Biden in Lordstown today, Obama coming to Cleveland Monday
Presidential campaigns will hone in on battleground Ohio this weekend, starting with a campaign rally near Youngstown today with Vice President Joe Biden. Biden will visit the United Auto Workers Local 1714, near the Lordstown GM plant.  Last week GM announced it was investing $220 million at its Lordstown and Parma factories to build the next generation Chevy Cruze. President Obama will speak in Monday at an event at Cleveland’s Luke Easter Park hosted by Warrensville Heights Democratic Congresswoman Marcia Fudge. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will return to Ohio on Saturday morning in Cincinnati.

Ohio cutting length of jobless benefits
The state of Ohio is cutting the length of time that jobless workers can get benefits. Starting in September, the maximum weeks of unemployment compensation will drop to 63. Currently, jobless workers can get up to 73 weeks of benefits. Before April, they could get up to 99 weeks. Falling unemployment has triggered the reduction. With Ohio's unemployment rate at 7.2 percent in July, the state no longer qualifies for as many weeks of emergency unemployment benefits.

Texting ban goes into effect today
The texting ban for Ohio drivers goes into effect today. But it will be six months before you can get a ticket for doing it. Police will issue only warnings for the next half year. Texting while driving will be a secondary offense for drivers 18 and older. That means an officer has to stop a driver for another offense first, such as speeding. But drivers under 18 are not allowed to text, use cellphones or other hand-held devices at all.

Contractor pleads guilty to role in Cuyahoga corruption
An electrical contractor has pleaded guilty to bribing former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora in exchange for contracts and favors. Michael Forlani pleaded guilty Thursday. He handed over a certified check for $900,000 as forfeiture for profits made and bribes gives.  Forlani faces up to eight years in prison when he's sentenced Dec. 6.

Sentence handed down in fraternity house murder
A Youngstown man has been sentenced to 92 years in prison for killing a Youngstown State University senior at a fraternity house party. 23-year old Columbus Jones Jr. was sentenced Thursday after a jury found him guilty. It’s been about a year and a half since 25-year old Jamail Johnson was gunned down at an off-campus party. 11 others were injured.

Amish woman: cutting parents' hair would help them get to Heaven
An Amish woman has testified that her siblings had been worried that their parents were drifting away from their religion and that she and brothers cut the hair of her parents to help them get to Heaven. During trial in Cleveland yesterday on the hate crimes charges against 16 Amish in eastern Ohio, the woman says they piled into a van and drove two hours last October to take her father's hair and beard and her mother's hair. Prosecutors say what happened amounted to hate crimes because they were motivated solely by religious disagreements.

Top legal minds back Voters First
A redistricting amendment on Ohio's fall ballot has the backing of some of Ohio's top lawyers and legal scholars. Voters First, the committee backing the November issue, released an open letter Thursday signed by a dozen Ohio lawyers, including a former state bar association president. Signers stand behind the amendment's legal framework, which the Ohio State Bar Association has opposed. The proposal would transfer control over Ohio's congressional and legislative maps from the state Legislature and Apportionment Board to a 12-member citizen commission.

Superintendent suing to keep her job amid attendance probe
A former district superintendent in southwestern Ohio and her son are suing to keep their jobs amid a state investigation into altered attendance records. Donna Hubbard, former superintendent of Lockland Schools, and her son allege the school board violated open-meetings laws last week when it voted to oust them. Board members insist that they only went behind closed doors to confer with their attorney, and that all discussion and the vote happened during the public portion. The district, just outside of Cincinnati, is being investigated for improperly listing students as withdrawn to improve its state report card numbers.