Category: CNN Regional

By Pedro Lopez

Click here for updates on this story

    SAVANNAH, Georgia (WJCL) — A group of local singers is preparing for a once-in-a-lifetime journey overseas, one that will take them to Normandy, where they’ll perform in ceremonies tied to D-Day.

Nearly 100 people, including dozens from the Savannah area, will travel to France during the first week of June as part of the American Choir for World Peace.

During rehearsals, voices rise together with a shared purpose to bring music to a place where history changed the world.

“We’re going to be singing at remembrance ceremonies. We’re going to sing on the beaches of Normandy at the American Cemetery, but the real reason that we’re doing this is to try to use the gift of music to spread the message of peace, which I think we can all agree that our world needs desperately right now,” said choir director Justin Addington.

The performance carries deep historical meaning. Normandy is home to the beaches where Allied forces landed in 1944 during D-Day, a pivotal moment in World War II.

For Addington, the opportunity to unite singers from across the country adds another layer of significance.

“The opportunity to pull together a mass choir, if you will, of people from all over the nation is pretty special. The opportunity to represent our nation in this very important way is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said.

For many singers, the experience is both emotional and personal.

“When does anyone get the opportunity to sing on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day? I mean, I get goosebumps just thinking about it now. It’s just an extraordinary opportunity,” said choir member Gina Shields.

For Shields, the trip almost didn’t happen.

“I was sponsored by one of the members of the church to go to France, the gratitude I have for that is beyond. I can’t even begin to explain how much that moment changed everything for me,” she said.

As the group prepares to stand on the same beaches where thousands once fought and died, the weight of that history is not lost on them.

“You’re standing on this beach that so many men fought and died on during a war. I think it’s going to evoke so many emotions. It’s just, I think it’s going to be so impactful,” Shields said.

Beyond honoring the past, the choir says the trip is about something bigger, using music to bring people together.

“We just really hope that when we experience this together, that we walk away with a greater appreciation and ttry to encourage everyone toward greater cooperation and understanding and peace,” Addington said.

Before heading overseas, members of the choir will continue rehearsing throughout the spring and are scheduled to perform locally as part of a choral festival on March 29.

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 Nicholas Brooks

Click here for updates on this story

    JACKSON, Mississippi (WAPT) — A Mississippi family is sharing their story for the first time after a cyberattack disrupted operations at a major hospital system in the middle of a life-saving surgery.

The incident happened at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where patient Wade Watts was undergoing a liver transplant just as critical systems across the hospital began to fail.

Watts and his family were celebrating what would ultimately be a successful surgery. But the journey to that moment was anything but easy.

Watts had been battling liver failure and other serious health issues before receiving the call that would change everything.

“One night they said hey we think we have a match,” said Wade Watts.

That moment of hope quickly collided with an unexpected crisis.

“The cyberattack took place while I was actually in the operating room,” Watts said.

The February cyberattack knocked out phones and electronic systems across the hospital, forcing staff to operate without the technology they depend on daily.

His wife, Sara Watts, a registered nurse, was there and witnessed the situation unfold in real time.

“I didn’t know that this was even a thing,” said Sara Watts.

As systems went down, hospital staff had to quickly adapt.

“They were having to physically run the lab and physically write out all the orders; you can just point and click,” Sara Watts said.

Despite the challenges, Watts said the experience has left him with deep gratitude not only for the medical staff, but for the donor who made his recovery possible.

“They made a decision at some point in their life to leave a gift behind for me so I can continue to live my life,” Wade Watts said.

Now, he wears a bracelet marking his transplant every day, a constant reminder of the second chance he’s been given.

Hospital officials have not released details about what caused the cyberattack or what safeguards may be in place moving forward. In a statement, the University of Mississippi Medical Center said it could not comment, as the incident remains under investigation.

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 Jamie Mayes

Click here for updates on this story

    LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — Tamika Palmer said her fight for justice for her daughter, Breonna Taylor, is far from over. Six years ago, Taylor was shot and killed by officers in a botched police raid.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss the case with prejudice against Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany, two former LMPD officers accused of falsifying the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant for Taylor’s apartment. Their felony civil rights charges were dismissed in August.

Palmer said the latest development reflects a long-standing lack of accountability.

“There’s been a lack of accountability just from the very beginning,” Palmer said. “I don’t understand the people making decisions about whose life matters and who doesn’t.”

Taylor family attorney Lonita Baker said the family still has not achieved the justice it sought.

“When you take away, at this point, the consent decree gone, not defending the appeal, the Brett Hankison conviction, and now dismissing the case where there’s clear evidence — where another officer agreed to testify,” Baker said. “If you can’t be held accountable when there’s clear evidence as a police officer, when can you be held accountable?”

In its filing, the DOJ said, “The government has determined that this case should be dismissed in the best interest of justice.”

Baker and Palmer strongly rejected that reasoning.

“To say that to dismiss the case would be in the interest of justice is violating their ethical obligations as prosecutors and violating everything we know about the criminal justice system,” Baker said. “And it only continues to expand the belief that the criminal justice system does not work for everyone the same.”

“I’ve never had a lot of hope in this system to begin with,” she said. “It’s just always been a wait and see.”

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 James Maloney

Click here for updates on this story

    SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vermont (WPTZ) — Following unrest in South Burlington last week, many are questioning local police compliance with Vermont’s Fair and Impartial Policing Policy.

The policy was created around 2009 by the Vermont Criminal Justice Council and was adopted by the Vermont General Assembly in 2012.

It’s meant to create clarity on officers’ decisions when it comes to identifying a person and enforcing the law equitably.

The policy has been amended multiple times since it was created, and every law enforcement agency in Vermont is required to have one.

Certain language within it is being questioned following an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in South Burlington on Dorset Street. Vermont State Police were called in for crowd control, and Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison said they created a safe “corridor” for ICE to serve a federal warrant that they received.

However, many on the scene protesting saw this as state police helping ICE. Both Section 5 and Section 6 are dedicated to immigration law and interactions with federal immigration authorities.

V. b. reads: “Agency members should not make warrantless arrests, detain individuals, facilitate the detention of individuals, or otherwise expend resources investigating or enforcing unlawful entry or unlawful reentry cases unless such actions are (1) necessary to ensure public safety or officer safety (imminent risk of physical injury to subject, officer, or third party) or (2) integral to the investigation of criminal offenses unrelated to immigration law.”

Morrison has vehemently denied that state police facilitated the arrests that were made on March 11, and that it was a public safety function.

“There were no serious injuries and no deaths,” she said at a press conference this week. “That has not been the case in some of these other encounters that went violent quickly.”

While ICE did have a criminal warrant for one individual inside, three others were taken into ICE custody. Police said they did not know that was going to happen when they found out the person on the warrant was not inside the property.

“Unless the person that they wanted produces themselves … I think it’s impossible, I don’t see the result changing. They were still going to enter the home to search and confirm,” said Chief William Breault, with the South Burlington Police Department.

Despite this, one state senator says she witnessed state police help ICE to serve the warrant every step of the way- believing it was a violation.

“It is time to reevaluate our fair and impartial policing policy and ensure that it is strong enough,” said Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky, P/D- Essex Junction. “I have been saying for years that that policy should be in law, in statute, not just policy.”

Neither Vermont State Police nor South Burlington police have launched internal investigations, but said they are doing “after-action reviews.”

The Burlington Police Department is reviewing the actions of one officer for their use of force.

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 Luana Munoz, Luis Xavier De Peña

Click here for updates on this story

    LAKE COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — A Lake County woman is on life support after her colleagues say she tried to stop a customer from stealing tires at Just Stop Tires in Mascotte on Monday.

The owner of Just Stop Tires, Roy Cruz, called Ashley Tyer the heart of the company.

“She had so much love, but she was so tough,” said James Kelly, Tyer’s co-worker and friend. “She was, like, a tomboy and a pretty girl all at the same time.”

Tyer has worked for the shop for seven years. Her colleagues say she was more like family than an employee.

Kelly said he had just finished putting used tires on a customer’s vehicle, a job that amounted to just $95. However, Kelly said the customer did not want to pay.

“That split second I turned around and walked in the office, he was already letting the jack down,” Kelly said.

Kelly said the man got into his car and peeled out of the business and onto the road when his car stalled.

“I was thinking, grab the tag because he isn’t going to go far. We have the tag. We have the car. We have his name. We have everything,” Kelly said. “Ashley stood in front of him so he wouldn’t go, and he didn’t care. He just scooped her up.”

Kelly said Tyer was clinging to the hood of the car as the man sped off. He drove for half a block before turning a corner.

Tyer went flying off the vehicle and that is when Kelly realized how badly she was injured.

“It’s a lot to take. She wouldn’t want us to sit here and cry about it. She would actually call me a couple of names if she were here right now,” Kelly said. “Like, ‘Suck it up.’”

Kelly said Tyer had been working on turning an old, large tire outside of the business into a flower bed. Now, he is finishing what she started as a way of honoring a dear friend.

Mascotte police have not made an arrest in the case yet, but they tell WESH 2 they are working with other agencies to ensure the person responsible is brought to justice.

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 Erika Stanish

Click here for updates on this story

    FAYETTE COUNTY, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — One Fayette County middle schooler is proving that no one is ever too young to make a big impact.

Spencer Novak is just 14 years old, and he’s already leading a mission to give back to those who have served our country.

Coming from a long line of veterans, Spencer was inspired to find a way to honor veterans’ service and sacrifice. That’s why he created the Fayette Freedom and Honor Foundation.

“Their trade of service always just came down on me, and I figured the best way to serve my community was giving back to the veterans who fought for this great country,” Novak said.

The foundation’s mission is to support local veterans in nursing homes.

“We’re dedicated to serving the local veterans of our communities, specifically in nursing homes,” Novak said. “Our model is, ‘Honor their service, provide their needs.'”

This weekend, he held a donation drive at Laurel Highlands Middle School, collecting toiletries, socks, slippers, blankets, and non-perishable food items that will now be delivered across seven nursing homes in the county.

Spencer says seven truckloads of items were donated, completely exceeding his expectations.

“I was just so shocked by our community, and I thank them so much for how they’ve rallied behind our cause,” he said.

Spencer says this is just the beginning and hopes to continue building the foundation that was created just last month. He says he’s thankful to those rallying behind the cause.

“Our goal is just to honor every single one of those veterans of Fayette County, no matter what they’ve done or how they’ve served or what branch of the military they were in,” Novak said. “We’re looking to honor every single one of them. We don’t want one veteran forgotten about.”

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

Click here for updates on this story

    NEW JERSEY (WCBS) — A New Jersey teen is back home from Israel after a journey that took him through three countries, at times on foot.

Ephy Carlebach, 18, attends yeshiva school in Beit Shemesh, one of the first Israeli cities Iran attacked during the war.

“Nine people were killed, 20 were injured. We felt the impact of that missile,” he said. “When you see other Jews in Israel were killed, it really, it hurts.”

He added, “Every day was a life and death situation. There were rockets falling from the sky.”

Carlebach recorded a video of a missile in the sky as he ran to a shelter.

“It was pretty intense, looking up and seeing ballistic missiles, cluster bombs, rocket shrapnel falling from the sky,” he said.

Carlebach’s plan to return to New Jersey to spend Passover with his family was snarled when his original flight from Tel Aviv got canceled. His father, Rabbi Mendy Carlebach, came up with an alternative travel plan – a three-day journey taking Ephy Carlebach through Israel, Egypt and Greece.

“I called some friends of mine in Israel and I asked them about the safety aspect of it, and they reassured me, yes, it’s safe,” Mendy Carlebach said.

It started with a five-hour bus trip through Israel.

“There was two or three alarms, I think, while I was going, which is pretty crazy ’cause you’re not in a shelter,” Ephy Carlebach said.

Then, he took a cab ride to the Egyptian border and crossed on foot to the other side, where a vetted taxi driver took him to a Sinai Peninsula airport for a chartered flight to Athens, then to Newark on Thursday.

“It was hectic because a lot of people were taking the same route that I took,” Ephy Carlebach said.

“I tracked him. I asked him to send me his live locations,” Mendy Carlebach said.

Ephy Carlebach said he was in a shelter almost every day and the experience taught him Israelis are unified, especially during war.

“War or no war, I am having a great time in Israel,” Ephy Carlebach said.

He plans on going back.

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 Steve Maugeri

Click here for updates on this story

    PEMBROKE PARK, Florida (WFOR) — Federal employees are relying on community aid as the government shutdown continues, marking the second time since November that some workers have had to report to their jobs without pay.

G. Brinson, a federal employee, said the ongoing uncertainty is stressful.

“You just don’t know what’s gonna happen. There’s a chance we gotta take and continue to pray and hope we go through this. How long that is, I have no idea,” Brinson said.

Brinson is now worried about affording basic necessities.

When asked if she could keep up with rent, she replied, “So far, yes. Next month… no.”

She lives near where Pembroke Park holds its food drive and had to attend one in November, never expecting to return. “It may not be much, but it’s something that’s gonna help so we can sustain ourselves,” she said.

Brinson did not have time to wait in the long line that stretched down 52nd Street, but the town accommodated walk-ups. Town officials later gave CBS News Miami some food to deliver to her.

Joe Donzelli of the town of Pembroke Park noted that the shutdown is affecting people who have never needed help before. “We have folks during the best of times who have insecurities. Now you have the partial government shutdown. You have folks who are trying to find out where their first meal is going to come from who have never had to figure that out before,” Donzelli said.

The town’s reliance on donations helps supply thousands of pounds of fresh food. The donations ran out in a few hours due to the demand.

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 Stacey Sager

Click here for updates on this story

    NASSAU COUNTY, New York (WABC) — It’s a world away from the hallways of a public high school in Nassau County. Roosevelt Schools Superintendent, Dr. Shawn Wightman made a trip at his own expense to San Marcos, Guatemala, to make a special delivery for a student.

“Are you haunted by Alvaro’s story?”

When asked if Alvaro Velasquez’s story haunted Wightman, he said, “Yeah. It’s very difficult as a superintendent, a father, to think about if something like that were to have happened to any of my kids.”

Last May, only weeks away from his high school graduation, Velasquez was randomly picked up by ICE and never made it to his graduation.

“He wasn’t a hardened criminal or anything like that, didn’t have any type of record. That was the moment when everybody realized that this is a real thing,” Wightman said.

Velasquez was taken to a detention center in Texas, where he spent months alone, before self-deporting to Guatemala.

In September, Dr. Wightman visited the detention facility because he felt Velasquez deserved his cap, gown and diploma. But he was turned away.

“A very stark reality for me going in there, because there was a barrier,” Wightman said.

He knew he needed to try again.

After refusing to give up, Wightman took two plane rides and a five-and-a-half-hour car trip through the foothills of Guatemala, where he was finally reunited with Velasquez and his family.

“This is amazing for me. He helped me. And he supported me, for all this time,” Velasquez said.

“When he got detained, it really upset a lot of us,” Wightman said.

In Roosevelt, where the student population is 65% Latino and Hispanic, it was only the beginning.

Since Velasquez was detained, three other students in Roosevelt have had their lives upended by ICE.

One was detained, another is likely to be deported, and a third, whose father was detained, now has to work to support the family.

Velasquez came to the U.S. alone when he was only 16 and has been through so much.

“I’m not feeling I’m alone. I know I have him and my family,” Velasquez said.

He also has his diploma from a man who taught him not to abandon people you care about.

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.