Exhibit highlights cartoonists’ focus on First Amendment
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A new exhibit at the world’s largest cartoon library draws on an old tradition: political cartooning, a First Amendment right. The display runs the gamut from a 1774 etching by Paul Revere criticizing Britain’s use of tea as a political weapon to a 2018 cartoon lampooning the blocking of online conservative [...]
Chinese tourism to U.S. drops for first time in 15 years
After more than a decade of rapid growth, Chinese travel to the U.S. is falling. And that has cities, malls and other tourist spots scrambling to reverse the trend. Travel from China to the U.S. fell 5.7 percent in 2018 to 2.9 million visitors, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office, which collects data [...]
Study suggests e-cigarette flavorings may pose heart risk
WASHINGTON — E-cigarettes aren’t considered as risky as regular cigarettes, but researchers have found a clue that their flavorings may be bad for the heart. Longtime smokers who can’t kick the addiction sometimes switch to e-cigarettes, in hopes of avoiding the cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco smoke. But cigarette smoking doesn’t just cause lung cancer. It’s [...]
Office construction growth in central Ohio spurred by data center projects
Dodge Date & Analytics ranked Columbus among the top five metro areas with the highest dollar amount in office construction starts last month. Dodge Data ranked Columbus with the fourth highest dollar amount of office construction starts. The city had $329.9 million in construction starts, which included the second phase of the $315 million Facebook [...]
Thousands of kindergartners unvaccinated without waivers
COLUMBUS — States are heatedly debating whether to make it more difficult for students to avoid vaccinations for religious or philosophical reasons amid the worst measles outbreak in decades, but schoolchildren using such waivers are outnumbered in many states by those who give no excuse at all for lacking their shots. A majority of unvaccinated [...]
COTA ridership up 3 percent
The Central Ohio Transit Authority’s ridership increased 3 percent to nearly 19 million trips in 2018, according to the American Public Transportation Association. “One of the reasons for this increase was the launch of COTA’s first Bus Rapid Transit line CMAX, which puts customers closer to 200,000 jobs, two hospitals and three post-secondary campuses,” according [...]
As North Dakota oil soars, so does waste of natural gas
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota oil drillers are falling far short of the state’s goals to limit the burning of excess natural gas at well heads, five years after the state adopted the rules to reduce the wasteful and environmentally harmful practice. The industry has spent billions of dollars on infrastructure but is at [...]
In mostly white Iowa, black Dems poised to play role in presidential election
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — In Iowa, one of the whitest states in the nation, more than 100 black Democrats who expect to attend the 2020 caucuses crammed into a tiny community center in the capital city to position themselves as a force in the most wide-open presidential campaign in a generation. “There is hope! [...]
In emotional interviews, ex-Boy Scouts open up about sex abuse experiences
NEW YORK (AP) — Sharing their stories doesn’t come easily for these middle-aged men. At times, their eyes well up or their voices crack as they describe being sexually abused in the Boy Scouts and suffering from emotional damage long afterward. Looking back, they all remember vividly how excited they were to become Scouts. “I [...]