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A | A former Ohio State University student-athlete is speaking out against Rep. Jim Jordan's bid for House speaker, saying Jordan "turned a blind eye" to allegations of abuse against a team doctor during his time as assistant coach for the university's wrestling team.Rocky Ratliff is now an attorney who also represents several other former OSU wrestlers in an ongoing lawsuit against the university."I think the wrestlers that I represent, not one of us, would back him for such a leadership position," Ratliff told ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis.He continued, "He's abandoned us for his own selfish reasons when he could have helped us. He's chosen not to. So that is not the good makings of any type of leadership or any type of leader that he would have put up with at Ohio State. It's just not. None of us wrestlers believe he should get that position."A spokesperson for Jordan, R-Ohio, told ABC News, "Chairman Jordan never saw or heard of any abuse, and if he had, he would have dealt with it."The allegations of abuse were against Dr. Richard Strauss, an Ohio State team doctor and sports medicine researcher. Strauss is accused of sexually abusing at least 177 men over an 18-year period from 1979 to 1997 -- nearly his entire time at Ohio State, according to an independent report released in 2019.Investigators determined that university officials ignored nearly two decades of accusations of sexual abuse against Strauss, who killed himself in 2006 at age 67, seven years after retiring from the university.The accusations of abuse involved athletes from at least 16 sports including wrestling, hockey and swimming, and included Strauss' work at the student health center and an off-campus clinic that he founded late in his tenure, according to the report.The university removed Strauss as a school physician in 1996 after a flurry of student complaints and reported his actions to the State Medical Board of Ohio. However, the school allowed Strauss to retain his tenured faculty position while he operated an off-campus clinic, where the report says he continued to abuse students.Ohio State University has since admitted that it failed to protect students from Strauss, paying out $60 million in settlements to some 296 victims.Jordan, who was an assistant coach on the team from 1986 to 1994, came under fire in 2018 when several former OSU wrestlers took their allegations against Strauss to the media and claimed Jordan was aware of Strauss' inappropriate behavior and failed to report it. The university then announced it was opening an investigation into the allegations against Strauss.Jordan also denied knowing about the abuse when the allegations first came out in 2018.Jordan is now facing renewed scrutiny amid the ongoing battle for House speaker. After again failing to receive enough GOP support, the congressman and chair of the House Judiciary Committee was defeated a second time after a vote on Wednesday afternoon."We believe very strongly, especially all the wrestlers that were there at the time, that Jim Jordan knew what was going on," Ratliff said on Wednesday.Ratliff continued, "Jordan should come forward and tell the truth about what happened. At least meet with the guys. He's failed to do that -- to hear our side, he's failed. You know, even if you believe what Jim Jordan says, he has never once reached out to any wrestler to say, 'Hey, I missed it. I'm sorry. How are you feeling?'"ABC News' Eric Ortega, Imtiyaz Delawala, Lindsey Griswold, and Andrea Amiel contributed to this report.。 NEW YORK -- Americans showed their steadfast resilience and kept spending online, at restaurants and other outlets in September even as they grappled with higher prices, rising interest rates and a host of other headwinds piling up.Retail sales rose 0.7% in September, more than twice what economists had expected, and close to a revised 0.8% bump in August, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Retail sales in August were inflated after gasoline prices spiked, however. That was not the case in September when gas prices rose more slowly.A closely watched category of retail sales that excludes auto dealers, gas stations and building materials and feeds into the gross domestic product jumped 0.6% last month compared to the prior month.Tuesday's sales figures aren't adjusted for inflation, but the cost of goods barely rose last month, so the increased spending isn't a reflection of higher prices. Prices for durable goods, such as those sold by appliance and electronics stores, actually fell last month.The government’s monthly retail sales report offers only a partial look at consumer spending; it doesn’t include many services, including health care, travel and hotel lodging. But it does cover spending at restaurants, which had a solid 0.9% increase. Spending online rose 1.1% last month, according to the report. Sales at general merchandise stores rose 0.4%. Sales at home furnishings and furniture stores were flat, while electronics stores and outlets that sell building materials saw declines reflecting a difficult housing market. The retail sales report, which reflects the sixth consecutive monthly gain, reinforces the fact that American consumers, as a whole, are showing no signs of pulling back on their spending, which powers most of the economy. That spending comes despite attempts by the Federal Reserve to cool spending and hiring. That's good news heading into the critical holiday shopping season. But the robust sales report also means that the Fed officials could leave the door open for additional rate hikes. That means that shoppers could face higher interest rates for awhile.“If the cost-of-living crisis has hit consumer confidence, you wouldn’t know it judging by a second month of strong retail sales with the consumer buying everything that wasn’t nailed down,” said Christopher S. Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS LLC, a financial markets research company. “Fed officials have another rate hike this year up on their forecast board, and they will need to use it, if the economic data continues to surprise economists on the upside.” Still, questions remain whether shoppers will finally buckle under more bad news piling up from federal budget wrangling, the resumption of student loan repayments, and new global tensions tied to the Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas in Israel. The moratorium on student loan payments lifted Oct. 1. Analysts say that shoppers could also become rattled if the Israel-Hamas war is not contained.Moreover, the relentless spending by shoppers also comes at a cost to their household finances.“We have repeatedly under-estimated the U.S. consumer, “ said Tim Quinlan, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Economics. ”But in pulling off this spending spree, consumers have dented their household finances, a theme that is evident not only in the diminished savings, but also the trend rise in credit card delinquencies.”Healthy consumer spending is expected to lift the economy's growth rate to about 3.5% or possibly even higher in the July-September quarter. September's strong sales also suggests the economy may not slow as much in the final three months of the year as previously expected, analysts said. The retail sales report came as businesses across the U.S. economy ramped up hiring in September, defying surging interest rates, and the ongoing threat of a government shutdown. The strength of hiring has surprised economists inside and outside of the Fed. Consumer prices rose 0.4% from August to September, below the previous month’s 0.6% pace. The report from the Labor Department also showed that year-over-year inflation was flat last month from a 3.7% rise in August.Meanwhile, retailers are pulling out discounts and other incentives to get shoppers to open their wallets for the holiday season as they worry about shoppers' finances. Best Buy, the nation's largest consumer electronics retailer, unveiled a new experience that gives shoppers a chance to access some of the biggest deals and cool gadgets of the holiday season. The items, which kicked off late last month, are only available in limited quantities and exclusively through the Best Buy app. ——————AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber contributed to this report from Washington.——————Follow Anne D’Innocenzio: http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio。
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