Author: CNN

KYW

By Stephanie Stahl

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    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — A family with a daughter receiving treatment at Shriners Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia says this Thanksgiving, they have a lot to be grateful for.

Eleven-year-old Desa Kaiser, a young dancer who was paralyzed in an accident, is back on the dance floor thanks to some special ingenuity.

The sixth grader is paralyzed from the waist down after a car crash.

“I was sad, but I knew that I’ll have a lot of people around me to help me,” Desa said.

That help is at Shriners Children’s, where she gets physical therapy. The Shriners team even helped get Desa back on the dance floor in a specialized dancing wheelchair.

“It’s an amazing chair that’s different from others,” Desa said, “because you can be more free in it and you can express a lot more in it.”

Desa showed us how she could bend all the way back and touch the ground while staying in the chair.

With this help, she’s already returned to the stage.

“I do jazz, ballet, lyrical, and some funk, hip-hop sometimes,” Desa said.

Physical therapist Maggie Reilly says strength training helps Desa move more freely in the customized wheelchair.

“We wanted to bring her a chair that would allow her to dance and do what she loves,” Reilly said. “One thing that we strive most to do here at Shriners is letting children achieve their goals in whatever way that may be possible.”

Possibilities have blossomed since the accident three years ago, when the family spent that Thanksgiving at Shriners.

“Nobody wants to spend Thanksgiving in a hospital, but they make you feel as at home as they can make you,” Allyson Keiser, Desa’s mother, said.

Allyson Keiser says the family has a lot to be thankful for with Desa back on the dance floor.

“It is a huge sense of hope for her and it’s just a huge relief to be able to give her something that we thought she lost,” Allyson Keiser said.

Desa may have lost some mobility, but she’s found a new identity.

“It’s cool to be different from other people and more unique in different ways,” Desa said.

While she plans to keep up with dancing, Desa says because of her experience at Shriners, she’s also thinking about becoming a pediatric nurse.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

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WCBS

By Nick Caloway

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    NORWOOD, New Jersey (WCBS) — A Norwood, New Jersey couple is celebrating a big milestone: 75 years of marriage.

They say it all started with one little lie.

Stanley, 97, and Leatrice Dvoskin, 94, like to keep things light.

“Her favorite meal to make is reservations,” Stanley said. “You’ve got to laugh at some things, because things get rough at times. So a sense of humor helps.”

The two met at a dance at City College in Manhattan in 1949. Stanley, from Brooklyn, gave Leatrice a ride home to the Bronx.

“And I called and told him I lost a pair of earrings in his car, which was not true,” Leatrice said.

“It’s called entrapment,” Stanley said.

“So he said he’d look for the earrings and call me back. Then he called me back and said he didn’t find the earrings. And that was the beginning of our relationship,” Leatrice said.

A year later, they were married. They recently celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary.

They now live in an apartment building for seniors in North Jersey, where shelves and walls are filled with pictures of their three daughters, five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Seventy fire years of marriage is an incredibly rare milestone to reach. So what’s their secret?

“We have happy hour every night at 5 p.m.,” Leatrice said.

“I’m the bartender,” Stanley said.

A little alone time doesn’t hurt either. Every day, Stanley heads out and goes for a drive. He takes his Pontiac on a 10-minute trip over the New York border to his favorite gym, where he’s the oldest member.

“They call me the mayor,” Stanley said.

“When he comes home, it’s something else to talk about. I don’t know them, but instead of just talking about this hurts and that hurts, it gives me something else to talk about with him,” Leatrice said.

After decades together, there are plenty of aches and pains, but more laughs to come.

“Listen to what they say, and then tell them where they’re wrong,” Stanley said.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

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WCBS

By Adi Guajardo

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    NEW YORK (WCBS) — Two 17-year-olds are trying to make it easier for New Yorkers to find affordable housing, a problem city leaders have long struggled to solve.

The innovative teens continue their work on a website called Realer Estate, which is designed to help make a difference for renters who feel priced out.

The website has consumed every moment outside of class for friends Beckett Zahedi and Derrick Webster Jr. Both say they gave up basketball and their last two summers to help tackle the city’s housing crisis.

“[It’s] a platform trying to make, you know, affordable units and rent-stabilized units more accessible to everyday New Yorkers,” Zahedi said.

The teens launched the site last summer, following countless hours of podcasts, YouTube videos, and AI consultations.

Realer Estate combines public data with real estate listings, and helps New York renters easily identify rent-stabilized apartments and units below market value.

The teens said their site streamlines a cumbersome and time-consuming process for renters.

“We had very little clue what we were doing at first, and with so little coding experience. And so, when I started, it took about two months just to get two neighborhoods on the platform. And every single time I just like write some code, it’d be like some syntax error and I just see a big red, like, crash deployment on my screen,” Zahedi said.

While Zahedi coded, Webster tackled increasing their outreach.

“I knew our site wasn’t enough, [so I] built an email automation that alerts users whenever our algorithm finds a property and matches with their preferences,” Webster said.

Zahedi said his parents’ divorce — and watching his dad move out — exposed him to the housing problem, and in their 11th grade economics class at Brooklyn Friends School, they learned about the gravity of the crisis.

“Through the process of trying to help him find, you know, a more affordable apartment, I just noticed how difficult the whole process was,” Zahedi said.

So far, the site has garnered 27,000 visitors, and the teens estimate between 4,000 and 5,000 state listings are on it.

The problem-solving teens say they’re exploring additional features, including government assistance programs for homeowners.

Every day brings a new challenge, but they say they’re focused on helping as many New Yorkers as they can.

“I’ve always loved helping people,” Webster said.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

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WFOR

By Anna McAllister

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    MIAMI (WFOR) — An argument between two women inside a restaurant on Northwest 119th Street ended in a stabbing on Wednesday afternoon, according to Miami-Dade deputies.

Miami-Dade deputies said the incident happened at Fritanga Pinolandia on Northwest 119th Street.

Investigators said the suspect approached the victim, asking for money. When the victim declined, the woman allegedly followed her inside, got physical, and stabbed her.

Video from inside the restaurant shows the confrontation that led to the stabbing. Aerial footage captured the scene shortly after the attack around 2:30 p.m.

The restaurant manager told CBS News Miami the women had been arguing outside for days before the fight moved inside, frightening staff and customers.

Bernardo Ruiz, the restaurant manager, said the women were arguing outside before entering the restaurant.

“One of the lady – the skinny white lady – she came with scissors in her hands, and she start to hurt the other lady four times on the head inside of my business. So all the customers and our staff was scared to see that, you know?” Ruiz said.

“They running out. They was scared to see the lady with the scissors and blood coming out,” he added.

Deputies said the suspect fled after the stabbing, leaving staff and customers terrified. They quickly captured her nearby. Both the restaurant and a portion of NW 118th Street were taped off as investigators searched for evidence.

Ruiz said the women had been fighting outside his business for days, and Wednesday’s violence forced the restaurant to close for about four hours.

“This is a problem that been happening in Miami-Dade. We have a huge problem with the homeless and the police doesn’t do anything. We need help. Our business is getting worse with the situation that we have in Florida,” Ruiz said.

Deputies said the victim was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition. Authorities have not released the identities of either woman.

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KYW

By Josh Sanders, Casey Kuhn

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    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — It’s a Thanksgiving tradition that helps law enforcement families who have lost loved ones feel less alone during the holidays.

Sitting at the same table, Judy Cassidy and Alexandra Carrero understand what it means to lose a partner.

“I think of him all day,” Cassidy said. “He was nothing like he was on the job. He was funny and silly with the kids.”

It’s been nearly two decades since Cassidy lost her husband, Philadelphia police Officer Charles Cassidy, who was shot and killed during a robbery at a doughnut shop in 2007.

Two years ago, Carrero and her daughter Mia lost their husband and father, Sgt. Richard Mendez, in a shooting at Philadelphia International Airport. The two men responsible for Mendez’s murder were convicted this week.

“We’re thankful that we got the closure that we desperately needed,” Carrero said. “We’re thankful that justice was served.”

On Wednesday morning, the two families joined dozens of other families at the 19th annual Holiday Meals for Heroes. The program, founded by Jimmy Binns, supports families of fallen first responders.

For Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, Wednesday is about honoring legacy.

“There’s a piece of our holiday missing for all of them, like going forward,” Mia Carrero said. “Thanksgiving, Christmas. All of them, they don’t feel the same without my dad.”

These two families and dozens of others here are moving forward through a shared understanding of pain.

“We’re all connected through pain,” Mia Carrero said, “but we’re all growing together through the pain, and it’s just building the connection with the children, with the wives, with all the family members.”

Wednesday was a day filled with gratitude as these families navigate their loss together.

“We got new family,” Alex Carrero said.

“I look forward to this,” Cassidy said. “We come here. We have fun. We get to see everybody. Everyone is happy.”

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, these families are thankful to be with each other, and founder Jimmy Binns says that’s what this is all about.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

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KOVR

By Marlee Ginter

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    SACRAMENTO, California (KOVR) — Ray Cathey is on a journey from silence to new sounds. Cathey’s hearing took a pounding when he was an air rescue paramedic during the Vietnam War.

“When you’re in helicopters all the time and you’ve got two great big jet engines over your head about two feet, all you’re wearing is a helmet,” Cathey said.

Decades later, Cathey’s hearing had deteriorated so much, he couldn’t hear anything out of his left ear.

“You don’t know what people are saying to you, and people look at you and are like, ‘I just said something to you. Why didn’t you answer me?’ ” he recalled. “I was not going to be able to hear. I was going to be deaf. This left ear was virtually worthless.”

So when Cathey heard about cochlear implants, he looked into them. Unlike hearing aids, which simply amplify sound, cochlear implants convert sound into an electrical signal, stimulating the hearing nerve and sending sound information straight to the brain while bypassing damaged areas of the inner ear.

“Cochlear implants are probably the most rewarding surgery I do, and patients are often surprised with how small the external device actually is,” said Dr. Varun Varadarajan.

Dr. V brings sound back into people’s lives, and yet one of the biggest challenges is simply spreading the word that cochlear implants exist.

“It lets them reconnect with the world and reconnect with their loved ones, and it’s a very underrecognized technology that we’re trying to raise awareness of,” Dr. V said.

Cochlear implants have been around for a while. In fact, the FDA first approved them in the mid-1980s. But many still don’t even know about them.

The National Institutes of Health says a 2021 survey of more than 15,000 patients revealed only 10% knew about cochlear implants and more than 30% had never even heard of them.

“What’s exciting about cochlear implant technology is that the indications are expanding. Back in the day, we would only be able to implant patients completely deaf. Now we can implant people with greater degrees of residual hearing. You don’t have to be completely deaf,” Dr. V said.

It’s estimated that 1.2 million adults would benefit from cochlear implants, and yet, less than 10% who qualify for them actually have them.

Many simply don’t realize they are candidates. A common myth is that they’re only for those who are profoundly deaf, when in fact, the FDA expanded access in 2019. Now, people with hearing loss in just one ear qualify for them, including children.

“Went in, got me prepped and ready to go. Took me into surgery, I remember lying down on the table, and that’s the last thing I remember until waking up in recovery,” Cathey recalled.

For Cathey, the smallest sounds now signal the biggest second chance — a reminder for many that silence doesn’t have to be permanent.

“I hear things that I haven’t heard in years. Things like the rain on the roof, like today,” Cathey said.

Dr. V recently implanted the world’s first smart cochlear implant in a Sacramento-area patient. He says the possibilities are endless as he looks forward to a day when cochlear implants are entirely internal without any external device.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

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WCBS

By Jennifer McLogan

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    LONG ISLAND, New York (WCBS) — A massive porch pirate ring has been busted on Long Island.

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office says 14 men face charges for allegedly targeting 31 communities over two years, including Brentwood, Central Islip, Shirley and Deer Park. Investigators said they tracked the suspects from October 2023 to February of this year, when they say the ring was infiltrated and broken.

The suspects allegedly hacked computer systems to find out when phones and electronics would be delivered to the homes of Verizon and AT&T customers, then sent runners to steal them. The DA said the defendants had customers’ names, addresses, device types and FedEx shipment tracking numbers.

“They were gaining access to the tracking numbers as well as the deliveries, and through that they could tell which would be an electronic device from AT&T and Verizon,” Suffolk County DA Ray Tierney said.

More than 200 cellphones and tablets were stolen as part of the ring, authorities say.

The 14 suspects are mostly from the Bronx. Tierney said stolen goods were taken to a fencing location on University Avenue in the borough, and then to a stash house on Quimby Avenue. The suspects took videos of hundreds of boxed and bagged phones and then allegedly sold them in multiple locations across the globe.

In November of this year, Glenn Bernhard was a porch pirate victim. Law enforcement is still determining if his family is among the dozens of victims whose deliveries were tracked and stolen.

“It could have been violent. He grabbed the package out of my hand, and took off. He ran into a car. The plate on the car was stolen,” Glenn Bernhard said. “It’s a well organized bunch of people to hack into everybody’s computer.”

“The hacker was able to get into my account,” Erica Bernhard said.

Adam Schwan of Sandwire says AI technology can help thwart pirates in coordination with home security systems.

“Mimics human beings, watches the cameras, and tells them to leave when they shouldn’t be there,” Schwam said.

If you’re expecting a package, be vigilant.

“With porch pirates, modern, current day pirates, you have to track your own packages,” Schwam said.

You can track them in real time and be there to retrieve them.

Suffolk County authorities say they are working with the NYPD and federal agents, and that additional porch pirates will be arrested.

The 14 defendants face 50 felony charges. Authorities said several of the incidents involved violence or deception. In one incident, a FedEx driver was shoved to the ground.

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WJZ

By Adam Thompson

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    ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Maryland (WJZ) — A 58-year-old man was arrested for allegedly pointing a gun at children Christmas carolers in front of his Anne Arundel County home this past weekend.

Three 12-year-old girls were spreading holiday cheer in the Epping Forest neighborhood when they knocked on the door of Paul Brian Susie, who lives in the 1700 block of Point No Point Drive in Annapolis.

According to charging documents obtained by WJZ, the man showed up in a bay window next to the home and pointed a handgun at the carolers, sending them running away.

Susie admitted he was the man involved in the incident, documents showed. Officers located the loaded gun in a safe.

He was charged with three counts each of first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment, the Banner reports, along with one count of wearing and carrying a handgun while under the influence.

“It’s an assault because pointing a handgun at an individual is a threat of violence against that individual, a threat to their safety,” said Anne Arundel County Police spokesperson Marc Limansky.

Susie was released from custody after posting a $10,000 unsecured bond. He is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on December 17.

An officer wrote in charging documents that, “Given Susie’s reckless behavior in pointing a loaded firearm at a group of non-threatening twelve year old’s he could clearly see on his well-lit stoop, his loud and belligerent behavior during my conversation with him, and his admission of consuming an alcoholic beverage I know through my training, knowledge, and experience Susie was likely under the influence.”

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

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KYW

By Alexandra Simon, Dan Snyder

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    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — Inside a West Philadelphia hair salon Tuesday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a law solidifying protections against hair discrimination in the state.

The CROWN Act, which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” prohibits discrimination based on a person’s hairstyle, type or texture. Pennsylvania is the 28th state to pass a version of the CROWN Act.

Shapiro signed the legislation at the Island Design Natural Hair Studio, which specializes in creating and caring for natural hairstyles.

“This is a place where the community gets nurtured, and folks get to walk in and walk out looking and feeling their absolute best,” Shapiro said. “I think that’s noble work.”

“Wearing our crown is very important to me,” said Lorraine Ruley, who has owned Island Design Natural Hair Studio for 24 years.

Ruley has had lots of clients come to her salon to have their braids taken out or locs cut because their hairstyles were considered “unprofessional.”

House Speaker Joanna McClinton, who worked on the CROWN Act legislation for six years, said she changed her hair while in law school over the same concerns. U.S. Rep. La’Tasha D. Mayes, a West Philadelphia native who now represents parts of Pittsburgh, was the lead sponsor on the bill and said the fight will help improve lives across Pennsylvania.

“Hair discrimination has taken confidence from our children, but that ends today,” Mayes said. “Hair discrimination has taken dignity from workers, but that ends today. It has taken access to economic opportunities, hopes and dreams, but that begins to end today.”

According to the governor, in 2022 more than 900 complaints of racial discrimination based on hair were made to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.

The bill passed in the state Senate on Nov. 19 by a vote of 44-3, eight months after receiving the bill from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

At the federal level, the CROWN Act was first introduced in the House of Representatives in 2021 and passed in the chamber in 2023.

Last year, the CROWN Act was reintroduced in both the House and Senate, but has not yet been passed in Congress.

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