Category: CNN Regional

By Tyler Tripodi

Click here for updates on this story

    OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO) — An Oklahoma City youth volleyball team celebrated its national championship victory, a triumph that carried profound emotional meaning after a season marked by challenges and loss.

Most championship teams undergo hardships—an injury, a bad loss or even a player leaving.

Peak Volleyball’s 13U team faced those obstacles, but they also endured the devastating loss of one of their biggest fans, Marty Proper.

“He loved this team,” said Lisa Polcovich, the team’s coach.

But what Marty loved more than the team was one of its players—his daughter Tess.

“He loved watching his daughter play, and he was saying to everybody, ‘This is the best day of my life that I got to see this team and these girls, and my daughter win a national qualifier,’” Polcovich said.

But when the team was on their way home, tragedy struck.

“That morning, we all get home. Everybody’s tired, and we get the news. Marty was at work, suffered a heart attack and passed away,” Polcovich said.

Marty’s family said it was unimaginable.

“It was the most difficult time in our lives, and it happened so quickly and abruptly,” said Rachel Proper, Tess’s mother.

While they struggled with the loss, Polcovich knew the team could help.

“There’s actually a little more to the story,” Polcovich said.

She explained that Tess wasn’t alone in her grief.

“We also have another player who lost her dad a couple of years ago,” Polcovich said. “I lost my father when I was 13.”

That shared experience helped Tess feel like she wasn’t alone.

“It felt like I could talk to her about things and that I related to her in other ways,” Tess said.

Polcovich said she feels she was put in the right place at the right time.

“I just felt God has put these young women in my life because I’ve experienced something like this, and they’re going through it,” she said.

While Marty’s family began their next chapter, they wanted to honor him and his love of volleyball. So, they turned to a well-known comment of his for inspiration.

“He used to tease all the time that Peak was going to need a trophy case because our team was going to bring home so much hardware,” Rachel said.

His family donated a trophy case to the team in his honor, giving his daughter and her team a mission.

“I wanted to honor him by playing for and playing for something bigger than myself,” Tess said.

As the team battled through a demanding season, they qualified for the national tournament. Polcovich said when it mattered most, the team’s true colors were revealed.

“They are team players. They want the best for each other, and that was what was the game changer is that they unified just at the right time,” Polcovich said.

That unity led to a national championship victory.

With that, Tess was able to prove her father right, bringing home the hardware that will rest in his trophy case.

“They donated the trophy case, and now we’re able to put that national championship in there in his honor, in his family’s honor and his daughter’s honor,” Polcovich said. “It couldn’t mean more to us.”

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 Sean MacKinnon

Click here for updates on this story

    FAIRFIELD, Ohio (WLWT) — Children and adults with physical and developmental disabilities came together in Cincinnati this weekend for a special Miracle League baseball series.

The Joe Nuxhall Miracle League hosted the event, which drew families from New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, Iowa, and Pittsburgh. Organizers said the series not only made history but also created meaningful experiences for the participants.

“It was just very fun to play with some miracle leaguers that aren’t usually on my team,” said 8-year-old Sam Dwenger from Loveland, who showcased his speed during the event.

Tyler Bradshaw, executive director of The Nuxhall Foundation, emphasized the importance of the league for families.

“I think for the longest time, these families didn’t have a place where they could play, didn’t have a league specifically built for them,” Bradshaw said. “Events like this show not only do they have a place they belong physically, they have a larger community of people across the country who are living life just like they are.”

The series brought together 160 athletes and their families, with the Nuxhall Foundation and Reds legend Sean Casey teaming up to make it happen. Casey’s Clubhouse, an adaptive sports team from Pittsburgh, was one of the groups participating.

The event included a skills combine, giving participants a chance to play and connect.

Organizers noted the emotional impact on parents, many of whom were told their children would never play sports. Watching their kids defy the odds often brought tears to their eyes.

Organizers estimated that 200 volunteers helped make the Miracle League possible.

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 Pepper Purpura

Click here for updates on this story

    ALTOONA, Iowa (KCCI) — More than a dozen Democratic candidates took the stage Sunday at the Iowa Democratic Party’s annual Liberty and Justice Celebration, delivering a largely unified message: winning back Iowa starts with focusing on the cost of everyday life.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg headlined the event at Prairie Meadows, where candidates for governor, U.S. Senate, Congress and statewide office framed affordability as the issue they believe can reconnect the party with voters after disappointing results in the 2024 presidential election.

But beyond campaign speeches, the gathering also highlighted Iowa’s renewed importance to national Democrats.

One of the night’s biggest applause lines came from Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rob Sand, who made a clear governing promise:

“I want us to put 100% of our time into the things that impact 100% of Iowans,” Sand told the crowd. “So I’m going to veto every culture war bill that you put on my desk.”

Sand framed the pledge as part of his broader argument that Iowa government should focus on affordability, the economy, public schools and government accountability instead of divisive social legislation.

That message echoed throughout the evening.

U.S. Senate candidate Josh Turek spoke about parents “working multiple jobs just to make ends meet.” Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Dave Muhlbauer pointed to Iowa’s struggling farm economy, while congressional candidate Lindsay James described families choosing between paying rent and putting food on the table.

Buttigieg’s appearance carried significance beyond serving as the event’s keynote speaker.

The former South Bend, Indiana, mayor vaulted onto the national political stage in Iowa during the 2020 Democratic presidential caucuses. Then a little-known mayor, Buttigieg narrowly won the caucuses over a field that included several governors and U.S. senators, launching a presidential campaign that ultimately led to his appointment as transportation secretary in President Joe Biden’s administration.

His return also comes as speculation continues about a possible 2028 presidential campaign. While Buttigieg declined to discuss his political future with KCCI, he said his focus remains on helping Democrats compete in the 2026 midterms.

“Any decision about that has to come after we deal with what’s on our plate right now,” he said. “(The midterms) are going to decide what health care costs, whether housing comes back within reach, the price of groceries, whether we stay in this war. So I’m very focused on that. Future things can come in the future, but there’s one thing at a time.”

He said Iowa’s elections could help shape the future of the Democratic Party nationally.

“If Iowa wins, people across the country are going to learn from what Iowa does.”

The renewed attention comes as Iowa Democrats are also trying to convince the Democratic National Committee to restore the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential caucus status for 2028.

The DNC removed Iowa from the front of its presidential nominating calendar ahead of the 2024 election following the reporting failures that delayed results in the 2020 caucuses, replacing it with South Carolina. Since then, Iowa Democrats have argued the party needs to campaign in Midwestern states like Iowa if it hopes to rebuild support among rural and working-class voters.

Since then, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and other Democratic leaders have campaigned in Iowa, underscoring the party’s renewed focus on the state.

The Democratic Party’s own post-2024 review concluded it must reconnect with rural and working-class voters, a message repeatedly echoed Sunday.

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said national Democrats are already investing in Iowa’s campaigns.

After the event, Hart said the party is “already getting some help in some races” and expects additional national support as the election approaches. She also highlighted the party’s growing ground operation, saying Democrats have dozens of organizers working across the state and field offices continuing to open.

During her remarks to attendees, Hart called this year’s Liberty and Justice Celebration the best attended since 2019 and said Iowa Democrats have assembled their strongest statewide ticket “in a generation.” She also pointed to the party’s coordinated campaign, with organizers and county leadership working in all 99 counties.

For many attendees, Buttigieg’s return to Iowa felt personal. Campaign merch from his 2020 caucus run could be spotted throughout the venue.

Joe Trout of Cedar Rapids and Carmen Armstrong of Indianola both volunteered for Buttigieg’s 2020 caucus campaign and came to Altoona wearing campaign shirts from that race.

The pair said they wanted to hear from Buttigieg again but also welcomed seeing national Democrats return to Iowa after the national party pulled away from the state.

“I think people are hungry to see big names in Iowa again,” Trout said. “We’ve got good candidates in our state… but we need national candidates to have a good cleanup.”

Armstrong said the visits reinforce that Iowa’s candidates are drawing national attention.

“I think it just confirms the national recognition of the kind of candidates that we have in the state of Iowa,” she said.

Republicans rejected Democrats’ argument that Iowa is poised for a political shift.

At the Iowa GOP’s Lincoln Dinner on Friday, Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said Republicans recognize the importance of this year’s open races for governor and U.S. Senate but remain confident Iowa will stay Republican.

“We’re a red state, but we’re not going to rest on our laurels,” Kaufmann said. “We’re going to work for every single solitary vote.”

In a statement to KCCI, Iowa GOP spokeswoman Jade Cichy criticized Democrats for featuring Buttigieg.

“Rob Sand says he’s different from national Democrats, but bringing in one of the leading voices of the Biden administration tells a different story,” Cichy said. “Instead of offering Iowans a new direction, Sand is embracing the same failed agenda on inflation, energy, and the economy that Iowa voters have already rejected.”

Despite that criticism, Democrats argued Sunday’s event reflected growing momentum heading into one of Iowa’s most consequential election years in decades, with competitive races for governor, U.S. Senate and several congressional seats that they believe could influence both the state’s future and the direction of the national Democratic Party.

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 Miya Payton

Click here for updates on this story

    OCONEE COUNTY, South Carolina (WYFF) — Sunday morning services continued at Corinth Baptist Church in Seneca following the death of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham. However, the pastor of Graham’s home church said the morning did not feel the same.

Pastor Tim Tate said the church on Old Clemson Highway holds years of memories of Graham being ministered to.

“This is where he was baptized. He professed Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior,” Tate said.

Tate said saddened hearts that weighed heavily in the congregation Sunday morning as he and members grieved Graham’s sudden death.

“It was just a shock,” Tate said. “So, he was fine. And then he just felt bad. And then things began to progress from not feeling well to — to this.

Tate said he called Graham’s sister, Darlene, early Sunday morning to share in the family’s sorrow and offer some words during the difficult time.

“God’s grace abounds, and his grace is sufficient,” Tate said. “And it will be for her, his family and our nation.”

Tate said when Graham had a break from his work in Washington, he could often be found at the church. While he was Graham’s home pastor, he said he was also his friend, often praying with him and for him.

“There’s so many voices out there and so many ways to get swayed in different directions,” Tate said. “And so I would just pray that God would speak to his heart.”

The pastor recalls the times he spent talking with Graham whether at church or over coffee in a living room. He says there was one thing that never changed.

“He loved his job, and he loved America,” Tate said. “And so, you know, we would talk about other things, but it always went back to America.”

Graham’s death will raise questions about the future of his Senate seat, but Tate does not believe that should be the immediate focus.

“I think, obviously, all of that is important, but right now, a life has been lost,” Tate said. “And I think we just have to focus on celebrating that life and supporting the family and being there for them.”

As Tate reflected on his relationship with Graham, he tried to imagine what the senator might tell others right now.

“I could hear him saying something to the effect of, you know, stay strong, keep the faith, keep fighting,” Tate said.

Tate said he did not have any details Sunday about funeral arrangements. WYFF 4 will keep you updated as we work to learn more.

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 Itay Hod

Click here for updates on this story

    SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — The secret word you say quietly after pressing a nondescript buzzer in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District doesn’t just open a door.

It opens a portal into another time, when passwords granted access to hidden rooms, and liquor flowed freely even while the law insisted otherwise.

Back then, alcohol was prohibited. Today? It’s your phone.

Inside Bourbon & Branch, a bar built inside one of the city’s original Prohibition-era speakeasies, the cocktails are stiff, the lights glow amber, and conversations happen face to face. It looks like 1924. In many ways, it feels like it too.

“We just ask that you speak easy and don’t use cell phones while you’re with us,” the hostess tells customers as she seats them, menus already in hand.

When new owners took over in 2006, they kept everything that made the place what it was, the dark wood, the amber light, the hidden doors and added one more rule: No phones.

“People are really looking for a way to engage with each other and get away from that constant need and desire to be looking at your phone,” said General Manager Anastacia Cortez.

Cortez, who admits she was one of the last people to get a smartphone and still regrets it, said the phone-free policy wasn’t a gimmick. It was a philosophy.

Turns out, Bourbon & Branch was ahead of its time.

In cities across the country, bars and restaurants are now enforcing the same rule. A 2025 survey from Talker Research found that 63% of Gen Z intentionally disconnect from their devices, making the generation that grew up online the very one now leading the charge to log off.

Addison Sutton, out for the night with friends, said putting the phone away isn’t as easy as it sounds. But the 24-year-old said he wasn’t worried about the withdrawals.

“I have alcohol to fix that,” Sutton said.

The original speakeasy, which still holds all of its original secret exits, was built so patrons could vanish if police came calling. CEO Brian Sheehy, said the no-phone rule has always been about preservation. Not just of the bar’s history, but of the experience itself.

Prohibition may be long over. But contraband, it seems, is alive and well.

First-time phone offenders get a polite reminder. Repeat offenders will get shown the exit, and not the secret one.

“When you’re trying to put on the ultimate hospitality experience, you have to minimize the number of distractions to your guests and to your colleagues,” he said. “It really come down to hospitality.”

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 Brittney Ermon

Click here for updates on this story

    GRANADA HILLS, California (KCAL, KCBS) — Workers at a Granada Hills Vons said their managers kept the grocery store open for hours with a customer’s dead body lying in an aisle.

Paszion Horner-Smith said she was working as a supervisor on July 5 when one of her customers suffered a medical emergency in the supermarket’s bakery aisle.

“It’s just something I’ve never, ever in my 27 years that I’ve worked for the company, ever encountered or dealt with,” she said.

Horner-Smith and another employee performed CPR, but the customer died.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said crews were called to the store just after 7 p.m. that night for a report of a cardiac arrest.

Horner-Smith said her corporate managers told her to cover the body with carts and umbrellas while the store remained open.

“I’m being called by someone in corporate because they’re looking at the cameras, telling me that I need to barricade the body by using carts,” she said.

Horner-Smith said the customer’s family stayed at the store for four hours until a mortuary removed their loved one from the store.

“This poor family that’s just sitting there,” Horner-Smith said. “They can’t even see their loved one. They can’t touch their loved one. They sat in the store for four hours while people continued to shop around their deceased loved one.”

UFCW Local 770 President Kathy Finn said she contacted the Albertson’s labor relations department after learning about the incident. She said the company has not responded to her questions about protocols for handling a customer’s death in the store. The union urged the company to review its emergency policies.

“This situation is just one incident of that kind of callous attitude towards the needs of the workers,” Finn said.

Horner-Smith said she’s taking a week off to recover from the incident.

“Vons, you need to do better,” she said. “You need to have some sort of policy for when someone passes away in the store. This should not have happened.”

Albertsons, the parent company of Vons, did not immediately respond to CBS LA for comment.

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 Marvin Hurst

Click here for updates on this story

    RICHARDSON, Texas (KTVT) — Mario Martinez started cutting hair when he was 15. He did not plan on it becoming a career until a few years later, when he was in college.

“Whenever I found out that I was already making more cutting hair than what I was going to college for, I was just like, yeah, I’m just going to stick to it,” he said.

In that time, Martinez has certainly seen his clientele evolve.

The first athletes in his chair were a Cowboys practice squad player and a pro boxer. Since then, his Legends Barbershop and Co. in Richardson serves players from the NBA, NFL, UFL and other sports.

Among his customers is former Dallas Cowboy Dez Bryant. He said he’s even given CeeDee Lamb a trim. In fact, Martinez said it was Lamb, as well as the son of former NBA player Robert Horry, who called him in 2023 about cutting hair for members of Real Madrid.

Martinez said he was on vacation, but he passed the opportunity off to Bryan Guardado, another barber at his business.

“He’s the one that’s a big soccer fan. I like football more than anything, but he’s the soccer guy,” Martinez said.

Guardado kept the cuts with soccer players going. Martinez said the barber travels with Spanish soccer phenom Lamine Yamal, and was in Los Angeles for Friday’s match between Spain and Belgium.

Martinez got in on the action, too. He had just moved into a new home with his wife and children last month when a call came to him.

“The national team of Sweden actually was asking around for a barber, and my name came up,” Martinez said.

He dropped everything and started cutting the hair of players he didn’t know. What he does know, however, is how to cut hair.

“It is mainly just professionalism. I feel like that’s one of the most important things, and just professionalism, consistency,” he said. “Some people overthink it. But in my opinion, it’s just, stay consistent, just do the job. That’s it.”

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 Barry Pintar

Click here for updates on this story

    SHALER, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — A paralyzed dog named Gandalf ran away from his home in Shaler after Fourth of July fireworks spooked him. But he was found thanks to a woman who volunteers her time to find lost pets, and the heartwarming reunion with his mom was caught on camera.

Amelia Breitenbach of Pittsburgh Drone Pet Search and Rescue was called to help after early fireworks on July Fourth scared Gandalf. His owner looked for him all night into the early morning but couldn’t find him. Breitenbach soon arrived and jumped into action, launching her drone.

Gandalf was found in a ravine about six houses away, scared, shaking and covered in leaves. He had been out there through a night of fireworks and thunderstorms. A video of Gandalf reuniting with his mom went viral, with nearly 8 million views.

“I have no words to express my gratitude and love for Amelia,” Gandalf’s mom wrote in a Facebook post. “Her generosity and selflessness on a holiday, no less, are why I have my baby boy back with me today. While this story started as a nightmare, it ended with joy and relief. Gandalf could not have come home on his own even if he tried. Only having his front legs, he could not make it out of that ravine.”

While Breitenbach uses her drone to find lost pets, her instincts are even more important. She’s been doing this for years — and she does it for free.

“So they call me and I go out free of charge to them,” Breitenbach said, adding she spends “pretty much 24/7 doing this.”

Government agencies, police agencies and fire departments often call upon her, and she helps them for free too. Remember the cows that got loose on Interstate 279? Police called in Breitenbach to keep track of them. Perhaps her most famous case: the carjacking of an 87-year-old veteran with Lucky the dog still inside the car. Lucky was never found but Breitenbach jumped into action, actually driving to North Carolina to help in the search.

And though Lucky has still not been located, a Facebook group posted just a few days ago saying they’re not giving up. And luckily for them, Breitenbach is ready to fly into action if need be.

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 Carmela Karcher

Click here for updates on this story

    LODI, California (KOVR) — After long hours caring for patients at San Joaquin General Hospital, LaCrissa Black was finally enjoying a day off.

She was relaxing with her kids at Lodi Lake Beach on Thursday afternoon when she heard the lifeguard whistle.

“I looked back and a lady had fallen. I believe she more so collapsed,” Black shared. “I ran over. People were trying to help her, talk to her, but the way it looked, it was a little more severe.”

Without hesitation, Black’s day in the water called for skills she uses when she’s in her scrubs.

“She was not breathing,” she explained. “We put her on her back. I started CPR. I instructed someone to give breaths while I was doing CPR.”

A woman was in the middle of a medical emergency. She had no pulse and a deep gash on her forehead. Instantly, Black and others rushed to help.

“It was a hard sight to see,” Black said. “I was basically just directing everyone on what to do. A lot of people didn’t really know what to do. They were trying their best to help.”

The woman regained a pulse but was still unresponsive. She was then quickly taken to the nearest hospital by first responders.

The city decided to give the lifeguards a day to recuperate on Friday, prompting the beach to close for the day.

“It just came natural to me. I was just happy to be there to help because it was it was critical,” Black shared.

A community coming together to help one another.

“I thank everyone for their support,” Black continued. “It’s weird to me because I just jumped in and did what anyone would do. We have been praying for her and her family. We pray that she is okay and her family is okay. Just hope for the best.”

CBS Sacramento reached out to the city of Lodi to speak with the fire department and lake employees, but they said they were unavailable today.

In terms of the woman’s condition, the city said they are still waiting for an update.

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.