Associated Press

Ohio's unemployment rate for April was 7.0 percent - down slightly from 7.1 percent in the two previous months.

State officials released the numbers this morning ahead of the newest statewide labor force data.

The rate has consistently remained below the national level. The U.S. unemployment rate for April was 7.5 percent.

The state's leaders have said Ohio's economy and its job market are getting stronger, though the process is slow.

Officials say drilling in Ohio's Utica shale region nearly doubled the output of oil and natural gas there since 2011.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources announced Thursday that the drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the shale region of eastern Ohio increased the oil output by 93 percent and the natural gas output by 80 percent in that time.

A group of Democratic lawmakers in Ohio say domestic-violence deaths can be prevented by taking guns away from people served with restraining orders.

Legislation introduced by Rep. Bob Hagan, a Youngstown Democrat, would require those subject to domestic-violence protection orders to temporarily give up their weapons to law enforcement within 24 hours of being served.

The bill would also give defendants the option to sell their weapons to a licensed federal dealer instead of handing them over.

About 13,000 civilian employees at Wright Patterson Air Force Base will be forced to take 11 days of unpaid leave beginning in July.

Col. Cassie Barlow, commander of the 88th Air Base Wing, made that announcement yesterday.

Each of the 13,000 civilian employees will be on one day of furlough per week beginning July 8 until they reach 11 total days. The unpaid leave is the result of automatic defense budget cuts.

Barlow says the development is "good news" because the Department of Defense's 800,000 civilian employees had originally faced 22 days of furlough.

The Dayton Air Show that has to make do without military participation because of federal budget cuts has added a Tuskegee Airmen exhibit and a restored World War II fighter plane.

The Dayton Air Show says a traveling custom-trailer theater with a panoramic screen will be at the June 22-23 show at Dayton International Airport. It will tell the story of the black airmen who overcame many obstacles to become the heroic "Red Tail Squadron" of World War II. They flew in P-51 Mustang planes, and the air show says one will fly at the show.