APNewsBreak: Poor suburb softens on merger with Cleveland

EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) — Leaders of one of Ohio’s poorest cities have dropped their opposition to being annexed by neighboring Cleveland, a shift East Cleveland residents hope could provide basic services the city hasn’t been able to afford for years.
Mayor Gary Norton has been pushing for a merger with Cleveland for several years but was stymied by a City Council that believed the city could survive on its own. But City Council President Thomas Wheeler said this week in an