Category: CNN Regional

By Cheryl Fiandaca

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    STOW, Massachusetts (WBZ) — Dunkin’ has loyal customers across Massachusetts, but some aren’t happy about the changes the company made to its loyalty program last fall.

Aaron Braun of Stow is one of them. He had accumulated more than 93,000 points on the app over several years. But, before he could use them, Dunkin’ changed its rewards policy. Points now expire one year from the last day of the month they were earned.

62,000 Dunkin’ points lost That change cost Braun 62,000 points, which equals about 100 coffees or $260.

“A lot of money,” he said. Braun had originally planned to let his children use the points to get free food and drinks.

“My kids now have a driver’s license so they can order on the way to school if they want to, breakfast sandwiches, all the products are there. And it doesn’t cost anything,” Braun told WBZ-TV. Now, he’s making his coffee at home.

He told WBZ’s I-Team it took him five years to accumulate all those points. He emailed Dunkin’ but said it didn’t make a difference.

“I wrote and said, ‘I’ve been loyal to you, but you’re not showing any loyalty back to me.’ It’s a local company, I mean Dunkin’ was founded up here. They’re all over the place, but they started up in Massachusetts, so it’s rough,” Braun said.

He isn’t the only customer who felt slighted by the change in policy last fall. Dunkin’ received a lot of backlash on social media for the change.

Loyalty program risks “The rule of thumb I have is you gotta use it or lose it, because these things can change, in a moment’s notice, as we’ve seen here,” said Deidre Cummings, a legislative director for the consumer watchdog group MASSPIRG.

Cummings explained that companies have the right to change their loyalty programs at any time. She said they’re typically used as marketing tools and there are strings attached.

“It’s also important to remember that we are paying in terms of giving them our purchasing history and personal data. So, we should just keep that in mind. So, it’s not really free. I call it like ‘free not free,'” Cummings said.

Dunkin did not respond to WBZ’s requests for comment. It is not the only company changing its rewards programs. Airlines and credit card companies are also revising their loyalty perks.

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 Andrew Adeolu, Bryant Reed

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    BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — City firefighters worked to battle a 2-alarm fire in the midst of bitter winter conditions in Northeast Baltimore Friday night.

Officials say they were dispatched to 4518 Mainfield Avenue of the Morgan Park neighborhood for reports of a fire at 7:31 p.m.

Two minutes later, when they arrived, crews discovered flames on the third floor of a residence.

Crews say the wind, along with the low temperatures, made it difficult to fight the blaze. However, they were able to contain it to one dwelling despite the threat of spread to nearby residences.

No one was inside the home at the time of the fire, according to BCFD Deputy PIO Rashad Singletary.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Community reaction During the incident, neighbors explained to WJZ’s Bryant Reed that in the spur of the moment, they rushed into action to make sure everyone was okay.

“My wife noticed an orange glow coming from outside the upstairs window. Our ring camera went off, and we saw somebody like out in the street. So, we realized the house across the street is on fire,” said Matt Barrow of the Morgan Park neighborhood. “So, our first instinct was run next door and make sure that the neighbor there, who is an older guy that lives by himself, bang on his door and make sure he’s okay.”

Barron went on to say that when he came outside, he found that the fire department had already been called, and the man he and his wife were searching for had been helping another family on the block of women and children.

“Thankfully…we were able to get them inside and keep them warm,” he 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 Nakell Williams

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    ATLANTA, Georgia (WUPA) — As a massive winter storm threatens metro Atlanta, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport officials are executing their plan to keep travelers from being frustrated and stuck on runways.

While GDOT crews treat the interstates, crews at the Atlanta airport are working to keep the runways open.

The airport is rolling out new hardware ahead of the winter storm. They call them “MFEs” — multi-functional equipment.

Officials have been drilling with these massive machines since December, but this weekend will be the first time they are put to the test in a real storm.

The airport leased five of these machines specifically for this winter. Instead of sending out plowers, sweepers, and blowers, the machines do all three jobs — clear, scrape, and brush at the same time.

Hartsfield-Jackson. Deputy General Manager Gus Hudson called the equipment a game-changer.

“So with the old equipment, we were averaging about 30 to 45 minutes to clear a runway. This equipment, I think we can do it in 15,” Hudson said. “That means that they’re not stuck in the terminal. They’re not on the runways waiting for taxiways and runways to be cleared.”

Crews will start 12-hour shifts beginning at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

The airport says it’s in a good position to help people avoid flight delays. However, they say keep in mind the weather can change quickly.

Some airlines have dropped their change fees, so travelers feeling nervous due to the weather can rebook their flights.

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 Michal Higdon

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    BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WVTM) — The Urban League of Alabama, in partnership with Birmingham officials and other organizations, is expanding its community violence intervention program.

The expansion comes after a successful pilot in 2025 which helped contribute to a 42% reduction in homicides in the city. Birmingham reported a decline in homicides from 152 in 2024 to 88 in 2025, a result attributed to a coordinated effort involving law enforcement, community organizations, data, and residents who reject violence as a norm.

“Our communities have dealt with violence for generations and now it stops,” Uche Bean, the director of the Birmingham Office of Community Safety Initiatives, said. “Public safety isn’t about lowering numbers. It’s not just about data. It’s about people. And I’m thankful that we are now making those decisions that are going to impact the community in the long run, for generations to come.”

The program, which encompasses a partnership between the Urban League of Alabama, City of Birmingham, Trajectory Changing Solutions and Housing Authority of the Birmingham District, targets Birmingham’s 35204 ZIP code. It uses street outreach, conflict mediation, and community-based prevention strategies to prevent shootings.

Leaders emphasize the importance of interrupting violence as a key component of the program.

“Our street team may be out at 11:00 at night,” William Barnes, Urban League of Alabama’s president, said. “If they’re talking with people that now trust them, can they have a conversation about, ‘Listen, I’m really thinking about committing some type of act of violence.’ Can our team actually talk them down from being able to do that? And so that’s what crime prevention, crime intervention really is.”

This initiative is part of the “Free the Streets” program, which focuses on people most likely to be involved in shootings. Leaders describe it as evidence-based and note that many residents, including those at high risk of committing crimes, are grateful for the program’s intervention.

“Many of the residents are very thankful,” Barnes says. “I can tell you this, some of the residents who actually are at high risk of committing the crimes are also relieved because there’s a conversation to give them a way out. Most of the people who commit crimes are not necessarily interested in committing said crimes. They just have no way out. And this is an opportunity for us to address that and help them do something different.”

“We’re not trying to interfere with law enforcement work, we are just trying to complement law enforcement work,” Latonya Tate, who represents Council District 9 and a big proponent of the work, says. “Any time that you’re a high risk individual, your actions, your decisions bring about consequences. So, we want to get ahead of this and offer preventative measures. And as it has been stated here, there’s substantial ability and long-term solutions. We are in this for the long haul.”

Norman Livingston Kerr, chief executive officer for Trajectory Changing Solutions, thanked everyone who is taking part in this initiative.

“These initiatives don’t happen by accident, they happen because someone is willing to push, advocate and stay in the fight long enough to see them supported and sustained,” Kerr said.

Last month, the Birmingham City Council unanimously voted to continue funding multiple violence intervention programs. The Urban League of Alabama is looking forward to this program succeeding and would love to expand the program to all ZIP codes across the city.

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.