Category: CNN Regional

By Nick Iadonisi

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    BERKS COUNTY, Pennsylvania (WPVI) — When a 99-year-old World War 2 veteran befriended a college student, they would both go on a trip that they would never forget.

Together with Tyler Boland, Russell Sattazahn visited the site in Germany where he lost his hand decades ago.

Boland connected with Sattazahn through his passion project: “Keeping History Alive.” “My great grandfather was a marine in World War 2. He died before I was born. So in honor of him, I said, ‘I’m going to interview as many World War 2 vets as I can.’ I’m just inspired because they are living walking heroes,” said Boland.

These interviews are posted online, including Boland’s Youtube Channel.

After Boland discovered Sattazahn, he decided to find a way to visit the site where Sattazahn lost his right hand.

“The second one hit … and it blew my hand off. And the first thing I looked down and I said, ‘I’ll never play baseball again,’ that was my first thought,” Sattazahn recalls about his injury.

With help from community members, Boland and Sattazahn visited Uckerath, Germany together.

“Tyler was one great man. I thank him for everything. He helped me get back to Germany. There’s nobody better than him,” said Sattazahn.

“If you know someone, thank them for their service. They’ve done a lot for us. And without Russell and these other guys, I would not be here,” said Boland.

For any World War 2 veterans or their families, you can inquire about working with Boland through his online platforms.

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 Christie Ileto

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    PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — It’s a piece of Philadelphia history that powered the future. The world’s first electronic computer was born at the University of Pennsylvania.

It was a room-sized machine built for war that eventually launched the modern digital age that we know now.

It was called the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, aka ENIAC.

“It was created just right across the hall 80 years ago, in 1946,” said Paul Shaffer, a historian for ENIAC.

Inside the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania sits 1/10th of what was once a room-sized computer.

At its 1946 unveiling, ENIAC was made up of 40 nine-foot-high cabinets containing 18,000 vacuum tubes, 10,000 capacitors, and 6,000 switches.

“(It’s) not like standard computers today that take instructions out of stored memory and execute them one at a time. This, instead, was programmed by patching wires together,” said Shaffer. “Before then, we do calculations. They used gears and levers; computing was so slow back in those days.”

Shaffer says it was unlike any other computing device of its time.

It was developed during World War II to address the military’s need for quick and accurate computations.

It’s the brainchild of Professor John Mauchly and graduate student John Eckert Jr., along with six female mathematicians.

“Another problem that they were working on was the trajectory of artillery shells. Not too short, because that’s where the good guys are. You don’t want that. Let’s make sure it goes over the good guys and lands on the bad guys. So it’s very important. They had guns that they could not put out into the war because they lacked the firing table. How to calculate one entry in the firing table took about 12 hours on a calculator,” said Shaffer.

Their vision to bring more firepower to U.S. troops flipped the switch on the digital age.

“Ultimately, at the end of the day, it really was a model of how to do computing general purpose computing,” said Dr. Vijay Kumar, the dean of engineering.

Computing and computers have evolved into much more powerful, smaller PCs, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and smartwatches.

The prototype for this ingenuity began right here in University City.

“The University of Pennsylvania is very proud to have started all this,” said Shaffer. “We’d like to think that this was the machine that started the information age, and that it all started right here in Philadelphia, right here in this building at 33rd and Walnut.”

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 Zach Lewis

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    UTICA, New York (WKTV) — A local business has been serving wood-fired pizza in the Mohawk Valley for 13 years. Now, they have introduced a unique twist on the packaging for your pizza.

Chris Woodbeck shared that Mangia Macrina’s Wood Fired Pizza, located at 470 French Rd., has been serving the community after starting as a food truck in 2012.

Woodbeck explained that their pizzas are made in a wood-fired oven, are about 12 inches in size and cook in just 90 seconds.

He described how the business has introduced many locals to Neapolitan pizza, which is different from the typical New York slice, he said.

Woodbeck explained that they focus on whole pies, not slices, and have a motto: “Share your love, not your pizza.”

Woodbeck said he learned about the Neapolitan style while living in Minneapolis and brought the idea back to Utica because no one else in the area was making pizza this way.

He started out by selling pizza from a food truck to help people understand the style and has spent years educating customers on what makes their pizza different.

Woodbeck said that the community supported them through difficult times like the pandemic, and he is grateful for their loyalty.

Mangia Macrina’s Wood Fired Pizza offers creative options, including vegan pizzas and a signature Korean BBQ pizza, as well as the ability to customize any pizza to a customer’s preference.

The business recently partnered with an Australian company to design a custom pizza box called the Pizza Bib, which features their branding and a playful design that appeals to both kids and adults.

The box can be torn and worn like a bib, and Woodbeck noted that customers have responded well to the new boxes, often not wanting to throw them away.

The pizzeria sponsors Utica City Football Club and introduced their new pizza box at a match, where a player signed the first box.

He added that the restaurant is committed to quality and uses high-end ingredients, even for gluten-free options, which are made in-house.

Woodbeck reflected on his background in food, sharing that he started cooking and making his own sauce at 13 years old.

He attended college in Oregon, where he cooked for other students, and later worked in the restaurant industry before moving into the corporate world.

In 2008, he decided to return to New York and start his own pizza business, inspired by his experiences with food trucks in Portland.

He explained that starting with a food truck helped build the food truck scene in the Mohawk Valley.

Woodbeck said the restaurant continues to use the food truck for events and catering, and that the new location on French Road includes a bar and patio.

Woodbeck said the business is focused on growing with the community and supporting its employees, who are passionate about what they do.

He encouraged anyone who has never tried their pizza to give it a chance, noting that many people who travel or have lived abroad appreciate the authentic style.

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 Marcus Solis

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    MOUNT VERNON, New York (WABC) — 13 decomposing bodies and 17 boxes of cremated remains were allegedly found in a disturbing discovery inside an unlicensed funeral home in Westchester County.

The state shut down the business and pulled the funeral home director’s license.

Authorities say the operator of the Camelot Funeral Home in Mount Vernon continued to hold funeral services for months after.

More than two months later, the grieving process has begun for Aloma Washington.

Her 74-year-old mother, Estella Washington, died on November 25 and her memorial services were held at Camelot Funeral Home in Mount Vernon.

Washington was supposed to be cremated a few days later, but the family was never given the remains.

“He said, I know you’re taking this hard, so if you’re not ready to bring her home yet, I understand. He said Mom will be safe here with me,” Aloma Washington said.

Owner Michael Neughton was charged with operating the funeral home without a license.

The State Health Department said an inspection last week revealed deplorable conditions, including 13 decomposing bodies in various rooms, two were stacked on top of each other in the garage and 17 boxes of cremated remains were found in the basement.

What investigators did not locate was a single death certificate for any individual, including Estella Washington, whose body was among those inside.

“Someone was going to go pick my mom like a month or so ago, right? So what if we would have went to pick her up. What was he going to tell us or what was he going to give us?” Washington said.

Naughton’s license was revoked in 2019.

Camelot Funeral Home was shut down in 2021, reopened and then closed again last May.

The Attorney General’s Office says the facility conducted over 20 funerals since August.

Aloma Washington says there was never any indication that something was wrong.

“He never let on that there was anything going on. My mom died in November, he lost his license in May. So just think about like what was in the bottom of that basement or whatever? And all the way in November, you’re still taking bodies and you shouldn’t be,” Washington said.

Naughton is due back in court later this month. In the meantime, any impacted family that hasn’t been in touch with law enforcement has been asked to contact the Attorney General’s Office.

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

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    NASHVILLE (WTVF) — A man invited us to be in the operating room as he became a milestone patient at Vanderbilt Health for a groundbreaking treatment. He’s sharing his story as both a “thank you” and a chance to share a message.

The story starts in the era of cassette tapes, the Walkman, and pins on jean jackets. It was the mid-80s when Aaron Davis first met future wife Kimberly.

“Kim was the only girl in our school that had just the coolest hair!” Aaron laughed.

“Short on one side, long on the other,” Kimberly nodded.

“I was in 7th grade, she was in 8th grade, so I had the 8th grade girlfriend!” Aaron said. “So, automatically, I was the cool guy.”

“He was trouble,” Kimberly said, looking over at Aaron. “He was trouble, but he was nice.”

Aaron and Kimberly didn’t stay together back then, but life eventually brought them back, and they married.

“We’ve been together 21 years, so it’s been a good story,” Aaron said.

Before their visits to Vanderbilt Health began, Aaron was going through night sweats, indigestion, heart burn, and constipation. Back near their home in east Tennessee, he went in for a colonoscopy.

“I made the appointment,” Kimberly said. “He went. Then, we knew.”

“When I woke up, the doctor was standing there,” Aaron remembered. “‘Mr. Davis, you have cancer.’ Without my wife, I probably would have went septic and never known I had cancer. I would have passed away. It’s been a very emotional roller coaster for the past four years.”

Aaron and Kimberly began the long trips to Vanderbilt Health, about 175 miles from their home. They’ve made the trip about 50 times as Aaron is treated for a cancer that spread from his colon to his liver.

Something to know is when Aaron and Kimberly met in the mid-80s, some treatments were just not around that are here for Aaron today.

“This is the HAI pump,” Aaron said, showing a small circular device. “I was the 13th patient here at Vanderbilt to receive this. This is under the skin. They access this. It holds two weeks of chemo. Instead of going through your whole body, it’s only passing through your liver.”

There’s something else. Dr. Sekhar Padmanabhan of Vanderbilt explained Aaron is a milestone patient for a new treatment.

“He’s actually the 100th histotripsy case that we’ve performed here at Vanderbilt,” Padmanabhan said.

“The histotripsy is a ground-breaking technology, and it was first approved by the FDA in 2023,” Aaron said.

“It uses ultrasound waves to non-invasively destroy liver tumors,” Padmanabhan continued.

“I have three spots,” Aaron said. “It goes in and actually liquifies the tumor. There’s no cutting. I will be sedated during the procedure. There’s hardly any recovery. From what I understand, you might be sore for two or three days. What gives me confidence is knowing I have one of the best teams in the world. If my story can help one person who sees this get a colonoscopy, maybe come to Vanderbilt, get their life saved, my journey on Earth is worth it.”

Before the procedure, Aaron told me those thank yous both to Vanderbilt and to Kimberly.

“She’s never left my side the many times and procedures I’ve been through here,” Aaron said. “It’s brought our marriage closer together and shown us how much we love each other and need each other. I’m very fortunate to be a recipient.”

Those many trips from east Tennessee are expensive for Aaron and Kimberly.

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 Patsy Montesinos

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    NASHVILLE (WTVF) — FEMA has approved public assistance to support local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations in Middle Tennessee following recent winter storm damage.

Individual assistance remains under federal review, which would provide funds for home repairs and temporary housing for affected residents.

Nashville residents can access in-person support at two Disaster Assistance Centers beginning Tuesday morning. The centers are located at the Hadley Park Community Center and the Smith Springs Community Center.

More than a dozen agencies will be on site to provide wellness services, mental health support, employment assistance, insurance guidance and resource referrals. Residents are encouraged to bring identification, and no appointments are necessary.

For many residents, the need for help remains urgent. Nashville small farmer Ariana Kaufman exemplifies the ongoing recovery efforts many face after losing power for 11 days during the winter storm.

“Things feel more hopeful. The sun is out,” Kaufman said.

Her smile now replaces the tears seen during the bitter cold, when she struggled without electricity while caring for her animals. Like many residents, Kaufman spent day after day in the dark. Walking away from her animals was never an option for the small farmer.

“You’re not only thinking about yourself, but now you have these other outdoor beings that need extra care too,” Kaufman said.

She left her property for only one night when the cold became too dangerous.

“There were a little bit of the beginning stages of hypothermia, and so that’s when we ended up having to leave,” Kaufman said.

With electricity restored, her work has shifted from surviving to repairing. Storm cleanup and electrical repairs have totaled around $4,000 so far, with costs continuing to mount.

“Everything is fine here. It’s just a little bit overwhelming, the amount of trees down that need to be chained up,” Kaufman said.

Now that the ice has melted, Kaufman is finding positive aspects in the storm’s aftermath, particularly increased community connection.

“At least in my neighborhood of people like wanting to get each other’s phone numbers and have dinners and things like that. So it feels like it was a positive shift to get community,” Kaufman said.

Until the last fallen limb is cleared, Kaufman continues her daily recovery work.

“Continuing chainsawing every day,” Kaufman said.

Kaufman encourages those wanting to help to start with immediate neighbors by checking in, lending assistance and helping clean up winter storm damage.

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.