Diebold CEO steps down
Just days after Diebold named a new chairman of the board, CEO Thomas Swidarski has stepped down. Swidarski headed the Green-based maker of electronic voting and bank security systems for seven years.  Chairman of the board Henry Wallace cited the company’s ongoing underperformance as the reason for the change. The news comes just as the company indicated its 2012 earnings will be below expectations.

Police update size of large November chase
Cleveland police have updated the size of a chase which ended with 13 officers firing nearly 140 bullets, killing two people. WEWS reports that about 60 officers took part in the 25-minute chase on Nov. 29. By earlier accounts, at least 30 patrol cars were involved, including Cleveland and East Cleveland police, sheriff's deputies and state troopers. Some community leaders called the shootings a racially motivated execution of two people with no evidence they were armed. It's unclear why the driver didn't stop. Some officers thought the two people in the car were armed, but no weapon or shell casings were found. The police union says the shootings were justified because the driver tried to ram an officer. Separate state and local investigations are ongoing.

Youngstown bishop says kids will be protected from abuse
The Roman Catholic bishop for a northeast Ohio diocese is trying to reassure the public that children will be protected from sexual abuse. The pledge by Bishop George Murry of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown comes after a court settlement this month with 11 men who say a Franciscan friar sexually abused them at a Catholic high school in Warren in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Vindicator reports that it's the third time in as many years that the diocese has promised transparency. And the pledges are increasingly being met with skepticism from victim advocates. In a news conference Thursday, Murry said the diocese was first alerted about the Kennedy High School abuse in 2009 in a letter from the victims' attorney.

Hundreds rally for Medicaid expansion
More than 1,000 rallied at Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland on Thursday night to show their support for expanding Medicaid in Ohio. Governor John Kasich is expected to decide soon whether Ohio should opt for the Medicaid expansion under the federal health care law known as the Affordable Care Act. The US Supreme Court ruled last year that expanding the program for poor Americans would be up to states to decide. A recent study by a nonpartisan health policy organization says expanding Medicaid could net Ohio $1.4 billion over the next decade.

Former death row inmate’s suit against prosecutors thrown out
A former death row inmate’s lawsuit against Cuyahoga County prosecutors has been thrown out by a federal judge. Joe D’Ambriosio of North Royalton had sued, accusing prosecutor Carmen Marino of withholding evidence in the 1988 murder trial. Judge Aaron Polster concluded that prosecutors have absolute immunity from lawsuits alleging misconduct. D'Ambrosio’s conviction was overturned, after a judge ruled that prosecutors withheld evidence that might have exonerated him at trial. He was released from prison over three years ago. A state court judge last week that he is eligible to sue the state and collect up to one million dollars for the time he served.

Semifinalists chosen for Holocaust memorial at the Statehouse
The committee choosing the artist to create a Holocaust memorial on the Ohio Statehouse grounds has narrowed the list to three semifinalists.  The list includes an artist from Columbus, one from New York and a Spanish artist with representation in Chicago. They'll visit the planned memorial site and then have about six weeks to prepare proposals before presenting them to the panel for a decision. The executive director of the Ohio Arts Council says the semifinalists were chosen Thursday from among about 80 applicants. Private donations will fund the $2 million project pushed by Gov. John Kasich. It's expected to be the first Holocaust memorial at any statehouse in the nation.

16 indicted on drug trafficking charges
Federal prosecutors say 16 people have been indicted on charges that they were part of a ring that brought large amounts of cocaine, heroin and marijuana from Chicago to the streets of Cleveland. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland says the defendants range in age from 19 to 49 and all are from the Cleveland area. Federal prosecutors said the arrests "cut off a pipeline" for the movement of drugs between the two cities.