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!
Ohio Democratic candidate for governor, Amy Acton raised $5.2 million during the first quarter, slightly more than GOP frontrunner Vivek Ramaswamy. But then Ramaswamy pulled out his checkbook and loaned his campaign $25 million.
Dr. Amy Acton, left, Democratic candidate for Ohio governor in 2026. And Republican businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, right, who has been officially endorsed for governor by the Ohio Republican Party. (Photos/Graphic by WEWS.)
By Nick Evans and Reilly Ackermann
Democrat Amy Acton raised $5.2 million during the first quarter of this year, and since joining the race for governor, she’s cleared $10 million. It’s an historic sum for the physician who led Ohio’s health department during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite that showing, however, money is likely a race Acton can’t win.
By Morgan Trau, WEWS
A group of Ohio Democrats has introduced a bill that would legalize medically assisted death for terminally ill patients.
By Marty Schladen
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has joined 44 other state attorneys general in calling on the federal government to bring more transparency to prescription-drug transactions.
By Kathiann M. Kowalski, Canary Media
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has joined 44 other state attorneys general in calling on the federal government to bring more transparency to prescription-drug transactions.
COMMENTARY
An aerial view shows an Amazon data center last year in Ashburn, Va. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
By Sean Shaheen and Gregor Henze
Commentary: Many are worried about the possibility of large numbers of data centers raising electricity demand prices. Those are real concerns, but engineering research finds that if designed, constructed, and operated carefully, data centers can actually help the communities that host them.
STATELINE
The big challenges and policy issues that cross state lines.
By Nada Hassanein
A U.S. appeals court ruling last month that upheld West Virginia’s ban on Medicaid coverage for adult gender-affirming surgeries could embolden other states seeking to impose similar restrictions.
THE RUNDOWN
News from other states
By Steph Quinn
A bill to more than quadruple the time childhood sexual abuse victims have to sue their abusers stalled this week in the Missouri Senate after Democrats accused insurance lobbyists of using it to impose shorter limits on personal injury lawsuits.
NATIONAL NEWS
By Jacob Fischler
The alleged shooter at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, D.C., wrote a “manifesto” ahead of his planned attack, President Donald Trump said in a Sunday morning interview on Fox News.
By Ashley Murray
Family and friends of Virginia Roberts Giuffre gathered in the nation’s capital Saturday to mark one year since her death, and to demand justice for victims of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
By Ashley Murray
The Department of Justice dropped its investigation Friday of the Federal Reserve and Chair Jerome Powell over building renovation costs, a move that could open the door for new Fed leadership next month — and signaled a victory for North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis.
By Shauneen Miranda
President Donald Trump is looking to eliminate funding in fiscal 2027 for the agency that serves as the primary federal funding source for libraries and museums nationwide.
By Jacob Fischler
Medicinal marijuana products that are legal at the state level will see looser federal regulation under an order the U.S. Department of Justice published Thursday, while a process that could remove the drug in all forms from the federal list of the most dangerous drugs is set to begin in late June.
By Kelcie Moseley-Morris
A handful of states are considering legislation this session related to menopause and perimenopause, including proposals to mandate coverage and others to include work protections for people experiencing symptoms related to the conditions. Others have already said no to similar bills.
CATCHING OUR EYE
Norfolk Southern. The Associated Press’ Josh Funk is reporting,”Norfolk Southern’s profit fell 27% as it didn’t collect big insurance payments for Ohio derailment.”
Norfolk Southern railroad’s first-quarter profit fell 27% because it didn’t collect big insurance payments related to the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment and its planned merger with Union Pacific added to its costs.The Atlanta-based railroad said Friday that it earned $547 million, or $2.43 per share. That’s down from $750 million, or $3.31 per share, a year ago. The disastrous derailment in the small town on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border has generally boosted earnings in recent quarters as the railroad collected insurance payments, but that wasn’t the case this time, so it combined with planning costs related to the merger, earnings per share were reduced by 22 cents. Last year’s results were also helped by some land sales.
Without those unusual costs, the railroad’s profit would have beat Wall Street estimates. The analysts surveyed by FactSet Research predicted the railroad would earn $2.51 per share.
Springfield. WYSO’s Kathryn Mobley is reporting, “Springfield resident a plaintiff in national TPS lawsuit soon headed to Supreme Court.”
On April 29, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments challenging the Trump administration’s attempts to terminate Temporary Protected Status for Haiti and Syria. One of the plaintiffs is Springfield resident Vilès Dorsainvil.Since 2021, he’s lived in the Springfield community under TPS, founded the Haitian Support Center and serves as its executive director. Dorsainvil is also an active Moravian pastor.
Newsrooms. The Ohio Newsroom’s Kendall Crawford is reporting, “This Ohio newspaper avoids the internet. Its readers like it that way.”
Every week, Milo Miller is in charge of publishing a paper. Instead of relying on a newsroom full of beat reporters and columnists, his paper The Budget looks to handwritten letters from across the country.“These would be letters that came today,” he said as he leafed through a basket of letters. “[There’s] Williamsburg, Kentucky; Millersburg, Ohio; Rexford Montana…”
The contents of each piece of snail mail will be printed in the next edition of the weekly paper and distributed across the country to tens of thousands of readers.
THE POD
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, FOLKS.
Mahalo!
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