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Bipartisan Committee to Study Ohio Data Centers
With data centers increasingly in the news—and increasingly contentious— a bipartisan committee in Ohio has been created to study the impact of these large facilities, both the benefits they could bring to residents of the Buckeye State, as well as concerns.
The Ohio Joint Data Center Committee, consisting of six Republicans and two Democrats from the state House and Senate will begin holding meetings May 27, according to the State Newshouse.
State Sen. Brian Chavez, a Republican and co-chair, called the committee “a fact-finding effort.” State Rep. Adam Holmes, another co-chair and also a Republican, emphasized the idea to “build more informed opinions on data center development.”
There are currently 232 data centers built in Ohio, making it sixth in the nation, The Columbus Dispatch pointed out. Supporters say data centers are crucial to America’s technological and national security future, in addition to generating tax revenue, employment opportunities, and allowing municipalities to strengthen local infrastructure.
Patrick Hedger, director of policy at NetChoice, spoke to The Daily Signal, calling data centers “the backbone of the modern internet and the modern technology sector.”
Not only do data centers create construction jobs, but they also create permanent jobs ranging from positions for high school graduates to those making six-figure salaries, Hedger explained. He also argued that the presence of data centers sends a good message to the community as examples of “positive secondary effects.”
“It’s a good signal that it’s a business-friendly environment” and “signals that there’s a good workforce and that there is good infrastructure nearby as well,” which he said those centers contribute to paying for, as well as paying property taxes.
The President’s Podcast, a project of Ohio Senate Republicans, addressed data centers with a conversation between host John Fortney and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Jerry Cirino, a Republican, and also cited the cost benefits. Cirino said taxes from data centers “help ease the tax burden on homeowners.”
Critics cite environmental concerns with data centers, including land and water use, with residents concerned about higher utility costs. Legislation has been introduced by U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, designed to “protect residents and small businesses from rising electricity costs caused by artificial intelligence data centers.”
Holmes addressed concerns from those opposed to data centers. “We’re well aware of initiatives to limit Ohio data center development during this critical point in America’s history,” he said. “This public concern has become a priority issue for us. That could have dramatic impact on Ohio and America’s future.”
There’s an effort to ban data centers that use more than 25 megawatts monthly, with a preliminary total of 25,000 signatures collected by Ohio Residents for Responsible Development. The group needs 413,487 valid signatures in half of Ohio’s 88 counties by July 1 to make the ballot.
Hedger countered the opposition, noting data centers “absolutely” have to do with national security.
“There’s a lot of misinformation out there about what’s happening in electricity markets. Electricity markets are very heavily regulated. It’s the whole point of the utility model. And so it is already the law in all 50 states that public utility commissions cannot offload the cost of a large user onto the residential retail base,” Hedger said, pointing out that “data centers are paying their way.”
“It’s important that we’re not offshoring that infrastructure, especially when it’s powering some of the more critical applications, data processing, in our economy,” Hedger added. “We do see evidence of foreign disinformation, coming from Russia and China, trying to undermine America’s infrastructure.”
That national security concern centers on where data centers are located. “Do we want to have data centers and control of information flow in the United States, in Ohio, or do we want to have it someplace else in another country?” Cirino asked. He warned about the United States having previously depended on China.
The Daily Signal’s Tony Kinnett also addressed opposition to data centers, noting that it “is really starting to fall apart as a tool for the Left” because data centers actually take up less water than feared and are building plants that are putting more power into the community.
Foreign involvement in anti-data center campaigns was a major topic of conversation for Fortney, who described the effort as “international,” with funding tied to organizations involved in a gerrymandering 2024 ballot initiative from “leftwing foreign billionaire donors.”
Regardless of whether initiative makes its way onto the ballot, data centers could be an issue in statewide elections. During a Turning Point USA event last month at Ohio State University, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy said he doesn’t see the issue as “an either-or” when it comes to agricultural concerns involving data centers.
“We will do economic development in a way that brings high-paying jobs to the state,” Ramaswamy said, acknowledging that “we have to protect our farmland and keep our electric bills low by making sure we’re also producing more energy in the state.”
Dr. Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee, has a section on her website addressing her “Affordability Plan,” which involves “Tackling High Energy Bills,” and includes “Cost Guardrails for Data Centers.”
Police Respond To Active Shooter Scene At California Mosque
Treasury Secretary Bessent Extends Russian Oil/Gas Sanctions Waiver Another 30-Days
I’m not going to spend too much time on this as I suspect most readers are well aware of my predictions on the matter. Suffice to say Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has extended the sanctions waiver on Russian oil and gas for another 30-days. {citation} [SOURCE] The […]
The post Treasury Secretary Bessent Extends Russian Oil/Gas Sanctions Waiver Another 30-Days appeared first on The Last Refuge.
San Diego Police Respond to Shooting at Islamic Center
KY: Vote for Thomas Massie Tomorrow!
For the past 14 years, Representative Thomas Massie has been one of the biggest fighters for the Second Amendment. He is the sponsor of the National Constitutional Carry Act, legislation that would allow you to carry a firearm nationwide without a permit.
Today and tomorrow, we need to encourage everyone we know who lives in his district to get out and vote for him on Tuesday!
Thomas Massie’s record goes far beyond one bill. As an A+ rated CHAMPION of the Second Amendment, he has voted against every unconstitutional gun control proposal that has appeared before Congress—every red flag scheme, every so-called “assault weapons” ban, every attempt to criminalize private gun sales and pass universal background checks. When other Republicans made deals and compromised, Massie held the line. Every. Single. Time.
His opponent? He could never come close to being the fighter that Kentucky, GOA, and America needs.
For over a decade, Thomas has fought for you and for me—defending our God-given liberties. His opponent, on the other hand, left the Republican Party when President Trump won the 2016 election—but now wants you to send him to Washington instead. Don’t let that happen.
The gun grabbers and the swamp know exactly what Thomas Massie means to the Second Amendment. That is precisely why they want him gone. Outside money and establishment forces are pouring millions into this race, hoping that freedom-loving Americans like you, your family, and your friends stay home tomorrow.
Don’t give them that satisfaction.
Head to this link to find your polling location and please make time to go and vote for Thomas Massie in the Republican primary for Congress. Polls will be open tomorrow—and your vote matters! Plus, in a primary, EVERY SINGLE ONE COUNTS.
Even if you do not live in Rep. Massie’s district, please tell your family and friends who live there to get out and vote for Thomas tomorrow.
If Representative Massie loses, it will be a win for the swamp—and a huge blow to the Second Amendment. Whether in Kentucky or across the country, we cannot afford to lose a pro-gun CHAMPION like Massie.
So please, make a plan to vote for Thomas Massie tomorrow and send this 2A champion back to Washington, D.C.—where he belongs, fighting for you and me instead of the special interests and dark money.
DHS Touts Arrest of Arsonist Illegal Alien in New York
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is touting the arrest of an illegal alien in New York who allegedly set fire to several cars, an arrest they say was made possible by the cooperation of local authorities with federal immigration enforcement.
On May 10, the Nassau County Police, in cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Elder Lopez-Avalos, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who allegedly set fire to 10 cars, including in the vicinity of a daycare center.
On May 12, Lopez-Avalos was taken into ICE custody.
“Thanks to ICE and CBP law enforcement, this criminal illegal alien charged with arson was arrested by ICE on May 12,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement of the arrest.
“This pyromaniac set fire to 11 cars and was a clear public safety threat. If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will arrest you and deport you,” she added.
Although DHS applauds Nassau County’s cooperation with ICE in the apprehension of Lopez-Avalos, they are harshly critical of some New York jurisdictions’ non-cooperation with ICE.
“Unfortunately, many New York jurisdictions do NOT cooperate with ICE. As of December 1, New York’s failure to honor ICE detainers has resulted in the release of 6,947 criminal illegal aliens since January 20,” the release states.
How Left-Wing Climate Plaintiffs Have Hijacked the Federal Judiciary
The defining feature of the American judicial system is that every litigant walks into the courtroom with the belief that they will have a fair shot to present their case. That foundational principle is under assault.
Several weeks ago, The Oversight Project published a report highlighting the threat to judicial independence posed by the left-wing climate plaintiffs’ bar. We highlighted how the Federal Judicial Center, the taxpayer-funded “think tank” for Article III federal judges, exploited its institutional credibility to predispose judges toward pro-plaintiff positions in climate litigation.
The Supreme Court held more than 30 years ago, in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, that judges must act as gatekeepers for scientific expert testimony and assess whether proposed testimony reflects genuine scientific knowledge that will assist the trier of fact.
A December 2025 publication by the FJC puts the longstanding role of judicial gatekeeping at risk. In its role as the “research and education agency of the judicial branch of the U.S. government” the FJC recently published the fourth edition of its Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence. Justice Elena Kagan wrote the foreword of the Reference Manual and praised the publication, noting that the “instruction that the manual offers in scientific principles and methods can improve the quality of judicial decision making.”
Our report focused on significant problems with the Manual’s Reference Guide on Climate Science, which presents the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change propaganda as settled scientific fact, and gives climate plaintiffs a roadmap for fulfilling the Daubert standard to have left-wing biased climate “science” entered into judicial proceedings.
The Reference Guide on Climate Science lists two Columbia University professors, Jessica Wentz and Radley Horton, as its authors. Wentz and Horton are climate change advocates who have published scholarship and participated in cases that called for the elimination of fossil fuels.
Wentz and Horton acknowledge the “insights and helpful feedback provided by” lawyer Michael Burger in drafting the Reference Guide on Climate Science. The Oversight Project’s investigation found, however, that Mr. Burger’s contributions went far beyond the suggested peripheral reviewing role contained in the acknowledgments.
We found that the Reference Guide on Climate Science repeatedly cites a 2020 law review article by Burger entitled, “The Law & Science of Climate Change Attribution.” We used a research integrity software to conduct an originality analysis and found that the Reference Guide on Climate Science contains a 23% similarity match and overall similarity index of 33% to Burger’s 2020 paper. Our report outlined instances where whole paragraphs—and nearly whole pages—of the Reference Guide on Climate Science were lifted verbatim from Burger’s 2020 law review article.
This level of overlap is not consistent with the acknowledgment of a reviewer who offered occasional comments. It is consistent with a contributor who supplied a significant portion of the chapter’s analytical framework and content. But what makes this overlap so significant is who Burger is outside of academia.
Burger is not a disinterested scholar. He is an active litigator on the plaintiff side of the very category of cases for which the Reference Guide on Climate Science purports to offer neutral judicial guidance.
Burger notably works at Sher Edling, the law firm that has positioned itself as the coordinating force behind the wave of municipal and state climate liability suits. With his Sher Edling hat on, Burger’s name is literally on the complaints for the plaintiffs with Honolulu, Delaware, and New York City in their lawsuits against energy producers.
In each of these cases, Burger’s clients seek to establish precisely the causal chain between fossil fuel production, global warming, and localized harm that the Reference Guide on Climate Science presents as scientifically settled. The scientific conclusions the chapter treats as settled fact are the live issues on which Burger’s clients depend to prevail in court.
The Reference Guide on Climate Science, in other words, imports the analytical conclusions of an active plaintiff-side litigator into a reference guide used by the federal judges before whom his cases may appear.
None of this is disclosed in the Reference Guide on Climate Science. A judge reading the manual would have no way of knowing that the scholar whose work substantially shaped its content is simultaneously litigating to establish the very propositions the chapter treats as settled science.
The FJC has received between $34 million and $35 million per year in federal tax dollars since at least 2023. While House and Senate committees have opened investigations into the FJC’s publication of the Reference Manual on Climate Science, more needs to be done.
Climate cases often turn on which side’s asserted facts prevail, and those questions hinge on evaluating expert testimony. By “working the referee” before ever setting foot in court, climate plaintiffs benefit from the massive head start given to them by the Reference Guide.
Our system appoints federal judges and gives them the responsibility to make the hard decisions of fact and law in the cases before them. The FJC’s decision to delete the Reference Guide on Climate Science months after publication is an inadequate half measure considering it was in the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence for months and is easily accessible on the internet today.
Congress is right to investigate and should defund the FJC to return the hard work of judicial decision making back to judges, where it belongs.
We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal.
Trump Renews SAVE America Push
Despite a lack of momentum in the Senate, President Donald Trump is not giving up on the SAVE America Act—a bill that would require proof of citizenship and photo identification in federal elections.
On Saturday, Trump demanded the bill be tacked on to separate bills dealing with housing and the extension of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act spy powers.
“THE SAVE AMERICA ACT MUST BE PASSED, NOW,” wrote Trump. “Use the Housing and FISA Bills to get it done! Maryland just had 500,000 Fake Mail-In Ballots revealed. We cannot, as a Country, put up with this any longer!!!”
Trump’s post came after the Maryland State Board of Elections acknowledged an “error by [their] mail-in ballot vendor resulting in some voters receiving the wrong party ballot for the Gubernatorial Primary Election.“
Per the board, more than 500,000 voters have requested mail-in ballots.
Jared DeMarinis, Maryland’s state administrator of elections, has pushed back on Trump’s characterization, telling CBS, “I want to assure the President, voters, and the public that NO Fake Mail-in ballots were distributed.”
Trump continued in his post, “Voter I.D., and Proof of Citizenship, must be approved, NOW. Crooked Mail-In Voting must be stopped!!! PUT IT ALL IN THE HOUSING AND FISA BILLS.”
The SAVE America Act, as passed by the House of Representatives, does not include restrictions on mail-in ballots. However, Trump has pushed for this provision to be added to the bill.
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., has introduced an amendment to the bill in the Senate that would restrict most mail-in voting. The SAVE America Act has never come to a vote in the chamber.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has previously pledged to block any bill that includes the SAVE America Act, calling it “a poison pill that will kill any legislation that it is attached to.”
However, Trump’s post was welcomed by some.
“Thank you, President Trump, for continuing to push for the SAVE America Act,” wrote Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a principal advocate of the bill, on X.
FISA and housing are both issues where Congress has struggled to find consensus.
The House and the Senate have already passed their own bills intended to expand the housing supply.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., has already placed an amended version of the Senate’s 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act on the House’s tentative schedule for the week of May 18.
With FISA, having failed to come to an agreement on a path forward, Congress has already voted twice in 2026 for short-term extensions of the federal government’s expiring authority to surveil the data of foreigners without warrants—a practice critics say is prone to abuse.
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