Category: CNN Regional

By Tyler Melito

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    DENVER (KMGH) — The University of Denver Men’s Hockey team secured its 11th NCAA National Championship after a major comeback win over Wisconsin.

Students waited more than 40 minutes of game time for the Pioneers to get on the board. After falling behind early, Denver scored midway through the third period, sparking a celebration that never stopped. The momentum carried the team to another national title.

Proud may be an understatement for how University of Denver students feel about the men’s hockey team. Fans packed into the Pioneer, with some arriving as early as 10:00 a.m. Saturday to secure their spot.

“I got here about 10 o’clock as well,” said DU Senior Nick Savage. “I was the fifth person in here today.”

“I got here around 12, I had to wait two hours,” shared Junior Harry Galiardo. “There’s no place I’d rather be. Everyone comes together here. It’s the best feeling.”

Before the game, students reminisced about the last time the Pioneers won the championship in 2024.

“I’m a tour guide at school, so I talk about the camaraderie around doing our hockey games, and my favorite thing to say is how when we won the championship two years ago, it was the most exciting thing I’ve ever done in my life,” shared Senior Capen Ades.

Despite the crowds, students were thrilled to watch the game together.

“It is packed out, for sure, but everyone here is just so happy,so excited to see DU hockey play a game,” said Junior Zac Bly

Griffin Young saw the Pioneers win the national championship in person in 2024, and he made sure not to miss the campus celebration this time around.

“What I heard from my peers was being here in person on campus was the best experience these guys had as a college student,” Young explained. “I wanted that experience, and I’m getting that experience.”

And just because DU doesn’t dominate the headlines in sports like football or basketball, doesn’t make it any less of a sports school, students say.

“I think that DU sometimes doesn’t seem like the most crazy social school, but we are bigger than any SEC school, any other school in the world when it comes to hockey,” Savage detailed. “This bar is just one example of that.”

While the athletes are now campus celebrities and will go down in history,

“I think we had a great season, and I’m proud of my friends,” said Senior Andrew French. “I know people that I know that are on the team.”

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KAKE’s editorial team 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 Sydney Ferguson

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    TOWANDA, Kansas (KAKE) — As one door closes, another is opening for a USD 375 music teacher facing a serious health issue and stepping away from work to address it.

Circle Teacher Heather Redondo says that at 39 years old, her life has seen many chapters. Born in Hawaii to a Pianist mother, she’s been a college music professor, an opera singer in New York and Wichita, and now teaches music in Towanda.

Each has been a chapter rich in its own right and almost always connected to music.

“I really believe in the power of music to heal and to inspire us in our lives. It has inspired me so much,” said Redondo.

Friday, she was moved to tears by the sound of her girls’ choir singing Emily Dickinson’s poem “Heart! We will forget him!”

“What stuck out to me today was just wow, goodbyes are hard,” said Redondo.

It was a day full of goodbyes for Redondo, as the opera singer and teacher is stepping down from her dream job as Vocal Music Director for the district’s 7th through 12th grade students.

“I’ve been living my very best life and living exactly how I wanted to live, how I always dreamed my life would be,” said Redondo. “And then this happened, and this is definitely, definitely the hardest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Redondo says what started as a limp that wouldn’t go away in November 2024 turned into the inability to move the toes on her right foot — then the need for a walker and wheelchair.

In January of this year, doctors diagnosed her with ALS — an incurable disease that slowly destroys the body’s nerves until a person can no longer function.

“I just felt completely crushed,” said Redondo. “What scares me the most is losing my voice.”

The voice that still charms crowds and instructs students, but more importantly, lulls her 4-year-old son to sleep each night and communicates with her husband.

Redondo says that voice has been her identity for much of her life and led her to teaching — a dream she’s now stepping away from to stare down a nightmare.

“It’s too soon, it’s too soon,” said a teary-eyed Redondo. “I had so much more I wanted to do with them.”

Students Jeromy Dufoe and Wyatt Soper, Senior and Teaching Assistant, say it’s been hard watching her health decline.

“It did kind of break a little bit of me,” said Dufoe. “It’s an emptiness I haven’t felt in a long time.”

“For her, all she is, is happy, so it’s like, it’s hard to see, said Soper.

Soper and Dufoe say it became their students’ mission to assist her in any way they could and keep her spirits up — the same thing she’s done for them in her two years as their teacher.

“She made me feel almost free,” said Dufoe. “I felt like I could do all these things that I had aspired to.”

Redondo says she finds peace in leaving work knowing she left a lasting legacy and did what she set out to do — create a safe space for her students.

Teaching Assistant and Senior Laykin Lipcott says this is their opportunity to remind her of what she’s taught them.

“She really helps encourage us to keep that passion and just not to give up on ourselves and to keep pushing through anything difficult,” said Lipcott. “I’m hoping that, you know, she just doesn’t ever give up on herself.”

“All I hope she can do is just trust in the Lord and make the best out of a bad situation,” said Dufoe.

Redondo says another fear is losing hope, but she’s fighting through that and others by leaning on her community — a community that’s rallied around her, raising almost $30,000 through GoFundMe to help her along her journey.

“I just appreciate that so much,” said Redondo. “It’s amazing to be able to share this with people, because so many people really do want to help and be a part of it with me.”

Redondo says her focus is on learning methods to delay the inevitable phases of disease that lie ahead of her and prolong her time here — long enough to make lasting memories with her husband and young son, stay in contact with her students, and continue to use her voice while she has it.

She says the two-to-five-year lifespan you see when searching “ALS” on Google doesn’t apply to her.

“I feel really strongly that I’m not done here, that I have a lot more to give and a lot more to do,” said Redondo. “I am afraid of losing my voice, but today I have a voice, and I can still sing.”

Redondo’s coworkers closed out her final day with a small gathering for teachers and students to say see her off. She ended the gathering with a rendition of “Homeward Bound.”

All day, she reiterated that this is only ‘see you later’ for her. Redondo says she’ll be singing with the Wichita Grand Opera at events on April 18th and 19th.

“I don’t know if this is my last opera. I hope it’s not, but if it is, I’m grateful that I could do it kind of where I started in Wichita, with the Wichita Grand Opera, where my husband and I met,” said Redondo.

She’ll also be singing the national anthem at the “Walk for the Cure” for ALS on September 19th and trying to put together a concert for late summer or fall. She’s promised to keep up with her students as much as she can.

“We’re going to remember each other forever,” said Redondo.

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 Cameron Burnett

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    CRAWFORD COUNTY, Kansas (KAKE) — Officials say a kangaroo who got loose on Easter Sunday is still at large in southeast Kansas.

The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office tells KAKE News that a kangaroo got loose from west Pittsburg on Easter Sunday and has not yet been found. The animal’s owners, the sheriff’s office says, were from out of state and have since returned home without the marsupial.

The sheriff’s office said the last possible sighting was on Tuesday, April 7, in the area of K-7 and Highway 126, about seven miles west of Pittsburg.

“Don’t approach it if you do see it, because I saw a video of one squaring up on somebody like a boxer once, and nobody’s gonna believe that you got punched by a Kangaroo in Crawford County, Kansas,” the sheriff’s office said on Facebook.

Anyone who sees the animal is urged not to approach it and immediately call the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office at 620-724-8274.

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 WTVR Web Staff

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    RICHMOND, Virginia (WTVR) — A new booth at the 15th annual Carytown Spring Artisan Market is giving incarcerated individuals a platform to showcase their handmade art, clothing and books while raising money for youth empowerment and reentry programs.

More than 150 area artists and makers gathered at City Stadium on Saturday. Among them was Cellers Corner, an initiative by the Bending the Bars Foundation.

Nicole Deyo, who runs the nonprofit, said the booth’s timing aligns perfectly with Second Chance Month.

“We want to highlight these individuals because they all deserve a second chance, not just off of the fact of the years they’ve served, but it’s due to actually their efforts and the things that they’ve contributed behind the walls,” Deyo said.

The booth features items created by men housed in Virginia Department of Corrections facilities, including the Buckingham and Lawrenceville correctional centers. Deyo said all donations go back into the community or directly support the incarcerated creators.

For example, donations for artwork created by Larry Capers go toward supplies for an art program he runs inside Lawrenceville.

Other items, like books and apparel by authors Rashad Floyd and Mr. Poetic, fund youth empowerment initiatives. Deyo said many of the men went into the prison system as teenagers and want to prevent juveniles from following their paths.

“We want the outside, the judicial system, the community to understand that incarceration is not all bad,” Deyo said. “Individuals that are behind those walls are not all bad, and a lot of them have testimonies and stories that need to be heard.”

The booth also features a clothing line and a book about starting a trucking company by an individual named Damien, with proceeds supporting reentry resources. Another book by Sonia Staples highlights the experience of being a prison wife for 27 years, shedding light on the families impacted by incarceration.

The market continues Sunday at City Stadium from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WTVR’s editorial team 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 WABC News Staff

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    CLIFTON, New Jersey (WABC) — A tractor-trailer truck driver lost control of his vehicle, ramming into a local limo business in Clifton, New Jersey early Monday morning.

The big rig careened into Limo Ride, a business along Kensington Avenue and Route 3, right before 2:30 a.m.

The accident happened just feet from a roadway ramp where the driver tried to turn off.

It’s unclear exactly what happened in the moments before impact.

The front of the vehicle lodged into the edifice, sending building material and shingles tumbling down.

Sources tell Eyewitness News that the driver was trapped behind the wheel for about an hour and had to be cut out of the truck.

He was conscious and alert when he was transported to the hospital, and said he was hauling dog food.

The state’s Urban Search and Rescue team was also called to search the building and helped free one person who was trapped upstairs. No one else was in the building.

The conditions of the driver and person upstairs remains unknown.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

PSEG workers were requested to check out a gas smell.

Crews will work to determine the structural stability of the building, which appears to be leaning to one side.

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 WABC News Staff

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    UNION, New Jersey (WABC) — One person is dead and several others are injured after gunfire erupted at a Chick-fil-A restaurant in New Jersey.

The deadly shooting happened around 9 p.m. on Saturday at a Chick-fil-A on Route 22 in Union.

Upon arrival, responding officers found seven victims, one who was subsequently pronounced dead. Six others suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

While no arrests have been made, the shooting is believed to be a targeted incident stemming from a drug or gang dispute. The one fatality is believed to be the target of the shooting and the other victims are believed to be bystanders and/or employees of the Chick-fil-A.

On Sunday afternoon, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill issued a statement responding to the shooting, saying in part, “We now know that last night’s shooting in Union Township tragically claimed one life and left six others injured.”

“Our hearts go out to the victim’s loved ones, and we are hoping for the full recovery of those who were injured.”

All Chick-fil-A locations are closed on Sundays.

Eyewitness News spoke to a father of one of the Chick-fil-A workers on Saturday night. He says that his son called him in a panic, saying that multiple suspects wearing masks entered the establishment. He also says several of his co-workers were injured in a shooting.

The father says he drove to the eatery and described what he called a “warzone.”

A Lyft driver named Martin said he was finishing a trip nearby and heard more than seven shots.

“I finished my trip over there, in the return zone. I heard the shots. When I finished the trip I go to Chick-fil-A to buy two burgers — I see the police, I heard the shots very close,” he says.

The Union County Prosecutor’s Office says it is an ongoing investigation.

The names of the victims have not been released.

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 Taylor Locke

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    CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Virginia (WTVR) — Kristen’s Kitchen, a Chester restaurant best known for its crab cakes, has teamed up with Commonwealth Autism to offer job opportunities to people on the autism spectrum.

It all started with owner Kristen Bortone’s son: 15-year-old Ryan. Ryan has autism and global developmental disabilities. When he was born, doctors said he would never walk or talk. Now as a teen, he spends many days greeting customers at the door.

“It’s been phenomenal to see him talk to people,” Kristen Bortone said.

Bortone spent Ryan’s whole life thinking about what he would do when he was old enough to work, so she built her answer from the ground up.

Kristen’s Kitchen first started as a food truck. Now, it’s upgraded to a brick-and-mortar location off Branders Creek Dr.

“It makes me feel like I did it. I did what I was supposed to do. You know, like I made a job for Ryan. Forever. He’ll always have a place here,” Bortone said.

The family business is a place where Ryan will always belong. For Ryan, his job description is simple.

“I basically just hand out silverware and menus,” Ryan said.

But ask anyone who has been to the restaurant, and they will tell you that is not all he does.

“He’s a star. Everybody knows Ryan,” Bortone said. “Ryan brings more people to my restaurant than I bring to my restaurant. You know, they come to see him. I just heard someone say that.”

Seeing how the community embraced Ryan, Bortone wanted to do more. She teamed up with Commonwealth Autism, a local nonprofit which provides training for employees and employers on how to support workers with autism.

“This lady walks in named Barbra and she had a packet of papers, they were just looking for Gabe to get a job, so she was just going all over. And I saw it and I was like, ‘Absolutely,’ How could I not?” Bortone said.

Now, 21-year-old Gabe is part of the team. He came from the Commonwealth Autism program ready to work.

“I’m excited for working here for dish washing,” Gabe said.

The program is open to anyone wanting to join.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WTVR’s editorial team 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 Julia Sandor

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    SYRACUSE, Utah (KSTU) — Chris Needham has always been athletic. There’s no question about that.

Moving to Utah in 2003 as a competitive speed skater, Needham was drawn to the state because of the athletic facilities and coaches. It wasn’t until a doctor’s order that he traded in those skates for sneakers.

“A little over three years ago, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease,” Needham said.

After a visit with his neurologist for an unrelated reason, Needham said a brain scan confirmed that he had the disease, which is a disorder of the nervous system.

“I couldn’t believe it at all,” he said. “I was 42 years old. I thought there was no possible way. I was fit and healthy.”

At first, Chris thought he couldn’t outrun his diagnosis, but his doctor recommended doing just that.

Yanga Pathak has been in the field of neuromodulation for about 15 years as the Medical Affairs Manager for Abbott. She’s seen how exercise can help people with Parkinson’s time and time again.

“Parkinson’s is a progressive disorder, but when you get it early, if you start incorporating things like exercise into your treatment practice, it slows the decline that is typically associated with this kind of disease indication,” Pathak said.

Pathak added that Parkinson’s disease is usually associated with people over the age of 60, but Needham was diagnosed early.

For Chris, that means he’s been able to keep a running regimen.

“My initial exam score was high. Nowadays, I’m at a level that she wouldn’t diagnose me with Parkinson’s if she hadn’t already done so,” he explained. “I have noticed that it’s gotten better with the exercise.”

He’s doing so much better that he’s going a bit further than the extra mile.

“When I found out I was going to run Boston [Marathon] with Team Abbott, it was a very emotional moment for me. I was in my office, and I was truly overcome with emotions,” Needham said.

Abbott, the global healthcare company, is the title sponsor for the Abbott World Marathon Majors series. Team Abbott is a community of runners who have faced health challenges, but like Chris, are overcoming those challenges.

Growing up in the Boston area, Needham has watched the marathon and has always heard the inspiring stories. Now, running it himself, he said it’s proof that Parkinson’s doesn’t define you.

Needham’s goal isn’t to finish first, but to inspire 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 A.J. Nwoko

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    DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Virginia (WTVR) — Active-duty military members are spending their free time in Dinwiddie County renovating a Habitat for Humanity home for a 100 percent disabled veteran.

Tri-Cities Habitat for Humanity is revitalizing the 1,400-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bathroom home. Executive Director Kellie Parker said the house is a special case because it is a renovation rather than a traditional new build.

“This home was actually built for a Habitat homeowner that was in a wheelchair,” Parker said. “She has since passed, and we are now having the opportunity to revitalize the home, renovate the home and put another Habitat recipient in it.”

Parker, who is also a veteran, said the new occupant is a “100% disabled veteran.”

“I myself am a vet, so I’m always in a position to help my fellow veterans,” Parker said.

The renovations have been underway for over a year, involving the removal of former ambulatory accommodations to open up the space.

Active-duty service members from Fort Lee, which was renamed from Fort Gregg-Adams in July 2025, volunteered to help with the work on Saturday.

“I reached out to Fort Gregg-Adams, and they have been extremely supportive. Anytime I call, they are right there, Johnny on the spot to come out and help,” Parker said.

Devlin Calley, an active-duty military member, helped put the finishing touches on the crown molding of the home.

“I come from a veteran family, and it’s nice to know that the work I’m putting in on my free time is going to go towards somebody who’s really in desperate need of that help right now,” Calley said. “Just being able to see the work getting done over a period of time is just really rewarding.”

The home is expected to be completed by the summer. Calley said he might not be there to see the final result, but the act of service for a fellow patriot makes it worth it.

“Just because you start something doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily finish it, and if you start something, it doesn’t mean you won’t finish it,” Calley said. “I may not see this through completion, but I’m sure somebody will, and I’m sure whoever enjoys it will appreciate every bit of work that’s been put into it.”

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WTVR’s editorial team 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.