Category: CNN Regional

By Amanda Callahan

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    NEW BEDFORD, Massachusetts (WBZ) — Two New Bedford, Massachusetts, police officers are off the force for allegedly misusing Flock cameras around the city. That was a decision made by the mayor, but the city council is in a back and forth with the city’s leader over having this technology exist at all.

The New Bedford City Council voted to ban the city’s automatic license plate reader system (ALPR) or Flock cameras.

The cameras have been shut off since early August after the police department suspended their use when an internal investigation found New Bedford Police Officer Emily Pacheco was using the technology to track her ex-girlfriend.

The police chief ordered an audit be done for the entire department’s use.

The investigation also revealed Sergeant James Martinelli allegedly misused the technology. He’s accused of tracking a woman he was dating and an ex of that woman.

The mayor announced Thursday that both officers were terminated from the department.

“Yes, they shouldn’t have done what they had done, but at the same time there’s some blame to be shared by the former chief and the mayor,” New Bedford City Councilor at large Shane Burgo said.

Burgo is pushing for these cameras to be taken down entirely. “Fine, let’s just ban it all outright until we can come to an agreement and that’s what passed tonight,” he said.

Burgo expects New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell to veto the council’s decision, but the ordinance passed with a majority to override him.

“This is a useful tool. It can be, but in the wrong hands can be abused and that’s why it’s so important that we regulate it and make sure that it’s safe,” Burgo said.

“I feel like we have enough surveillance out here on the streets now,” New Bedford resident Steven Hebert said.

And some residents support the idea of taking them down for good.

“They’re kind of very invading the privacy of the citizens and that’s very concerning. Being a native of New Bedford, I feel like the citizens should have the opinion of that rather than police departments or City Hall,” Hebert added.

The cameras will remain off while an audit is still ongoing. The city’s existing contract with Flock expires on November 12.

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 Renee Anderson, Kaicey Baylor

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    COLLEGE PARK, Maryland (WJZ) — A band says its trailer was broken into and several instruments were stolen following a concert earlier this week in Maryland.

The band, called Sponge, performed at The Fillmore Theatre in Silver Spring on Tuesday and was staying at the Holiday Inn hotel in College Park.

The next morning, they discovered their trailer had been broken into in the hotel parking lot, and six instruments were stolen.

The band shared photos on social media showing the damage and what appeared to be a broken padlock. The trailer could be seen propped open, with empty guitar cases on the ground.

“They sawed off the locks and just cracked it enough to get the small items out of the back,” said guitarist Andy Patalan.

The band told CBS News Baltimore the stolen instruments included four electric guitars and two bass guitars.

They are now offering a $1,000 reward and hoping to spread the word in case anyone recognizes the instruments at local pawn shops or music stores.

“We would like to get these back, no questions asked,” Patalan said, adding, “One was especially dear to my heart, was a vintage 90s Reverend Commando that is kind of irreplaceable.”

The band shared the following descriptions:

1990s Reverend Commando, orange/pink sparkle, offset body, cream pickguard Reverend Pete Anderson Signature Eastsider S, satin black, with a Railhammer Hyper Vintage bridge pickup Reverend Warhawk, avocado/green burst, white pickguard Black Fender Stratocaster, made in Corona, CA around 1997-98, serial Z0152378 Black Fender Jaguar bass Black Fender Precision bass The Prince George’s Police Department confirmed it is investigating the burglary.

Sponge is an American alternative rock band from Detroit, Michigan best known for their 1990s hits, “Plowed,” “Molly (16 Candles),” “Wax Ecstatic,” and “Have You Seen Mary.”

They are currently on the road as the supporting act for Candlebox’s “Can’t Quit You Tour.”

After the Maryland stop, they were scheduled to perform Wednesday in Buffalo, New York. In another post on social media, the band thanked Candlebox for loaning them guitars so that show could go on.

Patalan said the company Reverend Guitars is now sending them a few guitars to use for the rest of the tour.

“We’re doing our best to try to protect what we’ve got just to keep going. We’re living on a shoestring budget traveling. We don’t have a road crew or anything, traveling in a van across the country,” he said.

To make matters worse, this isn’t the first time the band has been robbed. They were also hit a few years ago in Seattle.

“Not again, because, like I said, a few years ago, it happened to us,” said Patalan. “It feels heartless.”

Asked whether this will stop them from touring or returning to Maryland, he replied, “No, we’ll sing a cappella if we have to.”

Their tour continues Thursday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, before wrapping up on Oct. 30 in Sayreville, New Jersey. Then, the band will be back in Maryland for Ocean City’s Boardwalk Rock music festival next May.

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 Tara Lynch

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    HARFORD COUNTY, Maryland (WJZ) — A controversial book will stay in Harford County high schools after a lengthy legal battle, a judge ruled Thursday.

Harford County Judge Yolanda Curtin deliberated for two hours and decided the book, “Flamer,” should remain on school library shelves.

The coming-of-age story is set in the 1990s and explores themes of masculinity and homophobia.

The banned book debate The illustrated novel has been in question in the district since a parent sought its removal back in November 2024. Attorneys said the parent believed the book “plants seeds in the minds of children.”

Author Mike Curato, who held a sold-out discussion amid the controversy, said the book is about a teenage boy who navigates friendships, bullies and a boy he can’t stop thinking about. He said it aims to help young people as they go through difficult times and those trying to find themselves.

Per school district policies, the book was reviewed by the county’s reconsideration committee, which is made up of nine people, including teachers and staff, parents, students and community members. After an extensive review, which included training on state law, reading the book and discussing its merits, the committee decided unanimously to keep the book in Harford County high schools.

However, parents said the county school board voted to ban the book anyway during a closed-door session last June after public appeals. This was the first book to be removed by the district after it created a process to review books that had been flagged by concerned parents.

Parents appealed the school board’s decision to the state board of education. Last fall, the state sided with the reconsideration committee and said the decision to remove the book was arbitrary, reinstating it in high school libraries.

The school board then filed for an administrative appeal in front of a circuit court judge.

The judge’s ruling In Thursday’s ruling, Curtin criticized the county school board and said it didn’t follow its own policies and procedures. In addition, the judge said the “collective wisdom of the board” is not enough to overturn the reconsideration committee’s review.

Maryland’s Freedom to Read Act states that material cannot be removed from school libraries based on political, religious or personal views.

The judge said the school board inserted its own opinions into the decision, and thus acted arbitrarily and illegally.

This is the first time the state’s Freedom to Read Act has been challenged in court, making this a precedent-setting case.

Community reacts to ruling Outside court, some parents and community advocates celebrated the judge’s decision, saying it is important to give children diverse reading materials. Advocates from Together We Will Harford County called the ruling a win for children in the school district.

“There are procedures and processes put in place, and qualified people were chosen to review these books. They are qualified. They are trained. They know exactly what they need to do. They do not take this responsibility lightly,” parent Leslie Thompson said. “And for the BOE to decide that they have disagreements with that group based on their own ideals is unacceptable.”

Moms for Liberty Harford County, however, opposed the book, and said it supports “wholesome books” in school libraries.

“Some Middle Schools have Flamer in the libraries. We don’t want material for young minds that is heavy on sexuality and foul language. The libraries have so many better options to choose from than books that advocate for sexuality and filthy language,” the organization said in a statement before the hearing.

Carol Bruce, who currently sits on the Harford County Board of Education, was in court Thursday. She voted to keep the book in school libraries when it came before the board in July 2025. She said this review process took too long and cost the district too much money, though she did not put an exact dollar amount on the cost.

WJZ has reached out to School Board President Lauren Paige for comment and we are waiting for a response. It’s unclear if the county school board will appeal this decision.

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 La’Tasha Givens

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    HAPEVILLE, Georgia (WUPA) — Founded in 1956, Hapeville’s Academy Theatre is celebrating 70 years of storytelling, training actors and introducing audiences to new ideas.

The city institution, which artistic director Robert Drake describes as Georgia’s longest-running theater, also holds the distinction of being the first professional theater to integrate both its casts and audience in the southeastern United States.

Over seven decades, the company has weathered multiple relocations, lean budgets, and the shifting tides of the entertainment industry. Now, it is marking its anniversary with “N,” a provocative historical drama exploring a conflict over race, dignity and artistic control.

Inside the rehearsal hall this week, an exchange of powerful dialogue echoes across the stage. Under the watchful direction of director Brenda Porter, who is also the artistic director for Impact Theater, the cast is fine-tuning the drama.

The play examines the untold friction behind Eugene O’Neill’s 1920 Broadway sensation, “The Emperor Jones,” revisiting the contentious creative clash between O’Neill, the celebrated white playwright, and Charles S. Gilpin, the pioneering Black star who originated the title role on Broadway.

Their partnership fractured over Gilpin’s refusal to keep delivering dehumanizing racial slurs written into the script, a dispute that ultimately led to Gilpin being replaced by a young Paul Robeson when the production went overseas. Under Porter’s direction, the ensemble mines every beat for honest friction, turning a century-old battle over dignity and artistic ownership into an electrifying stage presence.

“The Academy Theatre has had a 70-year history of being the birthplace of new theater and new ideas and new approaches and we’re especially proud to continue that,” Drake said.

He said the theater has served as a foundational training ground for actors and directors over the decades, including Samuel L. Jackson, Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon, David Hasselhoff, and John Schneider. All honed their craft under the theatre’s guidance either in-house or with its traveling group of actors.

Like other arts organizations, the theater faces financial challenges while competing with streaming services and other digital entertainment.

“The Academy Theatre, like all theaters, is fighting for its financial life and part of that is competing against a digital space,” Drake said. “We used to be able to keep eight full-time actors on an annual salary, but we can’t do that anymore.”

Despite those challenges, the theater has kept its core educational mission alive through its apprenticeship and internship program.

“One of the things we’re really proud of is that we’ve kept our apprentice and internship program and we continue to launch a number of actors in just this decade alone,” Drake said. “We’ve got over 20 people who make their entire living in the performing arts.”

For Drake, live theater offers a connection that other forms of entertainment cannot replicate.

“It provides an intimate window into someone else’s reality because when they’re crying on stage, that’s a real person crying and that’s a connection you can’t make over film,” he said. “Theater is an art form that AI will not take away.”

Beyond its mainstage productions, the Academy Theatre operates a second stage featuring local performers.

“We have a variety of performers from jazz musicians to magicians to poets to storytellers who come and let you wind down your weekend from 6:30 to 8:30 on a Sunday,” Drake said.

As the company looks toward its next chapter, its leaders hope the theater remains a training ground for working artists and a cultural anchor for Hapeville.

A free preview of “N” is scheduled for Thursday night at the Academy Theatre on North Central Avenue in downtown Hapeville. The production officially opens this weekend.

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 Leondra Head

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    ATLANTA, Georgia (WUPA) — Grammy Award-winning singer Lizzo stopped by to inspire students at College Park Elementary School on Thursday afternoon.

Her visit was to read her new children’s book to the students. “Lil Lizzo Meets Sasha B. Flootin” is about a girl finding her voice with the help of a smart and sassy flute. Lizzo says it’s a book students can relate to when finding their voice.

The singer, known for her hits “Truth Hurts,” “About Damn Time,” and Juice,” also played her flute for the kids.

Students at College Park Elementary say they enjoyed Lizzo’s visit.

“I enjoy her story. It really inspired me to do amazing things. I really do like the part where she didn’t find a place where she belonged, and she felt that music,” College Park Elementary School student Zoey Norwood said.

Lizzo gave away copies of her book to students in kindergarten through third grade at the school.

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 Abby Dodge

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    MIAMI, Florida (WFOR) — An American Airlines flight bound for Guyana diverted back to Miami International Airport on Thursday evening after a passenger allegedly threatened a flight attendant during the aircraft’s ascent.

The incident occurred shortly after takeoff aboard a Boeing 737 MAX 8.

“While we were climbing out, he rushed the flight attendants in the back of the aircraft,” a crew member told air traffic control, according to radio transmissions.

The flight turned around minutes after departure and flew a figure-eight pattern before landing safely back at Miami International Airport.

Air traffic control audio indicated that the passenger allegedly made a verbal threat toward a crew member.

“I guess the exact words were, ‘I will take care of you when we land in Guyana,’ but in a very threatening manner,” a crew member reported.

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene after receiving an initial report that a passenger had assaulted a flight attendant. However, investigators later determined that the situation involved a verbal dispute rather than a physical assault.

After the aircraft returned to the gate, the passenger exited without incident. Authorities said the traveler was rebooked on a different flight.

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.