What Happened Now? A Cleveland Newsletter
Issue 882: Oct. 8, 2025
"What Happened Now?" is a lively roundup and analysis of the top stories of the day in Northeast Ohio from News 5's Joe Donatelli. It’s like getting the news from a friend who encourages all public officials to speak with reporters regularly in order to keep the public well-informed at all times.
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County revises chase policy after two innocent women are killed: The Cuyahoga County Sheriff sat down with News 5 Investigator Tara Morgan for the first time since two deadly chases by deputies killed innocent women, and one day after the county introduced a new, more restrictive chase policy. It’s a policy that should lead to fewer chases and, one hopes, deaths. Under the new policy, deputies can still chase, but only when it’s believed the person they’re after committed a violent felony, like a shooting, murder or kidnapping. Which, at first glance, seems like a reasonable policy. If you’re going to risk the lives of taxpayers by engaging in a taxpayer-funded chase, there better be a darn good reason for the taxpayer. We had more questions for the sheriff, whom we’ve been trying to speak with for months, but the county’s spokesperson ended our interview after 15 minutes. Still, Tara got in some good ones. Watch the report.
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Why have some Northeast Ohio ER wait times gotten longer? If you have a theory, it’s probably correct. Systemic pressures are bearing down on emergency rooms, and it’s not just one thing; it’s many. Watch Jonathan Walsh’s report.
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Why Ohio gives tax breaks for the richest companies on the planet: If they made The Graduate today, the line everyone remembers wouldn’t be, “Plastics.” It would be, “Data centers.”
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Do you know who Ohio’s highest-paid public employee is? It’s Ohio State football coach Ryan Day. Do you know how much he makes? He makes $12.5 million a year before bonuses, according to this report in the Akron Beacon Journal. I know, I know, I know – it’s insane to pay football coaches more than medical school deans. But, lo and behold, not every state’s highest-paid employee is a college football coach. In some places, it’s the basketball coach.
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That’s not good: The Joe Flacco trade caught Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski by surprise, reports the Akron Beacon Journal. Probably a bad sign.
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RFK Jr. says mothers are to blame for autism: It’s not the first time health officials have said autism is the mother’s fault, reports The 19th.
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The ‘Miracle Ring’: A local man lost his class ring in Lake Erie – 44 years ago – and he thought it was gone for good. Somehow, some way, miraculously, it was found. Watch Clay LePard’s report.