In the Eighth District Court of Appeals, a three-judge appellate panel recently affirmed the judgment of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, which denied a defendant’s motion to vacate judgment from his 2006 convictions for aggravated murder with mass murder specifications, felony murder and escape detection specifications.

The defendant, Wayne Ervin, appealed pro se and argued that the trial court committed prejudicial error when it convicted him “without formal accusation for acquirement of jurisdiction over subject matter.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Biofuels made from the leftovers of harvested corn plants are worse than gasoline for global warming in the short term, a study shows, challenging the Obama administration’s conclusions that they are a much cleaner oil alternative and will help combat climate change.

A $500,000 study paid for by the federal government and released in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Climate Change concludes that biofuels made with corn residue release 7 percent more greenhouse gases in the early years compared with conventional gasoline.

EVANSTON, Ill. — They’re called leggings — popular fashion items that are tight-fitting pants to some, and glorified tights to others.

Younger girls often wear them as pants with little fuss. But as those same girls approach middle school, leggings have become a clothing accessory that’s increasingly controversial — and seemingly, the favorite new target of the school dress code.

Gardeners worried about the safety of synthetic pest-control products sometimes turn to botanically derived compounds instead. But many of those also contain toxic ingredients, such as nicotine, rotenone and pyrethrins.

“Botanically derived pesticides are not always safe and some are more hazardous than synthetics,” said Linda Chalker-Scott, an extension horticulturist at Washington State University’s Puyallup Research Center. “Any improperly used pesticide will contaminate nearby terrestrial and aquatic systems.”