Matt Callahan

NEWSCAST PRODUCER

Recent Articles

  • Ohio mother’s cancer disappears after groundbreaking clinical trial

    CLEVELAND – Denise and Jim Keenan recently celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary, but this milestone has taken on an even greater meaning since Denise was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma back in 2009. Denise, 66, of Youngstown, told WJW that she had “started getting used to the idea of not being here anymore.” She went in and out of remission several times over the past ten years, with a variety of failed cancer treatments. “She’s convinced me probably a hundred times over […]

  • ‘Christmas pothole’ to get a fix after fed-up residents ‘plant’ tree in gaping hole

    WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – A notorious pothole may be fixed as early as Tuesday after residents of one Pennsylvania neighborhood decided to decorate it with a Christmas tree last weekend. Neighbors were fed up that the sinkhole in the middle of Sturdevant Street in Wilkes-Barre was getting bigger over the past few weeks without a fix. Now it seems their festive way of calling attention to the problem may have crews out to fix the problem soon, according to WNEP. There’s a metal […]

  • Two women wiped out $1.5M worth of strangers’ medical debt using $12K

    NEW YORK – Some 1,284 people in New York state are getting some good news this holiday season—courtesy of two complete strangers. Ithaca residents Judith Jones, 80, and Carolyn Kenyon, 70, raised $12,500 over the summer and gave it to the RIP Medical Debt charity, which used it to forgive an amazing $1.5 million in medical debt, reports the New York Times. The charity—started in 2014 by former debt collection execs Craig Antico and Jerry Ashton—was able to buy up the overdue debt […]

  • Japan is giving homes away for free amid surplus of vacant ‘ghost’ houses

    Four years ago, Naoko and Takayuki Ida were given a house. For free. It’s a spacious, two-story home nestled amid trees on a winding country road in the small town of Okutama, in Tokyo prefecture. Before moving, the couple and their children — two teenagers and a 5-year-old — were all living with Naoko’s parents. “We had to do a lot of repair work (on our new home), but we’d always wanted to live in the countryside and have a big […]

  • Good Samaritan killed after stopping to give money to woman with ‘help me’ sign

    BALTIMORE – A woman trying to help what she thought was a needy mother and her baby has been fatally stabbed in Baltimore. The good Samaritan was identified by police as 52-year-old Jacquelyn Smith, who was riding in a car with relatives Saturday when they saw a woman carrying what appeared to be a baby. The woman was holding a sign that read, “Please Help me feed my Baby.” Suspect said thank you before stabbing victim Smith, of Aberdeen, Maryland, […]

  • Teen screams for mother after leading deputies on 100 mph chase

    MILWAUKEE – An 18-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested for her second OWI offense early Tuesday morning after leading deputies on a chase reaching speeds of 100 mph. It began just after midnight when deputies saw a vehicle driven by Marissa Lucero going 71 in a 50 mph zone. A chase ensued and officials say the fleeing driver reached speeds in excess of 100 mph and veered through traffic. After exiting at Capitol Drive, the vehicle struck a curb and damaged a […]

  • High school dance team helps save man’s life

    BONDURANT, Iowa – The Bondurant High School Dance Team wasn’t even supposed to be practicing on Tuesday, but a last-minute rehearsal put them in the right place at the right time to save a life. “We were practicing right here and then one of my teammates saw that outside he was laying there” Sierra Boge told WHO. An elderly man had collapsed just outside of the main entrance while the dance team practiced inside in a hallway with a view […]

  • ‘Santa? That’s messed up!’: Backlash over ‘lessons’ in ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’

    It’s a staple in many homes and the longest-running holiday special in television history, but Twitter users had some critical observations to share after Tuesday’s showing of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.” In it, Rudolph is booted out of the reindeer games over his “blinkin’ beacon.” He teams up with Hermey the Elf, also a misfit, along with Yukon Cornelius and the Abominable Snow Monster heading to the Island of Misfit Toys and back. He eventually saves Christmas thanks to […]

  • Video shows military dad’s homecoming surprise as children meet Santa

    HARRISBURG, Pa. – A military father who said he had dreamed of his homecoming for months, finally got the chance to surprise his family – during a visit to meet Santa. Sgt. Adam Powell, with the Army National Guard, gave his children a gift they weren’t expecting Monday night at Bass Pro Shops outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, according to WPMT. Each year the store transforms the boar section into a “Santa’s Wonderland” display, with lots of decorations and a chance to […]

  • Want to join a ‘Secret Sister’ holiday gift exchange? Don’t- it’s a scam!

    NEW ORLEANS – Now that the holidays are here, so are social media posts about a gift “exchange” that promises you’ll receive lots of gifts, and all you have to do is send one. The posts are popping up around the country, and the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office says – don’t fall for it – it’s a “pyramid scheme.” According to the LPSO Twitter page, “the first people to join may get several gifts, but the later people get involved, […]

  • ‘I don’t get to watch my baby grow up’: Family of 3 siblings killed at bus stop looks for meaning in tragedy

    MENTONE, Ind. —  The family of three children who were struck and killed by a vehicle while waiting for a school bus in Indiana spoke out for the first time Friday night at a vigil for the victims. “I don’t get to watch my baby grow up,” Alivia’s father Michael Stahl said. “I don’t get to watch her have her Sweet 16. I don’t get to watch prom. I don’t get to watch her walk down the aisle to get […]

  • ‘I’ve been thrown down the steps’: Couple says their house is haunted, and it’s not safe

    HANOVER, Pa. – A Pennsylvania couple say they are trapped in a haunted house that no one wants to buy, and that supernatural forces have terrorized and physically injured them. The house has been featured on a number of TV shows and is now the subject of a book. The last time a crew from local television station WPMT visited the home, a photographer said something reached out and touched him. When WPMT returned on Wednesday for a Halloween update, both the reporter […]