Columbus news

• Former vice officer Andrew Mitchell pleads not guilty to murder, manslaughter charges

  05-04-2019 23:49
  COLUMBUS — Former vice officer Andrew Mitchell wore a protective vest as he stood before a judge Friday to be arraigned on charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter.The charges stem from the fatal shooting of Donna Castleberry last August during an alleged prostitution sting.Mitchell’s attorney, Mark Collins, entered a not guilty plea on Mitchell’s behalf and would only say that Mitchell’s attire was a decision by the Franklin County sheriff’s office after he had
  
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• District: Mold found at Columbus City school wasn't tested

  05-04-2019 23:13
  Parents say they weren't informed and the kids were exposed for weeks after evidence of mold was found in a Columbus City school.The district says it isn't sure it was mold found in Fairwood Elementary because it wasn't tested and they are now addressing the problems.Columbus Public Health did an inspection on March 27 after a parent complained.The inspection found leaks in steam valves and heat exchanges in the basement; four classrooms with water damage to floors, walls and ceilings and eviden
  
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• Community gathers to honor, remember Lancaster soldier killed in action

  05-04-2019 22:58
  Final respects were paid Friday for a fallen soldier at the funeral for U.S. Army Sergeant Joseph Collette.He was killed in action in Afghanistan on March 22 when the Army says his unit came under enemy fire.A long procession took Sergeant Joseph Collette to his final rest Friday at Maple Grove Cemetery in Fairfield County.Collette was just 29 years old when he died in combat.A 2007 graduate of Lancaster High School, he served eight years and four months in the Army.He was laid to rest with full
  
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• The Paganini Violin Comes to the Midwest

  05-04-2019 22:15 via youtube.com
  
  
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• 'Our country is full': Trump says migrants straining system

  05-04-2019 21:44
  
  CALEXICO, Calif. (AP) — Eager to make border security a central campaign issue, President Donald Trump consulted with immigration agents in a California border city Friday while insisting that the nation's immigration system was overburdened and declaring that "our country is full."The political battle over the border ignited again just as Air Force One touched down in Calexico, not far from Mexico, as California and 19 other states that are suing Trump over his declaration requested a cou
  
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• Mansfield murder suspect says heavy metal music inspired him before crime, police say

  05-04-2019 21:33
  
  A Mansfield murder case is raising the question: Did music motivate someone to commit murder?It all started when Mansfield police began questioning 31-year old Cody Lutz who, until his arrest, had no criminal record, not even a speeding ticket. Now, Lutz is in custody on a $1 million bond for the murder of 90-year-old Omar Brown.Police say Lutz told them prior to the alleged crime, he had been listening to a lot of heavy metal music."He told me he had been listening to — I believe Nordic h
  
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• Feds say Ohio man who falsely claimed missing boy's identity has made similar claims

  05-04-2019 21:31
  
  CINCINNATI (AP) — A 23-year-old ex-convict accused of pulling a cruel hoax by pretending to be a long-missing Illinois boy was charged Friday with making false statements to federal authorities.The FBI said Brian Rini had made false claims twice before, portraying himself as a juvenile sex-trafficking victim.The Medina, Ohio, man was jailed in Cincinnati on Thursday, a day after telling authorities he was 14-year-old Timmothy Pitzen, who disappeared in 2011 at age 6. The FBI declared Rini'
  
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• Columbus Veleros Take the Field Every Friday Night this Season

  05-04-2019 21:30
  The Columbus Clippers baseball team kicks off its 2019 season tonight. But each Friday home game during the year, the team will take the field under a different name. Meet the Columbus Veleros! As part of MiLB’s Copa de la Diversión program aimed at celebrating the Latin Community, 72 teams across the league will change […]
  
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• Ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner must register as a sex offender

  05-04-2019 20:58
  
  NEW YORK — Former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner has been ordered to register as a sex offender as he nears the end of a 21-month prison sentence for having illicit online contact with a 15-year-old girl.A New York City judge on Friday designated Weiner a Level 1 sex offender, meaning he's thought to have a low risk of re-offending.Weiner must register for a minimum of 20 years. He's required to verify his address every year and visit a police station every three years to have a new picture take
  
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• Fisher-Price Rock 'N Play issues warning after reports of deaths

  05-04-2019 20:41
  
  (WTHR) — The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Fisher-Price have issued a warning after the company's Rock 'N Play due to reports of deaths when infants roll over. There have been 10 infant deaths already involved with Fisher-Price's Rock 'N Play.All of the infants were 3 months or older — the age at which most babies learn how to roll over.CPSC recommends that any family who owns one of these products stop using it if their child is at the age where he or she can roll over."CPS
  
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• There’s a Movie for Everybody This Week

  05-04-2019 20:30
  Whether you’re up for the best DC flick in years — and one you can share with your kids, even! — or a scare, or a history lesson (or two, or three), you will find something to watch in the plethora of new movies available in theaters this week. Here’s a quick run down. Shazam! […]
  
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• Dude Perfect Tour coming to Columbus in July

  05-04-2019 19:57
  
  Youtube stars Dude Perfect have announced their first ever live tour.The group has more than 70 million social media followers and will be giving fans “a look into the fun world of Dude Perfect.”Some fans will also have a chance to participate with the guys.The 20-city tour will be making a stop at the Schottenstein Center on Friday, July 26.Tickets go on sale to the beginning Friday, April 12 at 10 a.m. To ensure tickets get in to the hands of fans and not scalpers or bots, the tour
  
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• Photos: Catfish and the Bottlemen at Express Live!

  05-04-2019 19:49
  Welsh four-piece Catfish and the Bottlemen brought their stadium-sized anthemic indie-rock to a packed Express Live! on Tuesday evening. A mostly young and female crowd happily danced and screamed back the lyrics as Van McCann and friends pulled out the best bits from their two previous albums. Local rockers The Worn Flints opened the show with their usual blend […]
  
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• Photos: Remembering Amber Evans

  05-04-2019 19:39
  Friends and family of Amber Evans held a memorial service for her on Friday, April 5. Evans, a well-known community organizer, disappeared in late January, and her body was recovered from the Scioto River by Columbus police on March 23. READ MORE: Community Organizer Amber Evans Remembered for Strength, Empathy, Activism A public vigil was […]
  
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• Sobriety checkpoint scheduled for Friday night in south Columbus

  05-04-2019 18:23
  
  The Franklin County DUI Task Force will hold a sobriety checkpoint tonight to combat impaired driving.The checkpoint will be located on US 23 at Dolby Drive.The Franklin County DUI Task Force members will conduct the sobriety check between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m.The task force says it wants to impress upon those who will be consuming alcohol to plan for a designated driver or make other arrangements.---EDITOR’S NOTE: Why are the locations and times of a sobriety checkpoint released?Guidelines is
  
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• The Best Easter Brunches in Columbus

  05-04-2019 17:00
  Easter brunch is a much-hallowed tradition to some; it is the feast that rewards those faithful through Lent. Or those who just really like to brunch, and love any occasion to truly make it over-the-top, and spectacular — the way brunch should be. There are no shortages of brunch spots for Easter in Columbus, whether […]
  
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• Family of missing boy was elated, then devastated by hoax

  05-04-2019 17:00
  
  AURORA, Ill. (AP) — Eight years after an Illinois boy disappeared, his family began to think that their nightmare might be over at last.A young man found wandering the streets of a Kentucky town claimed he had just escaped from two men in the Cincinnati area who held him captive for seven years. And he told police his name was Timmothy Pitzen. It didn't seem possible that someone so far away could make up such a story. So for a day and a half, relatives waited and hoped for a breakthrough.
  
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• Video: Where Have All the Restaurant Workers Gone?

  05-04-2019 15:35
  Food industry workers are hard to come by lately. Restaurants in Columbus have shuttered, citing a lack of front- and back-of-house talent as a main reason — and Columbus is not alone.  John Barker, President and CEO of the Ohio Restaurant Association (ORA), says restaurants statewide and even nationwide are experiencing an employment drought. Listen […]
  
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• 11 Amazing Easter Brunches in Columbus

  05-04-2019 15:15
  Spring may be best defined by Easter, which celebrates life, revitalization, and a return to bounty. On this holiday, there are no shortages of places to pig out after a cold, dreary winter season. Here are some choices for every taste and budget: The Keep Dinner at The Keep, 50 W Broad St., is especially […]
  
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• Biden to make 1st appearance since complaints about behavior

  05-04-2019 12:49
  
  WASHINGTON — In countless conversations over the past year, former Vice President Joe Biden, his advisers and his broad network of friends and family have openly discussed the vulnerabilities he would face if he ran for president. A voting record that is sometimes at odds with the Democratic Party's leftward shift. His age. And the affectionate brand of politics that has made him beloved by many Democrats and a target of Republicans for years.What Biden likely didn't expect was to be confr
  
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• Biden jokes about accusations, targets union voters

  05-04-2019 12:49
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President Joe Biden on Friday made light of his recent controversy about crossing physical boundaries with women, and he signaled in a resolute speech to union activists that's he's ready to run for president as a moderate Democrat in party that has been drifting left.Biden, 76, opened his speech to a conference of electrical workers joking that he had "permission" to hug the union leader who introduced him. He later repeated the quip about a boy he invited up
  
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• Attorney general defends handling of Mueller's Russia report

  05-04-2019 12:44
  
  WASHINGTON— Attorney General William Barr is defending his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the Russia investigation, saying the confidential document contains sensitive grand jury material that prevented it from being immediately released to the public.The statement Thursday came as Barr confronts concerns that his four-page letter summarizing Mueller's conclusions unduly sanitized the full report in President Donald Trump's favor, including on the key question of wh
  
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• Vivitar recalls massage balls sold at Target due to burn hazard

  05-04-2019 12:38
  
  Vivitar has recalled a massage tool that is available exclusively at Target, according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. The company has recalled hot/cold massage balls because they can leak or rupture during or after microwaving.The recall includes the following model numbers: F19-MB-TL, F19-MB-LP, and F19-MB-LV.They pose a burn hazard to consumers.The massage balls are teal, light pink or lavender and come in packages of two.Consumers should immediately stop using the re
  
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• Trump gets why Barbara Bush attacked him: "Look what I did to her sons"

  05-04-2019 12:36
  
  It comes as no surprise to President Trump that the late first lady, Barbara Bush held him in low regard. "I have heard that she was nasty to me, but she should be. Look what I did to her sons," he told The Washington Times in an interview published Thursday.A new biography of Bush, "The Matriarch," by USA Today's Susan Page, contains a number of attacks on the president's character, both in her interviews with Page and also in her journals, which were provided to Page. President Trump soundly d
  
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• Cigna caps insulin costs at $25 for qualifying clients

  05-04-2019 02:10
  
  BLOOMFIELD, Conn. (WTHR) — Health insurance company Cigna and pharmacy benefit company Express Scripts have launched a program that will keep out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $25 per 30-day prescription.The Patient Assurance Program is available to Cigna members in non-government funded pharmacy plants managed by Express Scripts.According to Cigna, the average out-of-pocket cost for customers with insulin plans managed by Express Scripts was $41.50 for a 30-day supply in 2018."For people
  
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• Monster Jam, Operation Homefront provide room makeover for Lancaster veteran's son

  05-04-2019 02:04
  LANCASTER, Ohio — We all could use a pick-me-up.Kayla Blood has had setbacks in her life. She had to grow up young. Her family was supportive but not financially stable, she says. She went to college on a track scholarship but that didn't work out. Then, she went to the military in the Louisiana National Guard.Once out of the service, she tried her hand at mixed martial arts and motor cross racing.All of that lead to now — she's a professional monster truck driver behind the wheel of
  
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