Saturday, July 18, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1921, John Glenn—a decorated Marine aviator, pioneering astronaut, and future U.S. senator—was born in Cambridge.

🌪️ Strong storms, with possible tornadoes, are expected to sweep across northern Ohio today—clearing out the lingering smoke from Canadian wildfires. Read more in Around Ohio.

For years, spotting an email scam felt easy. Bad grammar, a fake logo, an obvious ask, and you'd catch it. But the emails that drained nearly $21 billion from Americans last year didn't look sloppy at all. They looked like they came from your bank, your pharmacy, even your own family, and adults over 60 lost the most of anyone. In today's episode of The Flyover Podcast, Amy breaks down five quick inbox moves that clean up your clutter and quietly lock scammers out. Which one are the con artists counting on you never learning? Tune in here to learn more!

Today's sponsor is Immersed, offering investors the opportunity to get in early on an extended reality company developing next-generation productivity software and XR hardware before its planned public listing.

Moreno Targets Canada over Wildfire Smoke

U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said he will introduce legislation next week to sanction Canadian officials over wildfire smoke that drove Ohio’s air quality to its worst levels on record this week.

The measure would declare an emergency, revoke the officials’ visas, and explore the creation of a victim compensation fund financed through new tariffs. It would also declare Canada’s ambassador persona non grata until the smoke clears.

Moreno blamed what his office described as Canada’s failure to invest in forest thinning, prescribed burns, and enforcement against arson. Toledo’s air quality index surpassed 600 Thursday, while central Ohio recorded its worst readings ever.

Lawsuit Links Taco Bell to Cyclospora Outbreak

An Army veteran who was hospitalized after eating at a Youngstown Taco Bell has filed what his attorneys call the first lawsuit connected to the Midwest cyclospora outbreak.

David Ott, a retired Army sergeant major from Gilmer, Texas, says he ate Taco Supremes on June 18 and June 20 while attending a conference in Youngstown, then spent two weeks bedridden.

The CDC warned consumers this week not to eat shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in Ohio and four neighboring states after an FDA traceback investigation identified a single supplier.

Ohio has reported more than 1,300 cases and 96 hospitalizations. Lucas County has the state’s highest total, with 278 cases as of Thursday.

Central Ohio Leads State’s Population Growth

Central Ohio continues to outpace the rest of the state in population growth, with new census-based county rankings illustrating the widening regional divide.

Union County leads the state, growing nearly 19% since 2020, followed by Delaware County at about 15%. Madison, Pickaway, and Fairfield counties complete the top five.

Franklin County, which includes Columbus and remains Ohio’s most populous county, grew about 3.5% to more than 1.37 million residents. Columbus, meanwhile, continues to attract attention as one of the fastest-growing cities in the Midwest, according to Travel + Leisure.

The state was evenly divided: 44 counties gained residents, and 44 lost them. Cuyahoga County, home to Cleveland, shrank about 2.4%, while Hamilton County, home to Cincinnati, grew 1%. Eastern and southern Ohio recorded the steepest declines, led by Lawrence County’s nearly 4.6% loss.

This Private Company Is Up 4,000% Already

How do you follow 4,000% valuation growth? By preparing for what’s next. That’s what Immersed did, reserving the Nasdaq ticker $IMRS. But the real opportunity for investors is now, before public markets.

Why? Immersed changed the game in extended reality (XR), developing the Meta Quest store’s most popular productivity app. 1.5M people, including Fortune 500 teams, already use it up to 60 hours a week.

But that’s not all. Immersed’s soon-to-be-released XR headset has 2M more pixels than Apple’s Vision Pro for 70% less money. No wonder they’re projecting $71M in first-year sales.

And with partnerships in place with Google and Samsung, investors are taking advantage of this limited-time chance before its next stage of growth.

Executives and founders from Intel, Meta, and Reddit invested. Don’t miss your chance to join them before the July 30 deadline.

➤ Statewide: Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and a super PAC supporting his campaign spent nearly $9 million on advertising in the gubernatorial race over six weeks, compared with about $100,000 spent by Democrat Amy Acton. (More)

➤ Northeast Ohio: Forecasters warn that severe storms could sweep across the region Saturday afternoon and evening, bringing damaging winds and the possibility of brief tornadoes as a cold front ends several days of wildfire haze. (See Details)

➤ Perrysburg: A broken-down train with a blown engine blocked the railroad crossings at Fort Meigs, Eckel Junction, and Eckel roads for hours Friday as crews waited for a replacement locomotive. (More)

➤ Akron: About 10,000 customers on the city’s West Side were placed under a precautionary boil advisory Friday following an overnight water main break. (More)

➤ Steubenville: The city council voted to lease approximately 157 acres of city-owned land—including two parks—to Oklahoma-based Ascent Resources for fracking after accepting the company’s $1.1 million bid covering 19 parcels. (See Details)

➤ Middletown: The city’s historic commission voted unanimously to advance plans to demolish the century-old Manchester Inn and a nearby former Ford plant on Donham Plaza. (More)

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➤ Akron native LeBron James made his first public appearance since telling the Los Angeles Lakers he’s moving on, but wouldn’t reveal his next team, saying only that wherever he lands, it’ll be "pretty fun." (More)

➤ Major League Baseball’s newly released 2027 schedule begins March 25—the earliest traditional Opening Day in league history—with the Cleveland Guardians visiting the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds hosting the St. Louis Cardinals. (See Schedule)

➤ The Columbus Crew signed veteran defender Eric Bailly, a 32-year-old Ivory Coast center back who played for Manchester United and won the Europa League. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: The Open | MLB | WNBA

Flying together with our sponsor

➤ Two identical twin sisters. Same DNA. Yet one appeared years younger than the other. What Harvard scientists discovered next led them to a little-known "facelift protein" that researchers now believe may play an important role in how our skin ages. See the fascinating discovery here.

Flying together with our sponsor

Google, Microsoft, & Meta Partnered With This XR Startup

The world’s leading tech giants have all partnered with Immersed, an XR startup chasing a $250B+ opportunity in remote work.

Immersed combines the world's most-used remote work XR software ($127B by 2030)1, AR/VR hardware ($100B+ by 2026)2, and AI productivity tools ($36B)3 into one productive, collaborative virtual office. Its valuation has grown 4,000% to date.

Over 1.5M professionals, including Fortune 500 teams, already use Immersed. The company is now scaling mass production of Visor, a productivity-designed headset with 75,000+ people on the waitlist, representing $71M in projected first-year sales.

Executives from Intel, Meta, and Reddit have invested, and Immersed has already reserved the Nasdaq ticker $IMRS. You can become an early-stage shareholder before the July 30 deadline.

1Source: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/ai-productivity-tools-market-23074
2Source: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/ai-productivity-tools-market-report
3Source: https://www.giiresearch.com/report/grvi1512062-ai-productivity-tools-market-size-share-trends.html

This is a paid advertisement for Immersed Regulation A+ offering. Please read the offering circular at https://invest.immersed.com/

➤ Unionized workers at Cleveland Clinic’s Lutheran Hospital voted to authorize a strike if negotiations fail to produce a new contract, citing concerns about staffing, safety, and wages. (More)

➤ Southwest Airlines will begin operating daily, year-round nonstop service between Cleveland and Dallas on March 11, 2027, expanding a route that debuted as a seasonal holiday offering. (More)

➤ Ohio State is overhauling the Schottenstein Center’s video displays with a center-hung main board more than three times the size of its predecessor, four LED faces, and 43 additional displays throughout the seating bowls. (See Details)

Flying together with our sponsor

➤ Most People Blame the Wrong Thing for Easy Bruising "I must just be clumsy." "It's my age." "It's probably my medication." If you've ever caught yourself thinking one of these after another bruise seemed to appear out of nowhere, you're not alone. But health experts say many people dismiss easy bruising as a normal part of aging when it may actually be one of the first visible signs your body is trying to tell you something. Click here to discover the 7 warning signs experts say are worth paying attention to—and why so many people overlook them until much later. Learn More

The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes, straight from the heart of the country. Clicking the link will take you directly to these stories:

➤ The emails draining billions from Americans no longer look fake, and these habits stop nearly all of them. (Hear Tips)

➤ Researchers have found a way to smuggle a drug past the brain's toughest barrier and into glioblastoma tumors. (Hear Details)

➤ Federal officials have linked lettuce served at this fast food chain's locations to a multistate parasite outbreak that has hospitalized dozens. (Podcast Available)