Dayton, Ohio

The Trump administration's May 2025 shutdown of the VA Servicing Purchase (VASP) program, which had let struggling veterans roll missed mortgage payments into a new loan at a low fixed rate, has left thousands facing sharply higher payments. An NPR investigation found more than 15,000 veterans who got loan modifications after VASP ended saw payments rise by at least $150 a month, with over 700 facing increases of $1,000 or more — far higher rates than for conventional Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. Industry groups had warned the VA against ending VASP without a replacement ready. A new Partial Claim Program launched over a year later, but it does not help veterans already stuck in costlier modified loans, and foreclosures on VA loans have since hit a 10-year high.

The Dayton Branch of the NAACP is asking Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to grant executive clemency to China Arnold, 46, who is serving life without parole for the 2005 microwave death of her 28-day-old daughter, Paris Talley. Arnold was convicted in her third trial in 2011 after a mistrial and an overturned conviction; she has maintained her innocence throughout. NAACP President Derrick Foward called her a model inmate and noted her three surviving children have grown up without her. The group is urging DeWine to act before he leaves office in January, framing the case as a test of clemency and sentencing proportionality in Ohio's justice system.

Ohio's 2026 governor's race could shape how the state's voter-approved reproductive-rights amendment is implemented, since the governor appoints health officials, directs funding, and decides how vigorously to defend abortion restrictions in court. Democrat Amy Acton supports abortion rights and pledges to protect the 2023 amendment while expanding access to contraception and IVF, though she has offered few policy specifics. Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who did not respond to questions, has previously called himself "unapologetically pro-life" and backed six-week abortion bans during his 2024 presidential run, but has not detailed an Ohio agenda. Libertarian Don Kissick opposes both abortion bans and government efforts to expand abortion access, arguing government should stay out of the issue entirely.

The NCAA has sued Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in the Southern District of Ohio, challenging Executive Order 2026-04D, which let Ohio colleges grant a fifth season of eligibility to athletes from the high school class of 2022 despite the NCAA's age-based rule. The 39-page federal complaint asks a judge to declare the order unconstitutional and unenforceable, arguing it gives Ohio schools an unfair competitive advantage and undermines uniform eligibility standards nationwide. NCAA President Charlie Baker, a former Massachusetts governor, warned that allowing states or courts to unilaterally rewrite eligibility rules would make fair competition impossible.

The order, issued in response to lawsuits from Ohio athletes excluded from a fifth year under the NCAA's five-years-to-play-five model, has already influenced related litigation: the Ohio Supreme Court asked for briefing on how it affects Borovicanin v. NCAA, the lead case on the issue. The NCAA also used the dispute to push Congress toward passing the Protect College Sports Act, which would codify its eligibility policy and shield it from antitrust challenges.

Ohio's first day of in-person early voting saw turnout jump sharply compared with the 2022 midterms, even as absentee ballot requests have fallen well below both 2022 and 2018 levels. Statewide, 42,868 votes were cast on the first day, with in-person early voting up 138% across 77 counties tracked by The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com. Cuyahoga County saw a 249% increase and Hamilton County a 175% increase, with similar surges in smaller counties. Meanwhile, absentee ballot requests are down about 18% from 2022 and 14% from 2018, a decline seen in both Republican- and Democratic-leaning areas.

Political scientists attribute much of the shift to President Trump's efforts to restrict mail voting, which may be pushing Democrats toward in-person voting out of concern their ballots won't count, while also discouraging some Republicans who have heard Trump's criticism of mail balloting. Ohio's competitive U.S. Senate race between Jon Husted and Sherrod Brown, and governor's race between Vivek Ramaswamy and Amy Acton, are also driving interest. Analysts caution it's too early to draw firm conclusions about November's outcome from early turnout data alone.

A federal appeals court ruled Friday against prediction-market operator Kalshi in its legal fight with Ohio over state regulation of its sports-related contracts. Kalshi had argued its offerings should be treated as federally regulated financial "swaps," exempting them from state gambling laws and taxes; the appeals court rejected that argument, allowing Ohio to continue enforcing its gambling regulations against the company. Gov. Mike DeWine, discussing the ruling with reporters, dismissed Kalshi's framing of its products, saying "if it's a pig, it's a pig... these guys are pigs."

The same appeals court also issued a related ruling Friday on intoxicating hemp products, finding Ohio can require sellers to obtain licenses from state marijuana regulators, though restrictions based on business location likely violate the Constitution's dormant commerce clause. The Kalshi decision adds to a broader national pattern of states pushing back against prediction markets' sports-related contracts, testing the boundary between federally regulated derivatives and state-regulated gambling.

President Trump is set to hold a campaign rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on Oct. 3, the same day a funeral will be held about 25 miles away in Springfield for Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Haitian Wright State University student whose death has become a flashpoint in the debate over immigration enforcement.

Bel was killed Aug. 31 after being struck by a semitrailer on Interstate 70; his family says he took his own life, citing shame after being made to wear an ICE-mandated ankle monitor following a July 29 check-in. His death has galvanized Springfield's large Haitian community, with friends and advocates calling on authorities to ease immigration enforcement. ICE has maintained that immigrants without legal status, including Haitians who lost temporary protected status in July, should self-deport. The funeral, expected to draw up to 1,000 attendees, comes as Trump campaigns for Ohio Republicans in Senate and gubernatorial races, underscoring the political tension surrounding immigration policy in the state.

Ohio Republican legislative leaders, backed by gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, are proposing a 90-day suspension of the state's 38.5-cent-per-gallon gas tax to ease pump prices ahead of the November election. The plan, which would need lawmakers to return early to pass, is estimated to cost around $640 million in revenue over the suspension period, with proposals to cover the gap using ODOT cash reserves, the state's general fund, or the rainy day fund.

Critics note the notion echoes a similar idea previously floated by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, and argue the savings — roughly a few dollars a week for typical drivers — would do little to offset broader cost-of-living pressures from tariffs and other factors. The gas tax funds road and infrastructure maintenance, raising concerns about long-term funding gaps if reserves are tapped. The proposal comes amid a competitive governor's race and heightened scrutiny of political messaging in Ohio as both parties look to define affordability as a top campaign issue heading into the fall election.