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Key Headlines of July 1 - July 8, 2024

However you get your news, here are a few stories that stood out in local, state, federal and international news.


  • Citizens Not Politicians is a group seeking to put an Ohio Constitutional Amendment on the ballot this November. The amendment would require the State’s Redistricting Commission, which establishes the boundaries of state and federally elected seats in Ohio, to be made up of citizens instead of elected officials.

  • The idea is to create districts which are not gerrymandered and create fair opportunities for the most qualified politician to win. Currently in Ohio, the district maps created by elected officials have been rejected by Ohio’s Supreme court 6 times for being considered so unfair that they are unconstitutional.

  • Citizens Not Politicians turned in 731,306 signatures for their movement. The group needs 413,487 signatures of those signatures to be considered ‘valid’ by Ohio’s Board of Elections in order for the constitutional amendment to appear on the ballot. Learn more about the amendment here.


Recent Supreme Court Decisions: Racial Gerrymandering in South Carolina & The Presidential Immunity Ruling

  • The Supreme Court recently ruled in a 6-3 ruling that South Carolina did not violate the law when the state legislature “adopted a new congressional map that moved tens of thousands of Black voters to a different district, effectively making the district a safe seat for Republicans.”

  • The Court ruled, while gerrymandering based on race is unconstitutional, political gerrymandering is not. So, since race could not be proven to be the ‘predominant factor motivating the legislature’s decision to place a significant number of voters within or without a particular district,’ the gerrymandered districts stood.

  • Another recent ruling from our highest court gave the President of the United States ‘presumption of criminal immunity.’ I broke down the significance of this case in 2-minutes.


Fourth of July

  • This past Thursday, our nation celebrated our 248th year of independence. The Freeman for Congress campaign celebrated the day at Lakewood’s parade.


  • “WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange pleaded guilty to obtaining and publishing U.S. military secrets Wednesday in a deal with Justice Department prosecutors that secures his liberty.”

  • “The deal required Assange to admit guilt to a single felony count, but also permitted him to return to Australia without any time in an American prison. The judge sentenced him to the five years he’d already spent behind bars in the United Kingdom, [while Assange was] fighting extradition to the United States on an Espionage Act indictment that could have carried a lengthy prison sentence in the event of a conviction. [Assange] was holed up for seven years before that in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.”

  • The case focused on “the receipt and publication of hundreds of thousands of war logs and diplomatic cables that included details of U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

  • “Press freedom advocates heralded his role in bringing to light military conduct that might otherwise have been concealed from view.”


  • Several high profile players moved on from their teams in order to pursue opportunities in different cities.

  • Donovan Mitchell, however, decided to remain with the Cleveland Cavaliers for a  three-year, $150.3 million contract.


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