Category: CNN Regional

By Beth Carlson

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — The parents of the 3-year-old injured in an attempted kidnapping are speaking out.

The incident happened on Tuesday morning at a Walmart near 72nd and Pine streets.

Noemi Guzman slashed the face and hands of Cyler Hillman before Omaha police shot and killed her.

“I walked into his room and when I got there, it was dang near there had to be seven to 10 cops still standing in there. And they were all tacked out and everything, and one of the officers was sitting there and told me what happened. And I was just standing there and held the kid and just started crying right there. That’s all that I could do. And they said he was just asking for dad and a bandaid and to go home the whole time,” Cyler’s father Casey Hillman said.

The 3-year-old was released from the hospital after undergoing surgery.

“His big thing this morning was I don’t want to go outside. It’s scary. And I had to take a minute and sit in the corner and pretty much bawl my eyes out cause that broke my heart. That’s never been that kid. He always wants to go outside, and then he asked me if I’d carry him outside. Yeah, I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” Casey said.

Sara and Casey Hillman said it’s been hard for Cyler, his siblings, and themselves as they try to wrap their heads around what happened.

“He’s a goofball. He’s a fighter. He wants to be tough. Wants to ride sheep. Wants to ride bulls,” Sara and Casey said. “No, no fear really, no fear at all. Since birth he’s been a fighter. From medical history starting from a week-old preemie. Failure to thrive. Preterm lung failure. Lots of time in the hospital in first 90 days.”

Casey and Sara said they’re grateful to law enforcement but wonder how it was possible that no one in Walmart spotted Guzman ushering their son out of the store in the time between when she approached them and when police pulled the trigger.

There is a GoFundMe to help the family with the unexpected costs.

Click here if you would like to make a donation.

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 Janice Allen

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    IONIA COUNTY, Michigan (WXMI) — According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, roughly 24 people experience domestic violence every minute in the United States, totaling more than 12 million people each year. Leaving an abusive situation is not easy, and for many, a pet can be one of the biggest barriers.

Haley McLean is working to change that with Hope’s 2nd Chance Animal Sanctuary.

The nonprofit aims to care for those often-forgotten family members, so their owners don’t have to choose between safety and the animals they love.

“It’s a huge barrier,” McLean said. “A lot of women or domestic violence survivors do not leave because they’re scared of where their pets will go.”

The nonprofit is named after McLean’s golden retriever Chance, who helped inspire the mission.

“He’s my family,” McLean explained. “I realized, like, I could not ever leave him…so he’s really the thought behind Hope’s 2nd Chance.”

Thanks to generous donors and various fundraisers, Hope’s 2nd Chance provides temporary housing and veterinary care, giving owners the time and space to start over.

“Financial abuse is a huge thing with domestic violence, and so we don’t charge them,” McLean said. “[The animals] get a lot of love and attention. They’re taking well care of and then… they get to go back to their homes and just be with their owners.”

The need for the service is great.

“We started offering services in May of 2021,” McLean said. “We housed many animals for about 18 months, and then we realized that funding was going to be a huge need.”

After taking time to regroup, McLean said they are back and growing. She is currently renovating barns on her property to accommodate more pets, creating more second chances not only for the animals but for the people working to reclaim their lives.

“We’re trying to get the word out to survivors that we are here and that they do have an option,” McLean said. “There’s such a need for this, and so we would like to be able to expand and have more space, and be able to serve all of Michigan, at least, because we are the only nonprofit that does this, that focuses on these survivors.”

Hope’s 2nd Chance Animal Santuary currently serves Mid-Michigan and West Michigan.

This month, a virtual fundraiser called “Miles for Hope” is helping to support the mission.

McLean said they are accepting pets as space allows, but there is also a big need for people who do not currently have pets to foster animals.

To learn more about Hope’s 2nd Chance Animal Sanctuary, visit the website or Facebook page.

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

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 Scott Noll

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    WESTLAKE, Ohio (WEWS) — A welfare check on a 91-year old Westlake woman Thursday ended with a discovery you’d never expect.

“Everyone got a good laugh out of it,” said Westlake Police Captain Jerry Vogel.

The woman is part of the city’s Are You Okay? program.

The program allows residents to sign up for a daily phone call to check in and make sure everything is okay.

On Thursday, the woman, whose name was not released by police, didn’t answer that call.

When dispatchers and the woman’s daughter followed up, they couldn’t reach the woman either.

“Everyone’s a little bit alarmed that she’s missing these contacts,” said Vogel.

So officers went to the woman’s house, but she didn’t answer the door either.

That’s when police used a code to open the woman’s garage door.

Her car was inside.

Body camera video stopped when the officer announced “Westlake police,” and walked into the 91-year old’s home.

His conversation with dispatchers revealed what happened next.

“We’re here with her,” the officer said. “She’s playing video games in her bedroom.”

Police said the woman was fine but missed the calls because she was trying to beat her record in a video game.

Vogel said the woman was thankful officers checked on her.

“It’s a great reminder that Westlake residents have that service for them and they can sign up any time they want,” said Vogel.

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 Greta Goede

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    BELLEVUE, Nebraska (KMTV) — “I think I broke down and just started thanking the man upstairs because if it would have been any lower or he wouldn’t have been looking out, we’d be having a whole different conversation.”

Casey Hillman says he was up late into the night thinking about the attack on his son and how an inch could have made the difference between life and death. He spoke with KMTV’s Greta Goede in an exclusive sit down interview to discuss how his son, Cyler, 3, is recovering and his reaction to learning the woman police say kidnapped and attacked him at an Omaha Walmart had previously faced charges for violent crimes.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPTION:

“His three main concerns, according to the officers were Dad a band-aid and to go home in that order as soon as this happened until I walked in the ER room and then,” father Casey Hillman said during the interview.

“He sat in my lap till till they took him to surgery and that was the first time he cried during that whole ordeal because he had to leave me. I think it’s been just as rough, if not rougher on me than it has been on him till this morning he, we were going to get his boots and he told me he didn’t want to go outside because it was scary outside,” Hillman said.

Q: Do you just want to — talk a little bit about kind of what was running through your mind yesterday. I know you said you were at a job interview.

A: I, well, and I didn’t even know.

Like they didn’t give me a whole lot of details. The officer called and she just told me who she was and said she was in an ambulance with my son. There was a really bad incident at Walmart and he was hurt pretty severe and Children’s Connect uploaded a photo of the side of his face and when I, when I seen that I about.

I damn near couldn’t see driving the rest of the way and I broke probably 6 or 7 traffic laws going, if not more, and I got there and then they explained what happened and I, I think I broke down and just started thanking the man upstairs because if it would have been any lower or he wouldn’t have been looking out, we’d be having a whole different conversation.

Q: How did it make you feel hearing that she had priors?

A: I had a lot of resentment, a lot of anger, and I turned a new chapter where I started going to the Bible a lot when I get like that, and I had to last night because it made my blood boil, skin crawl, and I think it was 1:30, 2 o’clock before I even went to sleep last night. But that kind of thing I think is where our system needs to do better so things like this don’t continue to happen. I don’t know what it’s like to lose a kid, but this is pretty damn close, and it’s, I’m still pretty rattled. It’s been, been rough.

He definitely cowboyed up. I don’t think I could have got a gash like that and not been crying.

He’s, he’s our kid with no fear. I mean, jumps off of the sofas and he tests the limits all the time, just like that.

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 Chloe Godding

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    CLAY COUNTY, Missouri (KMBC) — A 13-year-old boy was allegedly caught behind the wheel of a stolen vehicle after speeding away from deputies in Clay County this week.

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office said deputies observed two vehicles that had been reported stolen traveling in tandem on 210 Highway after 1 a.m. Monday.

Deputies attempted to stop the vehicles, but both fled.

The first vehicle traveled into Avondale, hitting a curb and then driving into a field. The driver and a passenger then ran away. One suspect surrendered, but another kept running. Sheriff’s office K-9 Argos quickly caught up to the suspect, who was then apprehended.

That suspect was taken to the hospital for minor bite wounds before being transported to the detention center.

The other stolen vehicle also fled toward Avondale, traveling onto 210 Highway and driving over several medians before the vehicle was disabled.

Deputies ordered the driver out of the car and discovered he was a 13-year-old boy. The young teen allegedly told deputies, “if people didn’t want their cars stolen, they should not leave them unlocked with the keys inside.”

The two adult suspects have been charged. Kayden Nolen, 21, and Kevante White, 21, were charged with resisting arrest and tampering with a motor vehicle.

The 13-year-old driver of the other car was turned over to the Clay County Juvenile Office, where he reportedly remained in custody as of Wednesday.

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 Robbie Owens

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    ADDISON, Texas (KTVT) — As the late ’70s disco hit Stayin’ Alive fills the Addison dance studio, instructor Maya Apodaca glides across the floor. She knows it is more than a soundtrack. On Aug. 23, 2023, it became her mission.

“I was teaching, and I get a phone call, and I’m like, ‘This is my doctor, I need to take it,'” she said. “And that’s what she told me, that I indeed have inflammatory breast cancer. And it’s stage 3C. I broke down, and I started to cry.”

Even now, the tears flow fresh.

“It happened so fast. I found the lump in July,” she said. “By the middle of September, my tumor had grown to the size of a very angry apple. It was heavy. It was so painful. And it really was an aggressive form of cancer.”

Over the weeks and months that followed, Maya says dance kept her on her toes – through several major surgeries and radiation. She even wore a chemotherapy pack on her hip. And still, she kept dancing.

“It was what I needed,” she said. “It forced me to get up out of bed. It forced me to take a shower, make myself look presentable. To keep going.”

Even when she was too weak to walk, she wanted to dance – especially with husband Cody by her side. Still, when asked how she was doing?

“So, a lot of the time it’s ‘I’m fine. I’m fine today,” she said.

And yet, Maya admits that often she was just putting on that brave face.

“I didn’t want to put the burden on them,” she said. “And it’s an everyday thing. Is it going to come back? I’m in pain. I don’t feel well, but you still have to just push through, and people who don’t have cancer don’t understand.”

There is a place, though, where she and other cancer patients can shed the brave face.

“No one should have to go through cancer alone,” said Mirchelle Louis, CEO of Cancer Support Community North Texas (CSCNT).

The nonprofit has been supporting cancer patients and their families for decades – at no cost.

“And what cancer support community does is we look at the whole person and say, ‘What do you want to do? Here’s what we can offer you,'” Louis said. “We can offer you support groups, individual counseling, an art class, a nutrition class, something that’s going to put you in the position to walk out the door and say, ‘Hey, I did something today.’ And this one: ‘I actually feel better today.’ So that’s who we are. That’s what we do.”

And now they’re celebrating the grand opening of a new 5,600‑square‑foot clubhouse space – complete with the iconic red door – to support those services. There’s even a space for kids.

“The pressing need for cancer support is only increasing,” said Louis, “and we’re here to meet that need.”

Maya says the center has been critical in her ongoing recovery. And she’s calling on the community to continue to work to increase education, awareness, and support.

“Without the center, I don’t know how I would have been able to get where I’m at,” said Maya. “I know that it’s going to continue to improve, and ultimately there’s going to be a time when I can go, like, I’m really okay!”

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 Briseida Holguin

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    MANSFIELD, Texas (KTVT) — Vendors across North Texas say they were caught off guard when Painted Tree Boutiques abruptly shut down all six of its area stores, leaving hundreds of small business owners scrambling to clear out their booths with little warning.

At the Mansfield location alone, vendors estimate there are roughly 240 booths, many belonging to people who also rented space at multiple stores. Several told CBS News Texas the sudden closure will have a major financial impact on their families.

Painted Tree vendors received an email late Tuesday morning announcing the immediate closure of all stores and instructing them to remove their merchandise.

“It said we had until the 24th, but rumor has it that the landlords could shut the doors at any time,” said Carla Galligan of Personal Pizazz.

The announcement sent vendors rushing to pack up years’ worth of work.

“I don’t even know how to do this,” said vendor Joella Miller. “I feel like I should cry and be angry, but I’m just I’m processing, and I’m still taking it all in.”

Another vendor, Mona Lisa Cassedy, said she learned of the closure only when a family member texted her. “I had no idea,” she said.

Many vendors said they relied on Painted Tree as their sole source of income.

“I appreciate all the Facebook posts that people have been posting for us vendors, but there’s that just got taken advantage I feel like,” Miller said.

Others described watching entire small businesses dismantled in a matter of hours.

“Watching everyone break down their businesses that they’ve worked so very hard for in just a matter of a couple days — that’s sad to me,” one vendor said. “Small business is what runs this country.”

Some vendors said they had noticed problems in recent months, including delayed or incorrect payments.

“We’ve had lack of payment; the payments have been wrong,” one said. “She hasn’t been getting paid till about 6 months,” another added.

Several expressed frustration that the company collected rent just days before shutting down.

“What sickens my heart is they took rent four days ago, and then they do this,” one vendor said.

As they haul out merchandise, many vendors say they have nowhere to go next.

“Everything’s just going in my house. I have nowhere else to put it right now,” one said.

Others say alternative marketplaces have long waiting lists.

“Everybody, just stay strong. That’s all we can do,” a vendor said through tears.

Painted Tree has blamed rising costs and shifting market conditions for the closures. The company has not responded to questions about why the shutdown was so abrupt or whether bankruptcy is involved.

CBS News Texas has reached out for clarification, but has not heard back.

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 Ubah Ali

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    ST. PAUL, Minnesota (WCCO) — A viral TikTok creator known for giving away food and cash is banned from all city parks in St. Paul, Minnesota, until Oct. 3 after officials said he harassed “vulnerable adults” at a location.

Andy Rodriguez, director of St. Paul Parks and Recreation, accused Josh Liljenquist in a letter earlier this month of going to Pig’s Eye Park to “harass, record and profit from vulnerable adults residing there without said individuals’ permission.”

Rodriguez added in the letter that the city agency’s Department of Safety and Inspection staff also documented Liljenquist’s “intention of conducting an unlicensed event at the park on April 11th, 2026, with no City involvement or approval.”

In an interview with WCCO on Wednesday, Liljenquist said what he’s being accused of is false. He said he’s only recorded once at Pig’s Eye Park, for a video about giving out winter essentials, and it was with the consent of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office.

Liljenquist said he was in Florida when the April 11 event was supposed to take place.

WCCO asked Liljenquist why he chooses to film himself helping people instead of doing it in private.

“One, hopefully inspiring other people to do it, showing that it doesn’t take a lot of money, it doesn’t take a lot of resources to go out there and do something for somebody,” he said.

According to Liljenquist, he and his videographer both check for consent with an individual before they film.

Sue Phillips, executive director of the Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing, said her organization agrees with the ban.

“The Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing (MICAH) in the Twin Cities and National Coalition for The Homeless (NCH) agree that this is exploiting people experiencing homelessness/ housing instability and we agree with St. Paul Parks officials in banning this Tik Toker from harassment by recording and profiting from vulnerable adults residing there without individuals’ permission,” Phillips said in a written statement.

Other grassroots organizations, like Feeding St. Paul, say the impact is incredible and these videos help those often overlooked.

“Josh has changed many lives, taken people off the streets,” Michael Brendale, founder of Feeding St. Paul, said.

Liljenquist will be appealing the ban when meeting with St. Paul officials on Friday. WCCO has reached out to see if it will be open to the media.

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 Caroline Cummings

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    MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A resolution setting up a process to investigate impeachment claims against DFL Gov. Tim Walz and DFL Attorney General Keith Ellison failed to move forward in the Minnesota House on Wednesday.

The measure failed on a party-line vote after a heated hour-long debate in the House Rules and Legislative Administration Committee, whose membership is split evenly between Republicans and Democrats due to their historic tie in the chamber.

The resolution would have cleared a pathway to discuss two separate impeachment resolutions in which some House Republicans accuse Walz and Ellison of “corrupt conduct” in office related to the widespread fraud in state programs. It would have referred those resolutions to the GOP-led fraud committee for investigation and set May 1 as the deadline to submit its findings to the full House.

“When the governor knows of widespread fraud, fails to act and allows retaliation against those who speak out, that meets the constitutional threshold for impeachment,” said Rep. Mike Weiner, a Republican co-sponsor of the Walz impeachment resolution who is a member of the Minnesota Freedom Caucus.

But Wednesday is as far as any impeachment resolutions will likely go because lawmakers did not agree on even the parameters to set them in motion; the resolution on Wednesday did not discuss the merits of the allegations.

“Governor Walz is focused on lowering costs. Republicans are focused on fighting Walz. It would be great if Republicans in the state legislature took a stab at serious work that actually helps people,” the governor’s office said in a statement.

Walz ended his reelection campaign earlier this year while Ellison is seeking another term.

House Democrats criticized the effort as “stupid” and “hair-brained idea” that amounted to a misplaced priority with just weeks to go until the Legislature adjourns for the year, illustrating once again the deep divides in the politically tied chamber that have defined the session so far. Both sides have tried and failed to advance their partisan priorities the last few months.

“This is a fundamentally unserious proposal by a fundamentally unserious party who isn’t interested in governing,” said Rep. Mike Howard, DFL-Richfield. “Gas prices are rising because of Trump’s illegal war in Iran. Health care, housing, child care costs are spiking. We have hospitals closing. Yet this is what we’re going to do today? A bill that’s absolutely going nowhere, dead on arrival, aimed at sticking it in the eye of the governor and attorney general.”

The Ellison impeachment resolution stems in part from Republicans’ concern about a meeting the attorney general had with individuals who have since been convicted in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme. Ellison has previously pushed back on the nature of the meeting, saying he didn’t know the people involved at the time, nor did he know of the crimes they were committing.

As is the case in the U.S. Congress, the constitutional process in Minnesota is that the House has the power to impeach and the Senate conducts a trial and votes on whether or not to convict.

The last time anyone was impeached and removed from office in the state was a judge back in 1882, according to nonpartisan House research staff.

Republicans who brought the resolutions forward said they would not back down from their fight.

“This was strictly about just doing the right thing, whether it passes or fails. We believe this is the right thing to do,” said Rep. Ben Davis, R-Merrifield.

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.