Amy Acton, the physician who served as director of the Ohio Department of Health in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, is running as a Democrat in hopes of succeeding her former boss, Gov. Mike DeWine (R).

Although the Republican governor has attempted to shield his former underling from blame over her efforts to curtail basic liberties during the pandemic in the name of public health, critics appear unwilling to forgive or forget, especially with the election shaping up to be a close race.

‘Amy Acton shut down our society.’

The Ohio Republican Party, for example, recalled on Tuesday that Acton “installed an order during COVID to lock down nursing homes,” adding that “visits were deemed permissible for loved ones and patients based on whether or not they were ‘grieving.’ Truly sickening.”

The state GOP noted in a previous post that Acton — who has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio and the Ohio Federation of Teachers — also saw to the closure of bars, restaurants, gyms, theaters, playgrounds, museums, libraries, fitness centers, and small businesses.

“She deemed her allies ‘essential’ — and left the rest to fend for themselves,” said the Ohio GOP.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, with whom Acton is poised to face off in November’s general election, has dubbed her “Dr. Lockdown” and blasted the Democrat for her role in closing Ohio public schools — which she insisted in an interview last year was necessary — and businesses.

RELATED: Damning study of over a million kids finds myocarditis only in the vaccinated

Megan JELINGER/AFP/Getty Images

Hours before Ohioans were supposed to begin casting ballots in the state’s March 2020 presidential primary, Acton ordered the closure of the polling locations. On the day of the punted vote, she ordered the closure of all Ohio bars and restaurants.

Days later, Acton issued a stay-at-home order, forbidding virtually all public and private gatherings occurring outside a single household; closing all “places of public amusement” including playgrounds; and prohibiting Ohioans from leaving their homes except for “Essential Activities, Essential Governmental Functions, or to participate in Essential Businesses and Operations.”

Acton’s actions prompted state lawmakers to introduce multiple bills aimed at reining in her power.

In the face of immense backlash and possible curbs on her authority, she resigned in June 2020.

“Amy Acton shut down our society,” Ohio Senate President Rob McColley (R) tweeted on Thursday. “Then she walked away when Ohioans pleaded for help in getting back to normal. She quit on Ohio once and we won’t give her a chance to do it again.”

Acton’s campaign declined a request for comment from Blaze News about Republicans’ recent criticism.

A Quantus Insights survey conducted last week found that 45.9% of respondents signaled support for Acton, 44.9% signaled support for Ramaswamy, nearly 6% said they were undecided, and 3.3% signaled support for some other candidate.

According to the survey, a plurality of respondents placed the economy, inflation, and the cost of living as the most important issues facing the state.

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Details have begun to emerge about a shooting at an Air Force base in New Mexico that resulted in at least one death.

On Tuesday, one person died and one person was injured after a suspect open fired near the Shoppette at Holloman Air Force Base in Otero County in southern New Mexico.

The injured victim and the deceased ‘were not married.’

In a press release on Wednesday, base officials identified the injured party as “an active-duty service member assigned to Holloman AFB” and claimed the individual was in “stable condition.” Officials said the individual’s identity will not be released.

The press release stated that the deceased individual was a “civilian” who had previously been a service member once “stationed” at the base.

RELATED: Retired Air Force major allegedly trained Chinese military fighter pilots — and is linked to spying, hacking network

Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images

On Friday, base officials confirmed the identity of the deceased individual: Ashanti Stewart. The latest press release claimed that Stewart committed suicide after shooting the active-duty service member. She was declared dead at the scene, officials said.

Officials have characterized the shooting as an “isolated incident” related to some kind of “domestic” issue. However, the injured victim and the deceased “were not married,” officials noted.

A lockdown order was issued at the base around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday following reports of an active shooter, a press release on Tuesday said. That order was soon lifted after authorities determined that the scene was “safe.” Officials later said that there was “no ongoing threat.”

The shooting remains under investigation.

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There’s a new young adult novel out that has America’s teen readers spellbound. It’s got mystery, romance, fantasy, and plot twists — everything a young reader craves.

There’s only one problem: It’s demonic pornography, according to Allie Beth Stuckey.

On this episode of “Relatable,” Allie and “Library 4 Kiddos” founder Anne Sey dive into the dark world of “Sibylline” by Melissa de la Cruz and explain why parents should be cautious about young adult literature.

Shortly after its publication earlier this year, “Sibylline” quickly became a New York Times best-seller and was even selected as a “Good Morning America” YA Book Club pick for February.

This shocked both Allie and Sey, because the book is full of dark and explicit content.

“Initially it was marketed to 12- to 17-year-olds, and it’s very problematic, because not only does it have magic that dives into the occult — like there’s seances … possession of people, necromancy,” says Sey.

“But also on page 284, there is a very graphic scene of a threesome, and it’s done on the friend who they think is dead. So not only a threesome, but necrophilia.”

Allie pulls no punches about the depravity of this particular scene. “I just want to be clear about what is actually being depicted. It’s not some closed-door thing,” Allie explains. She goes on to outline all the depraved, explicit, X-rated ways this sexual scene is depicted in the book.

“So that is the kind of necrophilia, sexual assault that is being … not only depicted but glorified.”

Sey, who provides curated book recommendations focused on wholesome young adult literature, says, “What a lot of people don’t understand … is that over half of the people reading young adult [books] are actual adults … 18 and on.”

She cites a 2024 study from HarperCollins UK that found that 74% of young adult readers in the U.K. are adults — 28% of whom are over age 28.

Publishers, says Sey, “know this” about their readership. So even though protagonists in YA novels are typically in the same age range as young adult readers (12-17), the content is often tailored to a far more mature audience.

But this can be tricky for parents, because sometimes YA authors, including Melissa de la Cruz, also write age-appropriate books for teens.

“Melissa de la Cruz is known for her middle-grade novels as well,” says Sey, referring to de la Cruz’s “Alex & Eliza” trilogy — a historical romance series that reimagines the real-life love story of Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth “Eliza” Schuyler.

“So my fear is that parents who are not aware and who have said, ‘Well, we’ve read her ‘Descendants’ series or, you know, her ‘Alex & Eliza’ series’” will assume “it’s okay to read this book, and it’s not,”’ she tells Allie.

To hear more about the dangers of young adult literature and what you can do to protect your kids, watch the episode above.

Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Relatable, Relatable with allie beth stuckey, Allie beth, Allie beth stuckey, Anne sey, Library 4 kiddos, Young adult fiction, Young adult literature, Ya books, Ya lit, Ya literature, Adultification, Blazetv, Blaze media 

Afroman did not defame officers when he made songs about a police raid that destroyed his front door but resulted in no charges, an Ohio jury has decided.

In 2022, deputies from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office burst into the rapper’s home while he was away by way of search warrant in order to look for evidence of drug trafficking and kidnapping.

‘I didn’t win, America won.’

As reported by WCPO Cincinnati, Afroman — real name Joseph Foreman — faced no subsequent charges, but he allegedly had a different mess on his hands. Afroman said officers tore his house apart, cut the cords of his video cameras, and even took his cash. According to CNN, officials later claimed their deputies had merely miscounted the money.

The defamation lawsuit stemmed from multiple Adams County deputies who claimed Afroman used their likeness without permission when he included his security footage in a series of music videos.

CBS News reported that Deputy Lisa Phillips said the rapper made a “derogatory” music video that questioned her gender and sexuality, seemingly referring to Afroman’s 2022 song “Why You Disconnecting My Video Camera.”

However, just days before the trial, the artist released “Licc’em Low Lisa,” which has over 500,000 views on YouTube at the time of this writing. Footage has since emerged of Phillips crying from the stand as Afroman’s lyrics were played for the courtroom to hear.

Furthermore, Sgt. Randy Walters reportedly said his child had been mocked at school over his inclusion in music videos. Afroman ended up releasing the song “Randy Walters Is a Son of a Bitch” on the first day of the trial, which had over one million views on YouTube in just four days.

RELATED: Sean Penn and Ben Stiller: 2 Oscar no-shows, 2 VERY different excuses

The most popular song of Afroman’s security footage genre was likely “Lemon Pound Cake.”

The song has over three million views and pokes fun at a deputy who eyes up a lemon pound cake on the counter as he walks through Afroman’s house with a pistol drawn.

After leaving the courthouse on Wednesday, Afroman said his victory was a crucial win for the First Amendment.

“I didn’t win. America won. America still has freedom of speech. It’s still for the people, by the people,” the rapper told reporters.

“I didn’t go down here and sue the police department,” he continued, pointing at the courthouse. “I fixed up the damages they made, and I sung songs about it to raise money to do it. They were unapologetic.”

A small group of fans were seen cheering Afroman on in celebration of his court win, and the artist showed significant gratitude for their support.

“I’m glad things went my way, but if they would have took it all from me, I was happy about all the love I was getting from everybody,” Afroman added, fighting off tears.

RELATED: ‘I love being your mom’: How Best Actress Jessie Buckley made motherhood Oscars’ biggest winner

“Afroman is a modern day civil rights hero and a true and living embodiment of the Hungry Hustling American Dream,” Grace Legal Group attorney Jordan Dixon-Hamilton, who is not representing Afroman, told Blaze News.

“His victory in court against the group of thugs from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office in their baseless defamation suit is another testament to the strength of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment,” the lawyer added.

Steven Lee Rachel from Baste Records, Afroman’s label, told Blaze News, “We support and stand by Afroman and his First Amendment rights.”

Afroman had a final message to Americans as he celebrated with his supporters:

“When life give you lemons, you make lemon pound cake.”

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In its review of old X and Tumblr accounts believed to have belonged to New York City Democrat Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wife, Ruma Duwaji, the Washington Free Beacon discovered posts glorifying Palestinian terrorists and romanticizing Islamic martyrdom.

For instance, Duwaji, the child of Syrian migrants, appears to have posted a photo on Sept. 23, 2017, of Palestinian terrorist Leila Khaled captioned, “If it does good for my cause, I’ll be happy to accept death.”

‘American soldiers fighting in imperialist wars are not brave.’

Khaled, a prominent member of the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who claimed in a 2024 interview that the “7th of October was a must,” was involved in plane hijackings both in 1969 and 1970.

On March 8, 2015, Duwaji reportedly shared a post praising Shadia Abu Ghazaleh, a PFLP terrorist who participated in the bombing of an Israeli bus and ultimately blew herself up in 1968 building a bomb she apparently meant to use on an Israeli building.

In July 2015, Mamdani’s wife apparently shared a post stating, “American soldiers fighting in imperialist wars are not brave nor are they fighting for anyone’s freedom. They are mercilessly slaughtering 3rd world civilians and fighting to maintain American hegemony.”

RELATED: Why America’s enemies always target Western civilization first

Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images

When Snapchat added Tel Aviv to its “live story” feature that same year, Duwaji reportedly retweeted a post that stated, “@Snapchat has disappointed me. F**k #TelAviv. Shouldn’t exist in the first place. They’re occupiers. You celebrate them.”

Duwaji’s old account appears to have been deactivated in the wake of the Beacon’s exposé.

Blaze News did not receive a response from New York City Hall.

CNN pundit Scott Jennings and Dalia Al-Aqidi, a Republican running for Congress in Minnesota, highlighted on Wednesday the liberal media’s kid-glove treatment of Mamdani’s wife, especially when compared with the treatment the wife of another high-profile figure has received.

Jennings responded to the Beacon report, writing, “Remember when the national media tried to impeach Justice Alito because his wife hung up George Washington’s flag on their porch?”

Whereas the liberal media appears reluctant to indict Mamdani for the foreign-focused radicalism of his 28-year-old wife, the media desperately attempted to paint Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in recent years as ideologically compromised and incapable of faithfully executing his judicial duties because his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, supposedly hoisted American flags.

The CNN pundit highlighted headlines corresponding with the controversy ginned up by Obama hagiographer Jodi Kantor in May 2024.

Kantor concern-mongered about a “‘Stop the Steal’ Symbol” — the American flag suspended upside down — allegedly displayed at Justice Alito’s house in January 2021. Kantor suggested on the basis of insights from so-called experts that “the flag was a clear violation of ethics rules … and could sow doubt about Justice Alito’s impartiality in cases related to the election and Capitol riot.”

Justice Alito explained, however, that the distressed flag had nothing to do with the Jan. 6 protests as insinuated but was rather hoisted by his wife in response to alleged verbal abuse from a neighbor who had erected a “F**k Trump” sign within 50 feet of where children await the school bus.

‘The mayor is weaponizing the mainstream media.’

Democrats nevertheless made hay of the story with the intention of sidelining Alito, while Kantor — who had effectively blown up her original framing with a report detailing the harassment Mrs. Alito endured before the distressed flag was raised — joined other liberal propagandists in penning another alarmist piece about an “Appeal to Heaven” flag spotted over Alito’s New Jersey beach house.

Other publications, including Rolling Stone magazine, got in on the action, attacking Mrs. Alito for expressing mainstream conservative views.

Dalia Al-Aqidi noted in a March 18 op-ed, “When Martha-Ann Alito, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, flew an upside-down American flag at her home in 2021, it triggered national outrage and relentless media coverage. The standard was clear: proximity to power is power. And with power comes scrutiny. But in Duwaji’s case, we are told to look away by the mayor. Why?”

“The mayor is weaponizing the mainstream media and the political class’s fear of being labeled ‘Islamophobic,'” said Al-Aqidi.

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Action movie star Chuck Norris has passed away, his family revealed online Friday.

The 86-year-old burst onto the film scene in the late 1970s and had a major influence on the boom in martial arts movies of the 1980s and 1990s.

‘To us, he was a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather.’

Norris’ family wrote on his Instagram page that the star passed away Thursday morning, but wanted to keep the circumstances surrounding the death private.

“To the world, he was a martial artist, actor, and a symbol of strength. To us, he was a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather, an incredible brother, and the heart of our family,” the caption read.

The family added, “He lived his life with faith, purpose, and an unwavering commitment to the people he loved. Through his work, discipline, and kindness, he inspired millions around the world and left a lasting impact on so many lives.”

RELATED: ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’ gets woke reboot, to star ‘gay, conservative’ character

CBS/Getty Images

The family went on to say that they were grateful for Norris’ life and the “unforgettable moments” they were “blessed to share with him.” They thanked his fans and his friends and said they were “truly grateful” for offers of prayer and support they received during Norris’ recent hospitalization.

Norris hit it big with films like “Good Guys Wear Black” in 1978 and “A Force of One” in 1979. He was a mainstay on television as well with “Walker, Texas Ranger,” which had more than 200 episodes during its 1993-2001 run.

RELATED: Netanyahu says Israel is ‘indestructible’ with Chuck Norris supporting it

Paul Drinkwater/NBC via Getty Images

Norris was involved in politics in recent years, such as endorsing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2017.

In 2016, Norris was reportedly set to attend a rally for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) but ultimately did not attend, and a spokesman said any presidential endorsement from the action star at the time was only a rumor.

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The Department of Homeland Security has been shut down for over a month, and Congress has made no progress toward reopening it.

Democrats partially shut down DHS on February 14 by refusing to pass the appropriations bill in protest of the deaths of anti-ICE agitators Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Although Democrats took aim at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE is already funded through President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was passed last summer.

‘They have barely been in the same building.’

Instead of crippling our country’s immigration-focused agencies, Democrats are withholding funds from TSA and FEMA, sparking delays and frustration across the country.

Even still, Congress — which will break for a district work week from March 30 until April 10 — has shown no urgency to address the issue.

RELATED: White House offers concessions to end DHS shutdown — but Dems still choose illegal aliens over unpaid American TSA agents

Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images

“The House and the Senate have had weeks to fix this, and they have barely been in the same building,” American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley said in a statement obtained by Blaze News. “Members of Congress have walked past our TSA members at airport security checkpoints more often than they’ve met to negotiate an end to this stalemate.”

“Those officers deserve to be paid for the work they do to keep those members safe,” Kelley added. “The least Congress can do for these patriotic American workers is act before legislators leave town for the weekend, or, worse, head off on a weeks-long recess.”

RELATED: Spring break blues: DHS highlights outrageous airport conditions amid Democrat shutdown

Photo by Aaron Schwartz / AFP via Getty Images

Kelley called the partial shutdown a “moral failure,” noting that families are unable to put food on the table simply because Congress can’t put in the work.

“A TSO selling plasma to keep the lights on is unconscionable,” Kelley said. “Tens of thousands of families turning to food banks because Congress refuses to do its job is a national disgrace. This is a profound moral failure, and the American people should know who’s responsible for it.”

“The time for excuses is over,” Kelley added. “Pass a measure to reopen DHS, pay these workers, and don’t go home until you do.”

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