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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Ohio National Guard gave NBC4 a rare front-row seat to see their work from above after we were invited on a Black Hawk helicopter training flight.

According to leaders, it's important to show the Buckeye State who they are and what they do as they're here to serve the community. 

"Our primary mission is right here within the state of Ohio, 17,000 plus Army National Guardsmen and Airmen that are ready and available so that when that worst day happens in our communities, we are going to be there," Ohio National Guard Col. Jon Stewart said. 

The Ohio National Guard has a dual mission - to serve Ohio and the nation. The orientation flight gave a firsthand look at aviation operations in action. It took off from Rickenbacker International Airport, soaring up State Route 315, flying right past Ohio Stadium. 

"What we're doing is so important because we never know what the future is going to hold," Ohio National Guard Black Hawk Pilot Denver Meek said. "So I think, you know, ensuring that we have trained and ready units to respond to disasters or to state or federal missions, whether here in Ohio or America or overseas, is just critically important to the future of our nation and state and communities."

The Ohio National Guard has had Black Hawk helicopters since the late 1980s. Colonel Jon Stewart said they're the most up-to-date aircraft in the Army's inventory, and they aren't just for the battlefield.

"With the helicopter, we can now extract people from rooftops, which you see many times in hurricanes, which obviously we don't have here in Ohio," Col. Stewart said. "But these Blackhawks have supported hurricane relief not only in Puerto Rico, in Florida, in Texas, and many other locations."

Black Hawks have been deployed for disaster relief, search and rescue, and medical evacuations in Ohio and across the country.

"We can have a hoist hooked up to some of these aircraft and use that to basically have that ability, like in flooded terrain and things of that nature, to go down and rescue individuals who are stranded," Meek said. 

As you can imagine, operating one of these helicopters requires extensive and rigorous training. 

"Pilots have to be in the air on a very regular basis to sustain proficiency," Col. Stewart said. "You can't just sit and wait a few months and get back in and go again. So they are constantly flying, constantly in the air, so that when needed, we can call and respond." 

According to crews, training like this keeps their skills sharp, ensuring they're ready to answer the call no matter where it comes from. While their goal is to serve and protect citizens, they want to make it clear they're a part of the very communities we live in. 

"Those of us that you see in uniform, most of us are only in this uniform two days a month," Col. Stewart said. "The rest of the time we're wearing civilian clothes. We're shopping at the stores. We're driving on the streets, and then we come and do great things like fly Black Hawk helicopters."

Ohio Army National Guard aviation regiments routinely conduct training and operational support missions, providing transport of personnel, cargo, and medical assets for the U.S. military. Since 2001, Ohio aviation units have served in Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. 

Solar activity has been at low levels with mostly weak C-class flares observed from Regions 4172 and 4180.  The largest flare of the period was a C6.8/Sf at 15/1037 UTC from Region 4172.  There are 12 regions on the disk with most being simple in magnetic complexity.  Region 4172 remained the largest region on the disk and continued to decay with its magnetic field decreasing in complexity. All...

GAHANNA, Ohio (WCMH) -- Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools and Gahanna Police team up with a new initiative to help children who have experienced a traumatic event involving law enforcement.

A new initiative between Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools and Gahanna Police will help provide subtle and confidential support to kids who have experienced a stressful or traumatic event involving law enforcement.

It’s called Handle With Care.

If a student is dealing with something outside of school, that can sometimes lead to behavioral or emotional challenges in school. The Handle With Care initiative provides educators with more tools to help children during a difficult time.

Schools may be notified if a student experiences a car crash, domestic violence, the arrest of a loved one, or any other kind of police-involved incident.

“It’s going to let us send a confidential notice to a lead at the school that that student may go to, letting them know that that student has experienced something,” said Crystal Jones, a Gahanna school resource officer. “It’s no details, it just says handle with care.”

Officer Jones first heard about Handle With Care at a juvenile conference last year, and she knew it would be great for the police department and the school district.

She said a traumatic or stressful event can make a child act differently at school.

“Maybe they're falling asleep in class, maybe they're tardy, maybe they haven't finished their homework assignment for that day. Maybe they're acting out towards other students,” said Jones.

Teachers and school leaders will not have any specifics on the incident; they’ll just know a student should be “handled with care.”

Gahanna-Jefferson Schools superintendent, Dr. Tracey Deagle, said training for Handle With Care finished up the week before the school year began.

“We have our counselors trained as well as our building administrators to ensure that we are protecting our youth,” said Dr. Deagle. “We're not calling them out. We're not sharing anything confidential. We’re just supporting.”

Dr. Deagle said the student won’t be treated differently or pulled aside. Handle With Care just allows staff to be informed so they can give a child some leniency with deadlines or disruptive behavior.

It’s subtle but supportive.

“It's letting them be, but knowing that if they come down to the office fearful or in tears, that we understand a little bit more of the why,” said Dr. Deagle.

Gahanna is the second Franklin County community to implement the statewide initiative, but Officer Jones said other areas across Ohio are in the process of developing Handle With Care programs. It’s something people may see at their local school district in the near future.

Learn more about Handle With Care here.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Historic Grandview Café hosts a two-day celebration to honor its 100th birthday.

Starting on Friday, the Historic Grandview Café will kick off its centennial celebration with a plethora of activities. According to the café's website, the party includes games, giveaways, and live music. The party will span from the café down to the Homefield Sports Bar.

Those attending Friday night can enjoy drink samplings starting at 6 p.m. while awaiting the live music to begin at 7 p.m. Saturday is full of activities starting at 11 a.m., and the itinerary highlights the multiple giveaways attendees can enter.

Prizes range from $25 to $100 gift cards, tickets to concerts at KEMBA Live!, and even tickets to the OSU vs Texas game. A full itinerary for both days can be viewed on the café's website.

Grandview Café first opened in 1925 and prides itself on the history that lives on in its restaurant. On its website, the café describes vintage artifacts such as wood-washed floors and sturdy leather suitcases lining the bar as a reason why the restaurant is so special.

Managers of the café say the Summer of 100 celebration is a 'thank you' to the patrons.

"We're a cornerstone of the community. People are able to come here, whether it's for football games or to celebrate an anniversary, or just to meet friends for drinks. We love being that place for all of our guests, and the community for us is the same. I mean, it's a family," says James Ball, the director of operations at the Grandview Café.

Managers also said that the key to the Grandview Café's longevity was its adaptability and changing menu. Reservations are not necessary to attend the event, and walk-ins are welcome.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — It's back to school season in central Ohio and as educators prepare for the beginning of the school year, they're also training for emergency situations.

Teachers at the Arts and College Preparatory Academy (ACPA) went through an active shooter training on Friday morning.

“The fact we have to do this is really hard but our number one job is to protect our kids and to protect our students," said Sarah Bostelman, director of operations at ACPA.

During one of the scenarios at ACPA, a deputy with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office (FCSO) played the role of an active shooter in the hall and fired a track and field starter pistol. As part of the exercise, teachers were in their classrooms at the time. Bostelman said it's a sad reality educators need to go through these types of drills.

“It is incredibly important to change the way you are preparing for these events so you’re not a sitting duck just like they say in the training," she said. 

The program from the FCSO is called CRASE. It stands for Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events. Deputy Michael Fetherolf has led it for about 10 years.

“Latest statistics are 57% of all of our active attacks end before police get there. So for me, that means it doesn't matter how much I train, I really need to be out in my community teaching people how to respond to reduce that risk for them," he said. "It's going to be over before I get there more than half the time so I really need to make sure my community members are the best equipped we can be."

During the training, the group was also taught how to use tourniquets and other methods of stopping bleeding.

“You never want it. We’re going to train for worst case scenario that day that if it were to ever happen -- we never want it to -- but we’re going to be the best prepared we can be for if it were to happen," Fetherolf said.

Fetherolf said much of what was taught can be useful in other places as well. CRASE is also offered to colleges, businesses, hospitals, and places of worship. More information about it can be found here. 

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The chairman of the State Teachers Retirement System board and a former member filed a lawsuit Thursday against Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost for allegedly refusing to provide them with legal representation in a previously filed lawsuit.

Rudy Fichtenbaum and former member Wade Steen claim that when Yost sued them in 2024, he failed to provide them with legal representation, as required by Ohio law when sued in connection with their roles with STRS.

The pair claims they hired their own legal representation and were reminded that Yost was obligated to provide them counsel. They contacted Yost's representatives asking the state to pay for the lawyer fees.

"Without explanation, [Yost] indicated he would not pay the fees for their lawyers," according to the lawsuit. "Instead General Yost insisted that he would himself select counsel to oppose him in that case, selecting from among the several lawyers who he had worked with previously."

Yost selecting his opponents and determining how much they would be paid is "unethical, improper and illegal," the lawsuit states, so they refused the proposal.

"The conduct of [Yost] is intended to disadvantage [Fichtenbaum and Steen] in that such conduct deprives [Fichtenbaum and Steen] of their right to due process of law," the lawsuit states.

In a statement to NBC4, the attorney general's office said STRS has insurance for defending its board members.

"The AG's officer offered both Steen and Fichtenbaum outside counsel through their insurance carrier," the spokesperson said. "Both of them refused this counsel and insisted on their own private counsel. The state never pays bills for private counsel hired by state employees. In this case there was an insurance policy to cover attorney fees for these two individuals, through approved counsel. There is an established process for paying the attorney bills in this situation. Just because they don't like the process doesn't mean they get to make the state, through the taxpayers, pay for their private attorneys."

Fichtenbaum and Steen are seeking unspecified damages.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- NBC4 is taking a look at the vital role a Columbus animal protection agency plays in more than just animal welfare.

Social workers, police and animal protection teams often work hand in hand, not only in cases of abuse and neglect, but also when families are in need of support.

Children's services, police officers and social workers are all mandated reporters. That means if they see something wrong, they have to raise the alarm.

That’s for animals, too, and NBC4 got to meet one dog at Columbus Humane whose case started with a tip from Children's Services.

"Prince is a 3- to 4-year-old lab mix. Beautiful boy," Columbus Humane Chief Advancement Officer Brittany Williams said. 

Columbus Humane received a call from Children’s Services; a family they were checking in on had a dog that needed help.

"We got on site, saw that Prince was doing OK from a nutrition perspective, maybe a health perspective, but the family was struggling and needed some help with Prince themselves," Williams said. 

There was also an ownership dispute in the home.

"That's something that humane agents and Columbus Humane actually help with a lot, ownership disputes, maybe a couple splits up or, you know, roommates adopt a dog together," Williams said. 

The family surrendered Princeto humane agents and he came into the shelter as a cruelty case.

"You think animal cruelty investigation, you think that an animal is being abused, neglected and otherwise mistreated. Which is definitely the case in a lot of investigations that we go into. A lot of other times, too, it is families that are struggling and need some help with resources or they need help being able to manage the population that is in their homes," Williams said. 

Because of the ownership dispute, agents had to do some extra investigating: checking adoption and vet records and making sure the person surrendering him had the right.

But now, and NBC4 saw for ourselves, he’s ready for his new home.

"He's still got some puppy mentality in him. He's a big boy, so he just needs a little extra love and care right now to reinforce some of those high-energy behaviors out," Williams said. 

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- One person died Friday after a shooting in Columbus' Hilltop neighborhood.

The shooting happened at about 3:45 p.m. along Raleigh Drive.

Map shows approximate location

Police said one person was taken to a hospital in critical condition and later died. Officers are searching for a suspect.

No other details were immediately available.

Cybercriminal groups peddling sophisticated phishing kits that convert stolen card data into mobile wallets have recently shifted their focus to targeting customers of brokerage services, new research shows. Undeterred by security controls at these trading platforms that block users from wiring funds directly out of accounts, the phishers have pivoted to using multiple compromised brokerage accounts in unison to manipulate the prices of foreign stocks.

Image: Shutterstock, WhataWin.

This so-called ‘ramp and dump‘ scheme borrows its name from age-old “pump and dump” scams, wherein fraudsters purchase a large number of shares in some penny stock, and then promote the company in a frenzied social media blitz to build up interest from other investors. The fraudsters dump their shares after the price of the penny stock increases to some degree, which usually then causes a sharp drop in the value of the shares for legitimate investors.

With ramp and dump, the scammers do not need to rely on ginning up interest in the targeted stock on social media. Rather, they will preposition themselves in the stock that they wish to inflate, using compromised accounts to purchase large volumes of it and then dumping the shares after the stock price reaches a certain value. In February 2025, the FBI said it was seeking information from victims of this scheme.

“In this variation, the price manipulation is primarily the result of controlled trading activity conducted by the bad actors behind the scam,” reads an advisory from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a private, non-profit organization that regulates member brokerage firms. “Ultimately, the outcome for unsuspecting investors is the same—a catastrophic collapse in share price that leaves investors with unrecoverable losses.”

Ford Merrill is a security researcher at SecAlliance, a CSIS Security Group company. Merrill said he has tracked recent ramp-and-dump activity to a bustling Chinese-language community that is quite openly selling advanced mobile phishing kits on Telegram.

“They will often coordinate with other actors and will wait until a certain time to buy a particular Chinese IPO [initial public offering] stock or penny stock,” said Merrill, who has been chronicling the rapid maturation and growth of the China-based phishing community over the past three years.

“They’ll use all these victim brokerage accounts, and if needed they’ll liquidate the account’s current positions, and will preposition themselves in that instrument in some account they control, and then sell everything when the price goes up,” he said. “The victim will be left with worthless shares of that equity in their account, and the brokerage may not be happy either.”

Merrill said the early days of these phishing groups — between 2022 and 2024 — were typified by phishing kits that used text messages to spoof the U.S. Postal Service or some local toll road operator, warning about a delinquent shipping or toll fee that needed paying. Recipients who clicked the link and provided their payment information at a fake USPS or toll operator site were then asked to verify the transaction by sharing a one-time code sent via text message.

In reality, the victim’s bank is sending that code to the mobile number on file for their customer because the fraudsters have just attempted to enroll that victim’s card details into a mobile wallet. If the visitor supplies that one-time code, their payment card is then added to a new mobile wallet on an Apple or Google device that is physically controlled by the phishers.

The phishing gangs typically load multiple stolen cards to digital wallets on a single Apple or Android device, and then sell those phones in bulk to scammers who use them for fraudulent e-commerce and tap-to-pay transactions.

An image from the Telegram channel for a popular Chinese mobile phishing kit vendor shows 10 mobile phones for sale, each loaded with 4-6 digital wallets from different financial institutions.

This China-based phishing collective exposed a major weakness common to many U.S.-based financial institutions that already require multi-factor authentication: The reliance on a single, phishable one-time token for provisioning mobile wallets. Happily, Merrill said many financial institutions that were caught flat-footed on this scam two years ago have since strengthened authentication requirements for onboarding new mobile wallets (such as requiring the card to be enrolled via the bank’s mobile app).

But just as squeezing one part of a balloon merely forces the air trapped inside to bulge into another area, fraudsters don’t go away when you make their current enterprise less profitable: They just shift their focus to a less-guarded area. And lately, that gaze has settled squarely on customers of the major brokerage platforms, Merrill said.

Merrill pointed to several Telegram channels operated by some of the more accomplished phishing kit sellers, which are full of videos demonstrating how every feature in their kits can be tailored to the attacker’s target. The video snippet below comes from the Telegram channel of “Outsider,” a popular Mandarin-speaking phishing kit vendor whose latest offering includes a number of ready-made templates for using text messages to phish brokerage account credentials and one-time codes.

According to Merrill, Outsider is a woman who previously went by the handle “Chenlun.” KrebsOnSecurity profiled Chenlun’s phishing empire in an October 2023 story about a China-based group that was phishing mobile customers of more than a dozen postal services around the globe. In that case, the phishing sites were using a Telegram bot that sent stolen credentials to the “@chenlun” Telegram account.

Chenlun’s phishing lures are sent via Apple’s iMessage and Google’s RCS service and spoof one of the major brokerage platforms, warning that the account has been suspended for suspicious activity and that recipients should log in and verify some information. The missives include a link to a phishing page that collects the customer’s username and password, and then asks the user to enter a one-time code that will arrive via SMS.

The new phish kit videos on Outsider’s Telegram channel only feature templates for Schwab customers, but Merrill said the kit can easily be adapted to target other brokerage platforms. One reason the fraudsters are picking on brokerage firms, he said, has to do with the way they handle multi-factor authentication.

Schwab clients are presented with two options for second factor authentication when they open an account. Users who select the option to only prompt for a code on untrusted devices can choose to receive it via text message, an automated inbound phone call, or an outbound call to Schwab. With the “always at login” option selected, users can choose to receive the code through the Schwab app, a text message, or a Symantec VIP mobile app.

In response to questions, Schwab said it regularly updates clients on emerging fraud trends, including this specific type, which the company addressed in communications sent to clients earlier this year.

The 2FA text message from Schwab warns recipients against giving away their one-time code.

“That message focused on trading-related fraud, highlighting both account intrusions and scams conducted through social media or messaging apps that deceive individuals into executing trades themselves,” Schwab said in a written statement. “We are aware and tracking this trend across several channels, as well as others like it, which attempt to exploit SMS-based verification with stolen credentials. We actively monitor for suspicious patterns and take steps to disrupt them. This activity is part of a broader, industry-wide threat, and we take a multi-layered approach to address and mitigate it.”

Other popular brokerage platforms allow similar methods for multi-factor authentication. Fidelity requires a username and password on initial login, and offers the ability to receive a one-time token via SMS, an automated phone call, or by approving a push notification sent through the Fidelity mobile app. However, all three of these methods for sending one-time tokens are phishable; even with the brokerage firm’s app, the phishers could prompt the user to approve a login request that they initiated in the app with the phished credentials.

Vanguard offers customers a range of multi-factor authentication choices, including the option to require a physical security key in addition to one’s credentials on each login. A security key implements a robust form of multi-factor authentication known as Universal 2nd Factor (U2F), which allows the user to complete the login process simply by connecting an enrolled USB or Bluetooth device and pressing a button. The key works without the need for any special software drivers, and the nice thing about it is your second factor cannot be phished.

Merrill said that in many ways the ramp-and-dump scheme is the perfect crime because it leaves precious few connections between the victim brokerage accounts and the fraudsters.

“It’s really genius because it decouples so many things,” he said. “They can buy shares [in the stock to be pumped] in their personal account on the Chinese exchanges, and the price happens to go up. The Chinese or Hong Kong brokerages aren’t going to see anything funky.”

Merrill said it’s unclear exactly how those perpetrating these ramp-and-dump schemes coordinate their activities, such as whether the accounts are phished well in advance or shortly before being used to inflate the stock price of Chinese companies. The latter possibility would fit nicely with the existing human infrastructure these criminal groups already have in place.

For example, KrebsOnSecurity recently wrote about research from Merrill and other researchers showing the phishers behind these slick mobile phishing kits employed people to sit for hours at a time in front of large banks of mobile phones being used to send the text message lures. These technicians were needed to respond in real time to victims who were supplying the one-time code sent from their financial institution.

The ashtray says: You’ve been phishing all night.

“You can get access to a victim’s brokerage with a one-time passcode, but then you sort of have to use it right away if you can’t set new security settings so you can come back to that account later,” Merrill said.

The rapid pace of innovations produced by these China-based phishing vendors is due in part to their use of artificial intelligence and large language models to help develop the mobile phishing kits, he added.

“These guys are vibe coding stuff together and using LLMs to translate things or help put the user interface together,” Merrill said. “It’s only a matter of time before they start to integrate the LLMs into their development cycle to make it more rapid. The technologies they are building definitely have helped lower the barrier of entry for everyone.”

By Phil Temples, K9HI, ARRL New England Division Vice Director

The New England Division RFI Team assisted Tom Lanieri, NU2W, of North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, with a significant RFI problem he’s been suffering with for many years.

Tom writes: “I moved from central New Jersey ten years ago and knew from day one that my experiences with HF and amateur radio were doomed because of the noise and th...

The Kopernik Observatory put out a call last week for hams to receive and decode transmissions from a launch by its High Altitude Balloon Camp. Amateur radio delivered! Social media was abuzz with images decoded from the K2ZRO-9 transmitters. The balloon was launched from Vestal, New York, and ascended over the Catskill Mountains. A crowd gathered at W1AW, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A man accused of a crime against students at the Ohio State University pleaded guilty to violating the Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

According to the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Ohio, Timur Mamatov, of Tipp City, Ohio, admitted to violating the Hate Crimes Prevention Act after he physically assaulted two students for their religion, causing injury on Nov. 10, 2023.

Court documents state that Mamatov and a friend engaged in an altercation with five students outside of a bar on North High Street near Ohio State’s campus. Mamatov asked one of the students, who was wearing a “Chai” pendant around his neck, if he was Jewish and punched him after he confirmed his heritage.

A second victim suffered a fractured nose as the fight poured into the street. For a previous report on this story view the video player above.

Mamatov, 20, was charged by bill of information on July 3 and a plea was agreed to that same day. Violating the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a federal crime, is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, though a sentencing date has yet to be scheduled.

The incident was the second alleged hate crime that day and occurred just blocks away from the Hillel Wexner Jewish Student Center, where vandalism was caught on camera at about 1 p.m. Police said two women entered the center and asked to look around, which they were allowed to do. One of the women went into a room and began taking Israeli flags.

When confronted, she ran out, yelling an obscenity and, “You support genocide. Free Palestine.” She then dropped the flags, and then she and the other woman got into a car being driven by a man and left.

The 2025 hurricane season has been underway for almost two months and there has activity on the both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.   

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted in June there would be 13 to 18 named storms, 5 to 9 hurricanes, and 2 to 5 major hurricanes (Category 3 or greater) for the 2025 season. This aligns with Colorado State University’s forecast ...

Alexia Snethen, KM6LGG, of Fremont, California, has been awarded The Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship by the ARRL Foundation. The award, endowed through the generosity of William R. Goldfarb, N2ITP, in memory of his parents, Albert and Dorothy Goldfarb, covers a significant portion of higher education expenses to the awardee. Snethen, who earned many college credits during high school, will be ent...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A flyover ramp on Interstate 270 will open this weekend on the East Side.

According to ODOT spokesperson Hannah Salem, the I-270 southbound to Interstate 70 eastbound flyover ramp is scheduled to open Saturday morning. The ramp has been in the works for three years, part of ongoing improvements to the interstates near Brice Road. Salem said the state will send out more information once the ramp is officially opened.

Leading up to the opening, ODOT will have overnight closures on many of the ramps between I-270 and I-70 near Brice Road. Find a full list of those closures here. Most closed areas will be reopened by 5 a.m.

The project began in summer 2022 and is part of the state's Far East Freeway projects. The flyover ramp is replacing an existing loop ramp. As part of the project, ODOT also adjusted the ramps between I-270 North, I-70 East and Brice Road to minimize weaving and merging.

The total construction cost of ODOT's reconfiguring at I-70 and I-270 near Brice Road is $76.68 million.

Once finished, the state plans to move on to reconfigure ramps from Brice Road to I-70 westbound, reconstruct the I-70 westbound to I-270 northbound ramp and widen or add lanes to the area for easier transportation. Construction on the next phase is expected to begin this year.

The work near Brice Road is one of four project areas ODOT is tackling along I-70. ODOT said the Far East Freeway projects will address the growing travel demands between Downtown and eastern Columbus suburbs.

The state aims to boost safety with targeted improvements along the portion of I-70 that runs parallel to Main Street from Whitehall to Reynoldsburg. Much of the planned work has not yet begun, and the state does not currently have a planned end construction date.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The NCAA on Friday revealed the punishment Michigan's football program will receive for its sign-stealing scandal, including a multi-million dollar fine and a suspension for head coach Sherrone Moore.

The NCAA investigation found "overwhelming evidence" of an "impermissible scouting scheme" over a three-year period from 2021 to 2023 -- the year the team won a national championship.

Michigan is classified as a "repeat violator," according to the NCAA, which said there was enough grounds for a multi-year postseason ban. However, the organization said it didn't wish to punish any student-athletes for the actions of the coaches and staff.

"Thus, the panel determined a more appropriate penalty is an offsetting financial penalty instead of a two-year postseason ban," the NCAA said.

Financial penalties are expected to exceed $20 million and include a $50,000 fine, a 10% fine on the football program’s budget, a 10% fine on Michigan’s 2025-26 scholarships and a fine equivalent to the anticipated loss of postseason revenue for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. Michigan also faces a 25% reduction in official visits during the upcoming season and a 14-week prohibition on football recruiting communications during the probation period.

Connor Stalions, a former a low-level staffer who conducted the scouting and sign-stealing operation, was issued an eight-year show-cause order. Former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh faces a 10-year show-cause order following the conclusion of his previous four-year order effective Aug. 7, 2028. Harbaugh and Stalions will be prohibited from engaging in all athletically related activities.

A show-cause penalty makes it harder for schools to hire them during those respective timeframes, according to ESPN.

In the scheme, Stalions purchased tickets for games of upcoming opponents and transferred them to individuals who would attend the games. They would film the signal callers of their future opponents, which violates rules surrounding in-person scouting. The individuals included another staff member, interns and acquaintances, according to the NCAA. The group was referred to as the "KGB."

One of the games Stalions reportedly purchased tickets to was the 2023 Ohio State game against Penn State. The NCAA said Stalions spent about $35,000 on tickets during the 2022 season.

Stalions, Harbaugh, and Moore all failed to cooperate with the investigation, according to the NCAA. Stalions admitted to throwing a phone and film into a pond. He also told an intern to "clear out" emails, texts and videos, which he said he didn't remember asking them to do.

"We may never know the full extent which other members in the program were aware of what Mr. Stalions was doing," said Norman Bay, the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions public member.

Moore deleted a 52-message text thread with Stalions after media reports of the scheme surfaced in October 2023, according to the NCAA. A day later, he deleted a single text from a school-issued phone -- something he attributed to a lack of storage but later admitted it was because of the news.

Harbaugh refused to provide records or be interviewed for the investigation.

"The violation was serious to begin with, but the coverup made it even worse," Bay said.

NBC4's Whitney Harding asked if there is concern that the punishment sets a precedent to not cooperate with the investigation, after the committee said multiple times they didn't have all the evidence they needed because of a lack of cooperation.

"I would hope that the takeaway is not that you can fail to cooperate and get away with it," Bay said. "I would hope the takeaway is if you fail to cooperate there can be really serious consequences, just as the consequences here were serious. I guess I'd be very disappointed if people read this decision in a contrary fashion."

The committee clarified that it didn't vacate any of Michigan's wins because that punishment is reserved for when there is ineligible competition, which was not a factor in this case.

The Wolverines open the season on Aug. 30 at home against New Mexico and then play at Oklahoma, where Moore was an offensive lineman, on Sept. 6.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

DELAWARE, Ohio (WCMH) — Another central Ohio theater is getting a new marquee, an apparent trend after both Bellefontaine’s Holland Theatre and the Garden Theater in Columbus's Short North recently received signage makeovers.

Last week, the Strand Theatre in Delaware removed its current 1930s-era marquee in anticipation of an upgraded digital sign, according to Tracey Peyton, managing director at the Strand Theatre. Peyton said the 109-year-old Strand will be outfitted with a sign that replicates the “old frame's specs” and includes a new vertical blade.

“As one of the 10 oldest theatres in the nation still showing first-run films, I think it's important to understand that many historic theatres are due for upgrades, if they haven't already had one,” Peyton said. “And with lots of those theatres, a vertical blade was installed to show the way for pedestrians to find where the entertainment was back in the day. It served as a beacon for them.”

According to David Hejmanowski, a Strand board member, some of the sign's original metal framework might be in good enough condition to be “incorporated into the structure of the new marquee,” allowing “portions of the original 1930s sign [to] live on in its successor!”

Hejmanowski mentioned that removing the old marquee “revealed several treasures.” He pointed out that the previous neon lighting, from the time when the Schine Theater Company operated the building, had left a shadow visible under the Strand Theatre signage. Additionally, the supportive framework for the original 1916 arch was uncovered behind the old marquee's assembly.

“One can clearly see how the center storefront panel was removed and built out to be the theater entrance,” Hejmanowski said.

• Photo Courtesy/ The Strand Theatre
• Photo Courtesy/ Tracey Peyton
• Photo Courtesy/ Hayden Reed
• Photo Courtesy/ Kristin Walton
• Photo Courtesy/ Tracey Peyton
• Photo Courtesy/ The Strand Theatre
• Photo Courtesy/David Hejmanowski
• Photo Courtesy/David Hejmanowski
• Photo Courtesy/David Hejmanowski
• Photo Courtesy/David Hejmanowski
• Photo Courtesy/David Hejmanowski
• Photo Courtesy/David Hejmanowski
• Photo Courtesy/David Hejmanowski
• Photo Courtesy/David Hejmanowski
• Photo Courtesy/David Hejmanowski
• Photo Courtesy/David Hejmanowski

Wagner Electric Signs, a three-generation northeast Ohio sign maker and the same company that crafted the Holland Theatre's recent marquee, will fabricate and install the Strand's new marquee. Peyton said the marquee and blade will be mounted sometime in November 2025.

Several issues led to the decision to replace the marquee, according to Hejmanowski.  

“Significant structural wear was evident and despite repeated attempts, the chasing incandescent lights could not be returned to working order,” he said.

Plans for the theater, which is owned by its board of directors, began in February 2022, Peyton said. Working jointly with the City of Delaware's historic preservation commission, the goal was to balance historic preservation with modern digitization. Additionally, the community raised $200,000 for the upgrade.

“It's not lost on us that the reason the Strand has survived the Great Depression, the Spanish flu, the rise of movieplexes, and the COVID pandemic is because of the loving-kindness of the Delaware community and beyond,” Peyton said.

“As a Strand board member, I want to make sure folks know that we are also very sad to see the old marquee go — we extended its life for several years trying to preserve it,” Hejmanowski shared on social media. “We want to preserve the Strand’s fantastic history as it approaches its 110th birthday, but we also want it to be here — vibrant and successful — 110 years from now!”

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) - This week on Columbus Business Beat, Digital Anchor Rachel Ramsey talks to Mark Somerson, Managing Editor of Columbus Business First, about business news across central Ohio.

To watch this week’s episode, view the video player above.

• Nationwide Realty Investors is looking to convert 280 N. High St., the 18-story office formerly known as Two Nationwide Plaza, into residential housing.
• Vera on Broad apartment complex was sold to the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority for $29.3 million. With CMHA taking over ownership, the units in the complex will be available for renters with Housing Choice Vouchers.
• The city of New Albany has plans to purchase the former Discover building, located at 6500 New Albany Road E.
• Marino's Seafood Fish & Chips at 1216 W. 5th Ave. is reopening after a previous deal fell through to make the location an Arthur Treacher’s Fish & Chips.

NBC4 digital reporters David Rees and Ava Boldizar also discuss some of their business stories in this latest episode.

• New Jersey-based chicken chain Flamin’ Feathers is opening in Lewis Center at 1329 Cameron Ave.
• The City of Pickerington is considering establishing a district where residents and visitors would be permitted to drink alcoholic beverages outdoors. 

MOUNT GILEAD, Ohio (WCMH) – A jury trial for a man accused of killing a Morrow County sheriff’s deputy has been scheduled for the summer of 2026.

According to Morrow County court records, pretrial motions in the murder trial of Brian Wilson will begin on May 8, 2026, with jury selection to begin one month later.

Wilson, who could face the death penalty, is being held on 14 charges, including aggravated murder, premeditated aggravated murder, felony murder, three counts of felonious assault, attempted murder, attempted aggravated murder, domestic violence, two counts of unlawful discharging of a weapon, two counts of possession of a firearm, and discharging a firearm while intoxicated. Eleven of the charges include a three-year weapon specification. See an earlier report in the video player above.

• Daniel Sherrer, Morrow County Sheriff deputy.
• Brian Wilson, accused of killing deputy Daniel Sherrer, appears in a Morrow County courtroom, June 17, 2025. (NBC4/Brett Mills)
• (NBC4/Anna Hoffman)
• (NBC4)
• Deputy Daniel Sherrer's funeral procession began in Dayton, Ohio and traveled through Columbus to Mount Gilead, May 28, 2025. (NBC4)
• Deputy Daniel Sherrer's funeral procession began in Dayton, Ohio and traveled through Columbus to Mount Gilead, May 28, 2025. (NBC4)
• (NBC4)
• Deputy Daniel Sherrer's funeral procession began in Dayton, Ohio and traveled through Columbus to Mount Gilead, May 28, 2025. (NBC4)
• (NBC4/Isabel Cleary)
• Deputy Daniel Sherrer's funeral procession began in Dayton, Ohio and traveled through Columbus to Mount Gilead, May 28, 2025. (NBC4)
• NBC4 Photo / Samantha Bender

Those charges stem from the shooting of deputy Daniel Sherrer, who was responding to a domestic disturbance call at Wilson’s home on County Road 26, just south of Marengo.

Upon arrival, Wilson reportedly told Sherrer, “You better just f—— go if you want your family to see you tomorrow.” Several gunshots were heard and Sherrer was hit during the exchange. More shots were fired, a court affidavit said, and two firearms were recovered, including a semiautomatic pistol and a revolver.

Wilson was also shot during the exchange and was hospitalized for nearly a week. He pleaded not guilty and initially issued a $5 million bond without the possibility of paying 10% by a municipal court judge. That bond was amended in common pleas court to $9 million, the amount Morrow County prosecuting attorneys were originally seeking.

If found guilty, Wilson's sentencing date has been scheduled for July 8.

After his death, Sherrer was honored with a 120-mile procession, and Gov. Mike DeWine ordered flags flown at half staff. Sherrer was laid to rest on June 4 at a private ceremony at Marion Cemetery.

NEWARK, Ohio (WCMH) -- One person was taken to a hospital Friday morning after a shooting involving Newark police.

No officers were injured. One person was taken to Mount Carmel East hospital in Columbus after the incident in the 600 block of West Church Street, near the Licking County Family YMCA. The person's condition was not immediately known.

The shooting was confirmed by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which was called to the scene about 8:20 a.m. The BCI typically investigates shootings involving police agencies.