Physician Sherri Tenpenny made Ohio the butt of national jokes at the height of the pandemic when she testified to state lawmakers that COVID-19 vaccines make their recipients magnetic and “interface” with cell towers. The Medical Board of Ohio ended up suspending Tenpenny’s license for failing to cooperate with an ensuing investigation, though the board later reinstated her license. A bill the state legislature approved in the final hours of the lame-duck legislative session this week would protect “medical free speech” and prohibit regulatory boards from disciplining medical experts for “expressing a medical opinion that does not align with the opinions” of health authorities. The language — seemingly a reference to Tenpenny — was a compromise in a bill that originally would have forced hospitals to provide patients access to prescribed drugs for off-label use. The bill was born out of the unproven belief held by many conservatives that the anti-parasitic ivermectin can treat COVID-19, even though regulators, medical associations and researchers all say ivermectin does nothing to fight the virus. — Laura |
Overnight Scores and Weather |
Browns at Cincinnati Bengals: 1 p.m. Sunday, Paycor Stadium, Cincinnati. TV: WOIO Channel 19. Radio: WKRK FM/92.3, WNCX FM/98.5, WKNR AM/850. Northeast Ohio weather forecast: Colder temps, snow this weekend |
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Ohio legislators killed a bill to give patients new legal rights to demand hospitals and other providers give them access to “off label” and unproven drugs to treat COVID-19. (Mike Stewart, Associated Press file photo) |
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Ivermectin: A push to give patients new legal rights to demand hospitals and other providers give them access to “off label” and unproven drugs like ivermectin to treat COVID-19 officially died early Thursday morning. Jake Zuckerman reports that instead its supporters won largely symbolic concessions in a late-night omnibus legislative package. Lame-duck bills: Ohio lawmakers wrapped up their two-year legislative session early Thursday, passing a flurry of last-minute bills, including education bills regarding parental-disclosure requirements, excused absences for religious instruction and expanded offenses that bring a year-long suspension. Jeremy Pelzer reports that lawmakers also gave final approval to legislation on a wide variety of other topics, including criminalizing “sextortion” and sexual “grooming” of minors, limiting courts’ ability to suspend Ohioans’ driver’s licenses, requiring hospitals to publicly list prices patients are charged for items and services, and preventing the state medical board from punishing doctors who express unorthodox medical opinions. Today in Ohio: In the wee hours Thursday, the Ohio Legislature voted to give a renewable energy credit to a Scioto County coal-burning coke plant that sells waste steam to a petrochemical company next door. We’re talking about the late-night lame duck shenanigans on Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily half-hour news podcast. |
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Higher ed bill: A sweeping higher education bill has died that would have banned DEI, “ideological litmus tests” and other measures to tamp down on perceived liberal bias in colleges and universities. Laura Hancock reports Senate Bill 83 was one of the most divisive bills during the two-year legislative session that ended early Thursday morning. Coal plant: Ohio lawmakers passed legislation Thursday that will give a coal-burning coke plant in southern Ohio renewable energy credits, under that argument that the company is selling the plant’s steam to another company instead of letting it go to waste, reports Sean McDonnell. The legislation — part of a 441-page bill Ohio legislators passed at 2:15 a.m. Thursday — gives SunCoke Energy a tax credit because its Scioto County plant sells steam to a neighboring plant that makes chemicals, off-setting the need for natural gas. |
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Basheer Jones: Former Cleveland City Councilman Basheer Jones on Thursday admitted to using his influence as a first-term council member to bank money for himself and his girlfriend through nonprofits and real-estate schemes. Adam Ferrise reports Jones, 40, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit honest service mail fraud. He will be sentenced April 1 under a plea agreement that calls for a recommended range from two years and seven months in prison to three years and five months. Airport cleanliness: You wouldn’t leave an empty coffee cup on the floor in your living room or a paper towel bunched into a ball on the counter in your bathroom. So maybe you shouldn’t do that at the airport, either. Susan Glaser reports a new public-service announcement playing at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport offers what may seem like common-sense advice to most travelers: Help us keep the airport clean by picking up after yourself. M’s on campus: During the week of the Ohio State game vs. Michigan, every “M” OSU students can find is crossed out with red tape. Tim Bielik reports that although the Buckeyes are facing Tennessee on Saturday in the NCAA football playoffs, no one is crossing out T’s. Drought: After two weeks of little improvement, drought conditions turned for the better in central Ohio, reports Zachary Smith. Statewide, 58.9% of Ohio remains dry or in drought conditions, a decrease from 66.3% last week, according to weekly data released Thursday by the U.S. Drought Monitor. |
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Helping babies: As infant mortality and maternal morbidity rates cause concern, Cleveland’s Neighborhood Family Practice Medical Center aims to be part of the solution. Julie Washington reports the health agency recently expanded its services to expectant moms, especially those from other cultures, as it seeks to break down cultural barriers to care and create supportive communities for new parents. COVID cases: The number of new COVID-19 cases in Ohio jumped by more than 1,000 cases, increasing from 3,812 last week to 4,979 this week, the state reported Thursday. Julie Washington reports it was the third straight week that Ohio’s COVID-19 cases have risen. |
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Suspect dies: A murder suspect died by suicide Thursday as U.S. marshals swarmed a homeless encampment in Cleveland where authorities found the man, officials said. Adam Ferrise reports federal officials said William Abney, 28, took his own life during a confrontation in which a deputy marshal fired a single shot at Abney. Drive-by shooting: U.S. marshals arrested an Akron man Wednesday and accused him of taking part in a drive-by shooting, reports Olivia Mitchell. The Northern Violent Fugitive Task Force picked up Matt Walker, 32, who was wanted by Akron police on charges of felonious assault, domestic violence and strangulation. Stabbing death: An Akron man has been charged with murder after police say he stabbed his 56-year-old mother at a home in the Goodyear Heights neighborhood. Travey Goodwin, 33, also is charged with felonious assault and domestic violence, Cliff Pinckard reports. |
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Ask Yadi: Is it better to just give kids cash like they asked for and hope that they use it to buy what they want instead of presents that they can unwrap? Yadi Rodriguez suggests how about giving them a budget and taking them on a “shopping spree?” ‘90s music: That the 1990s began almost 35 years ago seems impossible, until you begin digging into “501 Essential Albums of the ‘90s: The Music Fan’s Definitive Guide.” The book, edited by award-winning veteran music journalist and regular cleveland.com contributor Gary Graff, is a sprawling 448-page tome that picks 501 defining albums of the decade, Peter Chakerian reports. 'Superman' trailer: DC Studios released the first extended look at director James Gunn’s new "Superman" movie featuring the Cleveland-born Man of Steel. Joey Morona breaks it down. Sparkling wine: Cheers! Marc Bona offers 75 facts about sparkling wine for you to know before you pop the cork. Live music: If you have live-music lovers coming to town and you want to show off Cleveland’s national and regional best, here are several concerts you can take your loved ones, writes Malcolm X Abram. Things to do: From the "Nutcracker" to the Monsters, Paris Wolfe has 32 things to do this last weekend before Christmas. |
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University Heights City Council approves plans for John Carroll University’s Gateway North project; construction to start in May Read more ESSER funds saves Medina schools nearly $1 million in technology upgrades Read more Redistricting improves efficiency, equity in Medina elementary schools, assistant superintendent says Read more Avon Lake to maintain lower speed limit along short stretch of Avon-Belden Road Read more There’s no place like a Habitat for Humanity home for the holidays Read more North Olmsted mayor calls 2024 a year of ‘action’ Read more North Olmsted’s Rocky River Nature Center displaying Ken Long art exhibition Read more Parma Recreation Department building getting new $315,000 HVAC system Read more Demolition of former Parma YMCA makes way for $4 million development Read more Parma Heights councilman resigns, takes new job with mayor Read more |
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