CINCINNATI —

At least two teens were shot in Cincinnati during the weekend.

It's been a record year for Hamilton County Juvenile Court for all the wrong reasons and advocates hope to curb the violence.

Investigators said one of the most recent gun violence victims was set to have surgery on Monday.

They said he is just 15 years old and his mother was on the scene after he was shot.

It's another case of a child touched by gun violence in our city.

"We've just got to get to the bottom of these shootings, man. Everybody be living in a peaceful way, it'd be a wonderful thing," said Mitchell Morris with the Cincinnati Works Phoenix Program.

Community advocates said there are too many shootings with kids caught in the mix.

Morris is saddened to see at least two more cases just this weekend.

"Please put them guns down. It's a better way. Whatever the disagreement is, whatever you're going through, disrespect thing, please let's talk to somebody," he said.

On Saturday at about 9 p.m., Cincinnati police said two people were shooting at each other on Baymiller Street in the West End when a 17-year-old boy was hit.

Investigators said he went to the hospital and is expected to be OK.

Then, on Sunday night at about 10 p.m., Cincinnati police said a 15-year-old boy was shot near Montgomery Road and Rutland Avenue in Evanston.

Police said he was stabilized at UC Medical Center and set to have surgery on Monday.

As we first told you a few months ago, Hamilton County Juvenile Court officials said it's been a record year for the wrong reasons.

They said 77 kids are in The Youth Center, with 80% of them charged with an offense involving a gun.

Twenty-four are charged with felonious assault and 15 are charged with murder, officials told WLWT.

Court officials said some face multiple counts.

They said in total there have been 35 counts of murder and 39 counts of felonious assault filed this year.

This year, Hamilton County Juvenile Court has launched a new assessment center to help get teens on the right track.

Morris hopes more people will drop the guns and help the community instead.

"You had a group of people down in the West End passing out bikes to little kids and same thing in Walnut Hills, Avondale, you got groups of people doing wonderful work, there's lot of wonderful work being done," he said.

Cincinnati police said they have no updates on how the 15-year-old boy is doing.

Police said in that shooting, they are looking for two men wearing all black.

They said they have no information about what led up to the gunfire but said there is surveillance video from the city's Real-Time Crime Camera Network.

CINCINNATI —

Cincinnati police said a man stabbed two people in Westwood on Thanksgiving Day.

Officers shocked him with a taser and shot him in the leg while he was still wielding the knife, according to police.

Investigators said the officers involved are now on administrative leave, which is standard protocol.

Meanwhile, neighbors who saw the chaos are glad it's over.

The FOP president told WLWT that the suspect has since been treated and released from the hospital, but he will be charged.

It was an unnerving way for people to spend the holiday.

"I seen the arguing and all of that took place, but then afterwards, police showed up, all of that came and I'm like, 'Oh my God,'" a neighbor who didn't want to be identified told WLWT.

The neighbor has only lived in Lafeuille Apartment Homes for a few months but said this holiday with her two small children has now been marred by madness next door.

"I mean, even if there is a little bit of family drama, you're not expecting it to end in stabbings. So, yes, it definitely is shocking and crazy. Especially for it to happen in this apartment complex," she said.

She didn't want to be identified to protect her family.

Cincinnati police said a 911 call came in Thursday afternoon, reporting someone in an apartment trying to stab people.

They said two officers responded and found a man and a woman stabbed.

Investigators told WLWT that officers told the suspect to drop a knife and when the suspect wouldn't comply, they fired a gun and deployed a taser.

The specific timeline has not been released by CPD.

"We don't have that set of sequence of events as of yet," Asst. Chief Terri Theetge said.

Police said the suspect was shot in the leg.

He was at UC Medical Center and in stable condition, police said.

Officers said no one has life-threatening injuries.

FOP President Dan Hils released a statement about the incident late Thursday night:

"Today, while most Cincinnati residents safely enjoyed Thanksgiving with family, our local police officers were on patrol, protecting people. One of those officers was called to a local home after a 911 call about a dangerous man with a knife who was cutting people. She and another officer came upon a man wielding a knife. That man refused orders to drop the knife and then approached the officers with the knife. Both officers immediately saw the threat, and both acted quickly. One officer deployed his Taser device while the other simultaneously fired her service weapon. They stopped the threat. The criminal was treated and released from the hospital, and he will be charged. Both officers are uninjured. Everyone in Cincinnati can be thankful that, even on holidays, they have brave, quick-thinking police officers on patrol, risking their own lives to protect others."

It's still not clear what led up to the stabbings, as CPD remains tight-lipped.

Neighbors said they are relieved the incident is over.

"I didn't want them watching that. I was watching it but I was keeping them away from the windows, when the arguing, you know, I didn't want them to hear all of that. It's Thanksgiving, you know," the neighbor said.

No one at the apartment involved answered the door.

There was blood on the ground as well as empty bandage wrappers just outside the door.

Cincinnati police said they believe the victims and the suspect are family members.

They haven't shared the suspect's name, age, or if he has a criminal history.

Police said the Criminal Investigation Section is now investigating and the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office is involved.

A customer at The Omaha Bakery in Nebraska ordered two turnovers, and in return put forth a huge tip.

"Everybody was freaking out in here, they were like 'you guys won't believe what just happened!'" employee Preston Rath said.

Rath thought he was doing a typical transaction at the bakery.

"He ordered two turnovers which came to $5 and as I'm ringing them up he kind of snickers a little bit as he turns the screen back to me," Rath said.

When the customer, Nicholas, turned the screen around, Rath noticed his $2,000 tip.

"And I was like that's wrong, you put too much of a tip in there. And he goes 'if you don't hit OK, I'm going to reach around and hit OK,'" Rath said.

"You hear about these things in big cities and you see it on the internet, but you never think it's going to happen at your business," owner Michelle Kaiser said.

Kaiser said the money will be dispersed between hourly employees only, no managers.

"He knew that it had been a rough time with COVID, he knew that people were struggling in general. He noticed our staff was working really, really hard," Kaiser said.

Rath hopes the kindness that Nicholas showed doesn't stop with him.

"You don't have to give random strangers $2,000 but even just saying 'have a good day' can help somebody go from a zero to a 10," he said.

Watch the full story in the video above.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Two sororities at Texas A&M University are forced to quarantine after having been exposed to COVID-19.

The university announced the activities and members of Kappa Kappa Gamma and Delta Delta Delta are experiencing exposure to the virus.

Texas A&M has initiated chapter-wide quarantine and contact tracing for those who live in the sorority houses or elsewhere and were in contact.

The chapters have been responsive and are responsibly following required steps to continue operations, according to the university.

Students, faculty, or staff who receive a positive diagnosis or believe they have been exposed to a positive case must complete a form through the university's reporting portal.

Gatherings have also been restricted to 10 or fewer people.

Texas A&M kicked off the fall semester both online and in-person on August 19.

This story was first reported by Sydney Isenberg at KXXV in Waco, Texas.

GUATEMALA CITY —

With Kamala Harris visiting Guatemala and Mexico on her first foreign trip as vice president, the Biden administration is expected to announce new measures to fight smuggling and trafficking, and hopes to announce additional anti-corruption efforts as well on Monday, a senior administration official said.

The official, who briefed reporters traveling with Harris on Sunday, spoke on condition of anonymity to preview announcements before they have been made public. No further details were provided.

Harris has been tasked by President Joe Biden with addressing the root causes of the spike in migration to the U.S.-Mexico border, and her aides say corruption will be a central focus of her meetings with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on Monday and Mexico's Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday.

"Corruption really does sap the the wealth of any country, and in Central America is at a scale where it is a large percentage of GDP across the region," said special envoy Ricardo Zuniga.

"We see corruption as one of the most important root causes to be dealt with," Zuniga added.

The trip got off to a rocky start when Harris' plane returned to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland about 30 minutes after takeoff because of what her spokesperson said was a problem with the landing gear. She departed on another plane and landed late Sunday in in Guatemala City, where she was met by Foreign Minister Pedro Brolo.

Harris is seeking to secure commitments from Guatemala and Mexico for greater cooperation on border security and economic investment, and aides say she will also discuss vaccine sharing during her meetings. But corruption in the region — a far more intractable challenge — will complicate her efforts.

It's already had a significant impact on her work in Central America. Harris has yet to engage substantively with the leaders of Honduras and El Salvador, who are both embroiled in corruption scandals.

Giammattei has faced criticism over corruption within his own government. Zuniga acknowledged that the U.S. government faces a challenge in working with him but argued Harris was in the country in part to have a direct conversation with the president about this and other issues.

"The best way to deal with these cases where you have a very complex relationship in a country like Guatemala is to talk clearly and plainly as partners, as countries that have to get along," he said.

Harris has laid out an approach centered on creating better opportunities and living conditions in the region through humanitarian and economic aid. She announced plans to send $310 million to provide support for refugees and address food shortages, and recently secured commitments from a dozen companies and organizations to invest in the Northern Triangle countries to promote economic opportunity and job training.

Washington won some goodwill through its vaccine diplomacy this past week. Giammattei and López Obrador both received calls from Harris on Thursday telling them the U.S. would be sending 500,000 doses and 1 million doses, respectively, of COVID-19 vaccine.

While in Guatemala, Harris also plans to meet community leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs. In Mexico, she will speak with female entrepreneurs and hold a roundtable with labor workers.

She's underscored the need to address corruption in public remarks and events. In a May meeting with a number of leading voices on Guatemala's justice system, she noted her work as a prosecutor and said that "injustice is a root cause of migration."

"Part of giving people hope is having a very specific commitment to rooting out corruption in the region," she said.

Harris has also raised the issue during virtual meetings with the leaders of both countries, and aides say she will do it again during meetings on her trip. During their past conversations, they have discussed areas of mutual interest — improving port security, fighting smuggling networks, going after corrupt actors — and the goal of this trip is to turn that talk into action, aides say.

While the vice president will make announcements concerning new efforts at cooperation and new programs, she's not expected to announce any new aid during her trip.

While in Latin America, Harris will also have to navigate the politics of immigration. Congressional Republicans have criticized both Biden and Harris for deciding not to visit the border, and contend the administration is ignoring what they say is a crisis there. April was the second-busiest month on record for unaccompanied children encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border, following March's all-time high. The Border Patrol's total encounters in April were up 3% from March, marking the highest level since April 2000.

Conservatives will be watching Harris closely for any missteps, hoping to drag her into further controversy on an issue that they see as a political winner.

In her efforts to win commitments on corruption from the region's leaders, Harris can point to a number of moves by the Biden administration last week.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the problem during his own recent trip to Central America. The White House issued a memo elevating foreign corruption to a major national security issue, and directed all federal agencies to prioritize it and modernize their foreign corruption-fighting tools.

Eric Olson, director of policy at the Seattle International Foundation, which works to promote good governance in Central America, said that addressing corruption will take particular diplomatic skill. Harris will need to hold the leaders of Guatemala and Mexico accountable while also deepening trust and cooperation with the two nations.

"The challenge that she faces is how to, on the one hand, have a conversation, keep the door open — while not seeming to ignore the obvious elephant in the room, which is this incredible penetration of the state by corrupt actors," he said.

In Mexico, López Obrador continues to face a complicated security situation in many parts of the country. Nearly three-dozen candidates or pre-candidates were killed before this weekend’s midterm elections as drug cartels sought to protect their interests. The government’s inability to provide security in parts of the country is of interest to the U.S. in an immigration context, both for the people who are displaced by violence and the impact it has on a severely weakened economy trying reemerge from the pandemic.

The number of Mexicans encountered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection rose steadily from December through April. Mexico remains a key U.S. ally in trying to slow immigration, not only of its own citizens, but those crossing its territory. Successive U.S. administrations have effectively tried to push their immigration enforcement goals south to Mexico and Guatemala.

Nongovernmental organizations placed Guatemala's widespread corruption at the top of their list of concerns before Harris' visit.

Last month, two lawyers who are outspoken critics of Giammattei's administration were arrested on what they say were trumped-up charges aimed at silencing them.

The selection of judges for Guatemala's Constitutional Court, its highest, was mired in influence peddling and alleged corruption. Giammattei picked his chief of staff to fill one of the five vacancies. When Gloria Porras, a respected force against corruption, was elected to a second term, the congress controlled by Giammattei's party refused to seat her.

Harris' visit comes with high expectations, but experts say clear progress on corruption may be elusive.

"These are societies built on corruption," said Olson. "You're not gonna have an impact in six months."

___

Sherman reported from Mexico City. Associated Press writer Sonia Pérez D. in Guatemala City contributed to this report.