Ohio News

COLUMBUS, Ohio - He's never drank. He's never done drugs. But, Dave Mathess is an addict and he can tell you how everything went wrong.

"In 25 years, I've lost about $1.4 million and I have a dollar in my bank account," he said.

Mathess is happy about that lonely dollar, because he says now he pays his bills on time. He didn't use to.

He had gambled for 35 years and says he was addicted to playing the lottery and bingo for 20 years. He says he lost himself, his family, relationships, jobs and his income. In 2017 he tried to kill himself by taking pills and wound up in the hospital. When he got out he says he knew he had to do something drastic. He went to Hollywood Casino and Scioto Downs and voluntarily banned himself for life.

"If I go in to those casinos, then I automatically go to jail for criminal trespassing," Mathess said.

He's coming up on two years clean and attends counseling at Maryhaven. He says temptations are everywhere and worries if the state of Ohio legalizes sports wagering it can and will be a trigger for addicts.

SB 111, if passed, would permit the Ohio Casino Control Commission to regulate sports wagering.

"It is part of culture, I think, the gambling is," Bruce Jones said.

Jones, the administrative coordinator for Maryhaven's Gambling Intervention Program, says SB 111 is going to happen. He's glad the current bill would require the minimum age to be 21. His concerns are having the wagering on mobile apps saying there's no way to exclude yourself from it. He's also worried about betting on the Olympics, World Cup and college sports. This year, it's estimated for the NCAA men's basketball tournament, Americans bet $8.5 billion, according to CBS News.

Finally, Jones says as it stands there's no money from revenue in the bill going back to counseling or addiction services.

"Oh, I think it's imperative," Jones said. "We need to have some sort of piece of the action."

Bill sponsor Senator John Eklund tells 10TV News options for where the money will go are being explored, however he wants to be able to determine where money will do the most good and be applied most purposefully.

As for addicts like Mathess and the countless others who struggle with gambling, Sen. Eklund says he sympathizes with them and their families, but believes they will continue to struggle regardless of possible legislation.

Legislation that Mathess says won't work.

"[Gambling is] so encompassing of our society," he said. "I mean, where would you put legislation on something like that?"

Sen. Eklund says SB 111 is expected to soon be assigned to committees to begin hearings for possible approval.

Two men have been arrested after authorities said they were throwing objects onto Interstate 71 last week.

According to court records, 23-year-old Shakim Hail and 19-year-old Keneth Blackwell were seen throwing large rocks and beer bottles while on the overpass of E. 11th Avenue and I-71 north on April 8.

A driver on I-71 saw the two men throwing objects and had to apply his brakes to avoid being hit.

Both men admitted to police they were throwing objects but said they were not trying to strike any vehicle and were just playing around.

Both Hail and Blackwell charged with vehicular vandalism. They will both be back in court on April 18.

Saturday, thousands of fans will crowd The Shoe for Ohio State’s Spring Game. Among them will be a group of families who are taking care of children with life-threatening illnesses.

“The kids love it,” said Chris Elliott, executive director for A Kid Again, a non-profit that provides free, monthly adventures for sick children. “They spend way too much time unfortunately in the hospital. They spend way too much time visiting with doctors and having treatments done. So, we’re told every single month when they get that invitation, you know the kids are so excited.”

This year, 1,000 patient children and their families will attend the Spring Game for free.

“It means the world,” said Kanda Benner, mom of three boys. Her middle son, Luke was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 4 years old.

“And it kinda just came out of nowhere,” Benner explained. “Anybody who is diagnosed knows that you have a life one day and the next you’re in the hospital.”

Luke is now 10 years old and will attend Saturday’s event along with several of his other friends who have also experienced or currently experiencing life-threatening sickness. His mom says outing with “A Kid Again” give him something to look forward to.

“Luke’s treatment was actually three and a half years,” Benner explained. “The hospital becomes our home away from home. But then when they send you an email about an adventure, it’s like “yes!!! We have another adventure to go to.”

The Spring Game kicks off at noon.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A bill to legalize sports betting in the state has been introduced in the Ohio House.

Republican Rep. Dave Greenspan, of Westlake, and Democratic Rep. Brigid Kelly, of Cincinnati, introduced legislation Tuesday to establish a Sports Gaming Advisory Board designed to legalize and regulate sports gambling in Ohio.

Greenspan's release Tuesday said the legislation is in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing states to offer legalized betting on professional and college sports.

The bill allows the Ohio Lottery Commission to administer sports gambling, with the new advisory board initially providing research and recommendations to the commission. The bill also levies a 10 percent tax on businesses that provide sports betting.

Greenspan says the legislation would generate additional funds for public education and for problem gambling and addiction services.

Vacant farmland along Alton Darby Creek Road south of Roberts Road is waiting to be developed by Pulte Homes and Harmony Development Group.

The group has requested the City of Columbus to approve its plan to build 555 4-bedroom homes, 121 ranch homes, and 432 apartments. That's 1,108 homes.

The development would be built over 10-years and the developer plans to pay some of the cost to build roundabouts, or other traffic solutions to help ease congestion.

At the intersection of Alton Darby and Feder Road, the development is expected to add 13% more cars to that single intersection, according to the developer.

That is raising concerns from residents and the city. The Columbus Development Commission has called a special meeting May 1 at 6 p.m. at the Coleman Building on North Front Street to address questions by residents about the impact the development will have on the area.

This west side corridor is growing-- and that's a good thing, but it's the way it's growing that some don't agree with.

"It is becoming more of a problem because of they like Hilliard schools," says Ron Hopkins said.

Opponents of the project sent letters to the city demanding the project be retooled.

Meanwhile, those who've lived in this area since the '80s like the Hopkins say the traffic jams on Feder Road aren't only a problem during the week.

"On Sunday you have three churches, huge church's sometimes you'll sit here on Feder road a half hour just waiting," says Hopkins.

Additional Information

• City of Columbus Development Commission: Sugar Farms Presentation
• Responses to Sugar Farms opposition
• City Of Columbus Department of Zoning

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cavaliers have changed dramatically and so has their downtown home.

Quickens Loans Arena is no more.

The team will no longer play at "The Q," but inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, which is undergoing a $185 million renovation funded by the city and team.

The Cavaliers, who have had a difficult first season since LeBron James left for Los Angeles, announced the name change on Tuesday, hours before they hosted the Charlotte Hornets in their season finale.

Dan Gilbert, who has owned the Cavaliers since 2005, said he understands if fans are unhappy with the new name. There was a similar sentiment when the 19,000-seat building, which opened in 1994, went from being Gund Arena to Quicken Loans.

"I know that sometimes (with) change, you get a little resistance and people say, 'Why are they changing it?' and 'How's that name going to work?'" Gilbert said. "We heard that initially when it was the Gund Arena to Quicken Loans Arena. I think after time there will probably be some kind of short nickname that takes place naturally and it will fit right in perfect with Cleveland, Ohio, for a lot of reasons."

Gilbert mentioned the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as one of the connections to the new name.

The arena has been under construction since hosting the 2016 Republican National Convention and won't be finished until the fall when a concert by Akron rock group The Black Keys will officially usher in a new era for the building.

Cleveland will host the NBA All-Star game in 2020.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mick Cronin was hired as UCLA's basketball coach Tuesday, ending a bumpy, months-long search to find a replacement for the fired Steve Alford.

The university said Cronin agreed to a $24 million, six-year deal.

UCLA's search has been marked by a series of starts and stops since Alford was dismissed on Dec. 31. The school had never before fired a coach during the season.

Cronin wasn't the first choice of athletic director Dan Guerrero, who headed a search committee that included Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers, a former Bruin.

The Bruins were interested in Texas Christian's Jamie Dixon, but couldn't reach a deal because of his $8 million buyout. Then they turned to Tennessee's Rick Barnes, and again couldn't come to terms.

"Throughout what was a thorough and exhaustive search, those of us on the committee repeatedly discussed and emphasized the importance of bringing in a coach who really wants to be here," Myers said in a statement.

So Cronin moved to the forefront.

He had a 296-146 record at his alma mater Cincinnati over 16 seasons and led the Bearcats to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last nine years. However, they made it past the first two rounds just once during Cronin's tenure, earning a Sweet Sixteen berth in 2012.

Twice in the last three years, the Bearcats beat UCLA, including a 29-point rout in December not long before Alford was fired.

The Bearcats went 28-7 this season, winning a second consecutive American Athletic Conference tournament championship before losing to Iowa in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

"Mick has built a fantastic program at Cincinnati, backed by integrity and discipline, and he has instilled an undeniable toughness in his student-athletes," Guerrero said in the statement. "I am confident he will build this program the right way and lead UCLA basketball back to national prominence."

Cronin, 47, will be introduced at a campus news conference Wednesday.

"UCLA is a very special place with a strong tradition of excellence," he said in the statement. "To be able to join such a world-class institution is truly a privilege, and I can't wait to get started in Westwood."

Alford wasn't a popular hire among UCLA supporters, who didn't think he was an upgrade from Ben Howland, who took the Bruins to three Final Four appearances. They wanted a bigger name.

How boosters react to Cronin and his emphasis on defense remains to be seen. Attendance has also lagged in recent years.

"I have great hopes for Mick Cronin and am confident he understands our values of academic and athletic excellence, recognizing the very high bar set by Coach John Wooden," UCLA chancellor Gene Block said in a statement.

Except for brief stints at Louisville and Murray State, Cronin has spent his career in his hometown of Cincinnati. He graduated from the university in 1997.

His only other head coaching stint was at Murray State from 2003 to 2006, when the Racers were 69-24. Cronin was associate head coach at Louisville under Rick Pitino from 2001 to 2003 and worked as an assistant and video coordinator from 1996 to 2001 under Bob Huggins at Cincinnati.

Cronin returned to Cincinnati as head coach in 2006, reviving the program after Huggins was forced out.

Health issues forced Cronin to miss most of the 2014-15 season as he recovered from an aneurysm that was discovered after he complained of lingering headaches. He returned to his coaching duties ahead of the next season.

Cronin built a reputation as a recruiter who could identify and lure top talent to Cincinnati, including future NBA players like Lance Stephenson of the LA Lakers.

Alford was a solid recruiter as well, although critics believed UCLA underperformed during his tenure.

The Bruins' roster will be depleted by the early departures of sophomores Kris Wilkes and Jaylen Hands, who recently announced their plans to hire agents and declare for the NBA draft.

But next season will mark the return of guard Tyger Campbell and forward Shareef O'Neal, who both missed their freshman year. Campbell had a knee injury and O'Neal had heart surgery. Among the incoming recruits are Jaime Jaquez and Jake Kyman.

Alford was fired after the Bruins began the season with a 7-6 record. At the time, they were mired in a four-game skid that included home losses to Belmont and Liberty.

Alford had a 124-63 record in Westwood after taking over the program in March 2013. The 54-year-old coach won one Pac-12 tournament title but never a regular-season league title, and made four NCAA Tournament appearances, including Sweet 16 berths in his first two years.

But the drop-off was swift for a school that owns a record 11 national championships. The Bruins lost to St. Bonaventure in the First Four last season, the first time in school history that UCLA was relegated to a play-in game.

They failed to make the NCAA Tournament in 2015-16, when the team went 15-17 for the program's fourth losing record since 1948 when Wooden became the coach.

They also didn't make the NCAAs this season under interim coach Murry Bartow, who took over from Alford and guided the Bruins to a 17-16 finish, including a 9-9 Pac-12 mark.

Perry County officials are on the scene of a gas line rupture on Mill Street in Crooksville.

Perry County EMA said that a 6-inch Columbia Gas Line ruptured and they were forced to evacuate multiple businesses and a factory in the area.

No schools were evacuated but officials are working to reorganize bus routes to avoid the area.

Perry County EMA says it will take at least three hours to fix the ruptured line.

BOSTON (AP) — "Full House" star Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, were hit Tuesday with a new charge in the sweeping college admissions bribery scheme.

The move comes a day after fellow actress Felicity Huffman, 12 other parents and a coach agreed to plead guilty — signaling an escalation in the case against the parents who are continuing to fight the allegations against them.

Loughlin and Giannulli were among 33 prominent parents accused of participating in a scheme that involved rigging college entrance exams and bribing coaches at elite universities.

They were arrested last month on a single charge of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. An indictment brought Tuesday adds a charge of money laundering conspiracy against the couple and 14 other parents.

Amy and Gregory Colburn, a California couple accused of paying $25,000 to cheat on their son's SAT, were indicted on the money laundering and mail fraud conspiracy charges last month.

The parents are accused of paying an admissions consultant, Rick Singer, to cheat on their children's college entrance exams and get their children admitted as athletic recruits at such elite schools as Georgetown and Yale.

Loughlin and Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters into the University of Southern California as crew team recruits, even though neither of them played the sport.

They appeared in Boston federal court briefly last week and were not asked to enter a plea. They have not publicly addressed the allegations against them.

Other parents indicted on the new charge Tuesday include Michelle Janavs, whose family developed the microwave snack line Hot Pockets before selling their company, and William McGlashan, who co-founded an investment fund with U2's Bono in 2017.

Huffman, the 56-year-old Emmy-winner who stared in ABC's "Desperate Housewives," was accused of paying $15,000 disguised as a charitable donation to have a proctor correct the answers on her daughter's SAT. She and the 12 other parents agreed to plead guilty Monday to a single charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.

Prosecutors say they will seek a prison sentence that's on the low end of between four and 10 months for Huffman.

In her first public comments since her arrest, Huffman took responsibility for her actions and said she would accept the consequences.

"My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her. This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life. My desire to help my daughter is no excuse to break the law or engage in dishonesty," she said after her plea deal was announced.

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than half of Americans say President Donald Trump has made race relations worse during his time in the White House, and more than two-thirds believe it has become more common for people to say racist things since he won the White House.

This is according to a Pew Research Center poll released Tuesday that asked Americans their feelings about race in the United States.

Almost 3 out of 5 Americans, or 58%, say race relations in the U.S. are generally bad, and 56% of those in the Pew Research Center's "Race in America 2019" survey said Trump has made race relations worse.

Only one-fourth, or 25%, said former President Barack Obama, a Democrat and the country's first black president, made race relations worse.

Roughly two-thirds of Americans, or 65%, also say it has become more common for people to express racist views since Trump took office.

"One of the key takeaways is that Americans have a negative view of the country's racial progress and the current state of race relations," said Juliana Menasce Horowitz, Pew's associate director of research and one of the report's authors.

Trump, a Republican, has been dogged by racial turmoil during his time in office, including the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, during a protest against a Confederate statue and the administration's reaction to illegal immigration at the United States-Mexico border.

But the White House says Trump has regularly denounced racism.

"The president has been incredibly clear and has consistently and repeatedly condemned hatred, bigotry, racism in all of its forms whether it's in America or anywhere else," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said last month.

There were major differences in how people of different races answered questions about race in the United States.

For example, while more than 3 in 5 Americans, or 63%, said they think that the United States' legacy of slavery affects the position of black people in the country, 84% of African Americans agreed with that statement and 58% of white Americans agreed with it.

The gulf increased when Americans were asked whether the country has gone far enough in giving black people rights equal to those of white people. Overall, more than 2 in 5 Americans, or 45%, said they believe that the United States hasn't gone far enough, but 78% of black people agreed with that while only 37% of white people thought that statement was true.

Also, 50% of African Americans surveyed thought that it was not too likely or not at all likely that African Americans would eventually have equal rights in the United States.

Only 7% of white people thought it was unlikely that black people would achieve racial equality.

More than half of black people, or 52%, said being black has hurt their ability to get ahead in the United States, with 18% saying it has hurt a lot. About a quarter of Hispanics and Asians, 24% each, said that their race or ethnicity has hurt their ability to get ahead, while only 5% of white people thought their race hurt their ability to advance in this country.

Black people thought that racial discrimination was the top thing holding them back in the United States, followed by less access to high-paying jobs and less access to good schools. White people agreed on the causes, but more of them thought education was the top issue.

"One of the takeaways from this is how different people's perspectives on race are in the United States, how people bring their own experiences into these questions and how divided this country is by race and by (political) party," Horowitz said.

The poll of 6,637 Americans was conducted Jan. 22 to Feb. 5 with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.7 percentage points.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City declared a public health emergency Tuesday over a measles outbreak centered in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community and ordered mandatory vaccinations in the neighborhood.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the unusual order amid what he said was a measles crisis in Brooklyn's Williamsburg section, where more than 250 people have gotten measles since September. Officials blamed the outbreak on "anti-vaxxers" spreading false information.

The order applies to anyone living, working or going to school in four ZIP codes in the neighborhood and requires all unvaccinated people at risk of exposure to the virus to get the vaccine, including children over 6 months old.

The city can't legally physically force someone to get a vaccination, but officials said people who ignore the order could be fined $1,000. The city said it would help everyone covered by the order get the vaccine if they can't get it quickly through their regular medical provider.

"If people will simply cooperate quickly, nobody will have to pay a fine," de Blasio said.

Officials say 285 measles cases have been confirmed in New York City since the beginning of the outbreak, the largest in the city since 1991.

New York City accounted for about two-thirds of all U.S. measles cases reported last week.

The city's health commissioner, Dr. Oxiris Barbot, said that the majority of religious leaders in Brooklyn's large Orthodox communities support vaccination efforts, but that rates have remained low in some areas because of resistance from some groups that believe the inoculations are dangerous.

"This outbreak is being fueled by a small group of anti-vaxxers in these neighborhoods. They have been spreading dangerous misinformation based on fake science," Barbot said. "We stand with the majority of people in this community who have worked hard to protect their children and those at risk. We've seen a large increase in the number of people vaccinated in these neighborhoods, but as Passover approaches, we need to do all we can to ensure more people get the vaccine."

The commissioner is empowered by law to issue such orders in cases when they might be necessary to protect against a serious public health threat.

Earlier this week, the city ordered religious schools and day care programs serving that community to exclude unvaccinated students or risk being closed down.

Another Jewish religious community, north of the city but with close ties to Brooklyn, has also seen a surge, with at least 166 cases since October. Last week, a state judge blocked an attempt by Rockland County officials to halt the spread of measles by banning unvaccinated children from public places.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all children get two doses of measles vaccine. It says the vaccine is 97% effective.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A committee of the Republican-led Ohio House has voted along party lines on legislation banning abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected.

Tuesday's vote came after the House Health Committee altered the bill to assure state rules allow heartbeat detection by transvaginal ultrasound. It's effective earlier in pregnancy than other non-invasive technologies.

Democrats expressed anger, even tears, ahead of the vote, arguing the so-called "heartbeat bill" will disenfranchise poor and minority women, penalize doctors and prompt young Ohioans to move out-of-state.

Republican Rep. Candice Keller theorized the ban empowers women over fathers and male "abortionists," whom she said hold sway over pregnancies.

Abortion opponents hope the legislation will spark a legal challenge that overturns the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision.

A House vote is expected Wednesday.

COLUMBUS-- CrimeTracker 10 uncovered a growing concern when it comes to child abuse and neglect in Franklin County.

In 2018, Franklin County Children Services (FCCS) took in 33,273 referrals received and 13,770 investigations were initiated. That’s slightly higher compared to the year before, where 21,214 referrals came in during 2017, with 11,771 cases screened for assessment.

But what’s more telling is the number of children placed in kinship care, whether they were grandparents, aunts/uncles or someone who had a close relationship with the child. That number has grown by 74% since 2014.

Experts say it’s because of the opiate epidemic that has taken over the county and the state of Ohio.

“The numbers don’t surprise me with everything going on in our country and the rise in opioid addictions,” says Rayshawn Wilson, a licensed therapist and a volunteer at Franklin County Children Services.

“There’s going to be issues inside the home and a lot of that is trauma that is going to be passed on to the kids,” Wilson adds.

Because of this growth, FCCS says There is an ongoing need to find foster Care homes in Franklin County. Since 2012, kids being removed from homes because of parental drug use went up 10%. That statistic jumped by 14% when you specifically factor in opiates.

Wilson says when there’s trouble at home, the signs of abuse and neglect are clear if you know what to spot.

“They're not speaking, they're reserved, grades are different, and sometimes you may see them be more aggressive than usual,” Wilson says. “We have to pay attention to those signs.”

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month with several initiatives aimed at raising awareness. FCCS is partnering with the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund (OCTF) and the Center for Family Safety and Healing to promote child abuse prevention.

If there’s anyone who can empathize with children who are abused or neglected, it’s Wilson.

“They’ve witnessed domestic violence, they’ve been beat, they’ve been left for days at a time,” Wilson adds, speaking from his own experience.

Wilson grew up in the foster care system at the age of 10. He says he suffered years of abuse by his mother who ended up going to prison for drug charges. He was bounced around in foster homes and group homes five times, going to 3 different elementary schools, 4 middle schools and 4 different high schools.

He says the key to stopping the cycle of abuse and violence is to let children be heard.

“Sometimes kids are afraid that they can be removed from the home and that’s a scary situation for some kids,” he says. “I think we have to find ways to get those children that have been impacted involved, they’re voices need to be heard.”

Wilson says through his volunteerism with young African American boys, he hopes to show them that there is hope around the corner.

“It isn’t really about what you go through but how you handle life’s situation,” Wilson explains. “Tough times create tough people.”

Wilson is making his voice heard with a book he recently authored titled “Lionheart: Coming From Where I’m From.” He says writing the book was therapeutic because it allowed him to forgive the people who impacted his life.

Towards the end of his book, Wilson writes a letter to his mother, whom he did not see while she was in prison, where she died in 2006.

“… Mama, while you’re reading this, please try not to cry. I will write again soon. Until then, please know that I keep you in my heart, my prayers and my thoughts. The best is yet to come and as I bring this letter to a close, I’ll end it the same way I started it: Mama, I love you.”

How can you help?

Volunteer, mentor, foster, become a kinship family for a relative by calling Franklin County Children Services 24-hour hotline if you suspect child abuse or neglect at 614-229-7000.

COLUMBUS — Ohio's State Highway Patrol is focusing on enforcement of the Move Over law.

As the construction season gets underway drivers should be alert and ready to move over for road workers and first responders.

The law requires drivers approaching any vehicles with flashing or rotating lights that are parked on the roadside to move over to an adjacent lane. Motorists should slow down and proceed with caution if moving over isn't possible due to traffic or weather conditions or lack of a second lane.

In 2018, over 6,000 citations were written for violation of the Move Over law, 59 percent more than 2017. From 2014 to 2018, the Patrol has recorded 18,127 Move Over violation citations, according to OSHP.

Authorities say “Every Move Over crash is preventable. So moving over isn’t just the law; it’s the right thing to do.”

The Move Over law now exists in all 50 states.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump took a victory lap after special counsel Robert Mueller concluded his Russia investigation. It may have been premature.

The scramble to frame the investigation's findings in the best political light is sure to be renewed in coming days when Mueller's report is expected to be released in redacted form. Now that the American public will get a look at details beyond the four-page investigation summary written by Attorney General William Barr, some Trump allies are concerned that the president was too quick to declare complete triumph and they're pushing the White House to launch a pre-emptive attack.

Trump seems to be of the same mind.

"The Democrats will never be satisfied, no matter what they get, how much they get, or how many pages they get," Trump tweeted Monday, two days after he blasted "Bob Mueller's team of 13 Trump Haters & Angry Democrats."

With the goal to discredit what's coming, Trump and his allies have unleashed a series of broadsides against Mueller's team and the Democrats pushing for full release of the final report. No longer is the president agreeing that Mueller acted honorably, as he did the day after the special counsel's conclusions were released. Instead, he's joining his allies in trying to undermine the integrity of the investigators and the credibility of their probe.

"You're darn right I'm going after them again," Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump's attorneys, told The Associated Press. "I never thought they did their job in a professional manner. ... Only because there is overwhelming evidence that the president didn't do anything wrong, they were forced to admit they couldn't find anything on him. They sure tried."

After Washington waited nearly two years for Mueller to conduct his investigation, Barr released a letter last month stating that the special counsel found no evidence the Trump campaign "conspired or coordinated" with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election. Moreover, while Mueller did not reach a conclusion as to whether Trump obstructed justice, Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein determined that the president did not.

Mueller's team, which was barely quoted in Barr's letter, has made clear that it did not exonerate the president. And Democrats immediately called for Mueller to testify and for his entire 400-page report to be released.

That didn't stop the president's allies from declaring victory.

They falsely claimed Mueller had exonerated Trump, painted House Democrats' investigations as partisan overreach and planned to target news outlets and individual reporters they believe promoted the collusion story. The president himself seethed at a Michigan rally that the whole thing was an attempt "to tear up the fabric of our great democracy."

While the president unleashed his personal grievances, his team seized on any exculpatory information in Barr's letter, hoping to swiftly define the conversation, according to six White House officials and outside advisers who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss private deliberations.

Those officials and advisers acknowledged that the victory lap was deliberately premature.

Trump's inner circle knows there will likely be further releases of embarrassing or politically damaging information. Barr's letter, for instance, hinted that there would be at least one unknown action by the president that Mueller examined as a possible act of obstruction. A number of White House aides have privately said they are eager for Russia stories, good or bad, to fade from the headlines. And there is fear among some presidential confidants that the rush to spike the football could backfire if bombshell new information emerged.

"I think they did what they had to do. Regardless of what Barr reported, they needed to claim vindication," said Republican strategist Alex Conant, who worked on Sen. Marco Rubio's 2016 presidential campaign. "First impressions are important. And the first impression of the Mueller report was very good for Trump."

Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, suggested the full report may raise new questions for Trump but would not contain anything that would threaten the presidency.

"I personally believe not all of it is going to be great for the White House," Burr said. He added that he didn't know what's in the Mueller report, "but there are going to be things that maybe cause some people to say, 'Oh, gosh, I didn't know that existed.' Now, does it reach a threshold? Apparently not."

Trump's GOP allies in Congress are also hedging their bets by continuing to cast doubt on the origins of Mueller's investigation.

The top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, California Rep. Devin Nunes, told Fox News on Sunday that he was sending eight criminal referrals to the Justice Department, apparently linked to investigations he started in the last Congress about the beginnings of the Russia probe.

The host of the Fox News program, Maria Bartiromo, told Nunes that he "ought to be taking a victory lap here" after Barr's memo said there was no evidence of Russian collusion. But, in a signal that Trump's allies planned to remain on the offensive, Nunes responded: "There's no really time for victory laps because people have to be held accountable for this nonsense that happened."

CINCINNATI (AP) — A 23-year-old man faces a U.S. magistrate Tuesday on a charge that he lied to federal agents about being a missing child from Illinois.

Authorities on Friday charged Brian Michael Rini of Medina, Ohio, a day after DNA testing ruled him out as being Timmothy Pitzen, who disappeared in 2011 at age 6. Magistrate Karen Litkovitz had him held without bond pending a hearing Tuesday afternoon.

A jail lists him as 5 feet, 9 inches, tall and 145 pounds.

Police picked up Rini the morning of April 3 after a report of someone wandering the streets of Newport, Kentucky. They said he told them he was Timmothy and that he had escaped two kidnappers after years of sexual abuse.

Police took him to Cincinnati Children's Hospital for treatment and testing. Federal authorities have said they were skeptical, especially after he refused to be fingerprinted, but didn't want to miss a chance to possibly solve the Pitzen disappearance.

The FBI said DNA testing ruled him out as Timmothy and established his identity as a convicted felon who twice before claimed to be a juvenile sex trafficking victim.

Timmothy vanished around the time of his mother's suicide. She left a note saying that her son was safe with people who would love and care for him, and added: "You will never find him."

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A New York airman whose remains were recently identified more than 75 years after he died in World War II will likely be reburied in a family plot in a rural upstate cemetery, a relative of the fallen serviceman said.

Wayne Rogers told The Associated Press on Monday that the family would like to inter the remains of his first cousin, Vincent J. Rogers Jr., in York Corners Cemetery in Willing, New York.

Details of the reburial, including the date, are still being worked out with Pentagon officials, Wayne Rogers, of Menifee, California, said.

Vincent Rogers, from Snyder, near Buffalo, was a 21-year-old radio operator when he and six other men were killed on Jan. 21, 1943. The men died when their B-24 bomber crashed after taking off from an airfield on the Pacific atoll of Tarawa, two months after U.S. Marines took the island from the Japanese in a bloody three-day battle.

The plane nicknamed "Miss Bee Haven" crashed into a shallow lagoon. Three crewmembers survived. The bodies of the seven killed were buried on Tarawa. Three of the bodies were disinterred after the war and brought back to the U.S. for burial, but information on the whereabouts of the other four crewmembers' remains was lost.

The Pentagon announced last week that Rogers' remains were the last of the missing four to be identified after they were located on Tarawa in 2017 by History Flight, a private group helping the U.S. military recover the remains of American servicemen lost in WWII.

In 2011, Wayne Rogers donated more than 200 of his cousin's wartime letters to the aviation museum at March Field in Southern California, where Vincent Rogers had trained with his bomber crew. Museum Director Jeff Houlihan used the letters as the basis for a popular exhibit detailing a typical Air Force recruit's experiences during WWII.

Wayne Rogers said he was just 2 years old when his cousin was killed. He said other relatives who live in New York and Massachusetts plan to attend the reburial.

"I'm glad he's back," Wayne Rogers said. "It kind of brings the family back together."

PRATTVILLE, Ala. (AP) — The mother of a 13-year-old boy found naked and chained at an Alabama home has been indicted on a charge of aggravated child abuse, along with two other family members.

The Montgomery Advertiser reported Monday that the charges against the boy's mother, stepfather and grandmother were upgraded from torture/willful abuse of a child. Two uncles are accused of aiding and abetting the abuse.

Autauga County Sheriff Joe Sedinger said an anonymous report in September led authorities to the family's home, where the boy was naked and chained to a door. The boy and his siblings, aged 3 and 12, were removed from the home.

The women remained jailed as of Monday. The stepfather previously posted bail and was free as of Monday. He's being tracked by an ankle monitor.

NEW YORK (AP) — This year, children will have a hard time finding Uncle Milton's glow-in-the-dark ant farm, or the gel and ant village version. Basic Fun, the parent company behind the brand, has stopped producing them and now makes just three versions — basic, giant and retro.

Who's to blame? Toys R Us.

A year after Toys R Us imploded, toy makers are still readjusting to the big loss of shelf space. That means slashing the number of styles they carry, re-evaluating how they sell large toys like playhouses and cars, and changing their packaging to squeeze into smaller retail spaces.

It's a jolt for toy companies. They had already been trying to reinvent themselves amid an onslaught of changes, including kids' evolving tastes toward gadgets, as well as the rise of Amazon and online shopping. They never expected the iconic chain to liquidate its 800 U.S. stores six months after it filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in 2017. Some companies depended on the chain for as much as 40 percent of overall sales.

A slew of retailers like Walmart, Target and Party City rushed to expand their toy aisles to capitalize on Toys R Us's demise, but toy companies say they aren't able to fill the void. The stores devoted big sections to toys year round and served as incubators of new trends. They also say that Toys R Us' massive orders of tens of thousands of units offset the cost of production.

All this has led to fewer options for kids.

"Maybe the world only needs one kind of ant farm, but in the day, you had a choice," said Jay Foreman, president and CEO of Basic Fun, a Boca Raton, Florida-based company that purchased the assets of Uncle Milton, K'Nex and Playhut over the past year. He is now evaluating his overall lineup.

With K'Nex construction sets, shoppers will only see 20 playsets, instead of the 60 it had last year, Foreman said.

Many parents have taken note.

Stephen Desch of Keyport, N.J., said when his now 3-year-old daughter wanted a crab-shaped sandbox, he found it at Toys R Us. But he can't find certain items now, like a plush toy inspired by the Jay character from the Netflix show "Beat Bugs."

"It's definitely annoying," Desch said.

Vanessa Myers of Bristol, Virginia, cites too many choices in some categories, like light up toys for the tub. But she does worry about the dwindling selection of dolls and bikes.

"I really want dolls that are diverse," in hair color and ethnicity, she added.

Nearly $3 billion in 2018 was left on the table by Toys R Us, or 12 percent of the U.S. toy market, according to market research group NPD Group Inc. Jim Silver, editor-in-chief of TTPM, an online toy review site, estimates that 40 percent of Toys R Us business wasn't scooped up. Even as the former investors of Toys R Us try to resurrect the business in the U.S. in time for the holidays, many expect it to be a shell of what it was.

The effort follows a 2 percent drop to $21.6 billion in toy sales for last year, with demand weakening during the second half of the year with the loss of Toys R Us. That reversed four straight years of sales growth, NPD says.

Mattel's annual sales last year fell 8 percent, reflecting a negative 6 percent impact from the toy retailer's liquidation. At Hasbro, annual sales dropped 12 percent, dragged down by the loss of Toys R Us. Mattel had been struggling for several years, but it had been starting to see a turnaround.

Toy makers have been expanding online, but that isn't the panacea, says Marc Rosenberg, strategic marketing adviser who was behind the success of Hasbro's furry hit Furby. Physical stores still drive the toy business and profitability since companies don't incur shipping costs, Rosenberg says.

Foreman agrees, saying his new line of Cutetitos — beanie babies wrapped up in a burrito blanket and launched for the holidays — would have fared even better if Toys R Us was around. Typically, Toys R Us would have devoted a 3-feet-by-16 inch display in a highly visible spot to a hot item. Instead, stores gave Cutetitos an area that measured 18-inches wide by 5-inches deep.

Isaac Larian, CEO of privately held MGA Entertainment, has seen overall sales triple last year because of its popular LOL toys. But its Little Tikes division, which makes toy cars and playhouses that need big areas for display, suffered a 12 percent sales drop because of the loss of Toys R Us even as his business with Amazon rose 50 percent. Overall, 27 percent of its overall business stemmed from Toys R Us, but at Little Tikes, that figure was 40 percent.

Larian's Little Tikes toy factory — the largest U.S. toy factory — based in Hudson, Ohio, is running at 25 percent capacity. Larian says he's cutting the number of Little Tikes toys it produces mainly because of the loss of Toys R Us. He's now expanding into housewares to keep the factory busier.

"Every day we are reinventing ourselves," he said.

DALLAS (AP) — A suburban Dallas teenager has pleaded guilty to plotting an Islamic State group-inspired mass shooting at a North Texas mall.

A state judge sentenced Matin Azizi-Yarand to 20 years in prison Monday for solicitation of capital murder and making a terroristic threat, state and federal prosecutors announced. The 18-year-old is eligible for parole after serving 10 years.

Azizi-Yarand was arrested last May for plotting to shoot civilians and police at a Frisco mall in a rampage authorities said he was timing to coincide with Ramadan. IS has called on its supporters to carry out attacks during the Muslim holy month.

The then-high school student had been recruiting others to participate in the shooting and planned to explain it with the release of a "Message to America," according to prosecutors. He spent more than $1,400 buying weapons and tactical gear, and had been conducting surveillance of the mall.

Azizi-Yarand believes his plea agreement is a "fair deal" and is ready to begin his prison term, his lawyer, Mitch Nolte, told The Associated Press.

Azizi-Yarand was indicted in July , but his age presented a challenge for prosecutors.

Terrorism cases are typically brought in federal court. But because Azizi-Yarand was 17 at the time of the crime and a minor under federal law, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas was limited in the charges they could bring against him.

It's "extremely rare" for someone to be prosecuted for terrorism charges state court, U.S. Attorney Joseph Brown said Monday at a press conference.