Category: CNN Regional

By Tyaun Marshburn

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    NORTH OMAHA (KMTV) — As rising grocery costs make it harder for families to put fresh food on the table, Clair’s Community Garden is planting a solution in North Omaha by teaching young people how to grow their own food while providing fresh produce to the community.

For Pastor Portia Cavitt, the goal is simple.

“So that people will have access to healthy fruits and vegetables,” Cavitt said.

With the help of many young volunteers, that mission is taking root across the neighborhood, providing fresh produce to families who need it most.

During the summer, Cavitt works with North Omaha kids, teaching them about gardening and nutrition.

“So that they can learn how to eat healthy, but also grow food. That’s what we learned when we were children,” Cavitt said.

Kameron Leeper has worked in the garden for 4 years. He says learning how to grow fruits and vegetables is something every kid should know.

“Teaching the kids how to plant food. It’s just a great experience overall,” Leeper said.

The garden is full of collard greens, cabbage, tomatoes and a new favorite — kale chips.

Community members in need have also found their way to Cavitt’s door. On one recent visit, two women contacted Cavitt while she was harvesting.

“I was so happy that they called. They said they were in need of food and various people donate store bought food, so I have a separate pantry for persons that I need to come outside of my food bank,” Cavitt said.

One of those visitors, Latasha, described what it meant to find the garden.

“And I’m disabled, so… this really helps a whole lot,” Latasha said.

“And we’ve been in the line blocks away, you know? But once we got to these doors, it was like, How can we help?” Latasha said.

For Latasha, the garden represents something bigger than fresh produce.

“Everyone needs help at this point. I don’t care if you’re rich, or poor. Everybody needs help. It’s community and giving back to each other. So that’s the best part,” Latasha said.

The kids also planted zucchini, which they will later bake into goods to sell, teaching them how a business works from the ground up from production to profit.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KMTV verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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 CJ Maclin

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    TULSA, Oklahoma (KJRH) — Oklahoma has lifted its decades-old ban on bottle rockets, legalizing them for the first time in 45 years under a new law called the “Rocket’s Red Glare Act.”

The legislation received overwhelming bipartisan support from state lawmakers. Gov. Stitt praised the bill on social media, saying he is ready for a heck of a celebration on July Fourth.

In addition to legalizing bottle rockets, the new law allows retailers to sell fireworks year-round and limits counties’ power to restrict fireworks displays on private properties.

Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton said his office will not become the “fireworks police” over the new law or let it impact how his deputies patrol.

“When calls go out with fireworks during the fireworks season. Sometimes those are hard to differentiate or discharge, uh, thinking that, that it could be gunshots. Our focus is on bad guys. Career criminals and everything, and it’ll remain on that. So if we got a bad guy with fireworks, you know, we’re gonna try to, you know, rock his world.”

Walton also reminded everyone to use common sense and respect their neighbors when celebrating.

Even with the new law, strict rules still apply before lighting fireworks. City ordinances can still restrict fireworks, and they cannot be used during burn bans.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. KJRH verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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 Neal Riley, Kristina Rex

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    Massachusetts (WBZ) — Investigators say they have finally learned the identity of “Chelsea Jane Doe,” 26 years after the teenager was found brutally murdered in Massachusetts. Authorities said Wednesday that thanks to DNA testing, the victim can now be identified as 16-year-old Tiffany Bradley of Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said that on Nov. 13, 2000, police made a “horrifying” discovery in the parking lot of the Chelsea Soldiers’ Home.

“They found a body of an unknown female,” Hayden said. “Tragically she had been cut in half, she was without her head and without any hands.”

Eugene McCollom is currently serving a lifetime prison sentence for her murder. He told police he had buried her head and other body parts in the sand at Nahant Beach.

But detectives were unable to figure out who she was, until the FBI was able to find her brother using investigative generic genealogy.

“We have waited so long for this day,” Massachusetts State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble said. “It is rare to have a case like this one, where we knew the suspect’s name before the victim’s.”

Bradley’s family had reported her missing at the time to police in Pennsylvania. Investigators believe she was a victim of human trafficking, and met McCollom shortly after arriving in the Boston area. They say he killed her in his room at the Lynn YMCA.

“Her last conversation with her favorite cousin was cut short with her voice trembling, saying, ‘I’ll call you later. I have to go,'” her relative Shakirah Wiggins said. “That call never came and was replaced with 26 years of waiting, wondering why.”

Bradley was an athlete who played on her school’s basketball team and joined the ROTC. Bradley’s aunt, Janet Bradley-Knight, remembered her as “a loving girl.”

“Thank you so much for letting us take her safely home,” she said. “From the bottom of my heart, for not letting my baby be a box on the shelf. I thank you all for your tireless effort.”

“It is totally amazing that after 26 years people care enough to give her a name and return her to her family,” Wiggins said.

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 Jazmin Thibodeaux

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    LAFAYETTE PARISH, Louisiana (KATC) — On Global Running Day, one South Louisiana woman’s story is about much more than miles. It’s a story of love, loss and perseverance.

For years, Pam and Wayne “Bubba” Begnaud of Youngsville shared a goal: to run a half marathon in all 50 states together.

With only two states remaining, tragedy struck.

In November, the couple traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska, for what was supposed to be their 49th state. Instead, Bubba died unexpectedly during the trip.

“We arrived, everything was fine, we had supper, we watched a movie around 10 o’clock, we went to bed, and around midnight he started breathing, and I called an ambulance, and he passed away of ventricular fibrillation,” Pam Begnaud said.

His death came just days before the couple planned to cross another finish line together.

“After Bubba passed, I wanted to stop and just give up, but my children wouldn’t let me,” she said.

While grieving the loss of her husband, Begnaud found support from her family and fellow runners. Her children joined her in Hawaii, the state that had been scheduled as the couple’s final stop on their 50-state journey.

“I would expect nothing less from them, and I know that Bubba was encouraging us 100% to cross that finish line in Hawaii,” she said.

Bubba was posthumously awarded a 50-state medal in recognition of the accomplishment he and his wife had nearly completed together.

Determined to finish what they started, Pam later returned to Nebraska, the place where their journey came to an abrupt end, and completed the race they never got to run together.

“It was a huge celebration,” she said. “The runner friends that I have and that Bubba had, we were just comforted and they just made it so special for me. He was definitely present with me.” Today, Pam continues to honor her husband’s memory through running. Her next goal is to complete 100 half marathons by October.

She also hopes to achieve another milestone the couple once pursued together: becoming “Looney Legends.”

“We’re trying to keep his legacy alive,” Pam said. “Bubba woke up every morning and he said, ‘How can I be of service to others today?’ That was his service. That was his mission every morning, and we’re trying to live that.”

In October, Begnaud plans to attend a banquet where she and her late husband will be honored for completing half marathons in all 50 states.

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 Dawn White

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    Texas (KTVT) — A North Texas teenager’s busy life came to a sudden stop after experiencing kidney failure at just 17 years old. He spent 12 hours a day on dialysis and needed a transplant. His story became one of love and sacrifice from someone close to home.

The relationship between Blake Martens and his dad, Bill, remains unbreakable.

“We’ve always had a special bond. He’s someone I look up to,” Blake Martens said.

That bond grew even stronger through difficult times. Doctors diagnosed Blake at seven months old with multicystic dysplastic kidney, a condition in which the kidney does not develop normally in the womb.

“We had that removed when he was one year old. The belief and expectation was that he was fine,” Bill Martens said.

A sudden health crisis at 17 Blake lived a normal childhood with one kidney and started playing lacrosse at six years old. It quickly became his passion. But at 17, everything changed.

“I went into end-stage renal failure. All of a sudden, we didn’t know anything. We didn’t have a diagnosis, so it’s definitely shocking and something I didn’t expect. It was a big turnaround for me in life,” Blake Martens said.

The diagnosis was Alport Syndrome, a rare genetic disease passed on from his mother.

“I remember just simply walking into the hospital room and getting a diagnosis and just feeling absolutely gutted,” Bill Martens said.

A father steps forward to save his son Bill knew what he needed to do.

“I knew the best way I can help is to be the donor,” he said.

Bill donated a kidney at UT Southwestern, and the medical team at Children’s Health performed the transplant.

“I remember feeling a part of me is gone with kidney removed from me. That’s now in my son. It’s amazing. It’s a remarkable experience. You’re saving someone’s life,” Bill Martens said.

A return to the field and a future ahead “I was back running in about two months, rebuilding my core strength. I got to play my entire senior lacrosse season, and they put me as a captain on the team,” Blake Martens said.

From high school lacrosse captain to preparing to attend Southern Methodist University in August, Blake feels ready for what comes next thanks to his father’s sacrifice.

Blake plans to continue playing lacrosse at SMU. He takes daily medication to ensure his body does not reject his dad’s kidney.

“It’s definitely cool that he was able to give me the gift of life, and that’s something that I’ll be grateful for the rest of my life,” he said.

Blake now looks forward to living life to the fullest, strengthened by a father’s love and a bond that connects them not just emotionally, but physically as well.

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 Gabriela Vidal

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    Colorado (KCNC) — It was a frustrating and costly surprise for motorists commuting along Highway 285 on Tuesday afternoon, when many drivers punctured their tires with multiple screws scattered along the road.

“When I was driving down, it looked like glass on the road, so I really wasn’t that concerned,” said Laurie Kennedy. “Just up ahead of me, I saw a truck pulled over with a bunch of cars, and I was like, ‘Oh, they must have lost something off their truck. I hope everyone is okay.'”

I was in that moment, just before 1 p.m., when hundreds of screws fell off a truck bed along the northbound lane of Highway 285 near the Morrison exit.

Dozens of drivers commuting into the Denver area did not realize the damage they were about to face.

“Drove through and didn’t think anything of it until later, I realized that my tires had four screws in them,” said Ryan Booth.

Colorado State Patrol tells CBS Colorado they were notified of a traffic problem involving a semi-truck that spilled multiple boxes of nails/screws. Troopers managed to stop the truck and contact the driver who spilled the items on the road.

Throughout the rest of the day and into Wednesday, multiple people called their office reporting similar problems with screws covering their tires.

“Today alone, I’ve probably gotten over 20 calls,” said Steven Amador, Manager at Big O’s Tires in Conifer.

As drivers scramble to tire shops, like Big O’s, motorists CBS Colorado spoke to felt frustrated as the costs for repairs started to stack up.

“I’m getting an $1,800 estimate for four new tires,” said Booth.

“That’s the next question I keep getting is- who’s going to pay for it?” said Amador.

Drivers are hoping the person driving the truck and or the company that owns the vehicle will take accountability and reimburse the thousands of dollars many have now had to pay to keep their cars moving.

“Accidents happen, and I’m grateful as far as I know no one was hurt,” said Kennedy. “While it’s a financial strain, I’m just grateful I also had the capacity to be able to front the money.”

“I just don’t feel like I should have to pay for the highway clean-up or someone else’s spillage,” said Booth.

CBS Colorado has not been able to get a hold of the company that owns the truck involved, Wolf Logistics LLC. Drivers say they also haven’t heard back from them.

“I’m just hoping that it will end up with, you know, them taking responsibility,” said Kennedy.

CSP says the driver of the truck did cooperate with the investigation and has not been charged with anything related to the incident at this time. Anyone impacted by the incident is being provided with insurance information to file a claim with the company of the semi-truck.

“They’re trying to figure out who’s taking care of it for them, because these are not cheap items to replace,” said Amador. “Everything is expensive as it is right now.”

CSP is leading the investigation into this incident and is encouraging anyone who was affected to call the Colorado State Patrol Denver Communications Center at 303-239-4501 and use the reference case number 1A261639 when calling.

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 Briseida Holguin

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    DALLAS, Texas (KTVT) — Nearly a week after a deadly explosion at the Clyde Apartments in Dallas’ Oak Cliff neighborhood, a 10‑year‑old girl who survived the blast has reunited with the man credited with saving her life.

Vanessa, who lost her mother, Marisol Perez, and her 18‑month‑old brother in the explosion, met with Rodney Brown on Monday.

The encounter was emotional as family members thanked Brown for pulling the child from the burning building.

Rescuer describes instinctive response Brown said he acted on instinct when he saw the girl moments after hearing the first explosion from his nearby building. As he carried her across the street, a second blast erupted, and flames quickly spread through the structure.

He attempted to return to help others trapped inside, but said the fire had already intensified.

“I heard them inside asking for help. I can never forget that,” Brown said. “If I had enough time to go back, I would have dug my way in.”

Family mourns loss while celebrating survival Family members described the past week as a nightmare as they continue to grieve the loss of Perez and her young son. Vanessa’s birthday fell on Monday, and relatives said Brown’s actions enabled her to reach the age of 10.

“You made it possible for her to be 10 years old today,” her aunt said. “It would have been an even bigger tragedy not to have any memory of my sister.”

Rescuer rejects hero label Brown rejected the label of hero, saying he was simply grateful the girl survived.

“I don’t consider myself a hero,” he said. “I’m just happy she’s alive and with her family.”

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 Ashley Grams

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    MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is one step closer to closing the Minnehaha Off-Leash Dog Park along the Mississippi River. It’s an area of land the board said is considered sacred by the Dakota tribes.

A park board committee passed a resolution on Wednesday that would “decommission” the off-leash dog park. Now, the resolution will be considered before the full board later this month.

“This space means a lot more and there is a lot more history to it than we had previously known,” said Board President Tom Olsen ahead of the meeting.

Olsen said the significance came to light after an archeological study was completed last year, when the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board voted to install fencing around the dog park area. Olsen didn’t share specifics, but said there are burial sites on the land. He said members also received input from an Indigenous advisory council.

“We understand that there is this important amenity, but we have to kind of rejust what our expectations and use of that space is,” Olsen said.

During the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board meeting on Wednesday, people from both sides of the issue expressed their views.

“Public park land is meant to be shared, not segregated and, crucially, the presence of dogs here does not preclude anyone else from enjoying the broader landscape,” said Jeremy Fink.

“We have a religious freedom act as the Native people here and the dog park is infringing on that,” said Gary Spears.

Kim Kelly also showed up to share her views, telling WCCO that, as a frequent visitor to the park with her two dogs, she’s hoping for a compromise.

“You can just tell there is a lot of history in that land, and it’s just really cool to be there, and I think it gets more use because of the ability to bring animals, dogs with you when you visit,” she said. “There’s got to be a way that we can still use the land together.”

Olsen said if the resolution passes, it’s likely the off-leash section of the dog park would close sometime before the end of the year.

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.