Category: The Midwest

‘Reeks of Fraud’: Sean Duffy Calls Out CDL Tragedy in Ohio

The Daily Signal
truck driver

Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is speaking out about another deadly crash allegedly caused by a foreign-born driver who had a commercial driver’s license despite not being able to speak English.

Earlier this month, Bekhzod Asrarov, who was born in Uzbekistan, allegedly struck the back of a 2025 Honda Accord in Madison County, Ohio. The incident resulted in the death of the driver, 21-year-old Tobias Forsythe, who was a native of Gahanna, Ohio, and a soccer player at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell.

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Ohio Cracks Down on CDLs for Foreign-Born Drivers

The Daily Signal
truck driver

Amid federal scrutiny and concerns about commercial driver’s licenses being in the hands of unqualified drivers, Ohio is cracking down on CDLs for those drivers not born in the United States. The CDLs of 1,200 foreign-born drivers will be downgraded to a Class D by the state for failing to adequately meet standards proving they are in the United States legally.

Ohio Department of Public Safety spokesman Bret Crow confirmed the downgrade to The Center Square last week. “Those receiving this notice who believe their documents do meet the updated federal standards may request a hearing with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to dispute the downgrade and/or submit additional documentation to BMV to prove their eligibility,” he said.

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Ohio State University Announces $100 Million Settlement in Sexual Assault Cases

Just the News

The Ohio State University said Wednesday it has reached a $100 million settlement with all but one of the 280 former students who claimed a campus doctor sexually assaulted them decades ago.

The settlement marks a significant step toward ending the eight-year legal battle over allegations that the school had been aware of hundreds of claims that Dr. Richard Strauss, who committed suicide in 2005, sexually assaulted primarily male athletes in the mid-1970s to 1990s and did nothing. 

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Ramaswamy, Ohio Republicans Address Fraud in Press Conference

The Daily Signal
Vivek Ohio

In the wake of a recent investigative report from The Daily Wire’s Luke Rosiak on suspected Medicaid fraud in Columbus, Ohio, Republicans held a press conference on Tuesday to lay out their plans for tackling the issue. Rosiak also spoke, discussing his findings.

As Rosiak recapped, Ohio has home health centers, a program allowing people to get paid for offering “companionship,” with the Medicaid beneficiaries often being their own relatives.

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Music Spotlight: Jacob Tolliver

Bethany Bowman

Jacob Tolliver came upon my radar at the end of last year when I featured his high-octane version of “Here Comes Santa Claus” in my 2025 Country Christmas Roundup. I hadn’t heard anyone bang a piano like that since Jerry Lee Lewis. Turns out, Lewis was a major influence on young Tolliver.

Tolliver’s dad is a drummer, but other than that, there wasn’t a lot of direct musical influence growing up. However, on his mother’s side, his great-grandmother was a Wagner and was related to composer Richard Wagner. On his dad’s side, Sir Bartholomew Taliaferro (the anglicized form of Taliaferro is Tolliver) was a shopkeeper and musician for Queen Elizabeth I in 16th-century Venice. Sir Taliaferro was also pals with William Shakespeare, and his “Merchant of Venice” is loosely based on him.

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NIH Opens East Palestine Office to Study Long-Term Health Effects of Ohio Train Derailment

Just the News
East Palestine Train Derailment

The National Institutes of Health opened an office Tuesday in East Palestine, Ohio, to study the long-term health effects of the 2023 toxic train derailment, which caused a major environmental disaster that impacted thousands of residents in the surrounding area.

A Norfolk Southern train transporting the toxic chemical, vinyl chloride, unexpectedly derailed three years ago, after a hot railcar wheel bearing sparked a fire. The derailment forced 38 train cars off the tracks, 11 of which were carrying the hazardous material. 

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Mysterious Liquid Sprayed on Ilhan Omar Identified

American Greatness
Ilhan Omar

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar was sprayed with apple cider vinegar during her town hall event in Minneapolis, Minnesota, according to forensic investigators.

A man seated in the front row sprayed Omar’s chest with a syringe-like device lunging at her from his seat before being detained by law enforcement. Forensic investigators determined the substance was apple cider vinegar in the following hours, according to KARE, a local Minneapolis outlet.

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Ramaswamy Bodyguard Arrested on Drug-Trafficking Charges: Report

Just the News
Vivek Body Guard

A bodyguard for billionaire and Republican Ohio gubernatorial hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy’s family was arrested recently on drug-trafficking charges, according to a criminal complaint reviewed by Newsweek on Thursday.

Prosecutors claimed Justin Salsburey and his wife Ruthann Rankin received over 250 packages containing drugs between August 2024 and December 2025, and a search of the couple’s home allegedly found 264 grams of blue fentanyl pills, 938 grams of methamphetamine pills, and 19 grams of MDMA. 

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Somalis Reportedly Filled Ohio Strip Mall with Potentially Fraudulent Childcare Centers

Daily Caller News Foundation
Somalis

Several Somali-owned daycare facilities, including a cluster located at a strip mall, are being examined by ABC6 Investigates for potential fraud in Columbus, Ohio.

Calls to investigate alleged fraud at Somali-owned childcare centers intensified after a viral video from independent journalist Nick Shirley, who was seen canvassing multiple Somali-run daycare centers accused of fraud in Minnesota. Following the attention, ABC6 Investigates reported Monday that it identified several Somali daycares in northeast Columbus that are now under review.

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John Fredericks Reports Live from Indiana as State Lawmakers Weigh Redistricting Bill

Kaitlin Housler
Indiana Capitol

Reporting live from the Indiana State Capitol on Tuesday, radio show host John Fredericks described an intense political scene as lawmakers consider a mid-census redistricting bill.

Indiana is pursuing mid-census redistricting as Republican lawmakers argue that other states – particularly Democratic-led states like California and Illinois – have already undertaken aggressive partisan map-drawing outside the normal 10-year census cycle.

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Ohio Republican Releases Plan to End Dual Citizenship

The Daily Signal
Bernie Moreno

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, has introduced a bill that would outlaw dual citizenship in the United States.

Moreno, who was born in Colombia, legally immigrated with his family at age 5, and became a naturalized citizen at 18, recently introduced The Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025, which would require those who are citizens of the United States and a foreign country to choose a single citizenship rather than remain dual citizens.

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Commentary: The Bill That Can Fix Ohio’s Shoplifting Problem

Admin
Shop Lifting

Walk into your local pharmacy or grocery store and try to buy Tide laundry detergent or razor blades. You’ll have to find an employee with a key. Everyday items are now locked behind glass like fine jewelry. That’s what happens when theft stops being the exception and becomes a business model.

This isn’t petty shoplifting. It’s coordinated, large-scale theft that is battering our economy. Organized criminal gangs and networks are stealing truckloads of merchandise, raiding railcars, and clearing shelves before selling stolen goods online. The Association of American Railroads reports freight theft has risen roughly 40 percent over the last year, costing millions of dollars in losses and property damage.

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Ohio Church Secures a Win Against ‘Petty Tools of Government’

The Daily Signal
Pastor Chris Avell

A church in Bryan, Ohio, recently notched a win that religious liberty advocates believe will set a new precedent after the city attempted to shut down the church using fire codes.

Last Friday, Ohio’s Sixth District Court of Appeals reversed an injunction against the church, called Dad’s Place, and its pastor, Chris Avell, from being able to carry out religious ministry to the homeless and provide them with temporary shelter. The legal questions in the case centered around the relationship between religious liberty and municipal codes, with an eye to ensuring religious organizations are not unnecessarily burdened.

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Commentary: Strengthening Career Education Depends on a Robust Workforce Pell Program

Star News Contributor
office worker

Pell Grants have long been a cornerstone of access to higher education, helping tens of millions of qualifying students at colleges and universities across the country. The program was originally designed to propel low-income students in traditional degree pathways, but as the nature of work shifts, so must our educational programs. Thanks to lawmakers in Washington D.C., the Pell Grant program has been modernized to meet the needs of today’s workforce and economy with its expansion to provide funding for short-term high-quality work force development program.

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Karissa Ella Releases New EP Growing Wings

Bethany Bowman
Karissa Ella

I have been a big fan of Karissa Ella since I first featured her in 2022. Her song, “I Hope Heaven’s Like” is such a beautiful song that you must hear to appreciate fully. While she captures hearts with her soulful sound and magnetic energy, what sets her apart among the growing number of country artists is her sincerity. She believes the words that she writes and sings, which come across in her music.

Karissa Ella has a new EP, Growing Wings, and she has written six of the seven songs. Raised in rural Ohio, the Midwestern girl writes what she knows and sings about it effortlessly.

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Judge Called ‘Activist’ by DOJ Attorney Says ICE Must Release Abrego Garcia to Maryland, Give 72-Hours Notice Ahead of Deportation

Tom Pappert
Xinis

U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, on Wednesday issued a ruling to block the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from immediately detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the alleged human smuggler, if he is released from Department of Justice (DOJ) custody in Tennessee.

Xinis’ ruling will block federal immigration authorities from arresting Abrego Garcia if he is released from DOJ custody in Nashville, despite his status as an illegal immigrant who has been subject to a final deportation order since 2019. This will seemingly allow Abrego Garcia to return to Maryland, where he will be subject to periodic check-ins with federal authorities.

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Appeals Court Hears Oral Arguments for Ohio Lawsuit Challenging Biden-Era Price Controls on Prescription Drugs

Tom Pappert
Pharmacy Visit

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District last Wednesday heard oral arguments in the court case brought by the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over a portion of the controversial Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed by Congress under former President Joe Biden, which contains provisions requiring drug manufacturers to sell specific products at prices set by the federal government. 

Filed in June 2023 against former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, the lawsuit claims the IRA infringed upon the First Amendment rights of companies to set their own prices, created a negotiation process that robbed drug manufacturers of their Fifth Amendment right to due process, established excessive fines in violation of the Eight Amendment that are imposed on manufacturers unwilling to sell at the government-approved prices, improperly delegated authorities to HHS, and that the legislation exceeded the powers assigned to Congress in the U.S. Constitution.

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New Documents Reveal Ohio AG Yost Taking All-Expense-Paid Trip with Pfizer-Backed Front Group

Tom Pappert
Dave Yost

New documents obtained by The Ohio Star reveal that Attorney General Dave Yost participated in an all-expense-paid trip to France that was organized by the nonprofit Attorney General Alliance (AGA), which received more than $3 million in donations from Pfizer’s political action committee over less than a decade.

These documents, including an event programming and email correspondence between Yost’s office and AGA, reveal previously unreported details about the conference, including that Yost submitted an invoice for $12,184.60 to be reimbursed by AGA for his and his wife’s flights to France.

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Committee Hears Ohio Senate’s Budget for First Time Since Public Release

The Center Square
State Senator Jerry Cirino

The state senate’s proposed Ohio budget was back in front of the Finance Committee on Wednesday for the first time since Republican leadership called its two-year plan bold.

The plan, which includes the final phase-in of a flat income tax rate, the elimination of property tax levy options and a ban on certain school districts from asking for new taxes, is getting both applause and criticism.

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Tennessee Lawmakers Push Fines Critics Warn Would Penalize Transparency Efforts in Federal Discount Drug Program

Tom Pappert

Legislation under consideration in the Tennessee General Assembly would prohibit efforts to increase the transparency of the federal program, which requires drug manufacturers to sell discounted drugs to specific entities with the goal of expanding affordable healthcare but does not require hospitals to transfer these savings directly to the prices consumers pay for drugs.

The legislative summary for Senate Bill (SB) 1414, by State Senator Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville), claims the legislation would expand an existing law that prohibits “discrimination against 340B entities. ” 340 B entities are specific hospitals and clinics that receive lower prices for prescription drugs under the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program established under the Public Health Service Act of 1992.

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AG Dave Yost Pushes Congress to Allow Yearlong E15 Gas Sales, Says Bill Good for ‘Ohio’s Motorists, Farmers, and Energy Providers’

Tom Pappert
Dave Yost

Attorney General David Yost on Monday joined a push for the U.S. Congress to allow for yearlong sales of E15 gasoline, a fuel blend for modern vehicles from which 15 percent is derived through renewable agricultural sources and 85 percent through normal gasoline, arguing bipartisan legislation submitted recently to accomplish this goal would benefit Ohio farmers and the rest of the country.

“Ohio’s motorists, farmers and energy providers all stand to gain from this proposal,” Yost said in a statement published by his office.  “It’s good for our state’s economy, and it’s a key step toward energy independence for our country.”

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Vivek Ramaswamy Nets Early Endorsements from Trump, Musk After Analyst Says President’s Support Leads to Easy Victory

Tom Pappert
Vivek Ramaswamy

Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy received early endorsements from President Donald Trump and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk shortly after his Monday announcement, receiving key support an Ohio political pundit recently said would prove pivotal in the primary contest.

Trump endorsed Ramaswamy in a Monday night post to Truth Social, where he described the former businessman and presidential candidate as “Young, Strong, and Smart!”

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