COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Attorneys for a condemned Ohio killer who shot two people to death in back-to-back robberies over two days asked the state parole board on Thursday to spare his life. A life sentence without parole is an appropriate alternative for death row inmate Gary Otte, who has matured and made efforts to better himself in prison, federal …

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A doctor and former university trustee pleaded guilty Monday to charges of tax evasion and running a pill mill in Columbus that served hundreds of patients a day, authorities said. Dr. Kevin Lake acknowledged knowing that doctors and staff at his Columbus medical clinic were prescribing painkillers without a legitimate medical purpose, according to the indictment …

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio teen accused of shooting a classmate in school expressed surprise his victim was still alive, apologized and then turned his shotgun around and asked the student to kill him, according to a police account of the attack released Wednesday. “You’re not dead!” the suspect said, after seeing that Logan Cole hadn’t been killed, according …

FOSTORIA, Ohio (AP) — Ohio police say an erratic, speeding driver who led an officer on a brief pursuit turned out to be a 10-year-old boy who took his parents’ car without permission and drove 11 miles to a nearby city to shop at a convenience store. WTOL-TV reports an officer tried to stop a driver who wasn’t using headlights …

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A fired Ohio State University marching band director has dropped all his legal claims against the university in exchange for it agreeing not to try to recover its costs from him, according to an announcement Wednesday. Jonathan Waters was fired in July 2014 when the university said he ignored a “sexualized culture” inside what’s known to …

CLEVELAND (AP) — The search for human remains from a plane that crashed into Lake Erie last month has ended, and DNA testing has identified three of the six people killed, an airport official said on Tuesday. “Due to conditions in the water, it is not likely we will be able to recover additional human remains from dives at this …

NEW FRANKLIN, Ohio (AP) — Police in northeast Ohio have no leads in solving a Friday the 13th mystery involving the dumping of several dismembered deer carcasses alongside a road. The Akron Beacon Journal reports the mutilated and disemboweled remains of at least three deer were discovered on the side of a road in New Franklin last Friday morning. Police …

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Gov. John Kasich said Thursday that he is creating a position for a chief innovation officer to pursue and oversee developments in emerging technologies, as he seeks to guide the state through a challenging budget cycle. The Republican governor announced the post in wide-ranging remarks to a gathering of Ohio business leaders. He was joined by …

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio advocates of the federal health care law targeted by President-elect Donald Trump and congressional Republicans said Wednesday that repeal would jeopardize insurance coverage for as many as 1 million Ohioans by 2019 and hurt families and businesses. Their warnings came as the state’s Democratic U.S.   senator and Republican governor expressed their own concerns at separate …

A seat pulled out of Lake Erie from a plane carrying six people when it vanished more than a week ago near Cleveland contained the remains of a male, officials said Tuesday. No other remains have been found in the search, but crews have pulled part of the fuselage, several seats, an engine and a wheel from the icy waters, …