Associated Press

The U.S Department of Agriculture is projecting the drought will increase food prices by 3 to 4 percent next year. Beef prices are expected to see the largest increase at 4 to 5 percent. Dairy prices are expected to climb by 3.5 to 4.5 percent. And poultry prices are expected to rise by 3 to 4 percent. Meat and poultry are the most affected because feed prices represent the biggest part of the cost of production. Processed food prices are less affected but corn, soybean and other commodity prices are soaring. 

Prosecutors in Pataskala say a local woman will not be charged for a cougar attack that left a Licking County caseworker missing part of her finger. Evelyn Shaw's cougar bit 51-year-old caseworker Cindy Robson in late June as she was evaluating the home for Shaw's two nieces. The animal remains at Shaw's home. Police say it appears Shaw did not act illegally and new state exotic animal regulations take effect in the fall. 

A new report by Common Cause, the Rutgers Law School and the Verified Voting Foundation shows Ohio and 23 other states are using voting systems for overseas and military voters that could be vulnerable to hackers. Those states let overseas voters return their ballots using the Internet, email or fax, which could fall victim to cyberattacks. The report also shows that polling places in Ohio and 15 other states use paperless machines, so there's no paper record in case of a recount. 

State schools superintendent Stan Heffner says the investigation of student attendance data fixing in the Columbus and Toledo districts could lead to fraud charges against educators involved. Heffner says the data questions and a focus on improving student test scores have created an overemphasis on state report cards for districts. Meanwhile the Ohio Department of Education says the Lockland school district filed false attendance data for 36 students during the 2010-2011 school year in an effort to improve its state report card.

The mother of an unarmed African-American teen shot and killed by a white neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida says she is mentally prepared to handle whatever verdict or sentence is handed down.  Sybrina Fulton made the statement to reporters Wednesday after she and the teen's father, Tracy Martin, addressed a town hall meeting on violence and racial healing in Cincinnati. The February shooting of their son, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, led to nationwide protests over race and self-defense laws after police failed to arrest shooter George Zimmerman for more than a month. 

The Ohio Supreme Court won't reconsider its ruling declaring Ohio's smoking ban constitutional. The high court today denied a request by a Columbus tavern owner to revisit the May decision on the ban.

One of five men charged with plotting to bomb a highway bridge in Ohio has pleaded guilty and will testify against his co-defendants. The plea by 35-year-old Anthony Hayne came today in federal court in Akron.

The first of eight courts-martial against the U.S. soldiers charged with the racial hazing that led to the suicide of a fellow recruit in Afghanistan began today. U.S. Army Sergeant Adam Holcomb of Youngstown is one of the eight soldiers charged in the death of 19-year-old Private Danny Chen of New York City. The Pentagon says Chen shot himself last year after weeks of physical and emotional taunting that was based on his Chinese-American ethnicity. Holcomb faces nearly 18 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Manhattan City Council Member Margaret Chin is hoping for justice.

A federal judge has ruled there is insufficient reason to move the trial of five men charged with plotting to bomb a bridge over the Cuayhoga Valley National Park. The judge delayed issuing a final ruling Monday, saying it's possible evidence of bias will emerge during jury selection. The suspects have pleaded not guilty and are to be tried in September. They allegedly were working with an FBI informant who provided a what turned out to be a dud explosive.

Ohio republican Congressman Jim Renacci (reh-NAY'-see) has returned 100-thousand dollars in campaign contributions amid an FBI inquiry into their source. The FBI has previously questioned employees of Canton-based Suarez Industries about combined donations to Renacci and republican State Treasurer and U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mandel, who returned 105-thousand dollars in contributions in May. The FBI was seeking donor records for retail marketing executive Benjamin Suarez, his family members and employees of either the congressman or Mandel. 

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine says hundreds of pounds of prescription drugs  were collected over the weekend in Scioto County, an area hit hard by drug overdose deaths. Collection sites at grocery stores in Portsmouth and Wheelersburg gathered a total of 318 pounds of prescription drugs from residents for disposal.  Dozens of county residents have died over the past decade from overdoses attributed to painkillers and many more have been treated for addiction.  

The Ohio man who survived last week's shootings at a Colorado movie theater told reporters Monday he initially thought the attack was special effects. Jim Letizia reports. 

Akron Police say one person is dead and two others were wounded after a shooting at a restaurant last night. Police say someone began shooting from outside of the Al Sanders Casual Dining Restaurant after that person was refused entry. Police have yet to release any other information. 

Louise Nippert, co-owner of the Cincinnati Reds during the Big Red Machine era, died Monday at the age of 100 following a brief illness. Nippert and her husband Louis purchased majority control of the Reds in 1973. Louis Nippert passed away in 1992. 

Family attorney Rob Scott of Dayton says 27-year-old Matthew McQuinn was killed after diving in front of his girlfriend and her older brother amid the gunfire.

The Department of Defense says a soldier from the 20th Engineer Battalion has died in Afghanistan. Military officials say 24-year-old Pfc. Jeffrey L. Rice of Troy, Ohio, died July 19 in Kandahar.

A teenager from Forest, Ohio and the daughter of St. Paris Fire Chief Scott Massie were among the dozens of people injured in the shooting at the Colorado movie theater where 12 people were killed this morning. Family members say Gage Hankins and Samanta Yowler are expected to recover. 

Ohio's unemployment rate fell by one-tenth of one percent from May to June, the 11th consecutive monthly decline. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services says the seasonally adjusted rate is now 7.2 percent, the lowest since September 2008.

The First Ohio District Court of Appeals has upheld a Hamilton County court ruling striking down a Cincinnati law prohibiting municipal employees from living outside the state. The appeals court says the ordinance conflicts with state law. The state law upheld by the Ohio Supreme Court in 2009 says employees of political subdivisions in the state have the right to reside any place they desire. But local governments are allowed to require certain employees to live no farther away than adjacent counties to ensure adequate response times toemergencies or disasters. 

Columbus police have now identified the man killed by an officer Tuesday at an apartment complex on the North side. Police say 21-year-old Destin Thomas was killed by officer William Kaufman after Thomas ran outside of the building. Police initially thought Thomas might have been shot inside of his apartment during a robbery attempt. Four Columbus police officers have fired on people in the last four days.