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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In Brief: Black Friday weekend results show slight dip

From Wire Reports

NEW YORK – Black Friday fatigue is setting in.

Early discounting, more online shopping and a mixed economy meant fewer people shopped over Thanksgiving weekend, the National Retail Federation said Sunday.

Overall, 133.7 million people shopped in stores and online over the four-day weekend, down 5.2 percent from last year, according to a survey of 4,631 people conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics for the trade group.

Total spending for the weekend is expected to fall 11 percent to $50.9 billion from an estimated $57.4 billion last year, the trade group estimated.

Part of the reason is that Target, J.C. Penney, Macy’s, Wal-Mart and other major retailers pushed fat discounts as early as Halloween.

Kimani Brown, 39, of New York City, was among the Black Friday defectors. After four years of braving the crowds, the sales failed to lure him out this year.

Instead, he said he will look online today, the online shopping day often called Cyber Monday.

The National Retail Federation is still predicting a 4.1 percent increase in sales for the season. That would be the highest increase since the 4.8 percent gain in 2011.

No bond for two charged in hiding boy

JONESBORO, Ga. – A Georgia judge has denied bond for a man and woman charged with child cruelty and false imprisonment after police found the man’s 13-year-old son hidden behind a false wall in the couple’s metro Atlanta home.

WXIA-TV reports the couple made their first court appearance at the Clayton County jail Sunday. They were arrested when police found the boy Saturday after he used a cellphone to send his mother a text message.

Police said the mother told them she reported her son missing to child welfare officials four years ago when the boy’s father wouldn’t return him after a visit. Police say they’re trying to determine who had legal custody.

Meanwhile, a judge scheduled a Dec. 9 preliminary hearing for the father and woman charged with hiding the boy.

No bomb found on plane after threat

NEW YORK – Authorities at John F. Kennedy International Airport said they found nothing dangerous Sunday on an American Airlines plane after a bomb threat was phoned in and the aircraft arrived from Spain.

Flight 67 from Barcelona landed safely in New York City about noon, according to Laura Masvideo, a spokeswoman for the airline.

The aircraft was taken to a location near the tarmac where the 200 passengers plus crew members were taken off the aircraft, according to Joe Pentangelo, spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police.