Category: Ohio

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Visits East Palestine, Ohio

Hannah Poling

Pete Buttigieg, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, visited East Palestine, Ohio, on Thursday as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced the preliminary findings of its investigation into the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train transporting hazardous materials.

The February 3rd derailment has caused significant health and environmental concerns for the locals, who have expressed dissatisfaction at how slowly the federal government has responded to the emergency.

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Secretary of State LaRose and Senator Gavarone Introduce DATA Act to Increase Ohio Election Transparency

Hannah Poling

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose in collaboration with state Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) introduced legislation on Wednesday to increase transparency in Ohio’s elections.

Senate Bill (SB) 71 known as the Data Analysis Transparency Archive (DATA) Act aims to codify standard definitions of key election data, create within the Secretary of State’s Office an office of data analytics and archives which will serve as a clearing house for retention and review, publish standardized data and results online, and codifies a process for county Board of Elections to transfer election data to the Secretary of State’s Office.

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Ohio Congressmen Latta and Balderson Introduce Bill to Boost Energy Refining Capacity

Bradley Vasoli

Two Ohio congressmen are spearheading legislation to boost U.S. fossil-fuel-refining capacity which has declined since 2020. 

Representatives Bob Latta (R-OH-5) and Troy Balderson (R-OH-12) are sponsoring the Researching Efficient Federal Improvements for Necessary Energy Refining (REFINER) Act alongside Congressmen Greg Pence (R-IN-6), and Randy Weber (R-TX-29). The measure would commence a federal effort to study factors that have led to lessened refinery capacity and recommend policies to increase fuel refining. 

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Former President Donald Trump Visits East Palestine, Ohio

Hannah Poling

Former President Donald Trump traveled to East Palestine, Ohio, on Wednesday to the scene of a catastrophic train derailment, where locals and leaders have grown increasingly dissatisfied with the federal government’s reaction to their safety concerns.

The excursion occurs at the same time that Trump, who is running for president in 2024, and other Republicans have intensified their criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of the derailment on February 3, which prompted evacuations and raised concerns about the community’s air and water quality after a controlled burning of the toxic chemicals aboard the rail cars.

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PA Gov. Shapiro Blasts ‘Corporate Greed and Incompetence’ of Norfolk Southern at Site of East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment, OH Gov. DeWine and EPA Administrator Michael Regan Also Speak

Kaitlin Housler

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro traveled to East Palestine, Ohio on Tuesday to participate in a joint news conference with Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and EPA Administrator Michael Regan regarding ongoing concerns surrounding the recent derailment of a Norfolk Southern train.

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Ohio Governor DeWine to Visit East Palestine Tuesday

Hannah Poling

A spokesperson for Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s office told The Ohio Star that he is scheduled to visit East Palestine on Tuesday to provide an update on the cleanup following the catastrophic February 3rd train derailment that resulted in the controlled release and burn of noxious gasses creating an ecological disaster in the region.

His office also told The Star that DeWine will also talk about Tuesday’s Ohio Department of Health East Palestine clinic launch, which state authorities have indicated is open to locals with medical queries or concerns.

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East Palestine Fire Chief Silent When Environmental Protection Agency Claims He Ordered the Controlled Burn

Hannah Poling

A spokesperson with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 told The Ohio Star on Monday that the Fire Chief of the East Palestine Fire Department was the individual who ordered the controlled burn following the catastrophic train derailment on February 3rd.

“EPA did not order the controlled burn. The local fire chief was the incident commander who made the decision in consultation with Norfolk Southern, local law enforcement, and response officials from Ohio,” the EPA spokesperson told The Star.

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Ohio State Senator Blasts Biden for Prioritizing Ukraine over Americans Affected by Derailment

Bradley Vasoli

State Senator Michael Rulli (R-OH-Salem) this week castigated President Joe Biden for failing to visit East Palestine, Ohio in the aftermath of the train derailment and controlled toxic chemical burn. 

Speaking on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton radio show, Rulli described the president’s failure to visit communities surrounding the site where a 53-car train crashed on February 3. Rail company Norfolk Southern subsequently conducted a controlled vent and burn of five of the rail cars containing vinyl chloride. Biden did however visit Ukraine and Poland early this week to express his ongoing support for Ukraine’s military struggle against Russian encroachment — a trip that didn’t escape the state lawmaker’s notice. 

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Ohio Senators JD Vance and Sherrod Brown Send Joint Letter Requesting Dioxin Monitoring Plans For East Palestine from the EPA

Kaitlin Housler

Over the weekend, Ohio Senators JD Vance (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) worked together in sending a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – both at the federal and state level – requesting that the agencies provide their plans to monitor East Palestine and surrounding areas for dioxins following the February 3rd derailment of a Norfolk Southern train.

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Ohio Governor DeWine Responds to Senator Vance’s Video, Confirms Creek ‘Very Near’ East Palestine Derailment is ‘Severely Contaminated’

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine responded on Friday to a viral video tweeted by U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) that showed a “chemical rainbow” in a creek near the location of a railway crash two weeks ago that released harmful chemicals into the environment in East Palestine, Ohio.

“I know that there’s been some video played on TV circulating of visible contamination in one of the local waterways. A section of Sulfur Run that is very near the crash site remains severely contaminated. We knew this. We know this. It’s going to take a while to remediate this,” DeWine said at a press conference where he gave an update on local environmental testing and cleanup operations.

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Cincinnati Stops Using Ohio River Water Out of an ‘Abundance of Caution’ Following East Palestine Train Disaster

Hannah Poling

As toxins from the East Palestine railway crash travel downstream, the city of Cincinnati stated on Friday that it will temporarily suspend sourcing water from the Ohio River.

However, according to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, testing has shown the plume of contaminates has “completely dissipated” by now and that the water is once again “safe to drink.”

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Ohio Department of Health Announces Opening of Clinic in East Palestine

Just the News

The Ohio Department of Health announced this week the opening of a health clinic in East Palestine to assist with those harmed by the toxic chemicals from the Norfolk Southern train derailment. “Registered nurses and mental health specialists will be on hand. A toxicologist will either be on site or available by phone,” the Ohio Department of Health said in a statement. 

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Ohio Republican Lawmakers Introduce Legislation to Increase Healthcare Transparency

Hannah Poling

Two Ohio Republican lawmakers introduced a bill this week they claim will make hospital prices more transparent and affordable.

Federal law already requires hospitals to provide information about standard prices online. However, a majority of hospitals today are not in compliance. Ohio Representatives Tim Barhorst (R-Wintersville) and Ron Ferguson (R-Fort Laramie) filed a bill this week that would codify these federal laws into the Ohio Revised Code to allow for greater enforcement.

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Trump to Visit Ohio Town After Toxic Train Derailment

Admin

Former President Donald Trump will visit East Palestine, Ohio, on Wednesday after a train derailment caused a toxic chemical plume to pollute the town, a source familiar with the plan told Fox News.

Trump will visit with members of the community who are dealing with the aftermath of a Norfolk Southern train derailment that occurred earlier this month, the source told Fox News. The derailment led to the evacuation of nearly 2,000 residents before a controlled release was performed to prevent an explosion, which subsequently released a hazardous mixture of chemicals into the air and water.

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Spokesperson: Ohio Governor DeWine Agreed with Decision to Execute East Palestine Controlled Burn but Did Not Give Order

Hannah Poling

In an exclusive interview with The Ohio Star on Friday morning, Governor Mike DeWine’s spokesman Dan Tierney said he was unaware that legal authority was required to execute the February 6 controlled burn of vinyl chloride from five carriages of the Norfolk Southern train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3rd. He added that Norfolk Southern executed the controlled burn after consultation with representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and that DeWine agreed with the decision to execute a controlled burn – but was not the person who gave the order to execute the controlled burn.

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HHS, CDC to Deploy Toxicologists to East Palestine amid Train Derailment Fallout

Just the News

The Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will send toxicologists to a struggling Ohio town in the wake of a major train derailment and the release of hazardous materials from its railcars.

A Norfolk Southern train earlier this month derailed near the town of East Palestine, forcing authorities to evacuate the town and orchestrate a controlled release of the toxic materials from the train to prevent an explosion.

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Group of Black 6th Graders Allegedly Assaults White Students on Ohio School Playground for Not Saying ‘Black Lives Matter’

Admin

A group of black elementary school students in Ohio reportedly assaulted several white students on the playground last week when the kids refused to say, “Black Lives Matter.”

The alleged assaults happened at Kenwood Elementary School last Friday, although Springfield Police weren’t notified about the incident until Monday morning, according to the incident report.

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Ohio Congressman Wenstrup Starts Probe of Wuhan Institute of Virology Funding and COVID Origins

Bradley Vasoli

Congressman Brad Wenstrup (R-OH-2) this week commenced a House of Representatives investigation concerning the genesis of the novel coronavirus that hit U.S. shores in winter 2020.

As the new chair of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, the southern-Ohio legislator formally requested an on-the-record conversation with former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci and other senior federal health administrators as well as security officials. Wenstrup’s subcommittee is working on the matter alongside House Committee on Oversight and Accountability which is chaired by James Comer (R-KY-1) who last month made initial requests for federal documents pertaining to COVID-19’s origins.

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Ohio House Speaker Stephens Sets Legislative Priorities

Hannah Poling

Following several weeks without any measures being formally submitted with bill numbers, the Ohio House Speaker and his leadership team have announced their legislative priorities, which range from adjustments to property taxes, to adoption, to protecting the integrity of girls’ sports.

Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) was joined by his allied House Republicans as he listed 12 of the more than 50 bills that were assigned numbers and sent to committees as priorities. These bills ranged from changes to property and income taxes to an affordable housing tax credit, the “Backpack Bill” universal voucher program, and making certain that biological males cannot compete in female-only athletics.

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Woke ESG Management Fund BlackRock Owns 6 Percent of Norfolk Southern, Whose Train Derailed in Ohio

Michael Patrick Leahy

Black Rock owns more than 6 percent of Norfolk Southern Railway, the huge railway company whose train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3, causing what many are describing as an ecological and health disaster for residents of Ohio and nearby Pennsylvania.

Fintel.io reports that as of February 16, 2023, Black Rock owns 6.8 percent of Norfolk Southern Railway.

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Questions Remain Unanswered About Who Authorized East Palestine Controlled Burn

Hannah Poling

Twelve days following the catastrophic train derailment on February 3rd and the controlled release and burn of noxious gasses in East Palestine, Ohio questions still linger about the decisions that were made and who authorized the controlled burn.

A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spokesperson did not directly comment early Monday to The Ohio Star if an On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) was at the East Palestine derailment, or if such an officer may have recommended or authorized the controlled burn.

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Pennsylvania Governor Blasts Norfolk Southern for ‘Vent and Burn’ Plan In Aftermath of Train Derailment

M.D. Kittle

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is blasting Norfolk Southern Corp. for its handling of a Feb. 3 train derailment that spewed Hazardous chemicals in in East Palestine, Ohio, near the Pennsylvania state line. 

In a letter to Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw, Shapiro excoriates the railway for acting unilaterally, failing to establish a Unified Command, and creating confusion that resulted in a general lack of awareness for first responders and emergency management of Norfolk Southern’s response. 

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Michael Patrick Leahy on WarRoom: PA Gov Shapiro Agrees with Steve Bannon, Says Norfolk Southern Failed to Explore Alternatives to Controlled Burn in Ohio Train Derailment

Julie Carr

Host Stephen K. Bannon welcomed The Star News Network’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Ohio Star, Michael Patrick Leahy, on Wednesday evening’s War Room: Battleground to talk about the confusion over who is  in control of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

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Northern Ohio Sees 145 Fugitives Arrested in U.S. Marshal Service Operation

Hannah Poling

A total of 145 fugitives have been apprehended in northeast Ohio as part of a U.S. Marshals effort to reduce violent crime. 

The U.S. Marshals Service said the arrests were part of the second phase of Operation North Star, which focused on the apprehension of the country’s most violent offenders. It brought a total of 830 total arrests nationally. They also seized 181 firearms and hundreds of pounds of drugs.

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Attorney General Dave Yost Drops Charges Against Reporter Arrested in East Palestine

Hannah Poling

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced on Wednesday that his office is dropping the charges against a NewsNation reporter, who law enforcement arrested, while covering the railway crash in East Palestine.

Evan Lambert, a Washington DC-based correspondent with NewsNation, was thrown to the ground, handcuffed, and arrested for trespassing last week while covering Governor Mike DeWine‘s public press conference regarding the derailing of a train transporting hazardous materials. Local prosecutors filed misdemeanor criminal trespassing and resisting arrest charges against Lambert, but they requested that Yost’s office take over the case from there due to the complex nature of the parties involved.

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Michael Patrick Leahy on Bannon’s WarRoom: EPA Confirms They Had an On-Site Coordinator at East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment, Can Not Yet Confirm Who Ordered the Controlled Burn

Julie Carr

Wednesday morning on WarRoom: Battleground, Stephen K. Bannon welcomed The Star News Network’s CEO and Editor and Chief, Michael Patrick Leahy to the show to explain the non-response they received from the EPA regarding the authorization of the controlled burn in East Palestine, Ohio.

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Michael Patrick Leahy on Bannon’s WarRoom: ‘A Former Naval Officer Might Come Up With’ a Better Set of Options Than Governor DeWine’s Controlled Burn of Vinyl Chloride at the East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment

Julie Carr

Tuesday afternoon on WarRoom: Battleground, Stephen K. Bannon welcomed The Star News Network’s CEO and Editor and Chief, Michael Patrick Leahy to the show to discuss Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s contradictory statements after a train derailment released contaminated air into the East Palestine region.

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Ohio Attorney General to Lead Investigation into Reporters Arrest at East Palestine Press Conference

Hannah Poling

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office will handle the case involving a TV journalist who the East Palestine Police Department arrested while he was documenting a railway wreck in East Palestine.

Columbiana County Prosecutor Vito Abruzzino confirmed on February 10th that Yost will be in charge of the investigation surrounding Evan Lambert’s arrest.

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Former Ohio City Official Charged with Stealing $1.5 Million from Housing Authority

Hannah Poling

A former Athens city official is accused of stealing more than $1.5 million from the city and using it for personal expenditures.

Ohio Auditor Keith Faber said in a press release that law enforcement arrested Jodi Rickard, who was the executive director of the Athens Metropolitan Housing Authority (AMHA) at the time of the alleged embezzlement, on Monday.

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Ohio Republicans Introduce Bill Codifying Election Integrity Office

Bradley Vasoli

Republicans in the Ohio Legislature are working to pass a law codifying the election-integrity office whose creation Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) announced last year. 

LaRose declared last October he would set up the Public Integrity Division in his office to improve the security, accuracy and accessibility of elections in the Buckeye State. The new department consolidates heretofore separate divisions dealing with campaign-finance administration, voter registration, election investigations and cybersecurity.

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Governor DeWine: ‘We Made the Decision to Go Ahead with the Controlled Release’ at East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment Site on February 6

Hannah Poling

Following the catastrophic train derailment on February 3rd and controlled release of poisonous gasses in East Palestine, Ohio that wrecked havoc on the environment and negatively impacted the health of residents Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s press secretary told The Ohio Star that the controlled burn was the “least bad option.”

Press secretary Dan Tierney told The Star that officials from state agencies, federal agencies, and Norfolk-Southern were in collaborative communication regarding the emerging chemical threat at the East Palestine.

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Ohio Governor and EPA Provide Update on Train Derailment in East Palestine

Just the News

Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio held a press conference on Tuesday to provide an update on the train that derailed near East Palestine, Ohio, along the Ohio Pennsylvania border on Feb. 3, and the controlled burn that has turned into a Hazmat situation.

The decision to do this controlled explosion he said was basically made between bad options that they had. They believed that one of these cars was going to explode. Addressing the environmental concerns, DeWine said that the Ohio and U.S. Environmental are working to slow the flow of contaminated water.

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Ecological Disaster Unfolds After Ohio Toxic Train Derailment; Transportation Secretary Buttigieg Ignores

Hannah Poling
East Palestine Train Wreck

The effects on the environment and the local population after a flaming train disaster in East Palestine, Ohio are still being assessed.

Following the derailment of 50 train carriages, 10 of which were carrying hazardous materials, in East Palestine on February 3rd, officials permitted locals to return home last week. Hundreds of residents had to be evacuated as a result of the controlled release of poisonous gasses that was carried out on February 6th to stop an explosion.

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Ohio Governor DeWine Aims to Double Sports Betting Tax Rate in Proposed Budget

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is attempting to double the tax rate from 10 percent to 20 percent just over a month after sports betting became legal in the state. This increase is part of his biennial executive budget plan for the 2024–2025 fiscal years.

The budget doubles the tax on sports wagering that casinos and teams operating mobile sportsbooks must pay. A Bloomberg Tax analysis shows that the tax is just a little bit higher than the average 19 percent levied by other states.

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Ohio State Lawmakers Introduce Common Sense Bill for Financial Transparency in Colleges

Hannah Poling

Two Republican state representatives have introduced a common sense bill to provide more financial transparency to incoming college students in Ohio.

The Higher Education Return on Investment Act, sponsored by State Representative Adam Mathews (R-Lebanon) and State Representative Jim Thomas (R-Jackson Township), aims to clarify financial expectations for college students better as they begin their futures.

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Ohio House Republicans Prepare to Sue over Control of Campaign Account

Hannah Poling

Who controls the House GOP’s campaign funds is still the source of contention between the factions supporting the Ohio House speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) and State Representative Derek Merrin (R-Monclova).

The majority of GOP members selected Merrin last month to serve as the formal chairman of the House Republican Caucus and vice-chair of its campaign arm, giving him authority over the group’s spending.

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Lucas County GOP Unanimously Censures Republican Lawmakers Who Backed Speaker Stephens

Hannah Poling

The Lucas County Republican Party voted unanimously this week to censure the Republican representatives who voted in favor of newly elected House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill).

Last month, lawmakers elected moderate Republican Stephens as the new speaker to succeed State Representative Bob Cupp (R-Lima) despite the Republican Caucus‘ previous selection in November of State Representative Derek Merrin (R-Moncolva) as the new speaker. Although the GOP caucus voted for Merrin as Speaker of the House in December, Stephen fought in collaboration with the Democrats to collect votes and garner a win.

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