A candidate running to be Ohio's Republican nominee for governor has a new social media video targeting frontrunner Vivek Ramaswamy and it is raising concerns due to racist language and the use of a weapon.

Caution: Some may find language in this report to be offensive.

Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Casey Putsch can be seen entering the frame in a video he posted on X.

"Hey Vivek, you want to play Cowboys versus Indians?" Putsch can be heard saying before firing a gun three times.

He then goes on to say, "Don't worry, it's feather, not dot," using discriminatory words to differentiate between an indigenous person and an individual from India. Dot, referring to a bindi that some Hindus, Jains and Buddhists wear.

"One hundred percent, it's a threat," Case Western Reserve University religion and philosophy professor Dr. Deepak Sarma said.

Sarma was horrified to see Putsch targeting GOP frontrunner Vivek Ramaswamy using racist language and a weapon.

"This person is perpetuating, is fueling xenophobia in the United States," Sarma said. "And he's doing it in the most egregious way possible."

In an interview, Putsch claimed he wasnt being racist, nor threatening.

"I am also supporting the Second Amendment and exercising my First Amendment right to make a joke that lots of people think is actually funny," Putsch said.

People are being sensitive, Putsch said, and he posts a lot on social media that "shouldnt be taken seriously." He posts about Indian people like Ramaswamy routinely, saying to deport all of them including his fellow candidate.

"How would that be racist? Because there are people that should be deported to all different places of the globe, and just because we might joke about deporting Vivek, how does that have anything to do with race, other than the fact that he's questionably American, and that's a funny joke too," Putsch said.

"How is he questionably American? He was born in Cincinnati," I responded.

"Yeah, he was born to Indian foreign nationals who came here just to have an anchor baby," Putsch said.

Ramaswamy stated that his parents immigrated legally, and his mother is a naturalized citizen. His father never took the citizenship test, he said in 2023.

Dehumanizing comments have been common in politics, Sarma said, and policies like mass deportations have been embraced by the Republican Party and Ramaswamy.

RELATED: Vivek Ramaswamy deleted social media heading into the Ohio governor's race. Here's why

Ramaswamy has also supported ending birthright citizenship for U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants, he said in 2023.

"There is some irony to this, in that he has supported these positions, and he's supported [President Donald] Trump, and he supported Trump's rhetoric, and it has come back to bite him," Sarma said.

Ramaswamy's team declined to comment, but his running mate, Senate President Rob McColley, addressed general racism and violence in politics. We were unable to ask explicitly about the attack on Ramaswamy, and McColley couldn't comment directly on it due to rules around discussing campaigns while on the Senate floor.

"I think it doesn't matter what party you're in. We've seen political violence happen, pftentimes, we've seen that on the left. We've seen it in some cases on the right," McColley said. "Political violence should be condemned at every level."

Not only does this type of rhetoric need to be condemned, Sarma said, but Republicans need to work with each other to combat racism.

Hot water

Putsch explained that an event location had canceled on him after agreeing to host a Columbus fundraiser.

La Chatelaine, a French bistro, apologized to customers and the community for having agreed to host him. They canceled the event after they were made aware of his "pro-Nazi opinions and beliefs," the restaurant said on Facebook.

Our story featuring Putsch from January delved into previous comments Putsch had made about the Holocaust, Adolf Hitler and Jewish people.

RELATED: Who is Casey Putsch? Meet the GOP candidate challenging Vivek Ramaswamy for Ohio governor

In our interview, we questioned him about his comments that Hitler had some good decisions and beliefs.

Putsch had also faced controversy online after he announced a "beer hall rally." In connection with his last name, online users linked it to Hitler's failed coup to overthrow the German government, known as the 'Beer Hall Putsch.'

Putsch said he couldn't help that he was German and had a German last name.

But double entendrees aren't unheard of for Putsch, as he himself noted in his Cowboys versus Indians remark.

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Ohio's gambling regulators are getting ready to hit the so-called prediction market platform Kalshi with a $5 million fine for what the state has framed as unlicensed sports betting.

The Ohio Casino Control Commission sent Kalshi a notice this week of its intent to impose a penalty against the company, arguing that Kalshi has not heeded the states warnings to stop allowing sports bets on its platform.

The Commission takes its regulatory responsibilities to ensure compliance with the law and the integrity of sports gaming in Ohio seriously, the release read. Kalshis refusal to stop offering sports gaming in Ohio necessitated the Commission to take action to uphold the requirements of Ohio law.

Kalshi is one of various online markets that allow users to place financial stakes on certain predictions, like whether or not Americans will eventually receive tariff stimulus checks.

But Kalshis prediction market also includes the world of sports. On April 15, for example, users were invited to place bets on results in cricket, tennis, golf, major league baseball, European soccer matches, Russian basketball games and much more.

Kalshi is not a licensed sportsbook in Ohio it also doesnt consider the wagers made on its platform betting. Its official website says the company created a new fiscal commodity called event contracts, with the intent to allow people to capitalize on their opinions, trade in the domain of everyday, and hedge risks that relate to them.

Not all have bought the distinction. Cleveland.com reported last month that a federal judge denied Kalshis request for an injunction that would have prevented Ohios regulators from enforcing Ohios sports-gambling laws against the New York City-based company. Kalshi appealed the decision.

When reached for comment April 15, a spokesperson for Kalshi sent the following statement: We are disappointed in this latest development, especially considering our ongoing litigation with Ohio and recent rulings in other courts confirming our right to operate as a federally licensed exchange. We are reviewing the Gaming Commissions letter.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said on social media that he "wouldnt bet on Kalshis long-term future in Ohio.

Ohio put Kalshi on notice today that its prediction markets are unlawful gaming and proposed a $5 million fine, Yost said. A federal court already agreed with our reading of the law.

The Ohio Casino Control Commission said it wouldnt make further comments on its forthcoming fine against Kalshi.

An Ohio Republican is proposing raising the sports betting tax to fund public stadiums and K-12 education.

"I have no apologies that I was going to the track and betting on horses when I was 5 years old, or that I had a bookie when I was 7 or 8," state Sen. Bill DeMora (D-Columbus) said.

For some, like DeMora, gambling starts early. And he doesnt like it when people mess with his vice.

"You want the most bang for your buck," the senator said. 

But he fears the state will take an even bigger cut of his winnings.

"If you have more taxes on it, you're gonna get less payout," he said.

State Sen. Bill Blessing (R-Colerain Township) has proposed S.B. 199, a bill that would put a 2% fee on sports wagers. Ohio would use that revenue to fund public sports stadiums and K-12 education. 

The legislation was originally introduced in 2025, when Blessing and Gov. Mike DeWine were attempting to find ways around funding the Cleveland Browns stadium that the legislative leaders were intent on supporting. Thus, this is a bill that is similar to DeWine's plan from last budget season.

This could be incredible cost savings, Blessing said. He added that, combined with the governors tobacco tax in the budget, a severance tax instituting a 25% excise tax on Kratom, as well as increasing the marijuana excise tax to 15%, Ohio would generate $1.5 billion per fiscal year.

"If we really do put school funding to bed for the foreseeable future it's a public good," Blessing said in an interview Tuesday. "And again, people forget that school funding is, in fact, property tax relief."

The 2% fee is in addition to Ohios existing 20% tax on sports gaming receipts. This could raise an additional $200 million per fiscal year, Blessing said.

"You raise revenue at the same time that you're discouraging bad behavior," he said.

While Blessing was testifying, DeMora was skeptical of how much revenue this would actually bring in.

"Everybody assumes that when you tax more, you're going to get more revenue from it," the Democrat said. "But other studies show that the more the tax, the less likely you are to do these forms of gambling."

Blessing said that DeMora doesnt need to worry, since the sportsbooks will be the ones paying the tax.

"What is to stop the sportsbooks from putting this 2% tax back onto the payees, back onto the sports bettors?" I asked Blessing.

"Well, if DraftKings and FanDuel are going against each other, they can't just pass everything on to the bettor," he responded. "To some degree, they have to eat that through lower profits because DraftKings [can say], 'Well, we can eat a little bit more of this to outcompete you guys.'"

We reached out to the leading sportsbooks, but none provided a comment. However, they may not need to worry. Select Committee on Gaming Chair Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville) said it likely wouldn't move out of committee, as it may be a "better conversation" for next year's budget.

"I don't think raising taxes necessarily brings in more revenue all the time," Manning said. "I think that could do more harm than good."

Although DeWine has been supportive of finding innovative ways to avoid using public dollars to pay for a billionaire's new stadium, his team says he is newly reviewing the bill. He did, however, catch a stray from DeMora.

"Why are we just taxing gambling because some people don't like it, including the governor, who doesn't like anything fun," the Democrat said.

DeWine's team declined to respond to that remark.

The governor is opposed to gambling, marijuana, intoxicating hemp and tobacco and has pushed for restrictions on all.

Betting on gambling bills

This is the latest gaming bill to make waves in the Statehouse.

Last week, a group of House Republicans introduced two bills that would overhaul the state's sports gaming industry: banning online gambling, prohibiting wagers on college athletics, and restricting bet types.

RELATED: Ohio GOP lawmakers move to ban online sports gambling, betting on college athletics

The first bill, according to the lawmakers, bans in-game, parlay and prop bets, as well as wagers on all college athletics.

The second bans online gaming. It would prohibit the use of credit cards to make bets. It also limits bets to $100 and only allows up to eight wagers per 24 hours. It stops financial lures, which are deals that sportsbooks can offer to get a bettor to sign up, and bans ads during a live broadcast of an event.

These proposals received mass backlash online, which Manning noted to me.

"I saw your tweet about that has gotten a lot of traction both probably good and bad... I understand where they're coming from. I think it's a little short-sighted and would do more harm than good."

Blessing, Manning and DeMora were not fans of either of these bills. One of the House bill sponsors, state Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery), was equally not interested in raising sports betting taxes.

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Ohio gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton's team says that a "domestic dispute" that resulted in police coming to her home in 2019 was just a simple argument between a husband and wife. The person who called 911 was likely concerned for Acton's safety, they said.

Back in 2019, while Acton was Ohio's health director, police were called to her home in Bexley, a Columbus suburb.

A police report states that there was a "domestic dispute," and that Acton and her husband had allegedly gotten in a verbal argument over her extended work hours.

The report, first publicized by NBC News, states that Acton felt her husband was antagonizing her, and while walking down the stairs, she grabbed hold of the mirror on the wall and pulled it down, shattering the glass."

The report states that both Acton and her husband had admitted to drinking earlier and that Acton stated that she had taken an unknown amount of prescription medication. Police wrote that Acton told them that she wanted to leave, and had gone into the garage, but her husband talked her out of it.

According to the report, a Columbus Fire Medic advised Acton to go to the hospital, but she refused. However, the police officer wrote that there was "no evidence of any physical violence" and it was a "verbal dispute only." There is nothing in the report stating that Acton was intoxicated at the time of the police visit.

"It's problematic for a campaign to have something like this come out," Republican strategist Bob Clegg said.

Acton is running for governor against likely Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, whom her team blamed for this report coming to light.

Acton declined an interview, but her running mate, David Pepper, said Acton only had one glass of wine and wasn't drunk. Their campaign said the prescription was a migraine medication.

"This is sort of a desperate attempt to try and tear Amy Acton down," Pepper said in an interview on Monday. "What do you do when you're a desperate billionaire and underwater? You use your money and your resources to try and smear the other person."

This was just a simple argument between husband and wife, he added.

"How did the police get called during a minor argument?" I asked him.

"I think someone called because they believed that Dr. Acton was under threat," Pepper responded, but didn't have more details. "The police came, they saw that that wasn't the case, and that was sort of the beginning and the end of it."

It is unclear who called 911, and the Bexley Police Department no longer has the dispatch call due to the incident being seven years ago.

Clegg warned that this incident raises concerns about whether Acton could handle running the state. 

"Is this an ongoing problem or is this an isolated incident that occurred?" he asked.

Other Republicans, including Donald Trump Jr., have jumped online to give their criticism, arguing that Acton should be "seeking help" and not running for governor. Ramaswamy's X account reposted this.

During the time of the argument, Acton was part of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's administration. DeWine hadn't known about it.

"Do you think that this police report shows that she's not fit to run Ohio?" I asked DeWine on Monday.

"Well, first of all, I don't know what happened. I was not there. The only thing that I have said is that I wish she had reported that to us, just the police coming to a house, whatever the facts are," he responded. "I have no idea what the facts are."

Pepper said that there was no reason for Acton to tell DeWine about the police visit.

"I think most people, when they have a private personal argument with their spouse, aren't necessarily telling their boss about that," Pepper said.

Nothing came of it, he added.

DeWine, who wasn't thrilled by the choice of Ramaswamy and didn't endorse him until about a year after the majority of his GOP colleagues, defended Acton.

RELATED: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine not ready to endorse Vivek Ramaswamy

"Would you have kept her as the health director if you had known about the police incident from 2019?" I asked DeWine.

"Well, Ill say what I have always said in that Amy ActonI thought did a good job as director," the governor responded. "I'm the one who appointed her."

For months, DeWine has stood up for Acton during attacks against her for "shutting down" Ohio during the pandemic.

"The fact is, though, she worked for me, as all the members of the cabinet do, and decisions that were made were made by the governor," he said. "If there is a member of the cabinet who issues an order, that was at my direction."

Ramaswamy's team declined to comment.

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A bipartisan bill introduced in the Ohio House would require social media apps and websites to include warning labels if they include features deemed "addictive."

When you start to scroll on social media, it can sometimes be hard to stop.

"Autoplay where you don't even have to interact, you're just staring at it and it; it does its thing," state Rep. Christine Cockley (D-Columbus) said.

It's a cycle that Cockley got trapped in.

"I'm somebody that already has anxiety and depression; there were probably times where it made that worse," she said.

She isnt the only one. A California jury just awarded a woman millions after she successfully argued that Metas Instagram and Facebook platforms and Google's YouTube got her addicted to social media as a child. Dozens of studies from hospitals and universities show that social media can negatively impact mental health.

"Social media was designed and is designed in a way to keep you on social media," said Case Western Reserve University Technology Law Professor Raymond Ku.

Certain features on social media can be addictive, like autoplay, push notifications and like counts, he said. This can be especially damaging for developing brains, Cockley added.

"We can create guard rails," she said.

Cockley and state Rep. Jodi Salvo (R-Bolivar) introduced a bipartisan bill requiring warning labels for websites or apps that include those addictive features.

"There's some type of pop-up that says, 'Hey, by the way, this is a platform that might have addictive tendencies,'" Cockley said.

The bill would give the Ohio Department of Behavioral Health the authority to design the warnings.

We reached out to TikTok, YouTube and X, but didnt hear back. Meta declined to comment.

Ku explained that social media companies will say that they already disclose risks to users when they download.

"In their defense, their best argument is, 'We become 'addicted' to things, because of the convenience they provide, right?'" he said. "And once we have that convenience, there's no way we're going back."

The bill would fine companies $5,000 each time they violate the law. Cockley is debating whether it should be per person or per penalty.

Because the law is written so broadly, Ku said, it could apply to more than just the typical social media sites. This bill could feasibly apply to gaming platforms or gambling sites, which already have their own warning.

Several other states have similar laws, and NetChoice, which represents social media companies, successfully sued Colorado, arguing it violated their First Amendment rights by compelling speech. The state's provision is on pause.

Ohio has struggled to enforce two other internet-related pieces of legislation. In 2024, a judge blocked the state's law requiring parents to sign off on their child's new social media accounts. In 2025, pornography distributors ignored the state's law requiring a state ID in order to watch explicit content.

RELATED: Ohio lawmakers work to plug loophole that porn providers use to skirt age verification requirement

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Four candidates for the new chief elections officer will be on Ohio's May primary ballot. Here's what you need to know about them.

Each candidate in a contested race was asked the same questions, with follow-up questions as needed.

The Democratic candidates are Leukemia Doctor Bryan Hambley and former Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo. The Republicans are Treasurer Robert Sprague and Air Force Veteran Marcell Strbich.

The article will give a sneak peek at the interviews. Each was done separately on Thursday.

Trau: "What is the biggest threat to elections right now?"

Hambley: "Voters in Ohio cannot influence their politicians because of gerrymandering."

Russo: "Active disinformation about the security of our election."

Sprague: "That the populace trusts the elections."

Sprague meant that the threat is not being trusted or secure.

Strbich: "Hodgepodge of board of elections who interpret how they qualify information differently."

Trau: "Do you think that mail-in voting is fraudulent?"

Both the Democrats supported mail-in voting, while the Republicans said it should only be in specific cases, which led to this interaction with the treasurer.

Although voter fraud is exceedingly rare, it does happen but does it happen enough to be memorable?

Sprague: "You're always a little bit suspicious because you don't know if the person on the other end of that mail-in ballot is the elector."

Trau: "Please cite some cases of mail-in fraud in Ohio."

Sprague: "Well, we know that this happens every year."

Trau: "Where? When?"

Sprague: "I cant give you If you give me time, I can get back to you."

Following the interview, Sprague's team provided details of a Republican Delaware County township trustee who illegally voted twice in 2020.

The Democrats said there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud, which is confirmed by the current Republican secretary of State.

Trau: "Who won the 2020 election?"

Both Democrats said former President Joe Biden. Neither Republicans would answer.

Sprague: "I will say that we know we did elections right here in the state of Ohio. I'm not sure about the other states.

Both Sprague and Strbich's answers led to additional questions.

Strbich: "Joe Biden was certified to be the president. That doesn't mean that 100% or 50% of people believed in the outcome of the result. That's the problem."

Trau: Do you?

Strbich: "No, no, its not about me. You understand?"

Trau: "It is; youre running."

Strbich: "No, it's not about me. You're wanting to localize that question about me."

Trau: "You are running for secretary of state."

Each candidate, regardless of party, said the office should be nonpartisan. Also, they all said that they didn't want the federal government to take over Ohio elections.

Hambley's interview

Russo's interview

Sprague's interview

Strbich's interview

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A group of Ohio Republican lawmakers has introduced two bills that would overhaul the state's sports gaming industry: banning online gambling, prohibiting wagers on college athletics and restricting types of bets.

A slow pitch may just be a bad throw, but sometimes it's planned.

"Can you imagine the pitcher on the mound controlling the game to win bets?" state Rep. Johnathan Newman (R-Troy) said during a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

Ohioans dont need to imagine it. Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase pleaded not guilty to taking bribes and pitch-rigging to help bettors.

That and a state report showing an increase in gambling addictions helped to kickstart legislation overhauling the sports gambling system.

"We were going to put some common sense consumer protections in place to protect Ohio citizens," state Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery) said.

Click, Newman, state Reps. Riordan McClain (R-Upper Sandusky) and Kevin Ritter (R-Marietta) have introduced two bills dedicated to sports integrity. Neither of the bills was available to read through independently.

The first, according to the lawmakers, bans in-game, parlay and prop bets and bans wagers on all college athletics. 

"When you combine the addiction of gambling with the addiction of one of these devices," Click said, holding up a cell phone. "It's synergistic in a bad way."

The second prohibits the use of credit cards to make bets. It also limits bets to $100 and only allows up to eight wagers per 24 hours. It stops financial lures, which are deals that sportsbooks can offer to get a bettor to sign up, and bans ads during a live broadcast of an event.

The biggest change of all: it bans online sports gambling. This is the method of choice for many gamblers we've spoken to for years.

"I just use my phone," said Scott, a sports bettor. "It's a convenience factor for me, so instead of going somewhere, you just do it from the comfort of your own home."

The lawmakers said that the bill would not apply to Kalshi or Polymarket, just straight sportsbooks. 

Backlash came swiftly online after we posted about the idea. There are hundreds of angry, profanity-laden replies, slamming the lawmakers for government overreach.

"Big government telling us how to live! Again. What happened to conservatives?" one X user wrote.

One user even made a mock flag saying "COME AND TAKE IT" under the sportsbook's logo.

Some of the replies say that some of the provisions were alright.

"No ads during games is fine. No online bets is probably for the best. 100 max is insane. No parlays or props is also insane," a user wrote.

The minority of responders said that this was a good thing.

"Awesome stuff. We need this in all 50 states immediately. Online gambling is an epidemic," a user said.

Others online noted how addiction is hurting families.

"We are financing mental health issues here in Ohio, and everyone talks about, 'Well, it's going to be a tax benefit,' but not really when we're creating mental health issues for our friends and for our neighbors," Click said.

RELATED: Michigan woman issues warning to Ohio after losing $2 million in 6 months from internet gambling

Tamera Hunter at Townhall II, the Kent-based behavioral health organization that helps those with mental health and addiction conditions, said that the prevalence of online gaming is having a direct impact on people's health.

"Gambling addiction has severely escalated since then," she said. "Were definitely seeing through our screening an increase of 25%-30% since online sports betting has gone live."

The industry is booming in the state, bringing in record profits in 2025.

The lawmakers know how popular online betting is, and admit they are facing an uphill battle. McClain shared that he has received mixed results from his GOP colleagues, and even the very anti-gambling Gov. Mike DeWine disagrees with portions.

Another challenge the lawmakers would face is how this would be enforced, as banning an online system is legally challenging. The lawmakers have struggled to implement legislation restricting pornography and social media.

"We can set the standard for what's in here in Ohio, what Ohioans should have access to, and we hope that has an effect, obviously, on the broader picture," McClain said.

The lawmakers looked to Aaron Baer, a conservative lobbyist and executive director of the Center for Christian Virtue, for questions about the details inside the bill.

"The people are in charge, and they put in place some incredible leaders in the Ohio General Assembly who care about the future of our state, who care about exploitation, who care about children and just being able to enjoy a football game and not wondering, 'Is this rigged too?'" Baer said.

DeWine has said that if he could go back in time, he would not sign the bill that legalized sports betting.

Just a year after placing wagers on games became legal in 2023, the Ohio Casino Control Commission removed prop bets on college sports from the list of legal wagers. DeWine had pushed for this after there were threats against the University of Dayton basketball team players.

When the investigation began into Ortiz and Clase, DeWine began pushing for MLB and other sports leagues to take action. Last fall, the MLB and gaming companies agreed to restrict some micro-prop bets.

While these new bills look to clamp down on online gambling, there's also been a push to expand it.

Legislation being considered in the Statehouse would have brought iGaming virtual slot machines and virtual table games online.

Those for it argue it would bring in more than $600 million in new tax revenue to the state, and nearly every state around us already has it. Some of those against it worry about fueling addiction and killing brick-and-mortar casinos and racinos.

IGaming expansion had been stalled.

Moving forward

There is some appetite to regulate the market from DeWine and legislative leaders. Not allowing credit card payments and regulating ads seem like the most feasible, according to other lawmakers not involved with the bills.

But ending online gaming altogether? I wouldn't bet on that.

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An Ohio Republican congressman said President Donald Trump was being "hyperbolic" and showing "bravado" after the commander in chief threatened to kill "a whole civilization" if Iran doesn't reopen its major oil route.

A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again, President Donald Trump wrote on social media Tuesday morning. "I dont want that to happen, but it probably will."

RELATED: Trump warns a whole civilization will die tonight as Iran deadline looms

His comments prompted fear from Democratic U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown (OH-11) ahead of Trump's 8 p.m. deadline to come up with a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

"It was reckless, it's embarrassing, it's insane," she said, further criticizing the president. "It's frightening, to be honest, that this is the person who is in charge right now."

But the post was also explained away.

"The president has his way of negotiating, which is unique to him," Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce (OH-14). "I don't speak to the things that he talks about or writes about on his social media."

Joyce downplayed Trumps comments, saying it was a tactic to get the Iranian leadership to make a deal.

"Do you think that this is just hyperbole?" I asked him.

"I think anybody who's dealt with President Trump since 2015, when he came down the escalator, realizes that he talks a lot in hyperbole," the congressman responded.

On social media and in news conferences in prior days, Trump also threatened to attack power plants and bridges. When asked if bombing civilian infrastructure could be a war crime, he said he wasn't "worried about it."

"Do you condone that he said he's not at all worried about committing war crimes?" I asked Joyce.

"You have to measure what happens versus what the president says," Joyce responded. "But right now I'd like to think that part of the bluster and bravado of what the president has to say should be measured against what he actually does."

But Brown brought up how the lives of millions of people are at stake and said Trump's comments are dangerous and inappropriate.

"This is a president who continues to make threats," Brown said. "It's no way to govern, and it's clear that he doesn't have a plan on how to get out of this 'war of choice,' one that he solely decided, that was unauthorized by Congress."

Democrats are now urging Republicans to reconvene and end the war as soon as possible.

"Once we get this back in session next week, we'll have a good chance to have a serious discussion with the White House on where we're going moving forward," Joyce said.

Our news team found Joyce at an unrelated ribbon-cutting event on Tuesday afternoon; no other Republican in Ohio's congressional delegation responded to us with a comment. U.S. Rep. Bob Latta (OH-5) offered an interview at a later date.

Brown, noting that Joyce was a friend, said she was disappointed in his response.

"When my Republican colleagues don't push back or stand up or do their jobs, then [Trump] just continues to push the boundaries and really it's putting this fragile thing we call democracy at great risk," she said.

More than just putting democracy at risk, she added that this puts Americans, Iranians and other civilians in the Middle East in danger. It is also costing hundreds of millions, if not one billion, dollars per day, according to the center-right think tank American Enterprise Institute.

"Is this war a good use of taxpayer money?" I asked Joyce.

"Look, for 47 years they've exacerbated the situation in the Middle East," he responded. "They've wreaked havoc in every country and spread terrorism beyond their own borders, and so eventually they needed to be stopped... We're going to do what's necessary to finally put this cancer to rest."

Brown said there are problems in the United States worth dealing with, as this war is unconstitutional. But she did have a message for unhappy Ohioans:

"They have an opportunity right now to cast their ballot and hold folks accountable," Brown said.

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A judge in Sandusky County has temporarily blocked Ohio's new law banning "intoxicating" hemp products in Fremont, but it could have wide-ranging impacts for the rest of the state.

Judge Jeremiah S. Ray has issued a temporary restraining order on the hemp portion of Senate Bill 56. Signed into law in December, the legislation makes dramatic changes to marijuana usage and bans low-level THC hemp products.

"This is thus inherently discriminatory on its face," Ray wrote in his decision.

Seattle-based North Fork Distribution, which runs Cycling Frog Distribution, sued the Fremont Police chief and a detective to prevent enforcement.

Congresss Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Farm Bill) allowed for hemp products to be sold as long as they have .3% THC or less. U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued guidance on their website that under the law, the Drug Enforcement Administration no longer has the authority to seize and criminalize sending or buying seeds with less than .3% THC. In 2019, Ohio legalized the product, as well.

When voting to end the federal government shutdown in the fall, policymakers closed what they call a "loophole" in the Farm Bill that allowed for the low-level THC products to be sold without regulation. This ban goes into effect in November 2026.

After Congress's bill, lawmakers passed S.B. 56, eliminating intoxicating hemp except for THC-infused beverages. However, when signing, Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed that provision banning all forms of the product.

The judge argued that the favoritism towards the federally illegal marijuana versus the federally legal hemp could likely violate interstate commerce regulations.

"The fact that Senate Bill 56 also has the practical effect of discriminating against thousands of in-state hemp and hemp-beverage manufacturers, producers, distributors, or retailers is no defense," he wrote. "If anything, the existence of parallel intrastate discrimination 'makes the protectionist effect of the ordinance more acute.'"

RELATED: What the fight against total 'intoxicating' hemp ban looks like from rural Ohio

Legal experts are currently evaluating whether this means Cycling Frog can continue selling its product across the state, since the manufacturer is exempt from complying with the law for the time being.

"The states can't pass laws that interfere with or discriminate against interstate commerce," Case Western Reserve University constitutional law professor Jonathan Entin said.

The ruling could impact more than just Fremont, Entin added. The restraining order applies to the police and "all who may act in concert with them" from taking action based upon S.B. 56. He said this could include the county sheriff, nearby law enforcement agencies, or rather, any department "that might in some sense be working in collaboration with these folks."

This order also fully protects third parties that "facilitate plaintiffs' businesses-such as distributors, warehousing, and logistics firms," the court said.

It is possible it could be the state of Ohio, too, Cycling Frog's attorney Andy Mayle said.

I asked why Mayle didn't also sue the state, but he responded that his team is looking to do a "reverse" class action. This could allow for injunctions against the current defendants and all similarly situated defendants. He is asking for the judge to certify a class of defendants of all law enforcement officers in Ohio.

Hemp advocates have said they plan to use this case to bolster other court battles across the state. The Attorney General's Office has just requested to intervene in the case.

There are multiple legal cases regarding S.B. 56, which hemp lobbyist Dakota Sawyer never wanted. He wanted to repeal the law via a referendum.

However, the campaign to repeal the ban did not collect enough signatures to get on the ballot. They were tasked with getting around 250,000 in several weeks.

This court win came soon after Sawyer said they were 30,000 signatures short of getting a repeal effort on the ballot. Other advocates disputed this and said it was 30,000 at the very least, and they were significantly further away than that.

RELATED: Effort to repeal marijuana restrictions, THC ban fails to make Ohio ballot

answering viewer questions

Burning out

"It's overall just a loss for Ohio," Urban Artifact's Scotty Hunter said.

Losing products means much more to Hunter than just losing dollars.

"We've had to reduce our staff," he said.

The intoxicating hemp products can look like candy, and they're sold at places like gas stations and smoke shops with no age limits.

"Our primary concern with intoxicating hemp was the products that are the edibles, primarily the stuff that's unregulated; we don't know where it came from. We don't know if it's even produced in the United States. We don't know if it's even marketed to be what it is," Senate President Rob McColley said. "It's also actually targeting children."

One of the biggest opponents to the repeal effort is actually the marijuana industry. Adrienne Robbins with the Ohio Cannabis Coalition represents licensed cannabis dispensaries, which are frustrated by the lack of oversight on hemp. Hemp sellers say that dispensaries just hate losing business to them.

"You have a group of businesses who decided to invest in Ohio, start businesses here, live here, serve medical marijuana patients, and now serve adult-use cannabis consumers, and do it in a safe way where they're also giving back to those communities that they're doing business in," Robbins said. "On the other hand, we have no idea where these products are coming from."

This whole discussion could become moot in November once the federal ban takes effect.

But Hunter, Sawyer, and other hemp sellers are trying to get Congress to backtrack the ban. Hunter feels confident they will.

"When those federal rules change, we should not be the ones behind, right?" he asked.

The case has a status hearing on April 9.

Have questions? Let me know, and I'll answer them.

Morgan.Trau@wews.com

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In rain, snow and bitter cold, a steady drumbeat of small protests have been held in recent months on the Ohio State University main campus with a single goal in mind: removing billionaire retail mogul Les Wexner's name from buildings where it's emblazoned.

At issue for union nurses at OSU's Wexner Medical Center, for former athletes at the Les Wexner Football Complex, and for some student leaders who may walk past the Wexner Center for the Arts near the campus oval is Wexner's well-documented association with the late sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.

Similar cries are arising over a Wexner-named building at Harvard University and others around the country named for different Epstein associates, including Steve Tisch, Casey Wasserman, Glenn Dubin and Howard Lutnick.

It's all part of the backlash across higher education against figures with ties to Epstein, who cultivated an extensive network including powerful people in the arts, business and academia. Scrutiny has landed on university donors as well as several academics whose emails with Epstein surfaced in the latest files, including some who have resigned.

Wexner hasn't been charged with any crime in connection with Epstein, the one-time financial adviser by whom he says he was duped.

But a group of former Ohio State athletes who survived a sweeping sexual abuse scandal at the school argues that the retired L Brands founder 's generosity to his alma mater is now tainted by the knowledge that Epstein was entangled in many of his family's spending decisions, including around the football complex's naming.

Ohio State University cannot credibly separate itself from these facts, nor can it justify continuing to honor Les Wexner with an athletic facility, their naming removal request read. It went on, To do so is to ignore the voices of survivors, former athletes, and the broader community who expect accountability, transparency, and moral leadership.

At Harvard, a group of students and faculty at the prestigious Kennedy School has targeted the Leslie H. Wexner Building and the Wexner-Sunshine Lobby. The renaming request submitted in March cites Wexners strong ties to Epstein and argues Epstein profited off Wexner, which enabled Epstein to use his wealth and power to traffic and abuse children and women.

Some Harvard students and alumni also want the Farkas name removed from Farkas Hall, which hosts the Hasty Pudding Theatricals Man and Woman of the Year. The building was renamed in 2011 following a significant donation from Andrew Farkas, graduate chairman of the Hasty Pudding Institute, in honor of his father.

Farkas had a longtime personal and business relationship with Epstein, including co-owning a marina with him in the Caribbean. He also repeatedly asked Epstein to donate to Hasty Pudding. Between roughly 2013 and 2019, Epstein regularly donating $50,000 annually to secure top-tier donor status, for a total of more than $300,000.

As Ive said repeatedly, I deeply regret ever having met this individual, but at no time have I conducted myself inappropriately, Farkas said in a statement.

Pushback against buildings named for Epstein associates is growing on some U.S. campuses.

Just last weekend, the student body at Haverford College in Pennsylvania voted to urge President Wendy Raymond to forge ahead with the renaming process for the Allison & Howard Lutnick Library. The building is named for the U.S. commerce secretary who has faced resignation calls over his relationship with Epstein.

Raymond had said in a February open letter that she wasn't ready to do that. In a statement to The Associated Press following Sundays vote, Raymond said she respected the process and would respond to the resolution within the customary 30-day period.

At Ohio State, pleas against the Wexner name are making their way through a five-step review procedure, most of which takes place outside public view and with no set timeline. The university's new president, Ravi Bellamkonda said, I think the process is thorough, fair, and open, and I will promise you that we will give each request a full consideration.

A spokesman for Harvard confirmed the school has received the Wexner-related name removal request but would not comment further. It would be the university's second name change, after the John Winthrop House, which bore the name of a Harvard professor and a like-named ancestor, was changed to Winthrop House in July over their connections to slavery.

Tufts University, home to the Tisch Library and the Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center, said it continues to look at the matter. The library has moved to clarify that it was not named for Steve, but, in 1992, for his father Preston Tisch, an honored alum. The sports center removed a set of Steve Tisch's handprints during spring break. The university said that was part of a planned renovation.

UCLA's Wasserman Football Center and Stony Brook University's Dubin Family Athletic Performance Center also are named for Epstein associates.

The current clamor bears some resemblance to the controversy that surrounded the wealthy Sackler family's culpability in the deadly opioid crisis, because in both cases the institutions involved had received vast sums from the family.

Some major institutions including museums in New York and Paris, Tufts and the University of Oxford in England did remove the Sackler name, but Harvard chose not to. In a 15-page report explaining its 2024 decision, the university said the legacy of Arthur M. Sackler, whose company Purdue Pharma made the potent opioid OxyContin, was complex, ambiguous and debatable.

The Epstein associates whose names are on campus buildings also are typically generous donors, as well as alumni.

Wexner, his wife Abigail and their charities have given Ohio State well over $200 million over the years, for example. That included $100 million to benefit the Wexner Medical Center; at least $15 million for the Wexner Center, a contemporary art museum named for Wexner's father, Harry; and $5 million split with an Epstein-run foundation toward construction of the football complex. The Wexners have given another $42 million to the Harvard Kennedy School.

Anne Bergeron, a museum consultant and author who specializes in the ethics of building naming rights in the cultural sector, said universities are serious about their gift acceptance standards while also recognizing that the conduct of individual donors may be judged differently over time.

Its no surprise that a lot of these situations arise within the university sphere, because with students especially the younger generation there is virtually no tolerance for being associated with anyone who doesnt represent the best of humanity, she said

She called this a moment of reckoning for universities and said they have to guard against the appearance of a quid pro quo in their building namings.

Michael Oser, a Columbus-area resident, articulated the frustration of some defenders of retaining the Wexner name in a recent letter-to-the-editor of The Columbus Dispatch.

OSU took the money. Built the buildings. Cut the ribbons. Smiled for the photos There were no formal morality clauses attached back then, just gratitude and applause, he wrote. Now, years later, some want to play moral referee while the university keeps the cash and the concrete. Thats not accountability. Thats convenience.

Lauren Barnes, a student in the Kennedy School's master's program leading the effort to remove Wexner's name, said she struggles most days as a survivor of sexual abuse and the mother of a 14-year-old to walk into a building with a name linked to Epstein.

Thinking about all the children in this world that deserve safety and also all the survivors on campus that have to walk under the Wexner name, I know what thats like to have my heart race and my hands get sweaty, she said. I hate that anyone else has to have that feeling walking under that name and just dealing with it kind of everywhere on campus.

One protester at Ohio State, Audrey Brill, told a local ABC affiliate that it now feels gross thinking of women delivering babies at OSU's Wexner Medical Center given everything that were learning about where this money went and she feels removing Wexner's name could help.

Some protesters also want the name of Dr. Mark Landon, a prominent Ohio State gynecologist who received five-figure quarterly payments from Epstein between 2001 and 2005, removed from a visitors lounge in the hospitals new $2 billion, 26-story tower. Landon have said the money was for biotech investment consulting for Wexner, not health care for Epstein or any of his victims.

Summit County jurors were unable to reach a verdict on whether former FirstEnergy executives committed bribery in what's been called the largest public corruption scheme in Ohio history.

The judge declared a mistrial.

WATCH:

The jury had been deadlocked on whether former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones and VP Mike Dowling bribed former Public Utilities Commission Chair Sam Randazzo with $4.3 million to get beneficial rulings.

One of the jurors, Mark Baughman, said the seven women and five men on the jury reached an impasse as they considered the case.

"There were people who said that they weren't going to change their minds," Baughman said. "Most people thought they were guilty."

However, Baughman said that after nine days of deliberations, the jury provided a note indicating they could not reach a unanimous verdict.

The state accused Jones and Dowling of bribing public utilities chair Sam Randazzo with $4.3 million. and providing $60 million more in exchange for passing House Bill 6, a billion-dollar bailout for the struggling company, resulting in higher utility bills for consumers.

Randazzo died by suicide in 2024 after pleading not guilty to dozens of charges.

During the trial, the defense argued Randazzo was corrupt, claiming the payments to him were old consulting fees for former FirstEnergy clients that they say Randazzo stole.

Attorneys John McCaffrey and Steve Grimes represent Dowling.

They had 30 witnesses, 600 exhibits. They took nine days to really go through a lot of this evidence. This is a very complicated case," McCaffrey said.

"No jury is going to convict our clients because there's not sufficient evidence to do so, so we'll be ready and do it again if that's what the attorney general chooses to do," Grimes said.

The possibility of a mistrial was first made public when the jury wrote a note to Judge Susan Baker Ross on Monday afternoon, asking, If we cannot agree on the charge of bribery, do we evaluate the other charges?

RELATED: What the jury doesn't know while deliberating the FirstEnergy corruption case

Along with likely facing another lengthy state trial, Jones and Dowling are both federally charged with racketeering. They have also been accused of spending $61 million to help create and pass House Bill 6. H.B. 6 was legislation to provide a billion-dollar bailout for the struggling company.

The jury went into deliberation without key pieces of evidence that could bolster the prosecution's case, ones that weren't allowed to be brought up during the trial. Not only were they not told that FirstEnergy, as a company, already admitted to this bribery, but they weren't informed that former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder is currently sitting in prison due to accepting FirstEnergy's bribes.

RELATED: What the jury will be deciding in the FirstEnergy corruption trial

Ohio Attorney Dave Yost posted a YouTube video stating that the State of Ohio will retry the case.

"Justice needs to be done," Yost said in the video.

Matthew Meyers is the assistant attorney general who was the lead prosecutor during the trial.

"It's very clear they took this case seriously. They gave complicated evidence great consideration. The process unfolded the way it should so this remains a pending case," Meyers said.

Prosecutors asked for mistrial. The judge hasn't ruled on that request. Baughman said he wanted to keep deliberating, frustrated that after spending nearly two months on the trial, it ended in a hung jury.

"I felt like the the trial lasted so long that we should deliberate and do our due diligence," Baughman said.

FirstEnergy issued the following statement Tuesday afternoon:

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The jury in the FirstEnergy corruption trial finished their seventh day of deliberations without a verdict, but they were pulled into the courtroom because the judge accidentally gave them documents they weren't supposed to see. Of them, at least several pages of the state's updated indictment document made it to their room.

The Summit County jury has been deliberating for a full week, trying to decide on whether former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones and former SVP Mike Dowling are guilty of bribing former Public Utilities Commission Chair (PUCO) Sam Randazzo with $4.3 million to get beneficial rulings. Randazzo was previously indicted with Jones and Dowling, but killed himself after pleading not guilty in 2024.

Friday afternoon, Summit County Court of Common Pleas Judge Susan Baker Ross brought the jury in from deliberations, asking how many saw two exhibits that somehow made it into their file. The first was a "highly confidential" transcript of an interview that Assistant Attorney General Matt Meyer conducted with FirstEnergy board member James O'Neil from October 2025.

The second was at least several pages of a revised indictment document from September of 2025, one that shows that the men were previously charged with money laundering and theft. Baker Ross had dismissed those charges. It is unclear if they had the following pages, which include details of the corruption scheme, including dark money groups they were involved with, that were forbidden by the judge from being introduced.

While in court, the judge apologized for the mishap. She also questioned the jury about the documents while raising them in the air. She said that a juror had gone to their foreperson to show the two included files, who then brought it to the court's attention. The jurors had agreed not to let it impact their decision-making and to forget about it.

Baker Ross then asked the jury if they were ready to continue deliberating.

RELATED: FirstEnergy corruption trial jury still without verdict after 5 days

"Are you feeling like there is a possibility to reach a verdict in this case?" the judge asked, to which the jury nodded.

After dismissing the jurors, she went back into chambers with the main attorneys for each side, later coming out to ask everyone if they had anything to add about this situation.

Both Meyer and Dowling's attorney, Steve Grimes, said no. Jones' attorney Carole Rendon agreed.

"We are also comfortable with the jury continuing to deliberate on this case," Rendon said.

Jury's knowledge

Day after day, the jurors sit behind closed doors. On Friday, they finished up their 56th hour of deliberations.

RELATED: What the jury doesn't know while deliberating the FirstEnergy corruption case

And while the jury received some additional information previously unknown to them, there is information being restricted to both the public and the press.

"I'm making the determination that the interest of justice outweighs any public interest in releasing any further jury information right now," Baker Ross said on Monday, referring to the third question the jury wrote.

If we cannot agree on the charge of bribery, do we evaluate the other charges? the jury asked. Seemingly frustrated that the press got access to this question, the judge indicated that she was worried about jurors being harassed.

"I'm just really concerned about my jury feeling that the integrity of the jury process is being respected," she said to the press.

Jurors asked another question, which prompted her to reread a section of the original jury instructions on how evidence must be reviewed.

"I need for each one of you to kind of acknowledge for me that you do, that you are able to consider all the evidence that has been presented, and understand that that may be direct or circumstantial evidence or both," she said Thursday. "Is everyone able to follow that?"

Before and after the jury was brought in, the prosecution was smiling, while the defense quietly talked to their clients.

In a court order late Thursday afternoon, the judge said she wouldnt be allowing the public to know what this question was, saying the release would potentially impair or intrude into the jurors deliberations.

The jury is also protected from learning about another FirstEnergy-related case playing out in court.

The Department of Justice is fighting against former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former GOP leader Matt Borgess appeals to their convictions. In 2023, both men were found guilty of participating in this same corruption scheme, with Householder accepting $61 million from Jones and Dowling in exchange for H.B. 6.

RELATED: Ex-Ohio Speaker Larry Householder open to plea deal to avoid state corruption trial, say attorneys

In newly filed court docs, the DOJ argued that Overwhelming evidence showed that Householder solicited and received money from FirstEnergy in exchange for official action, and that the companys repeated payments were clear bribes.

RELATED: Attorney says ex-Ohio Speaker Larry Householder using Trump 'connections to try to get out of prison

Jones and Dowling face federal charges for racketeering, as well. The jury does not know this, nor do they know that FirstEnergy, as a company, already admitted to bribing both Householder and Randazzo. Or that Randazzo died by suicide suicide.

As the Akron jury continues to deliberate without this knowledge, the judge urges all evidence, except the exhibits accidentally given to them, to be carefully considered.

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Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a U.S. Army Reservist, has been activated for duty with the Ohio Army National Guard.

The 46-year-old told our sister station in Cleveland that he was "doing some work" with his unit but could not provide any additional details.

A Northeast Ohio native, LaRose is a decorated Green Beret, receiving the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq. After a decade in uniform, he returned home and went to Ohio State. Afterwards, he was elected to the Ohio Senate and later became Secretary of State in 2018.

He rejoined the Army as a reservist in 2021, saying at the time that "being a soldier is part of who I am."

LaRose's activation comes weeks after three servicemembers from Ohio were killed during a refueling mission in Iraq with the 121st Air Refueling Wing.

President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were in attendance as the remains of Capt. Seth Koval, 38, of Stoutsville, Capt. Curtis Angst, 30, of Wilmington and Tech. Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, from Columbus were received at Dover Air Force Base and returned to their families last week.

While he is away, LaRose will still continue to serve as secretary of state, while the assistant secretary of state works on his behalf if necessary.

Ohio has a primary scheduled for May 5.

The Trump administration has opened investigations into how race is considered in admissions at three medical schools, ratcheting up its pressure campaign against colleges and universities.

The Justice Department opened the investigations Wednesday into possible discrimination at the medical schools of Stanford University, Ohio State and the University of California, San Diego. Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department's assistant attorney general for civil rights, announced the investigations on X.

President Donald Trump has been ramping up scrutiny of universities he decries as overrun by liberal influence, using control of federal research funding as leverage. His administration has demanded selective colleges provide undergraduate admissions data to show they are in line with a 2023 Supreme Court decision forbidding affirmative action in college admissions.

The investigations were reported first by The New York Times.

In a letter to Ohio State, Dhillon wrote that the Justice Department was seeking any documents related to the use or lack of use of race in evaluating applicants. She said they were also seeking all applicant-level admissions data and any reviews by the school of admissions trends or outcomes by race.

Ohio State spokesperson Benjamin Johnson said the school is compliant with state and federal regulations and legal rulings regarding admissions. "Weve received the attached letter and will respond appropriately," he said.

UC San Diego said in a written statement that it was reviewing the notice from the Justice Department. UC San Diego is committed to fair processes in all of our programs and activities, including admissions, consistent with federal and state anti-discrimination laws, the university said in a written statement.

Stanford did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It was not immediately clear why the three medical schools were targeted.

The Supreme Court ruling that banned the use of affirmative action in admissions said colleges could still consider how race has shaped students lives if applicants share that information in their admissions essays. Trump has raised concerns that colleges and universities were using personal statements and other proxies to consider race, which he views as illegal discrimination.

Earlier this month, a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging a Trump administration policy that requires higher education institutions to collect data showing they arent considering race in admissions.

Jurors in the FirstEnergy corruption trial have spent five days wrestling over whether top executives participated in the largest bribery scheme in state history, with their questions signaling a possible mistrial.

The Summit County jury has been deliberating for five days, trying to decide on whether former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones and former SVP Mike Dowling are guilty of bribing former Public Utilities Commission Chair (PUCO) Sam Randazzo with $4.3 million to get beneficial rulings. Randazzo was previously indicted with Jones and Dowling, but killed himself after pleading not guilty in 2024.

If we cannot agree on the charge of bribery, do we evaluate the other charges? the jury wrote to Summit County Judge Susan Baker Ross on Monday evening.

That question showed that they are struggling to come to a decision in the bribery case, former U.S. Attorney David DeVillers said.

The last question that came in kind of goes to the heart of the jury deliberations, Baker Ross said.

RELATED: What the jury doesn't know while deliberating the FirstEnergy corruption case

This deliberation period is telling for DeVillers, who worked with the FBI to get indictments of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former GOP leader Matt Borges, who had a joint six-week trial in 2023. 

"The jury's out, right?" DeVillers said. "It's been out for quite a while, so it looks like at least both sides have done some pretty good work."

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In March of 2023, a federal jury found that Householder and former GOP leader Matt Borges, beyond a reasonable doubt, participated in this $61 million racketeering scheme. Householder is nearly three years into his 20-year prison sentence for accepting the bribe from FirstEnergy, while Borges is out after serving half of his five-year sentence.

That case was decided in just nine hours, with the jury foreman Jarrod Haines telling us at the time that the prosecution and its witnesses laid out the case clearly from the start.

"When the FBI agent was on the stand, it just kind of caught my interest," Haines said in an exclusive interview in 2023. "Then from there on, I just felt like everything fell into place."

DeVillers noted some key differences between this trial and the one involving Householder and Borges, including FBI special agent Blane Wetzel's ability to narrate the case and explain the process to the jury.

The state didnt have that type of expert because one of the main investigators resigned after DeVillers, coincidentally, investigated him for misconduct unrelated to H.B. 6, he said. But that individual wasn't the only case agent who could have testified, DeVillers said.

"They could have done it if they thought it was necessary," the former prosecutor said. "They, apparently, did not think it was necessary."

"Would you have thought it was necessary?" I asked him.

"I don't know enough about the case," DeVillers responded, giving a cheeky smile. "I have a day job, so I'm not watching as much as you are."

The feds were able to show that Householder spent bribery money on personal expenses, like renovations to a home in Florida and credit card debt, whereas DeVillers pointed out that the state didnt show exactly where Jones and Dowling spent money from their rising stock prices.

"It's a lot easier when you can prove it went to their pockets, 100%," he said.

Householder taking the stand made the case simple, both DeVillers and Haines said.

"I think that it helped him," Haines said about Householder testifying in his own defense. "Until the prosecution had their chance."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Gladfelters brutal takedown of Householder was a defining moment for all jurors, he added. For every major and minor claim Householder made on the stand, Gladfelter had evidence that showed the opposite.

Another staggering difference between the federal case and the state case rests with the attorneys. Householder and Borges had a few local lawyers each with them in the trial. Jones and Dowling's attorneys are being paid for by FirstEnergy, and the courtroom was full of pricey partners from both local and Chicago firms.

If the jury continues to be stuck, DeViller isn't surprised that this may be a mistrial.

"They're doing their best right now," Baker Ross said.

The jury asked for specific details on Monday about a FirstEnergy meeting from 2018. Originally, the judge originally told them to use their memory. On Wednesday, she gave them the details they requested.

"It could be after days of deliberation of the parties, that is, the prosecution and defense, that they came to a decision, like, 'Here's what we think you should [answer] to get things rolling,'" Devillers said.

Still, if there is a mistrial, the state will be able to retry the case.

Regardless of the outcome, it's not over yet. Jones and Dowling are facing federal racketeering charges for bribing Householder. Because of the sovereignty doctrine, which allows both federal and state entities to file charges separately, double jeopardy, for the most part, doesn't exist.

What will have to happen is that the PUCO and more Randazzo-leaning angle of the federal case will probably not be able to take center stage in their court case, DeVillers said. But the Householder and $61 million portion of the H.B. 6 scheme is fair game, he added. If DeVillers were prosecuting the case, he said that he would have made Householder's involvement a bigger deal.

But if acquitted in the state case, DeVillers says they may move to dismiss the federal charges.

"Do you think that that's a failure of justice?" I asked him.

"No, it's a frustration of justice, right?" he responded. "Sometimes people can't come to a decision."

He said he is confident that the FBI can convince a jury that the men did commit bribery. Glatfelter and Wetzel will be back on the case, and so will some star witnesses.

When he was still the U.S. attorney, he secured guilty pleas from two of the original five men he charged: Householder's top political aide Jeff Longstreth and FirstEnergy lobbyist Juan Cespedes. The fifth individual, Neil Clark, also killed himself after pleading not guilty. I referenced how Longstreth and Cespedes haven't been sentenced yet.

"It is very likely" the attorney started before cutting himself off. "Well, I've got to be careful what I say here, because I do know more about that."

"Is there anyone else? Is there more coming?" I asked DeVillers.

"I don't know," he laughed, dodging the question. "I'm out of the game, sister."

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Ohio lawmakers are trying to hold companies like Ticketmaster and StubHub accountable for "deceptive" practices, as local theatres share that resellers have hurt their businesses and the public trust.

"It is very essential for our community, especially in rural areas, because a lot of times, the access to arts and culture it's hard to come by," Tuscarawas Arts Partnership's Wilma Mullet said.

What shouldve been a sold-out show to see a local production of Annie, where tickets are $15, could be empty due to ticket scalpers companies or buyers who purchase tickets and sell them on a third-party site, jacking up the prices. 

"If a patron sees those prices, which is usually 300 to 400 bucks, they're automatically gonna think, 'Well, I can't enjoy a show,'" Mullet said.

Its a problem that Mullet said she and other theatres deal with. 

"We, in chargebacks alone, lost over $100,000 in Nutcracker," Sue Porter with BalletMet said. "That's over a 2.5 week period in December."

State Rep. Mark Hiner (R-Howard) and a small group of lawmakers have proposed House Bill 563, which aims to keep tickets affordable by requiring more transparency for resellers.

"This legislation doesnt just go after small-time scammers, it also holds large corporations accountable when they engage in misleading or unfair tactics," Hiner said during sponsor testimony. "Whether its an independent reseller or a billion-dollar company, everyone should play by the same fair rules."

Among the dozens of provisions, it would require the total price to be included upfront, mandate the seller disclose if it isnt affiliated with the official platform and allow the state to go after scammers. 

"It protects Ohioans from misleading pricing and high-pressure sales tactics," Mullet testified.

The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Cincinnati Arts Association, Renaissance Performing Arts Association in Mansfield and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra subsidiary Music and Event Management, Inc. all provided testimony in favor of the bill.

Cleveland's Playhouse Square, the United States' second-largest performing arts center after NYC's Lincoln Center, also urged the lawmakers to pass the bill.

"When consumers are misled by deceptive ticket listings or excessive hidden fees, they often blame the show, the venue, or the arts experience itself," Playhouse Square CEO Craig Hassall wrote. "This discourages repeat attendance and can undermine efforts to grow audiences especially at a time when arts organizations across the country are working hard to rebuild attendance and engagement."

Controversies

Online ticket brokers have been a focus of the Federal Trade Commission in recent litigation.

In May, the FTC enacted a rule about unfair or deceptive fees on tickets.

In September, it, along with seven other states, filed suit against sellers Live Nation and Ticketmaster, alleging pricing problems, ignoring individual ticket-buying limits and more.

Back in 2024, Attorney General Dave Yost joined a lawsuit against the pair for "illegal monopolistic practices." The lawsuit remains, even as the DOJ settled its claims.

Ohioans deserve transparency, fair prices and vibrant competition," Yost said in 2024. "This lawsuit is a critical step toward dismantling the stranglehold that Live Nation and Ticketmaster have on the market and ensuring that consumers and businesses are no longer at their mercy.

Live Nation continues to be in the public eye due to this lawsuit, and recently revealed court documents show that two employees bragged about being able to "gouge" customers.

Sellers StubHub and Viagogo are currently under investigation by British authorities for their "mandatory additional charges applied when consumers buy tickets and whether or not these fees are included upfront."

In defense of resellers

We reached out to the most-used ticket reselling websites: Live Nation, Ticketmaster, StubHub, Vivid Seats and SeatGeek.

"We applaud Ohio lawmakers for advancing reforms that protect fans and artists, including a ban on speculative ticketing, deceptive websites, and bots scalpers use to take tickets from real fans. No one should be able to scam fans by listing tickets they dont have or by pretending to be legitimate ticket sellers," a spokesperson with Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, said.

StubHub declined to answer the questions, and none of the other companies responded to comment. Brian Berry with the Ticket Policy Forum, which says it represents "America's leading online ticket marketplaces: StubHub, SeatGeek, Vivid Seats, TickPick, Gametime and Events Ticket Center," reached out with a statement.

Our members' goal is to help fans easily access the live events they love, and thats the bar we judge any legislation against. While we support this bills goals, the current version comes up short.  We are working with the bill sponsor and interested parties to ensure this proposal fits fans needs for events of all sizes.  We hope that our input is reflected in the bill, making it easier for Ohioans to root for their favorite team or attend events at small and large venues they love, Berry said. 

Case Western Reserve University business professor Michael Goldberg explained that resellers do play a role in the local economy. 

"Some folks like to wait till the last minute to sort of make a decision," Goldberg said.

It's about supply and demand, he said. Sometimes, the official website is sold out.

"Its smart, to some degree," the professor said. "Investors in seats, individual buyers are going to go in and take all the seats and then try to get more money on the secondary market later."

Moving forward

Mullett says the legislation isnt meant to hurt last-minute buyers, but protect the actual theatres from losing business and trust with their community. A major challenge is with fake websites that mimic her coalition members.

"Some of these websites go as far as copying venue logos, mimicking website layouts and using urgency tactics like 'Tickets selling fast' or 'Trusted site' messaging to create false credibility," she said.

Right now, Mullet can only report the sites to Google, but not much changes, she said.

House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) gave an early stamp of approval on the idea, noting that "there should be clarity" on what fees are because sometimes "it's not transparent and borders on fraud."

House Technology and Innovation Committee Chair Thad Claggett (R-Licking County), who was animated during the hearing on Tuesday, addressed Mullet's struggles with fighting third-party websites.

"Wow," Claggett said. "What a pain."

By shining a spotlight on scalpers, officials aim to keep the stage clear for fans.

"Would you say that this legislation helps make the arts, and your program, even more accessible?" I asked Mullet.

"It does," she responded. "It's definitely a step forward for that because it helps create that transparency that's needed."

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The jurors in the FirstEnergy corruption trial are stuck, telling the judge Monday that they cant agree on whether former executives committed bribery. Some other key details werent told during the trial, ones that some attorneys say could have made it easier for them.

The Summit County jury has been deliberating for four days, trying to decide on whether former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones and former SVP Mike Dowling are guilty of bribing former Public Utilities Commission Chair (PUCO) Sam Randazzo with $4.3 million to get beneficial rulings.

The defendants have also been accused of spending $61 million to help create and pass House Bill 6. H.B. 6 was legislation to provide a billion-dollar bailout for the struggling company.

Charges

The jury will decide on charges for each man. All are different levels of felonies.

Jones

Altogether, it could lead him to 33 years in prison if convicted. 

Dowling

If convicted of all charges, he could face 50 years in prison.

Monday

On Monday, the jury asked two questions. The first was asking for clarification on a meeting that took place in 2018. The judge responded that the jury needed to use their "memory."

In the second, the jury asked Judge Susan Baker Ross, "If they cannot agree" on the bribery charge, should they still evaluate the others. She responded yes, according to a defense attorney.

Later, the judge called the media into the courtroom to request that the press not publish the jury's second question. Citing fears that the jury would be scrutinized, she said she would not be putting the publicly recorded question on public record until after the verdict came out.

Reporter Jake Zuckerman with Signal Ohio and I stood up to express that a defense attorney repeatedly read it out loud to us, and I defended that the bailiff acknowledged it, as well. The judge backed down. Baker Ross ended up saying that she can't control what the press does but said that she wouldn't be publicizing it.

For the sake of transparency

There were 14 facts that the jury was prohibited from hearing, all of which may have bolstered the prosecutions case.

"Trying to make sure that the fact of these other circumstances doesn't taint this criminal trial of Jones and Dowling," Case Western Reserve University criminal law professor Mike Benza said.

In order for the jury to remain unbiased, attorneys and witnesses werent allowed to mention certain topics that could be deemed as prejudicial, Benza said.

The jury can't know the "manner or method" in which Randazzo died. The jurors are allowed to know that Randazzo died, but they arent allowed to know that he killed himself in April 2024 in his warehouse, while facing 22 state and 11 federal corruption charges. 

They also arent allowed to know about The arrest, indictment, prosecution, trial, or conviction of Larry Householder or any other defendant in United States v. Householder.

Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was sentenced to 20 years in prison for accepting $61 million in bribes from FirstEnergy, specifically the executives. 

"Can't bring in Householder's conviction as evidence that Jones and Dowling committed the crime with Householder," Benza said.

Even if jurors find the executives not guilty, the men are facing federal charges ones they don't know about. Jones and Dowling have another corruption trial in the coming years.

And the most telling FirstEnergy, as a company, already admitted to bribing Randazzo and Householder.

"There has been a big legal fight between the parties over whether or not First Energy's admission of bribery can come in during this trial," the professor said.

In 2021, FirstEnergy took a deferred prosecution agreement, like a plea deal, and agreed to pay $230 million.

Despite all of this evidence being withheld, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Meyer remained optimistic during his closing argument.

"The State of Ohio trusts you to get this right," he said.

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Former FirstEnergy executives Chuck Jones and Mike Dowling will have to wait until after the weekend to find out if the jury thinks they're guilty for their role in the largest corruption scheme in state history.

For six weeks, the state has explained why they think Jones and Dowling are guilty of bribing former Public Utilities Commission Chair (PUCO) Sam Randazzo with $4.3 million to get beneficial rulings.

The defendants have also been accused of spending $61 million to help create and pass House Bill 6. H.B. 6 was legislation to provide a billion-dollar bailout for the struggling company.

"The defendants are guilty of all these charges by proof beyond a reasonable doubt," Assistant Attorney General Matthew Meyer said.

RELATED: What the jury will be deciding in the FirstEnergy corruption trial

Charges

The jury will decide on charges for each man. All are different levels of felonies.

Jones

Altogether, it could lead him to 33 years in prison if convicted. 

Dowling

If convicted of all charges, he could face 50 years in prison.

Friday

"You fill out the verdict form, not guilty, you go home to your lives, and you send Chuck Jones back to his life," Rendon said during her closing argument.

The crux of the defense's case is that the payment was not a bribe, but rather a settlement agreement.

clicking here

But the jury has focused on a more obscure argument.

The jury has had only one question so far, referencing the definition of bribery: "Whether before or after the public servant was elected, appointed, qualified, employed, summoned or sworn."

"If that public servant has not yet applied to be a public servant, does the before in the instructions count?" the jury wrote on a piece of notebook paper on March 18.  

"All of the elements and definitions have been provided to you on this question, and it is for you to decide as a factual matter," Judge Susan Baker Ross replied.

In closing arguments Tuesday, Jones team argued that because the alleged bribe took place about 30 days before Randazzo was announced as a candidate for chair, Jones cant be found guilty of corruption.

"It would be as if I decided I was going to bribe someone today, in case 15 years from now, they decided to run for public office," defense attorney Carole Rendon said. "You have to be a candidate when that promise is made."

The state said it was an absolute violation of the law.

"Imagine a world where, as long as you had a private meeting and everyone knew you were about to go up and be the governor, the chair of the PUCO, the mayor, the judge as long as the cash lands right before you file the papers, it's okay," Meyer said.

And while this case is being deliberated, we looked into past corruption trials to see how long juries took to reach a decision.

Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, who was convicted of taking FirstEnergys bribes, had a joint racketeering trial with former GOP leader Matt Borges. The jury deliberated for nine hours on those two charges.

Cincinnati City Councilman PG Sittenfeld faced six charges and was convicted of two, which took 12 hours.   

Tom Noe of Coingate was convicted on 29 of 40 charges, which took 24 hours. 

Former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora was convicted of 32 charges after 40 hours of deliberation.

Jones and Dowling are at 24 hours for 11 charges.

The jury is set to return Monday morning, but everything is on their timeline.

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Performers, including Nina West, testified against an Ohio bill that would ban public drag shows.

Growing up in a conservative family, Andrew Levitt said he hid himself for years. 

"I was also worried that if people truly knew who I was, I would no longer belong or fit in," Levitt said.

But in college, he says he found his identity.

"Drag is something that saved my life," Levitt said. "When I met entertainers who are drag queens, they gave me a place to call home when I didn't have a place to live, when I didn't have the familial support that I was just so desperately needing."

When Levitt gets on stage, he transforms into nationally-awarded drag queen Nina West.

"I'm an entertainer who's proudly worked with incredible companies like Disney," Levitt said. "I've written a children's book. I have released a children's album. I have done library readings."

But he is worried about a newly introduced bill that would impact his art.

State Rep. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Township) introduced a bill that would ban drag performances in any places other than adult cabarets, which include nightclubs and sex shops. The bill lumps drag performers in with acts that are harmful to juveniles or obscene, such as exotic dancers.

House Bill 249 prohibits "adult cabaret performances in locations other than adult cabarets," and adds to the definition of adult cabaret performances "Performers or entertainers who exhibit a gender identity that is different from the performer's or entertainer's biological sex using clothing, makeup, prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts, or other physical markers."

This bill has a specific carve-out to say that it wouldn't "prohibit or restrict a bona fide film, theatrical, or other artistic endeavor or performance that is not obscene or harmful to juveniles," meaning musicals at local theatres would not be impacted.

"This statute simply says you can't perform that obscene performance with a minor being present," Williams said.

RELATED: Ohio GOP wants to require biological sex on driver's licenses

The obscenity law is relatively vague, ranging from something that shows lust like a kiss or a character having a crush to intercourse.

"We've seen performances at public parks that cross the line," Williams said.

In recent years, GOP-led states have started to ban drag, arguing that the LGBTQ+ community is inherently sexual and shouldn't be around children. Levitt said this was absolutely false.

"Drag is something that gives people agency and hope, and it makes them feel seen, which is important; it's important to tell people that they matter," Levitt said. "We're providing validity to people's existence and I think that's important and valuable."

Williams says that the bill wouldnt apply to appropriate drag, and its written in a way that obscenity could be determined by individual law enforcement. 

People found guilty of performing in the presence of someone under 18 would get a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the performance involved is obscene, a violation is a felony of the fifth degree. If it is obscene and someone under 13 watches, that would be a fourth-degree felony with up to 18 months in prison.

"Drag is not a crime," Levitt said. "This is a slippery slope to put us in a specific venue or area or part of town where [you're] basically compartmentalizing and dangerously placing people in boxes."

Previously, House Speaker Matt Huffman said he wasnt sure if this bill was constitutional under the First Amendment, but he has changed course. 

"I think local governments, through enabling legislation, have the ability to control these kinds of things exactly where the line is drawn," he said when I asked if he still thought it could be unconstitutional. "It might be unconstitutional depending on how the language is drawn... I think the committee that it's in and the sponsors of it have drawn the lines where I think it should be appropriate."

This type of law has been blocked in other states for violating freedom of speech.

Levitt doesnt want any kid to feel like he did growing up, and says this bill could prevent people from finding their circle.

"What happens if this community goes away?" I asked him.

"This community's never going away," he responded. "We will fight this, and we will overcome. Love always overcomes hate."

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President Donald Trump paid his respects on Wednesday at a Delaware military base where the remains of six U.S. service members, including three from Ohio, killed in the crash of a refueling aircraft were returned to their families.

It was the second time since launching the war with Iran on Feb. 28 that the Republican president will attend the solemn military ritual known as a dignified transfer, which he once described as the toughest thing he has had to do as commander in chief.

Accompanying Trump were Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and lawmakers including Sens. Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt, both Alabama Republicans.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced in a social media post Tuesday that he planned to attend the dignified transfer with his wife, Fran.

All six crew members of a KC-135 Air Force refueling aircraft were killed last week in a plane crash over friendly territory in western Iraq while supporting operations against Iran. They were from Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Washington state.

Every person on that aircraft carried a weight most Americans will never see, and they carried it with professionalism, courage, and a level of quiet excellence that deserves to be recognized, retired Lt. Col Ernesto Nisperos, a friend of one of those killed, said in a text message Wednesday.

The crash brought the U.S. death toll in Operation Epic Fury to at least 13 service members. About 200 U.S. service members have been injured, including 10 severely, the Pentagon has said.

Wednesday's dignified transfer was closed to news media coverage at the request of the families in accordance with military policy. Trump spent just under two hours on the ground and didn't speak to reporters leaving Air Force One or returning to it.

Trump last traveled to Dover Air Force Base on March 7 for the dignified transfer of six U.S. service members who were killed by a drone strike at a command center in Kuwait. He saluted as flag-draped transfer cases containing the remains of the fallen service members were carried from military aircraft to vehicles waiting to take them to the base's mortuary facility to prepare them for their final resting place.

It's the bad part of war, he told reporters afterward. Asked then if he worried about having to make multiple trips to the base for additional dignified transfers as the war continued, he said, I'm sure. I hate to do it, but it's a part of war, isn't it?

U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said that the crash followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in friendly airspace over Iraq but that the loss of the aircraft during a combat mission was not due to hostile or friendly fire.

The circumstances were under investigation. The other plane landed safely.

The crash killed three people assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio: Capt. Seth Koval, 38, a resident of Stoutsville, Ohio, who was from Mooresville, Indiana; Capt. Curtis Angst, 30, who lived in Columbus; and Master Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, of Columbus.

According to DeWine, Simmons was posthumously promoted by Ohio's Adjutant General from the rank of technical sergeant.

Koval grew up dreaming of becoming a pilot, according to his wife, who described him as a loving, generous fixer of all things. Angsts family said his life was defined by service, generosity and a genuine love for people. Simmons loved confiding in his 85-year-old grandmother and working out with her, Sen. Jon Husted said Tuesday, when he and Sen. Bernie Moreno honored the Ohio airmen on the Senate floor.

To the mom and dad of these three young soldiers, I cant even process what youre going through. I cant even imagine the emotions that youre feeling, Moreno said. Just know that America is grateful beyond words for the sacrifice that your heroic young sons made.

The three others were assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida: Maj. John A. Alex Klinner, 33, who served in Birmingham, Alabama; Capt. Ariana Linse Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington; and Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Kentucky.

Klinner, who left behind a wife, a 2-year-old son and 7-month-old twins, was known for his steady command and goofy nature, as well as a willingness to help others. Pruitts husband described her as a radiant woman who lit up the room. Savino was a friend, mentee and source of positive energy who was proud of her Puerto Rican heritage and inspired young Latinas, said Nisperos, who is serving as spokesman for her family.

She had had this warmth that made you feel seen, a strength that showed up in everything she touched, and a spark that spice that made her unforgettable, Nisperos said. If you knew her, even for a moment, you knew you were in the presence of someone who was going to change the world.

The campaign to repeal GOP-created marijuana restrictions and a total ban on intoxicating hemp products will not be making the ballot after they failed to collect enough signatures, according to their spokesperson. The law will go into effect Friday.

Signed into law in December, Senate Bill 56 makes dramatic changes to marijuana usage and bans low-level THC hemp products.

The Ohioans for Cannabis Choice campaign said it was unable to turn in the 250,000 valid signatures needed by its March 19 deadline.

"We want to thank the more than 5,000 Ohioans and businesses who volunteered their time and sweat to try to collect the signatures needed to put SB 56 before voters. Unfortunately, we were not able to overcome a truncated time period to give voters the chance to say no to government overreach. This doesnt change the reality that marijuana will be re-criminalized in Ohio, businesses will close, workers will lose their jobs, and consumers will be denied their right to products they should be able to purchase, spokesperson Dennis Willard said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Voters overwhelmingly supported legalizing cannabis in 2023. It only makes sense that Gov. DeWine and state lawmakers should go back and ask those voters if they want to ban hemp and re-criminalize marijuana. We know, and our elected leaders know, the answer would be a resounding no, Willard said.

Under S.B. 56, a dozen voter-approved provisions were criminalized.

The bill institutes a public smoking ban and prohibits smoking in cars. Also, it gives landlords the ability to prohibit smoking and vaping, bans outdoor venues from allowing marijuana and requires all products to be kept in the same package they were bought in.

It also makes it a crime to have an "open" marijuana container, meaning if someone has a baggie of edibles in the backseat of a Lyft or on a public bus if it had ever been opened, they would be breaking the law.

It also makes it a crime to buy out-of-state cannabis. Federal law currently doesn't allow marijuana to go across state lines, but it isn't enforced. This would be an enforceable state provision preventing a citizen from going to Michigan, where the weed is cheaper, to buy.

The legislation also removes protections against discrimination for housing, employment and even organ donation.

As well, Democrats argue that a provision would allow for police to have probable cause during traffic stops if someone is a "known consumer" of marijuana.

For years, GOP leaders have argued that not only do they know what voters truly wanted when each person went to the polls, but that voters didn't know.

Community reaction

Local businesses told News 5 theyre fed up now that the new law will force them to stop selling certain THC products.

This ban is going to definitely, directly impact my bottom line, said Molly Cheraso.

As a small non-alcoholic business, Cheraso said adding THC drinks has been a game-changer at Verbena Free Spirited in Cleveland.

Ever since we started carrying it, its been one of our biggest sellers. I would say it probably is 10-20%, she said.

But now, Cheraso said those days are gone, leaving her with a lot of uncertainty about the future.

I knew this ban was coming. I havent been restocking. Youll see I have some empty shelves over here where the THC products used to be, said Cheraso. Im definitely very disappointed that the state couldnt figure out a way to make this feasible for responsible business owner.

Starting Friday, the legislation will impact Cheraso and local breweries like Saucy Brew Works where Brent Zimmerman said THC seltzers are sold.

We all see what is going on as it relates to consumption, and younger people have decided different things, said Zimmerman. Its a bit of a shame because the generations that are younger than me have decided they dont think alcohol is great for them.

For months, News 5 has been telling you about Senate Bill 56 and why some Republicans said it is needed because hemp products are unregulated and have no age requirement to buy.

The products that are the edibles primarily the stuff thats unregulated, we dont know where it came from. Its also actually targeting children, said Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) in February.

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The jury has begun deliberating whether or not two former FirstEnergy executives are guilty of bribery for their role in the largest public corruption scheme in Ohio history.

In a Summit County courtroom on Tuesday, tensions ran high as defense attorneys and the state's prosecutor made their final pleas to the 12 jurors.

For six weeks, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Meyer explained why former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones and VP Mike Dowling are guilty of bribing former Public Utilities Commission Chair (PUCO) Sam Randazzo with $4.3 million to get beneficial rulings.

The defendants have also been accused of spending $61 million to help create and pass House Bill 6. H.B. 6 was legislation to provide a billion-dollar bailout for the struggling company.

Charges

The jury will decide on charges for each man. All are different levels of felonies.

Jones

Dowling

Arguments

On Monday, Meyer and Dowling's defense attorney Steve Grimes gave their closing arguments.

RELATED: Clear-cut corruption or misunderstanding? Closing arguments begin in FirstEnergy bribery trial

Tuesday, Jones' attorney Carole Rendon got her turn.

"The state of Ohio upended and tried to destroy Chuck Jones's life and his family, and his reputation and the collateral damage from these false charges is hard to measure," Rendon said.

Throughout the trial, the defense had several main arguments.

Settlement payment

The crux of the defense's case is that the payment was not a bribe, but rather a settlement agreement.

"He made that legitimate business decision for one very simple reason," she said. "It was in FirstEnergy's best interest, plain and simple."

Jones team argued that it was Randazzo, who is now dead, who was corrupt.

The former utility regulator, facing dozens of charges in federal and state court, became the second defendant in this scheme to kill himself. He died by suicide in 2024, after his joint arraignment with Jones and Dowling, and after pleading not guilty.

Before Randazzo was the top regulator, he was a consultant for clients who worked with FirstEnergy and wanted to get a better deal from them (he was also a consultant for FirstEnergy, as well). Randazzo ran the books for the Industrial Energy Users-Ohio, a legitimate trade group.

The defense said that FirstEnergy was simply paying the former PUCO chair settlement funds owed to IEU-Ohio clients, but Randazzo stole that money.

"If Randazzo had not secretly stolen that $4,333,333 on his client settlement money, we wouldn't be here," Rendon said.

Meyer said that the Randazzo argument was getting old.

"We spent the better part of six weeks where these guys have blamed a dead man for everything that happened," Meyer said. "Every bad thing they want to put it on Dead Man Randazzo's back and send him out in the wilderness, so you don't focus on what they did."

The state reminded the jury that throughout the trial, they went through dozens of texts between the defendants, showing their awareness of the scheme, warnings they ignored and how excited they were to financially benefit.

"The evidence is simple: money, soon to be public servant, influence policies, get richer," the prosecutor said.

They were able to get away with the bribe thanks to what Meyer calls the "magic" consulting agreement. The settlement deal was a sham document "designed to confuse and conceal" money to flow from FirstEnergy to Randazzo's shell companies. It was a relatively blank document that no one had signed, the prosecution said.

But the judge weighed in on Meyer's persistent drawing of attention to the agreement.

"No one has said that it was not signed, not one witness," Judge Susan Baker Ross said. "If you want, I'll continue to misstate state what I think the evidence is, which I'm sure you don't want me to do so."

It was unclear whether the judge was saying that Meyer wouldn't like her take on the evidence or whether he wouldn't want her to be incorrectly referencing it.

This settlement was fine because Jones and Dowling relied on their attorneys and got good-faith legal advice, Rendon said. That argument is moot, Meyer said, because the legal advice said not to go forward with the settlement.

One of the benefits that FirstEnergy received was not having to file a new rate case before the PUCO due to the 2024 numbers. Meyer explained that the company was seemingly overearning through their current electricity rates, and the PUCO would likely have ordered it to lower the costs. Jones, after bribing Randazzo, told his team not to worry about this, Meyer said.

"I can almost guarantee you we will not have to go in for a rate case in May of 2024, Meyer said, quoting a comment Jones had allegedly said to a colleague.

This is a case about greed, Meyer said. Rendon disagreed.

"The CEO of First Energy can manipulate and influence the chair of the PUCO to make favorable decisions, so Chuck Jones can buy his retirement home in Naples, Florida," Meyer said, referencing an email Jones sent where he explains his plan to sell 200,000 FirstEnergy shares once Randazzo's decisions help bring the stock up.

Painting Jones as a benevolent CEO, the defense argued that he couldn't be greedy, since he declined to lay off employees while the company was struggling.

"Chuck Jones turned down the opportunity to get a raise year after year after year, a raise in both his base salary and his incentive compensation," Rendon said.

He earned $20 million in 2019, Meyer responded.

"The stock price goes up, his wealth goes up. That's undispitued," the prosecutor said. "This was about juicing the stock price."

Randazzo wasn't first choice

The executives never even wanted Randazzo in a position of power, showing how they were originally pushing another chair.

"They continued to back [Jason] Rafeld, even though the state says we had Randazzo corrupted," Grimes said. "That doesn't make any sense. If you've got your guy, push for him or at least don't get in the way."

Prosecutors said when it was clear Randazzo was the top candidate, FirstEnergy moved quickly to back him, but knew they had to pay up.

"Plan B, Plan Bribe," Meyer said.

Technicality that would prevent Randazzo from even being eligible to be bribed

Rendon went with a bold strategy, using a technicality to get Jones off for bribery he allegedly didn't commit.

"Only a public official or a candidate can be bribed," Rendon said. "In other words, you can bribe someone once they become a candidate... But you cannot bribe someone before they even become a candidate."

Randazzo hadn't even applied for the PUCO chair when the alleged bribe took place, she said.

Meyer seemed flabbergasted by this argument.

"What Miss Rendon is arguing is, 'As long as you get your bribes into this man before he formally declares, it's okay,'" the prosecutor said, to an objection from the defense.

That's not what the law is, Meyer said.

In high-level Statehouse politics, it is more common than not for a possible candidate to work on gaining support and money before publicly declaring their interest.

Pointing fingers

But the closing shifted tone when the defense started to attack the state.

"I'm not going to have the chance to point out all of his lies and all of his half-truths and all of his misrepresentations," Rendon said.

While seemingly choking up, Rendon made an impassioned plea to the jury not to think that Jones is guilty because he chose not to testify.

"And Chuck Jones, he knows that you already know that he didn't do this, and he doesn't have to testify to tell you that he knows it," she said.

She also urged the jurors not to believe Meyer.

"This is what a pattern of corrupt activity is," Rendon said, referring to Meyer. "You violate the rules day after day, week after week, witness after witness, and then in closing argument, you get up and you lie about what the evidence is."

Meyer did not take kindly to this accusation.

"What you just saw was a sign of desperation," the assistant AG said. "The people I prosecute, particularly the powerful ones, don't like being hauled into court and forced to sit in those defendants' chairs."

He said that this case was simple.

"Don't fall for the excuses," he said. "Look at what's right in front of you."

He also lambasted Rendon for her jovial nature in discussing memes sent between the defendants and colleagues.

"There's nothing to laugh about," Meyer said. "Any laughing that you heard in this courtroom absolutely inappropriate."

Rendon had a whole slide during her closing titled 'Memes are not crimes.'

One of the most well-known memes from the H.B. 6 scandal is a poorly photoshopped version of Mt. Rushmore. The faces now contain Dowling, a FirstEnergy lobbyist named Ty Pine, Randazzo and another utility executive, Matt Evans. Likely created by Evans, it was meant to show how each man would benefit financially from the corrupt H.B. 6.

It shows "HB 6" at the top of the photo and "F*** ANYBODY WHO AINT US" at the bottom.

Next steps

Despite their continued fighting, each side had the same message:

"You are the deciders of the truth," Rendon said. "In this case, the deciders of the facts."

The jury, deciders of facts, has some long hours of deliberation ahead of it. They decided to leave right after the instructions from the judge and start fresh on Wednesday morning.

The jury will go into deliberation without key pieces of evidence that could bolster the prosecution's case, ones that weren't allowed to be brought up during the trial. Not only were they not told that FirstEnergy, as a company, already admitted to this bribery, but they weren't informed that former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder is currently sitting in prison due to accepting FirstEnergy's bribes.

Even if Jones and Dowling are found not guilty in the state case, they still have federal racketeering charges to face revolving around the $61 million given to Householder.

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Closing arguments have begun in the FirstEnergy corruption trial, with the state arguing that two former executives need to be convicted for their role in the largest bribery scheme in Ohio history. The defense argued there has been a "misunderstanding" with the state, and that the "only" corrupt man died.

For six weeks, jurors listened to the state make its case, accusing former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones and VP Mike Dowling of bribing former Public Utilities Commission Chair Sam Randazzo.

On Monday, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Meyer spoke to the jury about how the men paid off Randazzo with $4.3 million to get beneficial PUCO rulings.

"Their corruption here was using power, influence and money for personal and corporate greed," Meyer said.

The defendants have also been accused of spending $61 million to help create and pass House Bill 6. H.B. 6 was legislation to provide a billion-dollar bailout for the struggling company.

For a more in-depth recap, please click here.

"The CEO of First Energy can manipulate and influence the chair of the PUCO to make favorable decisions, so Chuck Jones can buy his retirement home in Naples, Florida," Meyer said, referencing an email Jones sent where he explains his plan to sell 200,000 FirstEnergy shares once Randazzo's decisions help bring the stock up.

Outlining each of their witnesses, the state went through a dozen texts between the defendants, showing their awareness of the scheme, warnings they ignored and how excited they were to see their stock go up.

RELATED: US Senator Jon Husted testifies in FirstEnergy corruption trial

One of the benefits that FirstEnergy received was not having to file a new rate case before the PUCO due to the 2024 numbers. Meyer explained that the company was seemingly overearning through their current electricity rates, and the PUCO would likely have ordered it to lower the costs. Jones, after bribing Randazzo, told his team not to worry about this, Meyer said.

"I can almost guarantee you we will not have to go in for a rate case in May of 2024, Meyer said, quoting a comment Jones had allegedly said to a colleague.

Dowling was the guy in the field, making the bribe happen, the prosecution continued.

"They rigged a process that was supposed to be fair for everyone," Meyer said.

They were able to get away with the bribe thanks to what Meyer calls the "magic" consulting agreement. The settlement deal was a sham document "designed to confuse and conceal" money to flow from FirstEnergy to Randazzo's shell companies. It was a relatively blank document that no one had signed, the prosecution said.

Dowling had nothing to do with that settlement, his defense attorney said.

RELATED: Everything you need to know about the FirstEnergy trial if you haven't been paying attention

Dowling's Defense

After Meyer finished in the morning, Dowling's attorney Steve Grimes closed his case in the afternoon.

"Everything that Mr. Meyer just suggested to you was not true," Grimes said.

Randazzo, who is now dead, was the corrupt one, not the former executives, he argued.

The former utility regulator, facing dozens of charges in federal and state court, became the second defendant in this scheme to kill himself. He died by suicide in 2024, after his joint arraignment with Jones and Dowling, and after pleading not guilty.

"Mike had no idea that Sam Randazzo was going to keep that $4.3 million; we've seen the extensive evidence of his theft," he continued.

Before Randazzo was the top regulator, he was a consultant for clients who worked with FirstEnergy and wanted to get a better deal from them (he was also a consultant for FirstEnergy, as well). Randazzo ran the books for the Industrial Energy Users-Ohio, a legitimate trade group.

The defense said that FirstEnergy was simply paying the former PUCO chair settlement funds owed to IEU-Ohio clients, but Randazzo stole that money.

Dowling has been misrepresented this entire trial, Grimes said, adding defending why FirstEnergy never disclosed this "side deal" with Randazzo to the PUCO.

"This isn't some big scheme," he said. "This is a complete misunderstanding by the state of Ohio about what was happening here."

It was structured in a "strange" way, so it wouldnt have to be disclosed in discovery, and thus it could remain confidential, which isn't inherently fraudulent or illegal, Grimes said.

Plus, the executives never even wanted Randazzo in a position of power, showing how they were originally pushing another chair.

"They continued to back [Jason] Rafeld, even though the state says we had Randazzo corrupted," Grimes said. "That doesn't make any sense. If you've got your guy, push for him or at least don't get in the way."

Prosecutors said when it was clear Randazzo was the top candidate, FirstEnergy moved quickly to back him, but knew they had to pay up.

"Plan B, Plan Bribe," Meyer said.

What's next

Jones's attorney, Carole Rendon, will finish her case on Tuesday morning. After that, Meyer will get time for a rebuttal.

More jury instructions will take place, but the fate of the men will start being deliberated that afternoon.

The jury will go into deliberation without key pieces of evidence that could bolster the prosecution's case, ones that weren't allowed to be brought up during the trial. Not only were they not told that FirstEnergy, as a company, already admitted to this bribery, but they weren't informed that former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder is currently sitting in prison due to accepting FirstEnergy's bribes.

Even if Jones and Dowling are found not guilty in the state case, they still have federal racketeering charges to face revolving around the $61 million given to Householder.

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The Ohio National Guard has identified the three U.S. servicemembers from Ohio who were killed during a refueling mission in Iraq with the 121st Air Refueling Wing.

The three Ohioans were among six total servicemembers killed during the mission, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Friday. The other three servicemembers were from the Alabama National Guard's 117th Air Refueling Wing.

We spoke to DeWine on the phone following the announcement Friday.

The governor said Gen. Matthew Woodruff, who leads the Ohio National Guard, called to tell him the news Thursday night.

"This is something that when the war started, our fear always is we'll lose some of our service men and women," DeWine said. "It's a very, very sad thing."

All six servicemembers were identified Saturday night. The three from Ohio are: Capt. Seth Koval, 38, of Stoutsville, Capt. Curtis Angst, 30, of Wilmington and Tech. Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, from Columbus.

WATCH: What we know about the Ohio-based servicemembers killed in the mission

The three servicemembers killed from Alabama's 117th Air Refueling Wing are: Maj. John Klinner, Capt. Ariana Savino and Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt.

"Horrible things happen in war. These are very brave, brave men, and they were doing what their country asked them to do in carrying out the mission," DeWine said. "Just want to express to the families our deepest sympathy from all Ohioans."

Tyler Simmons' father, Milo Simmons, spoke to us Friday about his loss.

"We're devastated. Just totally utterly devastated," Milo Simmons said.

Simmons said flying planes was his son's passion.

"He was a great son," Milo Simmons said. "He was a great American. He loved planes. He died doing what he loved doing."

The Ohio National Guard said Capt. Curtis Angst lived in Columbus, but the 30-year-old was originally from Wilmington, Ohio.

In a statement from the Angst family, they said Curtis Angst, who leaves behind his wife, Mary, died doing what he loved most, "flying and serving alongside the men and women he cared so deeply about."

"Curtis lived a life defined by service, generosity and a genuine love for people," the Angst family said. "He was dedicated to serving his country. He deeply valued the people he had the privilege to serve alongside."

Wilmington City Schools posted to social media Sunday, saying it was keeping the Angst family, as well as Lisa Angst, one of its staff members, in its thoughts due to Curtis Angst's loss.

"Curtis was a 2014 graduate of Wilmington High School, and his family has long been part of our school community," the district wrote on social media. "During this incredibly difficult time, our focus is on supporting Lisa and her family while respecting their privacy. We ask our community to keep them in your thoughts and prayers in the days ahead."

Wilmington Mayor Patrick Haley said in a statement that any funeral arrangements for Curtis Angst will be announced as soon as they're available.

"Family, friends and neighbors remember Curtis as someone whose aspirations took flight early in life," Haley said in a statement. "Those who knew him best say the sky was never a limit, but a calling. His childhood was spent gazing upward, his youth marked by determination and his adulthood by a sense of duty that carried him far from home, but never far from those who cared for him."

A U.S. Air Force biography of Angst says that he graduated from the University of Cincinnati with an aerospace engineering degree before entering the Ohio Air National Guard in 2015, first as a vehicle maintenance technician with the 123rd Air Control Squadron, before he received his KC-135R pilot initial qualification in 2024.

Throughout his tenure as a pilot, Angst deployed in 2015 in support of the Spartan Shield operation in the Middle East, as well as in 2026's Epic Fury operation. He flew a total of 880 flights with 67 combat hours.

Thursday's crash involved two aircraft participating in Operation Epic Fury, the ongoing U.S. offensive against Iran. According to Central Command, the aircraft was lost while flying over friendly airspace.

DeWine ordered Saturday that all flags in Ohio be flown at half-mast in honor of the servicemembers.

"This is just our worst nightmare, worst fear," DeWine said. "For the family members who have men and women deployed overseas, particularly in the Middle East, this is what they worry about every single day."

DeWine said the dignified transfer of the three Ohio servicemembers will take place Wednesday at the Dover Air Force Base.

The governor said he and his wife, Fran, will travel to Dover to pay their respects.

The tanker is the fourth U.S. plane to go down since the war against Iran began, Scripps News Group reported.

Ohio lawmakers are introducing a bill to safeguard minors on online gaming apps after 17-year-old Hailey Buzbee was abducted, abused and killed.

On a snowy day in February, Hailey's body was found in Wayne National Forest in southern Ohio.

"These predators, they do the devil's work by hiding behind irresponsible social media and messaging apps, games and other platforms," Beau Buzbee, her father, said during a press conference at the Statehouse Friday.

Investigators say she was abducted from her home in Indiana by Tyler Thomas, 39, after meeting on online video games, including Roblox and League of Legends. On the first of February, he led officials to her body, but he has only been charged with federal sex crimes, not her death. The investigation is still ongoing, the FBI said in early February.

Buzbee, the dad, is working with Ohio lawmakers to prevent another tragedy.

"Hailey's Law... it turns unimaginable pain into protection for our other children," he said.

State Sens. Michele Reynolds (R-Canal Winchester) and Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson) are set to introduce a bill that would increase safety measures for kids on gaming platforms and require parental consent.

"When an account is created on an app store or a gaming platform, the provider must verify the user's age category, and if the user is a minor, that account must be linked to a verified parent account," Reynolds said.

If a game or an app makes a significant change, parents must be notified and consent again, she said.

Although the bill wasn't available for review on Friday, Reynolds explained that, among many provisions, it would require age-appropriate school instruction on what grooming is. Grooming is when an adult attempts to get close to a child in order to exploit them.

It would also create a Pink Alert, an enhanced and more widespread Amber Alert notification.

"A pink alert looks at today's risks for missing people and applies those and more quickly, more targeted and in the ways that we needed to based on today's risk," Buzbee said.

Although this proposal had been in the works for weeks, it meshes well with Gov. Mike DeWine's State of the State address. On Tuesday, the governor asked lawmakers to pass legislation requiring cell phone and tech companies to automatically implement parental control features, so that parents can easily monitor and control what content their kids use, when they use it, and for how long.

Even though he supports these ideas, House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) is concerned about the feasibility of parental monitoring software. 

"We can't walk in and say, 'Are you watching your kid's phone because if you don't [there will be consequences]'" Huffman said. "I mean, the government doesn't have the means, but I don't think they have a constitutional authority."

Tech companies have been fighting back for years against Ohios attempts to restrict minors access to social media. 

"We are also coming up against what's constitutional when it comes to privacy rights and First Amendment, speech and compelling and all of that," Reynolds said.

But she said her bill is not about attacking technology or telling people what to do; it's just about bringing Ohio laws up to date to safeguard children and teens in the new digital age.

"I can't change what happened to Haley as her father; there are still moments daily when my mind and heart try to believe that I can, until that reality once again knocks me to my knees," Buzbee said, taking a pause to gather his emotions. "But I can fight to make sure that Haley's story and her legacy helps to protect other children."

Bills inspired by Hailey recently passed in Indiana, her home state.

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A proposed state law would eliminate the statute of limitations on crimes related to murder, including abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and obstruction of justice.

The bill, known as Katelyn's Law, is inspired by the death of Katelyn Markham, whose story we have been following since she vanished from her Fairfield townhouse just days before her 22nd birthday in 2011.

Markham's skeletal remains were found in a remote wooded area in Indiana, about 30 miles from her home, in April 2013.

Her fianc, John Carter, later agreed to a plea deal of involuntary manslaughter, but time had run out for other charges to be filed. He was sentenced to 36 months in jail.

Markham's father, David, went to the statehouse Wednesday to testify in support of the bill.

Watch: David Markham spoke with us about the bill's importance

We spoke with him about how his daughter's body was found tampered with and how, due to the time that had passed, no one was punished for that.

"Her head was removed. Her body was found in a tarp in an illegal dump site. Her head in a plastic bag," he said. "They literally treated her trash. She was dumped like garbage on the side of the road. And that almost hurts as much as losing her."

He said that if Katelyn's Law had existed, he believes Carter may have gotten more prison time for what he did.

"We also would have been able to indict other people, because nobody believes John did this himself," Markham said.

He told us Katelyn's Law has a lot of support, and he is hoping the Ohio House will vote on it soon. From there, it goes to committee in the Senate.

Ohio State acted swiftly on Thursday to move past the abrupt resignation of the universitys president over the weekend, elevating its chief academic officer into the role.

Trustees voted to appoint Executive Vice President and Provost Ravi Ballamkonda as Carters successor, bypassing the traditional nationwide search to name its fourth president since 2020.

Ballamkondas appointment comes as a clearer picture began to emerge of former President Walter Ted Carter Jr.s inappropriate relationship with the female host of a podcast for military veterans.

Ballamkonda, a bioengineer and neuroscientist, joined the university in 2021, after holding leadership, research or teaching positions at Emory University, Duke, Georgia Tech and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He earned his Ph.D. in medical science and biomaterials at Brown.

Less than a week earlier, the board of trustees confronted Carter about a tip from outside the university. He disclosed that he had made a mistake in allowing inappropriate access to Ohio State leadership, according to his public statement, and submitted his resignation. The retired Navy vice admiral was just two years into a five-year contract under which he made more than $1.1 million a year, plus bonuses and residency at Ohio States presidents mansion.

Expressing surprise and disappointment, Board Chair John Zeiger accepted his resignation Sunday and the university said it was investigating Carters inappropriate relationship with someone seeking public resources to support her personal business.

JobsOhio, the states privatized economic development office, said Carters resignation was possibly connected to his relationship to Krisanthe Vlachos, host of what was supposed to be a four-episode veterans podcast pilot, The Callout, for which it paid in full at $15,000 an episode. Its now moving to claw back its $60,000, the office said.

Ohio State is a trusted partner and Admiral Carter, sharing our passion for military and veterans, recommended The Callout Podcast as an opportunity to build and engage a military and veteran audience in Ohio, the office posted on X, and connect them to the massive job opportunities coming to Ohios super sectors like advanced aerospace/defense and energy.

Vet Earn USA LLC, an Ohio business registered by Vlachos on Dec. 19, is central to the investigation, said Ohio State spokesperson Ben Johnson.

Vlachos was also paid $10,000 by JobsOhio toward a theater production for veterans called Last Out Elegy of a Green Beret. It was part of the offices Hometown Heroes program, which brings free programming to military, veterans and their families.

Ohio State University announced Monday that President Ted Carter has resigned after telling university trustees that he had an "inappropriate relationship" with someone seeking public resources to support her personal business.

"I disclosed to the board of trustees that I made a mistake in allowing inappropriate access to Ohio State leadership," Carter said in a statement.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine gave his final State of the State Address on Tuesday afternoon, emphasizing his accomplishments over the past year.

"I promised, 'To be the Governor for all the people of our state, and that I would remember each and every day that I am their servant,'" DeWine said about first being elected. "That is what I have tried to do over these past seven years."

DeWines speech mainly focused on what he has said he is proudest of his education initiatives.

"At the beginning of this school year, only 14% of their kindergarten students were on track with their reading skills for their age ... Already, the number of kindergarteners on track with their reading skills has jumped to 50%," the governor said.

His literacy programs, efforts to combat chronic absenteeism and ban on cell phones in classrooms have had positive results, he said.

"The culture change in our schools is miraculous," he said. "Our children are interacting and talking with each other again."

But Ohio Democrats like House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) argue that DeWine is only telling half the story on education.

RELATED: Ohio's public schools end 2025 feeling bruised. The governor doesn't see it that way.

"We've got the money to make life more affordable for billionaires, but we don't have the money for after-school sports or band or to get kids home safe," Isaacsohn said in a press conference after speech.

Nonpartisan research group Policy Matters Ohio found that K-12 schools are being underfunded by nearly $3 billion over the next two years.

Schools around the state are already laying off teachers, closing buildings and shutting down programs.

"We cannot ask schools to fix chronic issues with the lowest state share of education funding in history, until we hire enough teachers, until there is air conditioning on a hot day, until we provide safe and reliable transportation, we will not be able to solve our absenteeism problem," Isaacsohn said.

In a December interview, we addressed the funding concerns with DeWine.

"Are we doing right by public schools right now?" I asked him.

"I think we are, but look, it's a continuing process," the governor responded.

That continuing process is the lawmakers, like Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon), and their decisions.

"The governor emphasized his education wins. What do you say to the schools who argue that they can't continue their success due to expected or unexpected funding cuts?" I asked McColley and House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima).

"Well, I do think the governor, the things that he cited ... those happened on his watch, and I think that's fair," Huffman said, adding that this is less about money and more about holding people accountable for the jobs they are "paid to do."

McColley agreed.

"If more money were the answer, the districts that received the most money would be producing better results," the president said.

He argued that schools need to be better at spending.

"There are a lot of school districts across the state that are doing an awful lot and delivering great results for less dollars," McColley said.

The Democrats are also worried about what happens to public education after DeWine.

"What lies ahead is truly, truly going to be great," DeWine said in his speech. "What we're seeing now is just, just, the beginning."

Coinciding with education, DeWine pushed Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel's fitness program that is meant to help kids develop "healthy habits."

"It turns out push-ups are bipartisan, everyone struggles equally," DeWine joked.

He advocated for double the amount of recess time in most public schools from 30 minutes to 60 minutes per day.

"Recess gives children the chance to get outside and just be kids. It increases their physical activity. It improves their memory, attention, and concentration. It helps them stay on-task in the classroom. It reduces disruptive behavior in the classroom. And, it improves childrens ability to learn how to share and negotiate," DeWine said.

He also brought up his OhioSEE initiative, which is a free eye care service for kindergarten through third-grade students to address vision issues

The governor called on the lawmakers to pass legislation to make it illegal to possess, create or distribute child pornography, also known as child sexual assault material, created by artificial intelligence.

He also asked to hold AI companies accountable if their models generate content that suggests self-harm or violence against others.

"Ohio law needs real consequences. The Ohio Attorney General and County Prosecutors must have clear legal tools to hold these tech companies criminally and civilly accountable," the governor said.

RELATED: Ohio lawmakers want AI companies held liable for bot-encouraged suicides

The last tech request was for the General Assembly to pass a law to require cell phone and tech companies to automatically implement control features so that parents can monitor everything their kids do.

Once again, the governor has asked for a primary seat belt law. This would allow law enforcement officers to pull people over for not buckling up.

RELATED: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine wants to strengthen seat belt laws, GOP lawmakers not interested

Seat belt laws in the state fall under secondary enforcement, meaning police officers can't pull over drivers or passengers for non-use of the safety device. They can, however, ticket someone for not wearing a seat belt if they are already pulled over for another reason.

In Ohio, drivers and front-seat passengers who are 15 years of age and older must wear a seat belt. Anyone ages eight to 14 also has to wear a belt in any seat of the car; this means that 15-year-olds and older do not have to wear seat belts in the back seat. Children aged seven and under have to use a car or booster seat.

"Only 12% of Ohioans do not wear seat belts, yet they represent more than 60% of the fatalities in car accidents," DeWine said.

DeWine cheered the business development Ohio has been able to accomplish as he has been governor.

"Over the past few years, we have brought many companies to Ohio and secured significant expansions of Ohio-based companies, yet many of these businesses are just now starting to hire and ramp up," DeWine said.

Anduril Industries, a major U.S. defense contractor that creates weapons & drones, is set to create up to 4,000 jobs, DeWine said.

Joby Aviation, a company building flying taxis, will employ up to 2,000 Ohio workers, he said.

Amgen, Ohios largest life sciences and pharmaceutical manufacturing facility, will soon be adding 350 more workers, he said.

We will continue covering DeWine's SOTS priorities and what lawmakers had to say about them in the coming days.

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Ohios plan to use unclaimed funds to help fund construction of a new domed stadium for the Cleveland Browns was temporarily blocked in court on Monday.

In her preliminary injunction, Franklin County Magistrate Jennifer Hunt found that plaintiffs in a lawsuit brought by former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann are substantially likely to win their case on the merits. Her order pauses the plan while the case is heard.

The class-action lawsuit argues that provisions of Ohios two-year, $60 billion budget that took $1 billion from the states Unclaimed Funds Account to pay for the stadium that Haslam Sports Group is planning for suburban Brook Park, south of Cleveland, violate constitutional prohibitions against taking peoples private property for government use, as well as citizens due process rights.

The strategy was among several hotly debated topics during Ohio's budget planning last year.

Dann and former state Rep. Jeffrey Crossman, both Democrats, filed the legal action on behalf of three named Ohio residents, as well as all other individuals whose unclaimed funds were being held by the state as of June 30, 2025.

The litigation challenges specific budget provisions that diverted more than $1 billion in unclaimed funds to create an Ohio Cultural and Sports Facility Performance Grant Fund and designate $600 million for the Browns as its first grant.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's office said it was reviewing the decision and determining next steps.

Before ending his bid for governor last year, the Republican spoke out against using unclaimed funds for such a purpose, having gone so far as to urge DeWine to veto it. However, the states top lawyer has further said that he believed the plan was legally sound.

Four Ohio breweries, including two from Cincinnati, are suing the State of Ohio over the looming THC drink ban.

"This is gonna harm our business, its gonna cost jobs, its gonna cost people and its gonna hurt Ohio as a whole," said Bobby Slattery, the owner of Fifty West Brewing Company, part of the lawsuit against the state.

The lawsuit calls Ohio Gov. Mike DeWines line item vetos in Senate Bill 56 on every hemp beverage section a lawless executive overreach."

WATCH: Why local breweries are suing the state, and why they say the ban hurts the industry

Cincinnatis Urban Artifact is also a part of the lawsuit. Scotty Hunter, Urban Artifact's CFO and head of sales, sent us a statement regarding the lawsuit.

We believe that what the Governor did was unwarranted executive overreach by essentially rewriting legislation passed by the General Assembly. This violates the Ohio constitution and turns a sell-through period into an outright ban," the statement reads.

Slattery told us he feels as though the governor's veto was a disregard for all the work he and other breweries did for months with the Ohio House and Senate.

"Essentially everything that we agreed, that the house and senate worked on to put that language in there, he overrode that with a stroke of a pen," said Slattery.

Before making its way to DeWines desk, Senate Bill 56 allowed THC drinks to remain legal in Ohio until the end of this year, when they would become illegal on the federal level.

DeWines vetoes moved the deadline up to March 20.

"The rest of the United States can continue to make and sell these products," Slattery said. "Why are we putting a burden on our people of Ohio?"

The lawsuit states that DeWine vetoed 15 pages of legislation, ultimately fundamentally changing the entire bill. The suit claims that DeWine may disapprove only of an item or items in any bill making an appropriation of money," which Slattery said was not the case.

"We believe that the law says he doesnt have the right to do this," Slattery said.

We reached out to Dewine's team for their response to the lawsuit.

"No Ohio voter ever approved THC beverages to be sold at restaurants or breweries," said Dan Tierney, the governor's deputy director of media relations in response to our inquiry.

Marlena wants to hear from you. You can contact her here:

For Slattery, the legality is only one part of the lawsuit. The other is saving brewery investments and employees.

"Youre talking close to a million dollars in investment that we made in this space, and you know the investment is the investment that affects the business in certain structures. The jobs are the part that I have a real issue with," Slattery said.

If the lawsuit fails, and the total ban goes into effect, Slattery said he and other breweries will have to layoff employees. Urban Artifact said they have let several employees go due to the looming ban.

"Who are we helping by doing this? No one can answer that question," Slattery said.

Slattery told us the hope for the lawsuit is that a judge will issue an injunction - stopping, or at the very least delaying, the ban scheduled to take effect in less than two weeks.

We reached out to the State of Ohio's Division of Cannabis Control, Division of Liquor Control and Secretary of State, who are all named in the lawsuit.

The secretary of state's office responded with the following statement:

The division of liquor control said they do not comment on pending litigation. We have not yet heard back from the division of cannabis control.