Ohio News

LANCASTER, Ohio (WCMH) -- A 64-year-old man from Columbus is dead after a motorcycle crash Friday evening in Fairfield County.

According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Warren Brewer Jr. was driving a Harley Davidson south on State Route 159 in Clearcreek Township just after 7:15 p.m. The motorcycle drove off the right side of the road, hit a guardrail and overturned on its side.

Strategists consider effect of Sherrod Brown’s call for Biden to exit

Brewer Jr. was pronounced dead at the scene, per the OSHP. The crash remains under investigation.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A Columbus woman has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated murder in the death of a four-month-old.

Melissa R. Thorp pleaded guilty Thursday to the 2022 murder of Aaron M. Thorp, her four-month-old son, according to court documents.

Ohio bill advanced to observe daylight saving time permanently

On Sept. 12, 2022, police responded to a 911 call about a baby not breathing at the 100 block of Jefferson Avenue. Upon arriving to the scene, paramedics pronounced the child dead, according to police. An autopsy determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma, and ruled the death a homicide.

After Thorp initially entered a not guilty plea, she was given a not guilty plea by reason of insanity, according to court documents.

Watch previous coverage of this story in the video player above.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A Columbus man has pleaded guilty to robbing a U.S. Postal Service employee at gunpoint. 

A.J. Williams, 20, pleaded guilty Thursday to counts of brandishing a firearm in a violent crime, aggravated robbery of U.S. property and conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S.

According to court documents, Williams committed an armed robbery against a postal worker who was delivering mail on Michigan Avenue in November, 2022. He threatened the mail carrier with a borrowed Glock19 and demanded his postal keys.

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According to a release from Kenneth Parker, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Williams then stole the keys directly from the victim's belt and sent photos of them to a co-conspirator.

According to court documents, Williams robbed another postal worker on Christmas eve of 2022, allegedly punching the mail carrier in the face and threatening to kill him if he did not surrender his postal keys.

Williams was also accused of using the keys to rob a series of locked mail receptacles, which he did with several co-conspirators. He is also accused of altering stolen checks and using third parties to deposit them into personal accounts.

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He was indicted by a grand jury and arrested in Pittsburgh in January. 

Williams’ plea includes a recommended sentence of 84 to 108 months in prison, or between seven and nine years.

During the past five decades, the U.S. has resettled over 3 million refugees, making it one of the leading countries for finding new homes for people fleeing violence, persecution, and war.

In 2021, then-President Donald Trump lowered the annual cap of refugees that could be admitted into the country to 15,000. Even as the Biden administration has raised the ceiling to 125,000, the annual number of refugees arriving in the U.S. didn't immediately bounce back to pre-Trump administration levels. The numbers are increasing though, with over 25,000 refugees arriving in the U.S. in the 2022 fiscal year, twice the 2021 total.

Refugee arrivals during the 2023 fiscal year dramatically outpaced the prior two years, reaching over 60,000 from October 2022 to September 2023.

In June 2024, the greatest number of refugees admitted by the U.S. came from Venezuela, Afghanistan, and Congo. Each nation faces a unique set of circumstances that can make their citizens unsafe if they stay in their home country.

In Venezuela, over 7.5 million people have left the country due to extreme inflation, violence, food and medicine scarcity, and other factors. Most have resettled in Latin American and Caribbean countries. Afghan refugees have been fleeing to neighboring countries for decades, especially to Pakistan and Iran, which combined host over 8 million Afghans. For the last three decades, Congo, also called the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been struggling with a series of civil wars and internal battles that have left millions of people displaced, both internally and externally, with many people fleeing to neighboring countries.

Stacker referenced data from the Refugee Processing Center to compile statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in Ohio in June 2024. Countries with only one refugee since October 2023 are not included.

June refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in June
To Ohio:
#1. Congo: 42
#2. Venezuela: 34
#3. Somalia: 25
#4. Sudan: 24
#5. Afghanistan: 16
#6. Syria: 11
#7. Iraq: 5
#8. Guatemala: 4
#9. Ethiopia: 2
#9. Honduras: 2
#11. Nepal: 1
#11. Senegal: 1

To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Venezuela: 1,163
#2. Afghanistan: 1,093
#3. Congo: 615
#4. Syria: 422
#5. Somalia: 403

States that accepted the most refugees in June:
#1. Texas: 619
#2. California: 370
#3. New York: 355
#4. Florida: 339
#5. Arizona: 243

Read on to see the countries that Ohio has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.

Central Ohio Weather and Radar QUICK WEATHER FORECAST:

• Today: Partly sunny, high 86
• Tonight: Mostly clear, low 63
• Sunday: Mainly sunny, high 87 (65)
• Monday: Clouds increasing, high 86 (69)
• Tuesday: Scattered storms, high 84 (69)
• Wednesday: Rain & thunderstorms, high 83 (68)

FORECAST DISCUSSION:

Portions of central Ohio have now entered a severe drought state. Other spots, including Columbus, are still in a moderate drought. This weekend we are not tracking any rain chances to alleviate this, but more rain is expected later in the new week.

Saturday will start off mostly clear thanks to a center of high pressure within the region. A few more clouds will build up at the day goes on. Temperatures will top off in the mid 80. This is about average for this time of the year. A nice northerly wind flow will keep drier air and lower humidity

Tonight skies will be mostly clear for the majority of the night. By the morning those skies will become partly cloudy. Temperatures will fall to the low 60s. A very quiet night weather wise is expected.

Tomorrow brings even more sunshine along with slightly warmer temperatures. Highs will reach the upper 80s. With dew points staying in the mid-upper 50s the lower humidity levels will make it feel fairly comfortable.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Party strategists discussed Biden's campaign after Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown joined a growing list of prominent Democrats calling on President Joe Biden to step aside.

Amid growing concerns about the president’s age and fitness for office, Brown said he came to the decision after talking with voters across the state over the last few weeks. He said Ohioans are concerned about issues like the fentanyl crisis, the economy, protecting social security and Medicare, and preventing a national abortion ban. 

NBC4 spoke with a Republican and Democratic strategist to get their reaction to this news. The presidential debate occurred three weeks ago, leaving questions around Brown's timing.

Verdict to come next week in gender-affirming care trial

“The polls have been showing and have been showing more and more that you've got a large number of people in the country, a large majority of the country now who don't feel that Joe Biden is up to being president for another four years. And I would subscribe to that,” Democratic strategist Dale Butland said. 

“Sherrod Brown thinks he's going to lose," Matt Dole, the Republican strategist, said. "Joe Biden is on a trajectory to lose the presidency, and he's going to take the Senate down with him and he's going to build a strong, larger majority in the House for Republicans. So he's so this is a politically expedient decision by Sherrod Brown."

Butland said President Biden’s situation is dire, which is why he said it’s important the Democratic Party choose a new candidate, especially because Senator Brown already has a tough road ahead of him. 

“If Donald Trump carries Ohio by anywhere close to the eight points that he carried this state by in the last two elections, that means Sherrod is going to have to swim upstream. He's going to have to get voters to split their tickets,” said Butland. 

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Meanwhile Dole said Biden is uniting the country because the majority of voters now agree that he is no longer fit to be president. 

“What's scary is politicians like Sherrod Brown are calling for him to not run for president when they should be calling for him to resign as president. If he cannot run for president, he should not have his finger on the button,” Dole said. 

As voters gear up to head to the polls, Dole said Brown made this announcement Friday because he’s worried about what will happen at the top of the ticket should Biden step down. He added that if the polls after the debate showed that Biden was still a strong candidate, this wouldn’t be a conversation.

“The Democrats are not having the conversation about Joe Biden's obvious cognitive decline, which is the only thing we should be discussing as it relates to Joe Biden in the presidential race," Dole said. "They're discussing, 'Can he win, and is he going to pull me and the U.S. Senate down with him?' That is the only calculation."

Butland said after listening to former President Trump’s speech last night at the Republican National Convention, Biden may not be the only one who’s showing some signs of age. He said there’s a chance the entire race would turn into chaos if a party has to find a replacement. 

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“If you replace someone at the top of the ticket, look, it is fraught with risk on the part of the Democrats. This is a situation that is without historical parallel," Butland said. "Never in American history has an incumbent president stepped down this late in the process. So you don't know exactly what's going to happen."

It is unclear if Brown calling on Biden to step aside could influence the president at all. Butland and Dole both said there’s only one person who can make that decision.

“I do believe that there is enormous pressure mounted on Biden that will cause him to leave," Butland said. "Not just Sherrod Brown, but polls are showing now that you have two-thirds of Democrats that want him to exit the race."

“He thinks he's had the most successful presidency, certainly in generations. And it will be very interesting to see, even with this pressure," Dole said. "Joe Biden holds the delegates, holds the process. And I'm not positive this gets him to step down, even with all the pressure from the senators.”

DELAWARE COUNTY, Ohio (WCMH) – Delaware County Emergency Medical Services (DCEMS) was recently recognized on the national level for how it cares for those suffering from heart attacks or strokes.

“I always say anybody can take somebody to the hospital or anybody can show up to a house, pick somebody up and take them to the hospital, but how you treat them and what you do is really what makes the difference," Jeff Fishel, Director of DCEMS, said.

The agency was recently recognized by the American Heart Association (AHA). It's now been recognized by the AHA for 10 years in a row. It's the eighth straight year the agency has been awarded the EMS Gold Achievement Award from the AHA's Mission Lifeline Program, according to the county, AHA's highest honor.

Ohio bill advanced to observe daylight saving time permanently

"For our staff, I like to think when they are receiving the call of chest pain or possible heart attack and somebody’s life is in their hands, they’re very comfortable, competent and confident in what they’re doing because they train so diligently on it," Fishel said. 

Having chest pain can be scary, and it's a common call DCEMS gets. The hope is always it's not something serious like a heart attack or stroke. When it is, DCEMS said they're ready.

“This is our bread and butter, cardiac care is what we do," Captain Glen Keating said. "We come in every day and we handle cardiac care and we handle all kinds of other patient care."

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Fishel was quick to point out the work which led to the recognition is a team effort between his agency, the 911 dispatchers, local fire departments and hospitals.

“We’re really really proud of what our staff does," he said. "We train really hard at this, we take this so so seriously, this is our job, and we want to make sure we provide the best possible care to the citizens and visitors of Delaware County."

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Dodge Skatepark in Franklinton is more than 7,600 miles away from the Olympic skatepark in Paris, but the two may be closer than you think. 

"I mean that's where I started skating,” said Bill Minadeo, a Westerville native who is now the Vice President of California Skateparks. “The local skate community just grew up around Dodge." 
 
Minadeo has been skating all his life, beginning here in central Ohio. He had no idea that a landscape architecture degree from Ohio State would eventually lead to skateboarding becoming his life.  

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"One day, a project came up that had a skatepark included in it,” Minadeo said, adding that he had to convince his bosses to let him take it on. They said it was something too small for them to jump on board with, but Minadeo could work on it as long as it didn’t interfere with his time.  

“It started really slowly, just with passion projects, and it kind of grew overtime,” he said smiling.
 
Minadeo has now designed some of the most competitive skateparks in the world, including the parks for the 2020 Tokyo Games where skateboarding made its Olympics debut.  

This year, he designed the park and street designs for the Paris Games.  

"We've done all the competitive events up to the Olympics so starting with Dubai this year and then through the Olympic qualifying series in Shanghai and Budapest,” he said. “There’s been a progression of design that goes through each of those different courses both in street and park that will ultimately lead up to the courses we've designed for Paris and the Olympics.” 

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So much of skateboarding is balance, and that’s not just for the athletes. Minadeo said as a designer, he has to balance making the courses challenging for the best skaters in the world while maintaining the excitement.  

“This is a continental competition so you have competitors from each different continent. You want every one of those competitors to perform their best which is one of the credos of the Olympics: everyone should have the opportunity to do their best,” Minadeo said.

Minadeo said the course is a surprise, but it includes a lot of familiar elements. He said this way skaters can put a creative spin on familiar course concepts.

"We try to incorporate a unique kind of iconic feature into each of the courses that’s a little bit different that you've got to focus on a little bit harder," he said.

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While these are no longer just passion projects for Minadeo, his passion remains. He said he wants to use his parks to grow the sport, even if -- like in Paris -- they are not permanent.

"We're building them in such a way that we are able to take them apart and reuse them and repurpose them for permanent parks in a different location in the Paris and the surrounding in the next year or so,” he said. “There's always a purpose for these parks. You use that to create drive to create more permanent parks." 
 
Minadeo's job has taken him to the forefront of the sport, but in the last year, it also brought him back to where it all began for him: Dodge Skatepark in Franklinton. 

"That was just a huge honor to work on renovating and bringing that park back to life and see what that has done to spark and create more parks in Columbus,” he said.

Although he said the design process and construction can be challenging and take a toll, in the end, it’s all about one thing.  

“The local kids who get to enjoy that space – it’s theirs,” he said. “These parks are yours. We are here a steward to put it down and get it built for you and then we’re gonna go do another one somewhere else but this is yours forever now, and you can turn this into your community and it can foster the growth of hundreds of other skaters throughout the years.” 

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Columbus police are on the lookout for a shooter in a robbery this month near the Ohio State University campus.

The robbery occurred at the University District's Gateway plaza in the 1500 block of North High Street just before 2 a.m. on July 7. One suspect, 18-year-old Skyler Steward, was arrested, with records showing he appeared in court Friday, while his unidentified accomplice fled the scene and has yet to be found. Steward was charged with multiple felonies, including two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of robbery and one count of felonious assault.

The victim reported waking up from his sleep at a table in the plaza to find his backpack had been taken. He observed two suspects running away and chased after the suspects. One turned toward him, brandished a gun, and shot him in the left foot.

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With the robbery taking place near Ohio State's campus, the robbery and shooting were captured on video. Steward was later arrested near the scene of the crime, around the 1300 block of North High Street, identified by the clothing seen in the footage. He admitted to participating in the robbery but said he was not the shooter, according to Columbus police.

A picture pulled from the camera footage showed the two accomplices, with the suspected shooter on the left:

Two suspects of a robbery and shooting at the 1500 block of North High Street were captured on video. The suspect on the left is still unidentified, while the suspect on the right has been arrested. (Courtesy Photo/Ohio State University)

Anyone with information on the alleged shooter is asked to contact Detective Jim Schiering at 614-645-3951 or at jschiering@columbuspolice.org, the Columbus Police Robbery Unit at 614-645-4665, or submit an anonymous tip to Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Sen. Sherrod Brown has called on President Joe Biden to step aside from the presidential race in November weeks before he's set to be certified on the ballot.

On Friday, Brown became the fourth Democrat in the U.S. Senate to call on Biden to drop out of the race and said he would not weigh in on the process to select a new nominee.

Judge to render verdict next week in Ohio gender-affirming care trial

Brown released the following statement:

"Over the last few weeks, I've heard from Ohioans on important issues, such as how to continue to grow jobs in our state, give law enforcement the resources to crack down on fentanyl, protect Social Security and Medicare from cuts, and prevent the ongoing efforts to impose a national abortion ban," Brown said. "These are the issues Ohioans care about and it is my job to keep fighting for them."

After hearing from his constituents on these issues, Brown came to the conclusion that Biden should no longer seek re-election in November.

“I agree with the many Ohioans who have reached out to me. At this critical time, our full attention must return to these important issues. I think the President should end his campaign."

The Brown campaign said he believes Biden should serve the rest of his term.

Bernie Moreno -- Brown's opponent in the November U.S. Senate race -- released a statement in response.

"If Joe Biden is unfit to run, he is unfit to serve," Moreno said. "I am formally calling on Joe Biden to resign the Presidency because his continued presence in the situation room is a national security threat. I hope Senator Brown will join me. Make no mistake, Brown was fully aware of Joe Biden's mental decline, covered it up, and used Biden as a vessel to pass the most liberal agenda in American history."

The decision from Brown comes days after Sen. JD Vance -- the other member of U.S. Senate in Ohio -- was selected by former President Donald Trump as his running mate. If Trump and Vance were to win in November, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine would pick his replacement.

The other three senators to call on Biden to step aside were Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana) Sen. Martin Heinrich Brown (D-New Mexico), and Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vermont).

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- On Friday both sides rested their cases in a trial about gender-affirming healthcare.

It was a five day live trial to determine whether House Bill 68 can take effect.

Hb68 contains both the “Saving Adolescents from Experimentation Act,” which bans minors for receiving gender-affirming care in Ohio, and the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” which bans transgender athletes from playing on teams that align with their gender identity.

Friday morning began with more testimony by witness brought forward by the defense.

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One of their witnesses was Chloe Cole, a de-transitioner who, after receiving gender-affirming medication and surgery in California as a teenager, decided it was not best for her. In direct questioning, the defense asked Cole why she thought it important to tell her story in Ohio, despite her care taking place across the country.

“I think it’s important that people know the truth of what these treatments do to young girls and boys, a perspective that I wish that I had when I was 13,” she said. “I think parents and families everywhere deserve to know about stories like mine.”

Throughout the week, the court also heard testimony from several doctors, brought by both sides of the case, and parents of transgender minors in the state brought by the plaintiffs.

Judge Michael Holbrook, who is presiding over the case, said the law will remain on pause until he issues his decision.

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“I don’t know which way I am going to go yet; I have some thoughts in my brain but that doesn’t mean a decision,” he said.

There were no live closing arguments in this case. Holbrook ordered both sides to submit their closing arguments in writing by Monday at 5 p.m. in no more than 20 pages. He will then give each side until Wednesday at 5 p.m. to submit a rebuttal in no more than 12 pages.

“I think at the end of the day, regardless of how we present our arguments to the court, the court's going to see that this is a major concern for Ohio families and the science is not in plaintiff's favor,” Deputy Attorney General Erik Clark, who is part of the defense, said.

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“We've shown that there are families in Ohio that need critical care for their transgender children. It's essential for their mental health," Legal Director for the ACLU of Ohio Freda Levenson, who is on behalf of the plaintiff, said. "And we've shown that the families would have to travel out of state or move out of state to obtain this critical care if HB68 comes into effect.”

Levenson said she believes they made a strong case, and while they partially have the burden of proof, so does the defense. Levenson said the Ohio Constitution is on their side, though that was not brought up much during the trial.

“I think everyone agrees that gender affirming care is health care. It's provided at all of the major children's hospitals across Ohio. We're very fortunate in Ohio that we have world class hospitals, and they are all providing it,” Levenson said. “So, this is health care. And under the Constitution, Ohioans have the right to health care.”

“What we've shown is we need to make sure that we're taking care of all Ohio kids and that we're going to fight for all Ohio kids,” Clark said. “And the facts to this this week have shown that we don't know nearly enough to be able to go forward with this kind of treatment at such a young age.”

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A global Microsoft outage brought the travel world to a halt on July 19 as an information technology glitch crashed systems everywhere.

CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity company behind the glitch, said this is not a cyber attack and that it has a solution.

Airlines felt the heat, but so did businesses and city governments. It was no different here in Columbus.

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According to a flight tracking site, around 4 p.m. on Friday, 90 flights had been delayed and 41 canceled at CMH.

While people waited hours in lines, people down at Columbus City Hall were also struggling with the outage. Columbus city websites frequently displayed an error message. It was like that for sites such as 311, Columbus' customer service center.

City website outages may not have effected too many citizens, but for others -- especially those hoping to get on a plane -- this outage had a larger impact.

"When I walked in this line was almost to the door. And since I've been here, it has been out the door," Kyra Haddad, who was flying out of CMH, said.

United and Delta Airlines had the longest lines outside security. 

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"I didn't even know about it until this morning when I saw that my plane was, like, canceled. It was delayed for 6 hours originally," Tara Shopp, who was trying to fly to Atlanta, said.

Both of those airlines and others, like American Airlines, have issued travel waivers to help people rebook. However, they said they still expect issues to continue as everyone works to get back on track.

"There's a lot of questions -- will the planes actually be taking off tomorrow?" Shopp said.

For some, the delays were hours; others saw their flights canceled.

Former OU student imprisoned for stealing $180K from fraternity

"My sister and her husband just had to pay $1,600 to get on a flight tonight," Maureen Rohkamm, who lives in Fort Lauderdale, said. 

One group, traveling internationally for a service trip, has three flights to worry about, but are still keeping things positive.

"We're just trying to be patient. Folks are doing their best. We'll get there," David Cady with Living Water International said.

The Columbus Regional Airport Authority said that its team is ready to help get the airlines and passengers moving once the issue is resolved.

To view previous coverage of the zoo fraud trial, watch the video player above.

DELAWARE, Ohio (WCMH) -- A fifth defendant in the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium fraud scandal was charged with theft Friday in an ongoing investigation into $2.3 million in stolen funds.

Grant Bell, a former purchasing assistant for the zoo and the son of former chief financial officer Greg Bell, was charged with the fifth-degree felony in Delaware County Common Pleas Court. According to a news release from Attorney General Dave Yost, Bell is the final defendant in the case.

Bell's charge was filed as part of a bill of information, which is a formal accusation of a crime. It serves the same function as an indictment by grand jury, Yost said. The bill of information alleged Bell was involved with between $1,000 and $7,000 of the total stolen funds.

Ohio bill advanced to observe daylight saving time permanently

This is the fewest number of charges anyone connected with the investigation has faced. Three of the other four defendants have already pleaded guilty, with just Tom Stalf, former zoo CEO facing 36 felony charges, awaiting trial. He is scheduled to appear in court starting Aug. 6.

Bell worked closely with Tracy Murnane, a former purchasing agent for the zoo who pleaded guilty to six felony charges and two misdemeanors, according to Yost. Greg Bell pleaded guilty to 14 felony charges. He agreed to repay the zoo $132,000 in a 2022 settlement agreement and Stalf $400,000.

No arraignment date is set yet for Grant Bell.

ATHENS, Ohio (WCMH) –  A former Ohio University student will spend the next five years in prison after being sentenced for theft and fraud.

According to the Athens County Prosecutor’s Office, Matthew Streeter, 29, a former OU student, pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated theft and telecommunications fraud, both third degree felonies.

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Court documents stated that between July 9, 2018 and November 4, 2022, Streeter, a former member and a volunteer treasurer for the Delta Upsilon Fraternity Alumni Housing Corporation, diverted the organization’s money for his own expenses. The prosecutor’s office said Streeter completed 182 unauthorized transactions over a four-year period.

The total amount of funds stolen was listed at $179,863.95.

Streeter, who faced up to six years in prison, asked the court to place him on a period of community control. A judge sentenced him to five years in prison and ordered to pay restitution in the full amount of money stolen.

View a previous report on the city's lead water service line replacement program in the video player above.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A Columbus program worth over $1 billion will identify and replace lead water service lines on public and private properties in the area, and the city has provided instructions on how to determine what type of water line you have.

Columbus' lead service line replacement program was put into a new chapter of city code on Monday, approved with a vote by Columbus City Council. The city introduced its pilot version of the plan in May, and this allows the Department of Public Utilities to create the official program. With the pilot planned to last through 2025, according to the water division, the larger program is hoped to start the same year.

Despite Columbus stopping the use of lead as an approved material in 1963, the city's water division said there are around 25,000 lead service lines still active, and another 12,500 galvanized downstream of lead, meaning they're considered lead-contaminated. This program -- which will cost approximately $1.2 billion -- is meant to find and replace those lines.

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“We treat the water really, really effectively,” Emilie Eskridge of the water division said in May. “Just because you have a lead service line, just because you have a galvanized service line, doesn’t mean there’s lead in your water. We do a really good job of effective treatment, but the existence is still there.”

To implement this part of city code, Columbus is declaring lead service lines in its water systems to be a public nuisance.

To catalog both public and private water lines contaminated with lead, Columbus is keeping a service line material inventory. Residents are asked to report their home water line material using this form. The city also provided three simple steps to identify what's in their service line using just a Flathead screwdriver, refrigerator magnet and a penny.

whatmaterialismyservicelineDownload

The Department of Public Utilities also has an interactive map that shows where there could be lead water service lines in Columbus. To learn more about the city's program to replace lines contaminated with lead, click here.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) - The Paris Olympics kick off with its opening ceremony July 26 at the Seine River and Trocadero. Live coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. on NBC4, and the ceremony is expected to last over three hours.

Along with coverage on NBC4, there are other ways to watch the summer games through streaming and movie theaters.

NBC4 will air the events, along with NBC's streaming service Peacock. The service will stream the Opening Ceremony, along with every event live for viewers. Those who are not a subscriber will need to pick a plan to watch on Peacock. Options including its monthly plan for $7.99 or an annual plan of $79.99 per year. For more information, click here.

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A fun and unique way for viewers to watch the games is at the movies. AMC Theaters is holding Olympic Watch Parties through Aug. 11. This is the first time the theater company is offering the experience.

The showings start with the Swimming Finals and U.S. Beach Volleyball on July 27 and will hold showings for Men's and Women's Basketball, Swimming, Gymnastics, Track and Field and more. The last showing will be the Closing Ceremonies on Aug. 11.

To find a local AMC theater with Olympic showings near you, click here.

DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) -- Vacant land in Dublin bordering a Columbus neighborhood could soon be home to a single-family development launched by one of central Ohio's most prominent builders.

A proposal by Schottenstein Homes calls for a development named "Miller Farms" to include 113 single-family homes on a 46.5-acre site located east of Cosgray Road and directly north of the Hayden Farms neighborhood in Columbus. If constructed, Miller Farms would also border a railroad to the west and connect to Hayden Farms, also a single-family development.

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A trail system would also weave through Hayden Farms and connect to various greenspaces within the development totaling about 14 acres, the proposal submitted to the Dublin Planning and Zoning Commission shows.

• Schottenstein Homes' proposal calls for "Miller Farms" to include 113 single-family homes on a 46.5-acre site. (Courtesy Photo/Dublin Planning and Zoning Commission)
• A rendering of the single-family homes proposed for Schottenstein Homes' "Miller Farms" development. (Courtesy Photo/Dublin Planning and Zoning Commission)

During a July 11 planning and zoning meeting to review the proposal, several Dublin commissioners said they support the idea of the development but would like to see tweaks made to the Miller Farms design. Commissioner Dan Garvin said his biggest concern was the proposed homes' lack of variation, while Commissioner Gary Alexander said the developers should rethink the proposal's front entrance.

"To me, the front of your property is not the corner, the front of your property is Tuttle Crossing," said Alexander. "Having units face the front yard and making that as a really elaborate landscape, I think, would enhance your design. But, generally, I'm supportive of what you've done."

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Commissioner Jamie Chinnock said, that while Dublin usually prefers multi-family housing, he supports implementing single-family homes on this site. Commissioner Kim Way celebrated the development's use of green space, noting that the neighborhood would be sandwiched between two of Dublin's "major arteries."

"This development has to very important edges, and I think the way that you have organized the open space along both of those sets up the development really well to create a really positive image," said Way.

Commissioner Rebecca Call, chair of the commission, echoed the previous commissioners' criticism and argued the development's layout is too similar to the Columbus neighborhood to the south.

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"[Dublin] doesn't typically seek to look like our Columbus neighbors," said Call. "This is as intense on its eastern edge as the southern area. Density, this is nowhere near like our southern borders. But the intensity is still there."

Schottenstein Homes will return to the commission for further review before granting approval. Then, Dublin's city council will also review the proposal before construction can begin.

An update from Columbus police is expected soon. Watch live in the player above.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – An Ohio Amber Alert has been issued for a missing child last seen in west Columbus.

Matthew Brown-Giamarco, 4, was last seen in the area of Wedgewood Drive and Eakin Road, near the Wedgewood Apartments in the Holly Hill neighborhood.

• Matthew Brown-Giamarco is considered an endangered missing child, July 19, 2024. (Courtesy/Columbus Division of Police)
• Columbus police investigating the disappearance of Matthew Brown-Giamarco, last seen in west Columbus. An Ohio Amber Alert was issued at 10 a.m., July 19, 2024. (NBC4/Anna Hoffman)

Brown-Giamarco is considered an endangered missing child, according to Sgt. James Fuqua of the Columbus Division of Police. He is approximately 2 feet 3 inches tall, 45 pounds and has brown hair with blue eyes.

The Amber Alert said that 24-year-old Sierra Brown and Tayson Hixon, 23, are suspects related to Brown-Biamarco's disappearance.

Detectives told NBC4 that the alert stems from domestic situation and they have reason to believe the boy is no longer safe. Brown is the child's mother, and Hixon is Brown's friend, according to detectives.

The initial alert was sent out by CPD just after 9 a.m. Fuqua said the outages with Microsoft and CrowdStrike prevented the state from issuing an Amber Alert for this child, but at 10 a.m., the statewide alert was officially issued.

Police urge that anyone with information on the child's disappearance to call 1-877-AMBER-OH or dial 911.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Ohio is among the top 10 states that sold the most guns in 2023, a new analysis shows. 

In the first four months of 2024, nearly 5.5 million firearms were sold nationwide, averaging almost 1.4 million each month. SafeHomes.org, a safety product review website, tracked gun sales using data from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System to discover which states sold the most firearms in 2023. 

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Ohio had the sixth-highest number of gun sales in the country at 583,314, according to the study. Population size largely influenced what states had the most gun sales. Ohio is the seventh most populated state in the country, according to the U.S. Census. 

The most populous states – Texas, Florida and California – had the highest total number of gun sales. Texas had 1,347,589 gun sales, Florida had 1,316,471 and California had 1,043,421. The completed top 10 includes Pennsylvania (841,523), Tennessee (633,015), Ohio (583,314), Virginia (581,698), Michigan (555,650), Missouri (520,488) and Illinois (405,452).

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However, when SafeHomes adjusted the data to account for population size, Ohio did not make the top 10. Ohio sold 668 guns per 10,000 residents aged 21 and older in 2023, ranking 32 out of 50 states. Montana sold the most guns per 10,000 residents at 1,586, followed by Wyoming (1,523), Alaska (1,514), Oregon (1,372) and Alabama (1,302).

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There was a slight decrease of 4% in overall firearm sales in the Buckeye state from 2022 to 2023, following a national trend.  After gun sales peaked during the pandemic in 2020, the country experienced a decline in the amount of guns purchased "correlating with reduced safety concerns," the analysis stated.

The District of Columbia (4,351), Nebraska (26,987), Rhode Island (28,555), Vermont (46,518) and Delaware (47,080) had the lowest total gun sales in 2023. When accounting for population sizes, the District of Columbia (84), Nebraska (191), New York (226), New Jersey (253) and Massachusetts (255) sold the least guns per 10,000 residents.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A building named after Franklin County's longest-serving sheriff will be demolished after the City of Columbus purchased it for $7 million for a new court building.

The James A. Karnes Building on the corner of High and Fulton streets is being purchased by the city to be made into a Franklin County Municipal Court building. On Monday, City Council approved the second of two $3.5 million packages to acquire the parcel from Franklin County.

Ohio bill advanced to observe daylight saving time permanently The James A. Karnes Building at 410 S. High St. will be demolished for a new municipal court building. (Courtesy Photo/Franklin County Auditor's Office)

Previously the Franklin County Annex Building, the building was later renamed in honor of Sheriff Jim Karnes, who died in 2011 just over a month after announcing he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Karnes' name will still live on at another building, with a $360 million correctional facility opened in 2022 also named after the former sheriff.

There are no plans for any immediate changes at the existing municipal court building across High Street.

No date has been set for demolition. Construction is supposed to enter its first phase in late 2025, with work lasting through early 2029.