Category: CNN Regional

By WTVD Staff

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    FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) — A Cumberland County woman accused of killing two of her adopted children will face the death penalty, according to new developments in court.

Avantae Deven is charged in connection with the deaths of Blake and London Deven. Investigators allege the children were abused, starved, and ultimately killed at the family’s home in Fayetteville.

Authorities say after the children died, Deven attempted to conceal their bodies by using a burn pit at her home on Berridale Drive to incinerate body parts.

During a court hearing Thursday, Deven was formally appointed a capital defender. Photos from inside the courtroom show her appearance as the case moves forward.

Deven was arrested in June 2024. Her case is expected to go to trial in 2027.

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 WTVD Staff

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    RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Imagine walking across the stage at graduation and finding out your student loans have just been paid off.

That’s exactly what happened Friday at the North Carolina State University Wilson College of Textiles graduation.

During the ceremony, donor Anil Kochhar announced that he and his wife, Marilyn, are paying off all final-year student loans for this year’s Wilson College graduates.

It’s a gift that some students say may just change their lives.

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 WKBW News Staff

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    GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Grand Island resident is accused of illegally keeping a spider monkey as a pet, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The DEC said on April 14, investigators responded to a report of an individual in possession of a spider monkey at a home on Grand Island. They identified a subject who lived at the residence and confirmed the monkey was there.

According to the DEC, the individual acknowledged that she could no longer care for the animal and gave it to investigators who transported it to a licensed primate sanctuary. Investigators then learned it had a broken right wrist and a case of rickets. The spider monkey is being cared for at the primate sanctuary.

“Spider monkeys are illegal to possess as pets in New York State and DEC does not issue licenses for primates as pets,” the DEC said in a release.

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 José Umaña

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    WASHINGTON, DC (WTOP) — Many people use social media and dating apps to find a romantic partner. Others are veering away from the devices.

For one D.C. couple, they found love on the National Mall playing kickball.

“I found some of my best friends through this league and my husband through this league,” Brittany Keroack told WTOP. “So, it is absolutely worth it.”

Keroack, 32, and Shank Subramani, 31, have been together for seven years after meeting in a kickball league. What started as teammates having fun blossomed into a romance, leading to a wedding with a themed kickball mocktail.

Line drive love Keroack has never been a dating apps person, she said. After graduating from college, she moved to D.C., only knowing two people in the city. She was convinced to join Volo D.C.’s kickball league on the National Mall.

“I thought, well, this would be a great way, not only to make friends, but I could meet somebody worth having a relationship with,” Keroack said.

Meanwhile, Subramani has enjoyed playing rec league sports his entire life. The engineer chose to join the kickball league to blow off steam after work. But, he told WTOP, he didn’t think it would ever lead to “a connection.”

Everything changed when Volo D.C., the organization that runs several adult recreational sports leagues around the area, combined two small teams, forming a large coed team and making Keroack and Subramani teammates.

A few games later, as an opposing kicker, looking to send a lead runner home, fired a line drive toward third base, Keroack made the play that caught Subramani’s eye. She quickly caught the ball in mid-flight and tagged third base to get the unassisted double play to close the inning.

While she walked off to prepare to kick, Subramani told himself she “might be the one.”

“I was like, ‘Oh, OK, definitely let me go introduce myself to that woman,’” he said.

The pair began talking about kickball tactics and soon moved on to discussing common interests. Keroack said they had a “pretty strong connection right away,” and they quickly became a couple.

Subramani credited their chemistry as teammates, which helped them communicate better off the field.

“She’s the best teammate I’ve ever had,” he said.

The pair continued their relationship after leaving D.C. for a time, Keroack to Boston for law school, and Subramani to Atlanta, and their Volo community kept in touch through online trivia leagues.

Once they returned to D.C., Subramani proposed to Keroack in front of the Washington Monument on the National Mall — their kickball field.

“That’s just such a special place for us, and it’s kind of what keeps us coming back still,” Keroack said. “Not only just to see our friends and to get that good exercise and be outside and play kickball, but the Mall just holds such a special place for us.”

Last June, the pair got married in a kickball-filled event. With their teammates and friends by their sides, the pair brought up kickball during their speeches while guests enjoyed a blackberry mojito mocktail named after their team, the Global Chug. Then in October, the pair won their first kickball title at Nationals Park.

According to Volo, 75,000 people joined its rec leagues in 2025 seeking connection, with 38% citing meeting friends or a partner as a primary reason for joining. Shane Douglas, managing director of Volo D.C., said the organization has multiple leagues for people of all skill levels, with building community among its core goals.

“We’re all about bringing people together, which is more important in this day and age than ever before,” Douglas said.

Keroack encouraged anyone shy to give Volo a try to meet new friends and maybe, your teammate for life. Subramani added that playing rec sports allows you to have fun and enjoy “genuine human interaction” with others.

The pair continued their relationship after leaving D.C. for a time, Keroack to Boston for law school, and Subramani to Atlanta, and their Volo community kept in touch through online trivia leagues.

Once they returned to D.C., Subramani proposed to Keroack in front of the Washington Monument on the National Mall — their kickball field.

“That’s just such a special place for us, and it’s kind of what keeps us coming back still,” Keroack said. “Not only just to see our friends and to get that good exercise and be outside and play kickball, but the Mall just holds such a special place for us.”

Last June, the pair got married in a kickball-filled event. With their teammates and friends by their sides, the pair brought up kickball during their speeches while guests enjoyed a blackberry mojito mocktail named after their team, the Global Chug. Then in October, the pair won their first kickball title at Nationals Park.

According to Volo, 75,000 people joined its rec leagues in 2025 seeking connection, with 38% citing meeting friends or a partner as a primary reason for joining. Shane Douglas, managing director of Volo D.C., said the organization has multiple leagues for people of all skill levels, with building community among its core goals.

“We’re all about bringing people together, which is more important in this day and age than ever before,” Douglas said.

Keroack encouraged anyone shy to give Volo a try to meet new friends and maybe, your teammate for life. Subramani added that playing rec sports allows you to have fun and enjoy “genuine human interaction” with others.

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 Luke Lukert

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    Maryland (WTOP) — A substitute bus attendant in Maryland is accused of sexually assaulting three young students considered special needs.

The Washington County Department of Social Services contacted Hagerstown police last week alleging a fill-in school bus attendant had been inappropriately touching several students on the school bus.

A child crimes investigation began immediately with Washington County Public School officials. After reviewing video from May 5, police arrested 71-year-old Michael Sowers of Hagerstown.

In a statement, police said footage showed him sexually assaulting three students, two boys and a girl. All were considered special needs students and ranged in age from five to nine years old.

Sowers was arrested Friday and faces numerous sex offenses, including a rape charge.

Hagerstown police are now searching for additional victims.

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 Ciara Wells

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    WASHINGTON, DC (WTOP) — The former manager of a Walgreens in D.C.’s Chinatown neighborhood was sentenced Thursday to 32 months in prison for her part in a coordinated string of robberies at the store.

London Teeter, 22, of D.C., was employed as the store manager when she took part in seven inside-job robberies with three other people. She pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery in February 2025.

Over the span of nine months, from July 2023 to February 2024, Teeter, along with Michael Robinson and Kamanye Williams, 26, relayed information about cash transfers inside the store to Gianni Robinson, Michael’s nephew. Gianni would then pass that information along to Williams, who would take money from the safe in the manager’s office at gunpoint.

Teeter knew the timing of the cash transfers and would allow a masked gunman, Williams, to rob the store’s employees using a code she provided.

Michael Robinson, 35, the second manager at the store, was sentenced to 12 years behind bars in October 2025. Teeter and he would take turns being the victim of the robberies because they knew the crimes were being recorded on surveillance cameras.

During the last robbery, Williams was shot by a special police officer hired by Walgreens to protect the business. In a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C., prosecutors said Teeter was aware the special officers were hired and that a co-conspirator had robbed one of them of a firearm.

“London Teeter was a key architect of a seven-month scheme that repeatedly turned her own workplace into a crime scene,” U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said in a news release. “The sentencing guidelines called for 87-to-108 months. This sentence, which is significantly lighter, does little to protect the citizens of the District.”

Pirro’s office had originally requested a 100-month (over eight-year) prison sentence.

In total, Teeter and her co-conspirators stole about $29,000.

After her 2-year and eight-month sentence, Teeter will serve three years of supervised release.

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 Dan Raby

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    Georgia (WUPA) — Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has announced the indictment of a Dawson man accused of depositing a forged check appearing to be from the Georgia Lottery Corporation for more than $72,000.

The indictment, approved by a Bartow County grand jury, charges 33-year-old Jovante Peters with third-degree forgery and theft by taking.

An investigation by the GBI and the Attorney General’s White Collar and Cyber Crime Unit found that Peters allegedly deposited the check worth around $72,096.

“Let’s be very clear – when you steal from the Georgia Lottery, you’re stealing from the millions of children who benefit from lottery-funded educational programs,” Carr said. “Theft of taxpayer dollars, particularly those dollars that go toward our students, will not be tolerated. We will prosecute you and put you away.”

GBI Director Chris Hosey seconded Carr’s statement, saying that money stolen from the lottery’s proceeds takes funds from education scholarships and state programs.

“The GBI remains committed to working alongside the Georgia Attorney General’s Office to hold accountable those who seek to take advantage of Georgia’s communities,” Hosey 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 Christopher Harris

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    ATLANTA (WUPA) — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will put his signature on a pair of tax relief bills Monday that will lower income taxes, boost deductions, and give homeowners new tools to fight rising property tax bills.

Kemp’s office notified lawmakers Thursday that he planned to sign House Bill 463 and Senate Bill 33, two measures that were top priorities for Republican legislative leaders this session, though both fell short of the more sweeping tax overhaul the GOP had originally promised.

Lower income taxes and bigger deductions House Bill 463, officially called the Georgia Economic Growth and Tax Relief Act of 2026, would cut the state’s personal income tax rate from 5.19 percent to 4.99 percent starting this year, then continue dropping by 0.125 percent annually until it reaches 3.99 percent; a faster pace than the 0.1 percent annual reduction already on the books.

At the start of the year, some Republican leaders had pushed to eliminate Georgia’s personal income tax by 2032. The approved bill doesn’t go that far, but still represents a meaningful acceleration of tax cuts for millions of Georgians.

The bill would also raise the standard deduction: the amount of income shielded from taxes before a single dollar is calculated, from $24,000 to $30,000 for married couples filing jointly, with annual increases of $750 until it reaches $36,000. Single filers would see their standard deduction jump from $12,000 to $15,000, climbing by $375 per year until it hits $18,000. Those annual increases are tied to state revenue performance and only kick in if Georgia’s tax collections grow by at least 3 percent.

Families with dependents would see their per-dependent deduction rise from $4,000 to $5,000, eventually climbing to $6,000.

Workers who earn tips or overtime pay would also see relief. From 2026 through 2028, up to $1,750 of cash tips and $1,750 of overtime pay would be exempt from state income tax.

Seniors would benefit as well, with the retirement income exclusion for those 65 and older rising from $65,000 to $70,000 starting in 2027.

To help offset the cost of the cuts, the bill eliminates several existing tax credits, including those for teleworking expenses, electric and hybrid vehicles, and manufacturers of medical equipment.

Georgia’s personal income tax is projected to bring in about $16.5 billion this year, roughly 44 percent of the state’s total general revenue. Democrats opposed the bill, arguing the cuts primarily benefit higher earners and leave the state with less money to fund essential services.

Property tax relief for homeowners Senate Bill 33, known as the Homeownership Opportunity and Market Equalization Act of 2026, takes a different approach, targeting property taxes, which have surged across Georgia as home values have risen sharply in recent years.

The bill creates a new Local Homestead Option Sales Tax, or LHOST, which would allow local governments to use sales tax revenue to fund homestead exemptions and reduce property tax bills for homeowners. Beginning in 2028, counties and municipalities could put the LHOST to a vote and, if approved, use the proceeds exclusively to offset property taxes for qualifying homeowners.

The bill also makes the state’s existing base year homestead exemption, which caps increases in a home’s taxable assessed value, mandatory across all political subdivisions in Georgia and strengthens protections for homeowners who were incorrectly charged property taxes due to a government error.

What comes next Both bills passed the Georgia General Assembly on the final day of the legislative session. Kemp’s signature makes them law on Monday, with the income tax provisions applying to tax years beginning Jan. 1, 2026.

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.