DETROIT (WXYZ) — More than 600 family members facing life-threatening conditions stepped into Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday night to enjoy a Detroit Pistons game, thanks to a partnership with the organization A Kid Again.

Watch Christiana Ford’s video report:

Detroit Pistons host a special game night for kids with illnesses

Nine-year-old Kendall Yarbrough, who has lupus, picked out her outfit the night before the game. At center court, her focus was on being the best fan she could be.

“Feeling good, pretty good,” Yarbrough said, getting ready to go down to the court for the fan tunnel.

Her mom surprised her with the news the night before.

“Yesterday she told me I was coming and I got really excited and I couldn’t really sleep,” Yarbrough said.

For the fourth year, A Kid Again partnered with the Pistons to create a behind-the-scenes adventure tailored for children with medical conditions. The event removes barriers like dietary restrictions and accessibility issues so families can focus on having a good time.

“We give them opportunities to come to events like tonight to meet with other families going through similar situations as well as just giving them a time that they can be a family and be together,” Amy Vining said.

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Vining, the executive director of A Kid Again, has a personal mission to help these families.

“My youngest was born with a condition called craniosynostosis. He had his skull remodeled at 4 months old at CS Mott Children’s Hospital, and I’ve always been a part of the non-profit community,” Vining said. “Going through that experience with my own child, his surgery corrected itself, but I saw so many children that were a part of the hospital at that time that were going to have lifelong complications from the conditions that they had, and I knew at some point in my non-profit journey that I wanted to give back to those families.”

Vincent Larkins, a 9th grader living with an undiagnosed rare neuromuscular disorder, also attended the game with his mom and three brothers who share the same disorder.

“It seems like it’s a very big deal, and I’m pretty excited to see the players up in person. I’ve never done something like this before, so I’m pretty happy,” Larkins said.

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Their mom, Alison Zanella, says the event provided a rare moment of rest for the kids who stood alongside players during the National Anthem.

“The only normal kid thing they do is go to school. Everything else is therapy and doctors appointments every day,” Zanella said.“It was really just about a chance to give the kids a break and let them be kids for the night.”

WXYZ-TV

A Kid Again is a national organization with a mission to foster hope, happiness, and healing for children with life-threatening health conditions and their families. The organization provides cost-free, consistent, year-round activities that create meaningful shared experiences and joy-filled memories.

A Kid Again Michigan was established in December 2021 and currently serves more than 1850 families throughout the state.

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MILWAUKEE – A Milwaukee man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a pursuit that ended with a crash into a library construction site.

In court:

Court records show Cameron Moore, 37, pleaded guilty to three felonies and the state dismissed two others as part of a plea deal. He’s scheduled to be sentenced in May.

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The backstory:

Sheriff’s deputies were monitoring a home near 2nd and Lloyd. They were trying to locate a man, later identified as Moore, who was wanted for burglary and fleeing/eluding.

Moore left the home and got into an SUV that afternoon. Detectives tried to pull the SUV over and, while it did briefly stop, it almost immediately took off.

Crash damages library at MLK and Locust, Milwaukee (Jan. 7, 2025)

About a mile into the chase, the SUV ran a red light and slammed into a car at the intersection of King Drive and Locust Street. It then careened into the library construction site. 

Nobody in the vehicles involved in the pursuit or crash was injured, according to authorities. A construction worker inside the building reported leg pain, and he was examined and cleared at the scene.

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“120 to 140 miles per hour on the freeway, on the public roadways passing people,” Court Commissioner Katharine Kucharski said after charges were filed. “We are all very lucky that nobody is…passed in this situation.”

The Milwaukee Public Library’s new Martin Luther King Branch opened months later. At the official opening, Ald. Milele Coggs acknowledged the roadblocks along the way – including the crash.

A boy from Minneapolis received an award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society on Wednesday, March 25, for shielding a classmate with his body during a mass shooting at the Annunciation Catholic Church and School last summer, officials said.

Victor Greenawalt was one of six honorees, including five people and a non-profit organization, for this year’s National Medal of Honor Day, according to the Medal of Honor Society. The six recipients were recognized with a Citizen Honor Award for their “extraordinary acts of heroism and service within their communities,” a news release states.

The Medal of Honor Society named Victor as the 2026 Young Hero Honoree for demonstrating “extraordinary bravery far beyond his years” during the Annunciation Catholic Church and School shooting on Aug. 27, 2025. The award honors Americans 17 years old or younger “for their courage in a dire situation,” according to the Medal of Honor Society’s website.

“Instinctively, Victor protected a classmate with his own body, directly saving their life during the attack,” the Medal of Honor Society said in the news release. “His courage and selflessness became a powerful symbol of hope and humanity for a community in crisis.”

The award was presented by the Medal of Honor Society, a congressionally chartered, non-profit organization comprised of the 64 living Medal of Honor recipients, during a ceremony at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC.

‘Leaped in front of gunfire to protect his friend’

Victor and his sister were injured when a shooter fired through the windows of the Annunciation Catholic Church toward young students worshipping at Mass, according to a GoFundMe page. In a statement on social media, Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Victor “leaped in front of gunfire to protect his friend during the tragic mass shooting.”