Category: CNN Regional

By Darius Johnson

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    BROADVIEW, Illinois (WBBM) — New security measures were in place early Tuesday in front of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the west Chicago suburb of Broadview, which has drawn protests for days.

A tall wire fence has also been set up surrounding the building to block access to it. It was not clear what kind of clearance was needed for agents to get in and out.

Police have also blocked the street outside the ICE facility, with barriers set up.

Two protesters were seen outside the ICE facility at 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Meanwhile, protesters, elected officials, and ICE representatives all offered comment Monday after at least 16 people were taken into custody during clashes with federal agents last week.

Some of the protesters said they were held in custody for hours and denied basic necessities — and then hit with serious charges.

Cellphone video captured the arrest of Rogelio Huerta of Berwyn. He showed CBS News Chicago a black eye — a result of what he said happened behind the gate of the ICE processing facility.

Huerta said he was packed into a small room with dozens of detainees and left without basic necessities. Huerta said six hours after he was detained, he walked out with a citation for assaulting a federal officer.

“They refused me a phone call, they refused food, they refused any kind of essentials that I needed. So if I needed a cover, a blanket, they didn’t even have anything for me,” Huerta said.

Late Monday, ICE fired back, calling protesters “rioters” and defending their actions.

Officials said detainees are transferred to other facilities after processing, and called their allegations about conditions inside the Broadview facility false.

The agency also accused protesters of throwing rocks and fireworks, slashing tires, and endangering officers and the immigrants inside.

Meanwhile, a coalition of 47 elected officials is pushing back — calling the federal response heavy-handed when protesters, journalists, and family members were hit with tear gas and pepper balls over the weekend.

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By Janelle Burrell

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    PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (KYW) — For more than half her life, Chamounix Equestrian Center in West Fairmount Park in Philadelphia has been a second home to Samantha Rahe-Krick.

The space is the heart of Work to Ride, a nonprofit organization that has given kids, including Rahe-Krick’s own son, access to horse riding for the last 32 years.

But as Rahe-Krick will tell you, little had changed since she started here when she was 10 years old.

“Horses were in the pasture with mud, probably up to my knee,” Rahe-Krick said. “The barn was very old.”

Their base was this old mounted Philadelphia police barn, but after decades of hoping and years of planning, McCausland Arena, a new 45,000-square-foot, $15 million facility, is theirs.

“Jaw on the floor, unrecognizable,” Rahe-Krick said.

Lezlie Hiner, Work to Ride’s founder and executive director, said it’s surreal.

“There’s nothing like this in any other major city, I can tell you that much right now,” she said.

The state-of-the-art space will not only allow the kids to ride year-round, but the new arena will also be rented out for events to generate income for the program.

The organization offers riding lessons to the public, and they teach polo classes too.

“Philly is a big sports town,” Hiner said, “so I’m really hoping that this will become a center for people to come and participate in our polo matches, our horse shows and really just introduce a community to the horse world.”

“It still has the same feeling that this is home,” Rahe-Krick said. “It still has that same feeling and same community here, so it’s really nice that the outside now matches the inside.”

On Saturday, Work to Ride will host its first-ever Philadelphia Arena Polo Championship at the new arena. It will feature Work to Ride alumni and other local champions.

There will be food trucks and vendors. Its annual Philadelphia Polo Classic will return next fall. Tickets for the polo championship are on sale now.

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By Lauren Pastrana

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    BROWARD COUNTY, Florida (WFOR) — September is Hunger Action Month, a time to raise awareness to help end hunger across the country. More than a million people across South Florida are facing food insecurity and one local teen is using tech to try to keep bellies full.

With every can and carton, Asher Belfer isn’t just filling a bag. He’s filling a growing need in our community.

“My work and everything that the Cupboard does is vital for every family in need of food in Broward County, because 1 in 6 people have food insecurity and I want to do as much as I can to help as many people as possible,” he said.

Volunteering sparks innovation

The 16-year-old has been volunteering at the Dorit and Ben J. Genet Cupboard in Davie for more than four years, but he wanted to make things run more efficiently. So he took what he learned in his computer science class and created software called VolunHelp, that’s been a recipe for success.

“It takes clients and it takes volunteers and it takes a food delivery event, and it puts everything in one place,” said Belfer.

“So instead of through email, emailing volunteers, and then on a different spreadsheet, adding clients in one place, we can create an event, add clients, and invite volunteers so that all you have to do is click one button and you can connect everything.”

Staff and volunteers benefit from tech

Asher works alongside Ross Adel, the director of the Cupboard.

“Asher saw the need for this and came to us and said, ‘You know, I feel like I can help.’ And it has been a tremendous help. It eliminates all of the paperwork,” Adel said.

While the staff is small, the Cupboard relies on volunteers from the office to the warehouse.

“It takes hundreds of Ashers to be able to serve as many families as we do in this community,” Adel said.

Using technology for a brighter future

While his plans for the future are still in the works, Asher knows his computer skills will be put to good use to keep making Miami Proud.

“Whatever I decide to do, I want to continue to use technology and help as many people as I can,” he said.

How to help fight food insecurity

To contribute to the Cupboard, visit JFS Broward.

Feeding South Florida and The Alliance to End Hunger are also battling food insecurity in South Florida. To learn more, visit Feeding South Florida and Alliance to End Hunger.

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By Jennifer Bisram

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    NEW YORK CITY, New York (WCBS) — The number of grandparents raising their grandchildren has risen over the past decade.

According to the American Society on Aging, over two million grandparents across the country are primary caregivers to their grandchildren. That comes with unique challenges, especially when it comes to housing and community support.

In New York state, there are over 120,000 grandparents who are the kinship caregivers. In New York City, about 250,000 children are being raised by relatives – mainly grandparents.

New York City has a special housing complex that helps “grandfamilies,” as they’re known, meet those challenges, so both the older adults and their grandchildren can survive, and thrive.

“I don’t know how long I can do this”

Seniors like Rosali Wynter have been taking on a second act of parenting after losing a child to death, addiction or incarceration.

Wynter, 77, is raising her 13-year-old granddaughter Aaliyah Myles. Wynter became Aaliyah’s caregiver when she was in her 60s, and Aaliyah was just 6 months old. Aaliyah’s mother was battling drug addiction when she was born, and Aaliyah was placed in foster care as an infant, until her grandmother, who she now calls “mommy,” stepped in.

“At first, when she was much younger, it was harder because I have to take her to the babysitter, go to work, pick her up,” Wynter said. “I didn’t realize it was so much. I was always saying I don’t know how long I can do this.”

“She’s always there for me, and she’s always there for important times,” Myles said.

“It’s hard to raise a child at that stage in your life”

Advocates say more living spaces, financial support and and resources are needed to take care of the growing grandfamily population.

Wynter and Myles have been living in a grandparent family apartment in the Bronx for more than two years. It’s a 50 unit building designed specifically for grandfamilies, with a social worker on site 24/7. Chalonda Reid is the building manager.

“At this point in your life, you are not supposed to be parents. You are supposed to be enjoying life, and it’s hard to raise a child at that stage in your life,” Reid said.

The West Side Federation for Seniors and Supportive Housing is the organization behind the program, which is financed through public and private funding. It was started in 2005, and the building that houses grandfamilies is still the only one of its kind in New York City.

“How do you look at a senior, or child, in need of something, and you don’t help. That’s hard to do,” Reid said.

So is there help for grandparents who are caregivers?

“You have to go out there, and it’s not as plentiful as it should be. It’s hard,” Reid said. “The social workers here will help them get children enrolled in school, medical benefits, medical doctors themselves, finding the services they might need.”

Some additional resources for grandfamilies in New York can be found here, and for families in New Jersey, they can be found here.

“I know I’m not alone”

The building is more than an address. It’s a home, with shared stories and helping hands.

“I know I’m not alone in this situation,” Myles said.

“The grandparent, as well as the child, still see the family unit together somewhat. They get that love,” Reid said.

“The difficulty is just to let her listen and understand what life is all about,” Wynter said.

Wynter said Myles is starting to take care of her.

“If I tell her to do something, she will do it,” Wynter said. “At night she will say, grandma why don’t you go lay down, why don’t you go sleep.”

Myles said her grandmother has been her guiding light.

So what has given Wynter the strength to care for Myles all these years?

“Just pray and have faith, If I’m not around, whatever I teach her can can carry her through,” Wynter said.

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By Ashley Paul

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    BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — You’ve probably seen spotted lanternflies all around Maryland and Baltimore. They are tan and covered in black spots.

When they open their wings, a bright red flashes in front of you.

Spotted lanternflies are an invasive species in Maryland, and although they will not harm you, they are threatening our ecosystem and farms.

What are they and how did they get here?

Experts believe the spotted lanternfly came over from China on a stone shipment to Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 2014. They then entered Maryland in 2018.

Megan Carr, a Forest Ecologist with Baltimore City Recreation and Parks’ Forestry Division, said they were first found in Baltimore in 2021.

They are an invasive hopper insect that suck sap from grapevines and trees, including the weeping willow, maples, and black walnuts.

Jessica Boyles, an Environmental specialist and coordinator for the spotted lanternfly program at the Maryland Department of Agriculture, said you’ve probably seen what the adult looks like.

“Usually you see the pictures with the splayed wings, where you see the red underneath, and they’ve got those black dots on the forewings with the brown,” Boyles said. “That’s pretty typical. We also have fourth instars, which are right before adults. The fourth instars are rather small; people mistake them for spiders most of the time because they’re so low. They’re red and black and white.” The youngest ones are just black and white.

The insect will lay their eggs in the fall. The egg masses have been described as grey-white and look like mud or clay on a tree. Those eggs will hatch in April or June.

Local News Spotted lanternflies are wreaking havoc on Maryland vineyards and ecosystem baltimore By Ashley Paul September 22, 2025 / 6:52 PM EDT / CBS Baltimore

You’ve probably seen spotted lanternflies all around Maryland and Baltimore. They are tan and covered in black spots.

When they open their wings, a bright red flashes in front of you.

Spotted lanternflies are an invasive species in Maryland, and although they will not harm you, they are threatening our ecosystem and farms.

What are they and how did they get here? Experts believe the spotted lanternfly came over from China on a stone shipment to Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 2014. They then entered Maryland in 2018.

Megan Carr, a Forest Ecologist with Baltimore City Recreation and Parks’ Forestry Division, said they were first found in Baltimore in 2021.

They are an invasive hopper insect that suck sap from grapevines and trees, including the weeping willow, maples, and black walnuts.

Jessica Boyles, an Environmental specialist and coordinator for the spotted lanternfly program at the Maryland Department of Agriculture, said you’ve probably seen what the adult looks like.

“Usually you see the pictures with the splayed wings, where you see the red underneath, and they’ve got those black dots on the forewings with the brown,” Boyles said. “That’s pretty typical. We also have fourth instars, which are right before adults. The fourth instars are rather small; people mistake them for spiders most of the time because they’re so low. They’re red and black and white.” The youngest ones are just black and white.

The insect will lay their eggs in the fall. The egg masses have been described as grey-white and look like mud or clay on a tree. Those eggs will hatch in April or June.

Where do you see them?

In short, everywhere.

Their preferred tree host is the Tree of Heaven, which is invasive itself. It first came over as a landscaping tree because it provides good shade and beautiful flowers.

Boyles said the Maryland Department of Agriculture does a lot of management for vineyards and high-transportation pathways.

The Tree of Heaven grows in disturbed environments, like where roads and trains are built.

“We get a lot of reports of people going to Marc stations and seeing a ton of Spotted Lanternfly,” Boyles said.

How are they harmful?

“The good news to people is that it’s not harmful to humans, but it definitely has some impacts on our local ecosystems,” Carr said.

But she also said they rarely kill trees, and our forests aren’t losing canopy from them.

They hop around a lot and can be startling, but they do not bite or sting. However, they can attract others who do.

“My biggest concern about spotted lanternflies in a home landscape is that the honeydew will attract vast numbers of stinging insects,” said Michael Raupp, a former professor of entomology at the University of Maryland. “Yellow jackets, paper wasps, hornets, honeybees, this poses a risk to humans and pets in those landscapes.”

Boyles said it’s the secondary issues that can harm the trees. Since the bugs eat sap, they are creating wounds in the trees, which can open them to other pests and diseases.

Spotted lanternflies also excrete honeydew, which is just sugar and water. However, when it sits on vegetation, it creates sooty mold. “And that sooty mold stops photosynthesis,” Boyles said. “Or it decreases the ability for that plant to photosynthesize.”

The sooty mold can also get on your outdoor furniture and cars and cause a mess that’s hard to get rid of.

“The No. 1 complaint I get is that it reduced people’s quality of life, ” Boyles said. “Because they feel like they can’t enjoy their backyard.”

Broyles doesn’t have an answer on how to clean it up.

“I’ve heard some people say that if they took regular cleaning products to their grills and porches, they are able to get it up; sometimes it stains, but they are able to get it up. It’s not a good solution,” Broyles said.

The bugs can also deter people from getting outside and enjoying nature and the city’s forests.

“For us, our main issue is that they’re really just kind of gross,” Carr said. “You see all these bugs moving around, some people are afraid of them. And sometimes you’ll have the honeydew actually raining down on you. And those can be issues.”

Impact on vineyards All the experts that WJZ spoke to about the spotted lanternfly seem to agree that one of the biggest threats of the insect is to vineyards and grapes.

“When spotted lanternflies are able to feed on them, they reduce their ability to overwinter, deplete nitrogen, and they can reduce the ability for the vines to grow profitable grapes the following year, sometimes they’re really sickly,” Broyles said. “They can stunt the growth of young vines, so it’s an awful, awful sentence for vineyards.”

Edward Boyce and his wife planted the first grapes at Black Ankle Vineyards in Mount Airy in 2003.

Farming can always come with unforeseen challenges, but Ed says on average, they are probably down about 60% in their harvest so far this year. And the bugs are a big part of it.

“We’ve been through multi-colored Asian Lady Beetles, been through stink bugs, been through a couple other invasive insect pests,” Boyce said. “Eventually, you deal with them. That’s farming. This is the worst. By far.”

Boyce said the invasive bugs tend to go to the edges of his field. That’s because they aren’t the best flyers, but tend to hop to nearby plants.

“The middle is down maybe 40-50% but the edges are literally nothing,” Boyce said about his grape production this year.

And nature is not helping much.

Boyce has seen some yellow jackets attack them, but not much else.

“The only thing I’ve actually seen eat them is my cat. Who just whacked one out of the air. Who looked at it and gobbled it right up,” Boyce said. “But there’s a few too many for my cat to eat them all.”

To try to mitigate the problem, Black Ankle Vineyards knocked down the Tree of Heaven they had around their property. They also work with the Maryland Department of Agriculture.

And, they scrape off egg masses when they see them.

But when the bugs start killing the vines, they have to start spraying insecticide, which he does not like to do.

“That’s really frustrating because we worked so hard to build a good balance in the vineyard between the good, bad, and the bad bugs,” Boyce said. “And the good bugs keep the bad bugs in balance and to a dull roar, and everyone’s happy. Then something like this happens, and it throws the whole balance off. And it’s a lot of work and a long time to get it back.”

Boyce said they usually harvest about 200 tons of grapes, but he thinks it will only be about a hundred or so this year. He believes it’s mostly due to the bugs.

Eventually, he said it will impact their profits.

“We have wine down here stored from the last couple of years. This just means we will have less in the future, and we are gonna run out, and I don’t know what we’re going to do from there,” Boyce said. “But that’s tomorrow’s problem. Today is just how much we can save with what we have.”

For the wine-loving consumer, Ed said his prices will not go up because of the competition.

“It’s a very local phenomenon,” Boyce said. “If there were a market for Maryland wine, then yeah, prices would go up. But we are competing with wine from France, California, Washington state, Chile, and wherever else. And they don’t have this problem.”

But looking at the bright side, the wine they do harvest could taste better.

“We may only have last or less of our normal harvest, but if we keep getting decent weather the next few weeks, we may make some really good wine, and that might compensate a little bit for it, with really good quality,” Boyce said.

Boyce remains optimistic.

“If I’ve been good about keeping on these things, then yes, next year’s looking better,” he said. “Just know we are all trying to deal with it the best we can. And help us by buying local.”

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