A Stark County Jail inmate was found dead in his cell early this morning, in an apparent suicide. 39-year old Nicholas Christmas of Canton was discovered by jail staff delivering breakfast to inmates. Jail staffers and Canton Fire Department EMS performed CPR but couldn't revive Christmas.

Nicholas Christmas was arrested June 16th by Canton Police on kidnapping and domestic violence charges.

The death remains under investigation by the Stark County Sheriff's Office

Kent State University is reacting to a U.S. News And World Report and National Council On Teacher Quality study which calls KSU and other universities "an industry of mediocrity" that turns out teachers ill-prepared to work in elementary and high school classrooms. Kent State's education program received a grade of poor on the national report card.

But KSU Dean of the College Of Education, Health and Human Services, Dan Mahony says the report ignores real-life results.

Mahony tells AkronNewsNow " If you look at the data that's out there, the outcome data which we think is obviously the most critical thing, you'll find the program is rated very highly. The other thing I think that's important for us is the positive word of mouth about our program, and the quality of our graduates."

Mahony says the University is getting positive feedback from those who are hiring KSU Education graduates " If you're talking to school principals, superintendents or teachers about where they should go for an undergraduate or graduate degree in education I feel very confident that we'll be mentioned all the time, and I don't think any of that's going to change because some outside group decided to evaluate us poorly," says Mahony.

" I wasn't surprised because I understand the criteria they were using and the approach they were using was flawed. Their whole approach is focusing on inputs and not on outcomes, which is really where assessment used to be. Now the focus is more on outcomes. I looked at a lot of their criteria and we don't necessarily meet their criteria, but it's because we're not really focused on meeting their criteria. We're focused on meeting the criteria of our profession. So In knew there were inconsistencies there. So it wasn't totally shocking that they ended up with the review that they did."

Dan Mahony says several other quality universities saw their education training programs also rated poorly by the National Council On Teaching Quality.

A dozen Ohio National Guardsmen arrived home Friday afternoon to a warm welcome in Cuyahoga Falls after a nearly yearlong deployment in three countries, including six months in northern Afghanistan where they were involved in dangerous NATO training for Afghan police and security forces.

NewsChannel 5 reports they arrived at the Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy parking lot by bus and spent time with their waiting families. Then, they attended a formal welcome home ceremony.

The latest black bear sighting this week is in Doylestown. Doylestown Police report the bear was spotted by residents on Homan Drive around 9 Friday evening. The bear was seen again Saturday morning.

Police said the black bear made its way into the area, ate some bird seed and remained in the Doylestown areA.

Its the fourth sighting of a black bear in the Akron area this week. There were other sightings in Bath Township, Stow and Cuyahoga Falls.   

Police and Ohio Division of Wildlife officials caution you to stay away from the bears and call your local police department immediately. Children and pets should also remain inside your home if you see a black bear.

A search has been organized for 19-year old Taylor Robinson of Akron, missing for the last six weeks.The search effort, organized by a friend of the Robinson family, will start at Arlington Plaza Shopping Center at 1400 South Arlington Street at 2 Saturday afternoon. The public is invited to participate.

There's been very little progress to report in the investigation by Akron Police and the FBI to find Robinson, according to her mother Carmilla Robinson. " I think it (the investigation) is at a standstill because of the lack of any more information, tips and you know eyewitness help," says Carmilla. But she says hopefully the search will keep her daughter's case top of mind with the community.

Robinson fears the evidence trail to find Taylor is growing colder with each passing day. " That's your fear every day, that every minute that goes by, the more time, the less answers. So time is not always kind."    

Flyers have been distributed across the city in the effort to find her. Carmilla Robinson says it wasn't like her daughter to just disappear without contacting her family.

The Streetsboro Police Department responded to a rollover traffic crash involving a semi-tractor and trailer on I-480 at the Ohio Turnpike east bound exit ramp shortly before 10 this morning. The truck was hauling a load of rolled paper from Kentucky to a business in Streetsboro when the driver lost control of the vehicle when the load shifted causing it to overturn; there were no reported injuries. Traffic on I-480 was shut down for several hours and is currently open to one lane.

Due to mechanical issues caused by last night's storm, the pool at the University Park YMCA is closed.

YMCA officials say they're working to get the pool back up and operational, but estimates that it will not likely be open until Saturday morning.

Due to the forecast of severe weather, the Music in the Meadow concert scheduled for this evening at Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) has been postponed. The band scheduled for tonight, Carlos Jones and the P.L.U.S. Band, has rescheduled their performance and will appear next week on Wednesday, June 19, at 6:30 p.m. Concerts are held at Howe Meadow on Riverview Road in Peninsula.

The City of Akron is also postponing its Grand Derby event scheduled for Derby Downs Thursday. The event has been re-scheduled for June 27th.

Some store shuffling and new tenants for Akron's South Plaza on Waterloo Road. The Marc's store in the plaza will move a few doors down to take over the space once occupied by a Tops supermarket. The market moved out more than five years ago and the space has been vacant ever since. The move will give Marc's store space nearly twice the size it currently occupies.

The space being vacated by Marc's will house a new Big Lots store, opening early this Fall. The space vacated by the departure of Fashion Bug will house a Gold's Gym.

There's nothing but good news for car sales in northeast Ohio. The Greater Cleveland Auto Dealers Association says sales of cars and light trucks rose by 11.9% in May, compared to May of 2012.

Ford continued as the sales volume leader in Northern Ohio, registering an increase of over 16 percent in sales. Chevrolet, which came in second, also enjoyed strong double-digit growth in the month year-over-year, registering with an increase of over 12 percent. Honda edged out Toyota for third place, with both brands showing growth in May

Auto Dealers Association President Louis Vitantonio Jr. says car dealers in the Cleveland-Akron area expect strong sales to continue the rest of the year.

News Release From The Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers Association

New vehicle sales continued to grow at a strong double-digit clip in the month of May when comparing the month to the same time period a year prior, according to figures released today by the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association (GCADA). Franchised new vehicle dealers in the 21-county area of Northern Ohio covered by the GCADA reported sales of 20,478 vehicles in May compared to 18,286 in May of last year, an increase of 11.99 percent.

“The continued growth of new vehicle sales is good news for franchised new car dealers and the entire economy of Northern Ohio, which is so dependent on the auto industry for its vitality,” says Louis A. Vitantonio, Jr., president of the GCADA. “We expect strong sales to continue through the end of the year.”

According to figures released by the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), there are more than 748 new vehicle dealerships in the State of Ohio, which employed 36,040 people in 2012. The annual payroll of new vehicle dealerships in the state amounted to more than $1.72 billion in 2012 alone. Total annual sales of all new vehicle dealerships in Ohio amounted to more than $24.8 billion in 2012.

“When you consider the amount of sales tax revenue, corporate tax revenue and payroll tax revenue generated by new vehicle dealerships alone, it’s easy to see just how important new vehicle sales are to our local economy and governments,” Vitantonio adds. “In addition, many franchised new vehicle dealerships support local charitable causes and give back to their individual communities in many ways.”

Ford continued its iron grasp as the sales volume leader in Northern Ohio, selling 3,721 vehicles in May of 2013 versus 3,203 vehicles in May of 2012, an increase of over 16 percent. Chevrolet, which came in second, also enjoyed strong double-digit growth in the month year-over-year, registering sales of 2,938 units, an increase of over 12 percent. Honda edged out Toyota for third place, selling 1,850 units versus Toyota’s 1,807 units in the month, with both brands showing growth in the month.

22 Brands Up in May (‘13 v. ‘12)

The following 22 brands posted sales increases in May of 2013 versus May 2012: Acura, Audi, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Lincoln, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Smart, Subaru, Toyota, and Volkswagen.

23 Brands Up Year-to-Date Through May 2013

The following 23 brands posted sales increases for the year-to-date: Acura, Audi, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.