Category: CNN Regional

By Madilyn Destefano

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    APOPKA, Florida (WESH) — Two people found dead in an Apopka general store on Friday were part of a murder-suicide, police confirmed on Monday afternoon.

It was a brother and a sister.

The Apopka Police Department conducted a death investigation after responding to Griffin General Store at 262 W. Michael Gladden Boulevard at around 8:55 p.m., and finding the siblings deceased.

According to investigators, the suspect fatally shot his sister before he died by suicide.

The victims were later identified as Schneita and Ezra Swift.

“Evidence collected at the scene, witness statements and forensic findings confirm that this was an isolated domestic violence incident between family members,” Apopka police said in a news release Monday.

The Apopka Police Department encourages anyone experiencing domestic violence or family conflict to seek support via the following resources:

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

People who live and work in the area say the victims were well known in the community.

The owner of the store said one of the victims, Schneita Swift, previously worked at the business.

A small memorial has grown outside the store as friends and neighbors try to process the loss.

“She was a sweet girl. Her brother was a sweet dude. They didn’t bother anyone,” said Kizzy Ward, a longtime friend of the family. “They were just lovable people.”

Ward said she has known the siblings for years and is hoping their family finds peace.

“It’s hurtful,” Ward said. “You’re here today, gone tomorrow. I just saw him walking the other day.”

The daughter of one of the victims told WESH 2 she was too emotional to speak on camera but shared photos of her mother and uncle.

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 Britt Leoni

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    FORT MYERS, Florida (WBBH) — At Gerri Zoppa’s home in Fort Myers, her dining room table doubles as her easel, covered in art supplies.

“You can never have enough brushes,” said Gerri.

“These are beautiful shells that came from Sanibel,” said Gerri. “I start with the sky.”

Gerri started selling her art years ago, supplementing her income after retiring, until one day, when she was forced to stop.

“When you have 6 feet of water in the house, the damage is incredible,” said Gerri. “I lost my car, my home, and all of my art supplies. To see everything destroyed, including the art I had just hung on the walls. It just breaks your heart.”

Although Gerri was suffering, her community, including her friends at the Fort Myers Beach Art Association, refused to let her do it alone.

“My friends came to my rescue. They not only gave me supplies, but they gave me gift cards that I could buy from art studios and art stores,” said Gerri. “I just couldn’t thank them enough. They were… they were there for me.”

Gerri’s able to keep creating as she’s surrounded by like-minded artists, and sell the shells she hopes inspire others to love our Gulf Coast.

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 Brett Rains

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    CLARKSVILLE, Arkansas (KHBS, KHOG) — Hayden Dougan, a recovery coordinator at Next Step Recovery Housing in Clarksville, is removing a swastika tattoo he regretted getting after his parole in 2015 as part of his journey to recovery from addiction and incarceration.

Dougan, who struggled with addiction for 15 years and spent significant time in prison, said, “I really thought that I would die in my disease. I never saw any hope of getting clean.”

Dougan’s addiction included fentanyl and methamphetamine, and he described himself as someone who would abuse any substance that altered his mind.

“When I was in prison, COVID was going on, my father passed away and left me about a half-million dollars. And when I got out, I just went crazy. I got all this money, and within about a year-and-a-half, almost two years, I was basically homeless. The home that I did have had no water, no electricity, eviction notice on the door,” he said.

Reflecting on the tattoo, Dougan said, “You know, at the moment I got it, I regretted it, you know, but I was willing to fit in and be a part of something that I had no idea about or even believed in.”

He noted the discomfort it caused in social situations, saying, “We’d go to the swimming pool, or I’d be around family or kids even, and then have to remove my shirt. And, you know, I got a lot of crazy looks and stuff, and a lot of people were standoffish, you know, as they should be.”

After pleading guilty to fentanyl and other drug-related charges in 2024, Dougan faced a fifth prison term but was instead allowed to participate in Next Step Recovery Housing through an alternative sentencing program.

Jimmy McGill, executive director and co-founder of Next Step Recovery Housing, emphasized the importance of addressing core issues rather than just incarcerating individuals.

“We have people reaching out from all over the country trying to get here,” McGill said. “If we just lock people up and let them go without addressing the core issues, they’re going to do the only thing they know how to do — come home, get high and re-offend.”

Dougan has been the recovery coordinator for 18 months, overseeing 65 residents. He is now removing the tattoo with the help of a business sponsor, though the process requires at least 10 more sessions.

During the first appointment, McGill said, “We’re getting that swastika off your stomach this morning,” to which Dougan replied, “Yes, we are.”

Dougan expressed his changed perspective, saying, “I’m in a position today to where I don’t see color. I don’t see anything other than just going back into the same fires that I spent so long in and pulling people out.”

McGill added, “He has rebuilt himself from the inside out. He was never even affiliated with a hate group.”

Reflecting on his journey, Dougan said, “I never thought that I would be here today, you know, I never could see anything other than death or prison. And today, if you would ask me, two years ago, that I would be sitting in front of a news camera talking about my life today, I would basically look at you and call you crazy and say that that would never be 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 David Collins

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    MIDDLE RIVER, Maryland (WBAL) — Maryland officials are seeking federal disaster relief for the state’s oyster industry due to ice.

There is a bounty of oysters in the Chesapeake Bay, but oystermen can’t access them because of icy conditions, as well as other factors that include less demand and pollution concerns. The prolonged subfreezing temperatures have left much of the bay iced over, which officials said is part of the reason for the collapse of this year’s oyster season.

Sen. Johnny Mautz IV, R-District 37, whose district encompasses much of the Middle Eastern Shore, is supporting U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, R-District 1, in a push for a federal disaster relief declaration for Maryland’s oyster industry.

“What we’re facing right now is the likes of something that has not occurred throughout my lifetime,” Mautz told WBAL-TV 11 News. “A disaster relief that would also provide financial relief for loans and things of that nature. That alone would provide a lot of help for the individuals who are trying to figure out how to weather this storm, if you will. You know, they’re trying to figure out how to pay their bills.”

The congressman’s office released a statement on Wednesday, saying: “Severe weather this year, combined with shrinking market access and increased competition, left many crews effectively tied to the dock, with watermen able to fish for just one or two days all season. These pressures threaten both livelihoods and a major sector of the Eastern Shore economy. For that reason, I am urging (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to approve a federal disaster declaration because immediate disaster relief is necessary to help watermen recover from the financial losses caused by this season.”

Oyster boats typically go out five days a week, but the subfreezing temperatures and ice reduced that opportunity to one to two days. Although there’s a bounty of oysters in the bay, the demand for Maryland oysters has changed.

Oystermen are dealing with consumer health concerns about local oysters as cleanup continues from a massive pipe burst that dumped millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River, which is a bay tributary.

Taste is something oystermen have no control over. Ryleigh’s Oyster in Timonium offers a variety of oysters to suit consumer tastes, and “essence of the sea” flavored ones are a customer favorite, but those come from out of state.

“If you go a little bit north — Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine — you are going to get that ‘essence of the sea’ we just talked about in the brininess and the liquor, they call it, in the oyster shell,” said Joe Gold, a shift manager at Ryleigh’s Oyster.

Phil Kearney, a customer, devoured five dozen of them.

“I do like the saltiness. I do like where the taste smells like the ocean to know I am exactly getting some seafood,” Kearney told WBAL-TV 11 News.

Maryland officials still await a decision from federal officials on the disaster relief request.

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 Jenyne Donaldson

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    BALTIMORE (WBAL) — Frances Ellen Watkins Harper is a name that people may or may not have heard before.

The Baltimore-native was born born in Baltimore in 1825 and fought for voting rights, women’s rights and an end to slavery. Harper was a poet, abolitionist, suffragist and writer who believed strongly in freedom and equality.

Harper wrote a poem while watching chained slaves being sold at the Inner Harbor. She was a social justice advocate, prominent poet and writer, and she traveled the country, lecturing on anti-slavery.

“She’s (going to) ride the circuit of being abolitionist and being very outspoken. She even writes for the ‘AME Recorder,’ which is one of their newspapers as well, and she serialized one of her novels in that paper as well. So, she was very clear on writing her story, telling stories and really giving voice to Black women’s experiences in the situation of being free, female and African American,” said Ida Jones, the associate director of special collections at Morgan State University.

Harper was a survivor who was orphaned at 3 years old, widowed and preceded in death by her daughter. Her legacy lives on through her novels, short stories and poetry. She was the first published African American woman in the U.S., writing a book of poetry in the 1840s.

“Where is the physical copy? They could not find it,” Jones told WBAL-TV 11 News.

Jones said scholars spent decades searching for Harper’s works. The treasure hunt ended when a Ph.D. student discovered the book tucked inside another book at the Maryland Center for History and Culture.

“Lo and behold, a Ph.D. student working in some obscure collection found this book in the collection,” Jones told WBAL-TV 11 News. “Eyes (were) popping out of everyone’s head because it existed. It was printed in 1845. Where are the majority of African Americans in 1845? They are enslaved.”

Harper was heavily involved in the women’s suffrage movement until she delivered a speech in 1867 that caused great division.

“She talks about (how) we’re bound up together, and she says, ‘I don’t believe white women are just dew drops that hail from heaven. They’re the good, bad and the ugly, and they will vote according to those categories. So, if the vote comes down to women or men, then let the men have the vote because African American women have no voice in politics,'” Jones said.

Harper was cast out and scrubbed from the movement’s history. She founded multiple organizations, including the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, and spent the rest of her life fighting for equality, leaving her mark in Baltimore, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

“We need to put a face and a name to these ‘chattel’ who are called property. We need to put a face and a name to this woman who is the wife, daughter, mother of sans her individuality. So, when we start to put identity and dimension to these things, then now all of a sudden we realize we’re richer together, and that is what we’d learned from her,” Jones told WBAL-TV 11 News.

Harper’s works are on display at the Maryland Center for History and Culture.

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By Emily Pofahl

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    PORT WASHINGTON, Wisconsin (WISN) — A Port Washington couple is dealing with near-constant mud and dust covering their home along Highway LL, blown over, they say, from Vantage’s new AI data center being constructed across the street.

The nearly 700-acre data center campus, which broke ground in December, will house OpenAI and Oracle and is set to be completed in 2028.

Mary Deheck, who lives across the highway, said since construction started, the dust is “never-ending” on windy days.

“It’s blowing in the windows, blowing in every crack and crevice,” Deheck said. “I laid towels on all the windows because I’d dust, and I’d be done in two rooms, and then I’d have to come back and start again.”

The data center is situated along I-43 between Highland and Lake Drives. City of Port Washington Mayor Ted Neitzke has championed the data center as an opportunity to bring revenue into the city and avoid cutting services. Initially, Vantage will build on nearly 700 acres of the 1,900-acre campus owned by the data center company.

Deheck, now 80 years old, said she has lived in her home her whole life.

The dirt and noise from construction have kept her indoors. She’s concerned that breathing in excess dust will impact her health.

“I don’t have the window open anymore,” she said. “You can hear the dump trucks and the backup beepers. That you can hear all day long.”

Vantage, in a statement Monday to WISN 12 News, said that crews are mitigating dust by spraying water on loose dirt and deploying sweeper trucks.

“Our team will investigate this particular concern further to determine any additional measures we can potentially put in place to eliminate the inconvenience for this resident,” the company said.

Deheck has contacted the Department of Natural Resources about the dust issue, and a representative informed her that they were already aware of the problem. WISN 12 News reached out to the Wisconsin DNR for more information about dust mitigation, but has yet to hear back.

Meanwhile, Deheck is shouldering the extra costs for cleaning supplies and car washes, which, she said, is challenging on a fixed income.

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By KCCI staff

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    STORY COUNTY, Iowa (KCCI) — Officials with the Story County Sheriff’s Office say they used a drone to find a man who needed help over the weekend.

The man called 911 after falling into a ravine near the Greenbelt Trail, south of Story City, according to a post on the Story County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. The injured caller said he couldn’t stand, and he needed help.

Story County deputies put a drone in the air to find his exact location. Once they did, emergency responders treated him at the scene and transported him to a local hospital.

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 Christine Sloan

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    NEW JERSEY (WCBS) — A New Jersey pilot and his co-pilot have been jailed in a West African country for almost six weeks after landing there to refuel.

CBS News New York’s Christine Sloan spoke to both men on the phone on Monday.

Ewing resident Fabio Espinal Nunez has years of experience as a pilot, but the 33-year-old said nothing could prepare him for the terrifying ordeal when members of the Republic of Guinea military forced their way onto the plane he and co-pilot Brad Schlenker had landed in order to refuel.

“There were around 100 Army people and they were pointing AK-47s at us and talking in French, which we do not know,” Nunez said.

“More like screaming in French,” Schlenker added.

Speaking from the prison they are being held at, Nunez and Schlenker described what sounds like a scene out of a movie.

“Around four to five heavily armored vehicles pointing guns at us and saying that we need to go to the ground, we need to go to the ground,” Nunez said.

Nunez was flying a Brazilian family from Suriname to Dubai on a private plane. The flight log given to CBS News New York shows they had clearance to land, but the government still charged them with violating Guinean airspace.

“We’ve got the transcripts of the radio transmissions, all clearly revealing the fact that we were innocent and ambushed,” Schlenker said.

“The military is taking over the government there, and for whatever reason the civil government is allowing their release and the military is not,” said Lauren Stevenson, Espinal’s fiancé.

Stevenson said three judges from the civil government have cleared the men, who are scheduled to be in court in the coming weeks, but the hope is the U.S. government will get them out before then. She said she is asking the Trump administration to step in because the embassy in the Republic of Guinea isn’t doing much.

“We’re begging for their release. I mean, this has been over a month. We’re scared,” Stevenson said.

“Mr. Trump, can you please come down here and get us out of here?” Schlenker said.

CBS News New York reached out to the State Department, but did not immediately get a response. Congresswoman Bonne Watson Coleman’s office said it is looking into the pilots’ plight, but Nunez said he’s losing hope.

“Hopeless and helpless, too,” Nunez said.

“It has been terrible here,” Schlenker said.

CBS News New York also reached out to the Republic of Guinea’s mission in New York. Representatives said they’d get back to us soon.

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By Hannah Kliger

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    NEW YORK (WCBS) — When Lady Gaga strutted onto the Super Bowl halftime stage alongside Bad Bunny in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday, a New York City designer and his friends were back home cheering at the television.

Raul López, the Brooklyn-based creative director behind fashion label LUAR, designed Gaga’s salsa-inspired dress for the big game between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, marking a career milestone rooted in his Caribbean heritage.

“It was an iconic, historic moment just to be part of and to represent the Caribbean. And being Latino and an immigrant was really amazing,” López said.

López said Gaga’s team initially reached out for a secret, salsa-inspired project.

“We actually didn’t know it was for the Super Bowl, which is funny. But they came up, they hit me up, and they were like, hey, Gaga is doing a salsa number and we would love for you to make a dress,” he said.

Born and raised in the Los Sures section of Williamsburg to parents from the Dominican Republic, López said his upbringing continues to shape his work and creative voice.

“It was an amazing time, even though I was not for the faint of heart. It was a different time, but it was a beautiful urban dystopia,” he said.

Gaga’s Super Bowl performance gave López the opportunity to explore a softer, more playful aesthetic than he is often known for.

“This was like an amazing way to, like, show that side of me that is kind of vulnerable. And I think maybe I’ve shunned away so long because I had to make it more tough because that’s how I grew up,” López said.

The halftime show included multiple nods to Brooklyn’s Latino community.

Bad Bunny also featured Toñita, owner of the Caribbean Social Club and a Puerto Rican icon in Williamsburg, often referred to as the neighborhood’s last Latino social club.

“Amazing. It was amazing. We had a great time here looking at her at the Super Bowl. It was an epic experience,” said Jorge Espada, who works at the club.

For López, seeing Toñita on the national stage alongside his own work underscored the generational legacy of Williamsburg’s Hispanic community.

“She’s like a Williamsburg icon. For me, it was like, wow, like, this is so cool to see the different generations like her before me,” he said.

The performance broadcast to millions became a celebration of pride, resilience and representation.

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