Author: CNN

KYW

By Madeleine Wright

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    CHESTER, Pennsylvania (KYW) — The beat of the drums echoed outside Chester City Hall as retired professional athlete Fredia Gibbs returned home to be celebrated for making history as the first Black woman to win a world kickboxing title.

“It takes a village to build a champion and Chester is my village,” Gibbs said. “They built me. Chester made me who I am today.”

On Thursday, the city gave Gibbs a hero’s welcome, complete with a bronze statue dedicated to her legacy. Originally displayed at her alma mater, Cabrini University, the statue now has a permanent home in Chester, the place where her journey began.

“Why am I crying?” Gibbs said as she saw the statue. “Because it’s home, that’s why! Right where it belongs.”

Gibbs’ journey wasn’t easy. As a child, she faced bullying and fear until her uncle, William Grose, taught her karate to build her confidence.

“My goal was to teach her to be the best that she could be,” Grose said. “I automatically saw that she had champion blood in her body.”

From karate to kickboxing, Gibbs shattered stereotypes and became a champion.

“Being in a male-dominated sport, combat sports, and breaking barriers there in that area right there, that was very, it was very tough,” Gibbs said.

Her statue stands as a testament to perseverance, showing that the toughest battles can shape the strongest champions.

“Don’t quit because sometimes when we just about to quit, we got maybe two more steps to go before we win,” Gibbs said.

Dubbed the “female Rocky,” Gibbs’ story is now heading to Hollywood, with a feature film about her life set for release in 2026. Academy Award-nominated screenwriters and producers Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson, along with Emmy-nominated producer Marc Ambrose, are working on the project.

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WCBS

By Christina Fan, Christine Sloan, Justin Lewis

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    RIDGEFIELD, New Jersey (WCBS) — Windy conditions took down trees around New York City and New Jersey overnight.

One tree was blown over and hit the power lines in Queens. Limbs of another fell onto cars and blocked the street on the Upper West Side.

A tree crashed into a multi-family home in Ridgefield, New Jersey, taking out a chunk of a brick wall and exposing the interior of a second story room.

The family said they were asleep inside when they heard a thunderous boom around 1 a.m. The father said he ran to his son’s bedroom, couldn’t get through the door, called out to him for several minutes in a panic and received no response. He ran outside and started to pray.

“I was asleep, and I just hear a little noise and my son shouting. I was calling. He wasn’t responding. He passed out, so I just ran outside naked, shouting for help. I didn’t take my phone, anything. I asked the neighbor to call for help, so I was just there praying to God for a miracle to happen, and after 30 minutes, he stepped outside,” the father Rubicon Okudzeto said.

“I didn’t know it was a tree, exactly. I just felt like something pressing down on me. And I just knew I was in pain, so I had to get out of there. So I started crouching out, then I went trying to find anyone in the house, but there was no one there. Then I went to my neighbors, knocking on the door, but no one answered. So I went outside and I found my dad over there,” said the son, Gael Okudzeto. “I was just thankful. I am really lucky to survive this, because not everyone would be this lucky.”

The 18-year-old was checked out for bruising to the side of his body. He came home after spending hours in the hospital, but is expected to be OK.

He said all he remembers is a loud noise. He thinks he was unconscious for a few minutes in his room, which he said was filled with debris.

“Everything is destroyed. Like, everything’s covered by the roof. I lost all my clothes,” he said.

Another family downstairs was able to get out without injuries.

Neighbors said they heard a loud thud on Bruce Street, while all of New Jersey was under a wind advisory with gusts reported stronger than 50 miles per hour.

A woman who lives in the building said the ground shook so violently, at first, she thought it was an earthquake, looked online to see if there were reports of one, couldn’t find anything and then went back to sleep. She came outside hours later to walk her dog and realized what happened.

“I texted my neighbors – I’m close with them down here. I haven’t gotten a response, but I think they’re OK, I didn’t see that it hit them — it didn’t hit them directly,” said neighbor Marissa Blanco. “I mean, these winds, these trees, got to be careful.”

While it appeared most of the branches and trunk fell in the direction of the road, there was still noticeable damage to the building. One branch also shattered the rear window of a car.

First responders taped off the apartment complex, and two of the units closest to the tree were evacuated.

Peak wind gusts reached up to 70 mph in parts of the Tri-State Area late Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Stony Brook, New York reported the strongest at 70 mph, followed by Bayville, N.Y. at 61 mph and White Plains, N.Y. at 60 mph.

New Jersey’s peak gusts were reported in Bayonne, which saw 57 mph.

Today started off brisk, with wind chills making it feel like the 30s and 40s, especially north and west of the city. This afternoon stays mostly sunny, but blustery, with highs only reaching the low 50s — about 10 to 15 degrees cooler than yesterday.

You’ll want to bundle up tonight, as it could be the coldest night of the season so far in the city, with lows near 40°. Suburbs will dip into the 30s, and some distant spots could even flirt with the 20s. A Frost Advisory has also been issued across our suburbs, so do be mindful of those plants before you turn in.

Tomorrow will be a touch milder under partly to mostly cloudy skies, with highs in the upper 50s. But don’t get too comfortable — showers move in tomorrow night.

Looking ahead to the weekend, Saturday starts with early showers, but clears up nicely by afternoon. Expect highs in the mid 60s. Sunday, however, looks soggy again, with showers likely and highs around 60°.

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WFOR

By Tania Francois

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    MIAMI (WFOR) — For 33 years, South Florida has come together to make the holidays brighter for families who need a hand. Neighbors 4 Neighbors’ Adopt a Family campaign is back, and this year the Boggs family is hoping for a little help to make their Christmas feel like home.

Meet Yancy and Luna, ages 9 and 10. Their wish lists look a lot like other kids their age.

“I would like some clothes, shoes and a hoverboard,” Yancy said.

Luna, meanwhile, wants “an electric scooter, some clothes, shoes, something for me to play with, and a nail kit”.

The girls live with their father, a single dad doing everything he can to keep his daughters happy, healthy and whole.

“[I] raise them by myself. I had to get out and get some help for them,” he said.

Despite the challenges, the sisters stay focused at school.

“We are really good kids and we don’t like to be mean to people. I think we deserve it because we do good things and not bad things,” they said. “A, B honor roll and we’re gonna be thankful.”

The family has been through a lot. For a time, they moved from hotel to hotel. Their father is grateful for the community groups that stepped in and helped.

“I lived hotel to hotel for a while. Picket Fences helped me out and Broward Solutions helped me out,” Dad said. “It’s another year and I didn’t want to put them through the same things again. Something has to change for the better.”

Now they are in a new apartment. What they want most is a first good Christmas in a place that finally feels like home. The girls are also thinking about Dad.

“I want him to get some new clothes and some shoes” said Luna while Yancy added, “I want him to care for himself a little bit.”

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WBZ

By Mike Sullivan

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    BOSTON (WBZ) — An East Boston corner grocery store is generating donations after a tongue in cheek sign out front of the store voiced their displeasure for the loss of SNAP benefits and spoke of their support for those impacted. The sign includes a certain, crass four-letter word that serves as both a punchline and a rallying cry.

The sign reads, “Did your SNAP benefits get taken away? We think that is extremely (expletive) up. Please take what you need.”

“Sure does! It has been getting a lot of photos and attention, but that’s my personality right there,” said Alexis Cervasio, owner of EBO & Co Groceries on Meridian Street in East Boston.

Cervasio not only owns the corner spot but leads a secret supper club. Between her store and the club, they started with a $250 run to Market Basket, so they could put the food and sign out in front of her store.

“Then people started to match us. You just have to get it started, and the people make it happen. I knew we could count on our following,” said Cervasio. “We aren’t looking for people to show us their card, but people feel compelled, and I am like, ‘Put it away! Take what you need.'”

Cervasio says even people who receive SNAP benefits have been donating to the cause if they feel like they can get by with what they have.

“I have been in tears all week. It’s been an emotional week here,” said Cervasio. “We had a father come in here yesterday, he’s like, ‘I’m a single father with two kids, I work at the airport. I am not getting paid right now, plus I’m not getting my SNAP benefits.’ He is like ‘so this is awesome.'”

They are still accepting donations of food at EBO but also are accepting monetary donations that they will use to buy food. Her grocery store carries a wide range of items that includes a fresh fruit and vegetable stand, fine wines, oysters, caviar and boutique foods. She has been going to major grocery stores to get more canned goods and non-perishables that her store may not supply.

“I filled up four baskets yesterday at Market Basket, so that was about $1,000, and it was gone by the end of the day,” said Cervasio.

EBO’s fresh fruit and vegetable stand is offering deals like six oranges for $1 or three avocados for $5.

“Our fruit stand is probably one of the most approachable on this side of the harbor,” said Cervasio. “It’s nice that we have a balance for both.”

“It’s a blessing and everyone should be grateful for it,” said Bernice Gordon, a woman who has been without her SNAP benefits and came by to look at the donations. “Everyone is trying to help out because nowadays everyone needs to stick with each other.”

Gordon spoke with WBZ then chose not to take anything from the table, saying off camera, “I only take what I need, and someone may need it more.”

“When I heard, it might get shut down, I started preparing my family. We look out for each other,” said Gordon. “Every day is a good day if you can eat something and wake up.”

Cervasio can be contacted via the store’s Instagram @ebo.grocery.

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WFOR

By Julia Falcon

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    MIAMI (WFOR) — Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra’s home caught fire early Thursday morning in South Miami-Dade, prompting a massive response from first responders near Coral Gables.

Records obtained by CBS News Miami confirm the property belongs to Spoelstra, who was seen outside the home as firefighters battled the blaze.

According to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, the call came in around 4:30 a.m. at the home on the 4800 block of SW 80th Street. Firefighters were still seen battling hot spots around 8:30 a.m.

When firefighters got to the scene, there were two structures on the property “fully involved” by the flames, MDFR said. The call was then upgraded to a second alarm for more manpower. MDFR said 20 units responded to the fire due to its size. The privacy wall and tall trees surrounding the home also made it difficult to get to the fire, MDFR said, with only one point of entry.

MDFR said that due to a partial collapse, firefighters switched to a defensive attack and continued to extinguish the flames.

No injuries have been reported, MDFR said.

CBS News Miami has reached out to the Miami Heat for comment. The Heat played a game against the Denver Nuggets last night in Denver.

Spoelstra, who has been with the Miami Heat organization since 1995 and has served as head coach since 2008, has led the team to multiple NBA Finals appearances and two championships.

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KPIX

By Loureen Ayyoub

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    REDWOOD CITY, California (KPIX) — Some gyms offer more than just fitness. They can also provide a way forward, and for professional fighter Victor Pasillas, Undisputed Boxing Gym has done exactly that.

Pasillas said the gym, based in Redwood City, changed his life so profoundly that he left his old life in East Los Angeles behind to start anew with his coach, Brian Schwartz.

“This is the gym that brought me from Los Angeles to the Bay Area.”

Moving from Southern California to the Bay Area shifted the entire trajectory of his life. Growing up surrounded by gang violence, Pasillas said the Bay Area taught him how to thrive despite hardship.

“It’s been very, very hard times, you know. Moments where we had to live in very uncomfortable circumstances, eating oatmeal at night,” he said. “And the Bay Area is what taught me to truly be a provider. And not worry about having one source of income, but six, seven incomes. It just taught me to be an entrepreneur. That’s something I can say the Bay Area has taught me.”

But the transformation didn’t come without a fight. Pasillas faced heavy trauma as a child, including the incarceration of his mother. It’s why boxing became so much more than a sport.

“Boxing has adopted me. It has made me its child. It has loved me, and I loved it back. It saved my life, point blank,” Pasillas said. “Sometimes, as a kid, things are given to you that you don’t want. You want a set of parents, you want something that’s yours. And as a kid, I never had that. So boxing — I knew it was mine. It was my sport. I belonged there.”

Undisputed Boxing Gym, founded by kickboxing veteran Brian Schwartz, has become a place of empowerment for athletes and beginners alike.

“Especially as fighters, sometimes we don’t talk about the emotional components and the psychological components that go into fighting,” Schwartz said. “When you talk about being tough, being strong, and having that killer instinct — there are things that go on in your head, those natural thoughts that people have, that just aren’t really acceptable for fighters to talk about. But to be able to talk about that kind of stuff and pass that on, along with all the moves, is such a great gift. I feel like he’s learned so much through that whole process because of that.”

Now preparing for his next match, Pasillas said he hopes to inspire unity and growth within the Bay Area boxing community.

“We got to put our fighters together so we can learn from each other,” he said. “I feel like the only way to get better and succeed in your world is by competing and being competitive.”

For Pasillas, that healthy competition has done more than sharpen his skills, it has helped him grow and rewrite his story on his own terms.

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KCBS

By Nicole Comstock, Dean Fioresi

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    ORANGE COUNTY, California (KCAL, KCBS) — An animal veterinary hospital in Orange County claims that a contractor who had previously laid the cement for a parking lot at their new facility returned to tear up the work over a payment dispute on Tuesday.

Officials with Orange Friendly Animal Hospital told CBS Los Angeles that one of their contractors returned to their facility in Orange with heavy equipment in the early morning, which they used to begin demolishing the concrete that was poured a few months ago.

“They broke the curbs too,” said Joe, a neighbor living at the senior living community next door. “They did a good job, sabotaged pretty good.’

Another neighbor named Roger said that the contractor also knocked holes in the wall, which he says now look like “somebody done shot it with a bazooka.”

Hospital employees say that they have receipts proving that they paid for the job in full, and that the contractor claims he wasn’t paid for the work that was done.

While the official verdict remains unclear, with requests for a statement from the contractor and the Orange Police Department still pending, neighbors have begun discussing the debacle amongst themselves.

“If they owed the man, they should have paid the man,” Roger said.

“Way overboard,” said another man named Ian. “If you think you’re gonna get paid after that, he’s not arbitrarily intelligent.”

Police investigators have taken photos of the damage and a report on the incident, as well as had some of the heavy equipment left behind towed away.

For now, veterinary workers must advise new patients that the parking lot is unsafe for use and that they should use the rear of the building to access the facility.

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KDKA

By Ricky Sayer

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    PLUM, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — A domestic cat in Plum died after being shot with a pellet or BB gun, its owner said.

Ronald Amato said Ragnar, his 14-month-old orange tabby cat, was killed outside his home on Sunday. He believes the shooting was an intentional act.

“It was like a nightmare,” Amato said. “I was devastated. I was bawling my eyes out. That cat was the nicest cat you’ll ever meet. He slept with me every night.”

After being tipped off by neighborhood kids, he found Ragnar dead just outside his backyard fence on Sunday. Initially, he thought his cat had been hit by a car, but then he found what was clearly a hole in his cat.

“I felt around on the other side and felt like a pellet or a BB inside of him, so that I knew he was shot,” Amato said.

That’s when he said the sadness turned into anger.

“I’m pretty angry about it, I’m upset,” he said. “It’s kind of disbelief. I can’t believe someone would shoot a cat.”

Some of the pellets that didn’t hit his cat left marks on the siding of his garage, leading him to believe it was intentional, he said. It appeared that Ragnar had been standing on the backyard fence when he was shot.

Amato described Ragnar as an affectionate cat.

“He cuddled me constantly,” Amato said. “He constantly slept on my chest. He rubbed his face against me. When he was a kitten, he’d wake me up every morning with his wet nose on my face.”

He called the police, who said that they were investigating, including looking at security camera footage.

“I hope we can catch them,” Amato said. “People need held accountable.”

It’s especially important because there are so many other cats in the neighborhood, including Ragnar’s brother Rolo.

“I think I’m going to get a kitten, just so [Rolo] has somebody,” Amato said.

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WBZ

By Tammy Mutasa, Mike Toole

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    FOXBORO, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A construction worker from Pennsylvania, who was in Massachusetts for a job, lost part of a leg in a hit-and-run crash on Interstate 95 in Foxboro. His family said he’s “fighting to survive.”

David Wachinski was working on a construction detail on I-95 north around 2:15 a.m. Monday. Massachusetts State Police said he picked up a sign to start setting up, and that’s when a driver hit him and drove away.

Wachinski, a husband and father of two, was rushed to Boston Medical Center where he’s been struggling through the pain of his injuries and losing part of a leg. His wife, family and sister-in-law came in from their hometown of Donora, just south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to be by his side in Boston.

“It was scary. You don’t know too much, you don’t know what’s going to happen next,” said his sister-in-law, Mina Thompson. “He fought and is still fighting to survive.”

“A lot of people love him. A lot of people appreciate him. He could have just been gone,” Thompson said. “Someone knows something. Whether it’s them who did hit him and they’re scared or they’re having second guesses or they told a family member, you know.”

Troopers have evidence in the case. The driver left behind a passenger-side mirror.

“The Massachusetts State Police offers the victim and his family our deepest sympathy in the aftermath of this senseless crash. Although he is expected to live, the impact of his injuries illustrates the danger of failing to drive with care in and around work zones,” police said in a statement.

“It’s never too late to turn around and be like, ‘Hey I messed up and I want to come forward and that’s what we’re hoping for, just so we can get that closure,” said Thompson. “What gets done in darkness will come out to light, so it will come out.”

Anyone with information about the crash is urged to call Massachusetts State Police at 508-543-8550.

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WBZ

By Matt Schooley

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    FALL RIVER, Massachusetts (WBZ) — Police in Fall River, Massachusetts arrested five people after 50-100 people on dirt bikes, ATVs, scooters and motorcycles performed stunts and blocked traffic during a meetup known as a “street takeover.”

Christipher Frias, Dylan Ploude, Aaron Pimental, Yethziel Medina and Jerron Butler are all facing various charges that include negligent operation of a motor vehicle, disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct.

Police said that Sunday between 3:15-6 p.m., packs of off-road vehicles congregated on streets throughout the city “disregarding traffic laws while performing reckless stunts, putting not only their lives at risk, but the lives of innocent, law-abiding drivers and pedestrians at risk.”

In video released by police, drivers could be seen performing stunts in the middle of roads while traffic waited to pass.

Fall River police said that past street takeovers have led to crashes, injuries, property damage, and emergency response delays.

Several units from the Fall River Police Department coordinated efforts to stop the latest street takeover. Police described it as “proactive patrols” throughout the city leading to arrests.

Four motorcycles, one ATV and one scooter used in the takeover were towed away by police.

“These unlawful gatherings pose a significant safety concern to the public. These are not merely bikers peacefully enjoying a law-abiding ride through our city. These are chaotic groups that block streets, operate recklessly and hinder the safe travel of those around them,” Fall River police said. “Many of these riders are uninsured and have little to no experience operating these vehicles, often resulting in crashes, personal injury and property damage.”

A recent street takeover in Boston ended with a police cruiser being set on fire.

In October, Gov. Maura Healey announced plans to combat similar incidents.

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