Category: CNN Regional

By Peyton Headlee

Click here for updates on this story

    SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — Elite athletes from around the world are arriving in Sacramento this weekend for Ironman California, including Claire Danson, a competitor from London who could make history as the fifth woman using a wheelchair to complete an Ironman race.

Danson has been paralyzed since 2019, when she collided with a tractor while training for a triathlon.

“I’m paralyzed from T5, which is about from here down. So, I don’t have any sensation or function from there downwards,” she said. “After my accident, it was really important to me to get back into sport. In actual fact, the first thing that I communicated—I was on a vent, so I couldn’t speak—on the letter board they gave me, the first thing I wrote was para-athlete.”

Years of dedication have brought her to this point, as she prepares to take on the Ironman course as a para-athlete. She’s no stranger to competition, but this race is new to her.

“There’s only four other females who’ve ever done it before me. It’s quite tricky as a para-athlete. The cutoff times are pretty tough for us,” she said.

She’s hoping to cross the finish line and become the fifth woman to complete an Ironman as a wheelchair user.

“When you go through a life-changing accident and people tell you that your life is going to be limited and you won’t be able to do things, it’s actually really important to me as well to prove to people that you can. And your life doesn’t have to be different. So, I think it will be pretty emotional, at the end,” she said.

Her husband is competing alongside her. They just got married a few weeks ago and chose Ironman California as their honeymoon. After the race, they will spend a few weeks exploring California.

Danson is also raising money for Wings for Life, a charity that funds spinal cord injury research.

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 Daisy Kershaw

Click here for updates on this story

    CINCINNATI, Ohio (WLWT) — A major medical triumph right here in Cincinnati; a new gene therapy is now giving some children born deaf the ability to hear.

One family seeing the benefits came all the way to Cincinnati from Central Asia.

Two young siblings were born with profound hearing loss caused by a genetic condition, a breakthrough at Cincinnati Children’s helping change their lives forever.

“I was literally at one of our outlying clinics, and this family came in with two cute and adorable kids and asked if I could help them hear,” said Dr. John Greinwald, an otolaryngology attending at Cincinnati Children’s.

Unable to get treatment back home for their two young children born deaf, this family from Uzbekistan researched options and found Dr. Greinwald in Cincinnati.

“Basically, looked me up, stalked me on the internet and saw… That I’m an expert in the field of molecular genetics of deafness,” said Dr. Greinwald.

Brother Abdu and sister Sumaya became patients in this breakthrough clinical trial.

Doctors here performed one of the world’s first bilateral gene therapy injections.

Within weeks, both could hear without any implants or devices.

“This is groundbreaking. The genetic therapy is predicted to last a lifetime,” said Dr. Greinwald.

Dr. Greinwald explaining their approach.

“The approach for this is very similar to a standard cochlear implant. We go from behind the ear through the bone, and we go down to the opening of the cochlea… And we dose them and give them a gene therapy product,” said Dr. Greinwald, “There have been very, very few complications. And both of our patients did phenomenally well.”

Not only did it work, but Dr. also Greinwald says the children’s hearing shows signs of continued improvement.

“This has taken a village. This is hundreds of researchers working on this, hundreds of folks on the clinical side doing this kind of work. But it is a, it is kind of a medical miracle,” says Dr. Greinwald.

It’s important to know every case of hearing loss is different, and this treatment is only for a specific genetic condition.

However, Dr. Greinwald says he believes this breakthrough will lead to other gene therapies in our lifetime that could help treat a wide range of hearing loss.

To learn more about their work and this clinical trial CLICK HERE.

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 Britt Leoni

Click here for updates on this story

    LEE COUNTY, Florida (WBBH) — Inside Brookdale Senior Living, seniors share their wealth of knowledge.

“Do unto others as what you want done to you,” said one resident, Jeanne McCafferty.

Despite their years of wisdom, there’s one realm of understanding that’s a little more limited.

“I don’t do any of it,” said Bob Bockman. “It never interested me.”

What never interested Bob was learning how the heck iPhones, computers, and this “tech stuff” work.

Thankfully, every week, a team of high-tech titans steps in to help.

Six years ago, a group of students at Canterbury High School noticed a problem they were confident they could help seniors fix. It’s why they started CLEO, which stands for Computer Literacy Education Outreach. It’s a program that teaches seniors how to use technology.

“It’s very meaningful,” said Canterbury senior Bradley Laquis, who is also the Executive Director of CLEO. The initiative started as a way for him and his brother to stay in touch with their grandparents.

What started as helping seniors in one city has grown into helping seniors throughout the country and internationally.

“Seeing the smile on the senior citizens’ faces truly just means a lot,” said Bradley.

Week after week, these students come back to help seniors stay connected to the world around them, but most importantly, to each other.

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 Nicole Estaphan

Click here for updates on this story

    WEST LEBANON, New Hampshire (WCVB) — Chris Coulter, of West Lebanon, NH, has spent his life finding ways to do things differently. Born without his left arm, he learned early to solve problems independently. Now, his engineering skills have helped him design a custom device that has transformed his mountain biking.

Coulter loves riding trails, but controlling a bike over rocks, roots and steep terrain presented a persistent challenge. Off-the-shelf attachments and modifications improved his grip, but his arm could still slip when he hit a bump.

After flipping over his handlebars in his own driveway.

“I’m an engineer. I should be able to design something that works better for me — and not just adapt what’s available,” he said.

Coulter brought his idea to friends at Manufacturing Collaborative in Randolph, Vermont. They scanned his arm, built a model and developed a custom, adjustable attachment he calls the “Adaptation Contraption.”

The device helps him control the handlebars and lift the bike over obstacles.

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 Isaiah Sharp

Click here for updates on this story

    NAMPA, Idaho (KIVI) — Local boxing Icon Rene ‘El Gato’ Medina is being honored at a fight night on October 17th in Nampa for his decades of dedication to the sport.

At 86-years-old, he can still be found watching every punch inside a small Nampa boxing gym.

It’s a familiar setting for a man who has spent more than half a century teaching the sport and has coached multiple generations of fighters.

“He’s trained kids, they grow up. Those kids bring in their kids and those kids have also brought in their kids,” Carmen Medina said. “So, like, he’s trained a father, a son and a grandfather.”

Medina began coaching boxers in 1968, but his connection to the sport started years when he was a teen.

“When he was about 17 years old, it became a passion for him,” Carmen said.

When asked why he first stepped into the ring, Medina’s answer was simple: “Because he was very skinny when he was a boy.”

Tired of being bullied and looking for an avenue away from drugs and alcohol, Medina picked up a pair of gloves and began fighting.

Known in the ring as “El Gato,” Medina eventually reached a point in his boxing career where he fought on an undercard for Joe Frazier. But his lasting impact would come outside the ropes, where he began training the next generation.

“He’ll train you today and tomorrow you might become a champion,” said Louie Neagle, coach at Tomorrow’s Champions. “That was his philosophy. You train hard and tomorrow you might be a champion, and I’ve always liked that about him.”

That philosophy is reflected in the name of the gym where Medina continues to coach, Tomorrow’s Champions.

Over the years, hundreds of men and women have trained under Medina, while dozens of coaches have followed in his footsteps.

On Oct. 17, Medina’s decades-long career will be honored during a fight night in Nampa. The fight will feature a heavyweight bout between Ruben Manrajos Jr. of Idaho vs. Ryan Bailey of Washington

And after 58 years of coaching, “El Gato” still has no plans to leave the corner.

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 Robbie Owens

Click here for updates on this story

    PLANO, Texas (KTVT) — Emma and Diego Contreras of Plano had already decided that Diego would take a more hands-on role in the birth of their third child, who wasn’t due until the following week.

But Emma might be a little more careful about what she wishes for from now on.

Diego ended up being far more involved in the delivery than either of them ever imagined.

“So whenever we were stuck at that red light, I think that’s when my heart sank, and I thought, like, ‘We’re in trouble,'” Diego said. “But I still did not think the baby was coming.”

Baby Beni, however, had other plans. He arrived in his father’s waiting hands in the parking lot of Medical City Plano.

“I guess he was crowning,” Diego said. “I saw the top of the head. And so instinctively I just, like, squatted in front of him and I don’t know how much time passed, but he just slipped out.”

But let’s back up a bit.

On the morning of Oct. 11, Emma began having what she thought might be contractions.

Maybe.

“I told Diego that I’m going to go on a walk,” Emma said, “and I don’t know if these are real contractions. And so, I said, if I can’t make it around the block, I think I’m in labor, but I did.”

Walk or not, Baby Beni decided he’d waited long enough.

“So, I used some techniques I knew to try and stall pushing,” Emma said, “which is hard. But once we got to the hospital, it just got intense so fast.”

By the time Diego alerted emergency room staff and rushed back to the car, he said the “urgency” of the moment could no longer be denied.

“She said something like, ‘He’s here,'” he said. “And so, I pulled her pants down, and I saw… I guess he was crowning… I saw the top of the head.”

Mother, baby, and two busy big brothers are all doing fine. And what a story Diego will have to share with other dads.

“I’m really proud of him, honestly,” Emma said. “Because I did, I really did, tell our doula I wanted him more involved.”

Then, with a laugh, she added: “Yeah, be careful what you wish for.”

And what a story they’ll have to tell Baby Beni one day.

“And it’s so funny because like I said, we walk there often to go to Starbucks. So now when we walk there with these guys, we can literally point and be like that,” Diego said, as Emma finished the thought. “We can say where he was born.”

“Yeah,” Diego said. “Usually, dads are pretty useless during delivery, so I’m glad that at least for this one, I contributed!”

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 Lesley Marin

Click here for updates on this story

    RANCHO CUCAMONGA, California (KCAL, KCBS) — A controversial brewery located in the middle of a Rancho Cucamonga neighborhood, often drawing the irritation of neighbors, is set to become a fire station after the property was purchased by the city for nearly $8 million.

The Hamilton Family Brewery opened last year, on Eighth Street and Archibald, and since then Armando Moreno says he’s dealt with a slew of issues in his usually quiet neighborhood of nearly 40 years.

“I think we’ve lost a lot of what is considered a neighborhood feel,” Moreno said. “We couldn’t find parking; that was one of the issues. Another issue was people urinating on the street.”

After several neighborhood protests, the Rancho Cucamonga City Council approved a purchase agreement for $7.8 million between the Rancho Cucamonga Fire District and the brewery’s owners. The city is now set to turn it into a fire house after it began looking into complaints against the brewery in March.

“Initially, the idea of selling something we worked so hard to build and all the blood and sweat and tears and sacrifice that went into that location? It was like, ‘Heck no,'” said brewery owner Josh Hamilton.

Hamilton said the brewery moved after outgrowing their old location, and despite the initial reluctance, he believes the sale is a win for everyone.

“The neighbors would be happy. Our customers would be happy to have extra parking. I would be happy to not have the stress of dealing with the neighbors,” Hamilton said.

Fire officials say the new fire house would improve response times, but many residents have questioned the staggering price tag for the property. While the fire department will fund most of it, some of the money will come from the city.

Hamilton said he bought the property for $2.5 million, but invested millions more to turn it into a fully functioning brewery.

“Some people see the purchase price; double that went into it, essentially,” he said, adding that he’s expecting to return to his old location on Seventh Street, where he’ll build a tasting room.

Moreno said the cost is worth the peace, hopeful now that he and his neighbors will return to their quiet way of life.

“Instead of having to deal with this every day, it’s good for the community, cause we don’t have one nearby,” Moreno said of the fire house.

Rancho Cucamonga Fire District officials say they already purchased a separate plot of land for a new fire house, which they plan to sell. The city council approved the sale last week, but the deal still needs to go through escrow.

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.