Three days of in-person voting restored
Ohio's election chief has set hours for the final three days of early voting following a lengthy court battle. Secretary of State Jon Husted on Tuesday directed the state's 88 county boards of elections to be open the Saturday, Sunday and Monday before Election Day. The move came an hour after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Husted's appeal of lower court rulings reinstating in-person early voting on those days. The Obama campaign and Democrats had sued Husted over part of Ohio's law that cuts off early voting for most residents on the Friday evening before a Tuesday election.

Three indicted on voter fraud charges
A central Ohio grand jury has indicted three people for allegedly voting more than once in past elections.   All allegedly tried to vote twice by absentee ballot in the 2010 general election and in the 2008 primary. Illegal voting is a 4th-degree felony, punishable by up to 18 months in prison. The three cases were referred to the Franklin County prosecutor's office by a vote of the county board of elections in Columbus. 

Kent State, UA announce three-year degree programs
Two northeastern Ohio universities have announced a series of three-year degree programs to comply with a new state law. The Beacon Journal reports Kent State University selected 22 programs for a three-year degree, while the University of Akron announced three-year options for 30 programs. An Ohio budget bill required all public universities to provide three-year plans for 10 percent of their bachelor's degree programs by Tuesday, and 60 percent by 2014. Three-year options at Akron include business administration, applied math and English. Kent's offerings include aeronautics, communication studies and computer information systems.

Fourth menigitis case confirmed in Ohio
Four meningitis cases in north-central Ohio’s Marion County have been linked to recalled steroid injections and a deadly outbreak, giving the state  a total of seven cases. State health officials say the people sickened in Marion County are between the ages of 45 and 55. Earlier cases involved residents in Hamilton, Crawford and Morrow counties. Four clinics received the injections from a Massachusetts company used for back pain. The outbreak of rare fungal meningitis has killed 15 people nationwide. 

Last of closed Cleveland churches sets reopen date
The last of 11 churches closed by the Cleveland Catholic Diocese and later spared by the Vatican is planning its reopening. Cleveland's St. Emeric will likely reopen the first Sunday in November with its former priest. Emeric’s was among about a dozen churches that appealed Bishop Richard Lennon’s downsizing plan that resulted in closing or merging about 50 parishes.  

Craigslist murder trial continues 
The prosecution is expected to wrap up its testimony this week in the trial of a Summit County teen charged in a deadly Craigslist robbery scheme. Seventeen-year old Brogan Rafferty of Stow is suspected of helping Richard Beasley of Akron lure victims with bogus job offers. Three men were killed last year in Noble and Summit counties. Prosecutors are expected to play a videotaped statement of Rafferty’s interview with law enforcement, given days after his arrest last November that spells out the plot and Rafferty’s role. His attorneys are expected to argue their client was coerced by investigators.

Plea deal in the works for businessman in credit union loan scheme
A Northeast Ohio businessman is negotiating a plea deal in a scheme that led to one of the largest credit union failures in U.S. history. A trial set to start November 5 for Eddy Zai of Pepper Pike has been cancelled as lawyers and prosecutors try to come to terms. Zai is charged with 34 counts related to more than $16 million in unpaid loans through the St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit Union in Eastlake. He was one of 21 people charged in the loan scheme that led to the 2010 credit union collapse.

Ryan, Obama at Ohio colleges today
The presidential campaign is going back to school in Ohio, stepping up competition for college voters in the swing state. President Barack Obama heads today to Ohio University in Athens, while Mitt Romney's GOP running mate Paul Ryan has a rally earlier at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea. Mr. Obama has been to four Ohio colleges in less than a month. Romney and Ryan also have recently visited several Ohio campuses. 

Former school district IT director accused of stealing $4 million 
A former information technology director is accused of stealing more than $4 million from a suburban Cleveland school district over four years. A state audit found former Cuyahoga Heights district IT director Joseph Palazzo authorized the millions of dollars in dummy payments to vendors run by relatives and friends. Palazzo resigned last year.