2 Ohio boards set early-voting hours

2 Ohio boards set early-voting hours

COLUMBUS

At least two Ohio elections boards have set their own hours during disputed early-voting days, as the battleground state waits for a federal appeals court to sort out whether people can cast an early ballot on the three days before Election Day.

Jefferson County in eastern Ohio and Wayne County in the northeast have set their own early-voting hours for the Nov. 6 general election. Elections board members in Summit County, where Akron is the county seat, also voted on election hours, but it was unclear if the vote counted.

‘Jesus’ wife’ scrap is a fake, Vatican says

VATICAN CITY

The Vatican newspaper has added to the doubts surrounding Harvard University’s claim that a fourth-century Coptic papyrus fragment showed that some early Christians believed that Jesus was married, declaring it a “fake.”

The newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, published an article Thursday by leading Coptic scholar Alberto Camplani and an accompanying editorial by the newspaper’s editor, Giovanni Maria Vian, an expert in early Christianity. They both cited concerns expressed by other scholars about the fragment’s authenticity and the fact that it was purchased on the market without a known archaeological provenance.

Amish: Kin will suffer if we’re jailed

TOLEDO

Several Amish people convicted in hair-cutting attacks on fellow Amish in Ohio say locking them up now will cause financial hardship for families.

One man says putting him behind bars now might mean his 11 children won’t have enough food for the winter.

Nine of 16 Amish convicted this month in the hair attacks last fall in eastern Ohio have remained free, but the government wants them locked up now before they’re sentenced in January.

Defense attorneys say their clients haven’t been in trouble before and aren’t a risk to go anywhere.

The attorney for one woman says she should be allowed to remain free until sentencing because she poses no danger to the community and she’s busy harvesting crops and canning food for her 10 children.

Police: Minn. office shooter among dead

MINNEAPOLIS

Police said the shooter who opened fire inside a Minneapolis sign company was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound Thursday and was among “several” people killed in the incident.

“We do have several victims inside that are dead,” Minneapolis Police Deputy Chief Kris Arneson said during a news conference outside the company’s office. When pressed to say how many, Arneson refused and said police were still investigating.

Police previously had said at least two people were killed and four were wounded during the shootings at Accent Signage Systems, which is in a largely residential area on the city’s north side.

NYC to install tallest Ferris wheel

NEW YORK

The Big Apple is getting another “biggest”: the world’s tallest Ferris wheel, part of an ambitious plan to draw New Yorkers and tourists alike to the city’s so-called “forgotten borough.”

The 625-foot-tall, $230 million New York Wheel is to grace a spot in Staten Island overlooking the 305-foot-tall Statue of Liberty and the downtown Manhattan skyline, offering a singular view as it sweeps higher than other big wheels such as the Singapore Flyer, the London Eye and a “High Roller” planned for Las Vegas.

Designed to carry 1,440 passengers at a time, it’s expected to draw 4.5 million people a year.

Associated Press