Here are your morning headlines for Friday, January 5:
- Cuyahoga Health Department reports second flu death;
- Meals on Wheels volunteer finds man frozen to death;
- Stark County narcotics agents discover batch of heroin cut with carfentanyl;
- Ohio congressman calls for AG Sessions to step down;
- Liens filed against Hall of Fame Village over unpaid work;
- Ten percent of inspected school water fountains have elevated lead levels;
- House judiciary committee grants a stay of deportation to Youngstown businessman;
- Gun ban for those with domestic violence convictions is upheld;
Cuyahoga Board of Health reports second flu death
The Cuyahoga County Board of Health is reporting its second flu-related death. A 92-year-old woman died in October and last week a 70-year-old Mentor woman died from flu-related illness. The Ohio Department of Health has raised its alert level to the highest rating of “widespread.” Cuyahoga County reports 246 flu-related hospitalizations and over 1,100 emergency department visits.
Meals on Wheels volunteer finds man frozen to death
Akron officials say a man found dead on his front porch died from hypothermia. The Beacon Journal reports the body of Darnell Wilson, 64, was found by a volunteer from Meals on Wheels. It’s unclear how long Wilson was on the porch. He was found with his cane and wheelchair nearby.
Stark County narcotics agents discover batch of heroin cut with carfentanyl
A narcotics unit in Stark County has discovered a batch of heroin mixed with carfentanyl. The deadly synthetic opiate is 10,000 times more powerful than morphine. The drugs were found at a Canton home along with a handgun and thousands of dollars in cash. Victor Lynn Waiters, 44, faces drugs and weapons charges.
Ohio congressman calls for AG Sessions to step down
An Ohio congressman is calling for the ouster of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio’s 4th district wrote in an op-ed that Sessions “has no control at all” over his subordinates. Jordan claims multiple leaks from the Justice Department reflect poor management. Jordan has previously criticized government agencies of attempting to undermine and discredit the Trump administration.
Liens filed against Hall of Fame Village over unpaid work
Local subcontractors that worked on the Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton say they’re still owed money. The Repository reports the Hall of Fame Village construction manager and Johnson Controls still owe $5.7 million for more than a year of work that ended in December. Seven local companies have filed liens against the Hall of Fame Village.
Ten percent of inspected school water fountains have elevated lead levels
Ohio school districts in the past year and a half have tested drinking fountains and faucets inside hundreds of older buildings, finding that about 10 percent of the fixtures had elevated levels of lead in the water. State records show about half of the kitchen and classroom faucets and drinking fountains have been replaced while the others have been simply shut off or are no longer used. Nearly all of the voluntary testing was done after Ohio in 2016 overhauled its oversight of lead in drinking water following the lead-tainted water crisis in Flint, Michigan. The legislation included grants for school buildings built before 1990 so that districts could test the fixtures and replace those that dispensed water with lead levels above the federal limit.
House judiciary committee grants a stay of deportation to Youngstown businessman
A Youngstown businessman who has called the United States home for 38 years and was scheduled to be deported to his native Jordan has received a stay while his case is re-examined. Northeast Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan said he worked with the House Judiciary Committee to grant a stay for Amer Othman Adi, 57. The immigration service revoked Adi’s green card after deciding that his marriage to an American citizen when he came to the U.S. in 1979 was fraudulent because it ended in divorce. They reportedly did not consider that the couple was married for nearly three years before breaking up.
Gun ban for those with domestic violence convictions is upheld
A divided federal appeals panel has upheld the ban on guns for people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence, even decades after the offense. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to affirm a lower court's dismissal of the challenge by an Ohio man who pleaded no contest in 1997 to a domestic violence charge relating to his then-wife. Terry Stimmel was blocked in 2002 from buying a gun after a background check showed his domestic violence record. Stimmel appealed citing Second Amendment gun rights.
