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A group of conservative and liberal activists are challenging an Ohio law that they say puts unfair restrictions on free speech.

WKSUs Phil de Oliveira reports the group is suing the state over ambiguities in the law.

The Internet and free speech

The plaintiffs are the liberal blog Plunderbund, freelance political reporter John Spinelli, and the Portage County Tea Party.

Theyre taking issue with a clause in H.B. 151 that prohibits anyone from intentionally abusing, threatening or harassing someone else on the Internet.

Tea Party spokesman Tom Zawistowski says the clause is too broad and too vague. He says politicians could easily claim theyre being harassed when groups like the Tea Party criticize them.

If youre in public office, you need to be accountable for your actions, Zawistowski says. We, as citizens, hold you accountable and we must be able to say what we think about your performance.

Zawistowski says the law goes too far in limiting free speech for the sake of safety.

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Ohio's Tea Party and Liberals Join Forces to Challenge an Internet Free Speech State Law - WKSU News

When the self-styled Freedom Caucus killed dozens of bills last week in what became known as the Mothers Day Massacre, the damage wasnt immediately apparent to most observors. Turns out that among the scuttled legislation was a must-pass measure to keep some state agencies open.

The maneuver left tea party-aligned Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick with tremendous leverage over the more moderate House Speaker Joe Straus. The House now must rely on Patricks Senate to pass the legislation keeping some state agencies operating. Patrick told Straus Wednesday he would hold hostage that key bill unless the House passed legislation popular among social and fiscal conservatives, including the transgender bathroom bill.

They thought we were idiots, state Rep. Stickland, R-Bedford, told me, referring to himself and other member of the House Freedom Caucus a dozen strong.

But, Stickland said, thanks to the Freedom Caucus strategic gambit, I was now witnessing the end of the regime.

Excerpt from:
How Jonathan Stickland and the tea party outmaneuvered Joe Straus - Austin American-Statesman

Prince Harry, Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, are regularly photographed out and about at events. But this might be the sweetest event theyve ever hosted.

The three held a tea party at Buckingham Palace honoring children who have had a parent die serving in the armed forces. According to the Kensington Royal Instagram (an account representing the activities of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry), the three invited 850 children and their guardians to this Party at the Palace.The kids participated in fun events alongside the royals, all for a good cause.

Today was organized to celebrate you guys, Prince Harry said at the event, via Elle UK. Were here to remind you that we as a family, and as a nation will never, ever forget the sacrifices that all of you here have made. We wanted to give you an opportunity to know that you are part of, sadly, a very large group of fantastic people.

He added, The three of us, and all of our family, wanted to thank you so, so much for everything youve done. I can assure you that Buckingham Palace gardens have not seen this much fun, ever.

Below are some adorable photos of the event:

POOL New / Reuters

WPA Pool via Getty Images

WPA Pool via Getty Images

POOL New / Reuters

POOL New / Reuters

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The Royals Hosted A Tea Party For The Most Heartwarming Reason ... - HuffPost

When a heavy rain storm with lightning hit, it left over 3,000 Montgomery County residents without power Thursday morning. The cause of the outage was a lightning strike near a Dayton Power and Light substation.

Sometimes, depending upon the severity of the damages, restoring your power can take anywhere from an hour to even a few days. However, most of us do not have a clue about what it takes to get the lights and the air conditioning, back on. So, I went behind the scenes with power crews to find out how they are trained, and what it takes to do this often dangerous job.

PHOTOS: Lightning hits the Miami Valley

I learned that the Dayton Power and Light Company is responsible for more than 10,000 miles of lines.

"Literally, from Wapakoneta down to Greenfield. Then from Oxford near Miami University all the way over to Columbus and everywhere in-between," said Bruce Coppock, DP&L Director of Operations.

With 120 line workers responsible for 24 counties, the power company focuses on training, equipment testing and maintenance, to keep their operations running smoothly and safely.

DP&L Director Bruce Coppock talks about the in-depth training his technicians receive.

"To do anything by yourself it's a 6-year progression, so we bring you in day one perhaps not even knowing how to climb a pole and for 6 years train you on everything that can happen in this field," Coppock said.

Equipment is constantly tested, even the their gloves. Shawn Talley tests gloves every day in a special lab to make sure they will protect the line workers.

NOW WATCH: Timelapse video shows recent storm moving through Dayton

"We're looking for obvious gashes, punctures and holes," said Talley, an electric meter technician. "They are the second biggest thing you can use. The most important thing is your brain. Make sure you watch out for what you're doing so hopefully, these are your second line of defense."

Each line worker has a checklist before they even tough the electrical lines.

"They do a job hazard analysis that they do onsite when they show up to a job. They walk the job, see what hazards are there and they'll evaluate those hazards and write them out," said Safety Coordinator, Terrance Tolbert.

DRONE VIDEO: Recent storm moves through the Enon area

When we are not experiencing high winds or storms, Dayton Power and Light crews are performing maintenance. They follow a five-year cycle of tree-trimming to keep branches off the power lines and prevent future outages.

"I like telling people it's like trimming all the way to Tampa and all the way back. So we do a tremendous amount of maintenance, " said Mark Vest, Director of Operations. "It's a well-oiled machine."

Rain or shine, near your house or down the street, crews are working each day to keep your power on.

"They're usually here pretty quickly," said Ron Vorhis of Kettering.

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Cincinnati Enquirer sues to open tea party court hearings - WHIO

Ukraine banned two popular social media sites Tuesday, in a new attempt to purge Russian influence in the country. The move to block these Russian websites is an extension of sanctions against Russia that have been in place since it annexed Crimea in 2014. Personally announced by President Petro Poroshenko, the order affects individuals and organizations operating in Ukraine cracking down on 468 companies and 1,228 people currently living in the country.

The new ban has caused outrage in the country of 42 million people, where 12 million Ukrainians reportedly use social site Vkontakte making it the second most visited site in the country. Five million more are registered on Odnoklassniki. While the human rights organization Freedom House currently lists Ukraines online freedom as partially free, this block will likely see that rating fall dramatically. On Wednesday, the German foreign ministry voiced concerns over the sanctions, adding that Chancellor Angela Merkel would raise them with President Poroshenko at their next meeting on May 20.

As well as blocking social media networks, the decree also targets an email hosting platform used by millions of Ukrainians Mail.ru the popular search engine Yandex, and the use of software from Russian cybersecurity giant Kaspersky, which has previously faced allegations of close ties with Russian security services.

This latest crackdown comes three years into the ongoing conflict between Russian and Ukraine, which began when Russia annexed Ukraines Crimean peninsula in early 2014 and quietly started sending troops and military equipment across the border into Ukrainian territory. The resulting violence in eastern Ukraine has now taken the lives of nearly 10,000 people according to official United Nations figures, and more than 1.8 million people have been displaced.

The ban is purportedly a preventative security measure in the information war between Russia and Ukraine, but it will likely put a screeching halt to vital open source intelligence gathering efforts. The banned websites often provided vital incriminating evidence of Russias extensive military engagement in eastern Ukraine. The sites were key resources for a VICE News report on the participation of active duty Russian soldiers in Eastern Ukraine, and have been extensively mined for information by journalists investigating the downing of MH-17.

The blog OdessaTalks, a site popular among Ukrainian analysts and experts, pointed out Wednesday that banning VK access in Ukraine does nothing to alter the data that already exists on the site which can be easily harvested by Russian intelligence services. Nor does it prevent access for Ukrainians living outside the country, which is important considering the European Union recently granted Ukrainians visa free access.

Not everyone is opposed to the block however. This is exactly what people were standing on Maidan for, to have a responsible government that can guarantee security and integrity of the state, and protect citizens, as well as their personal data from being used by Russian security services for espionage purposes and destabilization, says Yevhen Fedchenko, a journalism professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

As an example of destabilizing tactics fomenting on the networks, he cites a spate of recent anti-Polish demonstrations in Ukraine which he believes were coordinated on VK with the help of Russian intelligence.

But despite Poroshenkos firm words, the government may find it a challenge to actually block the social networks entirely. Schoolboys told me that they are not going to close their profiles and will simply go through VPNs, says Ukrainian investigative journalist Kristina Berdynskykh, and Vkontakte has already sent out detailed instructions on how to bypass the ban.

Ukrainians took to social media with memes ridiculing the decision Tuesday. In an online poll of 11,000 people on Tuesday afternoon, 66 percent said they were categorically against the ban of the Russian social media sites. Another 11 percent said it would be easier to ban the whole internet, like in North Korea.

The news is likely to further destabilize the relationship between Ukraine and Russia. Despite mostly staying silent on Kremlin attempts to erode free speech, Russian media organizations were quick to accuse Ukrainian authorities of censorship, and when asked about the sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putins spokesman told journalists Tuesday that Russia had not forgotten about the principle of reciprocity.

Christian Borys is a Canadian journalist based in Ukraine covering conflict. Follow him @itsborys.

Cover: Associated Press

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Ukraine bans Russian social media sites in an attempt to punish the Kremlin - VICE News