Ohio
Trump says he will visit Springfield, Ohio, 'in the next two weeks'
Former President Donald Trump said at a rally Wednesday that he would travel to Springfield, Ohio, the focal point of unsubstantiated claims targeting Haitian migrants, “in the next two weeks.”
“I’m going to go there in the next two weeks. I’m going to Springfield, and I’m going to Aurora” in Colorado, Trump said at a rally in Uniondale, New York.
Trump has pushed baseless claims that Haitian migrants in the beleaguered Ohio city are eating pets, which have repeatedly been debunked. His running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, and the ticket’s allies have also spread the lie.
As for Aurora, Trump has repeatedly spread debunked rumors related to Venezuelans in the city.
Social media posts spread online falsely claiming that a Venezuelan gang had taken over an apartment complex, which local officials denied. Trump has repeatedly invoked both Springfield and Aurora at his rallies.
“You may never see me again, but that’s OK. Got to do what I got to do,” Trump added. “‘Whatever happened to Trump?’ ‘Well, he never got out of Springfield.’”
Springfield Mayor Rob Rue, a Republican, said at a news conference Tuesday that a visit from Trump “would be an extreme strain on our resources.”
“So it’d be fine with me if they decided not to make that visit,” he said.
NBC News has reported that Trump planned to visit Springfield “soon.”
As Trump, Vance and their allies repeatedly spread false claims about the city, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said at least 33 bomb threats have been made in Springfield. DeWine, a Republican, said some of them are coming from “one particular country,” which he declined to name.
The president of the Haitian Community Support Center in Springfield told NBC News that the conspiracy theory has made Haitians “scared for their lives.”
Trump has spread false claims about Haitian migrants at his rallies and during his debate last week against Vice President Kamala Harris.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs,” Trump said, falsely, during the debate. “The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
Springfield officials said there are “no credible reports” to support the claim.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for further information about his plans for a trip.
Ohio
Judge rejects 2nd Amendment argument from illegal immigrant living in Ohio charged over possession of 170 guns
A federal judge denied a request to dismiss a gun charge against an illegal immigrant in Ohio who had been in the U.S. for more than 15 years, rejecting the man’s argument that he has a right to bear arms.
Carlos Serrano-Restrepo was charged earlier this year and was subsequently indicted for possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully in the U.S., according to WSYX.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives began investigating and watching Serrano-Restrepo after he purchased at least 22 firearms, and claimed to be a U.S. citizen on the firearms forms.
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Agents conducted a search of his home and seized roughly 170 firearms, tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition and smoke/marine markers.
Serrano-Restrepo said some of the guns were purchased for self-defense.
Photos that agents took at his home revealed he kept firearms in gun safes. Some handguns were also mounted in holsters on the wall of a closet.
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The suspect’s lawyer submitted a motion to dismiss the charge on the argument that he has the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment.
The judge denied his motion to dismiss the charge on Thursday, writing in his opinion that “disarming unlawful immigrants like Mr. Serrano-Restrepo who have not sworn allegiance to the United States comports with the Nation’s history and tradition of firearm regulations.”
“Mr. Serrano-Restrepo’s as-applied challenge lacks merit,” the judge continued. “The swearing of an oath of allegiance occurs through the naturalization process, not through his asylum application or his years of living in the United States.”
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His trial is scheduled for Jan. 21, 2025.
Serrano-Restrepo moved from Arizona to Orient, Ohio, in 2022. He told the court he last unlawfully entered the U.S. in 2008.
He also owns a business that remediates fire and flooding damage.
Ohio
Ohio State Buckeyes’ Biggest Weakness Revealed Before Michigan Game
Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes were able to take care of business against the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday. Now, they are set to prepare for the massive rivalry matchup against the Michigan Wolverines to end the regular season.
Ohio State has been unable to beat Michigan for the last three years. In order to get a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game, they’ll need to snap that losing streak.
At this point in the year, the Buckeyes absolutely look like a national championship favorite. However, there is one weakness that is worth monitoring.
David Pollack, a former star college football linebacker and a current analyst, spoke out about the one weakness that he sees with Ohio State.
“I don’t see a lot of gamewreckers,” Pollack said. “But I don’t see a lot of weaknesses, except at the cornerback spot. I’ve got to address the cornerback spot as a weakness. I’ve seen enough to know. There are enough penalties back there, enough flags, enough big plays that it’s not a strength.”
All season long, the Buckeyes’ cornerbacks have underperformed. Denzel Burke has looked nothing like the expected first-round pick talent that he was being hyped up to be. Davison Igbinosun has been heavily penalized and has struggled as well.
Going up against other elite national championship contenders will be a tough task with a struggling secondary.
Outside of the cornerback position, everything else seems to look solid. If they can fix the issues and get better production out of it, they would be a much more complete contender.
Thankfully, the talent is there for them to improve. Both Burke and Igbinosun are talented players who have simply struggled this season. They are more than capable of turning things around.
All of that being said, the stage has been set for Ohio State and Michigan. On paper, the Buckeyes should be able to dominate the game, but rivalry games can get tricky. It will be interesting to see what ends up happening.
Ohio
Paul Finebaum names CFP National Champion favorite between Oregon, Ohio State
With just one week remaining in the regular season, there is only one team across all of college football that remains undefeated at this point: the Oregon Ducks.
So, it stands to reason that the undefeated Ducks should be the favorite to end the 2024 hoisting the College Football Playoff National Championship trophy, right?
Not according to SEC Network host and ESPN personality Paul Finebaum.
“I’m ‘Paul Out’ with block letters. I don’t even think Oregon is the best team in the Big Ten, let alone the favorite to win it all,” Finebaum said during Sunday morning’s ‘Paul-In, Paul-Out’ segment on ESPN’s SportsCenter. “And thanks Ducks fans waking up on the West coast, I’m aware that you beat Ohio State. But Ohio State, to me, looks like the best team in the country.
“I think they’ll have a fun game in a couple of weeks in the Big Ten championship game, and both are going to go to the Playoffs and be in very good shape. But Oregon, to me, looks a tad below Ohio State.”
As Finebaum reminded the college football world, this exact matchup has already been decided on the field once this season, with the Ducks eking out a 32-31 win in Eugene in mid-October. While it’s not official yet, all expectations are Oregon (11-0, 8-0 B10) and Ohio State (10-1, 7-1) will meet again in the Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis.
But in the meantime, Finebaum is sticking by the preseason favorite Buckeyes.
Ryan Day wanted to ‘leave no doubt’ vs. Indiana
Ryan Day wanted to leave no doubt during Ohio State’s 38-15 win over Indiana Saturday in Columbus and it certainly worked out by the time the game came to its conclusion.
After trailing 7-0, Ohio State ripped off 31 straight points to erase any opportunity of the Hoosiers pulling off the biggest win in school history. The Buckeyes and Hoosiers came in No. 2 and 5 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.
But with Day and Ohio State one step closer to the Big Ten Championship vs. Oregon, they can put this game to rest.
“Game got a flip there with the punt return (for a touchdown by Caleb Downs),” Day told FOX’s Jenny Taft postgame. “I thought, you know, we had a chance to really separate ourselves in the first half. We didn’t do that. I thought we played well in the second half. I thought we played physical all across the board, and our guys had a great look in their eye. And so now it’s onto the rivalry game.”
As far as scoring the final touchdown, despite a 31-15 lead with less than two minutes to go, Day and Ohio State wanted to leave their mark.
“Well, you say, leave no doubt,” Day said. “And you know, these guys want to finish the game the right way. TreVeyon (Henderson) did the right thing going down at the one-yard line. We ate up the clock. We didn’t want to put the defense back out there. You just never know in games like this, it’s a top five matchup. So we wanted to finish it the right way and make sure that everybody knows that this is the Ohio State Buckeyes.”
Nick Kosko contributed to this report.
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