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CAR-BUS COLLISION

Highway patrol: 29 hurt in Ohio bus, car crash

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) - The State Highway Patrol says 29 people have been injured in a crash between a commercial bus and a car on Interstate 75 in northwest Ohio.

The patrol says the crash on northbound Interstate 75 near Bowling Green happened at about 10:30 p.m. when the 2001 Bluebird bus ran into the back of a 1995 Toyota Camry that slowed down in traffic.

Nineteen of the bus passengers were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. 1 of them, a 19-year-old man, was seriously injured.

Two adults and three children - including two infants in car safety seats - in the Camry suffered minor injuries.

The bus was transporting workers from the Consolidated Biscuit Company in McComb to Toledo.

MISSING WOMEN FOUND

Cleveland kidnapping victims 'happy and safe'

CLEVELAND (AP) - The three women rescued after being held captive in a Cleveland house for about a decade say they are doing fine.

That was the message in a letter released by their attorneys on Tuesday that also noted a charity fund to help the women has now raised more than $650,000.

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reports that attorneys who are representing Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight for free say the women are "happy and safe and continue to heal, a process that requires time and privacy."

They escaped from the home on Cleveland's west side May 6.

A former school bus driver, 52-year-old Ariel Castro, has been charged with three counts of rape and four counts of kidnapping, including Berry's 6-year-old daughter fathered by Castro.

TEENS FOUND DEAD

Teen pleads not guilty in deaths of Ohio brothers

OTTAWA, Ohio (AP) - A 17-year-old boy charged with killing two teenage brothers in northwest Ohio has pleaded not guilty.

Michael Aaron Fay entered the pleas during an arraignment Tuesday in Putnam County Juvenile Court. He's charged with delinquency in connection with aggravated murder.

Fay is accused of killing 17-year-old Blake Romes and 14-year-old Blaine Romes in their Ottawa trailer May 9.

An Amber Alert for all three teens was issued that day after the mother of the Romes teens discovered a gun and blood inside a trailer where the three boys lived with their mothers.

Fay told officers that the Romes brothers were dead and pointed authorities to their bodies after he was found with a stolen car in Columbus.

A prosecutor said both victims were shot once in the head.

BRIDGE BOMB PLOT

Ohio bomb suspect allowed to represent himself

AKRON, Ohio (AP) - A federal judge will allow the last of 5 bridge bomb-plotting suspects in northeast Ohio to represent himself at trial.

Federal Judge David Dowd in Akron ruled Wednesday there's no reason to deny the request by 23-year-old Joshua Stafford of Cleveland, whose trial is scheduled June 10.

Last month the judge ruled Stafford mentally fit for trial after hearing from psychologists who said Stafford is suicidal, depressed and wary of a dangerous world.

No bomb went off and no one was injured in the plot last year in which the intended target was a highway bridge over the Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH'-guh) Valley National Park between Cleveland and Akron.

The other four defendants have pleaded guilty and landed prison terms of 6 to 11 years.

OHIO SCHOOL SHOOTING

Ohio student moved from hospital after shooting

CINCINNATI (AP) - A 17-year-old high school student who shot himself in a classroom has been moved from a hospital to a rehabilitation facility, more than three weeks after he was critically wounded.

A statement from his family released Wednesday by the University of Cincinnati Medical Center says that the youth has been transferred to a facility to work on improving mobility and strength. A hospital spokeswoman says that medical privacy rules prevent her from releasing any details.

He had been upgraded last week to serious condition from critical.

Police say he used a .45-caliber handgun to shoot himself in the head April 29 at La Salle High School, an all-male Catholic school just west of Cincinnati. Police have said there were no indications that any other students or staff were threatened.

CLEVELAND FIREFIGHTERS-CHARGES

Indicted Ohio firefighters suspended without pay

CLEVELAND (AP) - Thirteen Cleveland firefighters indicted in a shift-swapping scandal have been suspended without pay while their cases move through the courts.

The mayor's office said the suspensions were imposed after the firefighters waived preliminary disciplinary hearings Wednesday.

Last week the firefighters were indicted on charges including illegally paying co-workers to cover their shifts, theft in office and improper compensation.

The city says it's making changes to ensure firefighters are working as assigned.

Prosecutors say the firefighters each failed to work 2,000 hours or more of their scheduled time from 2006 to 2010.

OHIO BUDGET

Senate Democrats offer slew of Ohio budget changes

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Democrats in the Ohio Senate want to redirect millions of dollars from a proposed income tax cut to education.

The proposal is among roughly 200 amendments that Senate Democrats have offered to the state's $61.5 billion, 2-year budget.

Sen. Nina Turner of Cleveland said Wednesday her amendment would eliminate a proposed 7% income tax cut for Ohioans making more than $106,150. She says that would free up $508 million for an investment fund to provide extra dollars for schools to use in the classroom and for transportation.

Republicans overwhelming control the Senate, and any changes would need their support.

The Senate's budget-writing committee was to meet later Wednesday.

The Senate version of the budget bill is expected to be released next week, with additional hearings planned on the changes.

INTERNET CAFE REGULATIONS

OH lawmakers set votes in Internet cafe crackdown

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - State lawmakers in Ohio are ready to vote on a pair of proposals cracking down on storefront sweepstakes parlors whose legality has been questioned.

Floor votes were scheduled Wednesday on the two bills.

The Ohio Senate will vote on an effective ban on the so-called Internet cafes. The Ohio House will vote on legislation extending a moratorium on new parlors. Both bills go next to Gov. John Kasich (KAY'-sik).

The bills follow a push by top state law enforcers including Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.

Armed with a recent court decision, DeWine has led raids on cafes in Cleveland and Mansfield.

Cafe owners and staff told lawmakers ahead of Tuesday committee votes that the ban would jeopardize their livelihoods and their ability to feed their families.

TEEN'S 1984 DEATH-CHARGE

Man indicted in 1984 slaying of Cleveland girl

CLEVELAND (AP) - A grand jury has returned a murder indictment against a Cleveland man in the 1984 killing of a 14-year-old girl.

Prosecutor Timothy McGinty said Wednesday that a Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH'-guh) County grand jury indicted 58-year-old Hernandez Warren on murder, rape, kidnapping and aggravated robbery charges.

His arraignment is scheduled for May 28.

Attorney Nicole Longino, who represented Warren in court last week, said she would not comment on the charges.

Investigators say DNA evidence recently developed linked Warren to the killing of Gloria Pointer, who went missing while walking to school nearly 30 years ago.

The prosecutor says Warren lived in the same neighborhood as the girl.

BATHTUB DROWNING

OH high court declines to hear bathtub case appeal

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The Ohio Supreme Court says it won't hear the latest appeal by a southwest Ohio man seeking his fourth trial in the 2008 bathtub drowning of his wife.

The attorney for Ryan Widmer had asked the justices to consider whether DNA testing should have been allowed on Widmer's wife Sarah to see if she suffered from a genetic disorder. The defense contended she showed signs of a disorder that could have caused her to drown.

The court on Wednesday declined jurisdiction for the appeal by Widmer, who is serving 15 years to life in prison for his 2011 murder conviction.

Widmer's first trial in 2009 ended in a mistrial over juror misconduct, while the second jury was hung. A third jury found Widmer guilty.

PARK FALLS-DEATHS

Safety enhancements planned after Ohio park falls

LOGAN, Ohio (AP) - State officials say safety improvements are planned after a third fatal fall from a cliff recently in the Hockings Hills region of southeastern Ohio.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources says signs warning hikers not to leave marked trails are being enhanced. Rangers also have increased trail patrols and are issuing more citations to people who stray from them.

Ranger Paul Baker II tells The Columbus Dispatch that the changes will be made to blend with the rugged surroundings of Hocking Hills State Park, which attracts more than 1 million visitors annually.

The hiker who fell off a cliff Monday was 66-year-old John Schneider of Bay Village, near Cleveland.

A man rappelling from a cliff was killed Saturday, and a 19-year-old man was killed in a fall April 27.

OHIO MILITARY DEATHS

Statehouse ceremony honors Ohio military dead

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Sixteen fallen military members from Ohio have been honored in a ceremony on the grounds of the Statehouse.

Gov. John Kasich (KAY'-sihk) presided over the event Tuesday in Columbus ahead of Memorial Day, honoring those killed during the past two years.

The 16 were awarded the Ohio Military Medal of Distinction, presented by state legislative leaders to family members. Afterward, the fallen were recognized again during a wreath-laying ceremony.

Before the ceremony, family members of the fallen met privately and individually with Kasich.

The governor also asked during the noontime ceremony for a moment of silence for the lives lost in Monday's tornado in Moore, Okla.

COLLEGE SPORTS-ALCOHOL

UT may sell alcohol at football games

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - The University of Toledo may join a growing number of colleges selling alcohol at their football games.

UT officials are expected to make a decision in the next two weeks on the proposal to sell beer and wine at the on-campus Glass Bowl stadium. The move, which is expected to boost attendance and revenue, could also extend to basketball games.

Athletics director Mike O'Brien says UT has "looked at this as a possible additional revenue stream."

The (Toledo) Blade reports that Toledo's fellow Mid-American Conference schools Bowling Green, Akron and Kent State are already offering adult beverages at stadium concession stands.

Beer is sold at 22 of 120 major college football stadiums. That's more than twice as many as a decade ago.

THIRD-GRADERS-READING

3rd-grade Ohio reading teacher pool approved

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A bill making more teachers temporarily eligible to participate in meeting Ohio's new third-grade reading guarantee is on its way to Ohio's governor.

The Senate agreed unanimously Wednesday to revised teacher eligibility guidelines and other changes adopted by the House to address an anticipated shortage.

The state program requires that students be proficient in reading before leaving third grade.

The bill scraps required completion of a "scientifically research-based reading instruction program," allowing certain highly-rated teachers with strong track records in reading to qualify. Those holding alternative credentials and not serving as a student's "teacher of record" are also freed to help.

Governor John Kasich (KAY'-sik) is expected to sign the bill. An emergency clause would make it effective in time for lining up next school year's teachers.

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This Hour: Latest Ohio news, sports, business and entertainment