Today’s News
Another report shows downside to Columbus’ hot housing market
A $1,000 increase in the cost of a new homes would push more than 1,300 prospective homebuyers out of central Ohio’s market, according to a recent study. Homebuyers who would have qualified for a mortgage to purchase the home before the increase but not afterward would be priced out, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ study. “While many cost drivers, such as increases in lending costs, labor shortages and material inflation are national [...]
Poppies are tougher than they look and can be sown early
With seeds as fine as dust and flower petals as delicate as fairy shawls, it might seem that poppies are too fragile to have their seeds sown directly on melting snow or frozen ground. But early sowing is a must, because the seedlings thrive during the cool, moist weather of early spring. And because poppies don’t transplant well, their seeds are best sown right out in the flower beds. Members of the poppy family, Papaveraceae, [...]
Battles expected in many states over abortion bills
NEW YORK (AP) — On each side of the abortion debate, legislators and activists emboldened by recent political developments plan to push aggressively in many states this year for bills high on their wish lists: either seeking to impose near-total bans on abortion or guaranteeing women’s access to the procedure. For abortion opponents, many of whom will rally today at the annual March for Life in Washington, there’s a surge of optimism that sweeping abortion [...]
In era of news deserts, no easy fix for local news struggles
NEW YORK (AP) — The local news industry hasn’t been the subject of much good news itself, lately. Newspaper circulation is down sharply, and so is employment in the newspaper industry. Financial cutbacks have led to the shutdown of nearly 1,800 daily and weekly newspapers since 2004. Two developments this week brought the issue into further focus. Facebook, whose success has contributed to the news business’ decline, announced Tuesday it would invest $300 million over [...]
Razor burn: Gillette ad stirs online uproar about male behavior
NEW YORK (AP) — A Gillette ad for men invoking the (hash)MeToo movement is sparking intense online backlash, with accusations that it talks down to men and groups calling for a boycott. But Gillette says it doesn’t mind sparking a discussion. Since it debuted Monday, the Internet-only ad has garnered nearly 19 million views on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter — a level of buzz that any brand would covet. The two-minute ad from Procter & [...]
Patriots’ Edelman still making most of his opportunities after 10 seasons
His face was still a little flushed from stepping out of the subfreezing temperatures at Gillette Stadium field just minutes following the Patriots' 41-28 divisional-round win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday . Still, Julian Edelman stood at his locker satisfied — at least for a moment. Then he was asked when he would start his preparations for their AFC championship game matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. “Immediately,” he said without hesitation. “We’re [...]
From travel to IPOs, how shutdown is upsetting the economy
WASHINGTON — Delta Air Lines can’t get eight new aircraft in the air. Roughly a million government employees and contractors aren’t being paid. Some Americans who are trying to start small businesses face delays in obtaining the required tax identification number from the IRS. As the partial government shutdown moves through its fourth week with no end in sight, the economic blow is being felt not only by federal workers but also by business people, [...]
Grocery robots detect spills – with some far-off human help
SEEKONK, Mass. — A wheeled robot named Marty is rolling into nearly 500 grocery stores to alert employees if it encounters spilled granola, squashed tomatoes or a broken jar of mayonnaise. But there could be a human watching from behind its cartoonish googly eyes. Badger Technologies CEO Tim Rowland says its camera-equipped robots stop after detecting a potential spill. But to make sure, humans working in a control center in the Philippines review the imagery [...]
Agency built pen for possible horse slaughter
RENO, Nev. — The U.S. Forest Service has built its first corral for wild horses, which could allow it to bypass federal restrictions and sell the animals for slaughter. The agency acknowledged in court filings in a potentially precedent-setting legal battle that it built the new pen in Northern California for mustangs gathered in the fall on national forest land along the Nevada border because of restrictions on such sales at other federal holding facilities. [...]
Legal News
Pilot programs intended to address changing family court dynamics
Today’s families don’t necessarily reflect the family model around which family courts throughout the United States were developed, a nonprofit organization championing the administration of [...]
Kansas abortion foes brace for state Supreme Court decision
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Abortion opponents in Kansas have been bracing themselves for nearly two years for a ruling from the state’s highest court that [...]
High court won’t take case of Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court announced Monday that it is leaving in place a decision that vacated a murder conviction against Kennedy cousin Michael [...]
Business News
Study finds central Ohio workers are pretty happy
Central Ohio’s workforce ranked among the top 25 biggest cities with the happiest employees. Columbus ranked 23rd among the 50 largest cities, according to a [...]
It’s not too late for small businesses to save money on 2018 taxes
NEW YORK (AP) — Small business owners who are uneasy about their 2018 taxes might find they can save some money even though the year [...]
GM predicts stronger 2019 profits due to truck, SUV sales
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors strengthened its pretax profit estimate for 2018 and predicted even stronger performance for this year as it executives made a [...]
Real Estate
Baltimore trying to stem decades-long disappearing act
BALTIMORE — LaShelle Rollins’ rental house in West Baltimore is wedged between a line of derelict properties valued only by street gangs, drug addicts and [...]
Outgoing Interior secretary defends legacy as he leaves
BILLINGS, Mont. — As former U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke exits Washington amid a cloud of unresolved investigations and criticism of his actions favoring industry, [...]
Number of construction jobs in central Ohio continues to shrink
For all of the building activity around the Columbus area, the number of construction jobs in the region has yet to return to pre-recession levels. [...]
Politics
At Trump’s side, Border Patrol union leader in spotlight
WASHINGTON — Brandon Judd, president of the union that represents thousands of border patrol agents, has flipped the axiom that there are no winners in [...]
Can Trump use an emergency to build his wall?
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is weighing using a national emergency declaration to circumvent Congress and the budget stalemate and force construction of the president’s [...]
Study finds Ohio among states least impacted by shutdown
While it’s unclear when the federal government’s partial shutdown will end, Ohio is among the least affected, according to a new study. Ohio ranked as [...]
