Ohio Senate bolsters trafficking measure

Ohio Senate bolsters trafficking measure

COLUMBUS

An Ohio bill that increases penalties for human trafficking and creates a fund to help victims cleared one of its final legislative hurdles Tuesday.

The measure would make human trafficking a first-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. That’s tougher than the second-degree felony that the state Legislature established in late 2010 to tackle what’s described as modern-day slavery.

Victims of human trafficking often are forced into the sex trade or pushed to work against their will in fields, restaurants or other sweatshop-type jobs.

The bill would create a path for victims to have their records expunged if they have prostitution or solicitation charges as a result of being forced into the sex trade. The proposed change in the law would help victims piece their lives together and re-enter society, said state Sen. Larry Obhof, a Montville Township Republican.

The state Senate unanimously passed the measure Tuesday, and the Ohio House unanimously passed it last month. Representatives are expected to agree to the Senate’s changes today, which would then send the bill to the governor for his signature.

Auburn shooting suspect turns self in

MONTGOMERY, Ala.

A man accused of killing three people at a party near Auburn University turned himself in Tuesday after a three-day manhunt that included a tense but fruitless search of a Montgomery home by police tactical units, a defense attorney said.

Attorney Susan James said that her office arranged for Desmonte Leonard to turn himself in at a Montgomery courthouse around 7:50 p.m. after getting word that his family wanted her help.

‘GWTW’ actress dies at age 94

LOS ANGELES

Ann Rutherford, an actress whose small role as Scarlett’s younger sister Carreen in the 1939 film “Gone With the Wind” was her most enduring, has died. She was 94.

Rutherford, who also portrayed Mickey Rooney’s teenage girlfriend in the Andy Hardy movies, died Monday evening at her home in Beverly Hills, said her close friend and fellow actress Anne Jeffreys. Rutherford had been in declining health with heart problems.

As she became one of the last surviving cast members of “Gone With the Wind,” Rutherford made a second career out of attending festivals featuring the beloved Civil War epic.

NYC health board likes big-drink ban

NEW YORK

New York City’s Board of Health signaled strong support Tuesday for the mayor’s plan to fight obesity by banning the sale of large, sugary beverages at local restaurants.

The proposal by Mayor Michael Bloomberg would prohibit licensed food-service establishments in the city from using containers bigger than 16 ounces to serve high-calorie drinks such as colas, lemonade and punch.

1 dead, 14 treated in day-care van crash

LOUISVILLE, Ky.

A woman died Tuesday when a day-care van crashed into a tree in Louisville, and more than a dozen children and the driver were taken to the hospital, authorities said.

Three of the 14 children sent for treatment were reported in critical condition along with the driver, officials said.

Police are investigating why the van went out of control before crashing head- on into the tree shortly after 5 p.m., Louisville police spokeswoman Alicia Smiley said.

Combined dispatches