COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The Ohio Department of Health on Thursday reported 16,719 new COVID-19 cases, maintaining a nearly-doubled case count compared to last month. The heightened case rate carrying through the middle of December is still a smaller case rate than the last two years' holiday seasons. ODH's latest coronavirus report was a bump [...]
DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, Fla. (WCMH) - A traffic stop on a Florida highway ended with children missing from Ohio found and two people arrested, according to an area sheriff's office. The Florida Highway Patrol called the Walton County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday about an Ohio couple involved in a parental kidnapping. A mother, 27-year-old Ashley Nicole [...]
CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) – The Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a crash that involved a prison transport from Wyandot County. The crash occurred just before noon Thursday on State Route 56 near its intersection with State Route 104 in Jackson Township. Officials said the scene was still active as of 1:45 p.m. and that [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- New gun restrictions in the city of Columbus are now on hold. A Fairfield County judge ruled in favor of Ohio Attorney General David Yost on Thursday, implementing a temporary restraining order on the enforcement of the Columbus City Council’s three-pronged package that limits firearms. The legislation defies Ohio law, Yost [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has one more accolade to add to his bevy of awards and it has nothing to do with his talent on the football field. The Ohio native has made the New York Times list of the "93 Most Stylish 'People,'" according to the publication's Styles section. The [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- One man is dead after a car accident near the Bexley area. Officers responded to the intersection of Astor Avenue and S. James Road at 11:28 a.m. on Thursday after a car accident, according to the Columbus Division of Police. Raymond Wickliffe was a passenger in a 2015 Chrysler Limited when [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- One person is in life-threatening condition after a car accident near the Bexley area. Authorities responded to the intersection of Astor Avenue and S. James Road at 11:28 a.m. on Thursday after a car accident, according to the Columbus Division of Police. One person was transported to Grant Medical Center, listed [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The City of Columbus’ plan to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products may be short-lived. The Ohio General Assembly passed legislation Thursday morning prohibiting local governments from enacting their own restrictions on tobacco and alternative nicotine products, just days after Columbus City Council unanimously voted to bar flavored tobacco sales [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Measles climbed higher in new cases Thursday in the central Ohio area, according to Columbus Public Health. The total case count reached 77, with three new cases confirmed. CPH reported previously that there were no new cases on Wednesday, keeping the case count temporarily stagnant at 74. The 77 cases have [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Columbus police are searching for a man in connection with a robbery at a southside Walmart store. The man was seen leaving an emergency exit of a Walmart at the 3500 block of South High Street in the Far South neighborhood, according to a CPD incident report. The suspect was pushing [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The Auditor of State’s office in Columbus released its final report Thursday on a man who stole more than $1.8 million from the Clark County Auditor’s Office. According to Auditor of State Keith Faber, 64-year-old Robert Vanderhorst, a former Clark County employee in Springfield since 1991, stole over 1.87 million dollars [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A number of grocery stores and retailers across central Ohio are closing their doors for Christmas. Find which shops are closed near you below. View which stores and restaurants are open on Christmas here. AldiAldi locations are closed on major holidays, including Thanksgiving and Christmas. Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) - Darla, a dog at the Franklin County Dog Shelter and Adoption Center, is looking for a family to feed her treats this holiday season. The 6-year-old pitbull mix came to the shelter in May and has been in and out since then. But while she's been to a few homes, she [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- From "Elf The Musical" and "The Nutcracker" to the Blue Jackets, there's no shortage of things to do this weekend in central Ohio. Ohio Scholastic Play-By-Play Classic: Dec. 17 A showcase of the top high school boys' basketball teams. Nationwide Arena – 200 W. Nationwide Blvd. Tickets. 11 a.m. “Beaus and [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) - County and municipal governments will be off the hook for legal action over police activity at hospitals after Gov. Mike DeWine signed a new bill into law Tuesday. Senate Bill 56 -- sponsored by Sen. Louis W. Blessing -- wanted to give public authorities like city governments more power in negotiating [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Ohio House worked overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning, passing three bills - Senate Bill 288, House Bill 458 and House Bill 45. House Bill 458, which will change election laws, passed from the Ohio House 55 to 32. If Governor Mike DeWine signs it into law, photo ID's will [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Carrie Lauterbach’s parents arrived at a Cincinnati fertility clinic more than 40 years ago. The couple, who struggled to conceive, were told to select with pen and paper an anonymous sperm donor who would eventually help them become parents to Lauterbach and her older sister. The clinic assured them that the [...]
QUICK WEATHER FORECAST: FORECAST DISCUSSION: Happy Thursday! After heavy showers moved through overnight and early this morning, we've got some drier air filtering in as a frontal boundary moves through the area. What this means for us later today, is just a few light and spotty showers at times, still coming in the form of [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A bill aiming to ban transgender athletes from participating in women's sports has passed in the Ohio Senate. The Senate voted late Wednesday 23 to 7 in support of the "Save Women's Sports Act" -- an amendment added inside of House Bill 151 -- sending the legislation back to the Ohio House of [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Local physicians fear vaccine misinformation could be partially to blame for the current flu and measles outbreaks. Data show most measles cases in central Ohio are in unvaccinated children, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said flu vaccine rates are the lowest they’ve been in years. As of Dec. [...]
QUICK WEATHER FORECAST: FORECAST DISCUSSION: Good Wednesday Evening, It has been a fairly gray day with scattered rain showers ahead of a lumbering weather system. We will see rain, wind, and temps increasing this evening ahead of the cold front. Moisture ahead of this system will build into our area this evening, so after a [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Columbus police responded to a call of shots fired outside a Columbus high school Wednesday afternoon, just hours after officers responded for a gun at the same school. According to Columbus police dispatchers, the call came in at approximately 2:43 p.m. at the Linden-McKinley STEM Academy on the 1300 block of [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A teenage boy has been arrested for bringing a gun into a school zone last week. According to Columbus police, on Dec. 7 at about 2:50 p.m., officers responded to the 2800 block of West Broad Street in the Westgate neighborhood on a report of a large fight, with witnesses reporting [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Central Ohio Transit Authority's buses are running, but its website is not after its information technology network experienced a cyber security breach. COTA announced Wednesday that it learned an "outside organization" accessed its IT network on Monday. In response, the transit authority shut down networks for all of its IT [...]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Franklin County is the first in the nation teaming up with the U.S. Department of Justice for a new data-focused project. Titled Justice Counts, the initiative will help mold a new database that the departments is aiming to introduce across the nation. The focus is on analyzing and tracking the justice [...]
