Students unveil new board game at Black History Month Pancake Breakfast

CNN Newsource on February 8, 2026

By Adam Harrington

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    AURORA, Illinois (WBBM) — Students in Aurora, Illinois, gathered this weekend for an Annual Black History Month Pancake Breakfast.

Aurora’s Quad County Urban League held the event Saturday morning at the Prisco Center. The event raises money for scholarships and brings together community members.

Young people at the event enjoyed pancakes, eggs, bacon, and fruit, while taking part in a student-versus-adult “Black History Jeopardy” competition. The students won, Aurora in Black noted.

Middle and high school students from the Quad County Urban League’s Tomorrow’s Scientists, Students, Technicians, and Managers program also introduced a new Monopoly-inspired board game called “Legacy Lane: Paths of Progress.”

“Our game, Legacy Lane, was created by us to honor Black History Month,” Kai Williamson, a seventh grader in the program, said in a news release. “This game helps players learn about real-life experiences faced by African Americans today. As players move through the board, they explore opportunities, face challenges, and learn about teamwork to lead to success.”

Elected officials and community activists attended the breakfast, as well as the Waubonsee Community College basketball team, which stopped by before a game on Saturday afternoon.

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Man surrenders to police after setting fire inside home

CNN Newsource on February 8, 2026

By Garrett Behanna

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    PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A man was taken into custody after barricading himself inside a home and setting a fire in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood on Saturday, officials said.

Pittsburgh police and fire crews were dispatched around 11:45 a.m. to the 1500 block of Ballinger Street for a reported structure fire. Police said a relative called 911 and reported that a man inside the home was threatening to set it on fire.

The caller told dispatchers that, during a FaceTime call, the man poured lighter fluid throughout the residence, authorities said.

When officers arrived, they found the man barricaded inside the home. A police negotiator made contact, and the man eventually surrendered without incident. Officers found two firearms on the suspect and observed smoke and flames coming from a doorway.

Firefighters then entered the home and extinguished the fire.

Officials said the residence sustained moderate damage throughout and is considered a loss. No civilians or first responders were injured.

One cat died as a result of the fire, and one dog was rescued from the backyard, authorities said. The American Red Cross is assisting the remaining residents, who are staying with relatives.

The man was transported to police headquarters for further questioning and is expected to face charges.

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Man becomes one of the first patients to get new implant for arthritis

CNN Newsource on February 8, 2026

By Stephanie Stahl, Casey Kuhn

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    PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — A new kind of joint replacement is now available for people who have a certain kind of arthritis in the hand.

Arthritis is a very common problem for people as they age, and until now, treatment options have been limited.

Four months after having a new kind of joint replacement surgery on his thumb, Randy Ferree said he’s able to easily move his hand.

“The surgery went very, very well,” he said. “I didn’t really have a lot of pain with it.”

Ferree, a retired engineer from Phoenixville, is among the millions of people with arthritis in the thumb joint.

“It just is a pain that keeps you from doing things because you can’t grip, you can’t lift,” he said.

But not anymore — Ferree was one of the first patients to get a new implant with Dr. Richard Tosti at Rothman Orthopaedics.

“What’s exciting about this implant is that I think it shows a new step towards innovation and hand surgery catching up with total hip and total knee surgery,” Tosti said.

Tosti’s images before the surgery show bone-on-bone in the thumb joint, and the lack of cartilage tissue causes the pain. After surgery, the implant provides a cushion.

Ferree said he had arthritis in both hands. Years ago, he had the traditional surgery on his right hand, where bone is removed.

Tosti said with the implant, patients have a quicker, easier recovery with improved strength and mobility.

“Very, very happily impressed,” Ferree said.

Now for the first time in a long time, he’s pain-free.

The implant that was developed in Europe, where Tosti trained. It was FDA cleared in July.

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NYC expands efforts to keep New Yorkers safe during dangerous cold

CNN Newsource on February 8, 2026

By Kristie Keleshian, Naomi Ruchim

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    NEW YORK (WCBS) — Saturday night is expected to be the coldest of the season so far, and New York City officials are expanding efforts to make sure all residents stay safe.

At least 17 people have died outside since the cold snap began just over two weeks ago.

“This weather, frankly, is dangerous, and the consequences of being outside could be fatal,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.

The mayor announced expansions to shelters and warming facilities on Friday, and Saturday afternoon, the city announced even more action.

In addition to the previously announced 10 school-based warming centers announced Friday, the city said two more will now open – one in Far Rockaway and one in Washington Heights.

Warming bus units will also operate at what the mayor describes as a heightened capacity, increasing from 27 buses on Friday night to 33 by Saturday night.

“The warming buses is good for people that need help in life, that’s struggling, that’s trying to get their housing right now,” Manhattan resident Peter Brasco said.

Agencies are also making the signage on warming shelters and buses larger and more visible so people in need can find them easily.

In addition to more buses, Mamdani announced the addition of at least 150 more outreach workers to get New Yorkers into newly added safe haven beds, expediting the opening of 64 new hotel shelter units in Queens, and cutting the 311 wait time in half to get help for housing insecure New Yorkers. More than 50 school nurses have also been deployed.

“What we’re doing at this time is doubling down on all of our efforts to connect any new yorker who’s outside with shelter, with warmth, and with safety,” Mamdani said.

The mayor visited firefighters and EMS workers on Staten Island to thank them for their efforts Saturday.

“Just on Staten Island, Sanitation has melted more than 11 million tons of snow. This is all the work that city workers are doing in tandem with more than 550 outreach workers who are out there at all times of day to bring homeless New Yorkers inside,” Mamdani said.

At Saint Clement’s Episcopal Church in Midtown, volunteers were giving away warm food, but they said fewer people have been coming out on colder days.

“It says that there’s a lot of people that we’re not able to get to or that are not able to come here because of the weather, and they may be going without food and that is big concern,” volunteer TT said.

Joan Ochei was among those who did brave the cold to pick up something to eat.

“Freezing, it’s freezing. But we have to make the best of it,” she said. “For people like us, this is like a relief, great relief for us.”

Volunteers are reminding New Yorkers that they aren’t alone and that help is out there.

“We’re here to help you, anytime, whatever you need,” TT said. “We’re here to help you. We can do what we can.”

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Student arrested for battering two high school employees reprimanded by judge in bond court

CNN Newsource on February 8, 2026

By Ana Maria Soler

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    MIAMI (WFOR) — A Homestead teen accused of battering two school employees has been reprimanded for disrespecting a judge while awaiting bond Saturday afternoon.

The judge ordered Charlise Sydnie Hurst, 19, to pay $2650 after she was arrested Friday morning at Ruth Owens Kruse Education Center, where Hurst is a student.

She was also ordered to stay away from one of the teachers, identified as Ninfa Sirker. It was after then that she was reprimanded by the judge, who told her: “You are already going to spend the night [behind bars] for your disrespect, I suggest you change your attitude.”

The report also said that she pulled the hair of the two employees, taking them to the floor and holding them down for several minutes.

According to police, she also threatened one teacher, telling her she would return and kill her.

The entire class left the classroom in fear, before school administrators, security, and other teachers responded to the disruption, police said interfered with the orderly conduct of the campus.

Hurst was then taken into custody. Her arrest report stated that she is facing one count of battery on a specified official or employee and one count of disrupting or interfering with an educational institution.

The motive for this attack remains unclear.

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Written by an Atlanta graduate, “Lift Every Voice and Sing’s” message still resonates

CNN Newsource on February 8, 2026

By Leondra Head

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    ATLANTA (WUPA) — On the campus of Clark Atlanta University, there’s an extra sense of pride when the HBCU’s student choir, the Philharmonic Society, performs “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

The song, also known as the Black National Anthem, was written in the early 1900s to inspire and give hope.

“Every single time I hear it, I get so empowered being an African American,” Clark Atlanta student Cheney Pooler said.

Pooler regularly performs the song and takes great pride in performing a song written by an alumnus.

“James Weldon Johnson wrote the lyrics for the song. So to sing it is just a privilege and something we all cherish,” Pooler said.

Johnson graduated in 1894, when Clark Atlanta was Atlanta University. He originally wrote “Lift Every Voice and Sing” as a poem while working as a school principal in Florida. Johnson’s brother transformed it into a song.

The song, written 126 years ago, depicts the struggles of Blacks during that time.

“Sometimes our Blackness wasn’t represented enough, and we’re taking that power back,” Pooler said.

“This was written during the times of lynchings. This was not a time of peace. This was a time of evil,” Clark Atlanta President Dr. George French Jr. “They understood that we needed symbols of hope. We need something that will inspire us.”

The original intent for the song was for a former U.S. president.

“He wrote it for President Lincoln on President Lincoln’s birthday,” French said.

Clark Atlanta historian Gay-linn Gatewood Jasho said the song has stood the test of time.

“Not only is that song a part of the African American community, it is sung at sporting events. It’s opened up to the world to show who we are as a people,” Gatewood Jasho said.

Coco Jones will perform the anthem at the Super Bowl on Sunday.

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Lawsuit claims landlord wants to evict Raising Cane’s because restaurant “smells like chicken fingers”

CNN Newsource on February 8, 2026

By Neal Riley

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    BOSTON (WBZ) — Raising Cane’s claims in a lawsuit that a Boston landlord has threatened to evict one of its locations in the Back Bay because the restaurant “smells like chicken fingers.”

The eatery opened on Boylston Street in 2022 in a 100-year-old building and had a lease through 2037. The lawsuit says the trouble started when the landlord began renting out office space on the second floor, and the tenants there complained of the “offensive odor.”

Raising Cane’s, which calls chicken fingers its “one love,” says it spent more than $200,000 to try and minimize the odor.

“Despite these efforts, Defendant continues to complain that its tenant’s chicken finger restaurant smells like chicken fingers,” the company said in its lawsuit. “In reality, it appears that Defendant has come to the realization that its own build-out of the second-floor office space was poorly executed.”

The lawsuit says that Raising Cane’s was informed last month that its lease would be terminated because of the “offensive and/or nuisance odors.”

The defendant is 775 Boylston LLC, which is affiliated with Heath Properties in Boston. Heath told WBZ-TV it has “no comment” on the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that that the landlord tried to force Raising Cane’s to waive its right in the lease to be the “exclusive chicken restaurant” in the building. It says the landlord has been negotiating a lease with Panda Express to rent a spot right next to Raising Cane’s where a Starbucks used to be.

Panda Express has one other city location in the Boston University student union. Raising Cane’s also has a restaurant by the B.U. campus on Commonwealth Avenue, as well a location by Downtown Crossing.

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Woman survives pole impalement “against all odds” while driving on 10 Freeway in San Bernardino

CNN Newsource on February 7, 2026

By Joy Benedict

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    SAN BERNARDINO, California (KCAL, KCBS) — Drivers often face a fear on the freeway that something may fall off a truck, cause an accident, injury, or worse, and for one young Redlands woman, it was her worst nightmare.

Janina Akporavbare recalls the day when she thought she was going to die. It was August 25, when she was driving on the westbound lanes of the 10 Freeway, near the Tippecanoe exit.

“I just remember seeing this huge pole coming at my car and I couldn’t swerve, cause it was during rush hour traffic,” she said.

The pole flew under her car and impaled her in the stomach.

“I woke up and I could feel something dripping on me. It was my blood. I was bleeding through my stomach, the pole was in my stomach,” Akporavbare said.

She had her younger brother in the back seat, so she forced herself off the road with the pole still dragging from her car.

“The pole was really long, so other cars were running over the pole while it was in my stomach.”

She called 911, and according to the Loma Linda Firefighters Association, “against overwhelming odds,” Akporavbare made it from the accident site to the hospital in 10 minutes. Firefighters cut the pole, and with it still inside her, she was transported in an ambulance.

“I asked the paramedic if he could pinky promise if I make it out of this, if I would make it out of this. He pinky promised me if I made it out, he would visit me in the hospital,” Akporavbare said.

Doctors gave her a 1% chance of survival, the association said. Akporavbare did survive, but her recovery hasn’t been easy. She underwent three surgeries and spent almost two months at Loma Linda University Medical Center.

“They took out part of my colon, part of my liver, part of my kidney — they were all injured.”

Thankfully, she has health insurance, but her car is totaled. Studying to be a nurse, she lost a semester of school and work, not to mention her struggle to drive again.

“I feel terrified, I don’t really drive that much, I don’t drive on that freeway,” she said.

Which is why she is hoping someone remembers the crash or the pole on the freeway so she and her attorney can help figure out who left it there.

Akporavbare said she is thankful to be walking and living, and for those who rescued her and helped her heal, as she is studying to someday do the same for others.

“It makes me want to be a nurse even more because I want to help people, like the nurses at Loma Linda helped me.”

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Heroic U.S. Army “Hello Girls” of World War I to be honored at Colma cemetery

CNN Newsource on February 7, 2026

By Loureen Ayyoub

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    COLMA, California (KPIX) — A service honoring the “Hello Girls,” women who served as bilingual telephone operators in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War I, is set for this weekend at a cemetery in Colma.

The women did not receive recognition for their service until the late 1970s and were posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2024.

The Hello Girls performed critical communications work near combat zones, but at the time, their service was dismissed as clerical. They were not granted veteran status until decades later, after sustained advocacy.

Carolyn Timbie, whose grandmother Grace Banker served as chief operator in the Signal Corps, has been among those advocating for recognition.

“My mother told me about her – what an amazing woman, friend, mother. And for me to be robbed of knowing her service, that really hits home,” Timbie said.

Timbie and the Hello Girls Military Honors and Remembrance Project work to ensure the women’s gravesites include inscriptions recognizing their military service.

“It really was upsetting to see these women with no recognition, and we are experiencing this all the time as we visit the different headstones,” she said.

Timbie said 280 women served as telephone operators during World War I, wearing uniforms and facing life-threatening risks in combat zones.

“I have such immense pride in these women. It speaks to my heart that here we are finally seeing recognition for women that should have been honored decades ago,” she said.

The Department of Veterans Affairs and volunteer groups have worked to locate and honor the women, identifying eight interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, including Irma Armanet, whose gravesite had never been marked. Part of Saturday’s ceremony will include a dedication of her new military headstone.

The Hello Girls have also been the subject of books, a documentary, and a musical. The Ross Valley Players will perform the musical this weekend, with some cast members attending the ceremony.

The memorial will be held Saturday, Feb. 7, at 1 p.m. at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma.

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Sacramento company designs body armor for women on the front lines

CNN Newsource on February 7, 2026

By Dominic Garcia

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    SACRAMENTO, California (KMAX, KOVR) — Whether it’s the military or a local police force, more and more women are signing up to serve and protect, but when it comes to the body armor they wear, there are not many options.

When it comes to body armor, comfort has always taken a backseat to safety.

But the people at Extremis Systems, a Sacramento company, are asking why can’t you have both? They’re actually the first to come out with body armor specifically for women.

“You can see that from the side, there’s actually a curve there,” said Jenna Landry, the chief revenue officer at Extremis. “Women are an important part of our forces, whether it’s military, EMS, law enforcement, fire, interpreters, they’re going on the front lines just like men and they should have the proper protection.”

“This stops as high as any standard that’s out there that needs to be stopped, which is armor-piercing rounds,” said Zachary Spencer, the company’s chief technology officer.

Spencer said they come in 18 different shapes and sizes and they use a polymer-carbon fiber mix, something that’s effective, cheaper, greener, and better fitting, which means better protection.

“There’s an initiative now on 30% of women in law enforcement by 2030, so we’re really there to support that initiative,” Landry said.

They’re aiming to do that by closing the gap between comfort and safety for women on the front lines.

“Durability, light weight, and survivability, so we keep you in the fight,” Landry said.

The people at Extremis say this eventually won’t just be for women. Men are interested in customized plates because they come in different shapes and sizes.

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