Author: CNN Newsource

By Doug Myers

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    PLANO, Texas (KTVT) — Four behavior analysts at a Plano autism treatment center had their state licenses suspended after regulators said they failed to report suspected sexual abuse of a 4-year-old child by two center employees.

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation issued emergency suspension orders Aug. 17 against four professionals tied to Apara Autism Center:

– Nicole Ercan, behavior analyst – Amberly Bossert, behavior analyst – Karah Pack, behavior analyst – Alice Agyeman, assistant behavior analyst

Texas law sets mandatory reporting rules “When abuse is suspected, each professional has a duty to report directly to the proper authorities, and TDLR will take action when that responsibility under the law is not met,” TDLR Executive Director Courtney Arbour said.

TDLR said the child’s mother contacted staff at the center on May 12 after the child disclosed information raising concerns about possible sexual abuse involving two other workers.

Center officials addressed the allegation internally and reviewed surveillance video, according to the agency.

Pack and Agyeman brought the matter to their supervisors, Ercan and Bossert, TDLR said. But regulators said none of the four contacted law enforcement or the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to report the suspected abuse.

The child’s mother later took the child to an emergency room for a sexual assault examination. Hospital personnel then notified law enforcement and DFPS, according to TDLR.

The suspensions concern the four licensees’ reporting obligations and do not constitute a finding on whether the alleged sexual abuse occurred. Any investigation into possible criminal conduct is a matter for law enforcement, the agency said.

The two registered behavior technicians accused in the child’s disclosure are certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board and are not licensed by TDLR, according to the agency.

Texas law requires certain professionals who have reasonable cause to believe a child has been abused or neglected to report the suspicion within 24 hours.

The four licensees were ordered to stop practicing immediately. Their suspensions can remain in effect for one year unless TDLR or a court orders otherwise. They may seek expedited hearings before an administrative law judge.

CBS News Texas will provide updates as more information becomes available.

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 Bo Evans

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    FORT WORTH, Texas (KTVT) — He likes playing with a soccer ball, eating cookies, and he loves his mama.

But being a healthy 19-month-old wasn’t always in the cards for Jessie.

“We found out that Jessie had SMA type 1 when he was 7 days old,” said Lupita Vasquez, Jessie’s mom. “I just got really scared. And the type that he has, he has type 1, everything on Google says they don’t live past two years old. So, I was just like, my baby is going to die, I didn’t understand anything.”

“SMA is a progressive neuromuscular condition,” said Dr. Stephanie Accord, a Pediatric neurologist at Cook Children’s in Fort Worth. “With no treatment, he would be unable to sit independently; he would not be able to hold his head up very well. Usually, they don’t end up crawling very well. A lot of times, they end up needing respiratory support with being able to swallow. SMA, before any treatments were approved, was the number one cause, from a genetic perspective, of infant mortality. At 20 months, there used to be an 8% survival rate.”

Jessie began receiving treatment right away – and while his life wasn’t at risk, he wasn’t making as much progress as anyone had hoped. Dr. Accord convinced Jessie’s family to use a drug, Spinraza, to help Jessie’s developmental progress.

However, it would require injecting the medicine directly into his spine four times over two months. This would help Jessie keep developing. Jessie would need to be put under an anesthetic and receive a lumbar puncture, injecting the medicine directly into his spine. Jessie needed this procedure four times over the course of two months.

“He was actually scheduled to receive his first treatment on March 31st, and on March 30th, is when we got news that the higher dose treatment of Spinraza had been approved,” said Dr. Accord.

Jessie became the second child in the country, and the first in Texas, to receive this higher dose – meaning he got more medicine faster. The results? Have been amazing for him.

“It’s been worth it. Right after maybe a couple weeks, he started pulling up to stand and taking little steps here and there. Now he’s walking,” said Vasquez.

And every little step Jessie takes makes it worth it for the people who care for him and little kids just like him.

“Pediatric neurology is a tough field to be in a lot of times. And this particular type of treatment for these kiddos, it changes their life,” said Dr. Accord. “In particular cases like Jessie, we really are making a difference, and this is why I love my job. Because there are lots of hard days, and these days remind why I do what I do.”

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 Vanessa Murdock

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    NEW YORK, New York (WCBS) — The Anne Frank Tree in Liberty Park in Lower Manhattan is struggling to survive.

The tree grew from the rootstock of Anne Frank’s white horse chestnut tree, which she could see from the attic where she hid from the Nazis. It inspired her diary entries, including one reading, “Nature brings solace in all troubles.”

The Anne Frank Center USA donated the tree 10 years ago, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey planted it at the World Trade Center and dedicated it in 2017.

Today, the tree looks bare, and the few leaves still hanging are brown and shriveled.

“We’ll do everything we can to try to save the tree,” said Jolene Yeats, director of the World Trade Center department at Port Authority.

She shares their landscape team has treated the tree for leaf blotch, a fungal disease, numerous times over the years. It looked healthier after the most recent treatment in May, but it took a turn in July. That’s when they sought outside help.

“We worked with our landscape team, and we sent some samples to Cornell,” Yeats said.

The results revealed two more fungi are affecting the tree, and issues go root deep. The Anne Frank Center USA is also helping.

“I started to talk to the men who take care of and grow the trees for us in Indiana, the Vallonia tree and seedling nursery, and ask them of all of these scenarios – could it be too much heat, too much sun, too much water?” said Anne Frank Center USA CEO Lauren Bairnsfather. “And it could be any of these things.”

Bairnsfather adds early leaf drop is not completely out of the ordinary.

“What we really need to do is wait through the winter and see how the tree is doing next spring,” she said.

“We’ve seen it have struggles before and recover, so we’re just really hoping that we’ll see that resilience again,” Yeats said.

They hope this symbol of hope continues to bloom for generations.

The Anne Frank Center USA shares there are 22 Anne Frank trees planted around the country, and this is not the first to face such challenges.

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 Tim McNicholas, Walter Smith Randolph

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    TUCKAHOE, New York (WCBS) — A CBS News New York investigation has found that a car registered to the former police chief of Tuckahoe in Westchester County was involved in multiple reported hit-and-runs within minutes.

Now, the Westchester district attorney is investigating how police handled the case.

Yonkers Police say they took a report on Aug. 14 that someone driving an Infiniti sedan struck a car near a CVS on Central Park Avenue then drove off.

Officers say someone else then reported the same Infiniti struck and damaged a parked car half a mile away on Falmouth Road.

Yonkers Police say the Infiniti is registered to former Tuckahoe Police Chief John Costanzo, but a witness said a woman was behind the wheel during the incident on Falmouth. That witness said someone tried to stop her, but she drove off before police arrived, so police took a hit-and-run report.

Minutes after the incident on Falmouth, an Infiniti crashed into a parked Amazon truck in Tuckahoe near Main Street and Columbus Avenue, half a mile from Costanzo’s home, CBS News New York learned. Witnesses say police responded, but no one was arrested at the scene.

In a statement, Tuckahoe Mayor Cara Kronen said a vehicle involved in the incident “entered the Village following an earlier incident in Yonkers.”

No injuries have been reported in those crashes, but Amazon did say their truck was scratched and dented.

The village says it referred the case to the Westchester district attorney, and it can’t provide any more details because the DA is now investigating.

The DA’s office will only say their Public Integrity and Law Enforcement Bureau is investigating. That unit typically investigates police misconduct.

No one answered the door when CBS News New York went to Costanzo’s home, and Tuckahoe’s current police chief and mayor would not agree to interviews with CBS News New York.

Costanzo retired from the force in 2023.

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 Jessica Riley

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    PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — A 19-year-old man is in the Allegheny County Jail after police say he assaulted two women and a man in Downtown Pittsburgh on Friday.

Police say that’s just the latest in a string of crimes that 19-year-old Giovanni Moore has been involved in the last few weeks. Moore has been arrested and faces many charges in connection to crimes committed Downtown, including assaults, theft and disorderly conduct. In just the past month, Moore has been charged more than 10 times and has 13 active cases, some of those spreading through different municipalities.

The most recent was Friday outside of the 7-Eleven along Penn Avenue. Police say Moore stole cash from a woman, then punched her and a second woman when he was confronted. According to police, Moore then dragged one of the women along the street before running away.

A short time later at a separate location, police say he assaulted a man, then tried to steal another person’s bag. Moore then ran from the scene again and eventually police caught up with him near the intersection of Ninth and Penn Avenue and arrested him.

Police say his alleged crime spree goes back weeks all throughout Downtown and on different days. According to court records, Moore hasn’t posted bond and he remains inside the Allegheny County Jail.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Pittsburgh Public Safety said, “We would be remiss if we did not mention that this individual appears to have some significant mental health issues.”

A Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesperson said Moore was arrested twice in May for possession with intent charges, “but nothing at that time was overtly concerning behaviorally.”

“They really became aware of him in early August as they arrested him a number of times on more concerning charges,” the statement said. “That’s when PBP began to work with OCHS and a number of different entities to try to intervene in some fashion and get him assistance.”

As for why he was released from jail so many times, Pittsburgh Public Safety said the department can’t speak to decisions made by the courts.

Moore is currently facing charges including assault, robbery, prohibited acts, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, open lewdness, harassment, theft and public drunkenness. With some of the charges, he’s facing more than one count of each.

For many, hearing this news is frustrating as they ask why someone can continue committing crimes and getting released from jail only to allegedly commit more crimes.

“I got my peripheral open like 24/7, everywhere I go. It seems like it’s the norm anymore. In and out, in and out, and eventually they do something crazy,” said Andrew Tucker, who lives Downtown.

“Somebody like that is probably going to continue to do it. I mean, you can’t keep somebody like that on the street. I mean, it’s clear,” said John Petron, who works Downtown.

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 accused of terrorizing at least a half dozen people while wearing a Chucky-style mask near Philadelphia City Hall earlier this month was arrested in Las Vegas, authorities said Tuesday.

Zymire Hughes, 22, was arrested around 8 p.m. at an apartment complex in southeast Las Vegas and is being held in the Clark County Detention Center awaiting extradition back to Philadelphia, the U.S. Marshals Service said.

U.S. Marshals said Hughes has been a Las Vegas resident since February but has family in Philadelphia. They believe Hughes was in the city for a few weeks. He fled Philadelphia on Aug. 19 from Trenton-Mercer Airport in Ewing, New Jersey, to Orlando, Florida, and then took another flight to Vegas, they said.

“By hiding behind a Chucky-style Halloween mask, Hughes terrorized Philadelphia residents and believed he could evade law enforcement. He was wrong,” Robert Clark, the Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal for the Eastern Pennsylvania Violent Crime Fugitive Task Force, said. “His arrest should send a clear message: you can hide your face, but you can’t hide from the elite investigators of the U.S. Marshal Service.”

Hughes allegedly chased and threatened at least six people around City Hall in Center City on Aug. 12 over a roughly 15-minute span, according to police. Investigators claimed Hughes asked one woman if she was “ready to die.”

According to police, the threats began around 5:18 a.m. on Aug. 12 at the intersection of 15th and Chestnut streets. Hughes allegedly ran up to multiple people, attempting to scare and antagonize them, police said.

About two minutes later, police said Hughes entered a Dunkin’ on the 1500 block of Chestnut Street, but he was refused service for wearing the mask. Hughes left and was later seen on camera running toward people at the southwest corner of Penn Square at City Hall around 5:25 a.m.

Police said Hughes then chased a man on the west side of 15th Street and approached a woman jogging at 15th and Market streets. According to police, Hughes stopped in front of the woman and asked her, “Are you ready to die?” The woman took off and injured her leg, police said.

Hughes fled to Suburban Station after the threats, according to police.

Hughes allegedly had a cellphone with the light on and appeared to film the incidents, Philadelphia Police Capt. Jason Smith previously said.

Clark said Hughes has been charged with aggravated assault, terroristic threats and related offenses.

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 Paul Burton

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    BOSTON, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A new study released Tuesday by Boston University and Mass General Brigham shows that 25% of all former NFL players who died during a recent six-year period had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known as CTE. In Massachusetts, one high school explained steps it has taken to try and reduce head injuries.

“It triggers alarm. What we need to do, now that we know so many of these individuals are experiencing this disease process, we need to move full steam ahead on how we can identify the disease in life, how we can treat it, and how we can ultimately cure the disease,” said Daniel Daneshvar, the study’s lead author.

“It is the repeated hits to the head and G-force associated with those hits that accumulate over time that result in this risk process,” added Daneshvar, who is the chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Mass General Brigham and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.

Football practice took place Tuesday for Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood after the study was released.

Many of the players wear Guardian caps, specially designed headgear to help prevent head injuries.

At Xaverian, more than 75% of its players wear the Guardian caps. The equipment is expensive, however, and not all schools can afford the caps.

The school says it has seen a decrease in concussions over the past year.

Athletics director and Xaverian assistant coach Ted Currle said the school has also lowered the amount of full contact during practice to reduce the risk of head injuries.

“I believe that we’re going to find out it definitely is a problem for guys who play football for many, many years,” Currle said.

Daneshvar said there needs to be a lot more discussion surrounding the topic of head injuries.

“At the NFL level they have less than one contact practice per week. If we had our coaches at the collegiate, high school and youth level practicing the same way, that would eliminate over half of the head impacts that our athletes experience,” he said.

The NFL responded to the new study with a statement following the release of the new CTE study, saying the league is continuing to look for ways to reduce concussions and head injuries.

“The NFL remains committed to ensuring that the NFL community has access to a robust — and expanding — set of resources to enhance their physical and mental well-being. We encourage former players to utilize these resources to identify and seek treatment when they are concerned about their health,” an NFL spokesperson 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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    FINKSBURG, Maryland (WJZ) — Can you imagine seeing a wild horse while driving? That’s the reality for neighbors in Finksburg, Maryland.

Carroll County Animal Control told WJZ that a horse has been on the run near Liberty Reservoir along Deer Park Road since the end of June.

Neighbors said they are concerned for their safety because the horse is often spotted along the roadside or even in the middle of the road.

“Not only do I want to see the horse saved, but it really has become a hazard for people on this road,” said Tenille Moore of Westminster.

Carroll County Animal Control, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and Baltimore Environmental Police have been working to locate and safely capture the horse.

DNR police spotted the horse earlier this month. The agency identified it as a sorrel gelding mustang.

Animal Control said the horse’s owner has been working with a professional trapper who has experience handling wild horses. The trapper is “actively working” to locate the horse and is using drones to search through the woods.

Most sightings have occurred at night, making the horse more difficult to trap.

Anyone with information about the horse’s location is asked to contact Carroll County Animal Control at 410-848-4810, Option 2.

Horse on the run The horse has been on the run since June, according to DNR. The agency said the mustang is untrained and requires professionals to safely capture it.

Moore told WJZ’s Tara Lynch that she has seen the horse at least six times, mostly during her morning commute. Her most recent sighting was Sunday morning during dense fog.

“I thought I was going crazy and then I realized very quickly … there were no horse trailers around, there weren’t any people, it was too early in the morning, so clearly this horse was lost,” Moore said. “I did have to run off the road because he was standing in the middle of the road, and I could barely see in front of me because of the fog.”

Baltimore Environmental Police is leading the investigation.

Neighbors are also taking steps to warn drivers, posting signs along Deer Park Road and urging motorists to slow down and watch for the horse.

Todd Laudeman, who lives near the reservoir, said he posted four signs Sunday morning after learning that someone nearly hit the horse.

“One of my daughter’s neighbors almost hit him on the corner up the road behind me. That prompted me to say, at least there, let’s put a sign so somebody is on the lookout,” Laudeman said.

Law enforcement sources involved in the case told WJZ that the horse was being cared for by someone who is facing animal cruelty and abandonment charges in an unrelated case in West Virginia. It remains unclear who legally owns the mustang.

Another neighbor told WJZ that the horse was spooked and jumped a fence before running toward the reservoir.

“Wild horses like this one would tend to look for an escape route and not necessarily go back to where they came from to say, ‘Oh, I need to go home,'” said Laudeman, who owns horses.

Now, neighbors are hoping the horse can be captured safely and without harm while also keeping drivers out of danger.

“Too many people are starting to see the horse, almost hit the horse, and at some point someone is going to get seriously hurt or die, and that’s the worst-case scenario,” Moore 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 Web Staff

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    BUTTS COUNTY, Georgia (WUPA) — Authorities intercepted a shipment containing 1,800 pounds of marijuana in Butts County on Tuesday, according to Sheriff Gary Long.

The shipment originated in Sacramento, California, and Long said about half was bound for Atlanta, while the other half was headed to Orlando, Florida.

“The illegal marijuana trade does not stop at the state line,” Long said.

The sheriff’s office did not disclose where or how authorities intercepted the shipment. Officials also did not announce any arrests, identify possible suspects or say what charges could be filed.

Long used the seizure to urge Georgia lawmakers to carefully consider the experiences of states that have legalized marijuana. He argued that legalization and regulation alone would not eliminate illegal sales because criminal organizations can avoid the taxes, licensing fees and other expenses paid by legal businesses.

“This isn’t simply the legal marijuana industry supplying these illegal markets. Mexican drug-trafficking organizations and other criminal organizations continue to move enormous quantities of marijuana across state lines, undercutting legitimate growers and businesses operating within the legal system,” Long said. “Our legislators need to understand that you will never completely stop or eliminate the black market simply by legalizing and regulating marijuana. In fact, without addressing the criminal organizations behind the black market, you may only make that market stronger and more powerful and create black-market organizations in every state that legalizes it, just as we are seeing today.”

The sheriff’s office did not say the intercepted shipment was connected to a cartel or any specific criminal organization.

“Georgia, let’s get it right the first time,” Long 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 Brian Unger

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    ATLANTA, Georgia (WUPA) — The family of the man accused in a fatal stabbing near the Atlanta Beltline is speaking publicly for the first time, saying it spent years trying to get him long-term mental health treatment and warning that Georgia’s system was failing to provide it.

CBS News Atlanta obtained a nearly 1,000-word statement from the family of Jonathan Hamby, who is accused of fatally stabbing 29-year-old Ramon Harris on Sunday afternoon.

The family asked to remain anonymous, citing privacy and safety concerns as well as what it described as severe distress following the killing.

In its statement, the family detailed what it called a long history of severe mental illness and active psychosis, along with repeated efforts to get Hamby treatment and compel him to remain in it.

“We spent years desperately fighting a broken system to prevent this exact tragedy from happening,” the family wrote.

The family also questioned why Hamby, whom it described as having had more than 30 arrest cycles, was free and had access to weapons.

“This is a question our family has been asking for years,” the statement said.

According to the family, relatives repeatedly sought help from the courts, including a plan that would have given them greater ability to ensure Hamby complied with treatment.

Instead, the family said Georgia law left them with few workable options.

“Our current laws offer only two extremes: brief jail stays that treat psychiatric illness as a crime or total guardianship, which is incredibly difficult to secure and often resisted by the courts,” the family wrote.

Atlanta criminal and civil rights attorney Joshua Schiffer said the cycle described by the family is familiar to judges and attorneys who see people with chronic mental illness repeatedly enter and leave the criminal justice system.

“The courts are extraordinarily aware and frustrated with this cycle of discharge, arrest, discharge, arrest,” Schiffer said, adding that long-term incarceration following a serious crime can ultimately become “the only long-term solution.”

“In Georgia, we don’t have a place or a system set up to address the needs of mentally ill people in our state,” Schiffer said.

Hamby’s family echoed that concern, writing that the current system “relies on a revolving door of short-term incarceration rather than long-term intervention.”

DeKalb Commissioner Ted Terry said one of the biggest obstacles is capacity — both in psychiatric treatment facilities and transitional housing.

Terry said DeKalb County currently has 32 crisis beds, where someone can be held involuntarily for up to six days while being evaluated.

“But then once that six days is up, there’s no mechanism to either retain them or to refer them into a transitional housing facility,” Terry said.

Last month, DeKalb County received $409 million in state funding to build a 300-bed psychiatric treatment facility adjacent to its current facility, a significant expansion Terry said is badly needed.

“We’ve got to speed up the evaluations,” Terry said. “And then once the evaluation is done, if there’s a referral to the hospital, absolutely. That’s going to help because that’s where the treatment’s needed.”

But until additional capacity is available, Terry said the choices can be limited.

“Right now there’s not enough hospital beds,” he said. “And so either someone’s going to stay in jail or they’re going to be released on the street.”

Schiffer argued that the shortage reflects a broader failure by the state to provide sufficient resources to address chronic mental illness.

“Atlanta is being held hostage by the state House because they won’t provide the appropriate resources to effectively address this known chronic problem,” he said.

The family of the accused is not alone in raising questions about the systems meant to help people in crisis.

A friend of Harris told CBS News Atlanta that Harris had been experiencing housing insecurity and was living within a system the friend believes had also failed him.

“Everyone involved in this tragedy ultimately represents a failure of something much larger than one individual,” the friend said in a statement. “We have created a society that too often abandons people who need support, then judges them harshly for the consequences of that abandonment.”

The killing and its aftermath are now focusing attention on two problems that can often collide on Atlanta’s streets: homelessness and serious mental illness.

For a family and a city now dealing with the consequences of Sunday’s violence, the questions extend beyond what happened near the Beltline to what, if anything, could have happened earlier to prevent it.

And whether the safety net designed to intervene before a crisis becomes a tragedy has enough resources — and enough legal authority — to actually do so.

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.