Authorities found a Texas woman’s body this morning after her car was swept away in high water, officials said.
Sandra Jones, 33, was found dead at 8:41 a.m., according to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. Her body was found downstream from where her car was located after an overnight rain storm caused flooding, officials said in a press release.
According to the Associated Press, Jones' car was washed off the road in floods 10 to 12 feet above Rock Creek and emergency services received a 911 call early this morning for a rescue at Rock Creek Bridge. Deputies were able to inspect the vehicle around 4 a.m., when the water lowered. They did not find Jones inside.
Officials said that the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, Johnson County Emergency Management, Johnson County Emergency Services District and several local fire departments participated in the search mission.
Johnson County Sheriff's Office spokesman Tim Jones told ABC News today that the area is expecting another night of rainfall starting in the late afternoon. Sheriff Bob Alford of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office has urged residents to avoid driving on flooded roads.
Authorities found a Texas woman’s body this morning after her car was swept away in high water, officials said.
Sandra Jones, 33, was found dead at 8:41 a.m., according to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. Her body was found downstream from where her car was located after an overnight rain storm caused flooding, officials said in a press release.
According to the Associated Press, Jones' car was washed off the road in floods 10 to 12 feet above Rock Creek and emergency services received a 911 call early this morning for a rescue at Rock Creek Bridge. Deputies were able to inspect the vehicle around 4 a.m., when the water lowered. They did not find Jones inside.
Officials said that the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, Johnson County Emergency Management, Johnson County Emergency Services District and several local fire departments participated in the search mission.
Johnson County Sheriff's Office spokesman Tim Jones told ABC News today that the area is expecting another night of rainfall starting in the late afternoon. Sheriff Bob Alford of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office has urged residents to avoid driving on flooded roads.
Cleveland Man Arrested in Fatal Shooting of 5-Month-Old Girl
"It helps a lot to just know that somebody's being held accountable," Beatrice Wakefield, the grandmother of Aavielle Wakefield, said in a phone interview.
Members of a fugitive task force led by the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Davon Holmes on Cleveland's east side within an hour of police obtaining an aggravated murder warrant. Cleveland police issued a statement that said homicide detectives identified Holmes using multiple tips from the public to Crimestoppers. Police haven't said why someone might have shot at the car. A police spokeswoman said Friday that homicide detectives were interviewing Holmes.
At a news conference the day after the Oct. 1 shooting, an emotional Police Chief Calvin Williams announced that a $25,000 reward was being offered for information about the slaying. Aavielle was the third young child fatally shot in Cleveland in a four-week period.
Online court records don't indicate whether Holmes has an attorney. A second man who lived near the shooting scene was arrested Friday on suspicion of tampering with evidence.
Aavielle was shot once in the chest as she sat in the backseat of a car driven by her mother, Ieshia. Aavielle's 8-year-old sister was also in the car, along with Beatrice Wakefield. The car was struck by multiple rounds of gunfire but only Aavielle was injured.
Beatrice Wakefield said she's thankful for the arrest. "I'm just glad they got somebody and it didn't take years," she said.
Air Pollution in Beijing Hits Hazardous Levels
Air pollution in Beijing reached hazardous levels on Saturday as smog engulfed large parts ofChina despite efforts to clean up the foul air.
At noon, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing reported the level of the poisonous, tiny articles of PM2.5 at 391 micrograms per cubic meter. The World Health Organization considers the safe level at 25 micrograms per cubic meter of the particulates.
The city has been shroud in gray smog since Friday, reducing visibility to a few hundred meters (yards).
The Ministry of Environmental Protection has forecast severe pollution for the greater Beijing region, the western part of Shandong province and the northern part of Henan province until Tuesday, when strong winds from the north are expected to blow away air pollutants.
The ministry has advised people to stay indoors.
Authorities blame coal burning for winter heating as a major culprit for the air pollution. The ministry said it had sent teams to check on illegal emissions by factories in several northern Chinese cities.
In the past, authorities have shut down factories and pulled half of the vehicles off the roads to curb pollution. But such drastic measures are disruptive and are used only when the government feels it needs to present a better image to the world, such as when China hosts major global events or leaders.
Wisconsin School Nixes Reading of Book About Transgender Kid
An southern Wisconsin elementary school cancelled a planned reading of a children's book about a transgender girl after a group threatened to sue.
The Mount Horeb Area School District released a statement Wednesday saying it will not proceed with its planned reading of the book "I am Jazz," the Capital Times reported. The district said it would give the Board of Education the opportunity to address a situation, for which the district has no current policy.
Last week, the principal of Mount Horeb Primary Center sent a letter to parents saying the book would be read and discussed because the school has a student who identifies as a girl but was born with male anatomy.
"We believe all students deserve respect and support regardless of their gender identity and expression, and the best way to foster that respect and support is through educating students about the issue of being transgender," the letter said.
The Florida-based Liberty Counsel group threatened to sue, saying it was contacted by concerned parents. In a letter to the school district, the group contended that reading the book would violate parental rights. The Southern Poverty Law Center classifies the Liberty Counsel as a hate group that advocates for "anti-LGBT discrimination, under the guise of religious liberty."
In its statement Wednesday, the district said as it seeks to address the needs of the individual student, it will be mindful of the needs of other students and families. It also said families whose children may be affected will be notified of future actions, and the goal is to protect all students from bullying so they can learn together in a safe environment.
The school district was closed Friday, and emails to the superintendent, elementary school principal and others were not immediately returned to The Associated Press.
How Black Friday Played out Around the Country
Black Friday, the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season, isn't always what people expect.
In Colorado, for instance, marijuana stores got into the act. In Arizona, families skipped the spending frenzy to go hiking. And in Chicago, shoppers snapped photos of demonstrators protesting the police shooting of a black teenager.
Overall, there seemed to be smaller crowds throughout stores and malls across the country.
Here's how the day played out:
ROTESTS ON CHICAGO'S MAGNIFICENT MILE
Hundreds of protesters blocked entrances to stores in Chicago's high-end shopping district to draw attention to the police shooting of a black teenager.
The demonstration came after the release of a video this week showing the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald last year. The video touched off largely peaceful protests.
On Friday, some of the demonstrators in Chicago linked arms to form human chains in front of main entrances to stores.
Store employees directed shoppers to exit from side doors. When one person tried to get through the front door of Saks Fifth Avenue, protesters screamed at him, shouting, "Shut it down! Shut it down."
Entrances were also blocked at the Disney Store, the Apple Store, Nike, Tiffany & Co., andNeiman Marcus.
Many shoppers seemed to take the disturbance in stride, and some even snapped photos of the crowd.
Protesters took different approaches. The Rev. Jesse Jackson, for instance, led a prayer with a group from the steps of Chicago's historic Water Tower.
NO MAD RUSH
Business was brisk but not overwhelming at a Macy's in Kansas City as rain that started Thursday morning continued falling. There didn't appear to be any lines more than a few customers deep.
Gerri Spencer and her daughter left home at 4 a.m. and made their way to a Macy's store several hours later. Spencer said the crowds seemed sparser than in the past when Black Friday meant "getting out at the crack of dawn" to get the best deals.
Some Black Friday shoppers seemed to miss the holiday crowds.
At a Kmart in Denver, Susan Montoya had nearly the entire store to herself. She half-heartedly flipped through a rack of girls' holiday party dresses and looked down the store's empty aisles.
"There's no one out here! No challenge!" she said.
Lynette Norcup also is nostalgic for Black Fridays of the past.
Sitting in the warmth of her daughter's SUV waiting for Wal-Mart to open, the resident of Pleasanton, California said she thinks the excitement has fizzled with stores opening on Thanksgiving.
Norcup misses the challenge of strategizing to score deals.
WEED FRIDAY
Colorado has a new Black Friday tradition: Marijuana shops drawing shoppers with discounted weed and holiday gift sets.
At Denver Kush Club in Denver, about two dozen customers were lined up in subfreezing temperatures and snow showers to take advantage of the deals.
The first few customers got free joints, free rolling papers and a T-shirt with purchase. Medical customers were offered ounces of marijuana for $99 — a savings of about 50 percent.
The shop blasted reggae music and welcomed the crowd with Green Friday welcome cheers. Similar deals were offered last year, the first in which retail recreational marijuana sales opened.
"We get a lot of people in the first few hours, just like any store on Black Friday," said co-owner Joaquin Ortega. He said marijuana gift-giving is becoming more common, though most were shopping for themselves Friday.
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
At Catalina State Park just north in Arizona, dozens of families and dogs hiked through the saguaro cactus-covered mountains. Many said they didn't plan on shopping on Black Friday anyway.
Krista Wells, of Tucson, said she wanted her daughters to understand that the holidays are about spending time with family, not shopping.
"This is about the season of bringing together and reflecting upon family and getting into the Christmas holiday. I don't think there's a retail holiday," she said.
Jennifer Rojas was hiking down a steep hill with her mother. She said she tries to hike every year after Thanksgiving and likes to avoid the shopping crowds.
"I'd rather appreciate nature, rather than being at a mall or watching TV," Rojas said.
STORES VS. WEBSITES
For the first time, analysts had predicted more than half of online traffic to retailer sites would come from smartphones than desktops during the four-day Black Friday holiday shopping weekend.
On Friday, there was evidence that shoppers were vacillating between both stores and online.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s chief merchandising officer Steve Bratspies told the Associated Press that the chain saw more shoppers buying both on its website and in its stores than the same time a year ago. Target's CEO Brian Cornell said that online sales on Thanksgiving were strong, outpacing the performance on the holiday a year ago. That's making it Target's biggest day online for sales yet, driven largely by electronics. He also was pleased with store traffic.
And J.C. Penney's CEO Marvin Ellison said that the chain worked hard to make its app more user friendly, and as a result, its online sales.
"We saw customers going back and forth, researching online and then go to the stores," he said.
Meanwhile, Chip Gentry in Atlanta headed out to stores instead of purchasing items online. He walked out of a Best Buy with an Xbox One and extra controller, saving about $150 in total.
"I'm looking for the deals online and going out to stores to get them," he said.
Kristen Wyatt in Denver, Colorado, Scott Smith in Pleasanton, California, Jonathan Landrum in Atlanta, Mae Anderson, Candice Choi and Anne D'Innocenzio in New York, Bill Draper in Kansas City, Kansas and Astrid Galvan in Tucson, Arizona contributed to this report.
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