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Flooding kills woman, four grandchildren in east Texas

 
Published May 1, 2016

Palestine, Texas

Flooding kills woman, four grandchildren

A 64-year-old woman and four grandchildren were killed early Saturday after a creek overflowed its banks, flooding an east Texas neighborhood as many residents slept. Capt. James Muniz of the Palestine Police Department told the Associated Press that six to 10 homes in a Palestine cul-de-sac were severely damaged following heavy rainfall over the course of just a few minutes after midnight. All other residents of the cul-de-sac were accounted for, he said. The deceased were identified as Lenda Asberry, 64, and her grandchildren Jamonicka Johnson, 6; Von Anthony Johnson Jr., 7; Devonte Asberry, 8; and Venetia Asberry, 9. Around 3:45 a.m., the Palestine Police Department received reports that Asberry and her grandchildren were missing and sent officers to search the houses in waist-deep water. The bodies of two of the children were found in the front yard of a residence near the street. A continued search found the bodies of Asberry and the two other children.

San Francisco

Uber and blind riders agree on service dogs

Uber and advocates for the blind have reached a lawsuit settlement in which the ride-hailing company agrees to require that existing and new drivers confirm they understand their legal obligations to transport riders with guide dogs or other service animals, an advocacy group announced Saturday. The National Federation of the Blind said Saturday that Uber will also remove a driver from the platform after a single complaint if it determines the driver knowingly denied a person with a disability a ride because the person was traveling with a service animal. The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in 2014 in federal court that alleges Uber discriminates against passengers with service dogs.

Quick takes

Boston: A 29-year-old woman was killed and her passenger was injured after the scooter she was driving was struck by an amphibious sightseeing vehicle in downtown Boston on Saturday. The accident happened near public park Boston Common when the vessel, known as a duck boat, collided with the scooter.

Bangladesh: A Hindu tailor who had been briefly jailed several years ago over accusations that he made an unfavorable comment about the prophet Mohammed was hacked to death on Saturday near his shop in central Bangladesh, police said. Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for the killing, citing the accusations of blasphemy against the tailor, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi websites.

South Africa: The roars of lions filled the cargo section of Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo International Airport on Saturday evening as 33 lions rescued from South American circuses landed in South Africa where they will be released into a bush sanctuary for big cats.

Times wires