University seeks to take over operations of Catholic college

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Bowling Green State University and Mercy Health have announced plans for the university to take over operations of Mercy College of Ohio.

Officials recently released the plans in a letter of intent they say is the first step in a process to put the public university in Bowling Green in control of the 100-year-old Catholic college, its students and faculty. Mercy Health sponsors the college.

Mercy Health and Bowling Green State University officials say the move is intended to increase educational opportunities in nursing and related programs in the area. The proposal requires state and federal approval.

Neither Bowling Green nor Mercy Health has disclosed the cost of the takeover of the college.

BGSU President Rodney Rogers says Mercy College faculty and staff shouldn’t worry about adverse effects.

Supreme Court to decide if sentence in child death too long

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court will consider whether the sentence given to an Ohio couple convicted of failing to obtain medical care for their special-needs daughter who died is too long.

Cleveland.com reports the court agreed this week to hear an appeal filed by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office after a local appellate court vacated the 10-year sentences of 46-year-old Randy Jones and 49-year-old Carissa Jones. They were convicted in 2015 of involuntary manslaughter and child endangering in 12-year-old Tia Jones’ death.

Doctors said Tia died in 2013 after an abscess on her ankle became gangrenous, causing a staph infection that led to pneumonia. She weighed 64 pounds (29 kilograms) when she died.

The 8th District Court of Appeals said the couple did what they thought best in caring for her.

Missing Ohio woman’s remains identified, boyfriend charged

AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Authorities say remains found in a shallow grave in the backyard of an Ohio home are those of a missing woman and that her boyfriend has been charged with murder.

Akron police spokesman Lt Rick Edwards said Saturday the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the remains as those of 53-year-old Martha Freitag. They were found with the help of an anthropology team from Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Edwards says Freitag’s daughter reported her missing Sept. 5 after not being able to reach her since late July.

The Medical Examiner’s Office hasn’t determined yet how Freitag died.

Edwards says 52-year-old David Callaghan has been charged in Akron Municipal Court with murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.

Court records don’t indicate whether Callaghan has an attorney.

Police: Teen arrested in flare gun shootings

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Police in Ohio say a 17-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with two flare gun shootings that injured two people.

The Toledo Police Department announced the arrest on its Facebook page and Twitter account Friday evening but provided no additional details.

Both victims were shot in the face.

The first shooting happened Sunday. A 36-year-old woman said six young men jumped into her car at a gas station. She drove herself to a hospital where she was treated for severe burns.

Police say the second shooting occurred in a different Toledo neighborhood Tuesday. A 16-year-old boy told officers he was walking along a street when two young men approached and one of them shot him with a flare gun.

Stormy Daniels’ attorney to visit Cincinnati area

CINCINNATI (AP) — Michael Avenatti, the lawyer representing adult film actress Stormy Daniels, is coming to the Cincinnati area.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports Avenatti will stop to speak at the Hamilton County Democrats fall fundraiser Oct. 5 in Evendale.

Avenatti has made previous stops across the country as part of his potential bid for president as a Democrat in 2020.

He joins several other potential candidates who have made or will make stops in the area this year, including former Vice President Joe Biden and California Sen. Kamala Harris, who are both Democrats.

Avenatti is representing Daniels as she sues to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement she signed days before the 2016 election.

She claims she had an affair with President Donald Trump in 2006, which the Republican president denies.