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TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- Officials at an Ohio university have ordered radios on campus shuttle buses be locked into one station and volume restricted after a student complained a driver was a playing a "far-right Christian political" channel at high volume. The Blade newspaper reports the policy was suggested by the University of Toledo's manager of transit services and gives drivers only an on/off option. In a memo, the manager, Steven John Wise, describes the selected station as "nonoffensive, work place type music, helpful weather info." Radio volume also is being restricted as a safety measure. The student made the...

Rick Santorum will be the third presidential candidate to enjoy the endorsement of Ohio Attorney General and former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine. The AG, who was the force behind Ohio’s participation in the states’ lawsuit to block Obamacare, initially supported former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. When Pawlenty exited the race, DeWine transferred his support to Mitt Romney, whom Pawlenty also backed. Today, though, DeWine will reassign his endorsement yet again — this time to his former colleague in the Senate, Rick Santorum, according to Associated Press sources.

Time may already have run out for Americans to defeat President Barack Obama in his war against the coal industry. Many utility companies already have run up the white flag. Before millions of people even knew about the war on coal, decisions were made that will send their utility bills skyrocketing. Some of those choices are irreversible. A few weeks ago it was revealed at least 32 coal-fired power plants in 12 states, including West Virginia and Ohio, would be closed so utility companies could comply with the Obama administration's air pollution regulations. On the list was the Kammer Plant...

The U.S. Senate’s leading proponent of tax increases on the American people — Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) was delinquent on his property taxes on until a reporter called him to ask him about it. Brown who supports higher income, energy and investment taxes did not pay his property tax on a luxury condo in Washington, DC. He was late on his payment since last September. Curiously, Brown paid his “fair share” after a reporter called his office to inquire about why he was late.

WASHINGTON — Ohio Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown was more than four months delinquent in paying taxes on his Washington, D.C., apartment and had to pay a penalty and interest last week. This was not the first time, records show. Brown also was delinquent in 2006 and 2007 and paid penalties and interest, according to tax records from the District of Columbia. "I was late," he said on a conference call with reporters when asked about the recent delinquency. "I misplaced the bill and I paid it as soon as I found out. I paid a penalty for being late,...

GINGRICH: No. It just means that we're going to have to pick up all those delegates in late May, just before the California primary, when we hope to pick up more delegates out here. That still means that on super-Tuesday, we're looking at Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, we're looking at Ohio. It means the week after super- Tuesday, we're looking at Alabama and Mississippi. Now, we have hopes that we're going to keep picking up delegates everywhere and continue. This race is going on for a long time, I think. And what Texas moving back means, combined with California being in...

According to the Quinnipiac University poll released today, in the state that the Atlanta GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said he could win - Ohio, he is trailing behind two of his Republican challengers former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, attracting just 20% of the vote. -snip- The Quinnipiac survey finds Santorum leading with 36%, Romney second with 29%, Gingrich third with 20% and Texas Congressman Ron Paul last with 9%. However, 50% of the voters say they could still change their minds. -snip- Gingrich campaigned in Ohio for a few days last week with...

Incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown has a narrow lead over Republican challenger Josh Mandel in Rasmussen Reports’ first look at Ohio’s 2012 race for the U.S. Senate. A new telephone survey of Likely Voters in the state shows Brown earning 44% support to Mandel’s 40%. Four percent (4%) like another candidate in the race, and, tellingly, 12% are undecided.

How does an underfunded candidate defend himself against a big onslaught of negative attack ads? Newt Gingrich tried leveraging the media attention received from going nasty and personal in response and ended up flaming out in Florida and a string of caucuses in the last three weeks. Rick Santorum has decided to use humor to just attack the attack in a new ad running called "Rombo": CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO In its morning e-mail blast, Politico reports on the strategy, which purposefully avoids what it sees as the mistakes made by Gingrich in January: Campaign leaders feel that...

Guns and coffee collided Tuesday outside as Ohio State students from the group Buckeyes for Concealed Carry on Campus spent part of their Valentine's Day advocating for the right to carry a weapon on campus. The group protested outside Starbucks on 14th Avenue and High Street in a response to a nationwide boycott against Starbucks for its neutral position on concealed carry. The National Gun Victim's Action Council called for a nationwide boycott of Starbucks on Valentine's Day until the corporation prohibits guns in the stores. Michael Newbern, a second-year in industrial engineering and president of Buckeyes for Concealed Carry...

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 13, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – Within weeks, the top lawyers in a dozen states may file a federal lawsuit against the Obama administration’s controversial requirement that all insurance plans include access to abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization, the attorney general of Nebraska told LifeSiteNews. Jon Bruning told LifeSiteNews.com that 12 states had signed onto a scathing critique of the mandate and were preparing to take more serious action. Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning On Friday, ten state attorneys general addressed a scathing letter to President Obama, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis....

Conventional wisdom has Ohio being vulnerable to a Democratic rollback in 2012 after a GOP sweep in 2010. Approval ratings for Governor John Kasich have been low after his reforms of public-employee unions in a state where Big Labor is thought to have a wide reach. However, a new Quinnipiac poll on a proposed right-to-work reform may indicate that their power is not as broad as first thought: Despite the overwhelming victory by organized labor and its allies in repealing SB 5 in this past election, by 54 – 40 percent Ohio voters favor the idea of passing a “right-to-work�...

n his New York Times bestselling book, Throw Them All Out, Breitbart editor Peter Schweizer revealed how members of Congress enrich themselves and their relatives using earmarks and insider information. Now, the Washington Post, following in Schweizer’s footsteps, has conducted a study that found 16 members of Congress have used their power of the purse to benefit companies, colleges, and community groups tied to their relatives. *snip* Among those cited in the Washington Post report were the following (below):

Makers of an upcoming documentary that seeks to counter the anti-hydraulic fracturing film “Gasland” have raised over $36,000 through crowdsourcing in a matter of a few days. The creators of the new documentary called “FrackNation” hope to dispel what they view as inaccuracies in the Oscar-nominated film “Gasland” and give more voice to those who live in the communities that are benefiting economically from natural gas drilling. Phelim McAleer, formerly a journalist with The Economist and Financial Times, is teaming up with his wife Ann McElhinney, a fellow former journalist, in making the film. The Irish couple in the past...

Judy Westbrock, the candidate supported by the Tea Party, won over a long-time established GOP insider for the 6th district State Central Committee seat Wed. night. Small step for mankind, er, womankind, but important.

WCMH, Columbus' NBC affiliate, is reporting that police are investigating a break-in in which approximately 80 firearms were stolen from a Central Ohio shooting range as well as boxes of ammunition. Thieves knocked a hole through a cinder block wall to gain access to The Powder Room, which is located in Powell. According to the report, this wasn't the first time thieves have targeted The Powder Room. In the past, a gun stolen from the shop was later used in a crime where violence against a police officer was involved. Linda Walker is the Ohio chair of the Buckeye Firearms...

It could be the biggest copper theft in U.S. history and it's apparently been going on here in the Tri-State for years. It involves a massive on-going federal investigation. In a story you'll see only on Local 12, reporter Rich Jaffe adds up the cost of a missing treasure chest of "red gold". In February of last year, agents from the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI along with police from Cincinnati, Blue Ash and a couple of Northern Kentucky agencies executed federal search warrants at numerous locations around the Tri-State. Among other places they hit were Garden Street Metals,...

The Dayton Daily News is reporting that according to a DDN analysis of permit data, opinion polls and interviews with firearm and criminal justice experts, more women in the Miami Valley are choosing to purchase and carry handguns for protection, reflecting a national trend. From the article: More than one in five who have applied to carry concealed handguns in Butler, Greene, Miami, Montgomery and Warren counties are women, and owners of local gun stores and shooting ranges say women are increasingly participating in training and target practice. Although violent crime continues to decline in the region, experts said more...

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich brought his campaign to Memorial Hall in downtown Dayton today. He ended his remarks to a packed crowd around 3:40 p.m. After the event, Gingrich and his wife Callista are visiting Hawthorn Hill, the Oakwood home once owned by Orville Wright.

LAS VEGAS — Newt Gingrich is wooing NASCAR voters. As he charts a possible course to the Republican nomination, aides say Gingrich will paint frontrunner Mitt Romney as the candidate of the PGA golf tour while the former House speaker pursues the blue collar mantle of Dale Earnhardt. It’s a strategy that exploits the class warfare Gingrich professes to oppose. Still, it could pay dividends once the GOP race again swings South. Gingrich sees delegate-rich Texas as a firewall in April. But he must slog through more than 30 contests before that....

Raleigh, N.C. – It looks like Mitt Romney is headed for a decisive victory in the Florida primary tonight, but beyond the Sunshine State, he has more work to do to wrap things up. Newt Gingrich still looks pretty strong in Missouri and Ohio, but the candidate with the greatest potential to challenge Romney, in the Midwest at least, is Rick Santorum. Santorum is by far the best liked of the four remaining candidates in these two states. And not only does he do well in the horseraces, but if the race is winnowed to him and Romney, he would...

The Marietta Times is reporting that the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) is voicing concerns about HB422, legislation that seeks to repeal requirements that a concealed carry licensee inform an approaching law enforcement officer that the licensee is a licensee and is carrying a concealed handgun. From the article: House Bill 422, jointly sponsored by Reps. Ron Maag, R-Lebanon, and Andy Thompson, R-Marietta, would amend the current state code to remove a requirement that during a traffic stop drivers must notify police officers if they're carrying a firearm. "The patrol has concerns from a public safety viewpoint, not only for...

Federal and county governments are among the long list of creditors owed money by a nearly-bankrupt local business that stored livestock semen. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided about $536,000 in loans to the company. The federal government wants its stimulus money back, but so do the business’ 84 other creditors. The company stored the semen in slender “straws” frozen in liquid nitrogen. Now the business’ owner has filed for bankruptcy protection. The public creditors’ hearing is set for 10 a.m. at the U.S. bankruptcy court in Dayton. Genetic Connection owner Roger Clark said he would not...

The Ohio Supreme Court declined Wednesday to hear the case of a 55-year-old Cleveland homeowner convicted in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court last year of killing an intruder. When the 8th Ohio District Court of Appeals threw out the conviction of Carl Kozlosky and ordered a new trial, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason appealed the decision. The Ohio Supreme Court's decision Wednesday returns the case to Common Pleas Court. Kozlosky was sentenced last year to 18 years to life in prison for the shooting death of Andre Coleman on Sept. 20, 2009. Coleman broke into Kozlosky's house and began beating...

Dialing the right wrong number may have saved the life of a Cuyahoga Falls woman. Loretta Smith, 70, said a complete stranger many states away came to her rescue Saturday when she fell ill. Around 4 p.m., Smith said, her right arm went dead. Soon the whole right side of her body wouldn't respond. And then she fell to the floor. "I couldn't move," she said. When she tried to stretch out, her left leg hit a table near her bed and knocked the telephone onto the floor.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A bill in the Ohio Senate would ban smoking in cars if children under 6 are on board. The measure's sponsor says the idea is to safeguard youngsters from secondhand smoke. Democratic Sen. Charleta Tavares of Columbus testified Wednesday at a hearing on her bill and said smoke inside cars is especially dangerous because the space makes the smoke much more concentrated. Multiple news outlets report that Senate Highways and Transportation Committee Chairman Tom Patton questioned how law enforcers would be able to spot that a child is younger than 6, in order to enforce the...

A new poll from Public Policy Polling (D) shows that while former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is sewing up the Republican nomination, the process is dragging him down in key swing states — PPP numbers from Ohio show that a 56 percent majority of general election voters now view Romney unfavorably, which leads to a seven point deficit in a matchup with President Obama. Obama leads Romney 49 - 42 in the new Ohio poll, a state where the political ground has shifted greatly over the last few months. After the massive defeat of SB 5, the anti-union legislation pushed...

Former Sen. Rick Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich lead the way in states with upcoming primaries, according to The State Column. In Ohio, Gingrich leads with 26 percent, followed by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with 25 percent. Santorum is not far behind, with 22 percent, while Texas Rep. Ron Paul has 11 percent. Ohio’s primary election will be held on Super Tuesday, March 6. Gingrich’s name is not on the ballot in Missouri, where Santorum leads with 45 percent, followed by Romney with 34 percent...

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Mitt Romney might want to relish his likely victory in Florida because he has trouble ahead of him in Missouri and Ohio. According to a new Public Policy Polling poll, Romney is trailing Newt Gingrich 30-24 among likely Missouri caucus voters. Sandwiched in between Romney and Gingrich is Rick Santorum who polled at 28 percent in Missouri’s caucus. Missouri is voting in both a caucus and primary this year. The primary election won’t select the candidate the state is giving delegate to because Missouri was going to be penalized for moving its state election up this year....

Willie Nelson sold out a 1,400 seat theater in Lorain, Ohio, on Sunday (Jan. 29) in support of Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D - OH). As a result of redistricting, Kucinich has been forced into a primary battle with fellow Democrat Mary Kaptur, whose campaign funding was recently reported as almost seven times that of Kucinich. "Dennis and I go a long way back," Willie said before the show (quote via the Chronicle-Telegram). "Anything I've been interested in seeing done, he said, 'What can I do to help?'" The pair first met in 2002, after the Congressman's Prayer for America speech,...

HAMILTON, Ohio -- A teenager described how she was raped six years ago by a man who fled to Mexico after he was charged with sexually assaulting the girl. The victim, now 15 years old, told jurors Monday that she'd been riding her bike on Father's Day, 2005, when Alfredo Cruz waved her over. The teen said she rode over to Cruz, now 31, and he picked up the purple bicycle with her on in it and took her into his house. She said Cruz put her bicycle in a closet and ordered her to take off her clothes. "He...

Lawyers for four suspects involved in an alleged stolen clothing case claim their clients are victims of racial profiling. "Anybody in the business would know this is a profiling case," said Atty. Gary Rich. "I believe without a doubt. Illegal aliens, or drugs in the car, no drugs found and my clients legal." Rich's client, Jesus Fabian, was the only one of the four to be released on bond. The other three remain jailed on an Immigration and Naturalization Services hold. Last week, the Ohio State Highway Patrol stopped the vehicle and seized nearly $78,000 worth of stolen clothes, including...

State Reps. Ron Maag (R-Lebanon) and Andy Thompson (R-Marietta) have introduced two bills that seek to reform, or "de-Taft," portions of Ohio's concealed carry law. House Bill 422 seeks to repeal requirements that a concealed carry licensee inform an approaching law enforcement officer that the licensee is a licensee and is carrying a concealed handgun. According to rep. Maag, Ohio is one of only four states that have such a requirement. The idea for repealing the notification provision has been the subject of frequent discussion since last June, when Canton police officer Daniel Harless was caught on dash cam video...

So they are holding a news conference about the Cincinnati Casino Construction collapse when a Ride Go Bus drives into the news conference and side swipes a news van. The driver, female minority, parks the bus, gets out and begins yelling at the folks holding a news conference. She basically says it's there fault she hit a PARKED vehicle and that she is just trying to do her job. You can't make this stuff up!

CINCINNATI - Police say several people may have been hurt in a construction accident at the site of the Horseshoe Casino Friday morning. Emergency crews are responding to an accident that happened around 8 a.m. Officials have shut down the intersection of East Gilbert Avenue and Court Street to traffic. 9 News crews at the scene say there are reports of a deck collapse, which caused the injuries. 9 News crews say more than 10 people are seeking medical attention for injuries they sustained in the accident

DAYTON — A woman is dead following the attempted burglary of a residence on Burbank Drive, according to police. The woman was fatally shot by the resident of 1932 Burbank Dr., after she broke in to the residence Saturday afternoon and was confronted by a resident of the home. The resident told the unarmed woman to stay put after he discovered her intruding, but the woman threw an object at him. He then shot the woman in the chest using a semiautomatic handgun, according to Dayton Police. When asked if the resident was justified in firing his weapon, Lt. Kenneth...

As rancorous and partisan as Congress was in 2011, Capitol Hill looks to be even more politically charged this year, as House Republican leaders plan a sustained attack on the Obama administration’s domestic agenda. House Speaker John A. Boehner said Friday he has asked all House committee chairmen to review President Obama’s economic and jobs policies to find ways to counterbalance “the devastating impact these policies have on our economy.”

This summer a man was arrested, threatened with execution while handcuffed in the back of a cruiser, and then forced to deal with the real life tragedy of having to go through a criminal trial for something he shouldn't have been charged with in the first place. William Bartlett spent the next four months of his life having a prosecutor dangle sweetheart deals in front of him that always came with a catch: Plea to this and we'll drop the more serious charges. Sign a waiver that releases the city from any culpability or legal liability and we'll make this...

Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona has been arrested in his native Dominican Republic, according to multiple reports. Carmona is accused of using a false identity. According to ESPNDeportes.com, Carmona’s real name is Roberto Hernandez Heredia. He was arrested Thursday after leaving the U.S. Consulate in the Dominican Republic, where he went to get a visa in order to attend spring training in Arizona next month. “We were recently made aware of the situation that occurred today in the Dominican Republic and are currently in the process of gathering information,” Indians general manager Chris Antonetti said in a statement released by the...

Shots will fly as five members of UT's College Republicans attend a concealed weapons course this weekend. This day-long seminar will begin with a lecture explaining how to legally conceal and carry a firearm. The students will then demonstrate their shooting abilities with live ammunition at a shooting range. If their aim is accurate, participants who are 21 years old and up will be licensed to carry a concealed firearm in Ohio. This is the second time the College Republicans will have the opportunity to learn about carrying a concealed firearm. Scott Mazzola, Doug Dettert, Drew Ashcraft, Patrick Richardson and...

Republicans in the House of Representatives said on Wednesday they plan to introduce a bill to advance TransCanada's Keystone XL oil pipeline to try to override President Barack Obama's rejection of the $7 billion project. House Speaker John Boehner told reporters "all options are on the table" to craft a bill to fight for the pipeline, which Republicans say would create thousands of jobs and bolster the economic recovery. "There are legislative vehicles that will be moving in the weeks and months ahead," Boehner said. House Republicans have not yet decided what kind of legislation they will push, said Lee...

A Quinnipiac University survey of Ohio released on Wednesday shows Mitt Romney holding a comfortable edge over his Republican primary rivals in the key battleground state, leading with 27 percent of the vote. Former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich are locked in a battle for second place, at 18 percent and 17 percent, respectively, while Rep. Ron Paul of Texas trails at just 10 percent. Texas Gov. Rick Perry sits in last place, at 4 percent.  Romney’s advantageous numbers in the Buckeye State -- whose primary will be held on Super Tuesday in early March --...

As of Tuesday, programs like elementary music, art and physical education are gone and libraries are closed. School days are shortened to just 5 1/2 hours -- leaving kids less time for instruction, and working parents scrambling. "What are kids gonna do with that big window of time when their parents are still working and all that idle time that they still have, to do God knows what?" parent Jeff Bodziony said. Hot school lunches are also thing of the past. In fact, lunch is a thing of the past. Students used to have lunch in the noon hour. Instead...

Link only per FR copyright rules: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/16/portman-will-endorse-romney-probably-pretty-soon/

President Barack Obama stood in the gymnasium of upscale Shaker Heights High School in suburban Cleveland on Jan. 4, in front of high school students and supporters. “Hello, Ohio!” he declared. “Ah, it is good to be back in Ohio … good to be back in Shaker Heights, home of the Red Raiders.” “Mr. President, I love you!” an audience member shouted. “I love you back,” he said, to the delight of the crowd. “And I'm glad to be back. I'm glad to be here.” Obama has traveled to Ohio 17 times since becoming president. His vice-president, Joe Biden, has...

MAYFIELD, Ky. - A group of Amish men were sent to jail in western Kentucky Thursday for refusing to pay fines for breaking a state highway law that requires their horse-drawn buggies to be marked with orange reflective triangles. The men have a religious objection to the bright orange signs, which they say are flashy and conflict with their pledge to live low-key and religious lives. ... "I totally understand your objection," the judge told Byler. "But you're in violation, and it's not up to me to change the law. It doesn't really matter what I think about any of...

BLACKLICK, Ohio -- A man who was shot to death after breaking into a car sparked a grand jury hearing. On October 9, 2011, a Blacklick man confronted 28-year-old Sean Stiffler who was breaking into a neighbors car on Bollengen Road on the city's far east side. The case begs the question: when can you claim self defense? 911 caller: "He went into his pocket and drew a gun on me. I thought he had a gun and my life was in danger." A Franklin County grand jury looked at the facts from the shooting and decided Wednesday not to...

Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum won't have a chance to vie for some of Ohio's national convention delegates. The state's top election official said Wednesday that the former Pennsylvania senator won't appear on the ballot at the district level in three congressional districts in the battleground state. That means nine of Ohio's 66 delegates are off the table for him. Ohio has a Republican primary system that requires people to vote twice. So while Santorum's name won't appear at the district level, voters could still choose to award him at-large delegates. The party doles out 48 delegates from the March...

The foul-mouthed Canton, OH police officer who threatened to shoot an armed citizen in the head over his concealed pistol last summer has been fired, but he reportedly plans to appeal. Harless confronted a private citizen named William Bartlett in early June 2010 when the officer stopped to check out a vehicle parked on the side of the street. Bartlett’ sin was in not immediately advising Harless and another officer that he was carrying a concealed handgun, as required by Ohio statute. The problem, as can be seen by viewing the video, is that Harless never gave Bartlett the chance,...

An Islamic charity incorporated in Toledo, Ohio, still fighting a case a U.S. Treasury Department asset freeze, published a notice Thursday saying it has been dissolved. It is not clear why the move was made. Treasury froze the assets of KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development in 2006. KindHearts made contributions to Hamas-affiliated organizations and was supporting Hamas in Lebanon and the West Bank. The NGO was called "the progeny of Holy Land Foundation and Global Relief Foundation, which attempted to mask their support for terrorism behind the façade of charitable," by then-Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Stuart Levy....