Category: CNN Regional

By Samantha Chaney

Click here for updates on this story

    MERRIMAC, Massachusetts (WBZ) — Two police officers and a good Samaritan helped save a woman’s life after a house fire in Merrimac, Massachusetts early Wednesday morning.

Just after 5:30 a.m., while on his way to work, Jeff Strogney said he was driving down Bear Hill Road when he noticed something unusual.

“I came around the corner and saw flames out the back side of the house,” he recalled. “It was bad, probably 10-to-15-foot flames.”

Instead of panicking, Strogney said he immediately stopped and began trying to alert someone inside.

“I went banging on the doors first because there were lights on in the house,” he said. “I tried banging, but couldn’t get nobody to answer, so I called 911.”

Within minutes, Merrimac police officers Paul DeCoste and Adam White arrived at the scene.

“There was heavy smoke and flames coming out of the left rear of the building,” White said.

DeCoste said he kicked in the home’s front door to get inside in search of residents.

“I made it approximately 10 to 15 feet inside yelling ‘police, police, is anybody in here?’ but I couldn’t hear anything,” he said.

Eventually, the officer said he found a woman in her 70s asleep in a bedroom.

“When I woke her up, she was confused and distraught,” he said. “We tried to calm her down and explain that her house was on fire.”

Authorities say the officers were able to get the woman to safety without any injuries.

“I made it approximately 10 to 15 feet inside yelling ‘police, police, is anybody in here?’ but I couldn’t hear anything,” he said.

Eventually, the officer said he found a woman in her 70s asleep in a bedroom.

“When I woke her up, she was confused and distraught,” he said. “We tried to calm her down and explain that her house was on fire.”

Authorities say the officers were able to get the woman to safety without any injuries.

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 Aaron Parseghian

Click here for updates on this story

    CAPE COD (WBZ) — After the snow has melted, the impact of the brutal winter is still visible along the Cape Cod shoreline, where powerful storms have accelerated long-standing erosion concerns at local beaches.

At Town Neck Beach in Sandwich, the February blizzard dramatically reshaped the coastline, pushing back the sand dune, leaving behind a steep drop to the entrance of the beach and tearing down the public access staircase.

Residents who have watched the coastline change over decades say the latest winter storms caused some of the most dramatic damage yet and want a more permanent solution.

“It’s really bad,” said Bill Boles, who has lived in Sandwich for more than two decades. “What you’re looking at, especially to the left, was a 25-foot-high dune. And now, as you can see, it’s a sandbar, which at high tide is completely covered with water,” he added pointing near the salt marsh area.

Boles says erosion has worsened over the years, pointing in part to the federal government’s extension of a jetty on the Cape Cod Canal.

The Blizzard of ’26 also wiped out much of a recent restoration effort. A $10 million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project that brought more than 300,000 cubic feet of sand back to the beach there last year had already begun eroding before the latest storms struck.

“By November, half of that had gone away already, and these last two storms were devastating,” Boles said.

Damage can also be seen nearby Springhill Beach, where residents are scrambling to deal with toppled stairs, decks and shifting sand.

“You see that post hanging down used to be a support beam,” said Laura Wing.

In some areas, she says the face of the dunes has lost significant ground.

“That dune face has lost, in some cases, 10 to 15 feet,” Wing said.

Both residents are part of the nonprofit Trustees of Sandwich Beaches, a group calling for continued state and federal support to help stabilize the coastline, to protect properties and the beaches tourists flock to in the summer.

“We need help,” Boles added.

Local officials say stronger renourishment policies from the state could help communities maintain beaches that serve both residents and visitors.

“It just goes to show you that, you know, Mother Nature is stronger than all of us,” said Assistant Town Manager Heather Harper. “We certainly would really love to see the state have a much more robust coastal beach nourishment policy, which is not as strong as it is in other places, and has just so having that in place would be helpful for us.”

Harper said securing additional federal funding would likely require another erosion study, but as part of an existing permit, sand dredged from the canal could help fill gaps in the interim.

“The federal government accepted responsibility for some of the damage that’s been done to those beaches over time, so that we’re hopeful that we’ve been very fortunate to have included in the Army Corps’ ongoing permit that any time that the canal is dredged, that the spoils from that dredging then can be placed on our beaches,” said Harper. “That’s probably the best bet that we have, is to look forward to the next dredging of the canal, which won’t produce the same volume of sand that we saw this most recent time, but enough to hopefully keep the sand in place and available.”

Town leaders say they are also exploring short-term solutions to ensure Town Neck Beach can get back open and remain accessible ahead of the summer tourism season.

“In the long term, the community invested an awful lot of resources and will continue to do so as best we can,” Harper added.

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 WBZ Staff

Click here for updates on this story

    FOXBORO, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A deal has been reached to get the town of Foxboro, Massachusetts the security funding it needs to host the World Cup at Gillette Stadium in June. The town had threatened to cancel the seven matches if it didn’t get $7.8 million for security.

Foxboro says it needs the money to pay for equipment, police and firefighters across the 39 days in which World Cup events will be at Gillette, called “Boston Stadium” for the tournament.

Last week, Boston Soccer 2026, the local partner for FIFA, proposed reimbursing the town up to two days after each of the seven soccer games were played. The town said that was not good enough.

On Wednesday, Kraft Sports, Foxboro and Boston Soccer 2026 released a joint statement saying the town will not incur any costs.

“As part of this arrangement, the Town of Foxboro will not incur any cost or financial burden related to the FIFA World Cup, with Boston Soccer 2026 providing advance funding for security-related capital expenditures and the full extent of deployment that public safety officials have determined is needed to execute the event with Kraft Sports + Entertainment’s backing,” the statement said.

This clears the way for the event license for the games to be approved at the March 17 Foxboro Select Board meeting.

Bill Yukna, the Foxboro Select Board Chair, said he was very pleased “that all of our funding concerns have been addressed.”

“I want to personally thank Kraft Sports & Entertainment and Robert Kraft for his involvement in bringing the funding concerns to a resolution,” Yukna said in a statement Wednesday. “We expect that any open issues in the license will be resolved before the 17th public hearing and we look forward to a very successful and safe World Cup event.”

The first match is at Gillette Stadium on June 13.

Over three million people are expected to visit the Boston area this summer for the tournament.

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 Joe Ripley

Click here for updates on this story

    ATLANTA (WXIA) — Asa Temple and his dad Austin love spending time together. The therapy and healing it fosters, even in the hospital, is priceless. Last August, doctors diagnosed Asa with leukemia.

“I noticed he had a whole bunch of bruising on his knee, and I had been thinking back the whole week,” Austin said. “He was taking extra naps, was more sluggish, didn’t eat very much. “I was like no, surely not. It changed everything really.”

After months of going in and out of the hospital and rearranging schedules to take care of Asa’s three siblings, Austin found a little relief that went a long way in Asa’s healing journey.

Patients at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta got to hit golf balls on a minigolf course, pet some dogs and take a few swings in the golf simulator as part of PGA Superstore’s minigolf all-stars event.

“It gets him out of the room, gets his energy back, starts having more fun and lights up more than having to sit in the bed the whole day,” Austin said.

Jaleesa Warren, creative program supervisor at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Arthur M. Blank Hospital, said kids often go through challenging times, whether they’re getting a routine checkup, scans, devastating diagnoses or even surgeries.

“Kids learn and grow and heal through play, so coming into the Zone is great for them to be able to do just that,” Warren said. “It ranges from something really light and simple like a typical visit, or getting some news they may not have thought about or getting some scans or getting surgery, getting out and having a place to have fun and take the load off a little bit. It shows our patients and families that everyone is here to support them through their journeys.”

The newest PGA Superstore, which opened Saturday in Buckhead, teed up some fun in partnership with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Brian Williams, general manager of PGA Superstore Buckhead, said there’s a special connection to the Arthur M. Blank Hospital because Blank Family of Businesses owns the Roswell-based company. He said each PGA Superstore location would donate to Children’s throughout the summer as part of a giving campaign.

“One of our core values in our company is to give back to others, and I can’t think of a better way before we get our store crazy with customers, to take some time so our associates can volunteer their time and make some connections,” Williams said. “We want a chance to get out and make a difference in the community. It’s just a great way to spread the joy of golf and to get to know some new people.”

Even on the most challenging course, Austin hopes his son Asa, a name that means healer, finds healing of his own.

“You think through all the hardship, and I want to take it,” Austin said. “I want to do it for him, but obviously that’s not an option. Who knows, this is part of his journey and what it looks like. Healer, who knows what he’ll do someday. He’s mighty, he really is.”

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 N.J. Burkett

Click here for updates on this story

    NEW YORK (WABC) — Two members of the NYPD are being hailed as heroes for the efforts in chasing down the two people accused of trying to set off bombs near the mayor’s home, Gracie Mansion, during protests over the weekend.

NYPD Assistant Chief Aaron Edwards and Sgt. Luis Navarro spoke to Eyewitness News at police headquarters about the harrowing moments that unfolded, and their quick actions to try and save lives.

“We knew that the two groups would maybe go at each other a little bit, but I don’t think anyone could have expected this,” Edwards said.

Chief Edwards and Sgt. Navarro say there was no time to think. Demonstrators and counterdemonstrators were facing off outside Gracie Mansion. Suddenly, one man lit a fuse and dropped a smoking canister on the sidewalk.

“There was a real threat. There was a real danger there,” Edwards said.

In an instant, the chief jumped the metal barrier and he and the sergeant chased the suspect and warned the crowd.

“I saw the device hit the floor, and I just ran,” Navarro said. “I knew that I needed to save lives. So, I ran towards the people to make sure that nobody got hurt.”

Nobody was injured. Two canisters were thrown at the crowd. Both were packed with high explosives that did not detonate.

Police arrested 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi and 18-year-old Emir Balat. Both allegedly told detectives they were inspired to attack anti-Muslim demonstrators on behalf of the Islamic State.

Within hours, images of the chief hurtling the three-and-a-half-foot barrier were flashed around the world.

The NYPD posted on Instagram saying, “Some heroes wear capes. Chief Aaron Edwards wears blue.”

The comments poured in: “Give this man a medal and make this a recruitment ad,” “This shot is iconic. Just wow. What a hero,” and “I hear the theme to ‘The Avengers’ when I see this photo.”

“First off, I’m happy that I cleared that barrier. I don’t want that picture to be about me. I want it to be about the day. I want it to be about what we did,” Edwards said. “You know, I want that picture to be a reminder to New Yorkers that, you know, your cops, the members of the NYPD, you know, we’re going to be relentless in pursuing justice, right? And there’s going to be no obstacles. Nothing’s going to stand in our way from protecting New Yorkers.”

“We spent six months in the academy. We’ve done countless of trainings. We’ve done counter-terrorism trainings. We’ve done active shooter trainings. Everything that I’ve learned in my whole career culminated in that one moment,” Navarro 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.

By Drayton Charlton-Perrin

Click here for updates on this story

    HICKMAN, Kentucky (WPSD) — A mudslide from February 2025 continues to impact houses in the bluff, threatening to push a woman’s home down a hill.

Lucia Yemm owns a house across from the Fulton County Courthouse, overlooking the Mississippi River — and she said her contractor predicts only around a month remains before her house succumbs to erosion and falls off the hill.

“The mudslide is progressing about three feet a week,” Yemm said. “When my house goes, it’s going to take out all the houses down below me.”

Yemm’s friend Corry Schmidt had her home destroyed by the mudslide in 2025. It sits at the bottom of the bluff in shambles.

“February 16, at 10 o’clock at night, it had wiped it completely out,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt said the problem has impacted everyone in the bluff and is a primary concern for homeowners.

“Wind blows, rain comes in, someone flushes a toilet, we have to worry about it,” Schmidt said.

Yemm reached out to many different local, state, and federal entities for help.

“I sent an email to the Corps of Engineers asking about it, because the mudslide was getting worse,” Yemm said. “They sent me an email back saying they’re not doing anything.”

Yemm said Hickman city government hasn’t been able to help either, and she doesn’t feel like they are taking the problem seriously.

“They’ll lie to us about who’s going to fix it, what they’re going to do about it,” Yemm said.

City Manager Robert Griggs said that the city has been trying to secure state and federal funding but has yet to be successful.

“It’s obviously going to be a bigger project than anything the city can do on its own, and it’s going to be a bigger project than the state can do on its own,” Griggs said.

The city is working to find a grant match to allow them to apply for disaster recovery money. While waiting for assistance, Griggs said that there are limitations on what city government can do with private property.

“Government isn’t really responsible for acts of God on private property,” Griggs said.

His advice to residents of the bluff is to continue reaching out to legislators for assistance.

“Reach out above us,” Griggs said. “To Congress, reach out to the Corps of Engineers, our state and local leaders, and just let them know, give them regular updates.”

Yemm said she tried that, but to no avail. “We’ve done legislators, Congressmen, even to the governor, and no one will help us,” Yemm said.

With only weeks before she expects her house to fall down the hill, Yemm doesn’t know where to turn.

“When you have to live like this constantly, it messes with your health, it messes with your sleep,” Yemm 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.

By Joi Fultz

Click here for updates on this story

    HENRICO COUNTY, Virginia (WTVR) — Seniors at Parham Park Place apartments in Henrico’s West End say they have been without a working elevator for about two months, forcing some residents to crawl up stairs or cancel medical appointments while management and county inspectors work to find a fix.

Barbara Temple, who has difficulty walking, said she has resorted to crawling to reach her second-floor apartment since the elevator in her building broke.

“I would say a good two months we’ve been without an elevator,” Temple said. “It’s not humane, it’s not correct, it’s not nice, it’s not respectful to the elderly. We deserve better.”

Temple has lived at Parham Park Place Senior Apartments, located off Parham Road near Hungary Springs Road, for four years.

Other residents described the situation as equally dire.

Lydia Kimber, 90, said the broken elevator has left her stranded in her unit.

“I can’t walk, I’m wheelchair bound for nine years, so I’m stranded I had to cancel some of my appointments,” Kimber said.

Brenda Cotman, 72, said the timing of the outage came at one of the worst possible moments for her.

“I had two heart attacks recently. When I got out the hospital I went to rehab, I called back to see was the elevator fixed and it was not fixed so my daughter had to practically pull me up the steps,” Cotman said.

Residents say management has told them staff is available Monday through Friday to help carry items up the stairs.

A March 9 letter to tenants also informed residents they can call a company management contracted to assist anyone needing help going up and down the stairs.

But most residents we spoke with say the off-site service is still inconvenient, and they worry the temporary solution could delay a permanent repair.

“That affects all of us, not not one of us but from the 1st to the 3rd floor,” Hazel Matthews, who recently had surgery, said. “We are seniors but we are not being treated like seniors.”

Matthews said she speaks for herself and her neighbors when she describes their frustration.

“I feel like we are trapped, I feel like we have been forgotten,” Matthews said. “We just need somebody on our side.”

We contacted the building’s owners and were told the person who handles media inquiries was not available but is aware of our outreach.

Henrico County’s Department of Building Inspections provided the following statement:

Since December, the Henrico County Department of Building Inspections has been engaged in efforts to return the elevator at Parham Park Place apartments to safe working order.

The elevator has functioned at times but has been completely inoperable for at least the past month. Our inspectors have been in daily contact with apartment management, which has been working with a contractor to resolve the problem. During that time, multiple components have been ordered, delayed due to weather and installed only to learn that the problem was not resolved.

In the past two weeks, Building Inspections suggested that another contractor be contacted to provide a second opinion on the repair plan.

That second contractor was also unable to diagnose an appropriate solution. At that time, the building’s owners decided to overhaul the elevator system’s major components. We believe this approach should allow the elevators to return to normal operation in approximately two to three weeks.

This decision was not made lightly, as everyone involved understands the inconvenience that the residents have endured. To mitigate the situation, we recommended that the apartments hire personnel to assist the residents who have mobility limitations.

That service has been in place for several weeks now. Apartment management also has retained, as we suggested, a professional transportation service with medically trained staff who can safely move residents in and out of the building.

We fully recognize the hardships that have been placed on the residents and remain hopeful that the situation will be back to normal soon. Henrico and its Department of Building Inspections remain committed to helping the residents and apartment management anyway we can.

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 Forrest Sanders

Click here for updates on this story

    NASHVILLE (WTVF) — For the past decade, two friends have been out to complete a hugely ambitious goal. Some hard news threatened to keep them from achieving it. Could they make it? It’s a story of resilience and a great friendship.

“We always said if we ran faster, we wouldn’t be able to talk!” said Mary Jo Wiggins, speaking before going on a run with friend Lisa Long. “We run a reasonable pace, so we can chat the whole time.”

The two have been on their share of adventures.

“I did make her go to her first Springsteen concert!” Wiggins said.

The two train for marathons at a park in Brentwood. Long had an idea. They were going to run a marathon in every state.

“We did a couple run-cations is what we call ’em,” said Long. “We would always do food tours, bike tours.”

They’d go for the run and see the sights of the city.

Wiggins and Long were well into that when something happened.

“I came out of my colonoscopy knowing it was cancer,” said Wiggins. “We just didn’t know how bad it was.”

It was four years ago, Wiggins began treatments at Vanderbilt Health.

“I have stage four colon cancer,” she continued. “It had metastasized to my liver and lungs already at that point. I’ve had surgeries, radiation, chemotherapy, round after round. I’m probably somewhere around 80.”

Wiggins wasn’t sure she could continue with those marathons and run-cations.

“I thought, ‘should we still do this?'” Wiggins remembered. “You just have this picture of chemotherapy putting you out and not being able to be physically active.”

When she was diagnosed, some run-cations were already scheduled including New Orleans.

Wiggins and Long decided they were going, both to run a marathon and just enjoy the city together.

“Had a blast!” Wiggins said. “I said, ‘I guess I can do this.’ [Long] gets the credit for keeping it going and keeping me going.”

The state-by-state marathons reached the final state; California. They were going to run a marathon in Napa Valley. 80 friends and family members gathered for the marathon.

“I kinda teased, ‘we’re not gonna win!'” Wiggins laughed. “It’s not going to be an exciting race. We’re gonna be at the back of the pack! People wanted to be there because it was a big deal to accomplish a half marathon in all 50 states.”

“I remember, we were crossing the finish line, I was like, ‘don’t ugly cry! Don’t ugly cry!” Long said. “Having everybody there cheering you on, it was very emotional.”

“Do you think it could have happened without each other?” I asked the two.

“Absolutely not,” they answered in unison.

Wiggins wanted to share her story to tell others to get a colonoscopy starting at age 45.

Before I left Wiggins and Long, I had one last question.

“What are you going to do now?”

“Travel without our running shoes,” Wiggins answered.

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 WMAR STAFF

Click here for updates on this story

    COCKEYSVILLE, Maryland (WMAR) — Bartholomew Quinn — known to everyone as “Bert” — worked his last shift behind the bar at Vito Ristorante on York Road in Cockeysville, and he did it on his 75th birthday.

Friends and regulars packed the restaurant to say goodbye to the beloved bartender.

“He’s a great person, uh, honest person, classy, always present himself well behind the bar. We’re definitely going to miss him. He’s a fantastic guy,” Tony Petronelli, co-owner of Vito Ristorante.

Quinn spent decades serving Baltimore at some of the city’s most beloved spots, including the Baltimore Country Club, Capprocio, and Boccacio.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WMAR verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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