Catching Our Eye News Roundup, July 31, 2026

Every morning in the Ohio Capital Journal’s free newsletter, The Eye-Opener, we round up the news and commentary from across Ohio and around the country and world that is catching our attention. We call this feature Catching Our Eye, republished here.

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Catching Our Eye

• Mocking Jim Jordan. Cleveland.com’s Sabrina Eaton reports, “Fauci diary reveals private mockery of Jim Jordan at COVID hearings.”

  Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, repeatedly trashed U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan in a private diary released this week by Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul.

  Entries from the diary’s 2020-2022 time frame describe the Champaign County Republican as “ranting” and mock his combative style at multiple hearings.

• Afroman now files suit. The Cincinnati Enquirer’s David Ferrara reports, “Afroman files lawsuit against deputy in ‘Lemon Poundcake’ suit, raid.”

  Rapper Afroman is suing a former deputy who previously sued him over music videos made from raid footage. The new lawsuit claims the deputy’s original suit defamed Afroman and invaded his privacy.

  The deputy, Brian Newland, was part of a 2022 raid on Afroman’s home that resulted in no charges. Afroman previously won a lawsuit filed by Newland and other deputies over his music videos.

• Lima billboard battle. The Columbus Dispatch’s Lilli Malone reports, “Anti-LGBTQ+ billboards in Lima prompt vocal community response.”

  Anti-LGBTQ+ billboards have appeared in Lima, Ohio, and other cities, sponsored by an organization called Them Before Us. Community members and LGBTQ+ organizations have criticized the billboards for being harmful to children and families.

  In response, local organizers planned a peaceful protest to promote a message of love and support for all family types. A GoFundMe campaign raised over $18,000 to launch counter-billboards with supportive messages across Ohio.

• Ohio lynching sites. The Ohio Newsroom’s Kaitlin Thorne reports, ““This happened in our country and we can’t erase it.” A southeast Ohio museum displays soil from lynching sites.”

  On a small shelf in an old brick building in Belmont County sit 14 jars of soil. Each is labeled with an Ohio city alongside a man’s name and contain dirt from sites across the state where the men were lynched.

  The jars are on temporary display at the Underground Railroad Museum in Flushing, before the museum moves into its new home in Morristown, 8 miles down the road, this fall.

• Ohio addiction epidemic movie. The Dayton Daily News’ Russell Florence Jr. reports, “Ohio’s addiction epidemic at center of ‘Union County’ movie: ‘I did not want further stigmas or stereotypes’.”

  Ohio-born writer/director Adam Meeks’ dynamic debut feature, “Union County,” is a powerful story of addiction, family, loss, perseverance and redemption that will have special screenings Saturday, Aug. 8 at The NEON in downtown Dayton prior to its official release Friday, Aug. 14.

  Shot in Logan County and Union County in the spring of 2025, the quietly compelling film stars Will Poulter and Noah Centineo co-star as brothers Cody and Jack Parsons, each navigating a court-mandated drug rehabilitation program in an area of rural Ohio hit hard by the opioid epidemic. With the support of a tireless counselor (beautifully sincere Annette Deao), the brothers work toward a brighter, sober future.