Category: CNN Regional

By Tammy Mutasa

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    WORCESTER, Massachusetts (WBZ) — Neighborhoods around Doherty High School in Worcester, Massachusetts were on alert after a black bear was seen roaming around on Thursday morning.

You could say the suspect in the chase really put his climbing skills on full display. A black bear was caught on camera scaling a retaining wall near Doherty High School, as Environmental Police followed close behind.

Parents picking up their kids from school spotted the bear meandering nearby. The busy bear trekked through town trying to find its way and half a mile away, it came face to face with Gail Barrell in her backyard.

“My heart was racing,” said Barrell. “I was terrified, so he looked at me and kept going on, but I ran up to the house screaming.”

“We’ve been here 22 years and never saw a bear,” said Phil Barrell.

Moments earlier, the bear galloped across the backyard of a rest home before it climbed a tree then hopped a fence.

MassWildlife experts say it’s mating season, a time when young bears have just been dispersed from their momma bears, so newly independent cubs could be roaming around.

Eventually, Environmental Police say the bear safely made its way to the woods leaving those who had a wild encounter with it still stunned.

“I’m very cautious coming outside now,” said Gail Barrell.

On Thursday night, the bear made a surprise return, crossing a street in front of a WBZ-TV crew.

Experts say there are lots of bears just west of Worcester and several times a year a bear ends up further into the city than it plans too.

If a bear is in a very populated area, contact the Environmental Police Radio Room at 1 (800) 632-8075 or the nearest MassWildlife District Office to report the sighting and get advice.

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 Mike Sullivan

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    BROOKLINE, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A fire ripped through a building on Route 9 in Brookline, Massachusetts, igniting compressed air tanks at a scuba diving shop on the first floor. Brookline Fire says one employee suffered minor burn injuries, and a firefighter got a laceration while attacking the fire.

“We got everybody from the upstairs apartments out quick as well,” said Mike Williams, an employee at East Coast Divers. “We banged on the door and got everybody out from upstairs. There were only two people upstairs as far as I know.”

Brookline Fire Chief John Sullivan says there were five residents who were in town when the fire happened, with another two residents away. All of these people have now been displaced. A relative told WBZ that her sister and her girlfriend were the two who were away, but that her cat was staying inside.

“We did manage to save the cat from the second floor. He wasn’t happy, but we got him back to his owner,” said Chief Sullivan.

The chief went on to say that the fire started in the back area of the shop, but the exact cause is still under investigation. The flames caused the explosion of multiple compressed air cannisters. The air inside is only partly oxygen. Had they been full oxygen tanks the damage could have been worse.

“Oxygen is very flammable. Obviously, there is oxygen in air, but the quantity is 23%,” said Chief Sullivan.

Massachusetts State Representative Tommy Vitolo said the fire came right after the city voted for a budget override that in part helped to keep the fire department fully funded.

“We tend to only remember the importance of our emergency responders for days like today,” Vitolo said. “Fortunately, Brookline was thinking about our emergency response earlier in May when we voted to raise our taxes in an override to maintain services.”

The fire could not have come at a worse time for East Coast Divers. The shop is heading into their most lucrative time of the year.

“This is the start of our season. Our season is only like three months long, so we try to do as much as we can in the short period we have,” says Williams.

A customer for the dive shop has started an online fundraiser to help support the local business. Just hours after the fire hit, they already raised more than $2,000.

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 Adam Thompson

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    BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — Dozens of emergency responders pulled a man out of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor after he fell in near Power Plant Live! and Phillips Seafood on Thursday.

Crews responded to the harbor, off Pratt Street, around 3 p.m. for reports of a man who was in the water.

The Baltimore City Fire Department conducted a rapid search and removed the man from the water, fire officials said. He was taken to the hospital, where his condition is unknown.

Our media partner, The Baltimore Banner, reports that two firefighters saw the man and attempted to rescue him before divers arrived at the scene. Workers from Phillips Seafood and the National Aquarium also came out to help.

A witness told the Banner that a person was sitting on the edge of the harbor when the man fell into the water.

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 Adam Thompson

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    BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — The families of the victims of Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapse have settled with the owners and operators of the M/V Dali container ship. The terms of the settlement are not being disclosed.

Attorneys representing four of the men who died, and a survivor, in the March 26, 2024, collapse, said the settlement resolves “all the claims against the owners and operators of the M/V Dali.”

Six construction workers died after they were knocked into the Patapsco River. A seventh construction worker survived.

Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys represented the families of Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, José Maynor López, Miguel Luna, and Carlos Daniel Hernandez Estrella, who died during the bridge collapse.

Julio Cervantes, the only person to survive the collapse, was also included in the settlement.

“While we are pleased to reach this settlement on behalf of the families of those who lost their lives on March 26 and the only person to survive the fall into the Patapsco River, it is bittersweet because these families won’t have an opportunity to experience the seasons of life with their husbands, fathers, brothers and sons,” attorney L. Chris Stewart stated. “We worked tirelessly for these families on this incredibly complex case and are thankful that this matter has been resolved. Although the fight has been resolved for the petitioners, the battle is not over, as other parties share responsibility for this tragedy, and we look forward to the forthcoming fight for justice.”

Five of the seven families involved in the collapse have or are working through settlements.

Maryland and Dali’s owner and operator settled for more than $2 billion this month.

A civil trial is scheduled for June 1.

Immigration advocacy group remembers the victims We Are CASA, an immigration advocacy group, stated that no monetary settlement will replace the families’ loved ones, who were killed while repairing potholes on the bridge.

“While it is very important that some legal claims have been resolved, the pain these families have endured remains,” said Ama Frimpong, the Chief of Services at We Are CASA and attorney representing some of the impacted families. “Their focus will continue to be on rebuilding their lives, healing from trauma, supporting one another, and honoring the memory of their loved ones after a tragedy that forever changed their lives.”

Frimpong added, “We Are CASA will continue standing alongside these families as they seek healing, dignity, and lasting security, and as they navigate the difficult road ahead.”

Request denied to postpone civil trial Earlier this month, a judge denied a request by the owner of the Dali, Grace Ocean Private Limited, and its operator, Synergy Marine Private Limited, to postpone the civil trial.

The ship’s owner and operator asked that a judge delay the civil trial until the criminal trial is resolved, or delay the case for at least 90 days to allow the companies to evaluate “whether they can obtain immunity or some other protection for any of Synergy’s employee fact witnesses, such that they would agree to travel to the U.S. to attend trial.”

The civil trial will determine if the companies can limit their liability to $44 million.

The criminal indictment alleges that the operator, Synergy Marine Private Limited, and Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair violated the Ports and Waterways Safety Act by concealing dangerous conditions on the ship, falsifying inspection reports, and evading maritime safety requirements.

The indictment also revealed that the company used the wrong fuel pump, which prevented the ship from regaining power after an outage just before it hit the Key Bridge. The ship had experienced at least four power outages in the hours before the collision, investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found.

Kiewit dropped after unexpected cost estimates In April, the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) ended its contract with Kiewit, after the cost was higher than the state anticipated.

MDTA officials said Kiewit estimated the price of the rebuild to be about $9 billion. The state was looking for a price tag of around $4.3 billion to $5.2 billion.

Finding new Key Bridge contractors MDTA is seeking new contractors, who will be assigned to four sections to connect the Key Bridge reconstruction together.

Officials said the most costly contractor will be around $3.5 billion to $4 billion to construct the over-the-water section of the bridge. The minimum clearance from the bridge deck to the federal channel will be 230 feet.

The MDTA also projects $300 million to $400 million for the over-the-land portion of the bridges’ south side; $200 million to $300 million for the over-the-land section on the north side; and $50 million to $100 million to complete the demolition of the old structure that remains in the water.

There will be three other contracts: over-the-land portions on the bridge’s south side, which the state projects will cost $300 million to $400 million; over-the-land portions on the north side, projected to cost $200 million to $300 million; and demolishing remnants of the old structure for $50 million to $100 million.

Key Bridge rebuild Initially, state officials anticipated that the Key Bridge would be rebuilt by the fall of 2028. Now that the price tag has increased and the contractor Kiewit was released, the hope is to finish the bridge by the end of 2030.

The rebuilt bridge will be fully funded by the federal government. Funding was included in a 2024 federal spending bill.

The new Key Bridge will be more than two miles long with two 12-foot lanes in each direction. The bridge will have 230 feet of clearance above the federal channel and will have a lifespan of 100 years.

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 Ivan Taylor

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    MIAMI, Florida (WFOR) — The parents of a 19-year-old man who died this week following complications from a cosmetic procedure are speaking publicly for the first time, demanding justice for their son.

In an exclusive interview with CBS News Miami, the family of Endrys Elian Martinez said they moved from Venezuela to the United States to give him a safer future away from violence in their home country.

“I just want justice for my son. That’s what I want,” his father, Endrys Martinez, said in Spanish through tears.

According to the Coral Gables-based law firm Silva and Silva, Martinez died Tuesday after suffering complications connected to anesthesia before a rhinoplasty procedure at Svelta Plastic Surgery. The teenager was declared brain dead on Monday before his death on Tuesday.

Attorneys representing the family allege Martinez suffered a medical emergency after the anesthesia was administered.

“In addition to being anesthesia-related, it’s the failure because of the inability to be able to understand how to treat and address those complications,” attorney George Silva said.

Martinez’s parents told CBS News Miami they traveled from Tennessee to Miami specifically for the procedure after learning about the clinic through social media. His mother, Iblin Martinez, said an influencer had promoted the business when it was known as Seduction Cosmetic Surgery.

“An influencer talked about Seduction Clinic. That’s why we were surprised when we arrived, and it was called Svelta,” she said in Spanish.

Attorney Silva confirmed the clinic changed its name earlier this year from Seduction Cosmetic Surgery to Svelta Plastic Surgery, stating, “These plastic surgery centers have become a business, and it’s all about marketing,”.

The grieving family said they have received no explanation from the clinic about what happened.

When asked what information they were given, the parents replied, “Nothing. Nothing,”.

Martinez’s father said that when he returned to the clinic seeking answers and documentation, he was denied the paperwork. “I asked for all the paperwork about my son, and a woman told me no, that she could not give me that and they had to speak to the attorney,” he said in Spanish.

The family said they now cope with the loss by watching videos of their son laughing and playing.

CBS News Miami contacted Svelta Plastic Surgery again Thursday seeking comment, but no one answered the phone.

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 Larry Seward

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    MIAMI, Florida (WFOR) — A Miami-Dade Sheriff’s deputy will not face criminal charges for the shooting of an armed man last June, following an investigation that determined the shooting was “justified”.

An 11-page memo, released Thursday from the Miami Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle’s office, stated that “objective facts establish that a reasonable person in Sergeant Kelvin Cox’s position would have believed that using deadly force was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to Sergeant Cox and/or others”. The memo concluded that “Because Sergeant Cox was legally justified in using deadly force, no charges should be filed”.

The incident occurred in June 2025 in the West Little River community, beginning after a detective initiated a traffic stop on a yellow Corvette due to “very dark front windshield tints”. Cameras recorded the Corvette speeding away from the stop.

Investigators identified Laboy as the driver. Laboy’s loved ones told CBS News Miami last year that they believe Laboy was afraid for his life because the police units following the Corvette were not marked. They also noted that he had no criminal history and possessed a license to carry a concealed handgun.

However, investigators stated that Laboy “recklessly drove through neighborhoods at high speeds, ignored stop signs and nearly caused crashes”.

The video showed the Corvette weaving through a housing complex until it reached a dead end, where two deputy cruisers stopped behind it. The investigators’ memo details that Laboy exited the car with a pistol in his right hand and ran toward Sergeant Cox.

It is unknown if Laboy’s family will take any legal action as a result.

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 Hannah Rabinowitz CNN, Kara Scannell CNN, Paula Reid CNN

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    May 28, 2026 (Houston Style Magazine) — The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the former magazine columnist who accused President Donald Trump of sexual assault, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

The investigation is focused on whether Carroll committed perjury in testimony tied to her two civil lawsuits against the president – one alleging he sexually abused Carroll in a New York department store in the mid-1990s, and a second for defaming her when in 2019 he repeatedly denied the assault, said she wasn’t his type and claimed she made it up to boost sales of a book.

Prosecutors’ theory hinges on a 2022 deposition statement by Carroll, 82, that she received no outside funding for her lawsuit, though it was later revealed that billionaire Reid Hoffman had paid some legal fees and expenses.

Carroll’s team declined to comment for this story. Attempts to reach Hoffman on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

One day after CNN published this story, US Attorney Andrew Boutros said in a statement that the Northern District of Illinois “has not opened—and has never opened—a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll.”

After Boutros’ statement was issued, sources reaffirmed the investigation to CNN.

The probe is the latest move in the department’s ceaseless, and somewhat strained, efforts to meet Trump’s demands to target his long-standing personal foes.

Under acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the department has pushed to speed up Trump’s campaign of retribution. But the cases he’s brought since taking the reins of the department in April have been heavily criticized and are likely to face challenges in court over allegations of politicization.

But Blanche has been recused from this matter because he worked as one of Trump’s personal attorneys on the Carroll appeals, according to a source familiar with the matter. Blanche has not attended meetings or been involved in discussions about the investigations, and the investigation is being overseen by other officials in the deputy attorney general’s office.

Senior leaders at the Justice Department referred the investigation to federal prosecutors in Chicago, according to two sources familiar with the matter. While Carroll’s deposition took place in New York, one of the individuals who helped cover some of Carroll’s legal fees, Hoffman, has a nonprofit based in Chicago.

Hoffman’s support of the case caught Trump’s attorneys off guard when it came to light on the eve of trial.

In a 2022 videotaped deposition, Carroll told then-Trump attorney Alina Habba that no one else was paying for her legal fees. But two weeks before the trial Carroll’s attorneys informed the judge and Trump’s lawyers that they secured funding from Hoffman’s nonprofit.

Carroll’s lawyers said she never met nor had conversations with anyone associated with the nonprofit. Habba said in court at the time that Carroll’s team “conspired to conceal the truth for nearly six months.”

The judge permitted Trump’s attorneys to question Carroll again in a deposition, which has not been made public.

When the trial began two weeks later Judge Lewis Kaplan said he saw no issue with Carroll’s credibility and blocked the lawyers from asking about Hoffman’s funding.

Caroll is still embroiled in multiple legal battles with the president. Juries awarded Carroll millions of dollars in damages, which the president is appealing. Trump has appealed the $5 million sexual abuse case judgement to the Supreme Court and has pledged to do the same with the $83 million defamation case.

The Supreme Court has deferred its decision on whether to take up Trump’s appeal twelve times. The most recent deferral was made Wednesday morning.

In a different case, the president unsuccessfully asked for the Justice Department to join the case as a defendant so that he could argue he is immune from liability. An appeals court panel of judges said the argument was raised too late in the legal process.

This story was updated Thursday to include a statement issued by the US attorney for the Northern District of Illinois one day after the story was published. This story was previously updated to remove a statement errantly provided by the Justice Department.

CNN’s John Fritze contributed to this report.

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 Antoinette Radford, CNN

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    May 28, 2026 (Houston Style Magazine) — I have a gym class this evening, Pilates on Tuesday and an interview on Wednesday. I write them in my planner — a new purchase — as I won’t get a reminder on my smartphone.

I send my parents an email with a phone number for my burner phone — another new purchase — and tell them I’ll be in touch in five days.

I’m not going off the grid. In fact, I’m not going anywhere. I’m just giving up my smartphone for a week.

After receiving one too many targeted ads, ironically on Instagram, about how our phones and social media are leading to burnout — a state in which one feels a lack of energy, a decline in sense of belonging and a plummeting self-esteem — I decided to switch off for a working week.

Before I started my experiment, I spoke with neuroscientist Tj Power, who specializes in phone addiction, to get some advice on how to put my phone away — and keep it away.

“Our brains are extremely overstimulated, and it’s burning out our dopamine receptors,” Power tells me.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in our brains that makes us feel joy or excitement. It’s been linked to pleasure, reward and motivation, Dr. Anna Lembke, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine, previously told CNN.

“I always warn people, they’re going to feel worse before they feel better,” Lembke, the author of “Dopamine Nation,” said when asked about her suggestion of abstaining from items that trigger our dopamine.

My decision to put down my phone came at the same time as a landmark social media trial was underway in Los Angeles, with Big Tech companies facing questions about whether their platforms could cause addiction in some people. Ultimately, a jury found Meta and YouTube, which is owned by Google, were negligent in the design of their platforms, knew their design was dangerous and failed to warn of those risks, and caused substantial harm to the plaintiff.

Meta and YouTube, which both denied the lawsuit’s allegations and contested the idea that their platforms could be addictive, said they planned to appeal the verdict.

I didn’t consider myself a phone addict — I thought I used the phone as much as any other person. Which means that by noon on a recent Friday before I started my experiment, I had picked up my device 88 times according to its “pick up” tracker.

But once I put it down for the 88th time, I realized the rectangular piece of metal I carry with me at all times has become my second brain. It really was time to do a personal digital detox. I pitched the story to my bosses, promising I would still use technology for my job (just my laptop without any social media access) and started looking for experts to help me begin.

Starting my phone-free experiment

It’s Monday morning, and I have physical therapy a half-hour drive away. I hop in a cab — phone locked away in the depths of my bag — and start my drive unplugged from the music I would usually play in my earphones. Maybe keeping my phone with me is cheating, but I do it just in case I need it.

For the first time in four months since moving to a new city, I notice a park that I had been meaning to visit. I’m also aware that the cabdriver keeps scratching his head — an observation I would usually miss with my head buried in my phone.

After leaving physical therapy, I cave quickly to my phone. Despite bringing my physical cards to pay — I didn’t check my bank account balance. My payment bounces, and reluctantly I pull the phone out to check my account and move money into it.

photo

I put my phone back away, determined to stay off it for the rest of the day. Successfully.

Starting over the next day

The following day, I promise to try and not look at my phone.

Tuesday morning starts strong. I go to the gym — with no headphones to play music or smartphone to track my workout. Fortunately for me, I run into my colleague Ivana and hope to chat. But unfortunately for me, Ivana is wearing headphones and is ready to work out on her own.

I get a ride into work with another colleague in my apartment building and start my day. I’m working just fine until midafternoon.

I’m living in a majority Muslim country during my experiment, and Ramadan starts this Tuesday evening. Many shops across the country close during the monthlong holiday. I haven’t bought nearly enough supplies, so I hop online to purchase some essentials before the evening.

Doing so is allowed, as part of the digital detox, my colleagues said. I can use my laptop for work. I just need to stay off my smartphone and social media accounts.

I add my items to my online cart, go to check out and remember that my bank account emails a two-factor authentication code to my personal phone. I try to log into my personal email on my work laptop, so I don’t have to open my phone again. But I get the password wrong. Then I get the password wrong a second time.

The only solution? An email sent to my trusted device to confirm it’s me trying to log in. My trusted device is, no surprise, my phone.

Perhaps I should just stay logged out of my email for the remainder of the week? But I decide against it. I do need some groceries after all. Reluctantly, I switch the phone off airplane mode and enter the two-factor authentication code for my grocery order.

Maybe tomorrow will be my day.

I finally hit my stride

Wednesday proves my most successful day yet. I head to the gym in the morning, hop in my friend’s carshare and leave my phone in its drawer at home. Even if I wanted it, I couldn’t use it.

Power, the neuroscientist, had warned me I would experience withdrawal symptoms, including possibly feeling anxious, having a low mood and being tired without the stimulation from my phone.

He’s right. It’s only been three days, and I am absolutely exhausted. Every morning I feel like I haven’t slept enough, with the only noticeable change being without my phone.

Lembke recommends a 30-day abstinence trial — also known as a “dopamine fast,” as it takes around four weeks to reset reward pathways in the brain.

I check back in with Power and ask him whether my exhaustion could be linked to being without my phone.

“Dopamine … it has a cousin in our system called adrenaline,” he tells me.

Adrenaline is a hormone and a neurotransmitter. It’s responsible for the body’s fight-or-flight response and helps transmit messages across the body.

“It might not be that you’re suddenly more exhausted, it might be that you actually were pretty exhausted, but the phone was masking it,” he tells me. “We don’t realize how exhausted we are until some of the external stimulation stops.”

My job takes up my day

Thursday is show day on CNN Creators, and I’m really busy, so I don’t miss my phone so much. Four days in, and I’m getting more used to it not being around.

But I am still exhausted. My team is talking about the recent movie “Wuthering Heights,” and the social media discourse around it. (“Wuthering Heights” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, which is owned by CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.) Without my phone, I have completely missed the online chatter around it.

I’m also missing my friends in London and my family in Australia. I want to switch back on to connect with them.

But I’ve yet to face the biggest hurdle of my week.

It’s time to fly on Friday

Have you ever thought what it would be like to travel through an international airport without your phone?

Neither had I.

But once I realized my flight fell within my detox week, I knew I’d have to prepare for the adventure.

I order a taxi to take me to the airport, but the price I’m quoted is different from the one I’m charged, and without my phone I can’t really argue the point.

At the airport, I need to check in manually, which involves getting past a checkpoint where the staff requires you to show your booking confirmation. The one I hadn’t printed.

I explain the situation and make it to the check-in counter. Once through, I grab a coffee and sit in front of the departures board — conscious that I won’t get a push alert on my phone notifying me about my gate.

I board my flight and sit with no headphones or music, but with a note with all my important numbers. I text my friend on my burner phone to confirm her address. Then I sleep for the duration of the flight. When I land and head to ground transportation, I tell the cabdriver my friend’s address, hop in the cab and arrive.

A few hours later, and the detox is over.

I remain exhausted, but my memory feels much improved. I almost forgot I wasn’t using it, and staying off my phone has reactivated remembering things without constantly looking at the device.

I like that part of the experiment. I also relish that once I made a plan — I was committed to it. Having realized I can get around without my phone and function perfectly well — I’m going to try to make a point of committing things to memory going forward.

I know my reliance on my phone could creep back. So, I make myself a promise: I’ll do this again next month.

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