WASHINGTON — A Senate committee cleared the way today for a final floor vote next week to confirm former Proctor & Gamble Chairman Robert McDonald of Cincinnati as the next secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

A former Akron police captain freed in his ex-wife’s death appears headed to prison -- or a new trial -- after a divided Ohio Supreme Court refused today to hear his appeal. Douglas Prade served nearly 15 years in prison for his ex-wife’s murder, but was freed by a trial-court judge who found he was wrongly convicted based on faulty DNA testing on a bite mark found on his ex-wife’s lab coat.

Gov. John Kasich declared this “an era of good feeling right now” in Ohio as the Republican seeks re-election this fall. “I think people feel good about the state and that’s what matters the most,” Kasich said during a brief chat with reporters as he toured the fairgrounds on opening day of the Ohio State Fair. “When people feel positive and good about the way things are, that’s what makes me feel good.

CINCINNATI — The National Urban League wants to make sure job issues and economic insecurity are in the forefront of this fall’s election campaigns, its leader said today as members of the civil rights organization gathered for their four-day conference.

A Union County man will be in court this afternoon to answer to charges that he poisoned his paraplegic wife with drugs and killed her in September. Debra Costell’s death was no mercy killing, Union County Prosecutor David Phillips said.

Athens County law-enforcement officials said today they are joining the Fairfield-Hocking Major Crimes Unit to collaborate in investigating drug trafficking and related crimes along the Rt. 33 corridor.

CINCINNATI — A coroner says there are no signs of foul play in the death of a University of Cincinnati student whose apparent disappearance triggered a wide search in May.

“Green”-energy efforts in Ohio might not be in suspended animation after all. All but one of Ohio’s regulated electricity utilities plan to continue with their green-energy programs despite a new state law that allows the companies to put a two-year freeze on the initiatives.

NEWARK, Ohio — A former Newark High School assistant band director pleaded guilty today to 13 counts involving inappropriate sexual contact with three students. Anthony J. Miller could be sentenced to up to five years on each sexual battery count, and faces additional prison or jail time on each of the other counts. Ten of the 13 counts also are sexually oriented offenses, meaning Miller likely will have to register as a sex offender. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug.15.

In his most pointed charges to date, Democrat David Pepper accused Attorney General Mike DeWine today of “running a massive pay-to-play operation” out of his state office. Pepper focused on contracts awarded by DeWine’s office to collect hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid debts owed the state. In a press conference at Ohio Democratic headquarters, he blasted DeWine for rigging the contract award system to reward individuals and firms that give money to his political campaign.

It took dental records to make a positive identification, but the Pickaway County sheriff’s office now knows for certain who was killed in a crash just north of Circleville on Sunday.

OBERLIN, Ohio (AP) — A body found at a northeastern Ohio landfill has been identified as a man who disappeared during a Cleveland concert.

CLEVELAND (AP) — A northeastern Ohio man convicted of enslaving a mentally disabled woman through abuse and intimidation has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The number of Ohioans receiving public assistance continues to drop even while poverty increases, raising questions about how the state helps the poor. A report released yesterday by Policy Matters Ohio, a labor-backed research group, notes that those working in some of Ohio’s largest occupations — cashier, home health aide, food service — don’t make enough to support their families and escape poverty.

Health-insurance plans for Ohio’s small and mid-size companies would be required to include coverage for the full range of women’s contraception under a bill legislative Democrats will soon introduce. Called the “Not My Boss’ Business Act,” the bill comes on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling that said certain companies with religious objections cannot be required to offer coverage for contraception that owners equate with abortion.

Salaried retirees of Delphi fighting for their full pensions for half a decade see hope in a five-page ruling issued Monday from a federal court in Detroit.

Anchor Hocking’s parent company has obtained yet another extension to a deadline to reach a new credit agreement. EveryWare Global Inc. announced the extension early yesterday evening.

Former Procter & Gamble Chairman Robert McDonald vowed an aggressive series of reforms during his first three months as head of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, telling a Senate committee today that “the seriousness of this moment demands action.”

Calling Russian President Vladimir Putin “Czar Putin,” Rep. Pat Tiberi today urged President Barack Obama to step up efforts to export natural gas to Europe to encourage European countries to back tougher economic sanctions against Russia.

Despite rising poverty, the number of Ohioans receiving public assistance continues to drop, raising questions about how the state helps the poor. A report released today by Policy Matters Ohio notes that those working in some of Ohio’s largest occupations – cashier, home health aide, food service – don’t make enough to support their families and escape poverty.

AKRON — The University of Akron plans to spend about $375,000 to renovate its presidential home. It will be the first major update since the university bought the house in 1999 for $850,000. Scott Scarborough, who started his presidency this month, is required to live in university-provided housing. He is expected to move with his wife, 6-year-old daughter and his wife’s parents.

TOLEDO — A Toledo mom pleaded not guilty in Toledo Municipal Court yesterday after she was accused of locking her children in a car while she shopped. Latasha Flowers, 35, was charged with one count of child endangering.

A National Park Service report shows that the 2.4 million visitors to Ohio’s seven national parks in 2013 spent $149 million and supported 2,300 jobs in the state. “National park tourism is a significant driver in the national economy, returning $10 for every $1 invested in the National Park Service,” said Patricia Trapp, acting director of the agency’s region that includes Ohio.

CINCINNATI — An elderly Ohio couple’s claims that police illegally broke into their home and intentionally inflicted emotional distress on them were revived in an appeals court decision yesterday that said officers conducted “a violent, traumatic invasion” with “an alarming and unnecessary show of force.” The decision from a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati overturns a federal judge’s ruling dismissing the entire lawsuit filed by Essex and Annie Hayward, a Cleveland couple in their 80s, and their son against the Cleveland Clinic, the medical center’s police department and a number of officers.

NEWARK, Ohio — A mosquito infected with the West Nile Virus was discovered in a trap in eastern Licking County, in the village of Hanover.