Five things to know for Friday, Dec. 19

Initial unemployment claims drop

Ohioans filed 59,468 unemployment claims between Dec. 7 and Dec. 13, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said. That tally included 50,732 continued unemployment claims, which were 3,079 more than a week earlier.

It also included 8,736 initial unemployment claims, which were 1,363 fewer than the previous week. Iffucuals said that 1,479 of them were flagged for more stringent identity verification, to ensure they are legit.

Think tank wants court to confirm state does not have to accept federal dollars. The Buckeye Institute has filed a fourth amicus brief with the Ohio Supreme Court, asking the court to confirm that Ohio’s Cooperation Statute does not mandate the governor to take federal money whenever it is offered. “Ohio’s Cooperation Statute does not command that Governor DeWine accept every federal dime offered,” Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute, said in a release.

Hamilton County frees man on death row, launches Conviction Integrity Unit. Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich announced the dismissal of a 1995 murder conviction, freeing a man who sat on death row for three decades, and also announced the creation of a Conviction Integrity Unit, WCPO-TV reported. “Had such a unit existed years ago, this decision may have been reached much sooner,” the prosecutor said.

Landsman may have a challenger. The 41-year-old son and grandson of two Cincinnati civil rights activists and pastors might challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman. Damon Lynch IV confirmed his potential plans to run in next year’s Democratic primary for Ohio’s 1st District to The Enquirer.

Moreno votes for National Defense Authorization Act. Republican U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno voted in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, which would send $72 million to Ohio. “Our foreign adversaries are on the move, and this year’s NDAA reasserts American peace through strength,” Moreno said in a release.