Civil Rights
Death penalty opponents take another run at repeal
A group of Ohio lawmakers is again trying to kill the death penalty. As she has since 2011, Sen. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, on Tuesday announced that she and some colleagues were introducing legislation abolishing it. It might seem like a shot in the dark. But amid exonerations and shifting sentiment about the ultimate punishment, Antonio […]
What plaintiffs targeting abortion pill want might not even be possible
At the center of the federal anti-abortion lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is the abortion drug mifepristone and the regimen that reportedly accounts for the majority of abortions in post-Roe America. That’s why the whole country is bracing itself for a ruling from a notoriously anti-abortion judge in Amarillo, Texas. The attention […]
Anti-abortion group Protect Women Ohio is spending $5 million on new ad campaign
An anti-abortion group is spending $5 million on a new ad campaign as abortion supporters are trying to get signatures for a proposed amendment on the ballot that would put abortion rights in the Ohio Constitution. Protect Women Ohio, a dark money 501(c)(4) organization founded in February, was created to fight the abortion ballot campaign. […]
Analysis: Bribery scandal shows how Ohio politics is polluted with dark money
CINCINNATI — A utility bailout at the center of a massive bribery and money laundering scandal was such bad legislation — and it was pushed in such bad faith — that it’s hard to see how it could have survived without the more than $60 million in bribes that sustained it. And, while FirstEnergy CEO […]
DeSantis, in Iowa, says GOP stance in culture wars will help win elections
IOWA – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told Iowa Republicans Friday that standing strong in the culture wars around issues like education, criminal justice, and health care in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic will help their party win elections. DeSantis, along with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, spoke to more than 600 Iowans at the Iowa […]
Pandemic stress, gangs, and utter fear fueled a rise in teen shootings
Diego never imagined he’d carry a gun. Not as a child, when shots were fired outside his Chicago-area home. Not at age 12, when one of his friends was gunned down. Diego’s mind changed at 14, when he and his friends were getting ready to walk to midnight Mass for the feast of Our Lady […]
GOP bill mandating federal Parents Bill of Rights passed by U.S. House committee
WASHINGTON —- A national “Parents Bill of Rights” is headed for a full U.S. House vote after the House Committee on Education and the Workforce early Thursday approved the measure designed to empower parents to inspect books and other teaching materials in schools. Lawmakers on the committee debated the GOP-backed bill that would federally mandate […]
Trump ‘White House in waiting’ helped develop Ohio voting bill touted as model for states
A new bill announced by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose to standardize and modernize state voting records is being welcomed by election administrators and some voter advocates, who say it could increase transparency and confidence in elections. But the first-of-its-kind legislation was developed with help from a think tank that is leading the charge […]
Legislation barring trans athletes from women’s sports introduced in Ohio House
A bill to keep trans athletes from participating in women’s sports in college and youth athletics was introduced in the Ohio House on Wednesday. State Rep. Jena Powell’s House Bill 6 came to the House Higher Education Committee, where Powell spent her testimony emphasizing the biological differences between males and females, and decrying a “biological […]
Idaho college censors portions of art exhibit for discussing abortion
Artists whose work was scheduled to be displayed at Lewis-Clark State College for an exhibition called “Unconditional Care” say their First Amendment rights were violated after the college censored parts of the show related to abortion. The college, which is located in Lewiston, Idaho, and serves close to 4,000 students, cited Idaho’s No Public Funds […]
As abortion measures loom, GOP raises new barriers to ballot initiatives
This story was originally published by Stateline, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Roused by voters’ recent endorsement of abortion rights — even in conservative states — Republican legislators are ramping up efforts to make it tougher for citizens to change laws or amend state constitutions through ballot measures. Some of the GOP proposals […]
In Selma, President Joe Biden vows to continue work on voting rights
President Joe Biden Sunday praised the courage of civil rights activists and condemned efforts to restrict voting and attack the election process in a speech commemorating the 58th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama. In his 20-minute address delivered at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where a law enforcement posse attacked civil […]