Free Republic

An Islamic center in Westwood is working to rebuild trust after burglars broke in and vandalized its main hall with a hateful message, even as leaders say the center’s mission to serve the neighborhood will continue. The Cincinnati Islamic Community Center is a modest building in the neighborhood that holds a biweekly food pantry and a trauma workshop with young people in the inner city. Members said the break-in was not the first at the center, but the shock this time was not what was taken; it was the damage left behind. An Islamic center in Westwood is working to...

An Ohio dad pretended to be his 11-year-old daughter on TikTok so he could lure her alleged rapist to his home — where he shot him twice. Diego Montoya Gonzalez, 20, was shot by dad Malik Chandler, 31, in July after the 11-year-old’s mother discovered a video on their daughter’s phone that showed him sexually assaulting the girl at their Grove City, Ohio, home, prosecutors said. The next day, Chandler pretended to be his daughter on TikTok to get Montoya Gonzalez back to their home where he shot him twice, WNBS reported. He told investigators he intended to just beat...

aseball's unwritten rules were broken Sunday afternoon at Progressive Field, at least according to a few members of the Cleveland Guardians. In the top of the sixth inning, Arizona Diamondbacks utility man Tim Tawa attempted to bunt for a base hit with Guardians ace Gavin Williams working on a perfect game. The bunt attempt went foul and catcher Patrick Bailey took off his mask and had words with Tawa. Brayan Rocchio expressed some displeasure from shortstop as well. Tawa lined a legit single to right field on the very next pitch to end the perfect game. A few minutes later,...

Investors from Omaha to Chicago last year bought tens of millions of dollars worth of delinquent property tax debts from Ohio county treasurers, setting new records in several counties. This gives those institutional investors the right to collect on liens, plus up to 18% interest, from Ohioans who are buckling under the weight of post-pandemic leaps on their property tax bills. State lawmakers in 1998 legalized the sale of delinquent tax debt, joining roughly half of U.S. states that do so. Several of Ohio’s biggest counties are now selling record levels of certificates, according to data provided by their treasurers’...

In an obvious case of the pot calling the kettle black, Amy Acton, who is running for governor, is touting her endorsement by Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly known as NARAL Pro-Choice America, formerly known as National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, formerly known as National Abortion Rights Action League, and originally known as National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws), and labeling her opponent as “extreme.” I’ll concede that most Americans’ views are somewhere in the middle on the abortion issue, but I think we need to examine what exactly “extreme” means in this discussion. A consistent...

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved a series of six nominations and seven bills on Wednesday, including a measure to limit the use of vehicles and vehicle technologies developed by foreign entities of concern on American roadways. The bill, introduced by Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, and co-sponsored by Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., would ban the import, sale and operation of vehicles manufactured by companies deemed “foreign entities of concern,” based in certain adversarial nations such as China. It would also ban the use of technologies developed by such countries, including Chinese-developed connected vehicle technologies, in the U.S. “This...

Democratic Senate contenders are dramatically out-raising their Republican peers, according to Federal Election Commission data — with Georgia’s Jon Ossoff and James Talarico in Texas leading the pack. Eight of the top 10 Senate candidate fundraiser this year are Democrats, whose top contestants have raked in $574 million, compared to the Republicans’ $336 million, per the FEC. Incumbent Sen. Ossoff (D-Ga.) is the biggest fundraiser on both sides, having raked in a jaw-dropping $77 million as of June 30, and has a staggering $42.5 million in cash on hand. He’s raised nearly $98 million as a Senate candidate, including the...

Most wildfires in Canada are impossible to fight. As smoke from forest fires in Canada have darkened skies south of the border, lawmakers in Michigan, Ohio and other U.S. states have accused the Canadian authorities of inaction and poor forest management. But most wildfires in Canada spread in such remote, vast areas that they cannot be fought effectively — and are often left to burn. Half of Canada’s wildfires, like the ones now burning in northern Ontario, burn in such areas — either unpopulated or dotted with small Indigenous communities, said Michael Flannigan, an expert on fire management at Thompson...

Cincinnati — For Avondale resident Christopher Adams, going to the grocery store was a twice a week trip. After the store closed, that task may become a lot harder. The neighborhood of Avondale’s only sizable grocery store, The Country Meat Co. Marketplace, announced that it’s shutting its doors on Facebook in early July. It opened in February 2025, and when it closed the “now open” banner still hung above the door. Before the store opened, Avondale was considered a “food desert.” Many of its residents lived more than a mile away from a grocery store that could provide nutritious, fresh...

The city of Columbus, Ohio, home to one of the largest Somali populations in the United States, is facing backlash on social media over a now-deleted post celebrating the raising of the Somali flag. "Happy Somali Independence Day!" The Columbus Recreation and Parks Department posted on X on Wednesday. "As we celebrate the unification of the Trust Territory of Somaliland and the State of Somaliland into the Somali Republic in 1960, City Hall will be raising the flag of Somalia. " The post was quickly picked up by conservatives on social media, with many wondering why the city of Columbus...

The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding tells Iran that Hezbollah survives and Israel leaves. The Trilateral Framework says that Hezbollah disarms and that, until it does, Israel stays in Lebanon. The negotiations with Iran were led by Vice President JD Vance, who never wanted this war and made no secret of his wish to end it cheaply. He produced the Islamabad MOU, the paper Iran's regime wanted to hear. The Trilateral Framework was created by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has spent his career treating Iran's proxy network as a threat to be dismantled rather than soothed. Iran negotiated the...

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) shared that he would reintroduce former Sen. Harry Reid’s (D-NV) “exact bill” that would not only eliminate birthright citizenship for the children of illegal migrants, but also clarify who can receive birthright citizenship. In a post on X, Moreno responded to another post from Fox News’s Bill Melugin, who shared that in 1993, Reid had introduced the Immigration Stabilization Act of 1993. Moreno stated that they would “see how today’s DC Democrats will vote when offered the ideas of the Democrat party that used to love” the U.S. “I will reintroduce this exact bill when I...

What began with a concerned mother calling police on her son ended in the thwarting of a terror plot involving drones and snipers aimed at members of U.S. Congress attending Sunday's UFC event at the White House, the government alleges in a criminal complaint filed against one of the plot's admitted leaders, an Ohio teen. Tycen Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio, told federal investigators on June 11 he intended to "jump-start" a revolution in the U.S. with an attack on June 14 that would begin with drone bombings over the north side of the arena. Co-conspirators, the charging documents allege,...

Federal investigators executed search warrants at the headquarters of a Soros-aligned voter mobilization organization in Ohio as part of what sources described as an ongoing fraud investigation. FBI agents searched the offices of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative on June 11 and conducted interviews with members of the organization across the state, according to reports. Some agents reportedly served subpoenas or sought to seize electronic devices during the operation. Multiple sources familiar with the matter later told CBS News that the federal action was tied to a fraud-related investigation. The Department of Justice declined to discuss the specifics of the case....

A mass shooting that left 12 people wounded Saturday afternoon at a summer festival in Ohio stemmed from “a dispute involving two rival groups,” according to police. Shots rang out from two gunmen, one from each group, just after 5:30 p.m. near the Old West End Festival in Toledo. A dozen people were hurt, with the oldest victim being 61 and the youngest 14, police Lt. Dan Gerken said Saturday, noting most were in their early 20s. Toledo Police Chief Michael Troendle said Tuesday that a dispute between rival groups led to “a foot chase” and a physical altercation in...

Ohio voters could decide in November whether they want to enshrine its photo ID law into the state constitution. A new poll suggests the voter verification protection is very popular in the Buckeye State — as it is throughout the country. Last week, Ohio’s Republican-controlled state Senate easily passed (22-9) a joint resolution that would send a constitutional amendment ballot question to voters. Every Democrat voted against the measure. The resolution now moves to the GOP-led House, where it must pass with a three-fifths majority. Republicans have the votes, but some conservatives want to see photo ID for absentee ballots...

A summer festival in Toledo, Ohio, turned into a scene of chaos Saturday evening after gunfire erupted near the city’s Old West End Festival, leaving 12 people wounded and sending families and festivalgoers scrambling for cover. The shooting happened around 5:37 p.m. near the annual neighborhood event, a popular two-day celebration known for live music, food vendors, shopping, and tours of historic homes. Police said officers arrived to find multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds. Two of the victims were listed in critical condition. Authorities said the wounded ranged in age from 14 to 61, with many of the victims...

Multiple people have been shot near the Old West End Festival in Toledo, Ohio, authorities say “Many victims” have been transported to nearby hospitals for treatment, Toledo police said on Facebook. No information was available on how many people were wounded or what their conditions were

SANDUSKY, OH -- An 18-year-old Ohio man is facing multiple charges after he police said he pulled down the skirt and underwear of a transgender woman at Cedar Point amusement park last week. According to WTOL-11, Marquez Williams was arrested on May 26 shortly after fleeing from the park and leading police on a chase through the parking lot. The incident took place around 8:30 p.m., shortly after the woman and her friends finished riding the Top Thrill Dragster 2 ride. April Dempster, a friend of the victim, told Cleveland-19 News that the group was walking down the midway toward...

A U.S. citizen was found not guilty Tuesday of illegally voting in the 2018 election when she was a lawful permanent resident of the United States. A guilty verdict would have led to up to 18 months in prison for Maria Dearaujo, 63. But Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Chris Brown sided with the defense’s argument of entrapment. This generally entails a government actor leading a person into committing a crime they wouldn’t have otherwise committed. Brown, a Democrat, said Dearaujo’s trial testimony lines up with the documentary evidence. She admitted to “inconvenient” facts like having voted when she knew...