Jim Letizia

A safety program aimed at reducing the number of minority children who die in car crashes is doubling its reach. The "Buckle Up for Life" program is now being offered in several additional U.S. cities. Its message is delivered in churches, which play a central role in the lives of many minority families. More information is available on-line at BuckleUpForLife-dot-org. Doctor Rebeccah Brown of Cincinnati Children's Hospital says traffic deaths among minorities are high. 

The foreclosure listing service Realtytrac says more U.S. homes started on the foreclosure path in July, as lenders tackled a backlog of unpaid mortgages as they pulled back on repossessions. The number of homes receiving an initial notice of default rose 6 percent last month compared to July of last year. Realtytrac says one in every 528 housing units in Ohio received an initial notice in July, the eighth highest figure among the 50 states. Akron is ranked 13th among Metropolitan areas in foreclosure activity.

The Labor Department says the number of applications for unemployment insurance benefits in Ohio fell last week by more than 18-hundred. Nationally, claims fell by 6-thousand to a seasonally adjusted 361-thousand. The Department says fluctuations in the figures last month caused by temporary summertime layoffs in the auto industry have faded. The Department says applications must fall consistently below 375-thousand to lower the unemployment rate. 

Livestock farmers and ranchers seeing their feed costs soar because of the worst drought in decades are demanding The U.S. EPA waive production requirements for corn-based ethanol. The agency sees no need for a waiver, siding with corn growers in the presidential battleground states of Ohio and Iowa who continue to support the requirement. The livestock industry says supplies are precarious, and the large share of the corn crop going to ethanol production is driving up prices.

The Ohio State Alumni Association says fewer current and former students  purchased football tickets for the second consecutive year. 52-hundred fewer alumni and 22-hundred fewer students than last year applied to buy single-game tickets for the upcoming season as compared with this time a year ago, when purchases also declined. Spokesperson Jay Hansen says the economy is mostly to blame, and there are more total tickets available this year because the Buckeyes are playing eight home games instead of the more-typical seven. 

State Wildlife experts from Ohio and Michigan and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service say three-day sweep of western Lake Erie turned up no trace of the Asian carp. Officials used boats to net and stun fish at 58 sampling sites in the Maumee and Sandusky bays. The sweep was triggered by tests last month that detected the DNA of two species in the bays. Authorities from federal and state governments have spent more than 100 million dollars on efforts to keep the carp out of the Great Lakes, in order to protect the multi-billion dollar fishing industry. 

The physician for a 14-year-old Dayton girl who had cerebral palsy and died of starvation pleaded not guilty Wednesday to her alleged role in the child's death last year. 50-year-old Margaret Edwards is due back in court on August 28th to face charges of failing to report abuse or neglect in the death of Makayla Norman. Prosecutors say Edwards failed to report the girl's starvation death at the hands of her mother and home caregivers, who have also been charged. 

Westerville police have charged two teens with breaking into 10 parked and unlocked vehicles over the last month. 18-year-old Diamond Phillips and an unnamed 17-year-old told officers they were drinking and needed some money.  Police say they stole GPS devices.  

Dublin-based Wendy's reports a second quarter loss of 5-point-5 million dollars, due to costs of refinancing debt. That compares with a profit of 11.3 million a year ago. The company says says sales at restaurants open at least 15 months rose 3.2 percent for the quarter.  

Ohio State's Katie Bell finished ninth out of 26 divers yesterday in the ten-meter platform competition at the Olympics, advancing to the semifinals. The Clintonville resident needed excellent scores on her last three dives of the preliminaries to move on after a shaky start. 

Chrysler has announced it will put its Jeep plant in Toledo on hiatus next week as it prepares to start production of a new SUV next year. The company says Production of the new vehicle will create more than one-thousand new jobs. 

A former Mentor Police officer and former Lake County Sheriff's deputy will serve 16 years in prison in the slaying of his wife - whose body was found wrapped in plastic inside a sleeping bag at their home last fall. 58-year-old Gary Stroud was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty last month to charges of beating and killing his 53-year-old wife, Diane. Stroud told the judge yesterday that at the time, he was recovering from a head injury due to a stroke. 

Former Ohio State linebacker Storm Klein is asking a judge to dismiss the  domestic violence and assault charges filed against him, claiming the alleged victim recanted her story of a wild brawl last month. Klein was dismissed from the football team after he was charged. 

A Democratic State Representative is under investigation for his possible role in a bribery scheme. The "Dayton Daily News" reports Clayton Luckie could be linked to former Columbus-area Representative and former Columbus School Board member Carlton Weddington, who resigned from the Legislature earlier this year for accepting bribes. There's no word yet if or when charges will be filed.  

The Columbus Crew will honor the late midfielder Kirk Urso before Saturday's home match. A floral wreath bearing his image will be on the plaza in front of the stadium, and a video tribute will play on the scoreboard before the match. Players and coaches will wear an armband with Urso's number during the match, and a commemorative patch for the remainder of the season. The Franklin County Coroner is awaiting toxicology test results before determining the official cause of death. Urso died early Sunday after collapsing at a downtown bar. 

Franklin County Sheriff's deputies say a 15-year-old boy was killed late Wednesday and four other teens injured when their car crashed in Brown Township. Deputies identify the deceased as David Phillips III. The driver, 16-year-old Trent Burchett and three other passengers - 16-year-old Joshua Jaccaud, 14-year-old Ian Latorrie and 15-year-old Alex Stemple - are hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. Deputies say Burchett lost control, went off of Amity Road, hit a fence and rolled over. The teens were members of the Hilliard Bradley High School marching band.

Columbus Police say someone broke into three homes overnight on the West side, bringing to 16 the number of similar break-ins on the Hilltop or in Franklinton over the last nine months. In each case, police say a man either stands over or touches women as they sleep. Police say the latest break-ins happened at homes on Wrexham, South Highland, and South Eureka Avenues. Police have dubbed the suspect the "Hilltop Creeper." 

The Akron man accused of shooting his wife in her hospital bed Saturday night has been charged with aggravated murder. 66-year-old John Wise appeared in court judge today on the new charge. He's due back in court later this month. Prosecutors decided to upgrade an attempted murder charge after an autopsy showed 65-year-old Barbara Wise died late Sunday from a gunshot wound. The Summit County Coroner has ruled her death  a homicide. Police say it may have been a mercy killing. Defense attorney Paul Adamson says his client acted out of "deep love" but did not elaborate. 

The NCAA has publicly reprimanded University of Cincinnati men's basketball coach Mick Cronin for using bad language after the Bearcats' tournament loss to Ohio State. The Division I basketball committee found Cronin used "profane and abusive language" toward a game official. The organization says Cronin had earlier appealed the reprimand, but an administrative committee upheld it after reviewing records. Cronin has yet to comment. 

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney spoke at a morning rally in Des Moines, Iowa after raising nearly two-million dollars at a fundraiser last night. And Romney is attempting to appeal to young people, a block that voted solidly in favor of President Obama four years ago. Republican U.S. Senator Rob Portman of Ohio is appearing in Iowa today as a Romney campaign surrogate. Portman is among the contenders to become Romney's running mate.