Category: CNN Regional

By Aaron Cantrell

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    RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tennessee (WTVF) — A Bedford County man is being praised by his community for pulling a driver to safety after a fiery crash along I-24 East over the weekend.

Mikel Lessary was heading home when he spotted a vehicle on fire in the woods near the 74-mile marker in Rutherford County. Authorities said the car had left the roadway and ignited after crashing.

“I don’t see anyone as I was passing the vehicle, and that’s what made me stop initially,” Lessary said. “I thought someone was inside the vehicle and really hurt.”

Lessary said he didn’t hesitate. He pulled over and ran toward the smoke.

“As I’m running towards the vehicle, I see the older man near it…and he collapsed to the ground, so I ran to him,” he said.

Lessary said the driver was severely injured and struggling to stay conscious. Then he heard a loud boom from the burning vehicle — a sign they needed to move farther away.

“I’m telling him, ‘I need you to focus on me. I need you awake. Don’t close your eyes. Is there anything hurting?’” Lessary recalled. “He was telling me his chest was hurting.”

Moments later, a sheriff’s deputy arrived to help pull the man farther from the car as it continued to make explosive sounds.

“She ran towards us to make sure he was okay, and the car boomed again,” Lessary said. “She said, ‘It’s going to explode. We need to move further. We’re not far enough away.”

First responders eventually extinguished the fire and rushed the driver to the hospital. His condition has not been released.

Community members have been calling Lessary a hero — but he doesn’t see himself that way.

“I don’t see myself as a hero,” he said. “I just see myself as someone who needed help, and I was the person there.”

Lessary said he hopes the driver recovers and wants the chance to reconnect.

“I hope you’re okay, and I would love to connect with you and get to know you,” he said.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

This story was reported by reporter Aaron Cantrell and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Aaron and WTVF verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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

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By Nick Beres

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    DICKSON, Tennessee (WTVF) — It’s the end of the road for Joseph Daniels, but the question of whether he might reveal where he put his son’s body remains.

A jury convicted Daniels of murdering his son, but the remains have never been found.

The Tennessee Supreme Court and the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals both denied Joseph Daniels’ request for a new trial.

It was April of 2018, and 5-year-old Joe Clyde disappeared from his Dickson County home.

It was a high-profile case with a massive search effort and, ultimately, no sign of the boy.

His father became the prime suspect, and the case against him went to trial.

“As to the charge of first-degree murder in the perpetration of a felony crime, how does the jury find?”

The jury left little doubt on the charge of murder: “Guilty, sir.”

Daniels is serving 51 years or life in prison.

“We had a lot of reversible errors in the trial, so he advised he wants to pursue an appeal,” Daniels’ attorney Jake Lockert said after the verdict five years ago.

Since then, every appeal has been denied, talk of the Innocence Project becoming involved has gone nowhere, and Lockert said there’s no indication at all that the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case.

Daniels was convicted with no physical evidence, but he did confess.

So now facing the certain prospect of spending the rest life behind bars, one big question remains for Daniels: Will he ever reveal the location of his son’s body?

In the past, he’s taken police out to search, but never led them to the remains.

Lockert said he doesn’t believe Daniels knows the location of the body.

Authorities think he does, but doubt he’ll ever say where.

It’s a tragic prospect for a child who deserves a proper burial.

Technically, Daniels, 35, would be eligible for parole after 51 years.

But under a new state law, his parole can be denied because he refuses to reveal the location of Joe Clyde’s body.

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By Ange Toussaint

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    PALM BEACH COUNTY, Florida (WPTV) — Haitian families in Palm Beach County said the federal government’s decision to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians has triggered widespread fear and uncertainty throughout the community.

“We feel it in every way. In the churches, everywhere. We feel the impact of the immigration fallout,” Emmanuel Similus said. He also added, “Whether you’re directly impacted, you have a friend, or you have a friend that has a friend, so we all feel it some kind of way.”

Emmanuel Similus, who owns a restaurant in Delray Beach, said even his own niece is facing an immigration deadline.

“She was allowed for two years and her two years was expired,” he said.

Similus said his niece is among the 300,000 Haitians whose TPS will expire in less than 90 days.

The Department of Homeland Security announced last week that TPS for Haitians will end Feb. 3, 2026, saying “Haiti no longer meets the statutory requirements for TPS.”

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem also urged Haitian TPS holders to prepare to “depart” if they have no other legal pathway to stay in the United States.

Residents said the impact will be immediate.

“Their jobs are on the line. The driving is on the line. Some of these people have cars, house, you know what,” one community member said.

Haitian immigration attorney Frandley Julien said families are scrambling for answers and running out of time.

“People are panicking, they don’t know what to do,” Julien said. “We have those mixed status families where you have a U.S. citizen spouse and the other spouse is on TPS — they don’t know what to do, what kind of decision they will have to come up with.”

He warns that most TPS holders will have few, if any, options to remain in the country.

“For the vast majority of TPS holders, there will be no options,” Julien said. “We tell them they need to consult with an estate planning attorney, because you may have decisions to make.”

Julien disputes the administration’s justification for ending TPS, saying conditions in Haiti have not improved.

“Haiti is in worst shape today than it has ever been at any TPS designation moment,” he said. “Definitely the administration is mischaracterizing the condition on the ground.”

He said immigration advocates plan to challenge the decision in court. But for thousands of Haitian families, the uncertainty is overwhelming.

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By Kristi Harper

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    BALTIMORE (WMAR) — Researchers at Kennedy Krieger Institute are urging parents and doctors to watch for a specific type of birthmark that strongly indicates Sturge-Weber syndrome.

Sturge-Weber syndrome is a condition that affects blood vessel development in the skin, eye, and brain.

Dr. Anne Comi, Director of the Hunter Nelson Sturge-Weber Syndrome Center, at Kennedy Krieger Institute, and her team have made significant discoveries about early detection and treatment of this condition that can lead to seizures and other brain function problems.

“Port wine birthmark or capillary malformation is another name for it is enlarged, abnormal blood vessels in the skin, so it’s a pink birthmark, pinkish red birthmark that’s present at birth, and sometimes it’s mistaken for a bruise, but it doesn’t go away,” Comi said.

The size and location of these birthmarks are crucial indicators of risk.

Larger birthmarks pose higher risks, and when a large birthmark appears on both sides of the face, there’s about a 50% chance of eye and brain involvement.

The Kennedy Krieger team has discovered a biomarker to identify the issue early through EEG testing, which examines brain activity patterns.

“A biomarker is a clinical or a patient characteristic or measurement that we can quantify and measure in a very objective way. And with the EEG we’re able to look at the physiology of the brain, brain activity,” Comi said.

In patients with Sturge-Weber syndrome, EEG tests reveal specific patterns during the first year of life.

“In patients with Sturge-Weber syndrome, over time, that first year of life, they frequently develop slowing, decreased amplitude, we call it decreased power and sharps and spikes, that’s abnormal activity that indicates they’re very high risk of beginning to have seizures soon,” Comi said.

The first few years of life represent a critical window for these patients due to brain development patterns and blood flow changes.

“There’s this period of high susceptibility of high risk, the first few years of life for these children, and it has to do with the developing brain. It has to do with the networks coming online and the risk of seizures. It also has to do with the timeline of blood flow in the developing brain, so those 1st 2-3-4 years are critical for these patients, and if you can get them past that, they often remain seizure-free, stable, can come off of the treatment and have continued to do well,” Comi said.

The research brings hope through available treatment options that are both safe and affordable.

“Now we have a therapy to offer them, and it’s an inexpensive, safe treatment. We know how to, if there are any side effects, we know how to manage them. And we have now children who are 6-7-8 years old who have never had a seizure,” Comi said.

This breakthrough creates urgency for early detection because effective treatment is now available.

“Is that what creates the urgency? That that now we have a positive reason.”

“That’s right. That’s right. So prior to us having shown that this treatment can change that prevent the seizures, delay the seizures, and result in better outcomes for these children,” Comi said.

Children with these birthmarks now have a good chance of leading lives free of debilitating issues when properly identified and treated early.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WMAR verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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By Eric Lovelace

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    CAPE CORAL, Florida (WFTX) — A Cape Coral woman who learned CPR in high school nearly a decade ago used those skills to save the life of the lone survivor of Saturday’s deadly boat crash.

Julie Quinn was out on the water with her boyfriend and two friends when they witnessed the tragic boat crash that claimed three lives Saturday night. The group immediately rushed to help.

“My boyfriend turned around and he pointed out, that boat just flipped, we just whipped it around, got life jackets out,” Quinn said.

When they arrived at the crash site, Quinn spotted something barely visible above the water’s surface.

“As we pull up, you could see the top of his ears and it was going to his hairline, and everyone’s pointing at him, I’m like is that a person?” Quinn said.

It was Neal Kirby, a lifelong Cape Coral resident and avid boater who became the sole survivor of the devastating crash. Quinn and her friends quickly pulled Kirby onto their boat and began life-saving measures.

Despite learning CPR in a high school class almost 10 years ago, Quinn had never used it in a real emergency until that moment.

“I don’t know, it kicked in instantly, we laid him down and started singing, stay alive, stay alive, and kept pace with that song,” Quinn said.

She said performed chest compressions for around six minutes while they transported Kirby to waiting paramedics. Her efforts proved successful.

“Once we got to the dock, I felt his chest inflate, and he started moaning and making some sounds,” Quinn said.

Kirby remains hospitalized as he continues battling his injuries from the crash. His family has reached out to Quinn to express their gratitude for her quick thinking and life-saving actions.

“Hopefully one day we can see face to face and hug, I would love to see his family and his dad, that would mean the world to me,” Quinn said.

Quinn encourages everyone to learn CPR, emphasizing that you never know when those skills might be needed to save a life.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission identified the victims as Craig Millett, Brenna Millett and Rebecca Knight.

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By Jennifer McLogan

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    NEW YORK (WCBS) — Mourners on Long Island wore pink to honor 18-year-old Emily Finn, who was allegedly shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend in what police called a botched murder-suicide attempt.

Finn’s devastated parents, brother and grandparents joined the Sayville community at her funeral on Monday amid their heartbreak and tears after the gifted ballerina’s death right before Thanksgiving.

Finn came home to West Sayville from college the day before Thanksgiving and went to her ex’s home in Nesconset to say goodbye and retrieve some of her belongings, according to Suffolk County Police.

After she arrived, the 17-year-old boy shot Finn to death before shooting himself in the face, Suffolk County Police said. His parents then called 911 and he was rushed to the hospital, according to police.

The boy, who has since turned 18, was in critical but stable condition at Stony Brook University Hospital, police said.

He was charged with second-degree murder, but police said his name was not released due to his age at the time of the shooting.

Finn posted pictures of her and the boy together on Instagram months before their breakup.

“I can’t believe this happened to her. She didn’t deserve that. I’m going to miss her so much,” friend Maia Toth said.

Loved ones tied pink ribbons around the trees in their town and wore pink, her favorite color, during the funeral.

“A great young lady. Had the whole world ahead of her and, she’s very loved and she’ll be very missed,” cousin Francis Finn said.

Emily Finn spent years dancing at the American Ballet Studio in Bayport.

Her teacher, Kathy Kairns-Scholz, said she was filled with talent and compassion. The studio will dedicate their “Nutcracker” performances to Finn.

The Youth Peace and Justice Foundation will also sponsor an annual scholarship in Finn’s name. The youth gun violence initiative will also plant a tree in an upstate national forest in her name, memorializing young people whose lives were lost to gun violence.

In October, Suffolk reported domestic violence calls jumped 43% and formed a coalition to help spot red flags and bring resolution.

“Tremendous sadness. Domestic violence is something that we worry about all the time, and the numbers are much too high,” Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said.

“We work very closely with our community-based organization to ensure that we can provide counseling and crisis intervention immediately,” Dr. Sylvia Diaz, deputy county executive for health, human services and education.

Finn attended SUNY Oneonta and dreamed of becoming a teacher.

She was a graduate of Sayville High School.

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