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Cleveland

Axios Cleveland

Ohio's largest abortion services provider and anti-abortion rights lawmakers are turning their attention to what's next after the recent passage of Issue 1.

Why it matters: While voters approved the constitutional amendment by a 13% margin, the Nov. 7 vote may not be the final word on legalization.

State of play: The amendment effectively negates the Legislature's "Heartbeat Law," which bans the procedure beyond about six weeks, though the law had already been on hold amid a legal challenge.

The Ohio Supreme Court is set to review how Issue 1's passage impacts that six-week ban, Cleveland.com reports.

Reality check: While lawmakers cannot simply vote to repeal a constitutional amendment, some members are taking an "any means necessary" approach to prevent Issue 1 from taking effect.

What's happening: Nearly half of Ohio House Republicans signed a Nov. 8 letter pledging to "do everything in our power to prevent our laws from being removed based upon perception of intent."

Several GOP lawmakers, including Rep. Beth Lear from Delaware County, want to remove judicial jurisdiction over implementing Issue 1 and instead give that power solely to the state legislature.

Yes, but: They face headwinds from House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill), who dismissed the plan as "Schoolhouse Rock type stuff," per the Ohio Capital Journal.

The other side: Democratic Reps. Anita Somani and Beth Liston, both of Dublin, will sponsor legislation repealing Ohio's 24-hour waiting period and other abortion-related statutes.

Republicans, who control the legislature, are unlikely to take up the bill.

Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio will operate under current law — which legalizes abortion up to 22 weeks — while it monitors how the court proceedings play out, Troy Smith reports for Axios Cleveland.

The group expects to invest in more staffing and facilities, CEO Erica Wilson-Domer says, particularly near the borders of Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia — states where abortion is effectively banned.

What she's saying: "We have an obligation and responsibility now with this right enshrined in Ohio to provide access not just to Ohioans but all of the people who are not able to access that," Wilson-Domer says.

What we're watching: Anti-abortion rights advocates could organize a repeal of Issue 1 at the ballot box.

"This isn't the end," Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said on election night. "It is really just the beginning of a revolving door of ballot campaigns to repeal or replace Issue 1."

No such campaign has yet been announced for 2024 and Huffman later walked back that comment.

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What's next for Ohio abortion law

Lawmakers and Ohio's largest abortion services provider are making plans.

Supporters of Issue 1 cheer as results come in at an Election Day watch party in Columbus. Photo: Andrew Spear/Getty Images

Ohio

Ohio&#x27;s largest abortion services provider and anti-abortion rights lawmakers are turning their attention to what&#x27;s next after the recent <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="passage of Issue 1" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/08/ohio-abortion-law-vote-election-pass" data-vars-content-id="33c821ab-8eab-45cf-8e64-9b0a67e84c44" data-vars-headline="What&#x27;s next for Ohio abortion law" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/08/ohio-abortion-law-vote-election-pass" target="_self">passage of Issue 1</a>.Why it matters: While voters approved the constitutional amendment by a 13% margin, the Nov. 7 vote may not be the final word on legalization.

News

Election

Politics

Data: Realtor.com; Note: U.S. average is as of April 2025; Chart: Axios Visuals

If you're in the market for a new home, this heat wave may have you thinking about one with a pool.

Yes, but: You may have to look around for a while.

By the numbers: Only about 9% of Columbus-area homes listed from January through April had pools, according to data from Realtor.com.

That's up from just over 3% in 2019, though.

The big picture: Our percentage ranks No. 41 out of the 50 largest U.S. metros.

Unsurprisingly, homes with pools are most common in the sweltering South.

One alternative: City of Columbus pools are free to access from 1-8pm today, but you'll need to act fast — they're filling up quickly.

Few Columbus homes for sale have swimming pools

This heat wave may have you thinking about getting a home with a pool.

Illustration of a dollar sign made out of the tiles at the bottom of a pool.

If you&#x27;re in the market for a new home, this heat wave may have you thinking about one with a pool.Yes, but: You may have to look around for a while.

Real Estate

When most people think of tornadoes, Central Ohio doesn't typically come to mind — at least not yet.

Driving the news: A staggering 410 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. from January to March 2023, per the National Weather Service's preliminary count. That's the most recorded since tracking began in 1950, the second highest was 398 in 2017.

Why it matters: Ohio's number of tornadoes has tripled in 2023, from six during the first three-and-a-half months of 2022 to 19 so far this year, according to preliminary National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data.

Our area experiences extreme windstorms, which means it's also "at risk" for a destructive tornado, especially given recent trends, Aaron Wilson, an atmospheric scientist at Ohio State University, tells us.

The latest: Research has shown a shift eastward in frequency from the part of the country traditionally known as "tornado alley," which includes parts of Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Several damaging EF3s — with wind speeds ranging from 136 to 165 mph — touched down this month in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky and Delaware.

What they're saying: Jana Houser, associate professor of meteorology at OSU, tells Axios the biggest surprise is how far north and east they're occurring, and how early in the year.

"Usually, we'll see this kind of tornado frequency in our area in June and July, or even closer to fall," she says.

Zoom in: So far this year, tornadoes have mostly occurred in western and southwestern Ohio, but a pair did sweep through Fairfield County on April 5.

Flashback: Since 1954, 34 have touched down in or around Franklin County, according to NOAA.

The two most recent were in 2018, in Grove City in April and in Olde Towne East and Bexley in September. Nobody was injured, but many properties were damaged.

The last major tornado was in 1973 southwest of the airport. It caused $2.3 million in damage to the Defense Supply Center, collapsed a factory roof and hit seven warehouses.

The Dayton area suffered a deadly tornado outbreak in 2019.

The bottom line: "While the risk may not be great, there's definitely still a risk," Houser says, "especially with the atmospheric instability we've seen this year."

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that the last major tornado in Columbus occurred in 1973 (not 1974) and to remove a reference to how strong it was on the EF scale, which did not exist then.

What recent tornado trends mean for Central Ohio

Here's what recent extreme weather trends mean for our area.

Illustration of an hourglass with a tornado and lightning in the top portion

Weather

When most people think of tornadoes, Central Ohio doesn&#x27;t typically come to mind — at least not yet.Driving the news: A staggering 410 tornadoes were reported in the U.S. from January to March 2023, per <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="the National Weather Service&#x27;s" data-vars-click-url="https://twitter.com/NWSSPC/status/1645848489233125377?s=20" data-vars-content-id="6a0f05fd-17aa-4445-8ecf-50f8e2d00593" data-vars-headline="What recent tornado trends mean for Central Ohio" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://twitter.com/NWSSPC/status/1645848489233125377?s=20" target="_blank">the National Weather Service&#x27;s</a> preliminary count. That&#x27;s the most recorded since tracking began in 1950, the second highest was 398 in 2017.

Climate

Latino

Axios Latino

Artificial intelligence is quickly rewriting the playbook for crime, and lawmakers and law enforcement are racing to keep up.

Why it matters: This new class of AI-supercharged crime is putting lives and financial systems at risk, as evidenced by multiple Central Ohio incidents in recent years.

How it works: Criminals are using deepfake scams — utilizing AI to create fake audio, video or images — along with AI-written ransomware, mass identity hijacks and critical-infrastructure hacks.

Zoom in: A July 2024 cyberattack on the City of Columbus majorly disrupted city services and compromised the sensitive data of hundreds of thousands of people.

The city still hasn't released a report explaining how the breach occurred. Spokesperson Jennifer Fening tells Axios it "will do so at an appropriate time."

The City of Cleveland was hit with ransomware a month earlier, and will now train its employees on "AI strategy."

Washington Court House had an attack in May.

It's not just local governments. The Better Business Bureau of Central Ohio warns of scam calls that use AI-cloned voices of family members to entice victims into sending money.

The tools are also used in lottery scams.

Next week, a Central Ohio man accused of using AI to manipulate family photos into sexual images of minors — another growing concern — is expected to plead guilty.

The big picture: Deepfake fraud attempts surged 3,000% in 2023, per DeepStrike, a cybersecurity group.

U.S. losses from fraud that relies on generative AI are projected to reach $40 billion by 2027, according to the Deloitte Center for Financial Services.

What we're watching: Ohio lawmakers have proposed bills to criminalize the use of deepfakes.

House Bill 185, introduced in March, would prohibit the use of anyone's likeness without prior written consent.

What they're saying: "In recent years, the prevalence of 'deepfake' technology has been made widely available to the public," Attorney General Dave Yost wrote in a letter supporting the bill.

"With this growth in availability comes the opportunity for bad actors to exploit artificial intelligence's capabilities to deceive and defraud the public."

Yes, but: Ohio has yet to enact specific legislation related to deepfakes.

Ohio is also one of five states that did not include AI or computer-edited images in its child sexual abuse material and pornography statutes as of August, according to the child advocacy organization Enough Abuse.

Deepfakes, government hacks, cloned voices: Ohio's new AI crime wave

Columbus still hasn't released a report on its 2024 cyberattack.

Illustration of a police lineup featuring multiple men and one robot

Artificial intelligence is quickly <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="rewriting the playbook" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/11/14/artificial-intelligence-ai-crime-fraud-theft" data-vars-content-id="b208a91e-42e5-4113-8b99-be047b75749f" data-vars-headline="Deepfakes, government hacks, cloned voices: Ohio&#x27;s new AI crime wave" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/11/14/artificial-intelligence-ai-crime-fraud-theft" target="_self">rewriting the playbook</a> for crime, and lawmakers and law enforcement are racing to keep up.Why it matters: This new class of AI-supercharged crime is putting lives and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="financial systems " data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/07/22/openai-chatgpt-sam-altman-ai-fraud" data-vars-content-id="b208a91e-42e5-4113-8b99-be047b75749f" data-vars-headline="Deepfakes, government hacks, cloned voices: Ohio&#x27;s new AI crime wave" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/07/22/openai-chatgpt-sam-altman-ai-fraud" target="_self">financial systems </a>at risk, as evidenced by multiple Central Ohio incidents in recent years.

Public Safety

Drake and J. Cole are teaming up for an early 2024 tour with shows at the Schottenstein Center on Feb. 20 and 21, Axios Cleveland's Troy Smith writes.

What's happening: "It's All a Blur Tour — Big As the What?" starts Jan. 18 in Denver and wraps up March 27 in Birmingham, Alabama.

The tour is an extension of Drake's 2023 "It's All a Blur" tour that played 50 sold-out dates across North America.

If you go: Tickets go on sale to the general public 11am Friday.

The intrigue: Drake's latest No. 1 hit, "First Person Shooter," tied him with Michael Jackson for the most No. 1 songs by a solo male artist on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Drake and J. Cole's 2024 tour is coming to Columbus

Tickets go on sale Friday for the Feb. 20 and 21 shows.

Drake and J. Cole are teaming up for an early 2024 tour with shows at the Schottenstein Center on Feb. 20 and 21, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Axios Cleveland&#x27;s Troy Smith writes" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/13/drake-j-cole-tour-concert-tickets" data-vars-content-id="ee0e72b8-3526-48f5-8130-c1aeae20ece6" data-vars-headline="Drake and J. Cole&#x27;s 2024 tour is coming to Columbus" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/13/drake-j-cole-tour-concert-tickets" target="_self">Axios Cleveland&#x27;s Troy Smith writes</a>.What&#x27;s happening: &quot;It&#x27;s All a Blur Tour — Big As the What?&quot; starts Jan. 18 in Denver and wraps up March 27 in Birmingham, Alabama.

Troy Smith

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