Rain swamps parts of Oklahoma, Texas
DALLAS -- A storm system dumped record amounts of rain in parts of Oklahoma and caused flooding in Texas, including in the Dallas area, where floodwaters swept a man from a bridge to his death near the University of Texas' campus in nearby Arlington.
"[A] witness ... stated that the victim was swept under a bridge by rushing waters," shortly before midnight Friday, according to Arlington Fire Department Lt. Mike Joiner.
The man's body was found a few hours later. His name hasn't been released.
The Dallas Fire Department said at least 15 people were rescued from the rising waters about 7 a.m. Saturday, including five Dallas police officers and a motorist. The officers became trapped while trying to rescue the motorist.
Austin fire officials said some 60 people attending a wedding reception were rescued from rising waters that surrounded the venue early Saturday.
A record 14 inches of rain fell Friday at the Oklahoma Climatological Survey's site in Fittstown, about 75 miles southeast of Oklahoma City, and more than 2 additional inches fell before noon Saturday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Forrest Mitchell in Norman.
Light rain continued Saturday in southeastern Oklahoma and northeastern Texas while the leading edge of the storm moved into southwestern Arkansas, according to the weather service.
Shooting victims released from hospital
MADISON, Wis. -- Two people shot by a colleague last week at a Wisconsin software company have been discharged from a Madison hospital, a health system spokesman said Saturday.
The two discharged patients were released Friday and a third patient remained hospitalized in fair condition Saturday, University of Wisconsin Health spokesman Gian Galassi said.
WTS Paradigm employee Anthony Tong opened fire with 9mm semi-automatic pistol inside the company's Middleton headquarters Wednesday, seriously wounding three co-workers and grazing another. A search warrant made public Friday shows that one of the victims was shot 10 times.
Police killed Tong in a shootout minutes after the attack started.
The officers and deputies involved are on paid administrative leave until the official investigation is finished and the district attorney issues a ruling.
Middleton Police Chief Chuck Foulke has said Tong was not legally allowed to buy a gun. In 2004, Tong had his concealed-carry permit revoked in South Dakota after police said he was acting delusional and paranoid.
Tong's motive remains a mystery.
Judge: Child's cannabis-based drug OK
SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- A California kindergartner can keep bringing a cannabis-based drug used for emergency treatment of a rare form of epilepsy to her public school, a judge ruled Friday.
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported that a judge sided with the family of 5-year-old Brooke Adams.
The Rincon Valley Union School District in Santa Rosa sought to ban the ointment from school grounds because it contains the active ingredient in marijuana.
Authorities argued that allowing Brooke to use the drug at school violated state and federal laws barring medical marijuana on school grounds.
Medical marijuana use in private with a doctor's recommendation is legal in California.
A judge's temporary order permitted Brooke to start school in August while the district's objections were considered. A nurse accompanies Brooke to school and has had to apply the oil three times to treat seizures.
Judge Charles Marson made the order permanent Friday. Marson is a judge in the state office of Administrative Hearings' Special Education Division, which handles disagreements between school districts and parents of children with disabilities.
District officials said they were reviewing the decision and haven't decided whether to appeal. Assistant Superintendent Cathy Myhers said the district is relieved to have legal guidance on the issue.
"We are pleased with the decision and guidance," Myhers said.
Suspect in Peruvian killings arrested
SAN ANGELO, Texas -- Federal authorities say a former Peruvian army sergeant has been apprehended in Texas on human-rights violations after he ws accused of involvement in the 1991 killing of 15 villagers in the South American country.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement Friday that agents arrested 48-year-old Dennis Wilfredo Pacheco-Zambrano in the West Texas city of San Angelo.
A division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement that tracks human-rights violators and war criminals provided a tip that led agents to begin searching for Pacheco-Zambrano in the San Angelo area. He was taken into custody Monday.
Immigration officials said Pacheco-Zambrano is wanted for participating in a military operation in Santa Barbara, Peru, that involved the torture, rape and killing of villagers there. The immigration agency said the incident became known as the Santa Barbara Massacre.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports
A Section on 09/23/2018