Here are your morning headlines for Wednesday, June 9:
- Lordstown Motors warns it may not stay in business
- Ohio surpasses 20K COVID deaths
- Ohio AG suit seeks declaration of Google as public utility
- Ohio utility gets SEC subpoena regarding tainted energy bill
- Democratic Justice Jennifer Brunner vying for chief justice
- Police: 2 in custody, 1 sought in air rifle shots at people
Lordstown Motors warns it may not stay in business
Lordstown Motors says it may not be in business a year from now as it tries to secure funding to start full production of an electric pickup truck. The company that occupies the shuttered GM Lordstown plant says the $587 million it had on hand as of March 31 isn’t enough to start commercial production and begin selling the Endurance model this fall. The company says it's seeking more capital but may not be able to raise it. The company’s shares fell 16% in regular trading on Tuesday.
Ohio surpasses 20K COVID deaths
Ohio has crossed two milestones in the COVID-19 pandemic. As of Tuesday, the disease has now claimed the lives of more than 20,000 Ohioans. Ohio’s total death rate ranks 28th among U.S. states. Tuesday also saw the lowest number of people hospitalized with COVID at 503. That’s the fewest patients since hospitals began collecting data last year.
Ohio AG suit seeks declaration of Google as public utility
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has filed a lawsuit asking a court to declare Google a public utility and to regulate it as one in the latest twist on the escalating legal efforts to rein in the company that runs the internet's dominant search engine. Yost alleges Google has been abusing its power in a way that is discriminatory and anti-competitive to Ohio residents. Google attacked the lawsuit Tuesday as a misguided attempt to force changes that would diminish the quality of its search results. Yost also joined a multi-state antitrust lawsuit against Google filed last December.
Ohio utility gets SEC subpoena regarding tainted energy bill
Electric utility AEP Ohio says it has received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for documents regarding benefits it has received from a tainted energy bill. The statement from Columbus-based AEP to investors says the SEC is seeking various documents related to how House Bill 6 benefited the company. The sweeping energy bill not only bailed out nuclear power plants but created hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies for two coal plants partly owned by AEP. Federal prosecutors allege FirstEnergy funneled millions of dollars to a group controlled by former House Speaker Larry Householder, in return for passing HB6. Once the bribery allegations were announced, AEP conducted an internal investigation and says it has no reason to believe the company was "involved in any wrongful conduct."
Democratic Justice Jennifer Brunner vying for chief justice
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner entered the race for chief justice Tuesday, touching off a likely bipartisan competition for the state judiciary’s top job next year. The 64-year-old Brunner is a former common pleas and appellate judge who also served one term as Ohio secretary of state. Her victory last year gave Democrats three of seven seats on the state’s high court, a high-water mark for the party in recent years. She seeks a seat Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor must vacate due to age limits. O'Connor's fellow Republicans, justices Sharon Kennedy and Pat DeWine, also are expected to run.
Police: 2 in custody, 1 sought in air rifle shots at people
Cincinnati police say two sisters charged with shooting at homeless people with an air rifle from a car are now in custody, and a third person is being sought. The 28- and 29-year-old sisters face assault charges. The shooting caused minor injuries to the people hit by the pellets.
