Southeast
JD Vance's hometown of Middletown, Ohio, was built by steel industry: What to know about it
Former President Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, returned to Middletown, Ohio, on Monday as the senator’s hometown sits at the crossroads of the heartland crisis that has shaped American politics in recent decades.
“This town was so good to me,” the GOP senator said during a rally at Middletown High School in Ohio, from which he graduated in 2003.
“I came from Middletown, Ohio. I’m proud of it,” he said, “and I’ll never forget where I came from.”
ROCK-SOLID FAMILY VALUES AND THE AMERICAN DREAM ARE KEY TO JD VANCE’S STORY AND WHAT HE’LL DO FOR OUR COUNTRY
Middletown has been a heavy-industry hub since the first steelmaker arrived in 1900. Recent history and discussions with local residents paint the picture of a Middle American community that appears to have survived Rust Belt decay better than most.
Yet Middletown also faces the challenges of a post-industrial small town and rural America that has felt ignored by Washington, D.C. elites for decades.
Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, arrives for a campaign rally with his wife Usha Vance at Middletown High School on July 22, 2024, in Middletown, Ohio. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Even with a steel-mill anchor, Middletown trails the nation in several measures of success and opportunity.
Simmering discontent fueled by similar situations has fomented the political upheaval captured by Trump’s Make America Great Again revolution.
“Middletown is a working, blue-collar community more than anything,” Zachary Johnson, a clerk at Central Pastry, told Fox News Digital on Monday.
“I came from Middletown, Ohio. I’m proud of it, and I’ll never forget where I came from.”
Vance shouted out Central Pastry, a 75-year-old family-owned local landmark bakery, during his rally Monday.
Here’s a look at the city “that made” Vance.
Middletown is a classic Rust Belt, steel-making city
Steelmaker Armco arrived in Middletown in 1900, giving the city of 51,000 residents today its industrial heartland identity.
“We are a town that has a rich history in steel manufacturing,” Middletown communications director Clayton Castle told Fox News Digital.
Armco later became AK Steel.
A mound of coking coal sits piled near the blast furnace at the AK Steel Holding Corp. mill in Middletown, Ohio, in 2016. AK Steel was acquired by Cleveland-Cliffs in 2020. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
It was acquired in 2020 by Cleveland-Cliffs, which touts itself online as the “largest flat-rolled steel company in North America and a leading supplier of automotive-grade steel.”
It operates Middletown Works, which is the largest employer in the city, said Castle.
AMERICAN CULTURE QUIZ: TEST YOURSELF ON PRESIDENTS, COUNTRY QUEENS AND THE BIG KAHUNA
The city spokesperson added, “Most people, when you ask them — they work themselves or know somebody who works or worked in a steel factory at some point. Steel is ingrained in the fabric of our community.”
Vance’s own grandfather found work at Armco.
Middletown highlights Ohio’s clout as political bell cow
Ohioans voted for the winning candidate in every presidential election from 1964 to 2016.
The streak ended in 2020, when Trump earned a sizable 53% to 45% victory in Ohio over national winner Joe Biden.
Former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance (Fox News)
Middletown represents the complex mix of cultures and urban-rural contrasts that make Ohio an important bellwether of American political trends and a top prize in presidential politics.
It’s located 30 miles northeast of Cincinnati and 20 miles southwest of Dayton.
The city developed along the east bank of the Great Miami River; the west bank remains almost completely rural.
MUSEUM OF THE BIBLE IN WASHINGTON, DC, OFFERS NEW INTERACTIVE EXHIBIT ON WORSHIP
Interstate 75, which connects Miami, Florida, to Detroit, Michigan, before finally ending on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, passes just east of downtown Middletown.
Middletown is MAGA country
Middletown is located in Butler County, which broke even heavier for Trump in 2020 than did wider Ohio.
More than 61% of voters in the county pulled the lever for Trump in the last presidential election, compared with just 37% voting for Biden.
Guests attend a campaign rally hosted by Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio at Middletown High School on July 22, 2024, in Middletown, Ohio. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Local steelmaker plans $1.8B investment in Middletown, with federal aid
The conundrum caused by the ever-growing role of government and environmental regulations in big business is evident in a recent announcement by Cleveland-Cliffs that it’s investing $1.3 billion in its Middletown foundry – with an additional $500 million from the Department of Energy.
“This investment will secure 2,500 jobs at Middletown Works, where the unionized workforce is represented by the International Association of Machinists,” the Journal-News of Butler County reported in March.
“This is absolutely huge for the men and women who work here, and for the community,” Shawn Coffey, union president of Local 1943, told the local publication.
The investment is to “accelerate industrial decarbonization technologies” and create “substantial reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,” Cleveland-Cliffs said in a March statement.
Middletown is not the Appalachia chronicled in ‘Hillbilly Elegy’
Vance’s rise to national prominence came with the success of his 2016 autobiography and cultural critique “Hillbilly Elegy,” which offers a stark look at the struggles and fates of families and communities of rural Appalachia — including his own.
“Hillbilly Elegy” became a Ron Howard-directed movie in 2020. This past weekend it soared back into the Top 10 list of Netflix films, the result of Trump’s VP pick of Vance and the senator’s speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee late last week.
The book is based upon his family’s heritage in rural Jackson, Kentucky.
It’s about 60 miles southwest of Butcher Hollow, Kentucky — made famous as the home of country music queen and “Coal Miner’s Daughter” Loretta Lynn.
As Vance notes in his bestselling book, his great-grandparents left the hills of eastern Kentucky seeking a better life in industrial Middletown.
Jackson, Kentucky remains Vance’s ‘home’
Vance lived most of his childhood in Middletown, moving from house to house with a mother suffering from addiction.
He spent summers with his grandmother – his “Mamaw” – in Jackson, living among and observing the cultural decay of poor, rural America that became the source of “Hillbilly Elegy.”
“Hillbilly Elegy” by author JD Vance is shown on display in New York City. (Bill Tompkins/Getty Images)
He explained the complicated existence in the book.
TRUMP ‘STOOD THERE LIKE A MAN’ AFTER BEING SHOT, WILL SOAR SPIRITUALLY AND POITICALLY, SAYS REAGAN INSIDER
“My address is where I spent most of my time with my mother and sister, wherever that might be. But my home never changed: my great-grandmother’s house, in the holler, in Jackson, Kentucky.”
Vance called Middletown, Ohio ‘Middletucky’
Middletown is 200 miles north of Jackson.
But, according to Vance, the two communities are tightly connected by culture, values and small-community struggles.
“Thanks to the massive migration from the poorest regions of Appalachia to places like Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Illinois, hillbilly values spread widely along with hillbilly people,” Vance wrote in “Hillbilly Elegy.”
Amy Adams and Glenn Close led the “Hillbilly Elegy” cast. The Ron Howard film based on J.D. Vance’s bestselling 2016 book of the same name was released in 2020. (Netflix)
“Indeed, Kentucky transplants and their children are so prominent in Middletown, Ohio (where I grew up) that as kids we derisively called it ‘Middletucky.’ People have struggled to get out of Jackson for decades; now they struggle to escape Middletown.”
Middletown closely mirrors America’s makeup
The city’s population is 78.4% White and 11.8% Black, compared with 75.3% and 13.7% nationally, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.
Middletown has a lower population of Asian, Hispanic, Native and foreign-born citizens than the United States as a whole.
Trump’s pick for vice president, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, is shown arriving for the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
But its residents are more likely to be multiracial: 6.6% of Middletowners are of two or more races, compared with just 3.1% nationally.
About 21% of the city’s residents are under age 18, and 18% are over 65, almost exactly the same as national figures.
Middletown trails in higher education and income
The 2020 U.S. Census reports that 34.3% of Americans have a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education; in Middletown, that figure is only 16.1%.
The median household income in Middletown is $50,457, well behind the national figure of $75,149; meanwhile, 19.2% of Middletown residents live in poverty, compared with 11.5% nationwide.
Vance attends a campaign rally on March 16, 2024, in Vandalia, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean, File)
Middletown punches above its weight class in pro sports
The small city has produced an impressive number of hometown heroes who could “escape Middletown” through excellence in athletics.
Philadelphia Phillies All-Star Kyle Schwarber, UFC fighter and Olympic Gold Medalist Kayla Harrison, basketball Hall of Famer Jerry Lucas, and Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Cris Carter all were raised in Middletown.
Kayla Harrison poses prior to the UFC Hall of Fame 2024 Induction Ceremony at T-Mobile Arena on June 27, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
The Middies football team plays on Cris Carter Field at Barnitz Stadium.
Brooklyn Decker, the former Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover model and wife of retired tennis star Andy Roddick, also once called Middletown home, according to community spokesperson Castle.
‘Ugly’ donut is rumored to be Vance’s favorite local sweet
Leave it to an old-school steel city to embrace an “ugly” donut.
A signature sweet sold at Central Pastry is reportedly Vance’s favorite, according to Central Pastry’s Johnson, a lifelong Middletown resident.
The buttery, yellow-cake donut is soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside — and is coated in a sugary glaze.
Vance and his wife Usha Chilukuri Vance are shown arriving for the RNC at the Fiserv Forum on July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Vance offered a hopeful message for Middletown’s future
The candidate for vice president said on Monday that the community has plenty to offer for the future.
“While my life wasn’t all that different from a lot of people who grew up in Middletown, Ohio, it was tough, but it was surrounded by loving people, and it was surrounded by something that, if we don’t fight, is not going to be around for the next generation of kids,” he said in his remarks at his high school.
“And that’s opportunity. Middletown had an opportunity — and we’ve got to make sure it’s there for the next generation.”
“The community can wrap its arms around someone who is from here and who could possibly have a big impact on our country.”
Johnson, the clerk at locally beloved Central Pastry, echoed the message in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“There are many opportunities here and Middletown is really focused on building community,” he said.
For more Lifestyle articles, visit foxnews.com/lifestyle
“You see it really coming together with sporting events and even stuff like today with J.D. Vance’s rally,” he also said.
“The community can wrap its arms around someone who is from here and who could possibly have a big impact on our country and put Middletown on the map. This could be huge for us.”
Danielle Wallace of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.
Read the full article from Here
Southeast
Former federal prosecutor in death row case speaks on Biden commuting murderer's sentence: 'My heart aches'
A former federal prosecutor in the case that sent a man to death row says it is difficult to see a “remorseless murderer” be relieved of his sentence following President Biden’s decision on Monday to commute nearly all federal inmates facing execution.
Brandon Council, of North Carolina, was sentenced to death by a federal jury on Oct. 3, 2019, after he was found guilty of killing two women who worked at a South Carolina bank during a robbery in 2017.
Council was one of the 37 convicted murderers who will now spend life in prison without parole after Biden reclassified their death sentences.
Derek Shoemake, former assistant U.S. attorney for the District of South Carolina and one of the federal prosecutors in the case against Council, told Fox News Digital it was “one of the greatest professional honors” of his life to pursue justice for victims Donna Major, 59, and Kathryn Skeen, 36, and his heart aches for their families following Biden’s decision.
BIDEN COMMUTES SENTENCES OF 37 FEDERAL DEATH ROW INMATES IN FINAL MONTH OF PRESIDENCY
Donna Major, 59, and Kathryn (Katie) Skeen, 36, were killed in cold blood by Brandon Council while he robbed a South Carolina bank in 2017. (Derek Shoemake)
“Donna and Katie were amazing women, wonderful mothers, and beacons of light in their community. Today my thoughts and prayers are with their families, and my heart aches for them as they process this news,” Shoemake said in a statement.
He also said his thoughts and prayers are with the team who “worked for more than a year” getting justice for Major and Skeen, “ensuring a remorseless murderer received a sentence that spoke to the horrific nature of his senseless crimes.”
Brandon Council is one of 37 federal death row inmates who escaped execution following President Biden’s decision to commute their sentences. (DeathPenaltyInfo.org)
Council entered CresCom Bank in Conway, South Carolina, on Aug. 21, 2017, with the intention of robbing the business and killing its employees, according to a 2017 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina (USAO-SC).
After making it inside, Council shot Major, who was the bank teller, multiple times with a revolver, the USAO-SC said at the time. He then ran into Skeen’s office, where she worked as the bank’s manager, and shot her multiple times while she hid under her desk.
Before fleeing the bank, he stole keys to both victims’ cars, their bank cards and more than $15,000 in cash. He took one of the vehicles to a motel he was staying at, packed his luggage and drove off.
FBI AGENT SAYS BANK ROBBERY SUSPECT BRANDON COUNCIL CONFESSED HE WOULD KILL
“It is difficult to see a sentence wiped away from 400 miles away after it was legally imposed by a jury of men and women from South Carolina who spent weeks listening to evidence, deliberating, and carefully deciding the appropriate punishment,” Shoemake said.
He also said it hurts that the victims’ families “will celebrate yet another Christmas without their loved ones,” while Council is among the 37 federally convicted murderers “celebrating a political victory.”
BIDEN’S DECISION TO COMMUTE SENTENCES FOR DEATH ROW INMATES SPARKS SOCIAL MEDIA FRENZY
Most federal death row inmates were housed at the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
Shoemake said his focus is not on the political debate surrounding Biden’s commutations, but on the “legacy of love, family, and faith” that Major and Skeen embodied.
“I pray for their families, as I so often do, and I pray for all the victims’ families impacted today,” he said.
In a White House statement announcing the commutations on Monday, Biden said he condemns the murderers and their “despicable acts,” and he grieves for the victims and families who have suffered “unimaginable and irreparable loss,” but he “cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted.”
President Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 convicted murderers on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment. He left Tree of Life Synagogue shooter Robert Bowers (left), Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof (middle) and Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (right). (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, from left, Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, FBI via AP)
Only three inmates remain on federal death row as Biden’s presidency nears its end. They are Tree of Life Synagogue shooter Robert Bowers, Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof and Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Read the full article from Here
Southeast
Fani Willis' disqualification from Trump case has 'overwhelming' impact, legal expert says
George Washington University law professor Jonthan Turley said Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was “wrong” to bring the Georgia election interference case against President-elect Trump after a Georgia court disqualified Willis and her team from prosecuting the case on Thursday.
GEORGIA APPEAL COURT DISQUALIFIES DA FANI WILLIS AND HER TEAM FROM TRUMP ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE
JONATHAN TURLEY: The immediate impact of this decision is overwhelming in terms of Willis herself. I mean, this court is basically saying that these cases are not supposed to be sort of vanity projects. You know, you were told by the lower court that you created this appearance of impropriety and the question for the court is why you didn’t remove yourself. Many of us at the time said that most prosecutors would have seen that their continuation of the case was harming the case and harming the public interest. Willis simply refused to give up the ghost and insisted that she wanted to be the lead in this.
…
She was wrong to bring the case against Trump. You know, there are some viable claims here. You know, she charged some people with unlawful entry or access to restricted areas. Those are not particularly serious crimes, but they are crimes. She was wrong to go after Trump on this basis. She clearly wanted to engage in lawfare, and that’s one of the reasons why she wouldn’t give up the case. You know, when this issue was first raised, many of us wrote at the time that the correct move was to remove yourself. You selected a former lover as the lead counsel. That violated, in my view, core ethical requirements. He was ultimately disqualified by the court. But Judge McAfee gave her a chance to do the right thing. He said, look, this is your conduct is wrong here and you can remove yourself. Well, he was talking to the wrong person. She had no interest in removing herself. I mean, lawfare is only valuable if you’re the lead warrior, and she was not going to give up that position.
Fani Willis — the district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia — previously said the allegations brought against her of having an “improper” romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade were made because she is Black. (Getty Images)
The court did not toss Trump’s indictment entirely, but Willis and the assistant DAs working in her office now have “no authority to proceed.”
“After carefully considering the trial court’s findings in its order, we conclude that it erred by failing to disqualify DA Willis and her office,” the filing states. “The remedy crafted by the trial court to prevent an ongoing appearance of impropriety did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed at times when DA Willis was exercising her broad pretrial discretion about who to prosecute and what charges to bring.”
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Trump said the “whole case has been a disgrace to justice.”
“It was started by the Biden DOJ as an attack on his political opponent, Donald Trump,” he said, “They used anyone and anybody, and she has been disqualified, and her boyfriend has been disqualified, and they stole funds and went on trips.”
Trump said the case “should not be allowed to go any further.”
CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Read the full article from Here
Southeast
Fani Willis' reputation 'damaged' after disqualification from Trump case: Georgia reporter
Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Greg Bluestein told MSNBC on Thursday that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s reputation was “damaged” after a court disqualified her and her office from prosecuting President-elect Donald Trump in the election interference case against him.
“Her reputation is damaged, right? This was an unforced error as we said earlier, and, you know, this was all of her own doing, and now it unravels or might unravel one of the signature cases, not just of her career, but in Georgia. It leaves her damaged and it will be interesting to see what case she tries to make when she is expected to appeal this to the Georgia Supreme Court,” Bluestein told MSNBC’s Ana Caberra when asked about what was next for Willis.
The Georgia Court of Appeals on Thursday disqualified Willis and her team from prosecuting Trump and co-defendants in her election interference case. The court did not toss the indictment but declared that Willis and her team now have “no authority to proceed.”
Bluestein noted that Willis had just won re-election in Georgia and that it wasn’t a surprise because Fulton County is a Democratic stronghold.
Reporter tells MSNBC Fani Willis’ reputation is damaged after she was disqualified from prosecuting the case against Trump. (Screenshot/MSNBC)
FANI WILLIS FACES NOTHING BUT SETBACKS IN CASE AGAINST TRUMP, THE LATEST PENDING WITH SUPREME COURT
“After carefully considering the trial court’s findings in its order, we conclude that it erred by failing to disqualify DA Willis and her office,” the filing states. “The remedy crafted by the trial court to prevent an ongoing appearance of impropriety did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed at times when DA Willis was exercising her broad pretrial discretion about who to prosecute and what charges to bring.”
Bluestein said, “It is expected to be appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court, but this is a really decisive order against Fani Willis being able to continue this case.”
Willis, who was spearheading the sweeping prosection case against Trump, came under fire after she was accused in February of having an “improper” affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she had hired to help prosecute the case.
Wade was ultimately forced to step down from the prosecution team.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is seen in Atlanta. (Alyssa Pointer/Getty) (Alyssa Pointer)
JUDGE RULES FANI WILLIS MUST STEP ASIDE FROM TRUMP CASE OR FIRE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR NATHAN WADE
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Trump said the “whole case has been a disgrace to justice.”
Trump additionally said that the case “should not be allowed to go any further.”
Catherine Christian, a former assistant Manhattan district attorney, also weighed in on the disqualification on MSNBC.
“But usually appellate courts defer to the lower court, the trial judge, who fashioned a remedy. He said Nathan Wade, the man she was having an affair with, had to leave so the office could stay, and this court has said, nope. This court said that Judge MacAfee did not really appreciate that her decision-making wasn’t just the indictment. It was who to charge, how to charge it, and that’s at the time when this alleged romantic relationship was going on, and they said that also was one of the reasons why they think it’s more than an appearance of impropriety. It’s a conflict of interest, and not just her, the entire office is disqualified,” Christian said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Fani Willis’ office for comment.
Read the full article from Here
Vance’s home town in Ohio does little to celebrate its famous son’s success
Navy Midshipmen Keys to Beating Oklahoma Sooners in Armed Forces Bowl
Are Safeway, Fred Meyer, Walmart open on Christmas Eve or Christmas in Oregon? See hours
How the Lehigh Valley helped Pennsylvania’s outdoor recreation economy grow to $19B
South Carolina Football Team Scores Massive QB Update
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Why Marjorie Taylor Greene was ‘kicked out’ of the Freedom Caucus according to Rep. Buck
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
Biden vetoes bill that would have given Trump more judicial seats to fill
Five convicted over Amsterdam clashes with Israeli football fans
Fox Star Is All For Trump Blowing $1.5 Trillion on Greenland: ‘Probably Will Pay Off’
Johnson allies urge Trump to intervene as messy speaker battle threatens to delay 2024 certification
Ciolacu's new government sworn in, tasked with bringing stability
-
Business1 week agoFreddie Freeman's World Series walk-off grand slam baseball sells at auction for $1.56 million
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23951353/STK043_VRG_Illo_N_Barclay_3_Meta.jpg "Meta’s Instagram boss: who posted something matters more in the AI age")
Technology1 week agoMeta’s Instagram boss: who posted something matters more in the AI age
-
News1 week agoEast’s wintry mix could make travel dicey. And yes, that was a tornado in Calif.
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24924653/236780_Google_AntiTrust_Trial_Custom_Art_CVirginia__0003_1.png "Google’s counteroffer to the government trying to break it up is unbundling Android apps")
Technology3 days agoGoogle’s counteroffer to the government trying to break it up is unbundling Android apps
-
Politics4 days agoIllegal immigrant sexually abused child in the U.S. after being removed from the country five times
-
News4 days agoNovo Nordisk shares tumble as weight-loss drug trial data disappoints
-
Entertainment5 days ago'It's a little holiday gift': Inside the Weeknd's free Santa Monica show for his biggest fans
-
Politics1 week agoSupreme Court may free Catholic charities from paying state unemployment taxes for their employees