February 26, 2022 | The Ohio Star

Ohio Redistricting Commission Passes Third Set of State Legislative Maps

February 26, 2022February 25, 2022 The Center Square

The GOP-dominated Ohio Redistricting Commission has passed its third set of state legislative maps, a week after a court-ordered deadline and with one Republican objection.

The 4-3 commission vote means if the maps are approved by the Ohio Supreme Court, they last only four years rather than the traditional 10 that would have happened with bipartisan support on the commission.

Commission Co-Chair and House Speaker Bob Cupp, R-Lima, said the new maps, which were passed late Thursday, met all the constitutional requirements established when voters created the commission and twice when the court ruled previous maps were unfairly gerrymandered to benefit Republicans.

Commentary: Russian’s Invasion of Ukraine Has the Potential to Embolden China

February 26, 2022February 25, 2022 Ohio Star Staff

With a reconnaissance plane in tow Thursday, a small fleet of eight fighters deliberately probed disputed airspace before scrambled jets scared them away, an air-to-air episode that may be part of the larger international epoch which President Biden frequently describes as one of “democracy versus autocracy.” But these weren’t Russian fighters. They were Chinese.

U.S. Senate to Vote on Extreme Abortion Bill Pennsylvania ‘Pro-Life’ Democrat Says He Will Vote to Debate

February 26, 2022February 26, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has scheduled a vote on legislation that would embed abortion on demand, at any time during pregnancy, into federal law, making invalid many individual state pro-life laws.

The Senate will vote February 28 on the abortion lobby’s Women’s Health Protection Act (S. 1975), sponsored by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and self-described “pro-life” Senator Bob Casey, Jr., (D-PA) has said he will vote for debate on the bill.

Another Key Inflation Indicator Surged to Highest Level Since 1983

February 26, 2022February 25, 2022 Ohio Star Staff

woman in a grocery aisle with a mask and backpack on

A key inflation indicator increased to its highest level in 38 years while consumer demand remained strong despite soaring prices, the Commerce Department announced Friday.

The Commerce Department’s personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index grew 5.2% in January, exceeding the 5.1% Dow Jones estimate, the Commerce Department reported. The PCE is the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, and January’s figure marks monthly the largest year-over-year increase since April 1983.

The PCE increased 0.5% on a monthly basis in January, the same pace as the previous three months, according to the Commerce Department. Including food and energy prices, overall PCE surged 6.1% since January 2021, marking the most annual growth since February 1982.

National Pro-Life Leaders React to Biden Supreme Court Nominee Who Worked to Defend Partial Birth Abortion

February 26, 2022February 25, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

National pro-life leaders say President Joe Biden’s choice of Ketanji Brown Jackson to fulfill his promise to nominate a black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court also fits his administration’s aggressive pro-abortion stance since Jackson has shown her support for “radical” and “extreme” abortion measures.

“Joe Biden is fulfilling his promise to only appoint justices who support the Roe v. Wade regime of abortion on demand up to birth – a policy so extreme only a handful of countries in the world hold it, including North Korea and China,” said Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) President Marjorie Dannenfelser in a statement.

The Ohio Star Podcast, February 25, 2022: GOP Senate Hopeful Mike Gibbons; Nigel Farage Talks Trump, Ukraine and DeSantis

February 26, 2022March 18, 2022 Neil W. McCabe

In this episode of The Ohio Star Podcast host Neil W. McCabe, the national political editor of The Star News Network, has interviews from his time at the Conservative Political Action Conference held Feb. 23 through Feb. 27 in Orlando, Florida. The first guest is Star reporter Peter D’Abrosca,…

Biden Announces ‘Devastating’ Sanctions and Deployment of 7,000 Additional Troops to Europe

February 26, 2022February 25, 2022 Ohio Star Staff

Joe Biden announced on Thursday that an additional 7,000 U.S. troops will be deployed to Germany, bringing the total of U.S. troops sent to Europe this month to 12,000. On February 2, 1,700 troops were ordered to Poland, and 300 to Germany. Another 3,000 troops were added to Poland on Feb. 11, as the crisis loomed.

The U.S. forces are being deployed to bolster NATO’s defenses as Russia continues its military incursion into Ukraine.

Speaking from the East Room of the White House, Biden stressed that U.S. soldiers will not be going to Ukraine and will not be fighting Russian troops.

Commentary: The Undeniable Common Sense of Border Walls

February 26, 2022February 25, 2022 Ohio Star Staff

Although it sometimes may seem as though we live in a complex world and our country is beset with crises on all fronts, it is important to recognize that some of the most effective remedies are elegantly simple. They have worked for centuries and would work again today. We only lack the will as a people to implement them with conviction, and to shun the cacophony of malcontents who would seek to complicate sensible solutions.

Music Spotlight: Hippies and Cowboys

February 26, 2022February 25, 2022 Bethany Bowman

Hippies and Cowboys bring a fresh vintage flair in their new single, taking you back to the days of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin, CCR, and Aerosmith. Recorded at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, the band’s debut single, “20 to Life” is not to be missed.

Biden’s Supreme Court Nominee a Slam Dunk for Democrats

February 26, 2022February 25, 2022 Ohio Star Staff

President Biden announced Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his nominee to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jackson, who donated to and worked with former President Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, has a record of rulings that seemingly favor Democrats.

In a 2015 ruling, for example, she declined to force former Hillary Clinton aide Philipe Reines to explain why he used a private account for work-related emails, according to Politico.

CDC Set to Announce Easing of Mask Guidelines

February 26, 2022February 25, 2022 Ohio Star Staff

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is allegedly set to announce an easing of mask restrictions on the national level.

Fox News reports that the updated guidelines will focus less on the overall number of cases, and will instead emphasize a community’s general risk of spreading the coronavirus. As such, current guidelines apply to individuals who live in communities with allegedly “substantial or high transmission.” The CDC claims, without evidence, that 95 percent of all counties in the United States qualify as “high transmission.”

The new guidelines will apparently not apply to most Americans, as the new criteria will factor in hospitalizations with the overall capacity of local medical facilities. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky has said that the new guidelines will focus more on “enhanced prevention efforts.”

Roger Stone Sues January 6 Panel in Bid to Block Access to Phone Records

February 26, 2022February 25, 2022 Ohio Star Staff

Longtime Donald Trump ally and political adviser Roger Stone has filed a lawsuit to try to prevent AT&T from turning over his phone records to the Democrat-controlled House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Ohio Gov. DeWine and Minnesota Gov. Walz Issue Bipartisan Response to Russian Invasion of Ukraine

February 26, 2022February 25, 2022 Peter D'Abrosca

Two governors who serve as co-chairs of the bipartisan, presidentially-appointed Council of Governors – meant to give advice and opinions to the United States President’s Office along with heads of executive branch agencies like the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – Friday denounced Russia’s…