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Morning Headlines: Lawmaker Proposes Synthetic Urine Ban; Talks with GM Don't Produce Answers

photo of Lordstown GM assembly line
YOUR VOICE OHIO
Lordstown GM plant assembly line

Here are your morning headlines for Thursday, June 6:

  • Bodies found in Rocky River Reservation;
  • Talks with GM don't produce answers;
  • Akron construction company drops lawsuit against city;
  • Ohio House approves death penalty 'mental illness' bill;
  • Lawmakers proposes ban on synthetic urine;
  • Additional patients diagnosed amid Legionnaires' outbreak;
  • Cavs owner Gilbert's recovery from stroke will 'take time';
  • Lawyers say doc didn't try to euthanize people;
  • Searchers find body of woman missing since Memorial Day;

Bodies found in Rocky River Reservation
Authorities are investigating the deaths of two people whose bodies were found in Rocky River Reservation Wednesday night. The bodies Katherine Brown, 33, of Fairview Park and Carnell Sledge, 40, of North Olmsted were found near Old Lorain Road. A cause of death hasn't been released.

Talks with GM don't produce answers
Members of Ohio's congressional delegation came away with few answers after meeting with General Motors CEO Mary Barra about the future of itsshuttered Lordstown assembly plant. The fate of the plant is up in the air after GM stopped production there in March and then last month announced it was looking at selling the site to an upstart electric vehicle maker. Republican Rob Portman and Democrat Sherrod Brown both expressed some doubts Wednesday about whether the sale will go through. Portman says the first choice remains finding a way to have GM continue building cars at the plant where it has been more than 50 years.

Akron construction company drops lawsuit against city
An Akron construction company that lost its bid on a resurfacing project has dropped its lawsuit against the city. Kenmore Construction filed the lawsuit two weeks ago, claiming it had the lowest bid on the Romig Road project, but the city rejected it because the company wanted to use asphalt instead of concrete. Medina-based Ruhlin Company won the contract with a nearly $13 million bid using concrete. Kenmore Construction's was nearly $3 million less. There’s no word on why the lawsuit was dropped. Romig Road leads to the shuttered Rolling Acres Mall property.

Ohio House approves death penalty 'mental illness' bill
The Ohio House has approved a bill prohibiting the executions of defendants if they're found to have had a "serious mental illness" at the time of the offense. Offenders deemed by professionals to have had "serious mental illness" must have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder or delusional disorder. The bill approved Wednesday has bipartisan support and support from mental health advocacy groups. Inmates who are on death row would be able to petition for resentencing, if they had a "serious mental illness" at the time of the crime. The measure goes next to the Senate.

Lawmaker proposes synthetic urine ban
Synthetic pee may be added to the list of banned substances in Ohio. Republican State Representative Theresa Gavarone of Bowling Green this week introduced a bill banning synthetic urine. Similar bans are already in place in at least 18 states. Fabricated urine has become increasingly popular with drug userswho use it to defeat drug screenings.

Additional patients diagnosed amid Legionnaires' outbreak
Ohio health officials say 13 people have now been diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease amid an outbreak at a recently opened hospital near Columbus. That's up from 10 a day earlier. One of those patients died Sunday. Mount Carmel Health System said the hospital is working with health officials to identify the source of the bacteria at its  Grove City location. The outbreak started the day after the facility opened.

Cavs owner Gilbert's recovery from stroke will 'take time'
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert's recovery from a recent stroke will "take time." That was the update provided by Quicken Loans CEO Jay Farner in a statement last night on the 57-year-old Gilbert, who remains hospitalized after falling ill and suffering a stroke on May 26. The Cavs have continued to operate in Gilbert's absence and the club is currently preparing for draft, where they'll have the No. 5 overall pick.

Lawyers say doc didn't try to euthanize people
A defense attorney says a doctor charged with murder in the deaths of 25 Ohio hospital patients was trying to provide "comfort care" for dying people, not euthanize them. William Husel pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Franklin County court in Columbus. His bond was set at $1 million. The Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System fired Husel in December. It found he had ordered potentially fatal drug doses for 29 patients who died over several years.

Searchers find body of woman missing since Memorial Day
Authorities have found the body of a 71-year-old Montgomery County woman who had dementia and was reported missing hours beforetornadoes struck the state last week. Catherine Clayburn's body was found Tuesday night amid debris in a creek connected to the Stillwater River. The cause of death hasn't been determined. Crews had been searching for her since Memorial Day. She was reported missing several hours before the tornado outbreak.

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