The empty row of slot machines squawking for players can’t drown out Marla Wagner as she yells at her friend to take a smoke break at the Hollywood Casino on the eve of Thanksgiving. Bars and restaurants typically fill with friends and relatives reuniting before the holiday, but here, cocktail waitresses are short on tips and blackjack dealers help rookie card players at half-filled tables.

The drug is real enough, as are the gruesome side effects that leave addicts with festering abscesses and peeling, reptilian skin. It is unquestionably a grave problem in rural Russia, where addicts call it krokodil.

U.S. employers and consumers will bear the brunt of more than $20 billion in fees to be assessed in 2014 under the Affordable Care Act. Health insurers are passing the mandatory fees on to many people, including those who buy coverage directly from insurers or who get health benefits through their jobs.

Don’t underestimate the entertainment value of watching birds that come to your backyard feeders. On winter days when the weather outside is frightful and I have time on my hands, I find that watching the birds adds interest to those dreary times.

SANDUSKY, Ohio — The mother of a slain young boy has pleaded guilty to a felony charge of permitting child abuse in the boy’s 2012 death.

The body of a Tarlton woman who had been missing since Wednesday was found yesterday in a Pickaway County pond into which her vehicle had crashed. Donna J. Vangundy, 53, died after her sport-utility vehicle ran off Tarlton Road on a curve near Huber Hitler Road and went into the pond south of Circleville, Sheriff Robert Radcliff said.

Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley says he was “bummed out, disappointed” when Willie Carden informed him yesterday that he was withdrawing from consideration to be the next city manager.

DAYTON — A southwestern Ohio county is requiring its health commissioner to be a nonsmoker who isn’t overweight.

COLUMBUS -- The Ohio Court of Claims says a man wrongfully imprisoned for 16 years should get more than $600,000 in compensation from the state for lost wages.

ASHTABULA -- A judge has set a $100,000 bond for the wife of a northeastern Ohio judge accused of trying to poison him with antifreeze. Carla Hague, 71, didn’t appear in court for the Thursday hearing. Her attorney acted on her behalf.

The Dispatch strives to be fair and accurate. The newspaper corrects any significant errors of fact brought to the attention of the editors. If you think an error has been made, call 614-461-5271.

DAYTON -- A state appeals court has ruled that charges were dismissed improperly in the case of two nurses in the malnutrition death of a Dayton teenager who had cerebral palsy and weighed only 28 pounds.

A court-appointed guardian is dropping her attempt to force an 11-year-old Amish girl with leukemia to resume chemotherapy after she and her parents fled their home to avoid treatment.

BEAVERCREEK, Ohio — A suburban Dayton school district will be able to restore some of the programs it cut after a recount showed its levy passed by a slim margin in last month’s election.

The Groveport Madison School District and a group of central Ohio school districts were among 24 schools and consortiums awarded $88.7 million yesterday in the first round of education grants from Ohio’s new Straight A Fund.

Retired Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee will be returning home in many ways to become president of West Virginia University in January until the school can find a new permanent leader.

DELAWARE, Ohio — Just think of it as a party for the Olentangy River. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency announced on Thursday that it is giving almost $5,000 to Delaware to help the city host its first-ever watershed festival, a daylong celebration of the Upper Olentangy Watershed.

DELAWARE, Ohio — Samantha Snyder lives in northern Delaware County and doesn’t drive. But she does work.

LANCASTER, Ohio — Fairfield County commissioners appointed retired Judge Joseph T. Clark yesterday as acting county clerk of courts. Clark replaces Deborah K. Smalley, who resigned on Thursday from the $68,903-a-year position. She has pleaded not guilty to theft in office, a third-degree felony.

DELAWARE, Ohio — Divers pulled the body of a 52-year-old Westerville man out of the Olentangy River on Thursday morning, and investigators are treating his death as a suicide.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald will argue next year that Gov. John Kasich’s tax policies are bad for the middle class, but FitzGerald’s choice of a running mate could undermine that argument.

The media company owned by Sen. Eric H. Kearney, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, and his wife that piled up more than $825,000 in unpaid taxes and penalties also did not pay its Bureau of Workers’ Compensation premiums for nearly five years, a Dispatch analysis of BWC records shows.

Privacy concerns have scuttled state plans to meet all federal “Real ID” standards, which could result in Ohio driver’s licenses not being accepted as sufficient identification to board airplanes and enter federal buildings.

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-West Chester, said that Nelson Mandela “was an unrelenting voice for democracy and his ‘long walk to freedom’ showed an enduring faith in God and respect for human dignity. His perseverance in fighting the apartheid system will continue to inspire future generations.’’

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — A school-bus driver has been arrested on rape charges that police say involve an 11-year-old student.