How weird is 2016? Texas is closer than Pennsylvania. Arizona is closer than Florida.

As I write -- a qualifier that seems particularly necessary given the flood of recent polling and the variance between them -- the twelve closest states in the 2016 contest according to the RealClearPolitics polling averages are: 1. Ohio, where Donald Trump leads by 0.5 points.

Super PAC ad compares Trumpa s rhetoric with a hatea that led to Matthew Sheparda s 1998 death

Priorities USA, Hillary Clinton's top-dollar super PAC, will begin airing an ad this week that compares Donald Trump's rhetoric with the "hate" that led to the 1998 killing of Matthew Shepard. The ad, which will run in Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, Nevada, Iowa, Colorado and New Hampshire, features Judy Shepard, Matthew Shepard's mother, linking the "hate" that she says Trump shows at events with the anti-gay sentiment that led two men to kill her son because of his sexual orientation.

We the People candidates forum brings platform views to residents of Cleveland’s East Side

Residents of Cleveland's East Side and the city's eastern suburbs packed into Bethany Baptist Church in the Glenville neighborhood Saturday to hear what candidates for Congress, the Ohio House and the local judiciary candidates had to say about issues impacting their neighborhood. The "We the People Candidates Forum" was hosted by Stand Up for Ohio , a non-profit organization that operates statewide and works to "achieve racial, social and economic justice for all Ohioans," according to the group's website.

Pence says he believes Trump’s denial of gropinga

Pence says he believes Trump's denial of groping allegations At least 5 women have publicly accused Trump of aggressive sexual advances Check out this story on pal-item.com: http://indy.st/2ecnIo3 Donald Trump told supporters Thursday in Ohio the accusations were "false claims," and said that media has "slandered and lied about me with false accusations." The Republican vice presidential candidate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, spoke Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016, at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.

Six Insights From the Latest Batch of Clinton EmailsFrom a leaked a…

Over the past few days, thousands of pages of private correspondence have made their way out of John Podesta's email box and onto the open internet. WikiLeaks's deluge of email exchanges between Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, her aides, family members, and favorite donors have provided fodder for countless news stories.

Chuck E. Cheese’s

A customer captured this video of a fight involving several adults at a Miami Chuck E. Cheese Oct. 1. But the family-friendly chain might want to add an important disclaimer: Kids can't be kids when adults are racking up assault charges. It may sound absurd, but that's exactly what has been happening in recent years amid a wave of violent fights between adults at Chuck E. Cheese's in cities across the country.

NTSB releases preliminary findings on midair plane collision

A former New Jersey prosecutor who claimed he was fired because he alleged the state dismissed an indictment because it involved supporters of Gov. Chris Christie has received a $1.5 million settlement, ending a... A former New Jersey prosecutor who claimed he was fired because he alleged the state dismissed an indictment because it involved supporters of Gov. Chris Christie has received a $1.5 million settlement, ending a six-year... Crews are continuing to work to recover a data recorder from a commuter train that crashed in New Jersey, killing a woman and injuring more than 100 others.

Why labor and conservation are joining forces again

As the heads of two different kinds of organizations, we take immense pride in the long history of cooperation between the labor and environmental movements. Indeed, in 2016 more than ever before, we believe we are stronger together.

NY Times: Now That Trump Is Ahead on Ohio, The Buckeye State Is…

On Thursday, in a story which appeared on the front page of Friday's print edition, Jonathan Martin at the New York Times reported that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is "effectively acknowledging how difficult they think it will be to defeat Donald J. Trump" in Ohio. But it's all good, says Martin, because the Buckeye State, which no victorious presidential candidate has lost since 1960, is now "fading in importance."