Here are your morning headlines for Monday, October 2nd:
- Officers wound two outside Akron nightclub;
- Summit County hopes to give back $3.1 million in unclaimed funds;
- Gubernatorial hopeful Renacci pulls NFL ad buys;
- White nationalist Richard Spencer threatens legal action if schools don't let him speak;
- Reported rapes at Ohio State more than doubled last year;
- Dayton VA works to curb veteran suicides;
- CSU creates new center for space law;
- Federal judge rejects two requests for temporary delay of executions;
- Ohio courts get federal money for rehabilitation and opioid abuse prevention programs;
Officers wound two outside Akron nightclub
Akron police say an officer shot and wounded two men who were threatening people with a gun during a large fight outside ZAR nightclub. Officials say both men, ages 21 and 23, were seriously injured. Police say they were threatening officers and other people in a downtown bar district early Sunday when an officer opened fire. Police say shots were fired back at the officers, but they were not hurt. The officer who fired the shots has been placed on paid administrative leave. Investigators have not released his name or the names of the injured men.
Summit County hopes to give back $3.1 million in unclaimed funds
Summit County is looking to give back $3.1 million in unclaimed funds. That extra money comes from overpayments to county agencies, various fees paid by residents, and proceeds from sheriff sales. The Beacon Journal reports county residents can see if they’re owed money by searching an online database on the Summit county website. Residents can also visit participating Acme Fresh Markets at the end of the month, where staff will help with filing claims. Most unclaimed funds are held indefinitely. Revenue from foreclosures are held for three years before they go to the Summit County Land Bank.
Gubernatorial hopeful Renacci pulls NFL ad buys
Northeast Ohio Republican Congressman Jim Renacci is pulling campaign ads from NFL Sunday football games as players continue to kneel or stay in the locker room during the national anthem. Renacci is running for Ohio governor and has closely aligned himself with President Donald Trump. Trump has called for team owners to fire players over the protests. Renacci says he will take his $20,000 in advertising to a non-NFL televised event.
White nationalist Richard Spencer threatens legal action if schools don't let him speak
A prominent white nationalist says he will sue two Ohio universities if they don’t rent him a space to speak. Representatives of Richard Spencer have contacted the University of Cincinnati and Ohio State University to rent auditoriums for speaking engagements. Ohio State has previously rejected requests to let Spencer give talks on campus. The University of Cincinnati tells the Columbus Dispatch it’s reviewing the request and weighing “various safety and logistical considerations.” Spencer won a federal suit against Auburn University in Alabama earlier this year after it cancelled a speaking engagement.
Reported rapes at Ohio State more than doubled last year
An annual report says the number of reported on-campus rapes at Ohio State University more than doubled in 2016. The university attributed the increase to more students living on campus and better awareness and reporting of sexual assaults. Kellie Brennan, director of the university's compliance office, tells The Columbus Dispatch the increase was expected because of work being done to boost reporting. The federally mandated review published last week said 61 rapes were reported in 2016 compared with 25 in 2015 and 20 the year before that.
Dayton VA works to curb veteran suicides
Officials at the Dayton VA Medical Center are launching a new effort to prevent veteran suicides. VA officials have signed a pledge committing to a plan that will organize a "buddy system" to identify at-risk veterans using predictive modeling while expanding suicide prevention training. The new initiative also includes partnerships with community organizations. The VA says about 20 veterans in the U.S. commit suicide each day.
CSU creates new center for space law
An Ohio university is developing a new center to train future lawyers to become experts in space law. Cleveland.com reports Cleveland State University has created the Global Space Law Center at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. The university says the center is a response to the growth of the private space industry. University officials say the center will focus on international and domestic space laws and policies that promote the peaceful use of outer space. Mark Sundahl will lead the new center. He’s one of the leading experts in space law in the U.S. The center's first course will be taught next summer.
Federal judge rejects two requests for temporary delay of executions
A federal judge has rejected requests from two condemned Ohio inmates to put a temporary stop to their upcoming executions. Lawyers for both inmates argue the first drug in Ohio's lethal injection process creates the risk that prisoners being put to death will suffer serious pain. Federal judge Michael Merz ruled in August that current court decisions have upheld the use of the drug, the sedative midazolam, in executions. Merz cited that same ruling in denying the two inmates' requests. Death row inmate Alva Campbell is scheduled to die Nov. 15 and Raymond Tibbetts is scheduled to die in February.
Ohio courts get federal money for rehabilitation and opioid abuse prevention programs
The Department of Justice has allocated nearly $3 million to Ohio's southern federal court district to supplement drug court programs as part of a national initiative to curb opioid abuse. The Ohio Supreme Court will receive $1 million for data-supported responses to prescription drug misuse. The Justice Department has awarded about $700,000 for a family drug court reform program. Franklin and Hamilton counties will each receive about $400,000 to support opioid abuse prevention programs.