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Sherrod Brown to launch U.S. Senate bid against Ohio Sen. Jon Husted
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Sherrod Brown will run for U.S. Senate in 2026, seeking a political comeback in Ohio as Democrats hope for a sweeping rejection of President Donald Trump and his party, according to multiple news reports. The decision by Brown, 72, came months after he lost his U.S. Senate seat to Sen. Bernie Moreno in one of the country's most expensive races. This time, Ohio's most beloved Democrat will take on Sen. Jon Husted, who joined the Senate earlier this year after serving as lieutenant governor. first reported that Brown has shared his decision with Ohio labor leaders. Politico and Axios also reported his plans, citing unnamed sources. More: 11 pivotal Senate races for 2026 The Statehouse Bureau, a USA TODAY Network partner, is trying to confirm the news independently. A spokesperson for Brown did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Husted to replace Vice President JD Vance. Husted must run in November 2026 to keep his seat. Whoever wins in 2026 will be up for reelection two years later. Brown's decision ended speculation that he would run for governor against the presumptive GOP nominee, Vivek Ramaswamy. Former Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton is the only Democrat in that race, although former Congressman Tim Ryan is mulling a bid. Running for governor would have placed Brown at the top of Ohio's ticket in 2026. He also could have sat out the election and focused on a nonprofit he launched earlier this year. Instead, Brown opted to pursue a familiar job and the chance to help his party flip the Senate. Despite Brown's loss in 2024, Democrats in Ohio and nationally view him as key to breaking the hold Republicans have on the Buckeye State. GOP leaders control control every statewide executive office, but they're all term limited in 2026 and playing musical chairs in an effort to maintain power. Brown received 117,250 more votes than former Vice President Kamala Harris. Democrats contend that math will be in their favor when the president isn't on the ballot and GOP candidates face questions about Medicaid cuts, immigration raids and the widespread firing of federal employees. Husted, for his part, has been a reliable supporter of Trump's agenda since he took office. He supported the budget bill that slashed $1 trillion from Medicaid, eliminated taxes on tips, increased the child tax credit and enacted tax cuts that primarily benefit high earners. This story will be updated. State government reporter Haley BeMiller can be reached at hbemiller@ or @haleybemiller on X. What do you think about Sherrod Brown running for U.S. Senate? This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Sherrod Brown to launch Ohio Senate Bid against Jon Husted
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Tiny investment bank's revenue surges after Trump sons join
(Bloomberg) — Dominari Holdings Inc. reported a 452% revenue jump in its first full quarter of results since adding Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump to its advisory board. Sunseeking Germans Face Swiss Backlash Over Alpine Holiday Congestion New York Warns of $34 Billion Budget Hole, Biggest Since 2009 Crisis To Head Off Severe Storm Surges, Nova Scotia Invests in 'Living Shorelines' Five Years After Black Lives Matter, Brussels' Colonial Statues Remain A New Stage for the Theater That Gave America Shakespeare in the Park The investment bank, with headquarters in Manhattan's Trump Tower, reported total revenue of $34 million, up from $6.17 million a year earlier. Shares were up 1.7% to $5.42 at 10:11 a.m. in New York, after climbing as much as 5.4% earlier Tuesday. Since enlisting President Donald Trump's eldest sons, Dominari appeared in a series of deals involving the Trumps and their allies. One of the highest profile of these is American Bitcoin Corp., a company spun up with help from another publicly traded Bitcoin miner called Hut 8 Corp. At the end of June, Dominari held a stake in American Bitcoin valued at $32 million, the largest of its long term private holdings, according to its quarterly financial statement. Soon American Bitcoin will become public, in another transaction expected to close in the coming weeks. Another major deal came in June: crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun's father invested $100 million in SRM Entertainment Inc., with Dominari acting as placement agent. SRM, a money-losing toymaker, re-branded as Tron Inc. and pivoted to accumulating TRX, the virtual token that backs Sun's Tron network. Weeks earlier, a fund led by Dominari executive Soo Yu invested in the company, which spiked in value following the deal with Sun. Other recent deals included equity offerings for Hong Kong brokerage Waton Financial Ltd., Taiwanese hotpot restaurant Masterbeef Group and Cambodian bagmaker Kandal M Venture Ltd., according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In March, Dominari partnered with the Trumps and cryptocurrency operation Hut 8 Corp. to create American Bitcoin, a crypto miner expected to go public as early as the third quarter. Dominari booked a gain of $32 million on its position in the company after it raised $220 million in June. It also acted as placement agent on the deal. The stake in American Bitcoin represents almost 75% of its long-term equity holdings. Compensation at Dominari, which has a market capitalization of about $84 million, also soared. Stock options that went to Chief Executive Officer Anthony Hayes and Kyle Wool, who heads its financial arm, cost $26.1 million. An additional $15 million was reserved for commissions. General and administrative expenses totaled $53.5 million in the quarter, a sixfold increase from a year earlier. Eric Trump owns about 6.3% of the company, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Eric and Trump Jr. each received 750,000 shares for joining the company in February, and for meeting certain milestones. Dominari and its financial subsidiary pay a total of more than $60,000 a month for office space leased in Trump Tower. (Updates with shares in second paragraph, ownership in 10th.) ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
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Mayor Brandon Johnson's Chicago Public Schools chief resists City Hall borrowing plan, pension payment as budget deadline looms
CHICAGO — Chicago Public Schools interim chief Macquline King is resisting pressure from Mayor Brandon Johnson to make a controversial pension payment and borrow millions of dollars to settle the district's budget, a notable twist in what has become a deeply uncertain budget cycle for the fourth-largest school district in the nation. Several city officials met with CPS leadership last Thursday without King to lay out recommendations aimed at helping her close a $734 million deficit by the end of August, according to several board members who spoke to the Tribune. Among their suggestions: taking out a $200 million loan and asking for new state revenue, while accepting responsibility for a controversial $175 million pension payment, previously covered by the city. King initially opposed all of their major proposals, board members who spoke to the Tribune said. King is scheduled to have meetings with aldermen and state representatives on Tuesday, discussing her budget plans. Sources told the Tribune she intends to tell them that they won't make the $175 million pension payment and will avoid borrowing measures. It's not clear whether the district plans to avoid borrowing altogether or do a smaller amount than previously proposed. But her resistance to the city's proposals could have far-reaching consequences, not just for the district's financial outlook, but for its political future. Johnson, a former teacher and longtime Chicago Teachers Union organizer, has strongly supported borrowing as a way to avoid deeper school-level cuts to staffing and classroom services. His appointed school board president, Sean Harden, has echoed that stance. Critics warn the city's proposed loan — likely a high-interest, long-term borrowing plan — could further harm CPS's already fragile credit rating. The school year begins August 18, the first time in recent memory that the district will open classrooms without an approved budget in place. CPS must lay out a budget proposal at a school board meeting on Wednesday, with a final vote expected later this month. CPS and King did not immediately respond to requests for comment. City officials also didn't respond. With the majority of the school board aligned with Johnson and a former city official at the district's helm, it might seem the mayor's budget strategy would face little resistance. But the path forward is murky. Board members, both aligned and not aligned with the mayor's agenda, are split about how best to handle the district's budget challenges. For months, observers have closely watched King's approach to tackling the district's fiscal crisis. She stepped into the role in June following the departure of former CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, who clashed with Johnson over similar fiscal strategies during contentious contract talks with the teachers union last fall. As Chicago's former senior director of education policy, King was the only final candidate for interim CEO with City Hall ties — leading some to believe she might back Johnson's CPS budget approach. The mayor still holds control over the majority of the partly-elected, partly-appointed school board until 2027, when it transitions to a fully elected body. A hybrid board, disentanglement The hybrid school board is the result of 2021 state legislation that sought to disentangle CPS finances from city finances, a prospect that has become harder to realize as board members look to aldermen to unlock funds earmarked for specific projects in special taxing districts, hoping to use the money to close a budget gap of hundreds of millions of dollars. Another complication is the $175 million pension reimbursement to the city for nonteacher employees, which was formerly the city's responsibility and got pushed to CPS under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The district is not required to make the payment by state law. It didn't make the payment last year due to its financial constraints, and the city had to eat the costs. In the past, aldermen — facing their own budget constraints — have threatened to reduce funding from their taxing districts to the district if the CPS didn't step up on the pension obligation. Following King's inclination to push the payment back to City Hall, the mayor's office scheduled several budget briefings with CPS, CTU, and the principals' union to meet with groups of state representatives and aldermen on Tuesday, according to an email reviewed by the Tribune. The goal of the briefings was to 'facilitate a conversation about how to address the deficit and maintain the staffing our schools need.' In the email, King's first name is misspelled. After King took over for Martinez in mid-June, CPS has chipped away at the district's budget gap through finding efficiencies — cutting hundreds of custodians, ending hot lunch programs, eliminating crossing guard positions and downsizing staff at the district's central office. As of last week, board member Ed Bannon of District 1 on the far North Side said he was told by CPS officials that the gap was down to $369 million, taking the pension payment into account in their estimates. He said the state needs to step in, and pointed to research — first reported by the Sun Times — that CPS has only 73% of the funding it needs to give students what it deems an 'adequate' education. 'You don't pay a mechanic 73% of the job, and expect your car to run,' Bannon said. 'You don't pay a roofer 73% of what they charge you, and expect your roof not to leak.' The relationship between board members and state officials will be even more important moving forward, said Illinois Democrat Rep. Ann Williams, who helped draft the school board legislation. 'Having a cohesive ask or plan would be helpful as we have those conversations,' said Williams. For now, board members and Chicago officials remain far from having a cohesive plan. Without borrowing, King's remaining options to address the shortfall come down to further cuts — or more money from the city and state. Both depend heavily on negotiations that are still taking shape. ____ Solve the daily Crossword
