Here are your morning headlines for Tuesday, September 14:
- It’s Election Day in Cleveland
- Cleveland Clinic tightens visitation policies
- Ohio AG Yost explores action against Biden’s vaccine mandate
- Two Democratic lawmakers propose revisions to House and Senate district maps
- Analysis gives 'F' to Ohio House map proposed by Republicans
- Funeral honors northern Ohio sailor killed in suicide bomber attack
- 20 years for man who plotted attack on Ohio synagogue
It’s Election Day in Cleveland
(Cleveland.com) – Cleveland voters on Tuesday will decide the two mayoral candidates who will face off in November. Cleveland.com reports there’s been a 40% increase in absentee ballots returned to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections over 2017. And the increase in absentee and provisional ballots requested means it’s unlikely the winners will be declared tonight.
Cleveland Clinic tightens visitation policies
(WKSU) -- The Cleveland Clinic is tightening visitation policies at all its hospitals as COVID surges in Ohio. Starting Tuesday, most patients will be allowed only one designated visitor during their entire hospital stay. That’s down from two per day. For labor and delivery and pediatrics, patients who test negative for COVID are allowed two visitors or one if the patient is positive.
Ohio AG Yost explores action against Biden’s vaccine mandate
(Statehouse News Bureau) -- Attorney General Dave Yost is looking into possible action against President Joe Biden's vaccine mandate for businesses with more than 100 employees. Yost, who got the COVID-19 vaccine, says the President of the United States doesn't get to force people into getting vaccinated and that Biden is acting unlawfully. House Republicans have sent Yost a letter asking the Ohio attorney to file a lawsuit and injunction once the mandate has been officially published. But Yost has stopped short of saying Ohio would join a potential legal challenge, which other Republican governors in states such as South Dakota and Texas have suggested.
Two Democratic lawmakers propose revisions to House and Senate district maps
(Statehouse News Bureau) -- The two Democrats on the seven-member Ohio Redistricting Commission unveiled their revisions to Republican-drawn maps for the House and Senate at the panel’s hearing in suburban Cleveland Monday evening. The proposal from House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes and Senator Vernon Sykes would give Republicans a majority, but would give Democrats more seats than the current Ohio Legislature or the GOP map accepted by the commission last week. Another hearing will be held Tuesday morning at the Statehouse. The deadline to pass final maps is Wednesday. It must be a unanimous vote to put the maps in place for 10 years. Without it, the maps will only be good for four years.
Analysis gives 'F' to Ohio House map proposed by Republicans
(AP) — Ohio’s new House district map has earned an ‘F’ from an academic lab working to fight gerrymandering. The Princeton Gerrymandering Project, working with the anti-corruption group RepresentUS, says the GOP-drawn boundaries fall short of being fair when compared to a million simulated alternatives. It gave a better score of ‘B’ to the Senate map Ohio Republicans have proposed. The scores came as the two Democrats on the Ohio Redistricting Commission proposed their own map last night.
Funeral honors northern Ohio sailor killed in suicide bomber attack
(AP) — The northern Ohio sailor killed in a suicide bomber attack during the recent evacuation mission in Afghanistan has been laid to rest in his hometown. The funeral for Navy Corpsman Max Soviak, 22, was held Monday at his high school in Erie County's Berlin Heights. Soviak was among 13 U.S. service members killed in the August 26th attack at the Kabul airport. Family members recalled him as an adventurer who threw himself into everything he did with passion.
20 years for man who plotted attack on Ohio synagogue
(AP) — Federal prosecutors say a man who plotted an attack on a Toledo-area synagogue has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Damon Joseph, also known as Abdullah Ali Yusuf, was arrested in 2018 and pleaded guilty in May to attempting to provide material support for the Islamic State terrorist group and attempting to commit a hate crime. Prosecutors say the 23-year-old Joseph drew attention after posting photos of weapons and vows of support for ISIS on social media. The plot was uncovered during Joseph's conversations with undercover FBI agents.
