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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- It was somehow fitting that all the stars aligned for a Blue Jackets victory to end what was an otherwise forgetful 2023-24 campaign.

On a night that saw the franchise's longtime television announcer enter retirement, and five years to the day when Columbus upset the top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, CBJ headed into an uncertain offseason with a 6-3 win over the playoff-bound Carolina Hurricanes.

There were 17,289 fans that witnessed the season finale for the Blue Jackets. And the number of individual storylines that unfolded Tuesday evening at Nationwide Arena gave the faithful fanbase some hope about the future.

Luca Del Bel Belluz scores in NHL debut

Luca Del Bel Belluz woke up this morning in Cleveland not knowing he'd end up scoring his first NHL goal hours later. The 20-year-old from Woodbridge, Ontario was in the middle of watching film when he got the call that he'd be on the ice for the Blue Jackets on emergency recall with forward Dimitri Voronkov out due to illness.

"There were so many thoughts going through my head. I had a lot of people calling me on the way down," Del Bel Belluz said.

The forward made an immediate impact in his NHL debut, scoring his first career goal on his first shot of the game. He became the eighth player in club history to score in his debut and fifth to do it at home.

"It's definitely going to be one to remember. It was just kind of a whirlwind of a day. Not expecting to get called up. Just going to practice in the morning. Regular day and then just like that it switches and you're on your way to Columbus," Del Bel Belluz said. "Playing my first NHL game is something that you dream of as a kid and something I'll always remember.

It's just too bad his parents didn't get to see it, even though they were at Nationwide Arena to see him play.

"He was called up this afternoon and I believe somebody told me that his parents were in the elevator when he scored that goal," head coach Pascal Vincent said. "Just too bad. But that's a good story in 20 years."

Zach Werenski sets a franchise record in season finale

Zach Werenski was on the Blue Jackets when they pulled off that memorable sweep of the top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning five years ago, which marked the first playoff series win in franchise history.

Five years later, he's in the record books for an individual achievement. Werenski's assist on Del Bel Belluz's opening goal set a new franchise record for most assists in a single season by a defenseman. By the end of the night, Werenski had four points with two goals and two assists and became the sixth player in Blue Jackets history to reach 300 career points.

"I owe it to a lot of guys obviously, but it was really cool to finish that way," Werenski said. "I think it was really huge for us. It was a fun hockey game in a fun atmosphere. It's good to end on a high note."

Jeff Rimer heads into retirement on a high note

For one last time, Jeff Rimer provided the soundtrack to a Blue Jackets telecast, concluding a 20-year run in the broadcast booth for Columbus. And the Blue Jackets made sure he headed into retirement with a victory.

Earlier in the day, Rimer was in the locker room to provide the team's starting lineup.

"He said I expect a win. And nothing less. There's no way you guys are going to let me retire on a loss," Vincent said. "It was a great speech."

There's no question Rimer was part of the motivation for the Blue Jackets' season finale. In the final period of Rimer's broadcast, a montage commemorating his career played on the video board, with appearances from the likes of Michael Buble and Wayne Gretzky who provided messages of gratitude for his decades of service.

"He's such a character. He's such a good man. He's been in the NHL for 47 years," Vincent said. "And there's a reason for it. You don't last that long if you're not a special man."

And so ends the 2023-24 season. One that saw more than 40 losses for the second straight year. Yet the fanbase remains strong. The club's average attendance of 17,016 over 41 games marks the highest average at Nationwide Arena in 20 years.

As the players get ready to clean out their lockers for an offseason that will see a new general manager take over, the fans can enjoy this win until the Blue Jackets get on the ice again.

Watch a previous report of Cayon Drake appearing in court in the video player above.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A Columbus man was sentenced to as much as 18 years in prison for a fatal double-shooting tied to a drug deal gone wrong in 2023.

Cayon Drake, 19, pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of involuntary manslaughter, one carrying a mandatory three-year firearms specification. He was sentenced to 15 to 18 years in prison with two to five years of post-release control when released.

In exchange for his plea, charges of aggravated robbery, aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, discharge of a firearm on or near a prohibited premise, and improper handling of a firearm were all dropped.

Man sentenced for fatal 2023 North Linden shooting

According to police, officers responded to the 2000 block of East 10th Avenue on April 18, 2023, and found Antonie Moss Jr., 19, and Jeremy Heglar, 16, both suffering from gunshot wounds. Moss was pronounced dead at the scene while Heglar later died at the hospital.

Heglar and his girlfriend met Moss and Drake to buy drugs, court records show. Moss and Drake then got into the back seat of Heglar’s car, pulled out guns and shot Heglar. Helger then returned fire, killing Moss and shooting Drake in the arm. Drake ran from the car, shooting it several more times before running away.

Drake received six to nine years in prison plus an additional three years for the firearms specification for the first involuntary manslaughter charge, plus an additional six to nine years for the second involuntary manslaughter charge, all to be served consecutively.

• An update on the AT&T data breach
• 340,000 social security numbers leaked
• Cookie Notice Compliance
• The GDPR does enforce some transparency
• Physical router buttons
• Wifi enabled button pressers
• Netsecfish disclosure of Dlink NAS vulnerability
• Chrome bloat
• SpinRite update
• GhostRace

Show Notes - https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-970-Notes.pdf

Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte

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As of the first quarter of 2024, 83% of developers were involved in devops-related activities such as performance monitoring, security testing, or CI/CD, according to the State of CI/CD Report 2024, published by the Continuous Delivery (CD) Foundation, a part of the Linux Foundation.

Released April 16, the State of CI/CD Report 2024 is downloadable from the CD Foundation, authored by developer researcher SlashData, and sponsored by CloudBees, provider of a DevSecOps platform.

To read this article in full, please click here

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Dozens of people enjoying time out and about on Saturday afternoon came back to find their car windows smashed. The crimes took place in Clintonville and western parts of the city. 

According to Columbus Police, nearly 20 people had their cars vandalized at the Rusty Bucket on North High Street. 

Ohio police say distracted driving law is working

“Be safe, be aware and keep your eyes open,” said Paige Postlewaite, a Columbus resident. 

That’s the message one Columbus resident is spreading after a smash-and-grab incident happened not too far from where she lives. 

“I always thought Clintonville was more of a safer area. It's not too close to the city, so I don't really expect a lot of break-ins or anything like that. But, I was definitely surprised to hear about The Rusty Bucket. Yeah, I'll definitely be keeping valuables in my home,” said Postlewaite. 

Over the weekend, dozens of cars had their windows smashed out. Cars were also targeted at Hayden Falls and Tuttle Crossing Mall.

Judge temporarily halts Ohio’s trans athlete, healthcare ban

The recent string of break-ins has led the Rusty Bucket to add its own portable surveillance system, just to make sure its customers and employees feel protected. 

At Hayden Falls, you can still see large amounts of glass in a couple parking spots. People we spoke with told NBC4 they were shocked that it happened in the middle of the day. They said it makes them more concerned but they try to not leave anything valuable in their cars. 

“The people that we live with, like, advise us not to leave anything. So, other than a few blankets, like nothing is left in the car,” said Isabelle Smith, a student at Ohio State University. 

Eric Delbert, owner of L.E.P.D Firearms, said one thing these vandals could be looking for is firearms. 

“They're looking for that firearm that is stored in the center console, in the glove box, under the seat, those obvious places. When they don't find it, they're off to the next one,” he said. 

Man sentenced for fatal 2023 North Linden shooting

According to data from Columbus police, in 2023, 770 guns were stolen out of vehicles. In January of this year, 69 guns were stolen from vehicles. If you have to leave your firearms in your vehicle, Delbert recommends a lock box. 

“There's always an occasion to maybe need to secure your firearm when you're out. It doesn't take much just to have one of these safes sitting in the car, sitting in the trunk, and be prepared for those days when you're going to have to lock it up and make sure it's secured,” said Delbert. 

As always, if someone witnesses a car break-in, contact law enforcement.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Have you ever considered that being able to check the mailbox is a privilege most of us take for granted? It's something Kieauna Fuqua's considered after she moved into an apartment complex in north Columbus last September.

"I picked up my key to get into my apartment and then I asked the landlord, 'Hey, what about my mailbox key?' And she told me, 'Oh, you'll go to the local post office to get your mailbox key.' So, that's what I did," Fuqua said. "Showed them all of my information, they stamped it, told me to come back in seven to 10 business days and they'll have my mailbox key for me."

Woman calls on Ticketmaster to make changes after concert rescheduled multiple times

When that time passed, Fuqua returned to the post office to get her mailbox key.

"But, they said, 'No, you were told the wrong information. We don't have a key for you. You have to get your key from the rental property, where you're renting from,'" she said.

So, Fuqua said she went back to her landlord.

"Explained everything that was going on," Fuqua said. "She said, 'Oh, nope. That's not our issue. That's a USPS issue.'"

How you may be affected by AT&T breach

The back-and-forth with the post office and the property management continued, and Fuqua was right in the middle.

"Someone has to be responsible," Fuqua said. "I'm not responsible, I'm just the tenant."

But Fuqua said she became more and more frustrated and confused, especially after she took another look at her lease agreement.

"It even stated that I'm supposed to have one mailbox key and one key to my apartment," Fuqua said.

That's when she called Better Call 4 in February. She'd gone nearly five months without mail.

Couple who lost $24K in bank scam receives some answers

After speaking with Fuqua on Feb. 5, we were also confused about who was responsible. I even asked a mail carrier, who just happened to be outside of Fuqua's apartment the day we spoke. She told me it was the rental property's responsibility.

And a USPS representative echoed that, telling me in a statement, "We apologize for the miscommunication, but USPS does not own these boxes. Since they are considered ‘privately owned,’ the building management is responsible for maintaining the box including issuing keys."

I then reached out to property management, who told me Fuqua's "mailbox is a USPS mailbox," but added that they made the decision "to replace all of our mailboxes from USPS to our own to avoid this issue happening to anyone else." And went on to say Fuqua's mailbox was replaced on Feb. 12, and she was finally provided with a key on Feb. 21.

I checked back with both the property management and with USPS, but never got a clear answer as to why there was so much confusion about who was responsible for the key.

Need help? Contact ‘Better Call 4’

I also confirmed with Fuqua that she got her key. She did, it works, and she's officially able to get her mail.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) said distracted driving causes thousands of crashes each year, but that number is going down, and they are crediting a lot of that to the state's distracted driving law.

The law has been in place for a little more than a year and is making an impact on the roads.

Judge temporarily halts Ohio’s trans athlete, healthcare ban

Data from the OHSP shows a 45% decrease in serious injury crashes involving distracted driving year to date. Officials credit much of this to the state’s year-old distracted driving law.

“We know that that law is actually saving lives,” said Andy Wilson with the Ohio Department of Public Safety Director.

The Phones Down law allows law enforcement to pull over drivers if they are seen swiping on their phones while moving on the roads.  

Some people said it has made them more aware.

Superman movie filming in Ohio to cast locals as extras

“I definitely have been more cautious of how I drive,” Columbus resident Sarah Grose said.

In the past year, highway patrol has given out more than 12,000 distracted driving-related violations.

Some people said the threat of being pulled over is not stopping some drivers.

“Just coming down here to Columbus today, you had at least two people who were slow in the passing lane and you look over and they’re on their phone. So it hasn’t changed. People still do what they want to do,” Toledo resident Aaron Koehl said.

The Ohio Department of Public Safety said that this year, it has been able to track phone use on the roads through insurance apps.

One dead, driver runs from northeast Columbus crash

“We know from the information that we have from those companies that since our distracted driving law went into effect, we've had about an 8.6% reduction in the number of people who are using their phones on the road,” Wilson said.

Highway Patrol said Franklin County ranked second in the state for the most distracted driving-related crashes over the last five years, but OSHP said the crashes are down by around 19% statewide.

People on the roads still think there is still improvement to be made.

“Social media is so big, kids on TikTok, Instagram. I know I've been a victim of falling into social media distractedness, but I think it is good to kind of push the standards moving forward,” Grose said.

Ohio chamber of commerce hosts first childcare summit

If you are pulled over for using your phone while driving there are fines. For a first offense, drivers will get two points on their license and a $150 fine. This could be waived by taking a distracted driving course. If a driver has another offense within two years, they will receive three points and up to $250 fine. Any offense after that within two years is four points, up to a $500 fine, and a possible 90-day suspension of your license. 

The Highway Patrol said if you see someone driving unsafe, you can call #677 to report it.

Watch a previous report on the fatal shooting in the video player above.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A Columbus man could spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty to murder in connection with a 2023 North Linden double shooting.

Paul A. Banks, 36, was sentenced Tuesday to at least 18 years with the possibility of life in prison after pleading guilty to murder with a firearm specification and felonious assault charges on Monday.

‘Nightmare’ at Downtown office tower has OH Pizza and Brew looking for new home

With his plea, Banks admitted to shooting and killing Ronald Price, 60, just before midnight on Jan. 31, 2023, on the 2800 block of Atwood Terrace. Banks also shot a 37-year-old man in the same incident.

The surviving victim told police that he was inside the home when he heard the shooting. When he went to help Price, Banks shot him, police said.

Banks received a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole in 18 years for the murder charge -- 15 years plus an additional three years mandatory for a firearm specification. He also received a concurrent four-year sentence for the felonious assault plea. Should Banks be released from prison, he would receive 18 months to three years of post-release control.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – As Ohio families continue to face challenges when it comes to accessing affordable childcare, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce is trying to help find solutions.

The chamber Tuesday hosted its first Access and Affordability to Childcare Summit. Dave Smith, Executive Director of Horizon Education Centers, was an attendee and panelist. “A lot of families have to decide do I want to deal with that career loss or am I going to have to figure out some way to pony up the money to pay for quality childcare," he said.

‘Nightmare’ at Downtown office tower has OH Pizza and Brew looking for new home

Often times, one parent in a household decides to leave their job rather than pay for childcare. With about thirty years of experience in the early childcare and education industry, Smith recognized the situation families are in. “Quality childcare in most situations, a family is going to pay more for childcare than they’re going to pay for their mortgage," he said.

He said paying childcare workers enough and staffing levels on the provider side are other big challenges. He described as a tricky situation to be in because enrollment needs to be up to support staffing but many families can't afford enrolling.

“If we can't get enough people to staff and become childcare caregivers, how do we expect to grow the number of options, how do we expect to grow supply and drive down the price," said Rick Carfagna, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs with the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

The summit brought together national, local, and state partners. “We have to be very three dimensional in how we address this problem, there’s not going to be a one size fits all approach so we’re going to have to attack it from many different levels," Carfagna said.

Watch a previous NBC4 report on H.B. 68 in the video player above.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- An Ohio law banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth cannot go into effect as planned next week while a legal challenge moves forward in court, a Franklin County judge ruled Tuesday. 

Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Michael Holbrook issued a two-week temporary restraining order on Tuesday to block House Bill 68. The legislation would prohibit Ohio’s children’s hospitals from providing treatment like hormone therapy to trans minors, and was set to take effect on April 24.

Tuesday’s ruling follows a lawsuit by the ACLU against the measure filed in March on behalf of two families whose children are at risk of losing access to their healthcare. The temporary restraining order is in effect for 14 days or until the hearing of the ACLU's motion for a preliminary injunction.

"We are thrilled and relieved that Ohio’s ban on gender-affirming health care has been halted and that transgender youth can continue, for the near term at least, to access medically necessary healthcare," said Freda Levenson, legal director for the ACLU of Ohio. "Our legal battle will continue until, we hope, this cruel restriction is permanently blocked."

The ACLU argues the legislation violates the Ohio Constitution’s single-subject rule, requiring bills to only be about one topic, given the measure addresses trans healthcare and also bans transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports. The two provisions had been separate bills before Ohio House legislators combined them in June last year.

H.B. 68 also goes against a constitutional amendment that says no law or rule “shall prohibit the purchase or sale of Health Care or health insurance,” the ACLU said. The amendment led by Ohio Republicans passed in 2011 and aimed to limit the effects of the Affordable Care Act.

The legal challenge came after the Statehouse voted to override Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of the legislation. DeWine decided to reject the bill after visiting several children’s hospitals, arguing “parents should make these decisions and not the government.”

Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery), the primary sponsor of H.B. 68, said the complaint is “not surprising” and “par for the course,” and argued H.B. 68 was written “to be bulletproof when it came to lawsuits.” Click said he has the “utmost confidence in our attorney general who is capable of defending such commonsense legislation.” 

“It is going to be a frivolous lawsuit because there is not constitutional right to sterilize children or to harm or to mutilate them,” Click said. “I believe that science and the law is on our side and we will prevail.”

Gender-affirming care is backed by every major medical association in the nation, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychological Association. To override medical consensus is “government overreach,” the ACLU said and promised it will “reinstate Ohio families’ right to make personal medical decisions with healthcare providers -- not politicians.” 

Ohio’s children’s hospitals have served about 3,300 individuals throughout the past 10 years whose first appointment at a gender clinic took place when they were under the age of 18, according to the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association president. Of those 3,300 individuals, 7% were prescribed a puberty blocker and 35% were prescribed hormones.

A previous report can be seen in the player above.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A man who has been charged with murder in connection to a fatal shooting of a 21-year-old made his first court appearance on Tuesday.

Kristion Gresham appeared in Franklin County Municipal Court and was given a $1 million bond after being arrested on Saturday and charged with the shooting death of Delvon Wilkerson Jr.

Hilliard student coerced to ‘identify as opposite sex,’ anti-LGBTQ+ lawsuit says

Gresham, 21, was arrested in connection to a shooting Thursday at the 100 block of East 21st Avenue. Just after 5:15 p.m., Columbus police officers found Gresham with a gunshot wound.

Roughly 30 minutes later, officers went to Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and found Wilkerson inside a car that had numerous bullet holes. Wilkerson was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. while Gresham, who had non-life threatening injuries, was arrested at the hospital.

Police believe a fight between Gresham and Wilkerson took place at the East 21st Avenue location, resulting in both men being shot.

Among the conditions of Gresham's bond include no possession of firearms of ammunition. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 25.