Ohio Takes Lead in Class Action Lawsuit Against Facebook

The Ohio Employees Retirement System will lead the effort in a class action lawsuit that seeks to recover millions of dollars from Facebook and force the company to reform its internal practices.

A federal judge in the U.S. District Court of Northern California on Wednesday chose Ohio to be lead plaintiff in the securities case Attorney General Dave Yost originally filed in November 2021, according to a release from Yost.

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Ohio Groups, Lawmakers Praise CHIPS Act Passed to Boost Intel Investment

The lack of federal subsidies Intel said was holding up its planned $20 billion chip plant in suburban Columbus cleared the U.S. Senate on Wednesday.

The CHIPS Act, which passed 64-33, would provide $52 billion to U.S. semiconductor manufacturers to help build plants to make microchips. After announcing in January plans to build and create 3,000 jobs at a microchip facility in Ohio, Intel pulled back over the summer, canceling its July 22 groundbreaking while the federal money remained in limbo.

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After Court Win, Ohio Republican PAC Backs State-Committee Slate in Tuesday’s Elections

Ohio Republican Party (ORP) Committeeman Dave Johnson dropped his lawsuit against the Ohio Republican PAC (Political Action Committee) on Thursday, giving the latter group a major win as they advocate for conservative Republican State Central Committee candidates across the Buckeye State.

Johnson, who represents the ORP’s 33rd district, is running for reelection to that seat against Rick Barron who has the Ohio Republican PAC’s endorsement. Johnson sued the PAC and its affiliates in Mahoning, Carroll and Columbiana counties for conducting what he called a “sham” operation designed to mislead voters into believing that Barron had the ORP’s support. The ORP itself has not issued endorsements for State Central Committee this year. 

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Records Show OH-13 Democrat Nominee Emilia Sykes Has Only Held Paying Jobs at the Taxpayer’s Expense

Records show that the only salaried jobs that Ohio 13th Congressional District Democrat nominee Emilia Sykes has held have been funded by taxpayers.

According to her 2013 resume that she filed with the Summit County Fiscal Office when applying for a position, Sykes reported only having had two salaried jobs, which included work for the United States Bankruptcy Court in Cleveland, OH and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Atlanta, Georgia.

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Ohio Students Could Be Allowed Excused Mental Health Days from School

Ohio could join 11 other states and allow students to miss school if they feel the need to stay home that day for their mental health.

A bill proposed in the Ohio House would give K-12 students three mental health days a year, defining mental health days as a “school day during which a student attends to the student’s emotional and psychological well-being in lieu of attending school.”

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Columbus City Council Tables Funding to Reinstall Christopher Columbus Statue

Columbus, OH City Council this week indefinitely tabled an ordinance to spend $253,000 on the possible reinstallation of the Christopher Columbus statue that stood outside of City Hall until the summer of 2020. 

If adopted, the policy would permit the municipal Department of Development to agree to a contract with Designing Local Ltd., a planning company, to initiate a series of public meetings about whether the statue would return.

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Ohio Republicans Release New Ad Blasting Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Nan Whaley’s Record on Public Safety

The Ohio Republican Party released a new ad, which targets Democrat gubernatorial candidate Nan Whaley’s record on crime as mayor of Dayton.

According to the organization, residents of the city became less safe during her first six years as mayor: violent crime increased 23 percent, homicides jumped 70 percent, and aggravated assaults spiked by 97 percent.

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Mask Advisory, but No Mandate for Columbus as COVID-19 Cases Climb

Ohio’s largest city is not considering another mask mandate despite recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a growing number of COVID-19 cases.

The city of Columbus has issued a mask advisory, urging masks indoors and in crowded places, despite vaccine statues, until further notice, Columbus Public Health spokeswoman Kelli Newman said.

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Ohio Awards Grants to Toledo, Cortland to Combat Trafficking, Other Crimes

Governor Mike DeWine

Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) announced Friday that numerous local law-enforcement departments will receive a total of $3.5 million for anti-trafficking efforts and other anti-crime initiatives, with the cities of Toledo and Cortland receiving significant grants. 

The money comes in the fifth round of allocations from the Crime Reduction Grant Program, a project created last year that has disbursed $23 million to 83 agencies across the Buckeye State so far. 

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Ohio Supreme Court Again Rejects GOP-Drawn Congressional Maps

The Ohio Supreme Court rejected a second Republican-drawn map of congressional districts after previously rejecting the state’s first proposed maps on the grounds they favored the GOP.

Though the court ruled the second set of proposed district lines were fairer to the Democrats than the first, it still ruled 4-3 that they “unduly favored” the Republicans, according to the Epoch Times. The court gave lawmakers 30 days to redraw the maps yet again. The state’s redistricting commission will have 30 days to create a new proposal should lawmakers fail to do so.

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Survey: Ohio Betters Say Legal Gambling Important

Ohioans are already making plans to place their bets on sporting events, even though legal sports betting will not begin in the state until January, according to a new survey.

The process for legal betting began June 15 with the state’s first application window. Betting can begin Jan. 1, and 46% of current state sports bettors said they plan to bet weekly, according to the survey of more than 600 current bettors completed by PlayOhio.

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Ohio Bill Would Make Accommodations for Pregnant Employees Law

Ohio employers would have to make reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees and would be encouraged to talk with pregnant employees about how to ensure their health and safety if a recently introduced bill becomes law.

The legislation, like bills filed in 30 other states, continues moves made by Statehouse Democrats in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned abortion rights.

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Grassroots Ohio GOP Group Responds to Committeeman and Treasurer Johnson’s Injunction Against Opponent

As he runs for reelection in the August 2 special primary, Ohio Republican Party (ORP) Committeeman David Johnson is suing Rick Barron who is challenging his bid to continue representing the ORP’s 33rd District (Columbiana, Carroll and Mahoning counties). 

Also in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, Johnson sued political action committees that support Barron, including the Mahoning, Carroll and Columbiana Ohio Republican Political Action Committees (PACs). These three grassroots organizations are affiliates of the Ohio Republican PAC which exists outside the ORP, also known as the Ohio Republican State Central Committee. 

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Ohio GOP State Committeeman and Treasurer Johnson Denounced by Cousin in Re-Election Bid

Video footage of a rally in North Lima, Ohio, on Sunday shows Frederick “Sam” Johnson standing with Ohio Republican State Central Committee candidate Rick Barron and denouncing Barron’s opponent, Sam’s own cousin David Johnson.

David Johnson is the incumbent State Central Committeeman in the 33rd district (Columbiana and Mahoning counties) and also serves as Ohio Republican Party (ORP) treasurer. He and Barron will compete for the August 2 special primary committee seat. 

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Georgia Among the 20 States Freed from Federal Transgender Sports, Bathroom Guidance

A federal judge in Tennessee ruled in favor of Tennessee, Georgia, and 18 other states in their effort to block federal guidelines on transgender athletes and school locker rooms.

The lawsuit, brought by Tennessee, challenged guidance from the United States Department of Education and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that would allow athletes who were marked as males on their birth certificates to compete in girls and women’s sports. The federal guidance also would have prohibited student shower and locker room access from being determined by birth gender and provided guidance on required pronoun use.

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Telemundo: Alleged Rapist of 10-Year-Old Confirmed to Be in ‘Domestic Relationship’ with Victim’s Mother

Telemundo confirmed Friday the alleged rapist of a 10-year-old girl who underwent an abortion is in a “domestic relationship” with the victim’s mother who reportedly is also pregnant with his child.

“It is, in fact, a domestic relationship – and there are additional children in the household,” said Jorge Bonilla, director of Media Research Center (MRC) Latino. “Horrendous.”

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Akron, Ohio Mayor Ends Downtown Curfew

Akron, OH Mayor Dan Horrigan (D) Sunday lifted the curfew he imposed on his city’s downtown area on the Fourth of July. 

The restriction applied between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and affected Akron residents encircled by Route 59, Interstate 76 and Route 8. The mayor gave his initial emergency order two Mondays ago after anti-police protests turned violent and severely damaged Main Street businesses. 

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Ohio Senator Advocates Policy Changes in Wake of Inflation Report

In response to this week’s news of the consumer price index rising to 9.1%, Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio gave a blistering summation and offered direction to the Biden administration.

Portman said numbers provided for Ohio indicate residents are spending an additional $8,300 a year on energy needs, food and clothing. Jonathan Church at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, contacted by The Center Square, responded in an email for response to getting state-specific index numbers, “The CPI program does not produce state-level indexes.”

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Ohio Secretary of State Announces Board of Education Districts; Democrats Object

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) announced this week that the state Board of Education district boundaries will conform to the plan Gov. Mike DeWine (R) issued in January, spurring objections from Democratic lawmakers.

Nineteen individuals sit on the state Board of Education, with 11 of them standing for election. Five of the elected seats are up in this fall’s general election and those wishing to run must file by August 10.

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Judge Grants Temporary Injunction Against COVID Vax Mandate for Airmen Seeking Religious Exemption

A district court judge in Ohio granted a temporary injunction Thursday against the Air Force’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all of the branch’s members requesting a religious exemption.

U.S. District Court Judge Matthew McFarland, of the Southern District of Ohio, granted the 14-day injunction in the case of Doster v. Kendall, giving the government seven days to respond and explain “why this Court should not grant a class-wide preliminary injunction,” according to the court order.

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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost: No Evidence of Raped and Pregnant 10-Year-Old Girl Traveling to Indiana for Abortion

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told Fox News Monday night there is no evidence of a 10-year-old girl in his state who was raped, became pregnant, and traveled to Indiana for an abortion, as Joe Biden claimed during his remarks justifying his executive order that attempts to undermine the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

“Not a whisper,” Yost told Fox News’ Jesse Watters on Primetime. “We have a decentralized law enforcement system in Ohio, but we have regular contact with prosecutors and local police and sheriffs. Not a whisper anywhere.”

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‘Personhood Act’ to Prohibit Abortion Introduced in Ohio

Ohio state Representative Gary Click (R-Vickery) this week introduced a bill to protect pre-born human life from abortion.

Titled “The Personhood Act,” Click’s legislation stipulates that the state “shall recognize the personhood, and protect the constitutional rights, of all unborn human individuals from the moment of conception.” The measure would not prohibit abortion in any case where doing so would “endanger the life of a mother.” 

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Marcy Kaptur Stays Close to Biden Administration’s Policies Despite Public Opinion During Presidential Visit

As Joe Biden made his way to Ohio on Wednesday, Ohioans likely won’t forget that their longtime U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-09) has been a rubber stamp for the liberal Biden agenda that has left families across the country to pinch pennies.

America Rising PAC Press Secretary, Kristen Bennett said to The Ohio Star, “Marcy Kaptur’s decision to stand by Joe Biden today, puts on full display her decision to be a rubber stamp for the Biden agenda that caused the runaway-inflation crisis plaguing Ohioans.”

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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Asked to Verify Police Report of Biden Claim of 10-Year-Old Raped Girl Who Allegedly Left Ohio for Indiana to Obtain Abortion

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) apparently continues to have little to say about the claim made by Joe Biden Friday that a 10-year-old girl who was allegedly raped and became pregnant traveled from Ohio to Indiana to obtain an abortion.

On Friday the Ohio Capital Journal led with the headline, “DeWine: No Comment on Abortion Ban that Forced a Child to Indiana,” and added, “Ohio governor signed ban, but will only say rape is wrong.”

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Rep. Tim Ryan Meets with Opposition from Ohio Farmers While Hosting Roundtable

Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH-13), who is now running for U.S. Senate, was met with opposition to his policies when hosting a round table for Ohio farmers.

According to a report from The Record-Courier, Ryan attempted to preach bipartisan solutions to issues facing residents of the state. The event was connected to his official duties as a Congressman, not his senate campaign.

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Ohio Democrats Seek Preservation of Records in Connection with FirstEnergy

Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) Chairwoman Elizabeth Walters last week filed a preliminary injunction seeking assurance that Gov. Mike DeWine (R) will preserve all records pertaining to House Bill 6 as an ODP lawsuit goes forward.

The legislation, which DeWine signed into law in July 2019, created a $1.3 billion bailout for the Perry and Davis-Besse nuclear-power plants operated by FirstEnergy Corp. Federal prosecutors have alleged that GOP former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and numerous other individuals, including erstwhile Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges, participated in a $61 million bribery scheme to effect the subsidies.

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Linking Ohio Courts, Law Enforcement Will Protect Public: Gov. DeWine

Law enforcement agencies and courts throughout Ohio can now be part of a new statewide criminal justice database that Gov. Mike DeWine believes will lead to better public protection and help stop the illegal purchase of firearms.

DeWine said Ohio’s new eWarrants system, which he officially announced the launch of late Wednesday, should improve the accuracy of state and federal background checks and streamline the process to fire warrants and protection orders.

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Ohio Lawmakers Push Suing Men for Pregnancy, ‘Life Day’ after Roe Ruling

One Ohio senator wants women to be able to sue men for causing unintended pregnancy, while another wants the state to declare June 24 “Life Day,” all coming in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and the state’s now six-week ban on abortion.

Sen. Tina Maharath, D-Canal Winchester, used both the Supreme Court decision and the state’s new ban as her push to introduce Senate Bill 262 that would allow a civil action against any person causing an unintended pregnancy or any person aiding or abetting someone to have caused an unintended pregnancy.

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Commentary: Butler County, Ohio Bans Wind and Solar Projects in a Dozen Townships

The backlash against the encroachment of wind and solar projects continues. On June 23, the Butler County (Ohio) Board of Commissioners adopted a measure that designates a “restricted area” that prohibits “the construction of an economically significant wind farm, a large wind farm, and/or a large solar facility.” The measure, which passed unanimously, covers all unincorporated areas within a dozen townships in the county.

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Akron Council Resists Prejudgement in Walker Shooting; Ohio House Democrats Still Blame Police

Akron, OH’s Democrat-controlled City Council issued a statement this week lamenting the death of 25-year-old Jayland Walker while resisting prejudgement of the police officers’ who shot him.

Some Ohio Democrats, like their party’s state House caucus, continue to react differently, deciding the shooting lacked justification even before an external investigation concludes. 

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Akron Maintains Curfew in Wake of Walker Shooting

A curfew imposed in downtown Akron, OH on Monday, July 4, continues in the aftermath of the death of Jayland Walker by police gunfire.

The curfew applies during the hours between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. It resulted in the cancellation of fireworks to celebrate July Fourth at several sites in the city. Municipal officials noted that although protests in response to the shooting were peaceful early on Monday, evening demonstrations turned violent and resulted in serious damage to businesses on Main Street.

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OH-1 Democrat Nominee Greg Landsman Opposed Anti-Corruption Legislation

OH-1 Democrat nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives, Cincinnati City Councilman Greg Landsman opposed anti-corruption legislation in 2021, and later touted Cincinnati’s Office of Ethics and Good Government, saying that “we needed to do everything in our power to restore public trust” after a scandal involving text messages.

In September 2021, Landsman declared his opposition to a ballot measure creating an amendment to the city charter that was characterized by him and in the press as allowing for individual city employees to be liable “for some violations of open meetings and public records law violations.”

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Ohio Governor Postpones Two Executions, Citing Problems with Pharmaceutical Suppliers

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) issued reprieves of execution on Friday to Antonio Sanchez Franklin and Stanley Fitzpatrick, citing “ongoing problems” with obtaining needed substances from pharmaceutical companies.

The now-43-year-old Franklin was scheduled to receive a lethal injection next January 12; his execution is now scheduled to take place next February 11. The convict murdered his grandparents, 71-year-old Ophelia and 76-year-old Ivory as well as his 38-year-old uncle Anthony in Dayton in 1997 and then set their house on fire when Antonio was 18.

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$500 Million Heading to Ohio’s Appalachian Region

Ohioans in the state’s Appalachian region can expect a half billion-dollar investment after Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill that dedicates federal funds to infrastructure, health care and work force development.

The $500 million, which is on top of more than $645 million sent to the region since 2019, is twice as much as this year’s entire Appalachian Regional Commission budget. The commission covers 13 states.

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Ohio Supreme Court Allows Heartbeat Law to Remain in Effect, Denies Abortion Providers’ Request to Allow Procedure to Continue

The Ohio law that bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, generally at six weeks’ gestation, will remain in effect while a lawsuit filed by abortion providers continues against it.

The law took effect after the state Supreme Court denied a request by abortion providers for an emergency stay on the legislation to allow abortions to continue while the lawsuit proceeds.

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