Category: CNN Regional

By Khiree Stewart

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    MIDDLE RIVER, Maryland (WBAL) — A Middle River mother who saved her two children from a house fire by dropping them from a second-story window to a neighbor returned home Wednesday.

Ashley Gubernat and her family saw what was left of their home after she and her two children were rescued by neighbors while her house was burning Tuesday morning in Middle River.

Gubernat said she was in bed when she heard the fire alarm. She woke up to see flames on the first floor of the home.

“Got to my second son’s bedroom, got him out of bed, came back into my bedroom, opened this front window right here. Smoke started pouring out, my oldest son was screaming, ‘Help me, help me.’ Banging on the side of the house,” Gubernat said.

Steven Angelini heard the noise outside and ran over to help. He eventually ran into trouble trying to remove a ladder from a nearby truck.

“He stood under me and he kept saying, ‘Drop them Ash, I got them. Drop them, I’m going to catch them. I’m going to catch them, just drop them,'” Gubernat said. “So, my youngest son went first. I stood on the awning. I reached down as far as I could reach, and I just let go.”

Her older son was a little apprehensive at first, she said.

“When he realized what I did with his younger brother, he panicked and he held onto the wall,” Gubernat said. “He said, ‘I’m not letting go. I’m not jumping.’ And I looked him straight in the eye and I said, ‘If you don’t jump, we’re dying. We’re going to die in the house. You’ve got to get out.’ He looked at me and regripped, and I just pushed him off.”

Both children fell into Angelini’s arms, breaking their fall. Other neighbors were eventually able to free the ladder to help get Gubernat down.

Angelini is a hero, Gubernat said. She also thanked her neighbors who rushed to help, emphasizing the importance of fire safety. Her son recently learned about fire safety in school, Gubernat said.

“He told the doctors and nurses yesterday that one thing he knows about fire is to get low, crawl and cover your mouth. The fact that he remembered that and was able to apply it when this was happening shows they are listening,” Gubernat said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

A GoFundMe page has been created to help the family.

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 Lisa Crane

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    CULLMAN COUNTY, Alabama (WVTM) — Some Cullman County residents are outraged after finding out the man who inked their bodies now faces child sex charges.

Jesse Conn is charged with two counts of sodomy involving minor children. Now, some of his former clients want to do something about the ink he tattooed on them.

Cullman’s Summer Ashley is proud of her tattoos. She said they’re all very personal, and the permanent art creates a lifelong connection with the artist. After Conn was charged with sexually abusing a child, Ashley posted on social media that she wanted to cover the tattoo she got from him.

Many others chimed in with the same feelings.

Ashley said, “You trusted this person, the same hands that touched your body and put permanent marks on your body are the same hands that allegedly did incomprehensible things to children.”

Bre Farr is an artist at Silhouette Studios in Cullman. She said she gets it.

“It’s permanently, like I said, like in your skin for the rest of your life. And if you have a bad experience with somebody, you just don’t want that on your body anymore,” Farr said.

Robby Sadler works at The Hive Tattoo Collective in Hartselle. He’s offered to help anyone tattooed by Conn.

He said, “We decided just to offer a very heavily discounted reworks, cover-ups on the work. So that way you kind of get rid of that stigma.”

Ashley and several others said they’ll take him up on the generous offer. She added, “He really didn’t skip a beat. I thought that it was great that immediately he reached out and he said, ‘If you want this covered, I’ll do that.'”

Ashley realizes Conn has not been convicted in this case, and he is presumed innocent, but she said she just doesn’t want to be reminded of these horrific allegations every time she looks at one of her tattoos.

Conn’s trial is scheduled for March.

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 Brooklyn Joyner

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    YAZOO CITY, Mississippi (WAPT) — Letisha Stuckey is mourning the loss of her son, 33-year-old Cornelius Stuckey, who was shot multiple times in Yazoo County on Saturday, according to the Yazoo County Sheriff’s Department.

“When I got out there, I told them I wanted to know where he had been shot at, how many times he had been shot, and they told me to step away. There wasn’t anything they could tell me,” Letisha Stuckey said.

Cornelius Stuckey’s death comes just months after his cousin, Kenlanda Burns, was killed in September 2025. Kenlanda’s father, Isaiah Burns, said he keeps her memory alive through pictures on the wall.

“You already raise your kids, and then you have to raise your grandkids, and then it gets harder and harder,” Isaiah Burns said.

Kenlanda Burns left behind three children after she was killed by her ex-boyfriend, who later died by suicide. The family held a vigil on the steps of her apartment to honor her memory. This recurring loss has left the family feeling empty and on edge.

Letisha Stuckey said she is all out of tears to cry, remembering her son as a funny guy who loved his two children.

“I’m not feeling; I don’t feel anything; they failed him just like they did my cousin,” she said.

The family is now left with only memories of their loved ones from pictures on the wall, unable to bear the thought of losing another family member to gun violence.

“If it be another killing, everybody is going to go crazy,” Isaiah Burns said.

The family says both loved ones warned police they were in danger before they were killed. They believe their pleas for help were ignored by the Yazoo County Police Department. We reached out to the department for comment and were told they would follow up at a later date.

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 Edward Smith

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    LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — Susan Bruner won a court battle Wednesday to keep her miniature horse, Bandit, despite a new ordinance in Louisville requiring large animals to be kept on at least one acre of land.

Supporters gathered in a courtroom to show their support for Bruner and her horse. Bruner, who has kept Bandit in her backyard for 14 years, expressed relief after the court’s decision.

“I’m feeling a little at ease. I got it dismissed. So part one’s done. We’ve got Bandit safe. He’s staying where he’s at,” Bruner said.

Bruner shared that she had been anxious about the outcome, saying, “I’ve been panicking and I’ve been having, anxiety attacks. Really at the beginning, after I started getting all the help from all the community, I eased a little.”

The backlash against the ordinance led Councilwoman Jennifer Chappell to push for changes to exempt animals owned in Louisville before the ordinance passed. The court’s decision protects Bandit until the legislation is amended, but Bruner remains concerned for others who may want to own similar animals.

“We need the acreage taken out. If somebody owns a miniature horse, and they want to move to Jefferson County. They wouldn’t be able to,” Bruner said.

Despite her concerns, Bruner is grateful for the outcome and looks forward to reuniting with Bandit.

“I’m gonna give him a hug. I give my baby a hug and a carrot,” she 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 Caleb Califano

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    FORT PIERCE, Florida (WPBF) — An unusual underwater discovery led to a temporary beach closure in St. Lucie County over the weekend after a scuba diver found what authorities later confirmed was a World War II explosive.

The discovery was made by diver Tom Gramlich, who regularly dives along the Treasure Coast. Gramlich says he was diving near Pepper Park when he spotted an old metal object in shallow water.

“As I was coming in, I looked down, and I saw some kind of strange object,” Gramlich said. “I reached down, picked it up, had it in my hand, and I realized this looks like a World War II mortar.”

Once he realized what he had found, Gramlich says he immediately contacted authorities. Deputies secured the beach and called in the bomb squad, which moved the device to a safe area and conducted a controlled detonation.

“They put their explosives around it, filled it back up with sand, and then a short time later, they detonated it,” Gramlich said. “You saw a big explosion on the beach that sent sand and debris sky high.”

Officials say this is not the first time military ordnance has been found off the Treasure Coast. According to Andy Brady with the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum, the area has deep ties to WWII history.

Brady says in 1943, the U.S. military took control of more than 20,000 acres in the region for amphibious warfare training ahead of the Normandy invasion. That training involved the use of live explosives, some of which are still occasionally discovered decades later.

“If you ever find something like this, retreat, report it, leave it alone, and call the Corps or the bomb squad,” Brady 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 Madilyn Destefano, Tony Atkins

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    ORLANDO, Florida (WESH) — A protest was organized outside of Orlando City Hall at approximately 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday, where people gathered to repudiate the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

Groups including Orlando 50501, The Family Support Network, the Immigrants Are Welcomed Here Coalition and the Hope Community Center, will be there.

“Trump and his billionaire cronies will stop at nothing using ICE as a sword against the working class,” a protester said.

The incident has deeply affected Pastor Sarah Robinson of Audubon Park Church, who participated in the Orlando demonstration.

“It’s the reason I became a pastor, to love people well. To care for our community. To make, thriving, flourishing communities. What’s happening now is so antithetical to that,” Robinson said.

Wednesday’s protest was organized just two and a half hours before it took place, with organizers labeling it an emergency protest.

“This person was shot at point-blank range and the ICE agents had no justification for this killing,” Corey Hill of Orlando 5150 said.

Organizers have vowed to continue their efforts as needed in their push for change.

“Everyone is here because of their love for others. That’s why we’re here. And this is our love. Out loud,” Robinson 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.