Category: CNN Regional

By Jarvis Robertson

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    BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (WVTM) — A 7-year-old girl is back home after facing cancer for the third time.

Nova Stafford spent 10 months at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where she underwent chemotherapy and surgery for a rare bone cancer.

Now, she and her family are celebrating her homecoming and enjoying life one moment at a time.

“You beat cancer again, how do you feel?” Nova was asked.

“Good. Very good,” she said.

Nova’s journey through life has been filled with ups and downs, including finishing chemotherapy.

At such a young age, she has already battled cancer three times — twice in the eye and, more recently, in her thigh bone with osteosarcoma.

One of the side effects of treatment is hair loss, something that has been difficult for Nova.

“A little bit sad,” she said. “I’ve been crying yesterday about it.”

Nova’s mother, Matisha, said her daughter started complaining of leg pain in December of last year.

“Picking her up from school. The teacher would carry her out of school. It happened fairly fast. I said let’s go to St. Jude and see what’s going on,” Matisha said.

Tests confirmed a third cancer diagnosis, something the Stafford family was not ready to hear.

“We left with a week of clothing because we thought we would just be there for our annual appointments and we ended up staying there longer for 10 months,” Matisha said.

Matisha said she was overwhelmed and found it hard to have positive thoughts. The cancer battle was physically difficult for Nova and emotionally difficult for her family.

“She has a prosthetic femur and a prosthetic knee, devices inside of her leg,” Matisha said.

When it became too much for Nova, her mother would use her favorite artists to motivate her to push through.

“I love Beyonce, she’s my favorite singer,” Nova said.

When asked about her favorite Beyoncé song, Nova said, “Yaya, because I got a yaya,” she said, referring to her grandmother.

The Staffords had been home from St. Jude in Memphis for 18 hours when they began planning what comes next.

“I think right now we’re not going to worry about getting back into a routine. We’re just going to live life and find things to do. We’re going to travel a little bit before we get back into the swing of school, because we’ve been confined to a hospital for 10 months with her,” Matisha said.

For the Stafford family, the moments are too precious to let slip away.

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 Cecil Hannibal

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    DAVIS, California (KCRA) — A UC Davis graduate has been awarded $33.3 million after a jury found the city of Sacramento liable for a fallen tree limb that caused him to suffer a traumatic brain injury in McKinley Park in April 2020.

Michael Flynn is an MIT graduate who was studying physics and quantum computing as a Ph.D. candidate at UC Davis.

Flynn said his life changed while out for a jog at McKinley Park. A massive dead tree limb fell 26 feet, crushing the then 28-year-old.

“I woke up in the hospital about three days later,” Flynn said. “I was hit so hard that part of my skull had to be removed.”

At the time of the accident, Flynn was six months to a year away from completing his Ph.D. program.

He needed two surgeries, at least 10 CT scans, and saw at least half a dozen specialists after he suffered a traumatic brain injury.

“He’s never going to be able to be employed in the same field, in the same way that he would have been had this not happened to him,” said Jason Sigel, Flynn’s attorney.

Flynn’s legal team filed a lawsuit against the city of Sacramento, and a jury determined the city was liable, according to the attorney.

“The jury returned a verdict finding the city of Sacramento 100% liable for what happened. They found that the limb had been dead long enough for the city to see it and remove it, had they had reasonable inspection practices,” Sigel said.

In a statement to KCRA, Sacramento City Manager Howard Chan said, “This was a tragic incident, and we recognize the significant impact it has had on the individual and their family. Sacramento’s urban forest provides valuable benefits to our community, and we are committed to caring for our trees and helping keep our parks and public spaces safe for everyone.”

Flynn went on to earn his doctorate from UC Davis, but says his brain doesn’t function as it did before the accident.

“I’m going to face serious limitations the rest of my life. All of the things that I had wanted for myself are out of reach,” Flynn said. “It’s unrealistic to imagine that I’ll be able to achieve what I had hoped to before the accident.”

While Flynn said the financial award will provide stability, he hopes the city will take steps to improve the maintenance of its public parks.

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 Veronica Haynes, Ted Wayman

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    READING, Massachusetts (WCVB) — A 22-year-old Reading, Massachusetts, man was arraigned in Woburn District Court Thursday on murder and other charges in connection with the death of his mother.

Ryan Hanafin, who was extradited from Vermont, was delivered to court by U.S. Marshals and Reading police.

Prosecutors allege that Hanafin shot his mother, Andria Hanafin, inside the family’s home on October 8 following an argument about the number of cats being kept in the house. He is charged with first-degree murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Prosecutors said Andria Hanafin died from a gunshot wound to the head.

In court, prosecutors focused on Hanafin’s gun collection.

“Ryan Hanafin always carried a firearm on his person. A search of the lower bedroom where Ryan Hanafin was living at the time uncovered that his bedroom was in hoarding conditions and that there were 19 firearms in the room,” prosecutors said.

Charges include 15 counts of improper storage of a large-capacity firearm near a minor and one count of receiving an untraceable firearm.

Hanafin pleaded not guilty and was held without bail. He will return to court Nov. 10.

What happened to Andria Hanafin in Reading? Reading police received a 911 call at 12:38 a.m. Oct. 8 from Matthew Hanafin, 48, who said he returned to his Center Avenue home and found his wife, Andria, 49, dead. The couple’s 13-year-old son was home at the time.

“Mr. Hanafin reported that he had been at work from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. and that his younger son had last seen his mother around 5 p.m. when he left the house to travel around town with some friends,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said. “When the younger son returned home at 9 p.m., he went directly to his room and did not see his mother.”

When police arrived, they located the victim, who had sustained an apparent gunshot wound to the head, according to prosecutors. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Where was Ryan Hanafin arrested? Police determined that Hanafin was not in the home when they arrived and that he had fled in a 2010 black Dodge Charger. He was located and arrested in Vermont later that day.

What prosecutors say led to the shooting According to court documents, Matthew Hanafin told investigators he last spoke with his wife around 6:50 p.m. after returning several missed calls. He said they briefly discussed an argument involving their son, Ryan, over cats Andria was rescuing. Matthew Hanafin said Ryan had recently been involved in several disputes over the cats.

During the call, Andria Hanafin told her husband she wanted Ryan to move out of the family’s home.

Police said Ryan Hanafin sent a Snapchat message about something he told his cousin the night of his mother’s death, writing: “Told him I blew madre to pieces and he believed me.”

How many firearms did police find in the home? Police said they found 19 firearms in the family’s home and that Ryan Hanafin had 10 firearms registered in his name. Ryan Hanafin had a Massachusetts license to carry firearms, but that license was suspended after the incident.

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 Randall Kerr and Will Doran

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    NORTH CAROLINA (WRAL) — As thousands of North Carolinians went to the polls Thursday for the start of early voting in the 2026 midterms, state and federal officials held a press conference to announce charges of voter fraud against 10 people stemming from past election cycles.

All of them are accused of lying about their citizenship status to register to vote. Most of them were also charged with illegally casting a ballot in a federal election. The defendants. Nine of them are legal immigrants and permanent U.S. residents but not U.S. citizens, according to prosecutors.

“We either protect the sanctity of ‘one citizen, one vote’ or we allow the destruction and hollowing out of America by non-citizens,” U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle, the top prosecutor in the Eastern District of North Carolina, told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Raleigh Thursday. “It is wrong. It is antithetical to the law. And we will not tolerate it.”

Earlier in the day, eight of the defendants — wearing restraints in their hands and ankles — went before a federal judge, who read them their charges before releasing them without having to pay bond. Prosecutors said they weren’t considered a flight risk and therefore didn’t need to be detained.

None have yet indicated whether they plan to plead guilty or not guilty, and any trials would likely be months away if not longer. If convicted, they could be sentenced to years in prison.

The defendants include natives of Germany, Canada, Jamaica, Haiti, Panama, El Salvador and the now-defunct nation of Yugoslavia, prosecutors said. One is accused of being in the country illegally, in addition to having voted illegally.

The charges against them deal with years-old allegations, and the indictments were brought last week. When asked why their court hearings and the subsequent press conference weren’t held until the start of early voting on Thursday, Boyle indicated the timing was a coincidence, not politically motivated.

Two other people were charged with similar crimes earlier this year, bringing the total of pending voter fraud cases to 12. That’s less than 0.0002% of the state’s 7.9 million registered voters. But Boyle said it was important to highlight the work his office, as well as state elections officials, are doing on this — particularly for people who are losing faith in elections.

“Even one criminal act of illegal voting undermines the entire system,” Boyle said. “Because the legitimacy of our elections depend not only on the actual security of the system, but also on the confidence that our citizens have in it. Perception is reality. And citizens believe the process is riddled with fraud.”

President Donald Trump, who appointed Boyle to office, has repeatedly made disproven claims of voter fraud to call into question election results when he or his allies have lost in the past. In this year’s midterms, Democrats are expected to over-perform and flip a number of GOP-held seats, driven by voters’ frustration with foreign and domestic policies supported by Trump and other Republicans.

Results from a WRAL/WSOC News Poll this week found only 37% of likely voters approve of Trump’s handling of the presidency, and that Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Roy Cooper has a wide lead over Republican candidate Michael Whatley.

The same poll also found that 85% of North Carolina likely voters expressed confidence their votes would be counted accurately this year.

Boyle was joined at the press conference by State Elections Director Sam Hayes, also a Republican political appointee, who praised Trump for putting together a database of Social Security numbers that Hayes said helped identify those who were in court Thursday.

“The State Board of Elections decided to avail ourselves off of the SAVE database in partnership with Homeland Security,” Hayes said. “We ran our voter rolls through the SAVE database back in April. That produced the results.”

He noted that the elections board has also recently sent letters to roughly 1,400 more people who that database flagged as potentially being noncitizens. Some Democrats have criticized that database, saying it likely contains typos that will lead to legitimate voters being disenfranchised or even criminally charged.

“The analysis of the SAVE database is that it contains regular errors,” Democratic Gov. Josh Stein told reporters at a separate event Thursday. “A high percentage of people who are in the database flagged as noncitizens are in fact citizens. And so, what you don’t want to do is to use a database to screen out people who are actually American.”

But many of the 10 newly charged with illegally voting are accused of having done so for years without detection, which Hayes and Boyle said highlights the need for tools allowing closer checks of the state’s voter rolls. Many of the accused have lived in the U.S. for decades.

One of them told WRAL after court Thursday that he always thought he was an American, and that he only just learned the government disagrees. Robert Corbett, 71, said that he was born in Canada but adopted at a very young age by an American mother and has lived in the U.S. most of his life.

“I voted like five or six times,” he said in an interview, adding that he voted for Trump in the most recent election. “It was never an issue because I thought I was a dual citizen.”

He added that these new charges have led him to places he never thought he’d go. “People were sleeping on the floors,” Corbett said of the night he spent in jail after his arrest. “I was lucky. I got to sleep in a chair. But the cells were absolutely filthy, people peeing on the floors.”

Corbett added: “I’m not happy about any of it. Maybe I need to call Donald Trump.”

Several of the other defendants declined to comment when approached after court Thursday. All were assigned a federal public defender, who also declined to comment, as is standard for that office’s work on any pending case.

Corbett was one of nine, including Lionel Paul, Karl Fout, Ludagardys Matthews, Edduard Sosa, James Herrmann, Mervin Bogle, Lawton McKenzie and Romana Abreu-Exia, who made their first appearance Thursday morning in federal court in Raleigh. Gijna MacDonald was scheduled to appear in federal court in New Bern.

In Raleigh, the defendants were shackled around the ankles, wrists and waist and escorted into the courtroom under guard. But at least eight of them were quickly released from custody Thursday without being required to post bail. It wasn’t immediately clear how MacDonald’s and Sosa’s cases were resolved. Sosa is the defendant prosecutors say is in the country illegally.

Prosecutors said many of the defendants have lived in the U.S. for over a decade, including some for over 60 years, and cited those deep roots to explain a lack of concern that they would flee.

All are charged with lying about their citizenship in order to illegally register to vote. Prosecutors allege that most of them also illegally cast a vote in at least one federal election. Some have voted in multiple elections, dating back years, prosecutors allege.

WRAL reporters Caroline Yaffa and Shaun Gallagher contributed to this article.

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 Victor Jacobo

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    CHICAGO, Illiinois (WBBM) — Alcala’s Western Wear has been a Chicago staple in West Town for more than half a century, run by one family who share their Mexican culture and roots through the business.

For Mani Alcala, the store has always been more than a place of business.

“This was our playground, you know,” he said. “This was a place that, it wasn’t just work, you know, it was like our second home.”

He’s the third generation to help run Alcala’s Western Wear.

“Western wear is more than just fashion,” he explained. “You know, it is definitely something that we all grew up with, and being Latino or being Mexicano, you know, seeing our fathers, our grandfathers, uncles put on their tejana, put on their boots before they go to work.”

Portraits of his grandparents, who started the business in 1972, are front and center at the shop. Alcala’s began as a men’s clothing shop in the South Chicago neighborhood but moved to West Chicago Avenue two years later. The storefront eventually grew and inventory was dedicated to western wear.

“As our clientele grew and it was more of the Latino base, they started asking for clothes that they normally wear, you know, back home in Mexico. And my grandfather being from Durango, he said, you know what? That’s exactly what we’re gonna do,” Mani said.

Alcala’s offers a selection of 5,000 hats and 8,000 pairs of boots, and more. It’s established itself as a Chicago western fashion destination for more than five decades.

“Western wear has its moments. You know, it never goes away and always has a way of coming right back,” Mani said.

The store even has its own tailors to work directly with customers for the perfect fit.

Alcala’s has even gained national recognition among celebrities and the New York Times.

“It’s been such a glorious ride that I can’t get enough of what we’ve been able to accomplish over the years,” said Robert Alcala, Mani’s father.

Robert said treating customers as family has been at the heart of his culture and the business.

“That’s one of the things that my dad taught us over the years. Always be kind to the customers,” he said.

Robert Alcala started working in the family business when he was 13. As the store looks toward celebrating 55 years in 2027, he hopes the legacy continues.

“We feel that our that the third generation are the ones who are going to reach that goal of maybe the 75th anniversary, maybe the 100th. But in the meantime, we’ll take one step at a time and be grateful,” he said.

And all the while, Alcala’s will remain a place where the family proudly display their legacy and their Mexican culture.

“Us being Latino and Mexican and being able to speak Spanish and our heritage is nothing to be afraid of and not to be afraid to show who we are. And you’ll always have a place. Tiene su casa con nosotros,” said Mani.

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 Tony Geftos

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    MONROE, Michigan (WXYZ) — A group of Monroe-area men are proving that age is no barrier to having fun for a good cause.

The Monroe Center for Healthy Aging has unveiled its 2027 fundraiser calendar, titled “Naturally, The Other Half,” featuring male volunteers who posed in playful, tasteful photographs to help raise money for the center.

The project follows last year’s successful calendar featuring women from the center, which was inspired by the movie “Calendar Girls.” According to center Director Sandie Pierce, the men wanted their turn after seeing the enthusiasm surrounding the original effort.

The calendar features local men ranging in age and background, including 91-year-old Danny Richardville, who said the experience gave participants something new and exciting to focus on.

“Nothing new happens to me,” Richardville said. “So she gives us something to think about besides growing old.”

Some participants admitted they needed time to decide whether they would take part. Others jumped at the opportunity.

For Antonio Terry, the center’s cook and one of the youngest participants at age 40, the photo shoot was easy.

“I’m not camera shy or anything,” Terry said.

Most of the men kept their boxer shorts on during the shoot, using props and creative photography to preserve modesty while embracing the fundraiser’s lighthearted spirit.

The women featured in the previous calendar jokingly suggested the men were not quite as daring as they had been.

“I think they weren’t brave enough,” Pierce said.

The photographs were taken by Amy Fuller, whose creative approach helped participants feel comfortable throughout the process.

Organizers hope to match last year’s success, when sales of 250 calendars generated about $3,000 for the Monroe Center for Healthy Aging. Proceeds help cover daily operating expenses and programs at the center.

The center is also hosting a calendar-signing event to help promote sales and celebrate the volunteers who participated.

“I’m not a chicken,” Richardville joked.

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By Darren Cunningham

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    WARREN, Michigan (WXYZ) — Thursday afternoon, there was a terrifying scene in Warren after a 12-year-old boy on a bicycle was struck and dragged by a pickup truck. It happened around 3 p.m. on Van Dyke just north of Eight Mile.

Warren resident Devin Brown said he rushed to the scene as sirens converged on the area.

“It was crazy. He was just crying and screaming for help,” he recalled.

Warren police said a Dodge Ram was making a right turn onto Van Dyke from Meadow Avenue, in the southbound direction, when it hit the kid.

A dispatcher stated, “He’s pinned underneath the front driver tire.”

Brown said, “He was stuck under the car with the bike on top of him. The tire was actually on top of the bike (which was) actually putting all that weight on him. He was just crying for help.”

“It took police, the fire department, like 15, 20 minutes to get him from under there. They had to jack the car up,” he recalled.

“The bike was still stuck. When they finally got him from under the car, his eyes was just stuck open. It’s crazy,” Brown said.

For two-and-a-half hours, officers shut down a quarter mile section of Van Dyke while the Traffic Crash Reconstruction Team investigated.

Harmony Ostrander lives on Meadow on the other side of Van Dyke.

“Everyone just needs to slow down. And keep the road safe for everyone,” she said.

“Just look both ways. This has happened many a time before and we just pray that nothing like this keeps happening,” Ostrander added.

Police said the boy sustained severe injuries and at last check, he’s in stable condition.

He’s expected to survive.

Warren resident Kayden Spry said, “We pray that he’s okay and he’s gonna get way better and not suffer any pain.”

Investigators said they do not suspect drugs or alcohol played a role, and we’re told the driver remained on scene and fully cooperated with police.

Warren police said the Traffic Crash Reconstruction Team’s investigation is ongoing.

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 Zach Boetto

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    SAN JACINTO, California (KCAL, KCBS) — A father of four in San Jacinto was nearly killed after intense winds knocked down part of a tree and crushed him on Saturday.

“He’s broken, but he’s going to be great,” said Alexandra Roldan, mother of the victim, Ricky Roldan.

Roldan’s son was cleaning up his kids’ toys in his backyard last weekend when the winds suddenly picked up and broke off the part of the tree that crushed him.

“He said he heard something,” Alexandra said. “When he looked up, that’s when it fell on him.”

The tree landed on Ricky’s back, breaking several vertebrae and ribs and pinning him to the ground. His wife Erica rushed out of their home to help him. The part of the tree was at least 20 feet long.

“She tries to lift it up, but it’s too heavy,” Alexandra said. “She runs out in a panic to the neighbors, and she sees nobody. She runs back and picks up the tree. So my son was able to crawl out.”

Erica quickly called 911 after freeing her husband.

Paramedics rushed Ricky to a local hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to save his life.

“Right before he went into heart surgery, he told his sister, ‘Please take care of my family. I’m not going to make it,'” Alexandra said.

Several surgeries later, Ricky made it out alive and is now in recovery at a Moreno Valley hospital. Doctors expect him to make a full recovery.

“Life is too short. Let the people you know that you love them,” Alexandra said. “Let them know you love them.”

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 Anthony Sabella

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    NORFOLK, Virginia (WTKR) — A stray dog found living in a Norfolk cemetery is headed to a rescue to start a new life, News 3 has learned.

Several weeks ago, Western Branch resident David Reitz says he spotted the dog during a history tour at Cedar Grove Cemetery in Norfolk. It didn’t take long to figure out the dog had been making the cemetery his home.

Reitz came back later with food and water for the dog.

“This is where I would put his food and his water and as you can tell from right here is where he would go in, Reitz said, pointing at grave-adjacent brush on the cemetery’s north side. “That was his entrance into this makeshift house that he created.”

Reitz tells News 3 that he and others worried about the dog’s well-being learned he had been living at the cemetery since about May. He said the dog was shy, but that didn’t stop Reitz from returning with food and water every day for about a week and a half.

Eventually, a group was brought in to trap the dog and get him to the Norfolk Animal Care Center — a first step toward getting him off the streets. No microchip was found.

“Because of the fact there are so many people in his corner right now, we decided to name him Lucky,” Reitz said. “(He had) no one to love him or care for him and I felt like I can be that person.”

Reitz says Lucky has been living at the Animal Care Center for a few weeks and will next be headed to a rescue where he can learn to be near humans. News 3 visited the Norfolk Animal Care Center and was told Lucky was being neutered before going with the rescue.

CEO Alison Fechino says Lucky’s story is a lesson in what to do with strays.

“If you see a stray out in your community, especially if it’s a stray dog, one of the first things you should do is make sure it’s safe to approach that pet,” Fechino said. “Those folks did exactly what they should when they realized Lucky didn’t want to come by them by leaving food out, trying to create a safe space and then eventually resorting to a trap.”

Fechino says in most cases a dog that’s found likely lives within a mile of where it was discovered and that it’s easiest if the person who finds them works to find the owner. In other cases, the city’s MyNorfolk app just added a feature where you can file a request with the Norfolk Animal Care Center regarding an animal and input information and a picture.

Though Lucky’s story is unique, his circumstance isn’t. The Animal Care Center has dozens of kennels with dogs who need a foster or forever home. They’re always looking for volunteers to spend their time with animals.

In Lucky’s case, Reitz is fundraising for his continued care. “A Second Chance for Lucky” has raised more than $2,000 as of Wednesday, October 14.

“He has a lot of learning to do before he’s ready for a family, but he’s got a whole community of folks that are trying to get him there,” Fechino said.

Reitz — who says taking Lucky would be difficult for him to care for because he has another dog that’s immune-compromised — said he plans to stay close throughout the process.

“I want to plan on visiting him as often as possible to see his progress,” Reitz said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.