Ohio GOP Senate Hopeful Josh Mandel on Primary Foe Criticizing Him for Being Jewish: ‘I Was Shocked’

Josh Mandel

Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Ohio Josh Mandel said he was “shell-shocked” when GOP primary opponent Mark Pukita criticized him during a debate for being Jewish, calling it “unbelievable.”

“I would say some of my strongest and most passionate supporters are Christian activists throughout the state of Ohio,” Mandel told the John Solomon Reports podcast on Thursday. “And I’m so proud of that.”

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Ohio Gov. DeWine Will Veto Bill Banning School Vaccine Mandates

After signing a bill earlier this year that banned Ohio’s public schools and universities from mandating vaccines that have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Gov. Mike DeWine (R) will reportedly veto a similar bill if it passed by the state Senate. 

“A school, private college, or state institution of higher education shall not require a student to receive any of the following utilizing messenger ribonucleic acid, deoxyribonucleic acid, or any other genetic vaccine technology and for which the United States food and drug administration has not issued a biologics license or otherwise granted full approval,” HB 218 says. 

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Commentary: The Left Is All of a Sudden Worried About the End of Democracy

What is behind recent pessimistic appraisals of democracy’s future, from Hillary Clinton, Adam Schiff, Brian Williams and other elite intellectuals, media personalities, and politicians on the Left? Some are warning about its possible erosion in 2024. Others predict the democracy downturn as early 2022, with scary scenarios of “autocracy” and Trump “coups.” 

To answer that question, understand first what is not behind these shrill forecasts. 

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Nike Executives Funneled Money to Democrat Who Blocked Uyghur Forced Labor Bill

Several top Nike executives funneled more than $60,000 to the re-election campaign of Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden over the course of just 16 days in September.

On Wednesday evening, Wyden blocked the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act which the House passed unanimously Tuesday and the Senate was expected to overwhelmingly approve. President Joe Biden vowed to sign the bill once passed by both chambers and work with Congress to “ensure global supply chains are free of forced labor,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

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Five Governors Request Defense Department Withdraw Vaccine Mandate for National Guard

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is joining four other state governors in requesting the Department of Defense withdraw vaccine mandate directives to National Guard members in Title 32 duty status.

U.S. National Guard members’ deadline to be vaccinated was Dec. 2. Nearly 50,000 military members across all branches have declined to get vaccinated, Reynolds’ office’s news release said.

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Commentary: DC Bar Association Restores Convicted FBI Russiagate Lawyer to ‘Good Standing’ Amid Irregularities

A former senior FBI lawyer who falsified a surveillance document in the Trump-Russia investigation has been restored as a member in “good standing” by the District of Columbia Bar Association even though he has yet to finish serving out his probation as a convicted felon, according to disciplinary records obtained by RealClearInvestigations.

The move is the latest in a series of exceptions the bar has made for Kevin Clinesmith, who pleaded guilty in August 2020 to doctoring an email used to justify a surveillance warrant targeting former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

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Los Angeles Schools Delay Forcing Thousands of Unvaccinated Students Back to Online Learning

Los Angeles Unified School District will hold off enforcement until the start of the Fall 2022 semester for a vaccine mandate that would have moved thousands of students out of the classroom and into remote learning.

The LAUSD’s Board of Education voted Tuesday to suspend enforcement of a vaccine mandate for all students 12 and older until the fall. The original mandate, which passed in September, required students to show proof of full vaccination or obtain an exemption by Jan. 10, 2022, to continue attending in-person classes.

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Jobless Claims Rise from a 52-Year Low

Unemployment sign

The number of Americans who filed new unemployment claims totaled 206,000 in the week ending Dec. 11 as the tight labor market continues to recover, though it remains far from pre-pandemic levels.

The Labor Department figure shows an 18,000 claim increase compared to the week ending Dec. 4 when jobless claims reached 184,000. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal projected claims to increase to just 195,000 from the previous week’s figure.

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Congress Passes $770 Billion Defense Bill, Prevents Discharge over Vaccine Refusal

Congress passed a $770 billion defense bill Wednesday, authorizing a wide range of military spending for the next year.

The Senate passed the bipartisan 2022 National Defense Authorization Act with an 89-10 vote, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden. The bill, which is passed annually in some form, includes a revamp of how the the military deals with sexual assaults as well as a 2.7% pay increase for military members and employees at the Department of Defense.

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Mexican National Funneled Drug Money to Mexico Through Ohio Banks

A Mexican national this week was convicted of funneling drug profits through Ohio banks to a cartel in Mexico.

“Susana Ramirez Orozco pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to commit money laundering in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles,” according to Cleveland.com. “She served as a financial conduit between large-scale drug peddlers and the banks.”

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Ohio Health Department Won’t Say Which Version of Pfizer Vaccine It Is Distributing

Following Wednesday’s story in which The Ohio Star reported that Pfizer is currently still shipping it’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) COVID-19 vaccine, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) won’t say which version of the vaccine it is distributing. 

ODH is responsible for acquiring and distributing at least some of the state’s supply of COVID-19 vaccines, though Alicia Shoults of the ODH’s Office of Public Affairs told The Star by phone Thursday afternoon that some healthcare providers procure the vaccine directly from the federal government. 

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