face masks

Today is Election Day, and there are some high-profile races on the ballot in Ohio; Akron-based FirstEnergy has agreed to refund customers of its three Ohio electric companies $306 million for collecting significantly excessive profits over a three-year period; unionized teachers in Akron are responding to an uptick in student violence and other disruptive behavior; and more stories.

Cleveland Clinic has filed a federal lawsuit claiming it’s among hospitals that received shipments of fake N-95 masks; proposed legislation in Ohio would prohibit children under 18 from getting some medical treatments for gender transitioning; FirstEnergy successor Energy Harbor has begun a hydrogen fuel project at its Davis-Besse nuclear plant in Northwest Ohio; and more stories.

The masking requirement is now set to expire Oct. 29, when the school board will review the policy and decide whether to extend it again.

And sometimes school board members are being threatened over what people think they are teaching.

The Ohio Department of Health reports the number of cases now rivals last winter's surge.

Earlier in the pandemic, older Ohioans were most at risk. But pediatricians say the Delta variant means more children are coming down ill with COVID these days.

While some school districts have moved to requiring masks, others have had to close schools because of ill workers.

But state leaders say they are not taking action to curtail off-label use of the drug ivermectin for now.

This decision comes after the FDA granted full approval to Pfizer's vaccine earlier this week.

Northeast Ohio students start returning to school this week, just as the delta variant has turned the state into a COVID-19 hotspot. Whether students will be required to wear masks in the classroom depends on which district they attend.