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Final Ohio GOP U.S. Senate debate features familiar positions on issues and some personal attacks

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Final Ohio GOP U.S. Senate debate features familiar positions on issues and some personal attacks


The three men vying for votes in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate met for their last debate before March 19, when one of them will win the chance to face incumbent U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) this fall.

The candidates appeared at Miami University in Oxford in a debate produced by WLWT-TV in Cincinnati to make their final arguments to GOP voters, as a recent poll showed as many as a quarter may be undecided.

With all three candidates saying they support the policies of former president Donald Trump, who is now the likely Republican presidential nominee, they began by talking about what makes them different from their opponents – specifically, their conservative pro-Trump credentials.

Businessman Bernie Moreno mentioned six times he’d been endorsed by Trump. He noted his opponents are both elected officials, and suggested they haven’t always fully embraced Trump.

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“I’m not currently employed by the state of Ohio and supposed to be doing that job. I’ve sold all my business interests to do this, and I’ve been endorsed by President Trump,” Moreno said at the start of the debate.

“President Trump’s a good man. This idea that I support his policies is but not the personality. It’s a bunch of BS. That’s media talking points,” Moreno said later in the debate.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose has said his opponents have not always been registered Republicans, and repeated that again in this debate.

“They’re both desperate to convince you that they’re conservatives. I think you know better. Ask yourself – who do you trust?” LaRose said, and later in the debate added, “Both of my opponents should be really good at talking to Democrats because both of them are former Democrats.”

Sen. Matt Dolan (R-Chagrin Falls) said he’s always been clear in his support for Trump’s policies, but not his opponents.

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“These guys are reinventing themselves. They don’t want you to know their history. Go back and try to look at their deleted tweets. You can’t. Go back and look at what they wrote in articles. You can’t,” Dolan said. “They don’t want you to know who you are, except for now when they want your vote. I have been consistent.”

There was some discussion about a report Tuesday afternoon that the group No Labels, which will soon decide whether to back a presidential ticket, was planning to endorse and fundraise for LaRose. While No Labels was founded in 2009 as a centrist political organization, it’s a dark money group that doesn’t have to disclose its donors. Democrats have been concerned about reports that it’s received lots of campaign cash from major Republican donors.

LaRose had worked with No Labels in the past. Dolan noted in an earlier debate that the group had advocated for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, which all three candidates say they oppose. In this debate, Moreno said an email announced LaRose would be on a Zoom call with No Labels, which he described as “too liberal for Nikki Haley,” who had declined to consider working with the group.

“This is fake news. My ‘labels’ are ‘well-known conservative Republican’,” LaRose said. “There was no call, there was no meeting.”

The candidates were asked about issues they’ve spoken about before: immigration, inflation, the Israel-Hamas war and abortion. They were also asked about issues they felt could reach across the aisle and work with Democrats on: Dolan said securing and sealing the border, LaRose said reining in government spending, and Moreno said term limits.

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All three campaigns emailed multiple fact-checks during the event, and at the end each also claimed their candidate won the debate.





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Multiple homes destroyed by fire in Meigs County, Ohio

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Multiple homes destroyed by fire in Meigs County, Ohio


A fire destroyed one home and damaged two others Wednesday evening, but then rekindled early Thursday morning and destroyed another home, police said.

The fire was first reported just after 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday night in the 300 block of Wetzgall Street in Pomeroy, according to a press release from the Pomeroy Police Department.

According to police, the fire spread to the two homes on either side of the original home on fire. Firefighters contained the fire and saved the two surrounding homes, but the home that first caught fire was deemed a total loss.

Then, just after 3 a.m. on Thursday morning, the fire rekindled and spread to one of the other homes, resulting in a total loss of that home as well, police said.

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Pomeroy police said both homes were occupied at the time of the fires, but all occupants of each home were able to exit their homes safely. Police also said that there were no reported injuries, though both families lost everything they owned due to the total losses of the homes.

The cause of the fire has not been determined, and the incident is still under active investigation by the Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office, according to police.



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DOE aims to end Biden student loan repayment plan. What it means for Ohio

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DOE aims to end Biden student loan repayment plan. What it means for Ohio


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  • The Department of Education has agreed to a settlement to end the Biden-era SAVE student loan repayment plan.
  • Over seven million borrowers currently on the SAVE plan will need to select a new repayment program if the court approves the settlement.
  • Ohio has about 1.7 million student loan borrowers and over $60 billion in debt. The average student loan debt in the state is approximately $35,072.

Student loan borrowers under the Biden-era student loan repayment plan, Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE), may soon have to select a new repayment plan after the U.S. Department of Education agreed to a measure to permanently end the program.

A proposed joint settlement agreement announced Tuesday between the DOE and the State of Missouri seeks to end what officials call the “illegal” SAVE program, impacting more than seven million SAVE borrowers who would have to enroll in another program. The settlement must be approved by the court before it can be implemented.

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Ohio borrowers carry some of the nation’s highest student loan debt. Here’s how the proposed change could affect them.

What is the SAVE plan?

Originally known as REPAYE, the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan was created to deliver the lowest monthly payments among income-driven repayment programs. Under the Biden administration, it became the most affordable option for borrowers.

According to USA TODAY, the SAVE plan was part of Biden’s push to deliver nearly $200 billion in student loan relief to more than 5 million Americans. It wiped out $5.5 billion in debt for nearly half a million borrowers and cut many monthly payments down to $0.

But officials in President Donald Trump’s administration claim the Biden plan was illegal.

Why does the Department of Education want to end the SAVE plan?

The DOE says the SAVE plan aimed to provide mass forgiveness without congressional approval, costing taxpayers $342 billion over 10 years. In a press release, the Department said the administration promised unrealistically low payments and quick forgiveness without legal authority.

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“The Trump administration is righting this wrong and bringing an end to this deceptive scheme,” Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent said in a release. “Thanks to the State of Missouri and other states fighting against this egregious federal overreach, American taxpayers can now rest assured they will no longer be forced to serve as collateral for illegal and irresponsible student loan policies.”  

If the agreement is approved by the court, no new borrowers will be able to enroll in the SAVE plan. The agency says it will deny any pending applications and move all SAVE borrowers back into other repayment plans.

Borrowers currently enrolled in the SAVE Plan would have a limited time to select a new repayment plan and begin repaying their student loans.

The DOE adds that it is working on the loan repayment provisions of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act, which created a new Income-Driven Repayment plan called the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), that will be available to borrowers by July 1, 2026.

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How many people in Ohio have student loan debt?

Numbers from the Education Data Initiative show that there are about 1.7 million student loan borrowers in Ohio, carrying over $60 billion in debt. The average student loan debt is approximately $35,072.

Ohio also ranks No. 10 among the states with the most student debt, according to personal finance site WalletHub.

How much money does Ohio get from the Department of Education?

The DOE budget for Ohio for fiscal year 2025 is estimated to be more than $5.65 billion, The Columbus Dispatch previously reported.

President Trump announced his intentions to eliminate the Department of Education earlier this year, meaning that Ohio could lose more than $5 billion in annual funding.



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Papa Johns employee in Ohio accused of shooting, killing man inside store

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Papa Johns employee in Ohio accused of shooting, killing man inside store



An employee of a Papa Johns restaurant in Cincinnati, Ohio, is accused of shooting and killing a man inside the store on Tuesday night. 

Police in Cincinnati said Murphy Tilk, 21, fatally shot 23-year-old Nawaf Althawadi inside the West Price Hill restaurant around 11 p.m., CBS affiliate WKRC reported. When first responders arrived at the restaurant on West Eighth Street, they performed life-saving measures on Althawadi, who died at the scene. Officials said the 21-year-old Tilk, who was taken into custody without incident and charged, is a Papa Johns employee, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Tilk booked into the Hamilton County Justice Center on a first-degree murder charge, the center’s records show. During Tilk’s initial court appearance on Wednesday, he was held without bond. The 21-year-old man has a bond hearing set for Saturday.

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Law enforcement has not said what led up to the shooting or if Tilk and Althawadi knew each other. Police are investigating the shooting. 

KDKA reached out to Papa Johns on Wednesday evening for comment, but has not heard back. 

Papa Johns is a pizza chain with 6,000 locations globally, according to its website. It has 15 locations in Cincinnati. 



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