Today’s News
DeWine calls for end of prop bets in Ohio
Gov. Mike DeWine is calling on the Ohio Casino Control Commission to remove prop bets from the list of legal bets that can be placed in Ohio after Major League Baseball placed two Cleveland Guardians pitchers on leave in July related to a “sports betting investigation.” DeWine also announced he will be asking the commissioners and players unions of the six major sports leagues in the United States — MLB, the National Football League, the [...]
U.S. employers add just 73,000 jobs last month as labor market weakens slightly
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Labor Department reported last week that U.S. employers added just 73,000 jobs last month, well short of the 115,000 forecasters had expected. Worse, revisions shaved a stunning 258,000 jobs off May and June payrolls. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2 percent as Americans dropped out of the labor force and the ranks of the unemployed rose by 221,000. “A notable deterioration in U.S. labor market conditions appears to be underway,’’ [...]
Penske sells a third of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar to Fox
Penske Entertainment, the Roger Penske-owned entity that holds Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar among its assets, said last week it has sold a one-third interest in the company to Fox. The sale was described as a strategic investment and partnership designed to launch new growth for IndyCar. It includes a multiyear contract extension for Fox Sports’ media rights deal with the open-wheel series. Fox Sports is in its first season broadcasting IndyCar. Penske Entertainment expects [...]
Trump orders 35% tariff on Canadian goods, citing lack of cooperation in fight against drug trafficking
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has raised the tariff rate on U.S. imports from Canada to 35 percent from 25 percent, effective Aug. 1. The announcement from the White House said Canada had failed to “do more to arrest, seize, detain or otherwise intercept ... traffickers, criminals at large, and illicit drugs.” Trump has heckled Canada for months and suggested it should become the 51st U.S. state. He had threatened to impose the higher [...]
Childhood vaccination rates fall as exemptions rise
NEW YORK (AP) — Kindergarten vaccination rates inched down again last year and the share of children with exemptions rose to an all-time high, according to federal data posted last week. The fraction of kids exempted from vaccine requirements rose to 4.1 percent, up from 3.7 percent the year before. It’s the third record-breaking year in a row for the exemption rate, and the vast majority are parents withholding shots for nonmedical reasons. Meanwhile, 92.5 [...]
Trump revives the Presidential Fitness Test
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump last week reestablished the Presidential Fitness Test for American children, a fixture of public schools for decades that gauged young people’s health and athleticism with 1-mile runs, sit-ups and stretching exercises. “This is a wonderful tradition, and we’re bringing it back,” Trump said of the fitness test that began in 1966 but was phased out during the Obama administration. In the test, children had to run and perform sit-ups, [...]
Q2 profits at Exxon Mobil, Chevron dip
NEW YORK (AP) — Exxon Mobil’s second-quarter profit dropped to the lowest level in four years and sales fell as oil prices slumped as OPEC+ ramped up production. Exxon earned $7.08 billion, or $1.64 per share, for the period ended June 30. A year earlier it earned $9.24 billion, or $2.14 per share. That was better than Wall Street expected, but Exxon does not adjust its reported results based on one-time events such as asset [...]
Yost appoints new solicitor general
Attorney General Dave Yost has announced the appointment of Mathura Sridharan as solicitor general, the state’s top attorney for appeals in state and federal courts. Sridharan, who has served as deputy solicitor general since 2021, will fill the vacancy left by Elliot Gaiser, who was tapped to lead the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel. According to a news release, Sridharan is expected to step into the role once Gaiser is officially sworn [...]
Appeals panel affirms dismissal of man’s lawsuit against two state agencies
A Franklin County appellate panel has affirmed the Ohio Court of Claims’ dismissal of a Hilltop man’s suit alleging fraud and forgery — among other offenses — against the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and the state Department of Medicaid. The Tenth District Court of Appeals panel determined that the court’s dismissal of 61-year-old Tareq Jabr’s complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim for which relief can [...]
Use of federal waters for offshore wind projects to end
The Trump administration is canceling plans to use large areas of federal waters for new offshore wind development, announcing last week an end to setting aside large areas for “speculative wind development.” More than 3.5 million acres had been designated wind energy areas, the offshore locations deemed most suitable for wind energy development. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is now rescinding all designated wind energy areas in federal waters. Offshore wind lease sales were [...]
Legal News
Man convicted of Hilltop murder loses appeal
A Tenth District Court of Appeals panel upheld a trial court decision denying an inmate’s motion in which he ultimately sought a new trial related [...]
Appellate panel reverses lower court’s decision in data breach case
A Franklin County appellate panel determined that a trial court was wrong to dismiss an individual’s complaint which asserted breach of fiduciary duty, among other [...]
Rulings have been inconsistent for college athletes seeking to play another year
The stream of lawsuits across the country from college athletes trying to grab another season of eligibility appears ready to fizzle out for a bit. [...]
Business News
Effort launched to expand truck parking in Ohio
An initiative was launched this week to address the shortage of safe, accessible commercial-truck parking in Ohio by adding at least 1,400 new truck parking [...]
P&G says price increases coming due in part to tariffs
NEW YORK (AP) — Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble offered an annual earnings outlook that was below analysts’ projections and said it would raise [...]
Faced with tariff hit, Stellantis CEO hopes for U.S. turnaround
MILAN (AP) — Stellantis hopes to counteract some of the expected $1.7 billion cost of tariffs this year by boosting North American profitability with new [...]
Real Estate
Maui panel OKs bill to curb vacation rentals
HONOLULU (AP) — Lawmakers on Maui passed legislation last week aimed at eliminating a large percentage of the Hawaiian island’s vacation rentals to address a [...]
Local home sales rise 11.1% in June
The number of homes sold in the Columbus area rose 11.1 percent last month compared to June 2024, according to new data from Columbus Realtors. [...]
Local affordable housing projects awarded financing
The Ohio Housing Finance Agency board has approved financing for two central Ohio affordable housing developments. The Lofts at 40 Long project received approval to [...]
Politics
President announces 25% tariff for India
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump earlier this week said that he will impose a 25 percent tariff on goods from India, plus an additional [...]
EPA proposes repealing ‘endangerment finding’ from environmental regulations
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration earlier this week proposed revoking a scientific finding that has long been the central basis for the federal [...]
Fishing groups push to delay whale rules
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A Maine congressman and several commercial fishing groups are getting behind a push to delay for 10 years rules designed to [...]