Crooked River Cast Show 39

🎙️ Vaccines, Votes, Vultures & Voyager 🚀🍻

Tom and Robert are back with another fast‑moving, no‑nonsense rundown of national headlines, Ohio politics, public health panic buttons, and a few stories that make you stop and say, “Wait… what?” From immigration rhetoric and vaccine debates to snow‑covered windshields and struggling breweries, Show #39 covers a lot of ground—then lightens things up with some genuinely good news.

🇺🇸 Trump, Somalis & Immigration Rhetoric

Trump’s comments about Somalis sparked backlash, media pile‑ons, and community responses—especially in Minnesota and Ohio. The conversation quickly moved from rhetoric to fraud allegations, doxxing, and political weaponization.

Sources:

🔗: Trump ventures deeper into anti‑immigrant language | AP News

▶️ YouTube: Columbus leaders stand with Somali community after comments made by Trump | YouTube

🔗: Somali fraud case in Minnesota, doxxing fallout | X

🏞️ National Park Service Shuffle

The National Park Service quietly dropped free admission on MLK Day and Juneteenth—while adding Trump’s birthday. Totally normal. Nothing political here at all.

Source:

🔗: National Park Service drops free admission on MLK Day, Juneteenth while adding Trump’s birthday

💉 Vaccine Rules, Flu Shots & Public Health Messaging

The FDA is raising hurdles for vaccine makers, citing serious safety concerns tied to COVID shots. Meanwhile, Ohio health officials continue pushing flu vaccines—even while admitting the match isn’t great. Add in “winter vomiting disease” and bird flu headlines, and the panic cycle spins on.

Sources:

🔗: FDA to raise hurdles for vaccines, faulting COVID shots for children’s deaths

🔗: CDC panel votes to stop recommendation for Hepatitis B vaccine

🔗: Northeast Ohio health officials urge flu vaccine despite imperfect match

▶️ YouTube: Flu vac causing flu | YouTube

🤢 Winter Vomiting Disease & 🦅 Bird Flu Panic

Doctors warn of a spike in so‑called “winter vomiting disease” across the Midwest—raising the obvious question: how exactly do they know? At the same time, bird flu is blamed for dozens of dead vultures in Clermont County.

🎙️The guys mentioned that there is a website to check out to find out if your doctor is getting paid by big Pharma, and wanted you to have the link, so here you go! 🔗: Open Payments Search Tool

Sources:

🔗: Winter vomiting disease’ on the rise in the Midwest

🔗: Tests say bird flu is to blame for more than 70 dead vultures in Clermont County

🐀 CRITTER CORNER

Citizenship, Voting & State Power

🗳️ Citizenship, Voting & Federal Oversight in Ohio

Sen. Bernie Moreno wants to ban dual citizenship—raising questions about triple citizenship and constitutional limits. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Frank LaRose announces a long‑term federal agreement to verify voter citizenship.

Sources:

🔗: Why Sen. Bernie Moreno wants to ban dual citizenship 🔗: LaRose announces 20‑year federal agreement to verify voter citizenship

🧠 Parental Consent & 👷 Youth Labor Laws

Ohio lawmakers are weighing parental consent for mental health emergencies—sparking concerns for abuse victims. At the same time, Governor DeWine vetoes a bill that would’ve allowed younger teens to work longer hours on school nights.

Sources:

🔗: How would a new bill requiring parental consent for mental health emergencies impact child sex abuse victims?

🔗: DeWine vetoes bill to allow 14‑ and 15‑year‑olds to work longer hours on school nights

📜 Historical Documents & 🚗 Snow‑Covered Cars

Lawmakers push a bill allowing the Ten Commandments in Ohio classrooms. Plus, a winter reminder: driving with snow on your car isn’t just annoying—it may be illegal.

Sources:

🔗: The Ten Commandments could be hung in Ohio classrooms under Republican bill

🔗: What Ohio law says about driving with snow on your car

🍺 Save Ohio’s Breweries (Drink More Beer)

More breweries have closed than opened in Ohio so far this year. The solution? Support local. Responsibly.

Source:

🔗: More Ohio breweries have closed than opened in 2025 so far

🌟 Good Things (Yes, Really)

🚀 Voyager Is Still Flying

Voyager 1 continues its journey and is set to hit another milestone in 2026—still sending data from interstellar space.

Source:

🔗: Voyager 1 set to achieve milestone in 2026

⛳ Ohio Kid Smashes Records

Canfield’s Preston Tolnar wins his second junior national championship, putting Ohio golf talent on the map.

Source:

🔗: Local golfer wins second junior national championship

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Crooked River Cast Show 38

🎙️ Snow, Shenanigans, Blues Nights & Bigger Ohio Battles

❄️ Word of the Day: Shenanigans

Nothing describes Ohio drivers in the first snowfall better.

Tom and Robert kick off the episode laughing about how the first flakes send traffic into absolute confusion. Then Tom recaps his night at Music Box Supper Club catching the blues legends The Nighthawks, and finally they send listener appreciation to the fan who suggested what kind of music you should introduce to your kids first — great additions to the debate.

🖋️ Trump Cancels Autopen Orders

President Trump says he’ll cancel any Biden executive order he didn’t sign personally. The big unanswered question: Which ones actually mattered?

Sources:
🔗: Trump says he’ll cancel Biden’s executive orders signed via autopen
🔗: Trump Cancels All ‘Autopen’ Biden Orders | Newsradio WTAM 1100

📉 Job Numbers & How They Tie Into AI & Data Centers

Weekly job claims hit a three-year low, while Ohio is becoming a data-center battleground. More jobs? Yes. More power demand? Definitely.

Sources:
🔗: US weekly jobless claims dive to a more than three-year low | Reuters

⚡ Does Ohio Have a Data Center Problem?

Power watchdogs warn that data center demand could stretch the grid. Translation? Ohio can’t power everything forever. “Guys, when a data center goes up, it’s not just the building that changes things — the soil underneath and around it really takes a hit. Heavy construction and concrete compacts the soil, stops water from soaking in, and kills off the microbes. Heat from the building dries it out, and runoff from generators and pavements can change the chemistry in nearby areas. Basically, the land stops functioning like healthy soil, and even the landscaping around it usually keeps it from bouncing back. So these centers can leave a long-term footprint you don’t see in just the building itself.” This, along with the other issues, this is bad.

🔗: Why Big Tech Companies Are BUYING Up Farmland in Ohio

🏫 Dayton Teacher Investigated

A viral video shows a teacher shoving a student during a classroom conflict. Did they break it up — or lose control? Size DOES matter.

Source:
🔗: Ohio teacher under fire after video appears to show shove of student

▶️ YouTube: Dayton charter school investigating after video of teacher shoving student – YouTube

🐀 CRITTER CORNER

💵 HB 554 — You Must Accept Cash

Ohio pushes legislation requiring businesses to accept cash. Card-only stadiums… are you listening?

Source:
🔗: Ohio bill would require places cash: Why don’t stadiums allow cash?

💊 SB 309 — Abortion Pill Roadblocks

Ohio lawmakers add extra steps for getting the abortion pill. Critics say this makes access harder, not safer.

Source:
🔗: Ohio lawmakers can’t stop abortion, but they can make it harder. Here’s how

📬 HB 324 — Telehealth & Mail Meds

This one could block certain prescriptions from being shipped after telehealth visits. Debate continues.

Source:
🔗: Ohio GOP lawmakers move to ban telehealth, mail-order abortion pills

👶 HB 485 — “Baby Olivia” in Schools

Animated fetal development videos could be mandatory classroom material. Experts dispute accuracy. On the clip, voice-overs do matter (Tom came prepared with a whole new batch of sound bites, effects, and voice distortions — and he had way too much fun experimenting live on the show)

Source:
🔗: House panel advances bill pushing controversial fetal video for schools that experts dispute – cleveland.com

▶️ YouTube: Baby Olivia – A Never Before Seen Look At Human Life In The Womb. – YouTube

🚁 Lorain Approves More Police Drones

Drones are coming to Lorain, and people are worried about privacy. Officials already tried to push this behind closed doors. And can the women officers learn to fly these? Robert and Tom have their opinions.

Sources:
🔗: Lorain approves purchase of new police drones

🔗: Unplugged Investigation: Lorain Already Uses Flock Cameras. Now Officials Are Quietly Pushing Drone Surveillance and Trying to Move the Discussion Behind Closed Doors – Unplugged with Aaron Knapp

✝️ Cleveland Hts. Church’s “Racial Repair”

Debt forgiveness as racial reparations? Some cheer. Some cringe. Many just raise eyebrows. Lovelace, a doctor/fashion designer?

Source:
🔗: Cleveland Heights church walks a path to racial reparations through college debt forgiveness

🏈 Cleveland Prepares to Say Goodbye to Browns

The Brook Park deal is approved — Cleveland’s gone from denial to acceptance.

Sources:
🔗: Cleveland Council OKs reworked $100M Browns deal that greenlights Brook Park move

🔗: With Browns fight over, Bibb prepares for the next battles – and opportunities

🛫 Lakefront Airport Won’t Go Quietly

Aviation groups say: “Not so fast.” Burke Lakefront isn’t dead yet.

Source:
🔗: New coalition protests Cleveland’s push to close Burke Lakefront Airport

🤯 Browns Fans Outraged

Seat license fees? They’re not taking it well.

Source:
🔗: Longtime Browns fans outraged by possible seat-license pricing in Brook Park

✨ GOOD THINGS!

💰 $2M Scratch-Off Surprise 🎄

🎄 Cuyahoga Falls man hits $2M right before Christmas! 🎄 And even though you win 2M, it never is the full amount ☹️

Source:
🔗: Cuyahoga Falls man wins $2M on scratch-off ticket, Ohio Lottery

✨ The Best Christmas Lights in NE Ohio

Perfect family outing spots — get festive, people, there is plenty of prettiness out there around Ohio.

Source:
🔗: Christmas lights worth seeing this season in NE Ohio

🎧 Listener Music Advice of the Week

A shout-out to Captain Canoe, who chimed in with one of the best answers to Robert’s question about introducing kids to music. Greatest hits are fine, but full albums are the way to go — because that’s how they were meant to be heard.

Love it. Respect the art form.

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Crooked River Cast Show 37

🎙️ Turkeys, Term Limits & Tighter Pants – Ohio News Gets Spicy

After a long Thanksgiving weekend of too-tight waistbands and overpriced Christmas trees, Robert and Tom jump straight into another busy week across Ohio and D.C., from a tragic National Guard attack to the DOJ’s “we’re totally not spying on you” antics, to Cleveland’s usual politics, the guys break it all down with punchlines, clips, and rants.

Let’s jump in. 👇

🔫 National Guard Attack in D.C.

A heartbreaking start: a National Guard member was killed in an attack in D.C. The guys open the show by acknowledging the tragedy and the human cost behind headlines. No politics, no spin — just a moment of real-world seriousness.

Source:
🔗: National Guard member dies after DC attack, President Trump says

🦃 Turkey Pardons… Just Not the Human Kind

Trump makes jokes at the turkey pardoning ceremony but still throws shade at enemies, real and some that believe they are imagined. The guys react accordingly to the clip!

Source:
🔗: Trump spares turkeys — but not his political opponents — at annual pardoning ceremony

📉 Georgia Drops Election Interference Case

The last of Trump’s major “political enemy” cases falls away. Robert and Tom unpack why this matters and what happens now that these prosecutions have fizzled.

Source:
🔗: The Georgia election interference case against Trump and others has been dropped

👀 DOJ Spying on Jim Jordan & Others

The guys go hard on this one — and realistically, who wouldn’t? Secretly grabbing phone data from lawmakers for 2.5 years under the Biden administration? Even Cleveland.com called it “out of control.” Tom stresses that most people have no idea why Trump targets certain officials… and this is exactly the context.

Sources:
🔗: [LISTEN] ‘If they can do that to us, think what they can do to all Americans’: Jordan Blasts DOJ Spying Expedition
🔗: Justice Dept’s secret grab of Jim Jordan phone records shows government ‘out of control’

👋 Shout-out to the Webmaster (Hey, That’s Me!)

When the guys got into voter ID clarification and proof-of-citizenship requirements, they gave me a shout-out for correcting the record. Thanks, boys, much appreciated!

Tom claims he never makes mistakes. Uh-huh. Sure, buddy. 😄

🐀 CRITTER CORNER

🕰️ Ohio Legislature Wants… Term Limits?!

Ohio is calling for federal term limits. The guys say “wait for it…” and then dig into the irony: lawmakers asking to limit themselves. We’ll believe it when we see it. The link below is not the one the boys referenced, which is actually: Ohio resolution calls for federal term limits | Ohio | theohiopressnetwork.com, however if you don’t have a subscription, you cannot read this, so let’s go to “Just the News.”

Source:
🔗: Ohio resolution calls for federal term limits

🕶️ Ohio Supreme Court: Police Can Hide Their Identities

Under Marsy’s Law, police officers involved in cases can now redact their names. Robert asks, “Why is this needed and what’s next?” Less transparency = more shenanigans, don’t you think?

Source:
🔗: Ohio Supreme Court rules police officer identities can be hidden from public under Marsy’s Law

🏈 Student Athlete NIL Shake-Up

Ohio high schools voted yes on student NIL deals. The GOP almost immediately said: “Wait just a minute…” (Clip included in the show.) The whiplash is real.

Sources:
🔗: Ohio high schools vote to allow student athletes to strike NIL deals, ending lawsuit
🔗: Ohio GOP lawmakers moves to ban Name, Image, and Likeness bendfits for high school athletes: This comes a day after OHSAA allows for NIL deals…

❤️ New Bill: Mandatory Heart Screenings for Student Athletes

A bipartisan push that actually sounds sensible: ensuring young athletes get heart checks. No jokes here — feels like a win? Not really. House Bill 437 would require student athletes to get screenings for heart conditions during physicals, for asymptomatic patients and conditions that may not be detected in screenings, which is why CPR training and having AEDs nearby would still be essential. These tests can lead to further risks or symptoms to trigger further testing with a specialist…..

Source:
🔗: New Ohio bill requires cardiac screenings for student athletes

🗳️ Recounts Coming in Cuyahoga County

Five races in recount territory — and in one of them, the socialist wins! (Cue the clip from the show.) Tanmay Shah takes Cleveland’s Ward 12.

Sources:
🔗: Five Cuyahoga County races headed to recount, including close Cleveland City Council contest
🔗: ‘A lot of excitement’: Tanmay Shah wins Cleveland City Council Ward 12 seat after Danny Kelly concedes

🏟️ Cleveland City Council Fumbles the Browns Settlement

Leave it to Cleveland to take a football issue and fumble that, too. Council is wrestling over settlement money with the Browns, because nothing is ever simple.

Source:
🔗: Cleveland City Council Wrestles With Browns Settlement Deal, With Lakefront Money at Stake

🚢 Great Lakes Cruise Line Says “No Thanks” to Cleveland

American Cruise Lines is dropping Cleveland from its 2026 itineraries due to docking issues. Ouch. Another L for the lakefront.

Source:
🔗: American Cruise Lines removes Cleveland from stops on its 2026 Great Lakes voyages

✨ GOOD THINGS!

Because we all need a break.

🏃‍♂️ Tim Ryan Not Running for Governor

Is this good? Bad? Depends on who you ask. But with Amy Acton as the only prominent Dem in the lane, the guys say: “Yeesh.”

Source:
🔗: Tim Ryan opts to stay out of Ohio’s 2026 race for governor

🛍️ Hyper-Local Markets Bringing Small Biz Together

Small businesses teaming up in Mentor Mall to reinvent local retail. Very cool story and very Ohio. Let’s bring indoor malls back, please, it’s snowing here, ya know?

Source:
🔗: ‘Re-defining retail’: Small businesses team up for hyper-local market, share the wealth inside Mentor mall

🎄 New Christmas Song from Cleveland’s Anita Keys

A little new Christmas music never hurts — except maybe your wallet after buying that overpriced tree (right, Robert?).

Source:
🔗: anitakeys Releases New Christmas Song

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