Latest Ohio news, sports, business and entertainment

TERROR FUNDING PLOT

Ohio man gets over 6 years in terror funds case

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) A federal judge has sentenced an Ohio man to just over six years in prison after he and his wife pleaded guilty in a plot to ship money to a Mideast terrorist group.

Prosecutors say Hor Akl (A'-kuhl) of Toledo met with an FBI informant three years ago and began talking about ways to send money to Hezbollah, a Lebanese group the U.S. government considers a terrorist organization.

Akl's sentence handed down Monday includes 10 years of supervised release.

Prosecutors say Akl and his wife planned for a year how to send the money overseas. They were arrested after the informant provided the couple with $200,000 for the first shipment.

Akl's wife, Amera, (a-MEER'-ah) was sentenced to more than three years in prison nearly a year ago.

UNCLAIMED MILITARY REMAINS

Burial scheduled for remains of 10 Ohio veterans

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) A national group that buries unclaimed veterans' remains around the country is working with volunteers in Ohio to give 10 veterans from the state a final resting place.

Hundreds of people are expected to attend the Tuesday morning burial at Dayton National Cemetery for the veterans, whose remains were found in the basement of a Columbus funeral home last year.

The Ohio chapter of the Missing in America Project spent months planning the burial, which will include a 21-gun salute and military-issued grave markers for each veteran.

Members of the American Legion Riders will lead an early morning escort from Columbus to the cemetery, which is about 75 miles west of the capital.

OHIO CAMPAIGNS-PROBE

Mandel, Renacci donations subject of federal probe

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Federal officials have investigated questionable campaign contributions to two Ohio officeholders, Rep. James Renacci (reh-NAY'-see) and state treasurer and Senate candidate Josh Mandel (man-DEHL'), both Republicans.

Spokesmen for the two confirmed Monday they had been contacted by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Renacci's spokesman says questioning centered on direct-marketing magnate Benjamin Suarez. The (Toledo) Blade reported in August that Suarez and 16 employees and spouses from Canton-based Suarez Corporation Industries gave donations totaling $100,000 each to Renacci and Mandel.

Federal campaign finance law prohibits a donor from contributing in someone else's name. Corporations also are prohibited from awarding bonuses or other rewards to employees in exchange for political contributions. The company has said the employees gave freely and weren't compensated.

A message left Monday with Suarez's attorney was not immediately returned.

OHIO TURNPIKE COST-CUTTING

Ohio Turnpike to lower caps on management salaries

BEREA, Ohio (AP) The Ohio Turnpike says it will save $2 million next year by cutting management costs, including asking employees to contribute more to their health insurance.

The changes include higher employee contributions for health care, higher deductibles and fewer carry-over vacation and sick days.

Turnpike director Rick Hodges said Monday that the cost-cutting moves include merging the toll road's maintenance and engineering departments. He says that could lead to improved coordination and potentially fewer work zones.

The changes, effective Jan. 1, also include reduced salary caps for top managers.

The changes affect 310 field managers and staff members at the turnpike's headquarters in Berea (buh-REE'-uh), near Cleveland.

The turnpike has nearly 700 other employees, including toll collectors, who are covered by a union contract.

OHIO CASINOS-REGULATIONS

Ohio lawmakers to work on gambling bill compromise

COLUMUBS, Ohio (AP) A group of state lawmakers are slated to discuss and possibly vote Tuesday on a compromise to a wide-ranging bill that sorts out regulations for casinos, racetrack slots and other forms of gambling in Ohio.

State Rep. Lou Blessing, a Cincinnati Republican, had told a negotiating committee last week that more time was needed to iron out differences between House and Senate versions of the bill.

The two chambers differed on how to distribute casino taxes and taxes paid on money wagered at horse tracks. They also diverged over whether to legalize games of chance at festivals and how to pay for a study on gambling addiction.

Ohio voters in 2009 approved casinos in Cleveland, Toledo, Cincinnati and Columbus. The state's first casino in Cleveland opened last week.

OHIO AUDITOR-BIODIESEL COSTS

Auditor wants end to state's use of biodiesel fuel

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Ohio's auditor says state lawmakers should consider getting rid of a mandate the state agencies' vehicles use a blended biodiesel fuel, which he says is too costly.

Auditor Dave Yost's comments came after a performance audit of the Ohio Department of Transportation. He found that the mandate adds $800,000 to the agency's fuel bills each year.

Yost said in an interview that the mandate passed by the state Legislature in 2006 is not a good economic deal. Though, he acknowledged that lawmakers may want to keep it to promote alternative fuels and improve emissions.

The fuel consists of 20 percent soybean derived oil and 80 percent traditional diesel fuel.

Yost says the transportation agency should also stop using significantly more biodiesel fuel than is mandated by law.

EDUCATION-TRANSFORMING TEACHING

National conference in Ohio focuses on teachers

CINCINNATI (AP) Educators including the U.S. secretary of education, teacher union leaders and school administrators will focus on ways to transform the teaching profession in a conference this week with such targets as better recruiting, preparation and career development, and evaluations based on effectiveness.

Leaders at the Labor Management Conference are set to approve a seven-part plan aimed at upgrading teaching and schools to better equip students to compete in increasingly digital and global workplaces.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan will take part in the two-day conference that begins Wednesday in Cincinnati.

Among schools making presentations will be Cincinnati Public Schools. The financially-pressed urban district has shown some of Ohio's best student academic progress, behind initiatives for teacher evaluations focused on student achievement and more community education involvement.

LAWSUIT-GAY STUDENT

Court: Gay Ohio student may wear T-shirt to school

CINCINNATI (AP) A gay student who sued his Ohio high school for prohibiting him from wearing a T-shirt designed to urge tolerance of gays will be allowed to wear the shirt to school whenever he chooses.

A judgment agreed to by Maverick Couch and the Waynesville Local School District was entered Monday in federal court in Cincinnati. It allows the teenager to wear the "Jesus Is Not A Homophobe" T-shirt and says the district must pay $20,000 in damages and court costs.

The lawsuit alleged that the district northeast of Cincinnati had violated Couch's freedom of expression rights.

The district did not immediately return calls Monday seeking comment.

Couch said the shirt is a statement of pride and he hopes other students now know they can feel pride, too.

OHIO RACETRACK SLOTS

Central Ohio racetrack receives license for slots

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) The state's first license for new slots-like gambling machines has been issued to a central Ohio horse racing track.

The Ohio Lottery Commission on Monday said Scioto Downs outside of Columbus is the first to be licensed in the state as a video lottery retailer.

The track is slated to open its video lottery facility next month with 1,800 machines. It plans to add 400 terminals later this year.

The Chester, W.Va.-based MTR Gaming Group Inc. operates the track.

The video lottery terminals at Scioto Downs are estimated to generate about $3 million per month in revenue for the state.

All Ohio Lottery profits support K-12 education.

The state is expanding the use of slots-like video lottery terminals at Ohio's seven horse tracks.