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China’s stranglehold on critical minerals is now a national crisis

Local Columns

In the 1970s, when OPEC halted oil shipments to the United States, Congress established a “Strategic Petroleum Reserve.” It was an emergency measure to stockpile oil against a future crisis. Now, 50 years later, the United States is building a new strategic reserve. With China repeatedly threatening to halt exports of rare earth metals, the Trump administration has launched “Project Vault”—a $12 billion plan to stockpile critical minerals ahead of potential shortages. Much like the 1970s oil reserve, this “vault” will store key metals and minerals to blunt future supply ...

Bill would create Ohio Blue Ribbon committee

Editorials

Lawmakers who were sent by voters to Columbus to cut wasteful spending and unnecessary layers of government have an interesting idea in front of them in state House Bill 520. The measure, now sitting in the House Local Government Committee would “establish and convene a Blue Ribbon Committee in each county to review and assess each taxing unit within the county and each county program or department to identify duplication of services and generally to streamline and improve county efficiency and effectiveness.” One could point out the irony of attacking inefficient, multi-layered ...

Next frontier is building digital assets framework

Local Columns

Ohio has a long history of producing people who attempt what others insist cannot be done. When two bicycle mechanics from Dayton argued that human flight was possible, the response was fear — warnings about danger, disorder, and defying nature. When an Ohio inventor promoted electric light, critics predicted fires, chaos, and threats to public safety. History settled the argument anyway. Flight shrank the world, electricity powered modern life, and the warnings that once dominated debate now read like footnotes. The lesson is simple: caution matters, but fear disguised as prudence ...

Wintry conditions impacting American Red Cross supplies

Editorials

According to a recent release, the American Red Cross urges people to take action now. Recent winter storms have had a severe impact on our efforts to rebuild the blood supply during the ongoing blood shortage. Donors of all blood types are asked to make a blood or platelet donation appointment as soon as possible. Over 500 blood drives have been canceled since Jan. 1, causing more than 20,000 blood and platelet donations to go uncollected. Across the Northern Ohio Region, 41 blood drives have been canceled, with nearly 1,200 blood products going uncollected. Patient care is at risk ...

Ohio House Bill 524 warns of dangers of AI, self-harm

Editorials

(This item discusses suicide and self-harm. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988.) Ohio House Bill 524 aims to address a problem few could have imagined a decade or two ago: Artificial intelligence chatbots encouraging people to harm themselves or others. State Rep. Christine Cockley, D-Columbus, is lead sponsor on the bipartisan bill, which would allow for imposing penalties for AI models suggesting harming self or others. It now sits in the House Technology and Innovation Committee. Testimony earlier ...

Ohio’s Safe Haven isn’t just about Baby Boxes

Editorials

We don’t hear about them often — because the decision to give up a child is an excruciating one, and does not often result in their use — but another Safe Haven Baby Box has been used to legally surrender a baby in Ohio. This one was at the Delhi Township Fire Department, where firefighters responded in less than a minute to deliver care to the infant, according to the Safe Haven organization. Founder Monica Kelsey took to social media to make the announcement, saying “We’ve had another baby surrendered legally in one of our Safe Haven Baby Boxes. This time down in the ...