VIDEO: Rescued female manatee released back into wild

Updated: 11:12 AM EST Jan 30, 2022

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and volunteers from the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership released an orphaned manatee into the wild Thursday.Aiya, a young female manatee, was rescued off Fort Pierce, Florida, in February of 2021. Conservation commission officials determined she was an orphaned calf who was suffering from malnutrition and cold stress lesions. The manatee was taken to SeaWorld by FWC and Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute for rehabilitation.She was released in West Palm Beach in the outflow area of Manatee Lagoon on Thursday morning. Aiya has a satellite tracker to see where she swims.Video below: A look at the Aiya before she was rescuedFlorida Power and Light announced in December that it would work to support manatee rehabilitation and rescue with $700,000 over the next three years.

CINCINNATI — There were 14 children facing murder charges in the Hamilton County Juvenile Court system as of Wednesday evening, following Tuesday's arrest of four teens by Cincinnati police in relation to the June killing of a 16-year-old.

Galevon Beauchamp was walking near his Avondale home on June 21 when police say someone shot him. He died three days later.

Bishop Ennis Tait from New Beginnings Church of the Living God Avondale is working with the child’s family and said his death is just the latest in a growing trend of young people killing other young people.

“This has become a pattern that young men between the ages of 14 and 17 are committing heinous crimes,” Tait said.

Out of the 14 children in the detention center, the youngest is a 13-year-old girl, according to Judge Kari Bloom.

“I was a public defender for 10 years before I came to be a judge. That’s what I was doing, and I have never seen this many kids charged with murder,” she said.

Cincinnati police say officers have charged six children with murder so far this year.

In nearby Columbus, a city with more people, police said they’ve arrested eight juveniles accused of murder.

“For most kids, juvenile court is the best place for them,” Bloom said, citing how younger children can access rehabilitation programs in the system.

“I don’t mean to excuse the danger that is created when a child has a gun," she said. "I think, though, what we have to do is keep ourselves open to the idea that, as kids get younger and younger and younger, we have to figure out why.”

She says the pandemic is adding to social setbacks.

“We’re seeing tragic and giant responses to conflicts, and we don’t have school as a conflict resolution," she said. "We don’t have a lot of other places open as we used to [to teach] conflict resolution."

In some cases, she says, adults are encouraging the violence.

“Older people who are willing to encourage children to pick up a gun, to go out and settle their arguments with a gun or with violence, and/or they’re willing to pay children to do the work on their conflict resolution for them,” she said.

In the Beauchamp case, the children arrested were 14, 15, 16 and 17 years old. The 14- and 15-year-old charged could be tried as adults, but only after a probable cause hearing and a second hearing in which a judge decides they cannot be rehabilitated in the juvenile system.

The 16- and 17-year-olds only require the first probable cause hearing to determine if they move beyond juvenile court.

Bishop Tait is forming a group of parents, principals, pastors and physicians that can send a cohesive message to children they encounter.

”You're going to see an opportunity for us to make a serious impact on the lives of these young people,” said Bishop Tait. “Especially these four, because even after this, they're still not lost. They still need our help. I would invite the parents and the family members to give us a call.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There's something to be said for a fresh start. That can be as simple as how you feel after a haircut, or it can be a lot more complicated than that. Either way, it just feels good.

One Kansas City, Missouri, nonprofit spends its days providing fresh starts for a couple of very specific groups.

"Look good, feel good" is an adage that’s true for pets and for people.

The Grooming Project teaches people who have a history of drug addiction and/or crime to become certified dog groomers.

But that title means so much more than using clippers and giving doggy baths.

"I could be having a bad day, and then come in here, and the dogs make my whole day different,” said Jeanne Dennison, a current Grooming Project student.

Dennison also lives in the program’s family dorm.

"I came in here with like 9 or 10 warrants, and now I have none," Dennison said.

Case manager Barbie Daniels has been where these students are, living a life ravaged by drugs.

Now, her job description includes helping them tackle any legal issues.

"Have you ever seen the 'Rocky' movies?” Daniels said. “I feel like Mickey in the corner. I'm just cheering them on. People going from hopeless, to having some amount of hope — having goals, and plans for their future, and they have these great things going on in their lives."

On a normal day, you’ll find Amy Hall at the center of The Grooming Project operation, running the complicated calendar for the day.

Amy's a former student too, who spent more than 20 years addicted to methamphetamine. She said The Grooming Project changed her life, and she lives to see that change in others.

"We groom these people how to be men and how to be women," Hall said. “I get paid for being spiritually fulfilled."

Hours and hours of washes and trims happen inside the agency. And in the end, for every soul who comes through the doors, a transformation does as well.

"You can tell a difference in them from before and after,” Dennison said, referring to the dogs. “And you can see a work of art in them."

This story was originally published by Taylor Hemness at KSHB.