Nearly 500,000 absentee ballot applications received
County boards of elections in Ohio have received an estimated 484,000 absentee ballot applications so far, as the state prepares for the fall election. Military and overseas ballots will be mailed beginning Saturday. Voters must mail the completed ballot applications by noon on Nov. 3. Officials in Franklin County, which is home to Columbus, say almost 78,000 voters have applied to the elections board to cast absentee ballots by mail. They say figures indicate demand is on pace to match the county's record level of absentee voting in 2008.

TB testing underway at Elyria school
Students and teachers at a Cleveland-area high school are being tested for tuberculosis as a precaution after someone affiliated with the school was diagnosed with the contagious bacterial infection. The skin tests at Elyria High School will be conducted today on a voluntary basis. The district says the person who was infected is receiving medical care and is expected to fully recover. Tuberculosis, or TB, is a treatable disease caused by bacteria and can be spread between people through the air.

Nearly 60% of Ohioans projected to be obese by 2030
Ohio will have nearly 60 percent of its population obese by 2030. That’s according to an annual report by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that projects each state’s obesity rate. It shows that over the next 20 years, 13 states in the US could have adult obesity rates higher than 60 percent.  Last year, nearly 30 percent of Ohioans were obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Chardon school shooting trial won't be moved
A court is holding off on a request to relocate the trial of the teenager who pleaded not guilty to fatally shooting three students and injuring others at Chardon high school. Attorneys for T.J. Lane asked a judge to move his trial from the grief-stricken community in Chardon. They argued a locally selected jury could be biased against Lane. Prosecutors contended such conclusions were premature. Court officials said Tuesday a Geauga County judge determined the court first must try to seat an unbiased jury but could later move the trial if needed. The decision came just ahead of Lane's 18th birthday today.

Third West Nile death in Ohio
An 80-year old man in southwest Ohio has died from complications of the West Nile virus, the third such death in the state this year. An 87-year old man in Cuyahoga County and a 76-year old man in Hamilton County also have died from complications related to the virus this year. In all, the state has recorded 79 human cases of West Nile this year in what officials are calling one of the worst summers for the mosquito-borne virus in the state and across the nation.

Jurors in Amish hate crime tiral to deliberate for fourth day
Jurors wrapped up a third day of deliberations without reaching a verdict in the trial of 16 people accused of hate crimes in hair- and beard-cutting attacks against their fellow Amish in Holmes County. Deliberations resume this morning in U.S. District Court in Cleveland. The members of a breakaway Amish settlement are accused of hate crimes.

Former judge will serve rest of Cuy. Co prosecutor term
Cuyahoga County’s executive has picked a former judge to replace a longtime prosecutor who's leaving the office at the end of the month. County Executive Ed FitzGerald picked Democrat Timothy McGinty to serve as acting prosecutor after Bill Mason leaves his post. Mason, who is not seeking re-election is leaving early to take a job with the Cleveland office of the law firm of Bricker & Eckler. McGinty faces Republican Edward Wade Jr. for the prosecutor's job in the November election.

No Asian Carp found in Sandusky River
Ohio, Michigan and national wildlife officials piled into boats looking for the voracious Asian Carp in western Lake Erie Tuesday. The crew with nets and electro shocking gear did not find any of the fish in the Sandusky River...that’s where DNA samples came back positive last year and this past August.

Execution drug supply stable
Records show that Ohio has enough of its execution drug to complete seven of its 10 scheduled lethal injections. The expiration of the supply of pentobarbital in September 2013 will force the state to either find a different version of pentobarbital or switch to another drug altogether. The drug's manufacturer now prohibits its sale for use in executions, but Ohio and other states stockpiled supplies before that went into effect. A prisons agency spokeswoman says the department will be working with state pharmacists and the attorney general's office to address the issue. The next scheduled execution is Thursday for Donald Palmer.