Author: CNN

WJZ

By Ashley Paul

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    HARTFORD COUNTY, Maryland (WJZ) — A Harford County family was reunited with their cat, who went missing five years ago.

Melissa and Brooke Garci thought they were never going to see their cat, Artemis, again, until the most unlikely scenario played out.

In September 2021, Artemis, who is an indoor/outdoor cat, never returned to her Hickory, Maryland home.

The Garcis made fliers in a desperate attempt to find her.

“I posted them around the neighborhood, rolled them up, and put them in people’s doors, knocked, and got nothing,” Melissa Garci said.

Emotional reunion

Five years later, a woman came into the Harford County Humane Society with a cat she found in her unfinished basement.

As standard procedure, the shelter scanned the cat for a microchip and called the listed number.

“This woman answered, ‘Hello?’ And we said we have your cat, and she was unbelieving. And she said, ‘Are you sure? My cat has been missing for five years,”” said Erin Long, with the Harford County Humane Society.

Long says she has never seen an animal reunited with its owners after that much time, and the Garcis were just as shocked.

“I was like, I couldn’t cry yet because I was in disbelief, but when I saw her, I was like, ‘Omg, she looks exactly the same,'” Brooke Garci said.

“It was a beautiful thing”

Photos from the tearful reunion show the moments Artemis stepped out of her carrier and laid eyes on her long-lost family.

“He kind of walked out of the kennel and looked at them and went right over and was rubbing on them, got in mom’s lap, got in daughter’s lap. It was a beautiful thing,” Long said.

While we’ll never truly know where Artemis was this whole time, what we do know is that the name Artemis comes from the Greek goddess for hunting and wilderness, and after surviving five years on her own, she certainly lives up to it.

“Her instincts are strong,” said Brooke Garci.

The humane society urges people to microchip their pets, and make sure that to keep the information associated with the chip up to date.

It could make all the difference if your pet is ever to get lost.

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.

WBBM

By Marissa Sulek

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    CHICAGO, Illinois (WBBM) — As members of the plumbers’ union, Local 130, plowed through the Chicago River, dyeing it a glowing green, thousands lined Wacker Drive and the bridges to catch a glimpse of how the process is done.

“It’s fascinating that it’s orange, that they dump orange dye into the river. It’s like the science behind it makes you think,” one visitor said.

The group, made up of Chicagoans and visitors from California and Tennessee, came to be part of this famous Chicago tradition.

“We came out obviously for the green river. We came out for the energy. We love the city of Chicago. We love the Irish spirit,” the visitor said.

“I wanted her to experience it because I did when I was a little kid with my parents,” said Amanda Griffin.

Griffin made a special day trip from Michigan, so her daughter, Payton, could experience the event.

“I don’t feel like it was as populated as it is now. So it’s definitely much busier, much crowded. There’s drinks everywhere,” she said.

The annual event left the river as green as far as the eye could see. If someone didn’t come prepared, vendors all over the Loop were selling extra gear.

“My cousin made this hat for me. I am happier than a Packer fan on Sunday,” said Joe Rubin.

Rubin already had his green for the day.

“I mean, we are turning the river green! I mean that’s almost as beautiful as the Mona Lisa, granted, here in the city of Chicago area, compared to France, it’s a different world and a different area,” he said.

The festivities didn’t stop there. At the downtown St. Patrick’s Day parade, attendees could hear the Irish spirit.

“Even though I’ve lived here for over 20 years, I’ve never actually come out to the parade,” said Rachel Blackburn. “I usually just watch it from the comfort of my home.”

Blackburn and her family said after two decades of watching this from a screen, it was worth the trip to see why no city does St. Patrick’s Day like Chicago.

“It’s so much fun to come out, I recommend everyone do it next year,” she said.

If you didn’t get a chance to see the river dyed green, it should stay that way for a few days, weather pending. The South Side Irish Parade and the Northwest Side Parade are on Sunday.

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.

KDKA

By Christopher DeRose

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    LIGONIER TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — What started as a routine Amazon delivery to a rural home in Ligonier Township on Monday night quickly escalated, with a man saying he drew a gun and chased the driver down.

Tim Bacco said it started around 8 p.m. at his home, which is down a long, secluded driveway in a rural part of Ligonier Township.

“A strange vehicle came down the driveway, I saw it was a rental van,” Bacco said. “I went out to confront it, he took off, so I jumped in my vehicle and took off after him. He pulled out on Darlington Road, I pulled in front of him to question him to see who he was. He couldn’t speak English and I drew my pistol on him.”

That’s when Bacco said the driver sped away and he pursued. Both men called 911 during the chase, with the two vehicles eventually reaching the intersection of Sharky’s Drive and Route 30 in Unity Township, some 10 miles away.

That’s where officers from several municipalities stopped Bacco and the driver of the van, who police said was delivering for Amazon in an unmarked vehicle. Bacco was placed in handcuffs for a short time but was later released.

Ligonier Valley Police Chief Michael Matrunics says the whole situation is under investigation, but he adds a lot of misinformation was spread on social media Monday night, which led to public confusion. Initial reports that shots had been fired were incorrect, Maturnics said, adding that his officers had de-escalated the situation after stopping the two vehicles.

“They identified all the parties that were involved,” Maturnics said. “We feel that there was probably more that happened at that house than what we were able to gather last night. My officers are conducting the interviews and trying to do all the follow-up before any type of decision is made.”

Bacco said he’s sorry about what happened, but that he had been robbed before.

“If you are making a delivery, if you are looking for somebody, ask a question,” Bacco said. “Stop. Show me a badge. Everybody has ID badges.”

In a statement, Amazon said, in part, that it is “relieved the driver was unharmed and are thankful to law enforcement for responding quickly to this incident. We’ll cooperate fully with their investigation.”

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.

KDKA

By Andy Sheehan

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    PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The reverend in charge of the largest cathedral in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh is accused of stealing more than $1,000 worth of baseball trading cards.

Rev. Aidan Smith, the head priest and administrator of the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Downtown Pittsburgh, has been on administrative leave from the cathedral since late January, and police arrested him on Feb. 27 at the Walmart in Economy Borough.

Borough police and store security say they caught Smith stealing 27 packs of baseball trading cards worth more than $200. Police say this followed a multi-day stealing spree in which Smith stole more than $1,000 worth of trading cards from the Walmart.

According to a police report, surveillance cameras first observed Smith on Feb. 23 shoplifting $244 worth of cards. On Feb. 24, the report says he can be seen again on video stealing cards worth $261. On Feb. 25, he allegedly took cards worth $121, and finally on Feb. 26, police seized him with the 27 packs worth $245.

Police say Smith walked past the registers without paying and into the parking lot, where they found the cards in a box he was carrying underneath his clothing. In all, police say Smith stole $1,100 worth of cards. And minus the cards recovered, Walmart is seeking $873 in restitution.

Police say Smith offered no reason for the alleged theft, and his attorney had no comment. But his arrest may have placed his position in jeopardy.

In a statement to the diocesan community, Bishop Ketlen Solak said the church will investigate the matter and follow the process for handling clergy misconduct. She said she has reached out to Smith and his family.

“I have spoken with Aidan and assured him of our prayers for him in this difficult time. Please pray for Aidan, for Melanie and their children, for the entire cathedral congregation as we grieve this news, and for everyone involved in this hard situation,” Solak said.

Smith faces charges of retail theft and receiving stolen property and is free on $50,000 bail. He was to face a preliminary hearing this week, but that has been postponed to later this month.

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.

KYW

By Natasha Brown, Will Kenworthy

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    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — Nearly six decades ago, John Anderson had a realization after watching the Miss America Pageant with his daughters in the Philadelphia area.

Wearing the crown would have just been a dream for them at the time.

“My daughters had watched the Miss America Pageant,” Anderson said. “I asked them, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ Both of them said, ‘I want to be Miss America.’ And I knew that was a dream that could never come true.”

So, he decided to do something about it.

The Miss Black America Pageant celebrated its 58th anniversary in 2026, and to celebrate the milestone, you have to go back to its storied beginning and its founder, Anderson.

By 1968, there had never been a Black Miss America crowned. It was the height of the Civil Rights Movement, and he says he wanted to showcase Black women in a way not yet seen on a national pageant stage.

“It elevated downtrodden citizens who were doing everything they could to have their presence recognized in America and be accepted,” Anderson said.

Anderson was already producing events in Philadelphia at the time. In 1968, he booked a hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, right across the boardwalk from where the Miss America Pageant was going to be held, and held the first-ever Miss Black America Pageant on the same night.

That was the beginning of a historic 58-year run with the pageant moving from city to city, hosting Black women from around the country every year to compete for the crown.

A young Oprah Winfrey represented Tennessee in the early 1970s and is now one of the pageant’s most famous contestants.

Aleta Anderson has taken on the role of the pageant’s executive producer from her father. She said she took her father to school for show and tell one time.

“It’s quite a weight. It’s quite a responsibility, more so than just the family business,” Aleta Anderson said, “but a program that is so important to community and race relations and provides a platform of confidence.”

A platform where beauty is just one facet of so many amazing layers of criteria.

“Without consideration of height, size, hair texture, complexion, complexity, character,” Aleta Anderson said.

Miss Black America 2026 has been crowned, adding to the list of women holding the title. The evolution of a platform that stands the test of time and has changed the face of beauty in America.

“Black women after that started looking into the mirror,” John Anderson said, “seeing how beautiful they were and accepting the fact and the understanding and realizing the facts of their beauty and it’s still going on today.”

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.

KYW

By Marcella Baietto

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    WILMINGTON, Delaware (KYW) — In the produce section under piñatas and by the tortillas, a live show for shoppers is becoming a regular occurrence inside Fiesta Fresh Farmers Market in New Castle, Delaware.

“The idea is to highlight independent artists from the area,” store co-owner José Luis Aguilar Garcia said. “Because it’s getting more attention online, people are excited. They’ll ask when we’re doing the next one.”

The concept was inspired by NPR’s famous “Tiny Desk Concerts.”

At the supermarket on DuPont Highway, their version is called “Mercadito Concerts,” or market concerts.

“It was hard trying to find a place that reminds you of home, being so far from Mexico here,” Aguilar Garcia said. “We’re trying to obviously have people feel comfortable who are not from Mexico and expose them to a bit of our culture.”

Aguilar Garcia co-owns the store with his sister, who runs most of the day-to-day operations, while he also works at a Latin record label he started in 2019 that’s based in Wilmington.

Aguilar Garcia and his family are from Puebla, Mexico, and have been in the area since 2006.

Many of the musicians who record sessions at the market work with his label, like the band Ilusión.

“I feel like it’s a very vibrant atmosphere and it makes me really happy to take part in such an exciting performance, a cultural performance,” Ilusión bassist Carlos Mayo-Jiménez said. “And to be representing my roots too.”

The band was started in 2023 and also includes singer and songwriter 21-year-old Jesús Beltran Méndez, who moved to the U.S. at the age of 10.

For artists like Beltran Méndez, the recordings are more than just a soundtrack for customers or a viral clip.

“It gives us a platform to portray who we really are,” Beltran Méndez said. “There’s a lot of misconceptions about who we are. There are bad people. There are good people. We are just human.”

“Never be afraid to represent who you are and who you always will be,” Mayo-Jiménez said. “Remind yourself that you’re coming from a different area that the general majority aren’t maybe used to, maybe not accustomed to, but it’s a special background nonetheless.”

As for what’s next, the store is prepping for a live music event called The Meltdown that will feature two bands on March 20 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the supermarket.

The recorded sessions are open to any artists of all genres as the series continues to grow, turning a grocery run into a front row ticket to a cultural show.

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.

WBZ

By Aaron Parseghian

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    BOSTON (WBZ) — Amid the hustle and bustle of Boston’s Commonwealth Ave, an unusual sight is catching the attention of passersby in 2026: a payphone.

But this one comes with a purpose.

The graphics across it and the directions posted on it, encourage people, especially college students to pick up the phone and “Call a Boomer.”

When someone lifts the phone, they’re automatically connected to another payphone at a senior living complex in Reno, Nevada, creating a chance conversation between strangers separated by roughly 3,000 miles.

Some calls end up going to voicemail, like the one left by Kyra, who hoped her message might reach someone who needed to hear it.

“I love it. I mean, I think younger people and older people, I would argue, need to talk to each other more,” she said. “We’ve all forgotten that there are lots of way to stay in touch and break that loneliness and isolation.”

Other calls lead to conversations. I talked with the manager of the housing facility, who said most residents, who are 62 and up and single or widowed, are thrilled to have the opportunity for connection.

When the phone rang in Boston Tuesday afternoon, a woman who grew up in New Hampshire, now retired in Reno, was excited to speak with someone back home.

The project is run by Matter Neuroscience, which says the goal is to foster connection between generations that most often experience loneliness.

“We believe in connection over cortisol. We want people to live happier lives and increase their wellbeing, their emotional fitness. And we believe the pathway to doing this is teaching people about their happiness,” said Calla Kessler. “How they can create more of it by understanding their brains, molecular interactions with neurotransmitters.”

The effort is part of the organization’s broader mission to boost happiness for the “collective good.”

“Right now, we’re in the midst of a growing mental health crisis, with over 200 million people living with major depressive disorders. We can reverse this if we start paying attention to what makes us happy — internally, molecularly. Luckily, we all have built-in biological reward systems that already do this for us. Most of us just haven’t had the tools to use and understand them until now,” reads a statement on the company’s website.

“We’re often in our little bubbles and we have a lot to learn from each other despite our differences,” Keller added.

The phones are refurbished payphones the company bought online, the one in Reno only differs by asking seniors to call “Zoomers.”

“We just want people to leave the phone conversation with a feeling of happiness and that connection is possible in this polarized world,” Kessler said.

For many participants, organizers say even a short conversation can make a difference.

“This is so sweet,” one caller in Boston said emotionally.

Matter Neuroscience says the phones will be up for at least a month, and they’ll be posting highlights from conversations on their social media pages.

Earlier this year they placed phones in Texas and California to foster connections between people on different sides of the political spectrum.

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.

KCBS

By Nicole Comstock, Dean Fioresi

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    SIERRA VISTA, California (KCAL, KCBS) — An unlikely run at the California state title has put the Sierra Vista High School Dons girls’ basketball team’s cell phone ban in the spotlight, which they say has not only brought them closer but also helped them dominate their competition.

Head coach Sandra Duckering says that the decision has “made a world of difference” since losing 11 of their first 15 games to start the season.

She says that she believes the Dons kept losing games because they were making TikToks, texting and scrolling social media instead of being present with each other.

“The one thing I noticed is: we were super disconnected,” Duckering said.

From then on, she has confiscated each of the girls’ phones before each practice and game, separating them from their lives outside of basketball to focus on what is now their best season in school history.

She collects the phones in a bucket every day, centering the girls’ attention on their team.

“Once they connected, we got flow. It was just amazing,” she said. “Their game changed. Their bond changed.”

The Dons then began winning games by monstrous scores on their way to SVHS’s first CIF Southern Section Championship and trip to Bakersfield on Tuesday, where they’re taking part in the school’s first-ever State Championship playoff game.

“We’ve been ranked lower, so we’re kind of like the underdogs in this story,” said Cailei Buna, the team’s point guard. “We took that in a way to show the underdogs shouldn’t be slept on.”

On Feb. 18, they scored a season-high 71 points in a playoff matchup, just two games after dominating another opponent 68-7. They’re 14-2 after their rough start to the year, and are averaging nearly 58 points per game.

The team says that the phone ban freed up their attention so that they could focus on working together as a team.

“Before we would argue a lot,” said Mareessa Navarro. “We would have this distance.”

Now, they work hard not just for themselves, but for each other.

“Talking with each other as a team, just being with each other, I think that really got us close, and we’ve just been working hard,” said Evanna Malloy.

They say that hard work pays off, thanks to a simple drop in the bucket.

“I wanna be able to come home with another championship if we can,” said Alyssa Winlock. I wanna work hard. I know my teammates wanna work hard, so we need to hustle and push with everything we have.”

The Dons have to win just four more games to become the state champions. Their first game, against the Foothill High School Trojans, was an unfortunate 55-45 loss, ending their season.

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.

WBBM

By Jermont Terry

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — A vape shop stocked with lighters that look more like weapons, available for anyone to walk in and buy.

The issue? They’re popping up in multiple neighborhoods, despite being banned years ago. Now, community leaders and law enforcement are warning of the potential risks of possessing one.

Inside the box, it doesn’t look as threatening. Once opened and pulled out of the package, the flame from the novelty torch lighter is the least of its troubles.

“Just think about what that looks like if I have got an all-black 9mm replica that’s a torch lighter and holding it in my hand,” said Councilman Joseph Williams.

Williams is the 7th District council member with the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability—representing Englewood, where one of the torch lighters from a vape shop was purchased for just $30. Multiple gun replica lighters, including long guns, were also for sale.

“It’s more about the concern for the community, the safety of the community, and making sure these type of things aren’t really allowed and sold in our community,” Williams said.

In 2010, Illinois passed a law making it illegal for any businesses to sell novelty gun lighters, but as more vape shops pop up across the city and suburbs, the 16-year-old law doesn’t appear to be enforced.

“Someone could lose their life because of this,” Williams said.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, or COPA, is currently recommending that a Chicago police officer be fired for shooting and paralyzing a 13-year-old back in 2022. The officer says they mistook the teen’s cell phone for a weapon and fired.

Robbins Police Chief Terry White said even though we purchased the lighter at a store in Chicago, it could impact any police officer.

“To a child, this is a toy, to an adult, this is maybe impressing someone—either way, it’s a nightmare to any police officer,” Chief White said.

He said even if the person is not pointing the lighter at someone, it puts an officer on the defensive, which can potentially turn into a bad scenario.

“That’s why that’s the biggest issue,” Chief White said.

An issue Williams said he’s seen in other vape shops and will work to ensure those businesses comply.

“We just gotta bring awareness,” he 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.