Morning News and Stuff

The speaker of the Ohio House is asking a local state representative to resign after he was

indicted on 16 counts of fraud

. State Rep. Peter Beck, a Mason Republican, already faces a maximum of 43 years in prison if he’s convicted on all the counts, but Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine says the ongoing investigation might produce more charges. The charges are a result of Beck’s alleged actions involving an Ohio software company called Christopher Technologies, which investors claim bilked them out of $200,000.

Claiming discrimination, a newlywed same-sex couple is

suing the state of Ohio

for failing to recognize their marriage. Jim Obergefell and John Arthur were married in Maryland, but the couple lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, where same-sex marriage is banned by the state constitution. The couple’s attorney claims the state should be forced to recognize the marriage because of Fourteenth Amendment protections extended to gay couples by

the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)

. Arthur was diagnosed in 2011 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurological disease that causes muscles to rapidly deteriorate, and he’s currently bedridden as a result. Given Arthur’s health, the couple will argue for an expedited ruling at a hearing at 1:30 p.m. today in front of U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Black.

The Buckeye Firearms Association is

raising money to buy a gun for George Zimmerman

, who was acquitted of second-degree murder in the murder trial of black 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman’s gun is currently being held by the U.S. Department of Justice as it investigates further charges.

Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld and 100 members of the Children’s Defense Fund will meet at Washington Park at 1 p.m. today to rally against gun violence in Cincinnati. The group plans to march to City Hall, where they will listen to students’ suggestions for making the city a safer place to visit and reside.

A state representative

introduced a bill

that would allow some public university students to forgo traditional tuition and instead pay for their college education through a percent of their income for 24 years after they graduate.

An Ohio health aide is being sent to prison for Medicaid fraud

.

Ohio gas prices are

down

this week.

In a desperate bid to save the endangered Sumatran rhino, the Cincinnati Zoo is

attempting to breed a brother and sister

.

If you think the recent heat has been bad, Popular Science has

a humbling list of the 10 worst places to live in the universe

.