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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohio is reportedly the first state to require artificial intelligence policies in public schools. 

With the passage of House Bill 96 this summer, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce must develop a model policy on AI use for students and staff by Dec. 31. Ohio schools will have until July 1, 2026, to adopt policies. 

Some central Ohio districts already have policies addressing AI. Bexley City Schools considers unauthorized AI use akin to plagiarism. Olentangy schools allow students to use AI in specific circumstances with staff permission. 

In June, Columbus City Schools’ policy and governance committee discussed developing an AI policy. The board has not approved one, but the policy committee will have another meeting Sept. 9 where the topic could reemerge. 

Canal Winchester Local Schools and Dublin City Schools both have a policy acknowledging the positives of AI in education and grants the superintendent the right to support AI use where appropriate to learning. Students are not allowed to use AI to complete assignments, but they can use it for research and writing assistance, data analysis and comprehension with teacher permission. 

Higher education in Ohio is also a national leader in AI and education. Starting this fall, Ohio State University is requiring all students to use AI in their classes. OSU promises by 2029, all graduates will leave the university “AI fluent,” meaning they are trained to use AI in their respective fields. See previous coverage in the video player above.

The state has already embraced AI possibilities in education. In May 2024, current Sen. and then-Lt. Gov. Jon Husted led Ohio’s AI in Education Coalition to develop a strategy for integrating AI into the state’s K-12 education system. 

The coalition invited industry and education stakeholders to participate in one of three work groups: industry, operations and instructional. Together, these groups developed several recommendations for Ohio’s education system to be best prepared for AI. The coalition said schools should begin incorporating AI thoughtfully and develop policies quickly. The coalition also encouraged the state to provide support and incentives for AI integration. 

There is also a federal push toward AI in schools. In April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing an AI education task force to help schools adjust to new technology. Last week, Melania Trump invited K-12 students to participate in a nationwide contest to use AI tools to solve community issues.

The White House has also encouraged businesses to pledge to invest in AI education, including offering funding, dispersing resources and developing training. As of early August, 110 companies had signed the pledge, including Apple, Amazon, Intel and COSI.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – For the first time this year, the Powerball jackpot has exceeded $1 billion.

After players failed to match all five numbers plus the Powerball in Saturday’s drawing, Monday’s drawing could net someone an estimated $1.201 billion jackpot, the fifth-highest jackpot in the game’s history.

The winning numbers in the Labor Day drawing are 08, 23, 25, 40 and 53, and the Powerball is 05; the Power Play multiplier is 3X.

While the annuity value of the jackpot is $1.201 billion, the lottery reports that most winners take the cash payment, which, for this drawing, is an estimated $498.4 million. Monday’s drawing will be the 40th drawing since the last jackpot was won on May 31; the most consecutive drawings between winners is 42, which was set in April 2024.

Saturday’s drawing wasn’t a total loss, though: nine tickets won $1 million prizes while three tickets won $2 million by using the Power Play multiplier; none of those tickets were sold in Ohio. There is one Ohio winner holding a $2 million winning ticket, sold for Wednesday’s drawing at a Circle K in Arkon.

Additionally, there were 27 $150,000 prizes and 115 $50,000 prizes sold for Saturday’s drawing. In total, more than 3 million tickets were sold that won $4 or more.

The odds of winning the jackpot – 292.2 million to 1 -- never change, no matter how many tickets are sold. The reason for this is the odds of winning are based on hitting the right combination of numbers, not how many other tickets are vying for the prize. The odds of winning any prize are 1 in 24.9.

Powerball tickets cost $2 each and are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 p.m.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- With many people celebrating Labor Day, protesters are taking to the streets in major cities across the United States.

Across the country, including in downtown Columbus, people protested against President Donald Trump and other billionaires who they said are hurting the working class.

In Columbus, the protest was a chance for many groups to have their voices heard. A main focus of the protest was workers' rights and educators calling on the state government to increase school funding.

"We're out here today because our communities need to be supported," Central Ohio Rank and File Educators member Kelsey Gray said. "Public education needs to be supported."

Public education was not the only issue people spoke about.

"We are supporting public education; we are supporting our immigrant neighbors and we are supporting the Black community and our trans neighbors as well," Party for Socialism and Liberation Columbus organizer Kiera Toliver said. 

Many had signs calling for the nationwide protest theme: workers over billionaires. Others focused on immigration and ICE activity in central Ohio.

"We believe that our tax dollars shouldn't go towards funding ICE, that they should go towards funding affordable housing, free health care, free education, and making sure that all Ohioans have access to good-paying union jobs," Toliver said. 

Hundreds came to make their voices heard through chants, speeches and signs.

"There's people from all across central Ohio that came out for this, so it's really nice to build community with our neighbors," Toliver said. 

A spokesperson for the White House did not directly address the protests but told NBC News: “No one has done more for working men and women than President Trump.”

NBC4 reached out to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s office for a statement about these protests, but has not received a response.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Top health officials in Franklin County are concerned following a spike in overdose deaths last week, when the county reported six deaths in a 36-hour span between Aug. 25 and 26.

“We were on track to have a substantial decrease in overdose deaths,” Franklin County Coroner Dr. Nathaniel Overmire said. “In August, it's been an interesting rise we've seen recently over the last few weeks. It's, it's, we haven't, we've had a disturbing trend of increasing the number of deaths from overdoses.”

Overmire said they are still testing to find the official cause of the six deaths. However, he said the substances they often see cause many deaths are fentanyl and cocaine.

“So anytime there's a surge like this, it usually means that there's a bad batch,” Overmire said. “Folks are getting illegal drugs from the streets and it's a bad batch. It's not usually mean that more folks are using illicit substances, and so when there's a bad batch, usually that comes with a lot of different worries from me, and I worry that more folks are going to pass away from these illegal substances.”

According to the coroner’s office, preliminary data from the deaths show they happened in different parts of the city.

“It's happening in six different zip codes, and that means everyone should be on alert,” Overmire said. “Everyone should take action.”

The coroner’s office said the six deaths were in people between 44 and 70 years old. Columbus Public Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts found this concerning.

“The concerning thing about this most recent spike was the age,” she said. “The age of these individuals was much higher than what we typically have been seeing and this opioid epidemic that we've been experiencing for some time now.”

The data does not specify certain drugs as they are still waiting on test results, but it does list white powder and unidentified pills found at almost every incident. 

“We're still seeing continued trends that we were seeing in 2023 and 2024,” Overmire said. “Fentanyl poly-substance deaths continue to be the main drivers for fentanyl plus a stimulant, usually cocaine, is what we're continuing to see in Franklin County.

“Every day, my office sees overdose deaths, so we're dealing with the surge this week, but every day, I see patients, I like to call them descendants, that are coming through my office and these are people that were alive the previous day,” Overmire added.

Health officials urge users to never take pills that do not come from a pharmacy, and to have Narcan on hand.

“Narcan is readily available,” Roberts said. “You can even buy it in your local pharmacy, but you can also get it for free from the health department, as well as a number of other community service providers in town. If you are interested in getting Narcan from the health department, you can reach out to us by calling 311 and we can get that Narcan to you, as well as some training on how to use it.”

Overmire said that through the first half of the year, there have been 158 overdose deaths in Franklin County.

UPPER ARLINGTON, Ohio (WCMH) -- The 59th annual Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts Festival was in full swing Monday, bringing thousands of people to Northam Park to experience all things art and culture.

This festival was filled with community members taking in hundreds of artists and vendors, all of whom look forward to the event every year.

"It's a beautiful, one-day festival,” artist Amy McGraw said. “They've got lots of art, lots of entertainment. So it just, it seems like the locals definitely come out for it." 

Over 120 juried artists lined the streets, selling jewelry, paintings, and usable art. The festival also showcased live local bands and more than 20 food trucks, bringing family, music, and art together for the day.   

“It is well put together, it's organized, and they take care of the vendors," vendor Jill Staggs said. “I mean, it's just a well-run show and a good place, and we love it.” 

There was also a performance by the Upper Arlington High School Chamber Orchestra and a sewing session for attendees. Some vendors said the festival is special because of the sense of community it provides. 

“I probably had at least a dozen people come up and say, 'Hey, I bought this last year at this show or at a different show, and I use it every day,'” McGraw said. “It's knowing that they appreciate what we do. That means everything.”

More than 15,000 people visit the festival every year, organizers said.

The recent mass-theft of authentication tokens from Salesloft, whose AI chatbot is used by a broad swath of corporate America to convert customer interaction into Salesforce leads, has left many companies racing to invalidate the stolen credentials before hackers can exploit them. Now Google warns the breach goes far beyond access to Salesforce data, noting the hackers responsible also stole valid authentication tokens for hundreds of online services that customers can integrate with Salesloft, including Slack, Google Workspace, Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure, and OpenAI.

Salesloft says its products are trusted by 5,000+ customers. Some of the bigger names are visible on the company’s homepage.

Salesloft disclosed on August 20 that, “Today, we detected a security issue in the Drift application,” referring to the technology that powers an AI chatbot used by so many corporate websites. The alert urged customers to re-authenticate the connection between the Drift and Salesforce apps to invalidate their existing authentication tokens, but it said nothing then to indicate those tokens had already been stolen.

On August 26, the Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) warned that unidentified hackers tracked as UNC6395 used the access tokens stolen from Salesloft to siphon large amounts of data from numerous corporate Salesforce instances. Google said the data theft began as early as Aug. 8, 2025 and lasted through at least Aug. 18, 2025, and that the incident did not involve any vulnerability in the Salesforce platform.

Google said the attackers have been sifting through the massive data haul for credential materials such as AWS keys, VPN credentials, and credentials to the cloud storage provider Snowflake.

“If successful, the right credentials could allow them to further compromise victim and client environments, as well as pivot to the victim’s clients or partner environments,” the GTIG report stated.

The GTIG updated its advisory on August 28 to acknowledge the attackers used the stolen tokens to access email from “a very small number of Google Workstation accounts” that were specially configured to integrate with Salesloft. More importantly, it warned organizations to immediately invalidate all tokens stored in or connected to their Salesloft integrations — regardless of the third-party service in question.

“Given GTIG’s observations of data exfiltration associated with the campaign, organizations using Salesloft Drift to integrate with third-party platforms (including but not limited to Salesforce) should consider their data compromised and are urged to take immediate remediation steps,” Google advised.

On August 28, Salesforce blocked Drift from integrating with its platform, and with its productivity platforms Slack and Pardot.

The Salesloft incident comes on the heels of a broad social engineering campaign that used voice phishing to trick targets into connecting a malicious app to their organization’s Salesforce portal. That campaign led to data breaches and extortion attacks affecting a number of companies including Adidas, Allianz Life and Qantas.

On August 5, Google disclosed that one of its corporate Salesforce instances was compromised by the attackers, which the GTIG has dubbed UNC6040 (“UNC” is Google’s shorthand for “uncategorized threat group”). Google said the extortionists consistently claimed to be the threat group ShinyHunters, and that the group appeared to be preparing to escalate its extortion attacks by launching a data leak site.

ShinyHunters is an amorphous threat group known for using social engineering to break into cloud platforms and third-party IT providers, and for posting dozens of stolen databases to cybercrime communities like the now-defunct Breachforums.

The ShinyHunters brand dates back to 2020, and the group has been credited with or taken responsibility for dozens of data leaks that exposed hundreds of millions of breached records. The group’s member roster is thought to be somewhat fluid, drawing mainly from active denizens of the Com, a mostly English-language cybercrime community scattered across an ocean of Telegram and Discord servers.

Recorded Future’s Alan Liska told Bleeping Computer that the overlap in the “tools, techniques and procedures” used by ShinyHunters and the Scattered Spider extortion group likely indicate some crossover between the two groups.

To muddy the waters even further, on August 28 a Telegram channel that now has nearly 40,000 subscribers was launched under the intentionally confusing banner “Scattered LAPSUS$ Hunters 4.0,” wherein participants have repeatedly claimed responsibility for the Salesloft hack without actually sharing any details to prove their claims.

The Telegram group has been trying to attract media attention by threatening security researchers at Google and other firms. It also is using the channel’s sudden popularity to promote a new cybercrime forum called “Breachstars,” which they claim will soon host data stolen from victim companies who refuse to negotiate a ransom payment.

The “Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters 4.0” channel on Telegram now has roughly 40,000 subscribers.

But Austin Larsen, a principal threat analyst at Google’s threat intelligence group, said there is no compelling evidence to attribute the Salesloft activity to ShinyHunters or to other known groups at this time.

“Their understanding of the incident seems to come from public reporting alone,” Larsen told KrebsOnSecurity, referring to the most active participants in the Scattered LAPSUS$ Hunters 4.0 Telegram channel.

Joshua Wright, a senior technical director at Counter Hack, is credited with coining the term “authorization sprawl” to describe one key reason that social engineering attacks from groups like Scattered Spider and ShinyHunters so often succeed: They abuse legitimate user access tokens to move seamlessly between on-premises and cloud systems.

Wright said this type of attack chain often goes undetected because the attacker sticks to the resources and access already allocated to the user.

“Instead of the conventional chain of initial access, privilege escalation and endpoint bypass, these threat actors are using centralized identity platforms that offer single sign-on (SSO) and integrated authentication and authorization schemes,” Wright wrote in a June 2025 column. “Rather than creating custom malware, attackers use the resources already available to them as authorized users.”

It remains unclear exactly how the attackers gained access to all Salesloft Drift authentication tokens. Salesloft announced on August 27 that it hired Mandiant, Google Cloud’s incident response division, to investigate the root cause(s).

“We are working with Salesloft Drift to investigate the root cause of what occurred and then it’ll be up to them to publish that,” Mandiant Consulting CTO Charles Carmakal told Cyberscoop. “There will be a lot more tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day.”

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The estate of a Pickerington man shot and killed by a "trigger happy" security guard at a South Carolina hotel has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit filed last week, Aaron Timeaus Holston Jr., 23, of Pickerington, was a guest of the Sea Mist Resort in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Feb. 4. Holston was in his car in the hotel's parking lot when security guard Steven Richard Ingate Jr. approached the car under suspicion that Holston was smoking marijuana.

According to the lawsuit, Ingate attempted to get Holston out of the car, pointing a Taser at Holston before Ingate switched to a handgun. Holston then tried to drive off, hitting at least two parked cars in the process.

As Hoslton tried to drive forward off the property, he hit a curb and a speed bump; Ingate chased after him on foot, the lawsuit states. Ingate then got into the median near the parking lot, shooting his gun repeatedly into the driver's side of the car, according to court records.

The lawsuit states that 12 bullets were shot into the driver's side door; as many as 25 shell casing markers were documented at the crime scene. In total, investigators determined between 15 and 23 shots were fired.

"Surveillance video evidence established that several shots were fired after Mr. Holston's vehicle had already collided with another vehicle and ceased forward motion, during which time Mr. Holston's body was visibly reacting to gunfire," the lawsuit states.

Witnesses at the scene described Ingate as "trigger happy" and "not friendly," and that it was known he carried two weapons. The lawsuit alleges that Ingate did not comply with his security company's policy of contacting law enforcement when confronted with "security concerns."

In addition to Ingate and the Sea Mist Resort, the defendants named in the lawsuit include Ingate's employer, Global Investigative Services, Inc.; Sea Mist owner Carolinas Holding Company, LLC.; and Tides/Driftwood/Oasis HOA, Hajra Real Estate, LLC, and Inlet HOA Management, LLC.

Holston's estate is seeking compensation to be determined by the court.

The full lawsuit filing can be read below.

POWELL, Ohio (WCMH) -- A pair of orphaned black bear cubs is set to make their debut on Tuesday at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

Orphaned because their mother was deemed a public safety threat and euthanized, the bear cubs named Ursula and Yzma (pronounced EEZ-muh) will be sharing the bear exhibit in the zoo's North America Trek region with longtime resident black bear Stevie.

The cubs were rescued in Montana earlier this summer and have been cared for behind the scenes at the zoo; now, both weigh close to 60 pounds each.

Starting Tuesday, Urusla and Yzma will be on public display in the habitat on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The zoo expects to introduce the cubs to Stevie sometime in the spring.

• Black bear cub Ursula (PHOTO BY GRAHM S. JONES/COLUMBUS ZOO AND AQUARIUM)
• Black bear cub Yzma (PHOTO BY GRAHM S. JONES/COLUMBUS ZOO AND AQUARIUM)
• Black bear cub Ursula (PHOTO BY GRAHM S. JONES/COLUMBUS ZOO AND AQUARIUM)
• Black bear cub Yzma (PHOTO BY GRAHM S. JONES/COLUMBUS ZOO AND AQUARIUM)
• Black bear cub Ursula (PHOTO BY GRAHM S. JONES/COLUMBUS ZOO AND AQUARIUM)
• Black bear cub Yzma (PHOTO BY GRAHM S. JONES/COLUMBUS ZOO AND AQUARIUM)
• Black bear cub Ursula (PHOTO BY GRAHM S. JONES/COLUMBUS ZOO AND AQUARIUM)
• Black bear cub Yzma (PHOTO BY GRAHM S. JONES/COLUMBUS ZOO AND AQUARIUM)
• Black bear cub Ursula (PHOTO BY GRAHM S. JONES/COLUMBUS ZOO AND AQUARIUM)

Explaining the cubs' names, the zoo said the cubs share names with Disney villains (Ursula from "The Little Mermaid" and Yzma from "The Emperor's New Groove), but oftentimes, a villain's character is shaped by hardship, misunderstanding, or how others react to them.

"These cubs’ own mother had been deemed a 'nuisance' bear—a label that came from her interactions with people, not from her nature," the zoo wrote. "In the same way, many so-called 'nuisance' wildlife situations arise because of human impact. Animals aren’t villains — they’re simply trying to survive."

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A motorcyclist is dead after a crash in east Columbus Monday morning.

A police dispatcher said that a motorcycle and another vehicle crashed at the 1800 block of East Livingston Avenue just after 11:45 a.m. The motorcyclist was taken to Grant Medical Center and was pronounced dead at 12:16 p.m.

The driver of the other vehicle remained at the scene after the crash, per a police dispatcher. Columbus police is continuing to investigate.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A fast-casual stir-fry chain is preparing to open its first central Ohio location near Gahanna, as it plans to launch more eateries in the Columbus area. 

Honeygrow is coming to 4782 Morse Road, located just north of Gahanna, according to a news release. The eatery will take over the building that formerly housed Mod Pizza, which closed last year amid financial troubles for the chain. 

“Expanding into Columbus represents an exciting step for us as we expand throughout Ohio,” Justin Rosenberg, the founder and CEO of Honeygrow, said in a statement. “We’re actively looking at other sites within the market, and we’re thrilled to start our launch within the Gahanna community.” 

Honeygrow debuted in Ohio in 2024, with a restaurant in Strongsville. The brand has since spread across the northeast portion of the state, adding eateries in Canton, Akron, Mentor and Avon to bring its total number of Ohio locations to five. The brand said it has built a “strong following” at its “thriving” restaurants in the Buckeye State. 

The chain plans to open its Morse Road location in mid-October but does not have an exact opening date yet, a spokesperson told NBC4. 

Honeygrow allows guests to customize Asian-inspired stir-fry bowls with a variety of protein options including steak, chicken, tofu and egg, paired with noodles or a vegetable base such as kale. An assortment of toppings including vegetables, fruit, cheese and roasted garlic are available. The chain also offers pre-made dishes, like its garlic butter shrimp and red coconut curry stir-fries. 

The eatery also serves desserts, such as customizable fruit cups with sweet toppings called "honeybars," and brownies. Honeygrow offers dine-in and take-out at its restaurants, along with catering services. 

Founded in 2012, the Pennsylvania-based chain has more than 60 locations across the northeast United States, according to the company. 

GROVE CITY, Ohio (WCMH) -- Amid growth, Grove City is investing in a new community center.

The idea has been in the works for some time, and Grove City assigned two committees to investigate locations and funding for a new rec center. On Aug. 18, Columbus-based real estate developer Pizzuti Solutions presented the committees' recommendations to the city council.

In the 2020 census, Grove City had 41,336 residents. The city expects to have 48,433 by 2038, with an increasing percentage of residents aged 55 and older. When considering a new community center, the city said it was important to plan for its growing population.

According to the presentation, Grove City is considering a 188,500-square-foot facility. The community center could house a senior center, community and conference rooms, aquatic facilities and a teaching and demonstration kitchen indoors. Outside, the facility could also have 12 fields, two of which will be for championships, 270 parking spaces, concessions and restrooms.

The committees projected the project will cost between $93.9 million and $102.2 million. Council has the opportunity to decide between various amenities and where the center should be located.

Pizzuti Solutions and the committees considered almost 60 factors and evaluated sites on a weighted scale to ensure it best reflected the needs. In total, 18 sites were considered and whittled down based on scores to the top six most suitable locations:

• Hirth property, 1636 Holton Road
• MW Hoover LLC, Hoover Road
• Murfin Memorial Fields, 4620 Haughn Road
• Pinnacle Park
• Henceroth Park
• Grove City YMCA

The finance committee expects the center to cost $5 million annually in operating costs. However, the committee estimated that about 75% of the cost could be covered by the revenue generated by the community center. For the remaining $1.25 million, the committee suggested increasing the city income tax by 0.05%. Currently, the city has a 2% income tax on anyone who works in the city.

"I think it's important for the community to understand that that is not a legislative action, that that is a decision that gets taken to our voters, and the entire community has the opportunity to weigh in," councilmember Christine Houk said of a possible tax increase.

If the city is interested in funding the center with tax dollars, the committee recommended fast-tracking the process for site acquisition and design so it is done before the November 2026 election. They said this would allow the project to build momentum and offer residents a more tangible look at what they are voting on. The committee said doing this could even allow the center to open a year earlier than projected, and warned delays could increase costs as much as 3% per year.

The committee also recommended that the city's park foundation should fundraise with a goal of $1.5 million. Committee members also suggested renting out parts of the building to cover costs, although that would require further expansion of the space.

Grove City City Council's next meeting is Sept. 2.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohio lawmakers are looking to eliminate an extra registration fee that is charged to those registering a hybrid vehicle in the state.

House Bill 389 was introduced by Rep. Joseph Miller (D-Amherst) and Rep. David Thomas (R-Jefferson). More than a dozen other lawmakers also signed on to the bill, including Rep. Anita Somani (D-Dublin), Rep. Dontavius Jarrells (D-Columbus), Rep. Meredith Lawson-Rowe (D-Reynoldsburg), and Rep. Ismail Mohamed (D-Columbus).

Currently, drivers who register a hybrid vehicle in Ohio must pay an additional $100 registration fee on top of the standard registration fees.

"This is a taxpayer fairness idea," Thomas said in a statement to NBC4. "We should be treating folks as fairly as possible, just because you have a hybrid or plug-in doesn't mean you use less gas and I don't think you should pay much higher fees for it."

The bill does not eliminate the additional fees for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles, with fees of $150 and $200, respectively.

Most states have implemented additional registration fees for hybrid and electric vehicles since drivers of those cars require less fuel -- or none at all -- and therefore don't pay as much, if anything, in fuel taxes to fund road maintenance.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, as of July, at least 41 states charge additional fees for electric vehicles and more than two dozen states also charge additional fees for hybrids.

Critics argue that the fees often charged for hybrid and electric vehicles are disproportionately high compared to what drivers would pay in fuel tax for driving the same amount of miles in a gas car.

"This is an excessive tax, making Ohio taxes among the highest in the nation and offers little benefit to Ohio," Clean Fuels Ohio Board President Tom Bullock said in a statement. "Clean Fuels Ohio agrees that electric vehicle owners should pay their fair share of road taxes, but $200 isn't fair: it's excessive, collected up-front, and one-size-fits all, meaning vehicles that drive lower mileage are charged as if they've driven much further. And no credit is given for taxes already paid on electricity.  A sticker fee of $50 would be much closer to a fair amount."

Ohio's fuel tax (excluding the federal fuel tax) is 38.5 cents per gallon. Someone driving 12,000 miles in a year at 30 miles per gallon would pay about $154 in state fuel tax. An EV driver traveling that same 12,000 miles in a year would pay the $200 additional registration fee.

The flat $200 annual registration fee for electric vehicles can be cheaper than the fuel tax for high-mileage drivers or when compared to drivers in older, less efficient gas cars. A less efficient car traveling 18,000 miles at 25 miles per gallon would pay about $277 in fuel tax, where an EV driver traveling that same distance would still only pay $200.

That has prompted states to consider adding mileage-based fees so drivers who use the roads more will pay more, according to the NCSL.

The additional registration fees for hybrid vehicles are generally viewed as more unfair than the fees charged to electric vehicles. Because hybrid vehicles still primarily use fuel and the smaller battery is not charged from an external source, drivers still end up paying a fuel tax on top of the additional registration fee.

"The current fee structure is inequitable and unfair," Miller said in a statement to NBC4. "Maintaining Ohio's roads is a top priority for all, but the mechanism in which we do it places an undue burden on those with a non-plug-in hybrid vehicle."

Someone with a hybrid vehicle getting 40 miles per gallon would pay about $115 in fuel tax for 12,000 miles, plus the additional $100 fee lawmakers are trying to eliminate, for a total of $215. A plug-in hybrid with similar efficiency would cost the same $115 in fuel tax plus the $150 additional registration fee -- which HB 389, as written, does not eliminate -- costing a total of $265.

"Although they may improve fuel economy, the gas tax combined with the elevated registration fee puts an undue and unfair burden on the owners of these vehicles," Miller said. "This bill is about leveling the playing field and ensuring an equitable fee structure."

Clean Fuels Ohio has previously called on the state to charge fees of $25 for plug-in hybrids and $50 for electric vehicles.

"This would represent an important symbolic precedent of ensuring EV owners paid road taxes," Clean Fuels Ohio wrote in an undated two-page fact sheet shared with NBC4. "In our view, this level would not unduly harm the fledgling EV market, important to encourage for Ohio’s consumers and economy."

Miller was a co-sponsor of House Bill 546 in 2020 that would have cut the additional registration fee in half, but that bill never made it out of committee.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A rainbow-painted crosswalk near Ohio State University was recently vandalized, according to city officials, but has since been cleaned and restored.

The crosswalk, located at the intersection of East Lane and Waldeck avenues, is one of five throughout Columbus installed as part of a traffic safety study led by the Federal Highway Administration. The crosswalks were designed with various patterns and colors to evaluate how different surface markings may influence pedestrian safety.

Randy Borntrager, deputy director of the Columbus Department of Public Service, confirmed to NBC4 that the crosswalk had been defaced.

"The Department of Public Service agreed to install five crosswalks with different pavement markings as part of an FHWA safety study to determine if various conditions affected public safety," Borntrager said. "They included two painted crosswalks, one with a painted lattice brick design, and two with other linear bar designs. The one mentioned appears to have been defaced. Department crews worked to remove the graffiti and have restored the crosswalk to working condition."

City officials were made aware of the vandalism through multiple 311 service reports last week. Though the crosswalk features rainbow-colored stripes, it was not created as a LGBTQ+ Pride symbol, but rather as part of the federal study. Similar test sites have also been implemented in Texas, Washington, D.C., and North Carolina.

The incident in Columbus comes shortly after controversy in Florida, where state officials painted over a rainbow crosswalk near the Pulse nightclub memorial in Orlando. That crosswalk had been installed to commemorate the 49 lives lost in the 2016 mass shooting at the LGBTQ+ venue.

Columbus officials have not indicated who may have been responsible for the vandalism.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Some students returning to school are also heading back to religious education programs, and organizations like LifeWise will soon be able to take advantage of greater rights than last year.

Starting next month, Ohio's public school districts will no longer be allowed to place certain limitations on released time for religious instruction programs. Now, public schools must allow organizations to send trinkets, candy and other materials back with students. Districts must also allow students to attend off-campus religious instruction classes for at least one period per week, although no more than twice. 

Hilliard-based LifeWise is among the nation's most prolific RTRI organizations. RTRI refers to religious instruction during the school day, which is legal so long as it occurs off school property and with parental permission.

Ohio law initially gave districts a lot of freedom over how they permit religious release time, but the legislature removed some flexibility this summer. This will require many public districts, including Columbus City Schools, the state’s largest district, to update their policies. See previous coverage of Columbus' policy in the video player above.

Several central Ohio schools have prohibited organizations from sending materials back with students. A Columbus City Schools spokesperson said the Board of Education will need to revise its policy, which will be a topic at the board's policy and governance committee meeting on Sept. 9.

The right to send materials back with students is often associated with LifeWise, which has programs in more than 1,000 schools across the country. LifeWise often sends reading materials, as well as candy or other small items, back to school with students who participate in the midday program. LifeWise said the materials are not why students attend, but these trinkets are often associated with the program.

Critics of the biblical education group say LifeWise uses candy and trinkets to incentivize students to attend, and students who do not go to LifeWise feel left out. Schools that banned RTRI groups from sending materials back said these small gifts are often a distraction.

LifeWise sent a legal warning about banning groups from sharing materials earlier this year. The warning went to Neola, an Ohio educational policy institution that advises more than 500 of Ohio’s 611 public school districts. Neola had included wording in its sample RTRI policies dictating an optional ban on distributing materials. 

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost issued similar warnings in April, cautioning school districts from being too experimental with their RTRI policies. Yost said severely limiting when students can attend RTRI programs could be seen as not adequately complying with the law. He also said banning materials could constitute a First Amendment violation, infringing on the right to spread the gospel.

Districts must update their policies by Sept. 25.

Cloudflare's latest moves to police who can access the internet and governments' push for age verification set off alarms for the future of the open web, as panelists debate the hidden costs of centralization and regulation.

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• Nvidia says two mystery customers accounted for 39% of Q2 revenu
• FBI cyber cop: Salt Typhoon pwned 'nearly every American
• Mastodon says it doesn't 'have the means' to comply with age verification law
• UK's Online Safety Act censors the internet — a preview of US proposal
• Meta updates chatbot rules to avoid inappropriate topics with teen user
• Meta reportedly allowed unauthorized celebrity AI chatbots on its service
• UK's demand for Apple backdoor may have been broader than previously though
• Bluesky now platform of choice for science communit
• SpaceX's giant Starship Mars rocket nails critical 10th test flight in stunning comeback
• FCC rejects calls for cable-like fees on broadband providers
• The web does not need gatekeepers
• Intel warns a US equity stake could trigger "adverse reactions"
• US firms are racing through a $1 trillion buyback spree in record time
• Microsoft reveals two in-house AI models
• Authors celebrate "historic" settlement coming soon in Anthropic class action
• A rule exempting small packages from tariffs is ending today
• Framework is working on a giant haptic touchpad, Trackpoint nub, and eGPU for its laptops
• Germany fines economist Thomas Vierhaus €16,100 for sarcastic X posts1
• Google wants to make sideloading Android apps safer by verifying developers' identities
• South Korea bans smartphones in all middle and elementary school classrooms

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) - Prior to the start of Labor Day weekend, the Ohio Traffic Safety Office and Ohio State Highway Patrol warned drivers of the deadly history this weekend brings.

"The holiday period with the most serious injury and fatal crashes is Labor Day weekend," Ohio Traffic Safety Office public information officer Judy Converse said.

That dangerous warning has already come to fruition across central and northern Ohio communities.

Two people are dead after a crash following a police chase Saturday evening. The chase ended when the driver allegedly sped down Greenlawn Avenue and into Greenlawn Cemetery. Randel Rogers, executive director of the cemetery, said he reviewed the surveillance footage from the incident and saw the vehicle drive at a high rate of speed the wrong way around a roundabout at the old entrance to the cemetery, crashing into a stone wall that has been in place for nearly a century.

Rogers said he routinely sees cars drive 50 or 60 miles per hour down that road and this vehicle could have been going 80 mph. Rogers said the stone wall will cost between $40,000-$60,000 to fix.

Elsewhere this weekend, Ohio State Highway Patrol said a man was killed in the City of Wellston, Jackson County, when a juvenile driver collided with a golf cart. Another person was killed in Mifflin Township when a driver crossed over the center line and hit another vehicle head on. The driver was killed. A single vehicle crash in Erie County killed the driver when they lost control of the vehicle due to speed. Three more people were killed after a vehicle crashed into a tow truck on the side of the road Sunday morning in Erie County. That crash caused a traffic backup that led to another crash less than an hour later when a vehicle slammed into the back of a truck and killed both the driver and passenger.

OSHP is putting an emphasis on sober driving for the weekend, but speed and distracted driving are killers, too.

Sgt. Brice Nihiser with the Ohio State Highway Patrol said drivers can help law enforcement if they notice an erratic or dangerous driver on the road.

"Dial #677 and that will get you to your local post,” Nihiser said. “We'll put troopers on the road and we'll make sure that we intercept that driver before they cause a tragedy.”