A federal judge in Washington extended Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants living in the United States. Judge Ana Reyes' decision to allow the Haitians to remain legally came hours before Tuesday's deadline.
The Trump administration says it will appeal the judge's ruling, and the case continues in federal court.
Advocates say they are ready to mobilize again should ICE's attention drift away from Minnesota and toward Ohio.
So while that storm passed us by, we are still left with the remnants of last week's major winter storm. Much to the relief of parents, schools reopened this week. The leftover piles of snow and frigid temperatures caused most schools, at least in central Ohio, to close all of last week.
AEP seemed to survive the storm pretty well, at least in Ohio. No major power outages here. But the utility made news when Governor DeWine mentioned his administration is trying to keep AEP's headquarters in Ohio. The company is looking to possibly move out of its 31-story headquarters in Columbus.
To discuss these stories, we turn to this week's panel: Statehouse Reporter Jo Ingles from Ohio Public Radio, Democratic Strategist Stanley Gates, and Republican Strategist Mike Gonidakis.
Snollygoster of the week
This week, testimony began in the trial of former FirstEnergy executives charged with bribing state officials to bail out two nuclear power plants. Former CEO Chuck Jones and former Senior Vice President Mike Dowling face charges that they bribed former Public Utilities Commission chair Sam Randazzo as part of the scheme.
In his opening statement, the attorney for the former executives argued that the $4.5 million they gave to Randazzo was not a bribe, but a payment Randazzo was supposed to use to settle claims with clients. The defense claims Randazzo instead pocketed the money.
Here's the thing: Randazzo cannot refute the claim. He died by suicide soon after he was indicted for his role in the scandal.
The jury will decide, but it's a pretty shrewd legal maneuver to shift the blame to a dead man.