Today's News
Fifth District Court of Appeals vacates a man’s guilty pleas for 21 theft-related offenses
A Fifth District Court of Appeals panel vacated the guilty pleas, reversing the conviction, of a Marion man indicted on 51 counts of theft-related offenses for collecting deposits from prospective customers for home-improvement projects that he never completed. The panel determined that 34-year-old Ryan Needels could not have entered his guilty plea knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily, as prescribed by the Rules of Criminal Procedure, on account of the Delaware County Common Pleas Court’s failure to [...]
Despite accidents, few rail companies have joined federal safety program
Two and a half years after a derailed train spewed toxic gases across eastern Ohio, none of the nation’s largest freight railroad operators have fulfilled promises to join a voluntary federal close call program designed to reduce rail hazards and prevent accidents. Two railroad companies — BNSF and Norfolk Southern — launched partial trials, but haven’t fully joined the program. A federal working group formed to negotiate railroad company participation recently disbanded. Railroad firms complained [...]
Rising medical costs expected to boost health insurance prices next year
Pricey prescriptions and rising medical costs are swamping some insurers and employers. Patients may start paying for it next year. Health insurance will grow more expensive in many corners of the market in 2026, and coverage may shrink, according to health-care analysts. That could leave patients paying more for doctor visits and dealing with prescription coverage changes. Price increases could be especially stark in individual coverage marketplaces, where insurers also are predicting the federal government [...]
‘No magic fixes’ for Democrats as party confronts internal and fundraising struggles
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Ken Martin is in the fight of his political life. The low-profile political operative from Minnesota, just six months on the job as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is charged with fixing the Democratic brand. “I think the greatest divide right now in our party, frankly, is not ideological,” said Martin. “The greatest divide is those people who are standing up and fighting and those who are sitting on the sidelines.” [...]
Federal government takes 10 percent stake in Intel
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump last week announced the federal government has secured a 10 percent stake in Silicon Valley pioneer Intel in a deal that was completed. “The United States of America now fully owns and controls 10 percent of INTEL, a Great American Company that has an even more incredible future,” Trump wrote in a post. The federal government is getting the stake through the conversion of $11.1 billion in previously issued [...]
‘Monster’ corn crop expected this year
PAW PAW, Mich. (AP) — Robb Rynd and his brother grew up farming and wanted to do more of it outside of their day jobs, so they went in together on what’s now a little more than 200 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and sorghum. Last year was a good year, and Rynd said he enjoyed walking the fields with his kids to see how the corn was doing. This year is a different story. [...]
Dr Pepper buys Peet’s for $18 billion
NEW YORK (AP) — Keurig Dr Pepper will buy the owner of Peet’s Coffee in an $18 billion deal, then break itself in two, with one company selling coffee and the other selling cold beverages such as Snapple, Dr Pepper, 7UP and energy drinks. The agreement announced Monday will essentially unwind the 2018 merger of Keurig and Dr Pepper and it arrives at a time when consumers are cutting back on spending and new American [...]
Trump says he’ll keep extending TikTok deadline
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is calling national security and privacy concerns related to TikTok and its Chinese parent company “highly overrated” and last week he’ll keep extending the deadline for the popular video-sharing platform until there’s a buyer. Congress approved a United States ban on TikTok unless its parent company, ByteDance, sold its controlling stake, but Trump has so far extended the deadline three times during his second term — with the next [...]
Work on offshore wind project is halted
The Trump administration has halted construction on a nearly complete offshore wind project near Rhode Island. Danish wind farm developer Orsted says the Revolution Wind project is about 80 percent complete, with 45 out of its 65 turbines already installed. Despite that progress — and the fact that the project had cleared years of federal and state reviews — the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued the order last week, saying the federal government needs [...]
Appeals court throws out Trump’s civil fraud penalty
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York appeals court last week threw out the massive financial penalty a state judge imposed on President Donald Trump, while narrowly upholding a finding he engaged in fraud by exaggerating his wealth for decades. The ruling spares Trump from a potential half-billion-dollar fine but bans him and his two eldest sons from serving in corporate leadership for a few years. Trump, in a social media post, claimed “total victory.” [...]
Legal News
Ohio Supreme Court reverses appellate decision in guaranty agreement dispute
The Supreme Court of Ohio reversed an appellate decision that had determined Huntington National Bank owed the co-owner of a collection of skilled-nursing facilities a [...]
FTC sues LA Fitness over cancellation policies
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is suing the operators of LA Fitness over allegations that they make it “exceedingly difficult” for [...]
Appeals court rejects appeal of drug conviction resentencing
A Franklin County Appeals Court panel determined that a Columbus man convicted of drug trafficking and related offenses in 2013 missed his opportunity to appeal [...]
Business News
Applications for jobless benefits rise
WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans filed for unemployment benefits, but layoffs remain in the same historically healthy range of the past few years. Applications for [...]
Walmart sales up in 2Q; retailer increases annual profit and sales outlook
NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart Inc. last week reported increases in second-quarter profits and sales as it pulls in shoppers seeking low prices for groceries [...]
Amid falling sales, Target chooses insider as CEO
NEW YORK (AP) — Target is counting on a company veteran to revive its magic as it struggles to compete with rivals such as Walmart. [...]
Real Estate
Average rate on a 30-year mortgage drops
MCLEAN, Va. (AP) — The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell last week to its lowest level in nearly 10 months, giving prospective homebuyers [...]
Average rate on a 30-year mortgage drops
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell to its lowest level in four months, welcome news for prospective homebuyers who have been held back [...]
Report: Bexley a top real estate market; most of central Ohio is deemed ‘very hot’
Columbus suburb Bexley has been named the 10th-hottest real estate market in the country, according to Realtor.com’s Hottest 2025 ZIP Codes report. Most of central [...]
Politics
Gabbard cutting intelligence office workforce, reducing budget by more than $700M
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Office of the Director of National Intelligence will reduce its workforce and cut its budget by more than $700 million annually, [...]
Pew: Illegal immigration hit record 14 million in 2023
The number of people in the United States illegally surged to an all-time high of 14 million in 2023, a research group said, a major [...]
U.S., EU issue written framework for trade deal
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and the European Union issued a joint statement last week that frames the ongoing deal between the trading partners [...]