Category: CNN Regional

By Matteo Iadonisi

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    PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Neighbors in Fairmount have turned an Eagles mural into a community-wide get-well card for Jalen Hurts.

It was facilitated by the mural’s artist, Bill Strobel, who left some chalk on the sidewalk for passersby.

Strobel created the mural after the first Hurts-era Super Bowl in 2023. At that time, he remembers fans writing thank you messages on the wall despite the loss.

A few years and one Super Bowl win later, Jalen Hurts now faces a new challenge: his health.

After Hurts’ diagnosis with blood clots, Strobel placed a makeshift bandage on the mural.

Then, the get-well wishes started coming.

In just a few days, the wall has been flooded with warm messages written by fans in chalk.

On the other hand, some fans have turned to writing personal letters to send in the mail.

A Facebook group titled, Philadelphia Eagles Fan Group, has seen an influx of posts and comments describing efforts to send letters to the Jefferson Health Training Complex.

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By Caroline Goggin

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    PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — As Philadelphia officials look to tackle the issue of rat infestations throughout the city, PETA is suggesting a new option: birth control.

In a letter penned to the mayor and city council, PETA representatives said the birth control would make the rodents infertile and prevent them from getting pregnant. The goal, PETA says, is to reduce the rat population over time.

Action News spoke with Jakob Shaw, PETA’s Manager of Strategic Initiatives.

He said his organization has already seen birth control become an important part of integrated pest management programs across the country.

“The city of Baltimore’s Department of Public Works reported this year that the pilot with rodent fertility control products was so successful that it’s being expanded citywide,” Shaw explained.

However, he said the first priority in Philadelphia, and in rat-infested spots across the country, needs to be cleaning up city streets.

“As long as people are leaving garbage to rot in alleyways and city streets, we’re basically just rolling out the red carpet for rats,” Shaw said. “Rather than a rat czar, what cities really need is a trash czar to make sure that the food and trash that’s bringing the rodents into areas in the first place is made inaccessible to them.”

Philadelphia’s Health Department declined an interview about the issue. Instead, a spokesperson released this statement:

“The Health Department does not use birth control as part of our vector control activities and have no plans to. Simply put, there’s no research to show that it works to lower rat populations. On the other hand, there is oodles of research showing that IPM, or integrated pest management, works to reduce rat populations in both the short- and long-term. In terms of integrated pest management, we work with residents to reduce the food and water supply, harborage, and hiding places, which has been proven time and again to naturally reduce the number of rats over time.”

Erica Sanchez, the owner of Roman Shield Pest Control, said the rat problem is getting worse, especially in Northeast Philadelphia.

“We have a real public health concern right now. Rats carry diseases; they spread illnesses. So we need to make sure we get this issue under control,” Sanchez said. “And bait boxes are going to be one of those treatment plans that are necessary.”

Sanchez showed Action News one of the bait boxes and explained how exactly they are used in neighborhoods throughout the city.

“So there’s a little hole on the side, and they will crawl through this,” she said. “You’re going to see here – this is poison. It’s rodenticide. So mice, rats, come inside of here, eat the bait, and then they’re going to die off.”

Sanchez said it typically takes four to 10 days for rats to die after ingesting the poison.

She said while people express concern about using the bait boxes, they are currently the most common and effective way to reduce the rat population.

However, she said using birth control could be a solid long-term solution to address the issue.

“I’m open to the idea more for long-term prevention. It’s not going to do anything for us today. It’s not going to solve the immediate issue at hand right now,” she said. “That birth control, it’s going to take months, years before we can see any effect with it.”

Right now, she said the city needs to collaborate with residents to conquer the problem with a combination of trapping, baiting and birth control. The key, according to Sanchez, is for people to seal up entry points to their homes and to make sure their trash and food are inaccessible.

“We have to consider what is making these rats thrive. What are the sources keeping them alive? And then we need to go and eradicate those sources.”

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By Jaysha Patel

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    QUEENS, New York (WABC) — A 6-year-old girl is recovering in the hospital after she was struck by falling bricks while playing outside in Maspeth.

The incident happened just after 7:30 p.m. Thursday near 59-01 Maspeth Avenue.

A family friend said the building belongs to the girl’s family. The friend said the child was peeking through an opening to wave at her father, who was at the construction site, when the bricks fell on her.

She was taken to the hospital with a head laceration and a broken leg, but is said to be stable.

The portion of the structure that collapsed was described as a 4-by-3-foot section of the brick side facade.

The girl’s mother said she was unloading groceries from a car when she heard her daughter scream. The father also witnessed the incident from behind a fence,

“A very scary situation. She was crying. Her leg is broken and she needs surgery,” the girl’s mother said. “She was under the big one, it was very heavy. She’s been walking here everyday because we live here.”

The city’s Department of Buildings responded and is investigating. Inspectors were seen taking photos of the building as part of their investigation.

As a result of the partial collapse, DOB issued a violation to the property owner for failure to maintain the garage building.

Police officers also searched the sidewalk with flashlights as they worked to determine what caused the debris to fall.

The girl is expected to undergo surgery for her leg on Friday.

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By Brian Hickey

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    SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — At 86, Gary Matranga is still chasing speed records—at more than 300 mph.

The Sacramento driver and his team set two records this summer at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats in a highly modified 1966 Barracuda. Matranga raised his own record in the gas division by 17 mph, reaching 308 mph.

Then the team entered the car in the fuel division, where it faced competitors running on nitromethane and alcohol. Matranga’s car reached 310 mph, topping a record that had stood at 305 mph for eight years.

When asked how long he’s been obsessed with speed, Matranga said, “Almost all my life, I’m 86.”

While the salt flats are known for miles of seemingly smooth surface, Matranga says the ride is quite violent at first, “It’s a handful of work sometimes.”

About halfway down the five-mile track, he says the car stabilizes but continues to drift, requiring constant input.

“About 2.5 miles, it kind of settles down with the air force and then at 300 mph it still moves around, the car moves around quite a bit. When we pull the shoots it really pulls off,” said Matranga.

The Barracuda is powered by a twin-turbocharged Hemi engine with more than 500 cubic inches of displacement and over 2,400 horsepower. Matranga’s team believes that with a few tweaks to the engine, it could reach 340 mph, though the car’s performance depends on the condition of the salt.

“It’s all about reading the salt. Sometimes the salt won’t take the power. We have to keep taking horsepower out of it and Gary has to drive it harder. Other times, the salt is very grippy and we can apply a lot more power,” said car chief Glen Hutchison.

The team plans to spend the winter testing the Barracuda’s engine and looking for the extra power needed to go faster.

The team works nights and weekends around their day jobs, fulfilling their need for speed, “It’s just an addiction, once we say we are going to do this, we set a goal. We have to do that,” said Hutchinson.

Matranga also has his sights on a new car called a streamliner.

A streamliner looks like a rocket with wheels lying on its side.

Matranga hopes to record his fastest speeds ever.

“The idea is to go streamliner at 400 mph,” he said.

The search is now on for a streamliner as Matranga approaches his 87th birthday and sets his sights on joining the 400-mph club.

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By Matt Flener

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    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KMBC) — A mother is asking for answers after finding her daughter’s headstone buried under weeds and grass at XII Gates Cemetery in southeast Kansas City.

Charity Hooper laid her 6-year-old daughter, Angel, to rest at the cemetery 12 years ago after she was killed in a drive-by shooting. Hooper visited the cemetery, located at 9500 E. Bannister Road, on Oct. 17, on the 12th anniversary of Angel’s death.

“This is my daughter’s tombstone,” Hooper said as she then uncovered grass and weeds from her aunt’s tombstone nearby. “Like literally, this is what I had to do to uncover my daughter’s tombstone.”

“When I came out here, I literally was dizzy,” she said. “Just walking in circles, dizzy, trying to find my baby’s tombstone.”

Hooper shared her story on social media this week, and KMBC saw mowers working at the cemetery on Thursday. However, a worker later asked KMBC 9 Investigates to leave the property following an interview with Hooper.

KMBC 9 Investigates eventually found the owner of the cemetery, Saundra McFadden-Weaver, at her office.

She attributed the overgrowth to weather-related delays.

“I’m apologizing to you, Ms. Hooper, and if you would be kind enough to give me a call, we’ll correct whatever the problem is,” McFadden-Weaver said.

Public records reviewed by KMBC 9 Investigates revealed that the cemetery owes nearly $36,000 in overdue tax bills. Additionally, Twelve Gates Incorporated, the cemetery’s owner, has been administratively dissolved by the Missouri secretary of state.

“I think that everything’s being handled with the state of Missouri,” she said. “And we are in the middle of doing all of those things that need to be done.”

Hooper continues to grieve the loss of her daughter, whom she remembers for her big heart.

She wants to make sure to continue to honor her well.

“They’re mowing today,” she said. “Hopefully they’ll keep it up.”

She is organizing a cleanup at the cemetery this Sunday at 10 a.m.

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By Allison Petro

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    ORLANDO, Florida (WESH) — A jury found a man guilty of stealing nearly $1 million in jewelry from the Mall at Millenia, according to the State Attorney’s Office.

The incident happened Feb. 26, 2025, when Jaythan Lawrence Gilder allegedly posed as a representative for an Orlando Magic player interested in purchasing jewelry at a Tiffany & Co. store.

Gilder was taken to a private room to see the jewelry.

According to the affidavit, Gilder grabbed the jewelry and fled the store, injuring an employee in the process.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers later stopped him and said Gilder swallowed the jewelry to hide the evidence.

Officials later recovered the jewelry, which they confirmed matched the stolen items.

“This verdict sends a clear message that violence and theft will not be tolerated in our community,” State Attorney Monique Worrell said in a statement.

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By Maegan Summers

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    LANCASTER, Pennsylvania (WGAL) — A 5-year-old boy with autism went missing for 15 minutes during recess at Hamilton Elementary School in Lancaster before being found in a wooded creek behind the school, according to the School District of Lancaster.

The boy’s mother, Shantilly Rivera, described the moment she learned her son, Malachi, had been found in the creek.

“I know it’s true, but I’m like, still sitting here like, nah, that didn’t happen. Like there’s no way,” Rivera said.

Malachi’s clothes were dirty and soaking wet when he was found, and he had scrapes and bruises on his legs and back, Rivera said.

“He has like scratches on his leg. Some bruises and scratches on his back,” she said.

Malachi is nonverbal, which his parents said made the situation even more frightening.

“He could have been in the water drowning and he couldn’t ask for help. He can’t scream out, someone help me, I’m drowning! Nothing. He would just drown,” Rivera said.

Malachi’s father, Ivan Rivera, said his son started attending Hamilton Elementary a month ago for its special needs program, which is supposed to provide one teacher for every two students in his class and ensure constant supervision.

“He needs extra precaution, he needs extra care and extra attention. And that’s what we thought we were getting when we put him in. That didn’t seem to be the case today,” Ivan Rivera said.

A district representative said the school immediately called 911 and launched an all-hands-on-deck search as soon as staff realized Malachi was missing.

The representative said student safety is the district’s top priority and confirmed the incident is under investigation. No staff members have been placed on leave at this time.

Malachi’s family said he is doing okay but will not be returning to Hamilton Elementary.

“Somewhere along the line, they promised us that he’d be safe and they failed. They failed us, and they failed him,” Shantilly Rivera said.

The district said its investigation will include reviewing policies to determine what changes are needed to prevent similar incidents.

Malachi’s family suggested measures such as more staff, a fenced-in playground, alarms on gates, or a tracker for students, saying these could have made a difference.

They also cited a similar incident in February when a nonverbal 11-year-old went missing from Fulton Elementary School in Lancaster.

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By Renee Aldana

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    DEERFIELD, Wisconsin (WKOW) — Some Milwaukee Brewers fans are getting tattoos to commemorate the team’s World Series run.

For one local tattoo artist, Brewers fever is bringing in a flood of new customers. Katie Long owns Wild Violets Beauty in Deerfield and says a friend gave her the idea to offer Brewers-themed flash tattoos.

“This week actually was kind of a slow week. It was starting out really slow, and I was like, man, I’m gonna have to tell my husband this week is kind of dead,” Long said.

Long says as soon as she posted her flash sheets, it went viral, gaining more than 100,000 views. She’s done more than 30 Brewers tattoos so far. Long said she has booked at least 40 new clients since posting the designs. Fans have traveled from as far as Elkhorn, about an hour away, to get the tattoos. “I had the lady say she wanted to come three hours, and I was very honored, but a part of me was like, ‘You don’t need to go all that far away,'” Long said. “But it’s been amazing. It’s been an adventure. I did not expect this to happen.”

Long said many clients are season ticket holders who want to commemorate the playoff run. One woman told Long she and her son bond over Brewers games and secured tickets for all four potential home games if the series goes to seven. Jason Frane has been a fan his whole life and says he’s been waiting 42 years for the Brewers to be in the World Series. “Every time I look at it, I can remember the feeling of the Brewers getting to the World Series and turn into a little kid again,” Frane said.

Frame says getting the tattoo ranks among the most emotional moments of his adult life. “My kids were born, and then that moment… probably the only three times I’ve cried as an adult,” he said. “People are so pumped. They are loving it,” Long said. “Everyone and their mother are wanting tattoos. They are wanting to get in. They love the little sausages. People are just so excited. So they want to commemorate that by coming in and doing tattoos.”

From Brewers logos to little racing sausage designs, fans are finding all different kinds of ways to celebrate a run they won’t soon forget. Long says she’ll be doing these flash tattoos as long as people want them.

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