Category: CNN Regional

By Tod Palmer

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    KANSAS CITY (KSHB) — Tressa Barnes thought injury ended her college basketball career 24 years ago.

Diving along the sideline to make a pass for the Calvary Warriors volleyball team, Barnes suffered a torn ACL in her right knee.

“My body went this way, and my knee went that way,” Barnes said. “It just popped, and people in the crowd heard it.”

It was the second time she’d torn the ACL in that knee.

Doctors told her she could keep playing “and have a knee replacement when you’re 30,” which might impact her ability to be active with children, or she could give up competitive sports.

“I grieved,” Barnes said. “As any student athlete does, you grieve when you know that your career is over with. It’s like a death.”

But earlier this month, fate — and the pursuit of a master’s degree in counseling — intervened, leading Calvary University’s small gym to erupt with cheers during the Warriors women’s basketball team’s season opener when Barnes checked in with 3:39 remaining in the first quarter.

On the day she turned 43, and only steps away from the spot on the same court where she’d lain in a heap in October 2002, Barnes returned to the sport she loves as a 43-year-old graduate student.

“I remember it was literally right here,” Barnes said, pointing to a spot on the floor as I interviewed her Wednesday morning, “and I was thinking, ‘OK, I’m done.’”

Barnes, who also teaches at Calvary and let me know about her comeback in a news tip to the station, was classified as a full-time graduate student when she re-enrolled for the fall semester.

“I jokingly said to her, ‘Oh, so I could play basketball?” Barnes, who tore the ACL in her left knee after college, said of the registrar’s office, “and we kind of laughed about it.”

But after relaying that joke to Warriors senior Tyonna Garcia and head women’s basketball coach Cameron Coleman, it was no longer a laughing matter.

“It took a little bit of arm-twisting,” said Coleman, who was hired in April 2025 and also serves as assistant athletic director. “… If you know anything about Tressa’s journey, you know she’s had some injuries, so she was a little bit hesitant about getting back on the court. But I just told her, you know, how much of a blessing she would be to these girls.”

Coleman was correct.

“To be honest, I was excited,” Garcia said. “… I think I was the first person she told that she had eligibility.”

She’s had Barnes as a teacher and knew her from around campus.

“She just brings the light,” Garcia said of Barnes. “Honestly, she brings a light. She brings inspiration with her.”

And a high basketball IQ as a veteran of the sport.

“It’s been amazing,” Coleman said. “They’ve got nicknames for her. They call her ‘Mama T,’ so she’s kind of taken a motherly role on our team.”

Barnes, now a stepmom to 8- and 13-year-old girls, embraces the role, even if joining the Warriors comes with a level of trepidation after three ACL tears.

“Every practice, every game, is just a thought process of, how am I going to move? What am I going to do?” Barnes said.

But checking into Calvary’s 75-65 win against Randall University from Moore, Oklahoma, felt sublime.

“Just stepping in on the court, it literally took me back 24 years ago, and I was like, ‘I’m here. This is a dream,'” Barnes said.

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By Lora Lavigne and Shaun Gallagher

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    North Carolina (WRAL) — The man charged in the death of a child during the 2022 Raleigh Christmas Parade will serve time in prison, in addition to community service.

Landen Glass was behind the wheel of an out-of-control pickup truck that hit and killed 11-year-old Hailey Brooks during the parade.

On Friday, Glass pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, death by motor vehicle and having a dangerous weapon at the parade.

Glass then faced sentencing, with victim impact statements from Brooks’ family.

‘She had no idea what was coming’ “Landen, no punishment I would feel to be sufficient for killing my daughter,” said Hailey ‘s mother, April Brooks, said Friday. “The only thing I want is to have sweet Hailey back.”

“Look at the joy and pure innocence on her face,” April Brooks continued. “She had no idea what was coming.”

Hailey’s aunt Heather addressed Glass, saying, “You are not defined by this moment in time; however, you do have a choice in how you allow it to shape your future here on earth and, most importantly, for eternity.”

Court resumed Monday morning with Hailey’s father, Trey Brooks, sharing two videos of his daughter’s last performances with her dance company.

Trey Brooks thanked first responders for working to try to save Hailey on the parade route. He then remembered the day Hailey was born, remembering the dreams he had for her. He then recalled the day of the parade, dropping her off and then finding out someone had been hurt during the event.

“Our grief is indescribable,” Trey Brooks said, recalling that the family didn’t drive for weeks following the incident. He described moments of PTSD and guilt.

Judge Paul Ridgeway sentenced Glass to:

75-day sentence in Wake County Jail for a misdemeanor charge of death by vehicle in Wake County Jail 45-day sentence in Wake County Jail for a misdemeanor charge of carrying a firearm in a parade in Wake County Jail 8-to-19 month sentence for an obstruction charge to be served in the Department of Adult Corrections and go into effect at the conclusion of the prior two sentences. Required 400 hours of community service Part of the ruling determined that the Brooks family will take over ownership of the truck Glass was driving during the parade, a 2011 GMC Sierra 2500. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman believes the family will have the truck destroyed.

“It was important to the family that this truck be taken off the road to ensure it cannot harm anyone else,” Freeman told WRAL News.

Ridgeway said he hopes the verdict serves as a teaching moment for Glass as a young man. Glass was 20 at the time of the accident.

“I hope that you commit today to use this moment in your life to commit to live your life in a way that would honor Hailey’s life,” Ridgeway said to Glass.

Glass offers an apology Glass’ attorney, Roger Smith, said Glass had no criminal record other than inspection violations on the truck driven in the parade, which played a crucial role in the tragedy. Glass has been on electronic monitoring for most of the three years since the accident.

“From the bottom of my heart, how terribly sorry I am to Mr. and Mrs. Brooks and the rest of the family,” Glass said in a statement to the court. “I know there are no words I can say that would truly tell you how sorry I am…I’ve never had any intentions to hurt Hailey…I want you to know that I do take responsibility for my actions and I am sorry for all the pain and sadness that I caused you.”

Glass had ties to the parade and the dance group that Hailey was a part of. He was a dancer with CC& Company for five years as a boy. He and his family would routinely drive from their hometown of Goode, Virginia, to Raleigh to perform routines and classes with the group.

“I do not believe you intentionally took Hailey’s life that day, but I do believe you selfishly disobeyed the law and Hailey’s life and liberty was taken from her as a result,” Trey Brooks said.

Brooks’ family did not speak to reporters after the proceedings. A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family will not go to trial until 2026.

An attorney said that in the coming weeks, Trey and April will likely be speaking more about the legislation they’re working on that would increase safety procedures at parades across the state. The Shine Like Hailey Parade Safety Act, introduced in 2023, would bring on state-enforced safety requirements for operating a parade vehicle.

What took so long? Almost exactly three years to the date of the 2022 parade, a verdict was reached, but not before plenty of agony, questions and ruminating for everyone involved.

Freeman spoke to how difficult laying the groundwork for a case of this magnitude was for prosecutors and investigators. She said the sentence Glass received was about the same length as he would have received for involuntary manslaughter. Recreating the circumstances was a complex and intricate process.

“Going back and doing the reconstruction in these types of accidents, you know, takes a tremendous amount of work,” she said. “There was a lot of investigation involved here, a lot of investigation regarding the defendant’s prior record and then working with the family to get to a resolution that they felt was appropriate and that we could obtain without having to go through a trial took some time.”

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By Eric Miller

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    North Carolina (WRAL) — New warrants released Monday reveal the Zebulon father accused of murdering his four children had a fifth child, whom he buried behind the family’s home.

Wellington Dickens III is facing multiple counts of first-degree murder. He was arrested in October, after calling 911 and telling the dispatcher he’d killed the children through a combination of neglect and over-discipline.

The warrants released Monday say Dickens and his wife also had a fifth child, named Riley, who died shortly after the family moved into the Zebulon home. Court records show Dickens took possession of the home in May 2023.

Dickens told investigators that Riley was about a month old when the child’s health began to decline. It’s not clear how Riley died.

After the child died, Dickens said he wrapped the body in paper or plastic material and buried the child in a four-foot-deep unmarked grave in a wooded area behind the home. Investigators said Riley’s death was never reported in any capacity.

Family members told investigators they had never seen, heard from or about Riley once the family moved.

Investigators have been searching for Riley’s grave, but so far, they have not found any signs of the baby’s body.

Neighbors told WRAL News that sheriff’s deputies and members of the State Bureau of Investigation have visited the home multiple times since Dickens was arrested. That includes one visit on October 31, when a video shared by neighbors shows Dickens himself leading investigators across the property. In the video, Dickens is wearing an orange and white jumpsuit and has his hands and feet shackled.

He told dispatchers he did not use a knife or gun to kill the children. According to arrest warrants, he over-disciplined them and wanted to turn himself in.

The warrants also revealed the order in which the other children died.

According to investigators, Dickens said his 5-year-old daughter, Leah Dickens, was the first to die. He said he had disciplined her, and after returning to her room to check on her, she was dead.

Dickens said his 9-year-old daughter, Zoe Dickens, was the next child to die. According to warrants, Dickens told investigators that Zoe began asking about her sister. Dickens admitted to investigators that he taped her mouth shut to discipline her, and when he returned to check on her, she was also dead.

Dickens told investigators his 10-year-old son, Wellington Dickens IV, was the third child to die. According to arrest warrants, Dickens said he was teaching the boy how to box. He said the boy had stopped eating, and his father believed he died from malnutrition.

The fourth child to die was his 18-year-old stepson, Sean Brasfield, who he believed also died from malnutrition.

Warrants also revealed that much of the inside of Dickens’ home had recently been repainted. These warrants say Dickens had also been searching Amazon for a type of paint capable of covering up stains.

Investigators now want to bring in chemicals that could reveal bloodstains under that paint.

The investigation is still active and ongoing.

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By KGO staff

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    SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — San Francisco fire crews responded Tuesday morning to the scene of a truck that went into a building, sending two people to the hospital.

It happened in the area of Broderick Street and Lombard Street.

Videos posted by SFFD on social media show the bed of the truck sticking out of the side of the building.

Two other vehicles were damaged in what officials are calling a high-speed crash.

Boderick Street is currently closed between Lombard and Greenwich Street.

The Department of Building Inspection is on the scene, assessing the damage.

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By Frances Lin

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    SUMTER COUNTY, Florida (WFTS) — According to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO), deputies from Sumter and Citrus counties worked together Sunday night to capture an escaped inmate who authorities said fled from a jail kitchen work detail, stole an e-bike and a vehicle, and tried to hide in a pond.

Deputies said Joseph Brown, 39, removed the top of his green and white striped inmate uniform about 50 yards east of the jail kitchens before escaping.

A search involving K-9 units, deputies, drones, and helicopters from both counties began quickly, with Brown later spotted on a doorbell camera taking a white e-bike from a home on North Jasper Street.

Deputies determined Brown also stole a vehicle and was in the area of County Road 675. He ran into a pond in an attempt to hide but was found and exited without problems.

Officials said new security measures are being implemented to prevent similar escapes in the future.

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By Kiley Vaughan

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    TAMPA, Florida (WFTS) — The United States Marshals Service (USMS) said it led a Florida-based youth recovery initiative resulting in the recovery or safe location of 122 missing or endangered children.

This joint multi-disciplinary task force operated for two weeks and located or recovered vulnerable children belonging to multiple Florida metropolitan areas.

The release said it recovered 57 youth individuals belonging to the Tampa Bay metropolitan area. USMS also said it recovered 14 belonging to the Orlando metropolitan area, 22 belonging to the Jacksonville metropolitan area and 29 belonging to the Fort Myers metropolitan area.

The U.S. Marshal held a press conference in Tampa on Nov. 17.

This initiative was called “Operation Home for the Holidays,” and the release the goal was to also provide services for those children found.

“What allows our Middle Florida-based child recovery initiatives to stand out is the emphasis placed on what happens after. We know these children will have needs once we find them. It only makes sense to build these operations alongside like-minded partners from across the child welfare space, ” said Bill Berger, United States Marshal – Middle District of Florida.

The operation’s partners located or recovered children across Florida and in nine other states, and the USMS said some of these kids disclosed experiences relating to various types of abuse and proximity to other criminal activity.

USMS said these allegations, in conjunction with information developed by the task force, led to six felony arrests. Several other criminal investigations are active following information found through the operation, and additional felony arrests are anticipated, per USMS.

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