelphia Monday morning.

Police identified the woman as Samuber Shikhverdieva.

Around 9:15 a.m., an eastbound Route 13 trolley struck Shikhverdieva, who was jogging through the intersection of 45th Street and Chester Avenue, a SEPTA spokesperson said. Shikhverdieva was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:28 a.m., according to police.

The SEPTA trolley was replaced by shuttle buses after the deadly incident. It remains under investigation by police.

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 Nick Caloway

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    WESTCHESTER COUNTY, New York (WCBS) — A Westchester County, New York, baby born weighing a little more than 1 pound is finally headed home after months of treatment.

For Jesse and Danaies Ossenkopp, Monday was the day they had been waiting months for.

Their daughter, Journey, was born in February four months early. She faced serious heart and lung complications tied to her premature birth. Even then, though, she was a fighter.

“She was the size of your hand and skinny little limbs. And that didn’t stop her from kicking. And very soon all the nurses were like ‘Oh, this one has character,'” Jesse Ossenkopp said.

“Yeah, they called her tiny but mighty,” Danaies Ossenkopp said.

In August, Journey was taken to Blythedale Children’s Hospital, where she was treated for a congenital heart condition known as PDA, as well as ongoing breathing challenges caused by underdeveloped lungs. Months of care later, she’s now breathing on her own. She still needs a feeding tube, but she’s headed home where she can thrive.

“Her family have been thoroughly trained on inserting that tube, removing that tube, and also feeding her through that tube so that she can actually get home and learn to feed from home. So she doesn’t have to stay in the hospital,” said Dr. Doris Rivera-Araujo of Blythedale Children’s Hospital.

“It doesn’t feel real yet. And it probably won’t feel real until she’s sitting right there in our living room,” Jesse Ossenkopp said.

Journey’s parents say her story is one of perseverance. Eight months of fighting later, the tiny but mighty fighter is getting a huge reward — a trip home.

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 Kim

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    SHEBOYGAN, Wisconsin (WTMJ) — More than 30 people are finding connection, friendship and a sense of belonging through music at the Dementia-Friendly Choir of Sheboygan.

“It’s made up of people who have dementia. It’s for people also who are caregivers, as well as anybody who’s been affected by dementia, which is pretty much most people,” said Carra-lyn Conger, director of the Janet L. Herrick Dementia-Friendly Choir.

For Julie Messner, the choir is especially meaningful. She has never missed a rehearsal, marking every attendance check on her sheet. But her connection to dementia goes far beyond the music.

In 2011, Messner began noticing changes in her mother’s behavior. She remembers one moment when her mother looked out the window at a bird feeder and mistook a bird for a dog. Later, her husband, Brian, also developed dementia.

Both her mother and husband passed away in 2019.

During Thursday’s rehearsal, Messner became emotional while reflecting on her late husband, saying she believes he would be proud of her.

“Love them like they were still ones you fell in love with. Because that part of them is still in there somewhere,” Messner said.

For Conger, moments like these are a reminder of why the choir matters. She says music can be especially beneficial for people experiencing memory loss.

“Music is important for everybody, especially people with memory loss. It helps them to trigger different parts of their brain, keeps them active,” Conger said.

Conger also remembers the impact of the choir from its very first rehearsal. One member, who had not sung in nearly 20 years, approached her afterward with tears in her eyes.

“She’s finally singing again, and she just, it was just a wonderful feeling to be able to bring music back into her life,” Conger recalled.

The choir also provides a welcoming environment where members don’t have to worry about being judged.

“There’s no judgment. You don’t have to be able to carry a tune. Other people will carry it for you. It’s open to everybody,” said Emily Rendall-Araujo, director of senior services for the city of Sheboygan, who also plays piano for the choir.

One example is Marilyn Zimmerman. She recently celebrated her 96th birthday, and the choir has provided a supportive community as she begins noticing changes in her own memory. Zimmerman says not everyone understands what she is experiencing in everyday life.

“They say, ‘Well, come on, lady. Let’s get going.’ But most people here are very understanding and helpful,” Zimmerman said.

That understanding extends to the way members support one another during rehearsals. If someone loses their place in a song, other choir members step in to help them follow along.

“They’ll jump in to make sure they’re on the right page, the right measure, that sort of thing,” Rendall-Araujo said.

At the choir, members don’t have to keep up on their own. They can find support in one another, and a place where everyone has a voice. The choir’s upcoming performance will take place Nov. 21 at Uptown Social in Sheboygan, and the organizers hope the performance will showcase more than the songs members have practiced.

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 Gideon Verdin

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    MILWAUKEE (WTMJ) — Inside a classroom at North Division High School, students aren’t just studying how things are built. They’re doing the building themselves.

Armed with hammers, measuring tapes and plenty of determination, Milwaukee Public Schools students are transforming lumber into a tiny house, one board at a time.

But the biggest transformation may be happening among the students themselves.

For Vaunya Stewart-Mayes, the journey started with a childhood project: helping neighborhood kids build a treehouse.

“I didn’t know I could do that,” Stewart-Mayes said. “So after that, I just wanted to build stuff all the time.”

That early curiosity has grown into a passion for construction.

Now, instead of guessing her way through a project, she’s learning the precision and patience required in the skilled trades.

“I just winged it before,” Stewart-Mayes said. “So now you get to learn about measurements and being exact.”

Turning a classroom into a construction site The tiny house project is part of North Division’s construction program, led by teacher Geno Llanas, who wants students to graduate with more than classroom knowledge.

He wants them to have skills they can put to work.

“I thought that we could teach them something they could get jobs with,” Llanas said.

The students are currently learning framing techniques, including how to build walls and install window openings. Plans also call for electrical wiring, drywall installation and finishing work, along with a practice bathroom featuring a toilet, tile and vanity.

It’s a chance to experience the kind of work performed on real construction sites, while learning the importance of measurements, teamwork and getting the details right.

For 15-year-old John Barber, seeing those pieces come together has brought a growing sense of pride.

“It feels really awesome,” Barber said. “I feel like I contributed a lot. I did a lot of the work.”

And that experience is already changing how he thinks about his future.

“I didn’t really know what I was gonna do after high school and because of this class, I feel like I might go into being an electrician,” Barber said.

Building confidence and opening doors Llanas sees the classroom as a starting point for something much bigger.

“There is a pathway to a career in carpentry and plumbing, and it starts right here at North Division,” he said.

The program introduces students to opportunities that don’t necessarily require a traditional four-year college degree. North Division also offers welding, and Llanas says the school works with Milwaukee Area Technical College to help students explore further training.

He points to a former student who continued his education at MATC and landed a job earning $25 an hour at just 19 years old.

It’s the kind of opportunity Llanas hopes more students will discover.

But he says the benefits aren’t measured in paychecks alone.

“The sense of accomplishment and having confidence is one of the biggest things that they learned from here,” Llanas said.

For Stewart-Mayes, having a teacher recognize her abilities has made a lasting impression.

“It feels good to have someone know that I can do something and then have me do it,” she said.

That confidence is helping students envision futures they may not have considered before.

A tiny house with a bigger purpose The house under construction at North Division won’t eventually become someone’s home. It’s a classroom training project designed to give students practical experience.

Llanas expects the project to be completed by the end of the school year.

But for Stewart-Mayes, this tiny house is just the beginning.

She already has plans to build a home of her own someday.

“I want to be a carpenter, but I also want to build my own house, so I want to learn a little bit of every trade, like electrical, plumbing, all sorts of stuff like that so I can build a house,” she said.

And while the students still have plenty of work ahead of them, the lessons they’re learning are already taking shape.

They’re not just building a house. They’re building possibilities for their futures.

How to support the program North Division’s construction program welcomes community support, including donations of tools, tool belts and safety equipment.

Llanas also expressed interest in connecting with skilled trades professionals and community members who want to support students or learn more about the program.

Those interested can contact North Division High School in Milwaukee and ask to be connected with construction teacher Geno Llanas.

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 Jamal Goss

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    ATLANTA (WUPA) — For Henry Mercer, driving a school bus was never supposed to become a lifelong career. But 46 years later, the DeKalb County School District driver is still behind the wheel, helping students get to school safely and building relationships that can last long after graduation.

Mercer marked his 46th anniversary on Nov. 1 and is beginning his 47th year with the district.

“Well, I started just for the benefits, but then it seemed to grow on me,” Mercer said.

Over the decades, the job has become second nature. Before each route, Mercer carefully inspects his bus, checking windows, emergency exits and other safety equipment to make sure everything is ready for students.

But his attention goes beyond the bus itself.

Mercer says he makes an effort to greet students and pay attention to their behavior, recognizing when something might be wrong.

“But when Joe don’t say anything, that tells me I need to look, I need to talk to Joe,” Mercer said, describing how he notices when a normally talkative student becomes quiet.

The DeKalb County School District transports more than 45,000 students each day, according to Raymond Stanley, the district’s executive director of transportation and fleet.

“If it’s not for bus drivers, a lot of our kids would not have a, I guess, consistent way to get to school,” Stanley said.

Stanley said drivers and bus monitors play an especially important role in supporting students with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs.

For Mercer, the responsibility extends beyond getting children from one destination to another. After nearly half a century on the job, he still hopes the relationships he has built have made a difference.

“And yet, I hope I’ve made a positive impact on the number of students,” Mercer said.

An unexpected encounter about two months ago gave him a glimpse of that impact.

Mercer said he and his wife were leaving an Emory medical appointment when they became turned around and stopped to ask two nurses for directions.

One of the nurses recognized him.

“Hey, I know you. I know you,” Mercer recalled the nurse saying.

When he asked how she knew him, the nurse told him he had been her school bus driver in 1985 or 1986.

“And she still remembers,” Mercer said.

Nearly four decades after riding his bus, the former student had not forgotten him.

Mercer’s dedication has also earned recognition from his colleagues. During a recent district celebration honoring transportation employees, coworkers jokingly called him a celebrity.

Mercer quickly dismissed the label, but his colleagues insisted.

After 46 years of helping children get to school, Mercer may not consider himself a celebrity. Yet his encounter with a former student shows how the impression left by a familiar face behind the wheel can last long after the ride ends.

The district employs approximately 600 school bus drivers and continues to recruit additional drivers and monitors.

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.