CDC to help Ohio deal with deadly twist to heroin epidemic 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are helping Ohio find solutions to a wave of overdose deaths caused by a powerful painkiller mixed with heroin. CDC doctors plan to arrive in the state Monday at the request of the Department of Health and could be in Ohio for several weeks. The painkiller, fentanyl, is 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin. Ohio experienced 502 fentanyl-related deaths last year, up from 84 the year before. The CDC will compare victims of fentanyl overdoses with people who died from painkillers and heroin and figure out what puts people at risk for fentanyl overdoses and how to prevent them. The CDC plans visits to health centers in Cuyahoga, Hamilton and Montgomery counties and the city of Portsmouth.

Ohio awards $34 million in post-prison program grants
Ohio's prisons department has announced $34 million in grants to local probation departments and courts. The grants will pay for community alternatives to prison, such as substance abuse treatment programs and electronic monitoring, in the hope of reducing crime and keeping low-level, nonviolent offenders out of prison. The grants announced Thursday were authorized under a 2011 law meant to reduce the prison population by rethinking sentences for lesser offenders and ensuring newly released inmates don't end up behind bars again. Gary Mohr, director of the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, says treatment in the community is more effective and less costly compared with the same treatment in prison. Ohio prisons hold about 50,000 inmates and are about 130 percent over capacity.

Man accused of intimidation outside mosque pleads not guilty
An Ohio man accused of making intimidating comments outside a suburban Cleveland mosque has pleaded not guilty to new charges. Parma police said 52-year-old James Remington stopped his car outside the mosque on the morning of Sept. 24 while people were gathering. They said Remington engaged a mosque official who was helping direct traffic and began calling worshippers child molesters and terrorists. The mosque official said Remington reached for something under the passenger seat before driving away. Police said they found a machete after arresting him. Northeast Ohio Media Group reports the Parma man was initially charged with aggravated menacing and ethic intimidation. A grand jury indicted Remington Oct. 7 on those charges, but added breaking and entering and carrying concealed weapons.

New Ohio bill would punish sex offenders who fail to report Internet info
A proposed bill would punish Ohio sex offenders who fail to report Internet-related information such as email addresses when registering with authorities. The bill is meant to correct a loophole in current law that makes the shielding of email addresses or social media accounts by sex offenders illegal but doesn't include a punishment. The proposal would make recklessly failing to include such information subject to the same punishments covering address notification violations. The punishments vary according to the seriousness of the original charge. The bill is sponsored by Republican state Rep. Troy Balderson, of Zanesville. It was approved Wednesday by the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. The Ohio Public Defender's Office says the bill is redundant and such violations can still be punished under current law.

Thousands of spiders infest Main Street bridge in Columbus
The Main Street bridge in Ohio's capital might appear to be decked out for Halloween, but officials say the extensive webs spotted by motorists at night are real. The Columbus Dispatch reports the $60 million bridge connecting downtown Columbus and Franklinton is infested with thousands of web-spinning spiders of different varieties. Ohio State University professor David Shetlar specializes in urban landscape entomology and estimates the bridge has 5,000 to 10,000 spiders. Ohio Division of Wildlife naturalist Jim McCormac says that's evidence of good health for the Scioto River under the span. A $35.5 million project narrowed the river for the creation of a 33-acre park with 800 trees and 75,000 plants. McCormac says that allows for more insects in the area, and the spiders followed their food.

Appeals court rules in favor of therapy dog from Ohio trial
An Ohio appeals court has rejected an inmate's claim that the jury in his trial was influenced by a county-employed therapy dog used to calm a testifying young victim. The Akron Beacon Journal reports the ruling on Michael Jacobs' complaint to the 9th District Court of Appeals is considered important in Ohio because it was the first time a state appellate court heard a case challenging the use of therapy dogs during trial. Jacobs argued the a Labrador-golden retriever mix was a distraction in the Summit County courtroom. Prosecutors contended that the dog was out of the view of jurors as it sat by the child's feet. Jacobs was convicted in 2014 of having sex with a minor and providing drugs to another. He's serving a four-year prison sentence.

Court denies 3rd appeal by man convicted of rape, kidnapping 
A court has rejected the third appeal by a New York doctor who was convicted five years ago of rape, kidnapping and burglary charges in Ohio. Charles Nguyen was found guilty of the first-degree felony charges by an Athens County Jury in August 2010. He is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence. Prosecutors said Nguyen met the victim online and visited her in 2009. They said he bound the woman's wrists with rope, sexually assaulted her and threatened to kill her nephew if she didn't comply. The Athens Messenger reports Nguyen first appealed in 2010, claiming his attorney hadn't given him sufficient counsel. He appealed again in 2012. The Fourth District Court of Appeals on Wednesday affirmed Nyugen's convictions, rejecting his claim that his sentence was inappropriate.