On Wednesday, police in Ohio arrested a NewsNation correspondent as state Governor Mike DeWine spoke at a press conference to announce the lifting of an evacuation order due to last week’s railway incident in East Palestine.
Last Friday, a 50-car freight train near Pennsylvania crashed while transporting hazardous goods.
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The Abortion Fund of Ohio (AFO) launched the “Legal Access Program” on February 3rd that will undermine parental rights in Ohio. This program aims to help minors get abortions without parental consent in addition to provide free legal guidance, case management, and link patients with pro bono attorneys.
An unemancipated minor in Ohio under 18 years old may not obtain an abortion unless one of her parents or her guardian has given written consent or she obtains a court order known as a judicial bypass, in which case the judge authorizes the procedure. The Legal Access Program is Ohio’s first judicial bypass program.
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A new proposal spearheaded by Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted would require certain online companies to obtain verified parental consent before permitting kids ages 16 and under to use their platforms.
The executive budget for 2023–24 that Governor Mike DeWine submitted last week to the Ohio General Assembly includes the Social Media Parental Notification Act.
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Tuesday night Ohio Elections Commission (OEC) Executive Director Philip Richter notified attorneys involved in the Joe Blystone election law violation cases that “the Commission does not believe all … expectations have been met, has questions concerning whether good faith has been shown as required,” and set another hearing scheduled for February 23 to reconsider matters and the agreement Blystone struck with the watchdog group just last month.
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An Ohio Republican Senator has reintroduced a bill that aims to allow teenagers to work until 9:00 p.m. on a school night if it becomes law.
Senate Bill (SB) 30 sponsored by State Senator Tim Schaffer (R-Lancaster) aims to allow kids as young as 14 to work late during the school year if their parents give permission, to help with “staffing problems.”
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U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) issued a statement on Tuesday following President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address.
Vance stated in a news release that Biden is responsible for wrecking havoc on the nation and “nothing the President said tonight will change this reality.”
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A bipartisan group of Ohio lawmakers want to keep the state’s primary elections at the same time every year, whether it’s a presidential election year or not. Under the introduced legislation, all primaries would take place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May.
The bill has the backing of nine cosponsors from both sides of the aisle in the Ohio House.
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by Robert Girard FBI Agent Blane Wetzel testified in court again Monday providing further evidence in the ongoing racketeering trial against Larry Householder, former Ohio House Speaker, and Matt Borges, a lobbyist and former Ohio GOP chair. Both Householder and Borges have pleaded not guilty to charges in what prosecutors describe as a $61 million bribery scheme that – per U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio David DeVillers – is “likely the largest bribery–money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of Ohio.” The accused, per a criminal complaint built off more than 250 subpoenas of bank, phone and text records, funneled millions from FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) and others to help influence the passing of, and afterward hinder the repeal of, Ohio House Bill 6 (HB6) – a contentious Ohio House Bill which included a $1.3 billion nuclear bailout passed by Ohio lawmakers in July, 2019. Under House Bill 6, a new monthly surcharge was added to bills of all Ohio electricity customers (from less than $1 for residential customers to $2000+ for large plants) from 2021 until 2027. Of the $170 million collected each year from the new surcharge, most all ($150 million) was to go to Akron-based FirstEnergy Solutions – a subsidiary of FirstEnergy…
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According to authorities, a Cleveland FBI task force has seized an estimated 88 pounds of suspected fentanyl and other drugs—enough to kill 20 million people.
“The sheer volume of drugs recovered during this seizure is astounding,” FBI Cleveland special agent-in-charge Gregory Nelsen said in a statement.
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Mayor Justin Bibb proposes banning the sale in Cleveland of flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes and flavored vape products.
The Columbus City Council approved a similar law in December of last year, and it will go into effect on January 1, 2024. Also in December, a bill to ban local governments from outlawing the sale of flavored tobacco products was approved by both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly; however, Governor Mike DeWine vetoed the measure.
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Alex Triantafilou, the chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, made a statement on Tuesday prior to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. Triantafilou stated in a news release that “anything short of an apology during tonight’s State of the Union will be unacceptable to working Ohio families.”
At nine o’clock Joe Biden, the 46th President of the United States, will give the annual address before a joint session of Congress.
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U.S. Representatives Dave Joyce (R-OH-14) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-1) are seeking an end to the COVID-19-vaccine mandate affecting workers at Head Start facilities.
The federal Head Start program was founded in 1965 and provides numerous early-learning, wellness and parenting-support services to families with children ages five and younger who receive public assistance or have incomes below the poverty line. The program serves more than 800,000 children nationwide including 33,241 in Ohio and roughly 1,500 in Joyce’s district.
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Despite Republican State Senator Sandra O’Brien (R-Ashtabula) re-introducing the Parental Education Freedom Act to empower parents to be the primary decision-makers regarding where and what type of education their children receive, an undercover investigation revealed that school administrators in both Toledo and Cleveland, Ohio are deceiving parents and teaching Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the classroom.
As part of Accuracy in Media’s investigation, numerous school administrators acknowledged that teachers discreetly and subtly introduce CRT to their students without the parents’ knowledge, and that they have no plans to stop even if politicians approve legislation outlawing this practice.
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A Republican state lawmaker in Ohio introduced a bill to prioritize the health of pregnant women in the state, leading to better maternal outcomes with each pregnancy.
The legislation sponsored by State Representative Jennifer Gross (R-West Chester) will impose obligations on medical professionals who perform abortions, requiring them to remain informed of the most recent, correct medical knowledge regarding the possibility of adverse effects. Then, this measure mandates that the provider inform the expectant mother of the information.
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Democratic leaders in Cincinnati have proposed two new ordinances for City Councils consideration that aim to extend gun restrictions in the city.
These ordinances come after a Fairfield County judge denied a request from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to block firearm regulations recently enacted by the city of Columbus.
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U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) is joining a bipartisan challenge alongside 49 other U.S. Senators in opposition to President Biden’s new Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) rule, which politicizes the retirement assets of millions of Americans in order to support Biden’s ideological viewpoints rather than obtaining the highest returns for Americans.
“Joe Biden’s ESG investing rule is a brazen attempt to funnel Americans’ retirement savings toward far-left special interest groups,” Vance told The Ohio Star.
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A center-right policy-research center based in Columbus, OH is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to nix President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive almost $500 billion in unpaid student loans.
Nebraska and six other states sued the Biden administration to stop the program that Congress never authorized. Last November, petitioners succeeded in getting a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit to pause implementation of the plan. The following month, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case and oral arguments have been scheduled for February 28.
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The Ohio Department of Education has launched an investigation into a homeschooling operation that distributes pro-Nazi curricula materials.
State officials reportedly began looking into “Dissident Homeschool” after anti-fascist watchdog group Anonymous Comrades Collective highlighted its activities, according to The Hill.
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Center for Christian Virtue (CCV) and the March for Life Education and Defense Fund are teaming up once more to organize another march in Columbus following the tremendous success of the first Ohio March for Life.
Ohio residents on October 6th can participate in the second statewide Ohio March for Life at the State Capitol in Columbus.
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Republican Ohio Auditor Keith Faber wants to improve the state’s capacity to identify and pursue wrongdoers, prosecute them, and recover taxpayer money by requiring public employees to receive more training on spotting government fraud and corruption and requiring them to promptly report suspected crimes.
Faber claimed on Thursday that his office has upped the threshold for capturing public servants who are attempting to steal from the public coffers at all levels of government.
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A Pickerington woman is suing Nationwide Children’s Hospital, saying she was wrongfully fired because she refused to get the COVID-19 immunization. She asserts that the hospital ought to have honored the request for a religious exemption she made as a Christian.
Invoking the violation of her civil rights, Tina Moore filed a federal civil complaint in U.S. District Court in Columbus.
She claims in the lawsuit that she was a surgical scheduler for the hospital for 24 years.
The Hamilton County Republican Party elected former Judge Russell Mock as its new chairman early on Thursday evening.
Green Township Trustee Triffon Callos, who has served as the temporary party chair for the previous month, said that Mock defeated former state representative Tom Brinkman at a closed-door meeting of the county party’s central committee at Clovernook County Club by a vote of 125 to 66.
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Although State Representative Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) said that there was ample time to have the “Ohio Constitution Protection Amendment” on the May ballot, it did not pass in the Ohio House and Senate prior to the February 1st deadline.
Stewart introduced House Joint Resolution (HJR) 6 in November; however, the legislation did not pass before the end of the session. Stewart indicated at the end of the year that he intended to resurrect the legislation in the 135th General Assembly which he did along with 30-plus GOP cosponsors last month.
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U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) in collaboration with Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mike Braun (R-IN), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the PARTS Act on Monday, to prevent the thefts of catalytic converters by making the highly sought-after auto part traceable.
The PARTS Act, Preventing Auto Recycling Thefts, is a piece of bipartisan legislation that aims to reduce catalytic converter thefts by requiring new vehicles to have the VIN stamped onto the converter, allowing law enforcement officers to link stolen parts to the originating vehicles.
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According to former Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor , a group seeking to overhaul Ohio’s redistricting procedure plans to put a constitutional amendment before voters in November 2024.
Last year, the Ohio Supreme Court rejected maps produced by Ohio’s Redistricting Commission on numerous occasions. O’Connor sided with the Democrats in redistricting lawsuits despite the GOP holding a one-seat majority.
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Following the Ohio Republican censure of the 22 lawmakers who voted with Democrats last month to choose the new Speaker of the Ohio House, saying they had disregarded their obligations to the party and the public, the Athens County GOP has said that they will not comply with the state party’s censure of Representative Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville).
Edwards was among the 22 GOP representatives who joined forces with the Democrats to choose State Representative Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) as speaker. The choice came despite the Republican Caucus‘ previous selection in November of State Representative Derek Merrin (R-Moncolva) as the new speaker.
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A male stating he is a female has been charged with three counts of public indecency for using the women’s changing facilities at the Xenia YMCA. This comes just weeks after Green County prosecutor David Hayes requested an opinion from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost clarifying if Ohio civil rights law requires local governments to permit individuals to use public restrooms according to their stated gender identity rather than their biological sex.
Darren Glines was accused of three charges of public indecency at Xenia Municipal Court for instances that occurred in September, November, and a third time between November 2021 and 2022 and involved three young girls. The accusations are all misdemeanors in the fourth degree.
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Ohio communities collected more fines and fees than local governments in nearly every other state, according to a new report.
A Reason Foundation report that examined revenues generated through law enforcement by local governments, showed Ohio ranked seventh in the country in collecting the most fines and fees 2020.
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Following Governor Mike DeWine’s State of the State address in the Ohio House chamber on Tuesday, Ohio lawmakers in the House and Senate voiced their opinions.
DeWine centered his address on his budget proposal. The proposal will be presented in the Ohio House in the near future as a piece of legislation that the Ohio General Assembly will need to approve.
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After pro-abortion groups decided to abandon their lawsuit, the city of Lebanon, Ohio may start implementing its Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance once more.
In May of 2021, Lebanon, Ohio became the first in the state to enact a measure outlawing abortion and declaring itself “a sanctuary city for the unborn.” According to the Sanctuary City for the Unborn website, more than 60 other cities across the U.S. have passed similar ordinances.
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Republicans swept the statewide positions, beginning with the governor, in the November general election. However, a probable Republican candidate for the upcoming 2026 election for governor has already been identified.
Former president of the conservative policy organization Buckeye Institute, Matt Mayer now serves as president of Opportunity Ohio. Due to the time and resources required to create that campaign, he has decided to launch an exploratory campaign for the Republican nomination for governor in 2026.
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A bill filed by Republicans in the state Senate would allow Ohioans stopped by law enforcement for driving with marijuana in their system to attempt to demonstrate that marijuana usage did not impair their driving.
Senate Bill (SB) 26 sponsored by state Senator Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville) would allow people the possibility to avoid an OVI even if they tested positive for marijuana by claiming they were sober. Manning told The Star that the legislation looks to address the challenging science of marijuana use and how long it lingers in the body after any benefits have worn off.
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine proposed major expansions of various social programs in his 2023 State of the State address to legislators in Columbus on Tuesday.
The Republican governor called on lawmakers to enact a variety of new policies to aid families through the budget for Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025. Those requests include allowing parents who adopted children from private agencies to access Medicaid coverage and expanding a home-visit program providing health assistance to expectant mothers.
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Angry community members confronted municipal leaders over taxes at a tense meeting on Monday after learning they had been overtaxed for 15 years.
Residents had the chance to express their concerns and ask questions of city council members and other local leaders while there was standing room only inside the Rittman Recreation Center. Most were irate after receiving a letter informing them that Rittman had been overtaxing them on municipal income tax.
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Despite Republican State Senator Sandra O’Brien (R-Ashtabula) re-introducing the Parental Education Freedom Act to empower parents to be the primary decision-makers regarding where and what type of education their children receive, an undercover investigation has revealed that school administrators in Dayton, Ohio are misleading parents and sneaking Critical Race Theory (CRT) into the classroom.
As part of Accuracy in Media‘s investigation, numerous school administrators admitted that teachers are sneakily and covertly introducing CRT to their students unbeknownst to their parents and that they don’t plan to stop even if lawmakers pass legislation prohibiting this.
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Black History Month, which begins Wednesday, offers an opportunity to address a major threat to black economic advancement, racial harmony, and national prosperity: critical race theory.
CRT is a neo-Marxist doctrine that permeates many aspects of American education today. Recent hidden camera footage of Ohio educators demonstrates how intractable CRT really is. Proposed state school choice legislation will empower families to pull their children from these schools and choose alternatives that teach the real skills needed to succeed in today’s economy.
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Through a program including physicians and community partners, Ohio Medicaid plans to invest $5 million over the course of the coming year in an effort to improve the general well-being of mothers, newborns, and families.
Governor Mike DeWine stated in a news release that the goal of the community-based statewide program is to establish a framework for providers and community partners to collaborate on the development of a person-centered, customized intervention to support women and families who traditionally lack access to high-quality care before and after pregnancy.
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An investigation has been launched into a three-alarm fire Saturday that reportedly killed about 100,000 chickens at the Hillandale egg farm in Bozrah, Connecticut.
At least 16 firehouses and more than 100 firefighters responded to the massive blaze, reported Fox61 News.
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U.S. Representative Bob Latta (R-OH-5) is leading a charge by federal lawmakers against the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) relaxation of safety requirements for abortion drugs so consumers can access them by mail.
The Bowling Green-area lawmaker coauthored a letter with U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) and garnered signatures from 75 other members of Congress to insist that the FDA’s recent actions violate federal law. In particular, the legislators object to the agency’s approval of chemical abortion-inducing substances while no longer requiring in-person dispensing.
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An Ohio senator said she believes continuing a national trend she’s championed for more than two years can help soften what education leaders say is a teacher shortage in the state.
Sen. Kristina Roegner, R-Hudson, spent the better part of the past four years reducing licensing issues and getting state compacts passed that allow doctors, nurses, physical therapists and other skilled professionals to get an Ohio license easier if one is held in another state.
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The three-member Lake County Board of Commissioners unanimously decided on Thursday to repeal the 0.5 percent sales tax hike they had just approved for the entire county two weeks earlier.
Following concerns from county citizens and even city governments, the all-Republican board made the decision to abandon the tax increase before it even took effect. After numerous public meetings, officials arrived at the conclusion that “the current and projected revenues in of Lake County will be insufficient by a substantial amount to fund the current budgets and statutory responsibilities.”
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Jim Renacci, a former Ohio Republican congressman, on Thursday unveiled a new political action committee in an effort to elect conservative candidates to Ohio’s school boards.
The new Save Our Schools (SOS) Ohio PAC, according to a news release from Renacci, would aid candidates in raising funds and targeting voters to win these important seats and use data capturing and analysis on all races to identify crucial races to flip control of local school boards.
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Lynn Maro declared her candidacy on Thursday for the position of Mahoning County’s next prosecutor.
Maro, a Republican, has tried some of the most notable cases in Mahoning County, such as former Youngstown Mayor John McNally’s corruption case, with over 25 years of experience handling criminal and civil cases.
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Taking her ceremonial oath of office on Wednesday, Ohio’s new Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy promised “a new day” at the high court and could cast the deciding vote on crucial topics in the state like abortion and redistricting.
Kennedy, who becomes the second female justice to preside over the state’s highest court, said she didn’t initially picture the moment.
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The Ohio House approved a new rules package Tuesday despite objections from Republican lawmakers. The provisions set the guidelines for the upcoming session. House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) advanced the House rules to a vote without allowing for any debate or amendments. Republicans who supported state Representative Derek Merrin (R-Monclova) for speaker argued that Stephens excluded them from the process.
Lawmakers controversially elected Stephens as speaker earlier this month to succeed state Representative Bob Cupp (R-Lima). The choice came despite the Republican Caucus‘ previous selection in November of Merrin 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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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted have unveiled a new strategy to streamline the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) by focusing on redundant clauses, out-of-date portions, and pointless mandates.
The strategy, which DeWine is launching with the aid of the Ohio Common Sense Initiative (CSI), makes recommendations for the removal of portions of the OAC using modern AI technologies that it identifies as unnecessary.
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Less than a week after parents sued Hilliard City School in federal court because teachers are engaging in “intimate sexual conversations” with pupils as young as 6 years old, school officials are requesting the court to dismiss the lawsuit.
In a motion submitted by Columbus attorney Jessica Philemon in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Ohio on Monday, the district claims that the parents lack standing to launch a lawsuit because they ” have not alleged an actual case or controversy that would invoke the jurisdiction of the federal courts.”
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Mason, Ohio residents are speaking out and demanding the dismissal of Mason City Schools Assistant Principal Vivian Alvarez following Accuracy in Media’s undercover investigation that revealed school administrators in Cincinnati, Ohio have admitted to covertly indoctrinating students with Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the classrooms.
According to Alvarez, she wouldn’t be concerned if the legislation prohibiting CRT in schools were to pass as the local government allegedly supports CRT indoctrination.
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On Tuesday, state Representative Derek Merrin (R-Monclova) was chosen by the majority of GOP members 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.
Usually, the majority caucus chair would be the same person chosen to lead the 99-member House, but state Representative Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) was controversially elected as Speaker to succeed state Representative Bob Cupp (R-Lima). The choice came despite the Republican Caucus‘ previous selection in November of Merrin 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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In a letter to Rittman residents, city officials announced that they overtaxed municipal income tax for the past 15 years, and refunds will not be given for all the years of human error because doing so would “bankrupt” the city.
In particular, Rittman has been collecting municipal income taxes for the past 15 years at a rate of 1.5 percent when the correct, permitted rate was 1 percent.
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