Category: CNN Regional

By Dacia Johnson

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    MARION COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — The 17-year-old who was reported missing in Marion County last week is accused of making the entire thing up and shooting himself in the leg to cover it up.

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office on Monday shared an update in the case that has drawn a lot of attention after it was first reported the teen was taken by a group of men.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued an Amber Alert on Thursday evening for a 17-year-old. But at noon on Friday, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said the teen remained missing but that the original claim appeared to be not true.

A short time later, deputies announced the teen had been located. The Williston Police Department said officers located him in Levy County, northwest of Ocala.

FDLE said the teen might have been taken by or was in the company of four unknown males, but determined that was not true.

“The initial details that (the teen) texted to his family, were proven to be false,” Sheriff Billy Woods said in a Facebook video. “Completely made up. We did find evidence of a single gunshot where (the teen) left his truck. However, his claims that he had been shot and abducted were quickly disproven. We then learned that he had purchased a bicycle, tent and camping supplies just prior to him reporting this.”

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office shared on Thursday that it was investigating a shooting around 4 p.m. in the same location where the teen was last seen.

When deputies arrived, they located a vehicle that belonged to the teen, but he was not present.

“There were an alarming amount of red flags initially but, we also have to fully investigate until we know otherwise,” Woods said.

The sheriff’s office said the teen “rode away towards Williston while the rest of us were left to think the worst and my team was working in overdrive to solve this case.”

The sheriff went on to say:

“To continue the ruse, (the teen) who had a handgun with him since the beginning of all of this, chose to shoot himself in the leg, causing a non-life-threatening injury just prior to walking out to the roadway where he would be located by citizens in Williston.”

The teen could face charges, the sheriff said.

WESH 2 is not naming the teen because of his age.

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By Ava Rash

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    PITTSBURGH (WTAE) — One misdemeanor count was dismissed against a man who is facing charges after his friend fell from the outfield stands at PNC Park during a Pittsburgh Pirates game in April.

Ethan Kirkwood, 21, will go to trial on one count of furnishing alcohol to minors after police say he bought alcohol for his underage friend, Kavan Markwood, at PNC Park before Markwood fell from a balcony into right field.

Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 cameras captured the moment Kirkwood walked into court side-by-side with Markwood.

Kirkwood’s attorney, William Stockey, said it is a sad situation and described the two as brothers.

Kirkwood was originally facing two misdemeanor counts of furnishing alcohol to minors, but one of those was dismissed.

Police say video surveillance inside the ballpark shows Kirkwood purchasing two cans of Miller Lite before the Pirates took the field. Then, minutes later, video shows Kirkwood holding one beer and 20-year-old Markwood holding one as well.

Police say Kirkwood was seen on camera going back to the bar an hour later and returning to his seat with two more cans of alcohol. Then, police say Kirkwood heads back to the bar and is returning to his seat when Markwood fell 21 feet onto the field below.

Markwood was admitted to Allegheny General Hospital with severe injuries to his skull, spine, ribs, and lungs.

Kirkwood is expected back in court in November.

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By Lindsay Clein

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    CHIMNEY ROCK, North Carolina (WXII) — Helene forever changed Western North Carolina.

For one Chimney Rock neighborhood, in particular, it’s also changing what kind of wildlife can be spotted there.

One man in Chimney Rock says bears have been coming onto his property since the storm, after their food sources were washed into his neighborhood.

“Oh, I saw it all happen,” Bob ‘The Cowboy’ Graham said.

The day Helene hit remains fresh in his mind.

“It happened just like that,” Graham said.

The damage came quickly. The swift waters and strong winds brought so many rocks and trees to his backyard.

“The storm uncovered all of this,” he said, as he pointed to piles of debris.

Not only were remnants from nature swept downstream, but also food sources for wildlife.

“I haven’t seen Bigfoot,” Graham said. “I’ve seen plenty of bears, though.”

Since the storm, bears have been coming onto his property.

“Little Bit has no fear of them,” Graham said of his dog. “She goes right after them.”

His dog, named Little Bit, has no problem chasing the bears away.

“I think they wait in the shadows and wait until we leave,” Graham said.

This wasn’t so much a problem prior to the storm.

“All the people’s refrigerators and restaurants– all their food and debris ended up here,” Graham said. “And since there were no people here, the bears were coming down and eating large.”

Now, the bears are used to finding food there.

“So they’ve gotten used to coming down here,” Graham said. “And now that people are coming back, neighbors have been seeing them, too.”

From bear sightings to bear carvings, he’s using scraps from the extra trees and debris for some good.

“We had so many trees end up here in the backyard,” Graham said. “And Josh started carving tree spirit animals and people into them.”

His friend Josh has been using the remnants from the storm to scrap together carvings for decor. A sign of resilience after the storm.

“And he goes, ‘I wanna make sure people know there’s good going on here,'” Graham said. “It’s not all devastation. Let’s show there’s beauty that survived.”

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By Tia Maggio

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    SAVANNAH, Georgia (WJCL) — A Savannah teenager is making national medical history after surviving a surgery so rare that only one other person in the country has ever recovered well enough to leave the hospital.

18-year-old Andrew Miles, a recent high school graduate, was born with acute systolic heart failure — a condition that leaves the heart too weak to pump blood.

For years, doctors told his family a transplant wasn’t possible. Many turned him away. That changed when he met Dr. Mani Daneshmand, one of the inventors of the HeartMate 6 LVAD, a mechanical pump designed to replace the function of the failing heart.

“He took Andrew when nobody else would,” Amy Miles, Andrew’s mom, said, “It was our last resort – and he gave him a chance to live.”

Dr. Daneshmand explained how the breakthrough device worked in Andrew’s case.

“We used two pumps – one acting as the left ventricle, and one as the right – to provide him with all the blood flow he needed,” Dr. Daneshmand said.

The procedure is so complex that only a handful of hospitals in the country can perform it. Out of all the patients who have undergone the surgery, just two — including Andrew — have survived and been discharged from the hospital.

“I give Andrew most of the credit,” Dr. Daneshmand said, “He’s an incredibly strong young man who fought hard.”

For Miles, it’s more than a medical milestone — it’s a second chance at life.

“Nothing’s impossible,” Miles said, “At the end of the day, everything is going to work out. No matter the odds, just keep going.”

Andrew’s only limitation now is that he can’t swim. But he says he’s focused on moving forward — planning to get a service dog and making up for lost time with friends.

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By Justin Berger

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    FAIRVIEW, North Carolina (WLOS) — A Fairview couple is counting their blessings despite losing a home to flooding along the Swannanoa River during Hurricane Helene.

“That’s sobering, to watch your house float away,” Stephen Todd said.

Before the Swannanoa River lifted the home located at 27 Driftwood Court off its foundation, it belonged to Todd’s father. When he died in the 1990s, Todd stayed, and a few years later, he met his wife, Theresa.

“After a three-week courtship, we got engaged, and in an additional five weeks, we were married,” Stephen Todd said.

Their first child was born in that home before the Todds moved to Fairview in the mid-90s. His stepmom remained in the home until shortly before Hurricane Hlene, but when the river rose, luckily, their home was vacant.

“I don’t know if I fully understand why it makes me sad because I haven’t lived there in a long time, we haven’t been there, but there are significant events,” Stephen Todd said. “We have pictures of our wedding rehearsal and the house that my father died in.”

Eleven houses were lost on Driftwood Court, and one man, Lyn McFarland, lost his life.

When the water settled, it was a mess of mud, trees and debris, but memories survived.

“I had a car down there, an old 1969 Mercedes and I ended up giving that to one of the people that helped us and in the process of cleaning the mud out of it he found a Bible that we had in there that had two pictures of us, one from our wedding day and one, we think, was at the one-year mark when we were eating the top of the wedding cake,” Todd said.

The Todds gave the car to the two volunteers from Calvary Chapel in Philadelphia.

“They opened the pages of the Bible and dried each page out very carefully and extracted these and carefully preserved them for us,” Theresa Todd said.

It turned out the pictures weren’t just inside the Bible, but “they have become part of the Bible itself.”

Their wedding photo is clearly visible behind the text.

“It’s from the Book of John. Chapters 12 and 13. Jesus washing the Disciples’ feet,” Theresa Todd said. “To me, that was a representation and confirmation of God’s protection over our marriage.”

Today, the scars of Hurricane Helene are still visible on the pine trees from where homes collided into them.

Stephen said he isn’t sure what they’ll do on his father’s property, but after 34 years of marriage, the Todds are treasuring every memory.

They’ll preserve this one in a frame and Bible verse.

“We’re not sure which one of us put the picture in the Bible, and it’s really irrelevant; we’re thankful to have found them,” Stephen said.

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By Mary Eber

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    ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Maryland (WJZ) — Northeast High School seniors, in Anne Arundel County, thought Monday morning’s assembly was for them to learn about the college scholarship tool BigFuture, which they did, but the main purpose was to announce a $40,000 scholarship for one lucky senior.

That senior was Zhane Wiggins, and she was already on stage along with her fellow cheerleaders when the news that she was awarded $40,000 was announced.

BigFuture rewards Anne Arundel County student:

They kicked off the assembly with a cheer, and then the College Board of Maryland’s State and Strategic Partnerships Director, Joi Jones, gave a presentation about BigFuture. She shared how it’s a tool students can use to explore careers, plan for college, and search for scholarships.

Jones went on to tell seniors in the crowd that since 2019, hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of scholarships have been given away to students across the country.

In fact, students can earn entries to win $500 and $40,000 scholarships just by making an account and using the site, BigFuture.

“You won a $40,000 scholarship”

Jones said $500 scholarships had already gone to eight students in Anne Arundel County, but she said they’ve never had a winner from Northeast High School, until Monday.

“Is Zhane Wiggins, I think she’s on the stage, right? Jones asked. “Zhane, why don’t you walk up and join us?”

“She said my name and I was like, like I just completely froze,” Wiggins told WJZ after the assembly.

Jones announced, “Unfortunately, I’m not going to tell you, you won $500. You did not win $500. You won a $40,000 scholarship from BigFuture.”

Overjoyed mother:

The crowd erupted in cheers, and teens started chanting, “MVP, MVP, MVP!”

The most shocked in the crowd was Wiggins’ mom, Lakeshia Major, who, just like her daughter, had no clue this announcement was coming. She could be seen wiping tears away from her eyes after the news was shared.

“The audience heard me, I was like *gasps*, and then they said the amount,” said Major. “I just said, ‘Oh my God, oh my God.’ I started crying.”

Major was asked to come to the high school to provide feedback on the cheerleading program. She was told she’d be joined by other cheer parents, and while she was there, she could also attend the assembly to see her daughter perform.

By using BigFuture, Wiggins gained entries for the lottery to win scholarships in the monthly drawings. She had recently used the site to build a scholarship list after her teacher, Ms. Parker, showed her students during class.

“I was thinking that we have to start applying for scholarships,” Major said. “It’s senior year, we need to start looking at them. [I] didn’t know Ms. Parker was doing it for us. Much easier, but definitely, definitely amazing. What a blessing.”

“I was so shocked”

When Wiggins heard her name, she said she just froze. “I was so shocked, I was not expecting it at all,” she said.

She’s thinking about studying to become a physical therapist.

“It goes to show how much hard work pays off for students,” said Jones. “She did what she was supposed to do and she got the reward as a result.”

BigFuture has $4 billion worth of scholarships on the platform, along with their lottery scholarship drawings.

Any high school sophomore, junior or senior is eligible to win scholarship money through BigFuture during monthly drawings just for using the platform. You can learn more about BigFuture and start using it by visiting their website.

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Kevin Harrington
7-9473

By Sara Tenenbaum

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    Illinois (WBBM) — A quick response from Arlington Heights police helped catch as slow-moving culprit.

The owners of a 60-pound tortoise initially posted to a Palatine Facebook page that their pet had gone missing Saturday afternoon. The owner said he was last seen near Wilkie and Oakton.

Arlington Heights police posted a day later they had received a report of a large tortoise on the loose. They were able to respond quickly and found the runaway reptile near a peach tree, chowing down on peaches.

After he was done enjoying his snack, the officers captured him and reunited him with his owners.

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WBBM

By Sara Tenenbaum

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    Illinois (WBBM) — A quick response from Arlington Heights police helped catch as slow-moving culprit.

The owners of a 60-pound tortoise initially posted to a Palatine Facebook page that their pet had gone missing Saturday afternoon. The owner said he was last seen near Wilkie and Oakton.

Arlington Heights police posted a day later they had received a report of a large tortoise on the loose. They were able to respond quickly and found the runaway reptile near a peach tree, chowing down on peaches.

After he was done enjoying his snack, the officers captured him and reunited him with his owners.

Please note: 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.