Woman fatally stabbed, 3 children injured in Cleveland

Woman fatally stabbed, 3 children injured in Cleveland

CLEVELAND

Police say an 18-year-old man fatally stabbed a woman and injured three children in an attack at a home in Cleveland.

Cleveland police have identified the woman killed early Saturday as 62-year-old Diane Madison. She died at the scene.

Two 10-year-old girls and a 12-year-old boy were stabbed multiple times and were taken to a hospital for treatment. Their conditions aren’t known.

Police say the man entered the bedrooms of the sleeping children and began stabbing them shortly after midnight. The two girls managed to flee and ask neighbors for help. Officers found the boy hiding inside the home.

The 18-year-old was arrested at the residence and received treatment for cuts to his hand.

Police haven’t said what the relationships are between the victims and the suspect.

Gazebo where Ohio officer killed Tamir Rice moves to Chicago

CLEVELAND

The gazebo where black 12-year-old Tamir Rice was fatally shot by a white policeman in Cleveland is being rebuilt in Chicago as a temporary memorial and meeting spot.

Crews dismantled the gazebo in 2016, nearly two years after Tamir’s death. Cleveland.com reports the reconstructed version will be unveiled today in Chicago outside an arts gallery and community space called Stony Island Arts Bank.

Tamir’s mother, Samaria Rice, initially wanted the gazebo destroyed but now considers it a piece of history. She says she’s glad she changed her mind.

The rebuilt gazebo is being unveiled two days before what would have been Tamir’s 17th birthday.

Patrolman Timothy Loehmann was cleared of criminal wrongdoing in Tamir’s death. The city paid $6 million to settle a related wrongful-death lawsuit.

Environmentalists warn: Balloons provide no joy for wildlife

DETROIT

Environmental advocates are raising awareness about the dangers of balloons for wildlife in the Great Lakes and elsewhere.

The Detroit Free Press reports volunteers for the Alliance for the Great Lakes picked up more than 18,000 balloons, balloon pieces or balloon strings along Great Lakes shorelines from 2016 to 2018.

Lara O’Brien studies at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability. She says an Australian study found balloons are the highest-risk plastic debris for seabirds. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist in Virginia says necropsies commonly reveal tangled balloon ribbons in the guts of birds and marine animals.

Five states regulate balloon releases. Eight are considering legislation. Industry organization the Balloon Council has spent more than $1 million lobbying to change or stop restrictions.

Cuyahoga River’s health lauded 50 years after infamous fire

COLUMBUS

Ohio’s U.S. senators are recognizing environmental progress on Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River with a bipartisan resolution.

U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, a Democrat and a Republican, introduced the measure in Washington last week ahead of Saturday’s 50th anniversary of the June 22, 1969, fire that spurred federal environmental action, including passage of the Clean Water Act. The resolution urges continued support for it and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.

The fire also prompted the creation of the U.S. and Ohio Environmental Protection agencies. Ohio EPA won an Emmy this week for a documentary it commissioned in anticipation of the anniversary.

The 13-minute film details cooperation between federal, state and local partners to improve water quality and restore the Cuyahoga’s natural flow from its headwaters to Lake Erie.

Civil rights lawsuit alleges anti-gay harassment of student

NAVARRE

A federal civil-rights complaint alleges an Ohio high-school student faced harassment from school officials and his basketball coach after they learned he was gay.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Akron says the student at Fairless Local Schools in northeastern Ohio lost virtually all basketball playing time and was punished with workouts not ordered for other players.

The June 6 lawsuit says that beginning in the fall of 2017 the student was subjected to threats, harassment, intimidation and discrimination at school because of his sexual orientation.

The complaint also says discrimination led to him being denied admission to the National Honor Society. The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

Associated Press