The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Along party lines, the Ohio Supreme Court on Friday gave the green light to an attempt by Republican leaders of the state’s gerrymandered legislature to make it much harder for voters to amend the state Constitution. The court ruled that it’s OK for the issue to be placed on the Aug. 8 ballot even though the legislature just outlawed such elections in January.
The Republican majority said that regardless of the law, the Ohio Constitution gives the legislature great latitude in deciding when elections will be held. In a dissent, the Democratic minority argued that while that might be the case, the legislature still has to follow the laws it has passed — and change the ones it doesn’t like.
Issue 1 would raise the percentage of votes needed to pass a voter-initiated amendment from 50% to 60%. It would also require that a given number of the hundreds of thousands of signatures needed to get an amendment on the ballot come from each of Ohio’s 88 counties instead of the current 44.
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Critics — including bipartisan groups of former governors and attorneys general and more than 240 other groups — say the requirements would make voter-initiated amendments practically impossible. Some add that Issue 1 would greatly enhance the gerrymandered legislature’s power over the state Constitution relative to that of Ohio voters — the exact opposite of what former President Theodore Roosevelt argued for when he successfully advocated adoption of the current system in 1912.
Republican leaders, including Secretary of State Frank LaRose, pushing the amendment have given inconsistent reasons for why it’s needed. But to partisan audiences they’ve conceded that one reason for putting the matter on the ballot in a low-turnout Aug. 8 election is to try to block a voter-initiated abortion-rights amendment expected to be on the ballot in November.
One, Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, also admitted to colleagues last year that he wants to make it harder for another anti-gerrymandering amendment to pass. Ohio’s current lawmakers represent districts that an earlier bipartisan Supreme Court repeatedly ruled were unconstitutional under two amendments already overwhelmingly passed by voters.
The voting-rights group One Person One Vote sought an order stopping the Aug. 8 election, noting that under a law signed by Gov. Mike DeWine on Jan. 6, almost all statewide August elections are prohibited.
The Republican majority on Friday agreed — kind of. In its opinion it said the law does not authorize, “an August special election for a statewide office, question, or issue.”
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Even so, the opinion — signed by justices Sharon L. Kennedy, Pat DeWine and Joe Deters and concurred with by Justice Pat Fischer — says the legislature doesn’t have to follow that law.
“Regardless of what the Revised Code provides with respect to special elections, however, Article XVI, Section 1 of the Ohio Constitution controls the matter before us,” it said. “That provision authorizes the General Assembly to submit the issue ‘at either a special or a general election as the General Assembly may prescribe.’”
That’s ludicrous, Justice Michael Donnelly said, in essence, in one of two dissents. If the legislature wants to hold an Aug. 8 election, it needs to change the law that it so recently passed, he argued.
“But rather than changing the law, the General Assembly and respondent, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, want to be told that the Ohio Constitution allows the General Assembly to break its own laws,” Donnelly wrote. “Rather than doing the work themselves, they want this court to fix their mess and do their work for them. Sadly, a majority of this court obliges.”
This is a developing story.View the story on the Ohio Capital Journal for updates.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Devin Royal had 19 points and Bruce Thornton scored five of his 18 in a second overtime as Ohio State rallied to beat Minnesota 89-88 on Monday night.
Thornton hit a 3-pointer for Ohio State (10-5, 2-2 Big Ten Conference) to begin the second extra period, Aaron Bradshaw followed with a three-point play and Ques Glover capped a 7-0 run with a layup to give the Buckeyes the lead for good.
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Minnesota (8-7, 0-4) had a chance to win in the first overtime, but Mike Mitchell Jr. — a 91% free-throw shooter — missed twice with six seconds left and the Golden Gophers leading 73-71. John Mobley Jr. made two free throws with four seconds remaining to force a second extra period.
Royal stole the ball and dunked with five seconds left in regulation but missed on his chance for a three-point play, forcing overtime tied at 64.
Royal made just 5 of 14 shots from the floor, but he hit nine of his 11 free throws and added seven rebounds. Thornton made two 3-pointers and went 8 for 9 at the foul line. Glover had 13 points off the bench and Mobley scored 12. Micah Parrish added 11 points and seven rebounds.
Parker Fox had 21 points to lead the Golden Gophers. Lu’cye Patterson totaled 20 points, six rebounds and four assists. Mitchell and freshman reserve Isaac Asuma both scored 18 — a season-high for Asuma.
Fox scored 11 to help Minnesota take a 28-27 lead into halftime.
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Minnesota made only 12 of 27 free throws, while Ohio State sank 29 of 33.
Ohio State will host No. 15 Oregon on Thursday. Minnesota travels to play Wisconsin on Friday.
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Former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor filed a class-action lawsuit against Ohio State University, the NCAA, the Big Ten Conference, and Learfield Communications back in October 2024.
Since the initial action, new developments have surfaced from the defendant’s side of the case.
Pryor began seeking compensation after accusing the aforementioned entities of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. Pryor alleged that the use of his name, image, and likeness (NIL) was used to monopolize profits.
He alleges that they are still profiting from use of his NIL.
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On Friday, a “trio of dismissal bids” were filed by the defendants, arguing that Pryor’s legal case was riddled with flaws.
Learfield Communications, the media firm involved in the case, has argued that their entity, along with that of Ohio State, should have immunity against such lawsuits. The Big Ten and NCAA filed their dismissal bids on the platform that Pryor waited too long, and his claims should no longer be eligible for the court’s attention.
Pryor has been out of the college football scene for 14 years, according to the dismissal bids.
The NCAA and Big Ten are using this fact to argue the validity of his lawsuit should be questioned, as his involvement in the program has more than surpassed the statute of limitations.
The Clayton Act has a four-year statute of limitations for federal antitrust claims.
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Pryor is not the first athlete to raise questions against the NCAA and other sports groups in collegiate sports, but he has designated himself as something of a spokesperson. He cited a past experience when he and a group of his teammates were suspended for trading their autographs for tattoos.
Examples like that are circling the NCAA, and past athletes are pressing to gain any ounce of compensation they can.
Having to deal with a separate lawsuit, Ohio State had to come up with their own defense against Pryor’s allegations.
Ohio State cited the Eleventh Amendment in their defense, stating that the sovereign immunity afforded to the states would protect the Buckeye institution because Pryor is not an Ohio resident.
Learfield Communications went along with Ohio State’s citation of the Eleventh Amendment, adding their contract with the state school provided them the same protections under the sovereign immunity point.
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The case is known as Pryor v. NCAA et al., and therefore, Pryor will have to face each entity’s defense in order to emerge victorious.
Winter storm Blair has wreaked havoc across the Midwest and East Coast this week, causing massive school closures and leaving millions of Americans grappling with dangerous travel conditions. Beginning Friday and expected to last through Monday, the storm has dumped heavy snow and ice across regions like Ohio, Maryland, D.C., and Kansas.
People make their way during a winter snow storm in Washington, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)(AP)
School closures and state of emergencies
With winds gusting up to 45 mph, local authorities have been forced to take action urging residents to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary. Several states have declared an emergency while power outages have left thousands of customers in Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana in the dark. From Missouri to Maryland, storm warnings have been issued.
Impacted states
According to Newsweek, all public schools in Washington D.C. have been closed, coinciding with President-elect Donald Trump’s meeting with U.S. Congress.
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Missouri: Heavy snowfall of 10 to 14 inches in parts of central and northeast Missouri has led to school closures, especially in counties like Jackson and Vinton, Newsweek reports. School closures in Boone County and St. Louis County were also announced.
Kansas: Kansas is experiencing blizzard-like conditions. Travels are completely disrupted. As a result, schools across the state, including Shawnee County, Wichita Public Schools, and Lawrence Public Schools, have announced closure.
Indiana: Indiana is suffering a massive power outage, meanwhile emergency has been declared. Several school districts have been affected, with Indianapolis Public Schools, Perry Township Schools, and Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation all closing.
Also read: Major US winter blast shuts down government offices in several states, stirs dangerous travel conditions
Kentucky: Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency, and many school districts have canceled classes. Schools in Jefferson County and districts in Oldham, Bullitt, Shelby, Spencer, and Greater Clark counties have all closed. Fayette County Public Schools and numerous other districts in Kentucky have followed suit.
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Maryland: Heavy snowfall has hit Maryland. Governor Wes Moore declared a state of emergency as the storm began affecting the state.. Schools in Baltimore City, Cecil County, Harford County, Carroll County, Anne Arundel County, and Howard County have all closed due to the storm’s impact.
Washington D.C.: In the nation’s capital, Winter Storm Blair has caused all public schools to close, as the city prepares for snow and bitter cold temperatures.
What to know about Winter storm Blair
According to the National Weather Service, the winter storm which has been named Blair could bring “the heaviest snowfall in at least a decade.” According to BBC, AccuWeather forecaster Dan DePodwin said: “This could lead to the coldest January for the US since 2011.”
Also read: Kamala Harris to certify Trump’s win four years after Capitol attack, calls her role a ‘sacred obligation’: Watch
The storm has severely affected the travel sector. Hundreds of flights have been canceled, and many major roads and highways have been declared hazardous due to snow and ice accumulation. Power outages have affected hundreds of thousands of residents in Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana. Additionally, frigid temperatures in southern states have led to freeze warnings in areas like Florida.
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“Whiteout conditions will make travel extremely hazardous, with impassable roads and a high risk of motorists becoming stranded,” the NWS said.
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