Democrats’ rule bars unendorsed candidate from speaking

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A Democratic gubernatorial candidate is bristling over being barred from speaking during a party-sponsored political event.

Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice William O’Neill tells The Associated Press he was kept from addressing volunteers during Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH’-guh) County’s kickoff Sunday of the Ohio Democratic Party’s statewide coordinated campaign. He said two other statewide candidates spoke.

A party spokeswoman said only endorsed candidates are being allowed to speak at the regional kickoff events. The party hasn’t endorsed anyone in its contested governor’s primary.

O’Neill accused the party of “a rerun of Bernie 2016.” He referred to favoritism national Democrats showed Hillary Clinton over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the presidential race.

O’Neill was Ohio Democrats’ only statewide elected official until recently. He said that should have earned him the right to speak.

Cincinnati government turmoil: Mayor wants city manager out

CINCINNATI (AP) — Cincinnati’s city government is in turmoil after the mayor reportedly sought the city manager’s resignation.

Officials were returning Monday to City Hall after news reports Friday that Mayor John Cranley met with City Manager Harry Black and asked him to resign. Black declined to comment during a public event Saturday.

If Black refuses to resign, Cranley would need support from a majority of the nine-member council to fire Black. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports it is unclear whether Cranley would have the council votes to do that.

Black complained last week that “rogue elements” in the police department were trying to undermine him and Police Chief Eliot Isaac. An assistant police chief was forced to retire early but will receive some $400,000 in pay and benefits.

Black was hired in 2014.

Babysitter accused of abusing child who was left brain dead

HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) — A southwestern Ohio babysitter is accused of abusing a 3-year-old girl whose family says the child was left brain dead.

The Butler County Sheriff’s Office says 35-year-old Lindsay Partin was arrested Friday in Hamilton and jailed on assault and child-endangering charges. It wasn’t clear whether she had an attorney ahead of her anticipated arraignment on Monday.

The injured child, Hannah Wesche, was taken to a children’s hospital in Cincinnati. Authorities haven’t released details about her injuries or how she was hurt.

Hannah’s father, Jason Wesche, told WXIX-TV that doctors concluded the toddler was brain dead.

He tells WLWT-TV that he had been taking the girl to Partin’s Hanover Township home for months.

Authorities: Dead 4-year-old was burned, emaciated, bruised

EUCLID, Ohio (AP) — Authorities say an unresponsive, 4-year-old child pronounced dead at a suburban Cleveland hospital had burn marks and was emaciated and bruised.

WEWS-TV reports the child was taken Sunday afternoon from a Euclid (YOO’-klihd) apartment complex to a local hospital and was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Authorities didn’t immediately release further details about the child or how the injuries occurred. Fire officials say there was no fire at the apartment complex.

The death is under investigation.

Group urges Ohio school boards to push for safety funding

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio School Boards Association is asking districts to adopt a resolution that calls school violence “an epidemic” and advocates for the government to prioritize and better fund school safety efforts following the deadly shooting in Parkland, Florida, last month.

The draft resolution says that students and teachers shouldn’t have to fear injury or death at school, and that districts need help to prevent school violence.

School boards that pass the resolution would be urging state and federal lawmakers to better fund school safety measures, school employee training on responding to violence, and enhanced mental health services and substance abuse treatment. The resolution also would urge lawmakers, the governor and the president to balance the safety of students and teachers with citizens’ right to have firearms.

Money stolen from donation box for slain officers

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The manager of an Ohio restaurant says a woman stole money from a donation box intended to help the families of two slain officers and spent it on a nearby lottery machine.

The theft was reported at Average Joe’s Pub and Grill in Columbus Saturday. Employees say they had collected a few hundred dollars for Westerville police officers Anthony Morelli and Eric Joering, but the box ended up empty at closing.

Manager Briana Braver tells WSYX-TV surveillance footage captured the suspect pulling money out and spending it. A police investigation is ongoing.

Morelli and Joering were fatally shot after entering a Westerville home Feb. 10. Thirty-year-old Quentin Smith has been charged with aggravated murder in connection with their deaths.

Family files lawsuit over lost embryos at Ohio hospital

CLEVELAND (AP) — An Ohio family has filed a class action lawsuit against the hospital where officials estimate about 2,000 frozen eggs and embryos may have been damaged by a storage tank malfunction.

Amber and Elliott Ash, of Bay Village, say they had two embryos stored at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center’s suburban fertility clinic after Elliott’s cancer diagnosis in 2003. The couple has a 2-year-old son conceived through in-vitro fertilization, and hoped to bring him a genetic sibling.

The couple says their embryos are now no longer viable.

The hospital issued an apology after the unexplained malfunction caused temperatures inside the storage tank to rise. UH officials say the lawsuit will not affect an ongoing independent review into the malfunction.

The Ash family is seeking an undisclosed amount in damages.