The morning newsletter of the Ohio Capital Journal
Reporting for the People
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By David DeWitt | Editor in Chief
Good morning Ohio!
Nearly 75 Haitians living in Ohio have been detained at one of four Ohio detention facilities that contract with ICE since President Trump took away their protected status on July 27 — a 142.3% increase, according to a new report.
Signs at a rally for Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Wright State University student, who died in an apparent suicide, that his family said happened he was forced to wear an ankle monitor by ICE. (Photo by Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal).
By Megan Henry
“Only 8% of the Haitians being detained in Springfield have had removal orders,” Springfield ICE Watch said in a statement. “ICE has been most often seen in Springfield doing traffic stops in the middle of the road while people are on their way to or from work, or in the parking lots of apartment complexes with high immigrant populations, grocery stores, and gas stations.”
By Susan Tebben
Head Start programs across Ohio are getting grant money from the federal government, a boost after turmoil and funding uncertainty since early 2025.
By Morgan Trau, WEWS
Ohioans can now use cryptocurrency to pay business filings and fees. Sec. of State Frank LaRose's office is accepting credit cards, checks, and cryptocurrency for transactions like filing for a new business, getting a trademark, or getting a minister's license.
By Marcus Baram, Capital & Main
The tide may be turning on data centers in Ohio, but when it comes to how the state generates its power, fossil fuel interests are using the moment to entrench themselves and box out solar and wind.
COMMENTARY
Signs at a rally for Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Wright State University student, who died in an apparent suicide, that his family said happened he was forced to wear an ankle monitor by ICE. (Photo by Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal).
By Richard T. Herman
An Economic Policy Institute calculator estimates that the average Ohio federal income-taxpayer will shoulder about $1,670 to finance Trump’s mass-deportation campaign. Ohio’s total share is nearly $6.9 billion through the remainder of Trump’s term.
By Rebecca Kusner
As JobsOhio spends another $300 million directing state resources to its preferred version of economic development, Ohio should ask: Could some of those resources do substantially more if JobsOhio stopped deciding how all of them were spent?
STATELINE
The big challenges and policy issues that cross state lines.
By Alex Brown
Trump’s top wildlife official has expanded a rollback of endangered species protections much further than the feds told the public. Individuals and industries may kill endangered animals in the course of logging projects, developments and other activities, it said.
By Nada Hassanein
Women giving birth in rural communities were more likely than peers in urban areas to receive oral opioid prescriptions for pain upon leaving the hospital after a cesarean section, according to a new analysis of data from half a million C-sections.
By Kelcie Moseley-Morris
A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit challenging changes to the way grants are awarded under a program that provides funding for services such as family planning and reproductive health wellness exams.
THE RUNDOWN
News from other states
By Rudi Keller, Missouri Independent
The last legal battle over Missouri’s 2025 redistricting plan played out Thursday, with a panel of federal appeals court judges hearing from Republicans that they should reinstate the map designed to help the GOP flip a Democratic-held congressional seat.
NATIONAL NEWS
By David Lightman
The 2026 issue that draws huge support from Republicans and Democrats in Congress is the same one that’s mobilized many Americans: restrictions on giant data centers. While Congress looks to act, the biggest obstacle appears to be President Trump.
By Ashley Murray
A federal judge told the Trump administration a case against Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund is “still alive and kicking.” The administration sought to dismiss the case against Trump’s settlement to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS.
By Ariana Figueroa
A coalition of civil rights groups and union organizations Friday sued the Trump administration to prevent the deployment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to polling locations during November’s midterm elections.
By Ariana Figueroa
A federal appeals court Friday struck down the Trump administration’s policy to quickly send noncitizens to countries they are not from, finding that immigrants must have an opportunity to challenge their removal if they fear for their safety.
Attorney deserts. Ideastream’s Amanda Pirani reports, “In rural Ohio, it’s getting harder to find lawyers for people who can’t afford one.”
In between juggling a growing caseload, Ashland Municipal Court Judge John Good spends a lot of his time trying to find lawyers. He said it’s time he doesn’t have to spare.
“I need to be working on other cases that I have, but I gotta find a lawyer to represent this lady,” he said referring to a case on his docket.
A declining number of local attorneys in the county means Good is down to two people who will serve as court appointed counsel.Everybody who shares the blame. In a Cleveland.com opinion column, Brent Larkin writes, “Disgustingly willing partners in Trump’s lethal overreach have been many.”
In an age of Donald Trump’s tyranny, we are surrounded by sellouts.Millions of Americans now believe that. In his tremendous new book, “Profiles in Cowardice,” veteran journalist Jacob Weisberg goes a way towards proving it.
The book focuses on some of the many so-called leaders Weisberg describes as “the weak and the too willing,” those “who have betrayed their most important civic responsibilities” by capitulating to President Trump’s authoritarian ways.
As Weisberg notes, many in politics, business, the law and education fit that description. His book, labeled “valuable and dauntless” by The New York Times, focuses on a select few. Among this group are Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Sen. Mitch McConnell, journalist Megyn Kelly and former President George W. Bush.The rich. The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Haadiza Ogwude reports, “Ramaswamy could become second-richest U.S. governor ever, Forbes says.”
Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy could become the third-richest elected official if elected later this year, according to Forbes.
If Ramaswamy wins Ohio's 2026 gubernatorial election in November, the 41-year-old businessman-turned-politician would become the nation's second-richest governor and third-wealthiest elected official, wrote the global media company known for its business and finance reporting.
Per the Sept. 20 report, Ramaswamy, whose net worth Forbes estimates at $2.3 billion, would rank behind only President Donald Trump, worth an estimated $7 billion, and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, whose fortune is estimated at $4.2 billion.AI and the future of humanity. The Columbus Dispatch’s Samantha Hendrickson reports, “Is AI a threat? What Ohio experts say about worrying AI revelations.”
AI developers and executives are warning of potential threats to humanity from the rapidly evolving technology. Some experts are unsurprised by these warnings, noting researchers have discussed these risks for years.
Proposed solutions include more transparency, stricter regulations and implementing new safety guidelines before such worries come to fruition.
THE POD
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, FOLKS.
Mahalo!
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