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Four bodies found in Cleveland

CLEVELAND — Officers found the bodies of two children and a woman inside a home while investigating the shooting death of a man discovered in a vacant lot, the city’s police chief said Tuesday. Authorities said they believed the four deaths were connected but released few details about what happened. Investigators were looking for several people of interest and following multiple leads in the shooting on the city’s east side, said Police Chief Calvin Williams. A woman told cleveland.com that one of the victims was her brother. Davionna Cousin said her brother lived in a house behind the home where three others were found dead. Investigators told family members they think her brother was helping the three out when he was shot and killed, Cousin said. Several relatives and friends gathered outside the house and were crying and hugging. One man was heard yelling, “My son, my son.” Officers who were called to investigate smelled smoke at the home where three of the victims were located. Fire accelerants were found inside the home, Williams said.

Man arrested in park body case

DELAWARE — Police have arrested a 24-year-old man on murder charges in the death of a woman whose body was found July 4 in a shallow grave in an Ohio park. John David Choe Bartholomew of northwest Columbus was arrested Tuesday without incident. The sheriff’s office said last week that an officer with the state Department of Natural Resources discovered the grave while on foot patrol at Alum Creek State Park. The office on Friday identified the deceased woman as 28-year-old Brittany McDowell, of Columbus. She died of gunshot wounds.

Body recovered from Lake Erie

HURON — Authorities have recovered the body of an 18-year-old man who went missing in Lake Erie while trying to rescue children struggling in the water at an Ohio beach. Huron police and fire officials said a fisherman reported finding Alvin Martin’s body in the water near the mouth of the Huron River around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. Search crews had been looking for the Ashland man since Sunday afternoon when he went missing in the lake at Nickel Plate Beach. Martin disappeared while trying to help two children later rescued by the Huron Police Marine Patrol. Fire personnel rescued their mother and a bystander who tried to help.

Suspect arrested in Youngstown

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — Police in western Pennsylvania say a man who was on parole for a previous homicide stabbed his girlfriend’s 8-year-old son to death during a domestic dispute. Keith Burley was apprehended Tuesday by U.S. Marshals in Youngstown, Ohio. Authorities say he didn’t put up a struggle, and it wasn’t known if he’s retained a lawyer. Pennsylvania state police say the 43-year-old killed the boy around 10:30 p.m. Monday at a house in New Castle. The boy’s 7-year-old sibling ran over to a neighboring home for help. Authorities say Burley’s 36-year-old girlfriend and the children were in a vehicle with him when she got out of the car to call for help. Burley then drove away with her children still inside and went to a friend’s house, where the stabbing occurred.

Strong end to state fiscal year

COLUMBUS — The state says Ohio finished in strong financial position at the end of the most recent fiscal year, a good sign for the upcoming two-year budget. The Office of Budget and Management says state tax collections topped expectations by $651 million, or 2.9%, for the year ending in June. Overall collections stood at $34 billion for fiscal year 2019. Gongwer News Service reports that the final tally for 2019 state taxes was also more than $1 billion higher than fiscal year 2018. Both income and sales tax collections were strong. Ohio lawmakers were unable to finish work on the state’s $69 billion spending plan at the end of June and instead passed a bill providing temporary funding for 17 days.

SUV goes into pond, boy dies

COLUMBUS — Police say an 11-year-old boy has become the second person to die after an SUV in plunged into a pond in Ohio’s capital city. Leta Galagalo died Monday at a hospital where he was taken after the SUV he was riding in ran into the pond at an apartment complex Saturday. Divers had pulled the boy and 55-year-old Dereje Kume from the submerged vehicle. The 55-year-old Kume died Sunday from his injuries. A 7-year-old boy and a 9-year-old boy injured in the crash were hospitalized in stable condition. Police say the driver escaped from the SUV. They say she didn’t appear to have any visible injuries. Investigators believe the driver lost control of the vehicle while trying to park it and drove into the pond.

Born from dead donor’s womb

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Clinic says it has delivered the first baby in North America after a womb transplant from a dead donor. Uterine transplants have enabled more than a dozen women to give birth, usually with wombs donated from a living donor such as a friend or relative. In December, doctors in Brazil reported the world’s first birth using a deceased donor’s womb. These transplants were pioneered by a Swedish doctor who did the first successful one five years ago. The Cleveland hospital said Tuesday that the girl was born in June. The clinic has done five uterus transplants so far and three have been successful, with two women waiting to attempt pregnancy with new wombs. In all, the clinic aims to enroll 10 women in its study.

Reduced interest on farm loans

COLUMBUS — Farm operators and agribusiness owners based in Ohio may now apply for a re-opened state program that helps provide reduced interest rates on loans. Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague said Monday he has re-opened the Ag-LINK Program’s application period due to the impact of recent storms and flooding on Ohio agriculture. It will remain open until Nov. 15. Under the program, farm operators and agribusiness owners based in Ohio can apply to receive a 2% interest rate reduction on loans up to $150,000. Ag-LINK provides an interest-rate reduction on agriculture business operation loans at eligible banks and farm credit lenders. The treasurer’s office administers the program to help farm operators and other agricultural businesses finance up-front operating costs for feed, seed, fertilizer, fuel, and other flood-related expenses.

Ticket tax may be on ballot

COLUMBUS — Opponents of two new taxes on arts, sports and entertainment ticket sales in Ohio’s capital city have filed petitions seeking to put the matter on the November ballot. They need about 11,000 valid signatures to get a Columbus charter amendment on the ballot. They say they submitted twice that amount Monday. They want to eliminate the new 5% taxes and prevent similar ones in the future. Opponents argue the taxes that took effect this month will hurt event attendance. One applies to events at Nationwide Arena and helps fund improvements at the facility. The other tax, raising money for arts groups, applies to tickets costing more than $10 for performances and sporting events at other venues with at least 400 seats. The taxes are expected to generate millions of dollars.

Soldier returned home for burial

CINCINNATI — An Ohio soldier reported missing in action in the Korean War and later identified through DNA is returning home. Eighteen-year-old Roger Woods was reported missing in action after fighting in the vicinity of Kochang, Republic of Korea, on July 29, 1950. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said the U.S. Army later issued a “presumptive finding of death” for Pfc. Woods. Remains found in a grave in South Korea and sent to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii in 1955 were identified last year as Woods. Woods’ coffin arrived Tuesday morning at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and traveled by procession to Evans Funeral Home in Goshen in Clermont County. Visitation will be held Wednesday.

Suspect shoots and kills himself

HAMILTON — Authorities say a man suspected of fatally shooting another man at an Ohio home before fleeing to a nearby township has shot and killed himself. Hamilton police say the first man was fatally shot around 1 p.m. Monday at a home in the city roughly 35 miles north of Cincinnati. Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said in a release Tuesday that a deputy spotted the suspect’s car minutes later in Hanover Township. Jones says the deputy chased the suspect’s vehicle until it stopped, then saw the suspect with a weapon and heard a gunshot.

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