Statewide News

Central and Southern Ohio led the state in the number of felony arrests made from traffic stops.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol reports that ,079 felony stops were made between January and July of this year.

Franklin County led the state with 171 arrests, followed by Scioto County with 109, Lorain County with 70 and Jackson and Lucas Counties with 65 each.

According to the Highway Patrol, 74% of the arrests comes from a trooper "looking beyond the license plate" to spot criminal activity, such as evidence of drug use.

CLEVELAND (AP) - Job seekers eager to cash in on a casino opening early next year in Cleveland are flooding its operator with applications.

The Horseshoe Casino Cleveland began taking applications on its website Wednesday. A spokeswoman said more than 1,000 applications were received by mid-afternoon for 500 dealer and supervisor openings. Dealers will earn up to $40,000 a year, and supervisors will make $40,000 or more.

The application deadline is Sept. 30. More openings will be filled starting in December.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate has confirmed Bernice Donald as a judge on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Donald will be the first African-American woman confirmed for that court.

Donald has broken through racial barriers throughout her career.  She was the first African-American woman to be elected as a judge in Tennessee, serve on the federal bankruptcy court and sit as a U.S. district judge in her state.

The Cincinnati-based court serves Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio is ready to start making payments on a $2.6 billion federal loan taken out during the recession to replenish a fund that pays unemployment benefits.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that the state this month plans to pay $370 million, representing $70 million in interest and $300 million to pay down the principle.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio is the latest state where opponents are pushing a ban on a form of drilling that injects chemicals into shale to release natural gas.

Democratic state Sen. Michael Skindell of suburban Cleveland introduced a bill Tuesday calling for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," to await results of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study of potential environmental hazards.