Category: CNN Regional

By Graham Cawthon

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    HILTON HEAD ISLAND, South Carolina (WJCL) — Three tagged great white sharks were tracked off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina over Memorial Day weekend, according to OCEARCH.

The nonprofit’s tracking data showed Goodall, a 1,400-pound adult white shark measuring 13 feet, 1 inch, pinged Monday morning near Darien, Georgia. Brookes, a 450-pound juvenile measuring 8 feet, 10 inches, also pinged Monday morning near Brunswick, Georgia.

Farther north, Breton, a 1,400-pound adult measuring 13 feet, 3 inches, was tracked Monday evening off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina.

Fast Facts

According to NOAA Fisheries, white sharks can weigh up to 4,500 pounds and measure up to 21 feet in length Their lifespan can be 70 years or more. It is illegal to catch a white shark.

What do white sharks eat?

White sharks primarily feast on fish, invertebrates and marine mammals. Juvenile white sharks eat bottom fish, smaller sharks and rays, and schooling fish and squids. Larger white sharks often feed on seal and sea lions to feed and occasionally scavenge dead whales.

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 Brieanna Smith

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    NORTHEAST TALLAHASSEE, Florida (WTXL) — A rising sophomore at Maclay School has swabbed more than 130 people for the bone marrow registry since February.

Now, she wants to bring the effort to public and charter schools across Leon County.

Abby Stephens launched the project, Athletes for Life, for her Gold Award Girl Scout project, inspired by Ancil Carruthers, a close family friend and Florida A&M University professor battling a rare cancer.

The cure requires a perfect stem cell match, but according to the Gift of Life, 71% of Black patients are unable to find one.

Stephens said the lack of young and diverse donors in the registry drove her to act.

“The problem with that project that I’m trying to address is that there aren’t a lot of young and diverse donors in the bone marrow registry, which is why a lot of patients can’t find life-saving matches,” she said.

“When I was creating this project, one thing I realized is that high schools specifically have a lot of young, healthy people that could potentially become donors in one area.”

The bone marrow registry seeks donors between 18 and 35 years old.

Friday, she recently completed a “Senior Swab” at Maclay School.

She was able to swab 26 seniors.

As soon as they turn 18, they will be added to the registry.

Since starting in February, five people have been able to find matches through her efforts.

“It really means a lot to me to have all of these people so supportive towards my project, because the patients, they’re real people,” Stephens said.

With an expansion to public and charter schools, Stephens says, will help her reach her goal of registering 2,000 people.

The effort has already drawn support from Leon County School Board member Laurie Cox, who knows both the Stephens and Carruthers families.

“All of us have friends or family that are dealing with cancer, and if this is an initiative that can help save someone’s life, I think it’s great to let people know of the need, but also to hopefully be part of a solution as well,” Cox said.

She says high school principals would need to support the drives and ensure they follow school policy.

“Hopefully there won’t be too much pushback, but hopefully we can open that door to allow this initiative to be brought to our schools,” Cox said.

Stephens is also working to make the program last beyond her own time at school.

“I’m also trying to create a framework so that senior swabs can stay at my school, public schools, charter schools, and other private schools after I graduate,” Stephens said.

Stephens will present the expansion idea to the Leon County School Board on Tuesday.

She’s also hosting a swab at the Battle Lions soccer game on Saturday, June 6th.

Information about upcoming swabs will be posted on the Athletes for Life 850 Instagram page.

***This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WTXL’s editorial team 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 Francis Page Jr.

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    May 26, 2026 (Houston Style Magazine) — In an era when media ownership is no longer just about who tells the story—but who profits from the platform—BOMESI is once again stepping boldly into the spotlight.

The Black Owned Media Equity and Sustainability Institute, better known as BOMESI, has announced the official hosts and confirmed sponsors for its 2026 BOMESI Summit, a three-day gathering of media, entertainment, brand, advertising, and ownership leaders scheduled for Wednesday, June 3 through Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Detroit, Michigan. The summit will be hosted by NAACP Image Award–winning entertainer Dustin Ross and Amber Lee Forrester, founder and Chief Empowerment Officer of Quartz Wellness Collective.

For Houston Style Magazine readers, the message is clear: the future of media is not waiting politely in the lobby. It is walking through the front door, microphone in hand, business plan in pocket, and community impact on the agenda.

This year’s theme, “Mobilizing Culture: The $5.3 Trillion Opportunity for Media & Brands,” places real economic weight behind a conversation many diverse publishers have been having for decades. According to BOMESI’s summit site, multicultural consumers represent a $5.3 trillion market opportunity, while less than 2% of advertising spend currently reaches diverse-owned media. That gap is not just a missed business opportunity—it is a cultural correction waiting to happen.

Ross, known as a host, writer, comedian, and producer, brings both charisma and credibility to the summit stage. Forrester, a Detroit native, adds an empowerment-centered lens rooted in wellness, entrepreneurship, and the business of storytelling. Together, the two hosts will help guide a national conversation around innovation, representation, ownership, and monetization in the modern media economy.

BOMESI also announced a growing roster of sponsors and partners, including Ben & Jerry’s, Nielsen, Press Forward, My Code, and OTTera Media Group, reflecting a wider coalition of organizations investing in the sustainability of diverse-owned media platforms.

The summit’s programming is expected to include keynote addresses, panel discussions, workshops, networking opportunities, and strategy sessions focused on content creation, business development, advertising equity, audience growth, and the future of media entrepreneurship. Additional OTTera Media Group speakers include Ashley Ancrum, Director of Business Development for AdNet+; James DuBose, President; and Stephen L. Hodge, Chairman and CEO.

Founded to create stronger pathways for independent, community-based, and diverse-owned media, BOMESI has built its work around three pillars: ecosystem, education, and economic empowerment. That mission speaks directly to legacy publishers, digital creators, community journalists, filmmakers, podcasters, advertising leaders, and entrepreneurs who understand that cultural influence must be matched with sustainable revenue.

And Detroit is a fitting host city. With its rich history of Black creativity, music, labor, entrepreneurship, and cultural resilience, the Motor City offers more than a backdrop—it offers a living case study in reinvention. BOMESI’s 2026 agenda includes sessions on data, deal flow, growth markets, infrastructure, investment, innovation, audience development, retail media, and connected TV.

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For Houston’s media, business, civic, and creative communities, this summit carries a familiar truth: diverse media is not a side conversation. It is infrastructure. It is audience intelligence. It is cultural trust. It is the bridge between brands and communities that have too often been studied, targeted, and courted—but not equitably invested in.

As BOMESI co-founder and CEO DéVon Christopher Johnson stated, the summit is designed to celebrate “innovation and excellence” while building a more representative future for media.

Registration is now open for the 2026 BOMESI Summit at bomesisummit.org. For publishers, creators, marketers, and community leaders ready to turn cultural credibility into capital, Detroit may be the room where the next big deal—and the next big shift—begins.

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.

Kierra Lee
KIELEESTYLE@GMAIL.COM
4096658446

By Francis Page Jr.

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    May 26, 2026 (Houston Style Magazine) — Texas, get ready to make room at the table — and maybe loosen the belt one notch. White Castle, the legendary family-owned fast-food brand that turned the humble square slider into an American cultural icon, is officially preparing to plant its flag in the Lone Star State with its first Texas restaurant at Grandscape in The Colony, north of Dallas.

As first reported this week in the Houston Business Journal, White Castle is scheduled to break ground on its North Texas location on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, with plans to open later this year if construction moves forward as expected. The new restaurant is planned as a roughly 3,400-square-foot Castle at Grandscape, the booming entertainment, retail, and dining destination that has become one of North Texas’ most talked-about lifestyle developments.

For generations of Midwesterners, road-trippers, college students, night owls, and loyal “Cravers,” White Castle is more than a burger stop. It is a memory wrapped in wax paper. It is the scent of steamed onions, the comfort of a soft bun, the unmistakable bite of a square slider, and the kind of food folklore that somehow fits perfectly in the palm of your hand. Founded in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas, White Castle has long claimed its place as America’s first fast-food hamburger chain, building a national following around its small, square hamburgers and its now-famous “Crave” culture.

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The Texas debut is not just another restaurant opening. It is a milestone more than 100 years in the making.

White Castle’s new North Texas location is expected to employ about 70 people, according to the company information shared in the Houston Business Journal report. That means new jobs, new training opportunities, and a little extra sizzle for a North Texas economy already known for attracting national brands, major developments, and ambitious retail concepts.

White Castle Chief Marketing Officer Jamie Richardson said the company selected Grandscape for its Texas debut because of its destination appeal, welcoming community, and available space. That strategy makes sense. Texans do not simply “try” a new restaurant — they turn openings into events, create lines around buildings, post the first bite on social media, and tell cousins in three counties where to go next. Grandscape gives White Castle a big stage for a big Texas introduction.

The brand also arrives with a strong family-business story. White Castle remains family-owned and is led by CEO Lisa Ingram, carrying forward a legacy that began when Billy Ingram helped launch the company with a bold idea, a modest investment, and a belief that Americans would embrace a clean, consistent, affordable hamburger experience. White Castle’s origin story famously began with small, five-cent hamburgers sold by the sack — the beginning of what became one of the most recognizable slider brands in the country.

And those sliders have history. In 2014, Time magazine named White Castle’s Original Slider the most influential burger of all time, a nod to the company’s role in shaping modern fast food and American burger culture.

For Houston Style Magazine readers, this North Texas opening carries a wider business lesson: legacy brands still grow when they listen to loyal customers, choose the right market, and honor the emotional connection people have with food. White Castle’s expansion into Texas shows that nostalgia, when paired with smart real estate and modern operations, can still drive fresh economic opportunity.

The Grandscape location also follows a familiar pattern. Another beloved Midwestern brand, Portillo’s, opened its first Texas restaurant at Grandscape in 2023 before expanding further into Dallas-Fort Worth and Greater Houston. That matters because once a cult-favorite brand gets a Texas foothold, Houston diners naturally start asking the million-dollar question: “When are we next?” Portillo’s has already shown that a North Texas debut can become a broader Texas growth story.

For now, White Castle has not announced a Houston location. But let’s be honest: Houston knows how to support a food phenomenon. From Third Ward to The Heights, from Midtown to Missouri City, from Pearland to Katy, this city knows sliders, late-night cravings, and family-style food runs. Should White Castle eventually turn its eyes toward the Bayou City, Houston would no doubt welcome the Castle with appetite, curiosity, and probably a line long enough to make national news.

Until then, Texans heading north later this year may have a new pilgrimage stop: The Colony, Grandscape, and the first official White Castle in North Texas.

After more than a century of feeding America one slider at a time, White Castle is finally coming to Texas. The Crave, it seems, has crossed the state line.

More information, go to: whitecastle.com

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.

Kierra Lee
KIELEESTYLE@GMAIL.COM
4096658446

By Francis Page Jr.

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    May 26, 2026 (Houston Style Magazine) — Fort Bend middle and high school students, get ready: your future is not waiting somewhere far down the road — it is pulling up to Houston City College with opportunity, imagination, 3D printing, prizes, games, lunch, and a powerful invitation to dream beyond the classroom.

On Friday, June 5, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM, Houston City College will host the 2026 Houston City College Teen Summit at the HCC West Loop Building, 1100 West Loop South, Houston, TX 77027, welcoming Fort Bend-area students for a day designed to spark curiosity, confidence, and career-ready ambition.

For decades, Houston City College has stood as one of the region’s great engines of access, affordability, and advancement. Now, with its bold identity and growing mission, HCC is once again showing why it remains a cornerstone of Houston’s educational future. The Teen Summit is more than a student event — it is a launchpad for young people who are beginning to ask life’s most important questions: What am I good at? What career fits me? What kind of future can I build?

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This summit answers with action.

Students will have the chance to explore college pathways, connect with new ideas, learn about technology, engage in hands-on experiences like 3D printing, and discover that higher education is not just for “someday.” It is for right now. It is for the student who loves science, the student who is curious about business, the student who enjoys creating things, the student who has not yet found their passion, and the student who simply needs someone to say: You belong here.

And Houston City College is saying exactly that.

The event will also include prizes, games, lunch, and interactive learning, creating a welcoming environment where students can see education not as pressure, but as possibility. In true HCC fashion, the Teen Summit blends inspiration with real-world exposure — the kind of experience that can turn a spark of interest into a career pathway, a college plan, or a lifelong dream.

For Fort Bend families, educators, and community leaders, this is an important opportunity to encourage students to step into spaces where their futures can expand. With Houston’s economy growing across healthcare, energy, technology, artificial intelligence, construction, business, and creative industries, today’s students need more than encouragement — they need access. Houston City College continues to provide that access with open doors and open arms.

Event Details What: 2026 Houston City College Teen Summit Who: Fort Bend middle and high school students When: Friday, June 5, 2026, 9:00 AM–2:00 PM Where: HCC West Loop Building, 1100 West Loop South, Houston, TX 77027 Highlights: 3D printing, prizes, games, lunch, student engagement, college exploration Register: tinyurl.com/hcc-teen-summit2026 Info Desk: 713-718-7130 or 713-718-7398

Houston Style Magazine proudly encourages Fort Bend students and families to register, attend, and take full advantage of this forward-looking opportunity. The future belongs to those who prepare for it — and on June 5, Houston City College is helping students take that first bold step.

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.

Kierra Lee
KIELEESTYLE@GMAIL.COM
4096658446

By Ben Jealous

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    May 26, 2026 (Houston Style Magazine) — My grandmother was born in 1916 on the same red Virginia ground where her grandfather was born enslaved. She lived to one hundred and five. She carried the weight of what her family had been to my family, and what her family had been to itself, the way you carry a stone you cannot put down. When she died, the stone passed to me.

I went looking.

What I found was a paradox written in blood.

The man Thomas Jefferson called “the most learned and logical” of the founding generation was my fifth great-grandfather. In 1766 he wrote that Parliament’s fleets and armies might give it power, but not right. He wrote that shackles, however nicely polished, would never sit easy on free men. He was Jefferson’s cousin and political mentor. He helped invent the American argument.

He owned thirty human beings.

In 1769, in Jefferson’s first session in the House of Burgesses, the young man asked his old mentor to do one brave thing: introduce a bill making it easier for masters to free the people they enslaved. Bland did as Jefferson asked. He was denounced as an enemy to his country. In Jefferson’s words, he was “treated with the grossest indecorum.”

He kept his thirty slaves. He died still holding them.

That is the strange courage of the founding. A man who understood that government without consent is tyranny could not break the shackles in his own house. He indicted himself with his own argument. So did Jefferson. So did every Virginia patriot who signed his name to natural rights while holding the title to another human being.

They wrote the creed anyway. They knew it would destabilize them. And the argument they could not finish was picked up by the people they would not free.

A hundred years later, the great-great-grandson of the man they would not free left the place of his enslavement as a teenager and never looked back. He cobbled shoes. He preached. He kept a lighthouse on the same point of land where the patriot’s plantation once stood. In 1879 the people of Prince George and Surry Counties elected him to the Virginia House of Delegates as part of the most successful biracial coalition in the nineteenth-century South.

They abolished the poll tax. They tore down the public whipping post. They founded what is now Virginia State University. They rebuilt the colleges the war had broken. They funded free public schools for every Virginia child, Black and White. They built, for one bright moment, the Virginia the patriot could have written into law and would not.

The Danville Massacre of 1883 ended that coalition with bullets. The argument went unfinished again.

It is unfinished still.

Read the grievances in the Declaration of Independence one more time. Standing armies in our streets without the consent of our legislatures. The military rendered superior to the civil power. Quartering armed troops among us. The protection of armed men, by mock trial, from punishment for murders committed against us.

Last June the President federalized California National Guardsmen and active-duty Marines and sent them into Los Angeles over the governor’s objection. A federal judge ruled it violated the Posse Comitatus Act. Patrick Henry warned of exactly this in 1788. He used almost the same words.

The Fourth Amendment was written because British officers used general warrants — blank checks to search any home, any paper, any person. In 2024 the Fifth Circuit ruled that geofence warrants, which sweep up the data of everyone near a crime scene, are “modern-day general warrants” forbidden by the Constitution. The court named the colonial writs of assistance.

Section 702 of FISA lets the government query Americans’ communications — swept up in surveillance of foreign targets — without a warrant. The 1033 Program has poured seven billion dollars of military gear into ten thousand local police departments. Breonna Taylor was killed in her bed. Amir Locke was killed in his sleep. Both by officers serving no-knock warrants. Both, in the language of 1776, victims of armed troops quartered among us, protected from punishment by a mock trial.

This is not a left issue. It is not a right issue. Ron Wyden and Rand Paul wrote the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act together. The ACLU and Cato agree. The grievances are not partisan because the grievances are not new. They are the same grievances written in the same hand against the same kind of power.

The patriot understood the principle and could not live by it. His descendant lived it and was outvoted by force. My grandmother carried the weight of that unfinished business her whole life and never put it down.

It was unfinished in 1776. Unfinished in 1865. Unfinished in 1965. It is unfinished now.

And it is ours to finish.

Ben Jealous is a professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania and former President & CEO of the NAACP.

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.

Kierra Lee
KIELEESTYLE@GMAIL.COM
4096658446