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Ohio’s Republican-controlled state legislature has approved a bill to secure President Joe Biden’s spot on the state’s November ballot, ending weeks of political gamesmanship over a deadline that in past years was relaxed without drama. The measure, which passed Friday in a special session of the state Senate, now heads to Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican. DeWine, who called the special session to resolve the Biden issue and tackle unrelated campaign finance legislation, is expected to sign the bill. "I don’t think anybody on this side of the aisle really feels like they’re going to be voting for President Biden,...

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg attempted to justify the progress on electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, prompting a laugh from CBS’s “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brenna. After $7.5 billion of taxpayers’ money being plowed into the initiative, just a “handful” of charging stations have been built. The interview took a comedic turn when Brennan pointed out the discrepancy between the investment made back in 2021 and the reality of the results. Just seven or eight charging stations have been built despite billions being spent, according to the Federal Highway Administration, “Why isn’t that happening more quickly?” asked Brennan. Buttigieg responded...

Major explosion at a building in Youngstown, Ohio: Multiple injuries reported Multiple injuries were reported after a major explosion, allegedly at a Chase Bank building, from a presumed natural gas leak occurred in downtown Youngstown, Ohio.

The Democratic National Committee will move to conduct virtual party proceedings to certify President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party nominees before Ohio's Aug. 7 ballot certification deadline, and before their in-person convention beginning Aug. 19, the party confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday. This will take a big moment away from Biden and the party -- the official nomination at convention is typically met with fanfare and celebration, but he will become the official nominee virtually, without the pomp and circumstance.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine leaned on a distinctive chief executive power Thursday evening, ordering state lawmakers back to Columbus for a special session Tuesday and Wednesday to pass legislation that puts current U.S. President Joe Biden on the November ballot. A similar proclamation hasn't been put out by an Ohio governor in nearly 20 years, but DeWine said the situation at hand warranted the extraordinary measure. It follows weeks of back-and-forth, after the Ohio Democratic Party was notified that the Democratic National Committee convention is scheduled later than Ohio's legislative deadline to certify candidates. DeWine called out fellow members of...

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) announced Thursday he would call the GOP-controlled state Legislature into a special session next week to discuss getting both President Biden and former President Trump on the state’s fall ballot. Democrats have been unable to certify Biden as their nominee in the state — a largely procedural issue where both parties have to certify their presidential candidate with the state ahead of the state’s deadline — because the Democratic National Convention takes place after the Ohio certification deadline.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said Thursday that he is calling a special session of the General Assembly to pass legislation next week to ensure President Biden is on the November ballot for the general election.“Ohio is running out of time to get Joe Biden, the sitting President of the United States, on the ballot this fall. Failing to do so is simply unacceptable. This is ridiculous. This is (an) absurd situation,” DeWine said, according to the Associated Press.DeWine's decision came after Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) warned the state Democratic Party on Tuesday that Biden will not...

California Assemblyman Vince Fong appears to have handily won California’s special election yesterday, bringing the Republican Party’s slim majority in the House up to five. With 87 percent of the votes in, The New York Times had Fong up over opponent and fellow Republican Mike Boudreaux 60.2 to 39.8, making it essentially impossible for Boudreaux to win unless something happens to change that math. Fong won the special election to replace former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who resigned at the end of 2023 after being ousted from the speakership and endorsed Fong in the race. ... Fong had also been...

As things stand, Joe Biden will not be on Ohio's general election ballot in November, setting up potentially disastrous down-ballot consequences for Democrats. For months, the president and his party have been pushing the legislature to pass a "fix" that would allow him to make the state deadline in early August. On Wednesday, the Republican-led legislature justifiably told him to pound sand. The fix won’t happen through the legislature, said Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, and Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, during separate gaggles Tuesday morning. “There’s just not the will to do that from...

“Texas is paying the price. I hope they learned a lesson,” Senator Schumer said. “Texas thought it could go it alone,” Senator Schumer declared on the Lower East Side. “Now Texas is paying the price. I hope they learned a lesson." But Democrats never learn their lesson. And they’re never expected to learn. In 2003, New York City’s power went out because of a mistake by an operator in Ohio as part of the second biggest blackout in history which took down the grid in eight states and in Canada. Texas’ decision to go it alone was a whole lot...

An Ohio sex worker allegedly had contact with more than 200 clients despite knowing she was HIV-positive — and state officials are now warning anybody who engaged in “risky business” with her to come forward and get tested. Linda Leccesse, 30, had contact with at least 211 clients from multiple states in the two years since Jan. 1 2022, which is around when she took an HIV test and learned she was positive for the potentially deadly virus, authorities said. Leccesse solicited most of those clients on Market Street in Marietta — a small city in southeast Ohio on the...

Ohio is launching additional measures to ensure foreign nationals aren’t voting in elections, the state’s leading election official announced Tuesday.According to an office press release, LaRose, a Republican, issued a directive to the state’s 88 county boards of elections “initiating a confirmation and removal process of non-citizens from the state’s voter registration rolls.” LaRose’s office will also be taking further steps to “conduct an annual review of the statewide voter registration database to identify persons who appear not to be United States citizens,” as required by state law. “It is my duty under the law to uphold the constitution, and...

Ohio is taking action to secure the integrity of elections ahead of the contentious 2024 presidential election. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is urging the Biden Administration to grant access to federal citizenship information after removing “non-citizens” from the state voter rolls. During a review of voting registrations, LaRose announced that 137 non-citizens were registered to vote despite not being U.S. citizens. Following the discovery, LaRose instructed all 88 of Ohio’s county boards of elections to sift through their voter rolls for illegal immigrants. “These individuals will receive at least two written notices from the Secretary of State’s office...

Sen. JD Vance’s (R-Ohio) surprise appearance at a Manhattan courthouse to support former President Trump, and his qualified answer about supporting the results of the 2024 election, show he’s challenging Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) as the Senate front-runner to be Trump’s running mate in the fall. GOP senators and strategists say it’s hard to predict whom Trump will choose, but they say Scott and Vance are viewed as the two most likely choices within the Senate GOP conference. Vance and Scott are stepping up their efforts to grab Trump’s attention by staying close to his orbit and showing off their...

A security guard at the Amazon warehouse facility in West Jefferson — whom police say shot twice at close range at his supervisor and missed and later shot a Columbus police officer's bulletproof vest before he was fatally shot by law enforcement — was not supposed to have a gun on duty, police said at a press conference Monday. Ali Hamsa Yusuf, 22, was fatally shot by law enforcement after he shot a Columbus police officer during a confrontation with law enforcement at Georgesville and Clime North roads on Columbus' West Side. That shooting and another one Saturday evening in...

Anti-Israel protesters at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland, Ohio, tried to stand guard over a wall they had vandalized, and when they refused to stand down, the contractor hired to repaint the wall simply painted over them. The wall had been covered with red handprints and what CWRU President Eric Kaler referred to in a letter as “threatening, intimidating and antisemitic” language. Another wall was also painted by protesters, Kaler noted, saying that the language on that wall was “less threatening but still intimidating to some in our community.” In that same letter, he announced the university’s plans...

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A former Columbus police vice detective who pleaded guilty to kidnapping sex workers under the guise of an arrest was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Thursday. Andrew Mitchell, 60, of Sunbury, will receive credit for the roughly five years he has been in custody since his arrest in April 2019, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. He had pleaded guilty in December to two counts of depriving individuals of their civil rights while acting under color of law and one count of obstructing justice. Mitchell spent more than 30 years...

According to a new report, Ohio lawmakers ended their session on Wednesday without reaching a consensus on a proposal to include President Joe Biden on the state's general election ballot. The Republican-controlled House and Senate need to find a solution by May 9; otherwise, Biden may not appear on the ballot in November. Unlike leftist efforts to boot Trump from state ballots nationwide, this issue comes down entirely to the enforcement of a legitimate law on the books. This issue revolves around the deadline for political parties to nominate their presidential candidates. Per Ohio law, this deadline falls 90 days...

Ohio’s top lawyer has advised the state’s public universities that a law written to deter Ku Klux Klan demonstrations could be used to impose felony charges on students who wear face coverings while protesting the war in Gaza. In a letter sent Monday, after weeks of pro-Palestinian campus protests around the country, Republican Attorney General Dave Yost advised the presidents of Ohio’s 34 public, four-year universities – which his office represents – to forewarn students about the 1953 law. “In our society, there are few more significant career-wreckers than a felony charge,” the letter said. “I write to you today...

EXCLUSIVE — Ohio Senate hopeful Bernie Moreno said he will push for pro-family economic policies should he make it to Capitol Hill, citing declining birthrates in the United States. Moreno, a 57-year-old car dealership owner, is hoping to unseat incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in Ohio’s competitive Senate race. The race is listed by the Cook Political Report as a toss-up, meaning it is a crucial race for Republicans hoping to retake the Senate in November. During an interview this week with the Washington Examiner, Moreno painted himself as a pro-family Republican eager to get to Washington, D.C., and push...