NEW YORK (AP) — Monday's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-trial-hush-money-opening-stormy-daniels-6beee9b99114898ee0dd60185d43bac5">opening statements in the first criminal trial</a>&nbsp;of a former American president provided a clear roadmap of how prosecutors will try to make the case that Donald Trump broke the law, and how the defense plans to fight the charges on multiple fronts.

Lawyers presented dueling narratives as jurors got their first glimpse into the prosecution accusing Trump of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-arraignment-hush-money-81225510ef7638494852816878f612f0">falsifying business records</a>&nbsp;as part of a scheme to squelch negative stories about him during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Still to come are weeks of what's likely to be dramatic and embarrassing testimony about the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's personal life as he simultaneously campaigns to return to the White House in November.

Here's a look at some key takeaways from opening statements:

ELECTION FRAUD VS. ‘BOOKKEEPING’ CASE

Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying internal Trump Organization business records. But prosecutors made clear they do not want jurors to view this as a routine paper case. Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said the heart of the case is a scheme to “corrupt” the 2016 election by silencing people who were about to come forward with embarrassing stories Trump feared would hurt his campaign.

“No politician wants bad press," Colangelo said. “But the evidence at trial will show that this was not spin or communications strategy. This was a planned, long-running conspiracy to influence the 2016 election, to help Donald Trump get elected through illegal expenditures to silence people who had something bad to say about his behavior.” He added: “It was election fraud, pure and simple.”

The business records charges stem from things like invoices and checks that were deemed legal expenses in Trump Organization records when prosecutors say they were really reimbursements to former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels. Daniels was threatening to go public with claims she had an extramarital sexual encounter with Trump. He says it never happened.

Prosecutors' characterizations appear designed to combat suggestions by some pundits that the case — perhaps the only one that will go to trial before the November election — isn't as serious as the&nbsp;<a href="https://projects.apnews.com/features/2023/trump-investigations-civil-criminal-tracker/index.html">other three prosecutions</a>&nbsp;he's facing. Those cases accuse Trump of trying to overturn&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-indicted-jan-6-investigation-special-counsel-debb59bb7a4d9f93f7e2dace01feccdc">the 2020 election he lost to President Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-delay-trial-election-83be6fb5362e7bb2b7aaf6371a9acabf">illegally retaining classified documents</a>&nbsp;after he left the White House.

Trump, meanwhile, sought to downplay the accusations while leaving the courtroom on Monday, calling it all a “bookkeeping" case and “a very minor thing.” But he, too, has said it’s all about an election — the one this November. Trump has repeatedly claimed that the case is part of a sweeping Democratic attempt to harm his chances at reclaiming the presidency.

Trump’s attorney used his opening statement to attack the case as baseless, saying the former president did nothing illegal.

The attorney, Todd Blanche, challenged prosecutors’ claim that Trump agreed to pay Daniels to aid his campaign, saying Trump was trying to “protect his family, his reputation and his brand."

Blanche indicated the defense will argue that after all the very point of a presidential campaign is to try to influence an election.

"It’s called democracy,” Blanche told jurors. “They put something sinister on this idea, as if it’s a crime. You’ll learn it’s not.”

Blanche also portrayed the ledger entries at issue in the case as pro forma actions performed by a Trump Organization employee. Trump “had nothing to do with” the allegedly false business records, “except that he signed the checks, in the White House, while he was running the country,” Blanche said. And he argued that the records’ references to legal expenses weren’t false, since Cohen was Trump’s personal lawyer at the time.

PROSECUTORS AIM TO PUT TRUMP AT THE CENTER

The 34 counts in the indictment are related to the payment to Daniels. But prosecutors plan to introduce evidence about a payoff to another woman — former Playboy model&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/d8f22980841e44939399ae7179a4d583">Karen McDougal</a>&nbsp;— who claimed a sexual encounter with Trump, as well as to a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-united-states-government-f37ecfc4710b468db6a103a245146172">Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have a story</a>&nbsp;about Trump having a child out of wedlock. Trump says they were all lies.

Prosecutors said they will show Trump was at the center of the scheme to silence the women, telling jurors they will hear Trump in his voice talking about the plan to pay McDougal. Cohen arranged for the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/1beb4bf23d0043eab87396ec56054814">publisher of the National Enquirer supermarket tabloid</a>&nbsp;to pay McDougal $150,000 but not print the story in a practice known as “catch-and-kill.”

Colangelo told jurors that prosecutors will play for them a recording Cohen secretly made during a meeting with Trump weeks before the 2016 election. In the recording, which first became public in 2018, Trump is heard saying: “What do we got to pay for this? One-fifty?”

Trump “desperately did not want this information about Karen McDougal to become public because he was worried about its effect on the election," Colangelo said.

The defense's opening statement previewed what will be a key strategy of the defense: trying to discredit Cohen, a Trump loyalist turned critic and expected star witness for the prosecution. Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the hush money payments in 2018 and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/8b9d39ea54374ae296a9a8401bf58cb8">and served prison time</a>.

Whether jurors believe Cohen, who says he arranged the payments to the women at Trump's direction, could make or break the case for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-manhattan-da-bragg-hush-money-trial-a164881f43b1d5064a528b36eada937e">Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office.</a>

Trump's lawyer highlighted Cohen's criminal record, describing him as a serial liar who turned against Trump after he was not given a job in the administration and found himself in legal trouble. Blanche said Cohen's “entire financial livelihood depends on President Trump’s destruction,” noting he hosts podcasts and has written books bashing his ex-boss.

“He has a goal and an obsession with getting Trump,” Blanche said. “I submit to you that he cannot be trusted.”

Anticipating the defense attacks on Cohen, the prosecution promised to be upfront about the “mistakes” the former Trump attorney has made. But Colangelo said “you can credit Michael Cohen's testimony" despite his past.

“I suspect the defense will go to great lengths to get you to reject his testimony precisely because it is so damning,” the prosecutor said.

Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker is the first witness for prosecutors, who say that Trump’s alleged scheme to conceal potentially damaging information from voters began with a 2015 Trump Tower meeting among the then-candidate, Pecker and Cohen. Pecker took the witness stand Monday before court broke for the day and his testimony is expected to continue Tuesday.

At the meeting, Pecker — a longtime Trump friend — agreed to aid Trump’s campaign by running favorable pieces about him, smearing his opponents, scouting unflattering stories about him and flagging them to Cohen for “catch-and-kill” deals. Those included the claims made by Daniels, McDougal and the former Trump Tower doorman, Dino Sajudin, prosecutors say. Trump says all were false.

Pecker will likely be asked about all the alleged efforts made by the Enquirer’s then-owner, American Media Inc., on Trump’s behalf. Federal prosecutors agreed in 2018&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/1beb4bf23d0043eab87396ec56054814">not to prosecute American Media</a>&nbsp;in exchange for its cooperation in a campaign finance investigation that led to Cohen’s guilty plea, and the Federal Election Commission fined the company $187,500, calling the McDougal deal a “prohibited corporate in-kind contribution.”

Pecker’s brief turn on the stand Monday was mainly just about his background and other basic facts, though he did say the Enquirer practiced “checkbook journalism” — paying for stories — and that he had the final say on any story about a famous person.

'THE DEFENDANT’ OR ’PRESIDENT TRUMP'?

The prosecutor referred to Trump during his opening statement as “the defendant.” Trump's lawyer took a different tack, calling him “President Trump.”

“We will call him President Trump, out of respect for the office that he held,” Blanche said. At the same time, Trump's lawyer sought to portray Trump as an everyman, describing him as a husband, father and fellow New Yorker.

“He’s, in some ways, larger than life. But he’s also here in this courtroom, doing what any of us would do: defending himself,” Blanche said.

Trump sat quietly while listening to opening statements, occasionally passing notes to his lawyers and whispering in their ears. But outside of the courtroom, he continued his pattern of trying to capitalize politically on the case that will require him to spend his days in a courtroom rather than on the campaign trail.

“This is what they’re trying to take me off the trail for. Checks being paid to a lawyer,” Trump said

NEW YORK (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;tried to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election by preventing damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public, a prosecutor told jurors Monday at the start of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-manhattan-stormy-daniels-michael-cohen-b514cb52bb31a82579cb827c40166173">former president's historic hush money trial.</a>

"This was a planned, long-running conspiracy to influence the 2016 election, to help Donald Trump get elected through illegal expenditures to silence people who had something bad to say about his behavior,” prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said. “It was election fraud, pure and simple.”

A defense lawyer countered by assailing the case as baseless and attacking the integrity of the onetime Trump confidant who's now the government's star witness.

“President Trump is innocent. President Trump did not commit any crimes. The Manhattan district attorney’s office should never have brought this case,” attorney Todd Blanche said.

The opening statements offered the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-trial-hush-money-jury-selection-24147c3774c8a411044c530cafcab292">12-person jury</a>&nbsp;— and the voting public — radically divergent roadmaps for a case that will unfold against the backdrop of a closely contested White House race in which Trump is not only the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-biden-primary-georgia-washington-mississippi-hawaii-15bb0084ad656903ffef14cfae822abd">presumptive Republican nominee</a>&nbsp;but also a criminal defendant facing the prospect of a felony conviction and prison.

It is the first criminal trial of a former American president and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/projects/trump-investigations-civil-criminal-tracker/">first of four prosecutions of Trump</a>&nbsp;to reach a jury. Befitting that history, prosecutors sought from the outset to elevate the gravity of the case, which they said was chiefly about election interference as reflected by the hush money payments to a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stormy-daniels-donald-trump-d3dce88566bafb714dbb5c1acd3e4a83">porn actor who said she had a sexual encounter</a>&nbsp;with Trump.

“The defendant, Donald Trump, orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election. Then he covered up that criminal conspiracy by lying in his New York business records over and over and over again,” Colangelo said.

The trial, which could last up to two months, will require Trump to spend his days in a courtroom rather than on the campaign trail, a reality he complained about Monday when he lamented to reporters after leaving the courtroom: “I’m the leading candidate ... and this is what they’re trying to take me off the trail for. Checks being paid to a lawyer."

Trump has nonetheless sought to turn his criminal defendant status into an asset for his campaign, fundraising off his legal jeopardy and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-harlem-trial-bodega-909f0abee3f1951a2ffdabc8072d61a7">repeatedly railing against a justice system</a>&nbsp;that he has for years claimed is weaponized against him. In the weeks ahead, the case will test the jury's ability to judge him impartially but also Trump's ability to comply with courtroom protocol, including a gag order barring him from attacking witnesses, jurors, trial prosecutors and some others.

Trump faces&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-arraignment-hush-money-81225510ef7638494852816878f612f0">34 felony counts of falsifying business records</a>&nbsp;— a charge punishable by up to four years in prison — though it’s not clear if the judge would seek to put him behind bars. A conviction would not preclude Trump from becoming president again, but because it is a state case, he would not be able to pardon himself if found guilty. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The case brought by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-manhattan-da-bragg-hush-money-trial-a164881f43b1d5064a528b36eada937e">Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg</a>&nbsp;revisits a years-old chapter from Trump’s biography when his celebrity past collided with his political ambitions and, prosecutors say, he scrambled to stifle stories that he feared could torpedo his campaign.

The opening statements served as an introduction to the colorful cast of characters that feature prominently in that tawdry saga, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-manhattan-stormy-daniels-michael-cohen-b514cb52bb31a82579cb827c40166173">Stormy Daniels, the porn actor who says she received the hush money</a>; Michael Cohen, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/michael-cohen">lawyer who prosecutors say paid her;</a>&nbsp;and David Pecker, the tabloid publisher who agreed to function as the campaign’s “eyes and ears" and who served as the prosecution's first witness on Monday.

Pecker is due back on the stand Tuesday, when the court will also hear arguments on whether Trump violated Judge Juan Merchan's gag order with a series of Truth Social posts about witnesses over the last week.

In his opening statement, Colangelo outlined a comprehensive effort by Trump his allies to prevent three separate stories — two from women alleging prior sexual encounters — from surfacing during the 2016 presidential campaign. That undertaking was especially urgent&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-access-hollywood-hush-money-new-york-2c52279a45ede2a111ff1fe447d2fdac">following the emergence late in the race of a 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording</a>&nbsp;in which Trump could be heard boasting about grabbing women sexually without their permission.

Colangelo recited Trump’s now-infamous remarks as Trump looked on, stone-faced.

“The impact of that tape on the campaign was immediate and explosive,” Colangelo said.

Within days of the “Access Hollywood” tape becoming public, Colangelo told jurors that the National Enquirer alerted Cohen that Stormy Daniels was agitating to go public with her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.

“At Trump’s direction, Cohen negotiated a deal to buy Ms. Daniels’ story to prevent American voters from hearing that story before Election Day,” Colangelo told jurors.

But, the prosecutor noted, “neither Trump nor the Trump Organization could just write a check to Cohen with a memo line that said ‘reimbursement for porn star payoff.'" So, he added, "they agreed to cook the books and make it look like the payment was actually income, payment for services rendered.”

Those alleged falsified records form the backbone of the 34-count indictment against Trump. Trump has denied a sexual encounter with Daniels.

Blanche, the defense lawyer, sought to preemptively undermine the credibility of Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges related to his role in the hush money scheme, as someone with an “obsession” with Trump who cannot be trusted. He said Trump had done nothing illegal when his company recorded the checks to Cohen as legal expenses.

“There’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It is called democracy,” not a crime, Blanche said.

Blanche challenged the notion that Trump agreed to the Daniels payout to safeguard his campaign. Instead, he characterized the transaction as an attempt to squelch a “sinister” effort to embarrass Trump and his loved ones.

“President Trump fought back, like he always does, and like he’s entitled to do, to protect his family, his reputation and his brand, and that is not a crime,” Blanche told jurors.

The efforts to suppress the stories are what’s known in the tabloid industry as “catch-and-kill” — catching a potentially damaging story by buying the rights to it and then killing it through agreements that prevent the paid person from telling the story to anyone else.

Besides the payment to Daniels, Colangelo also described other arrangements, including one that paid a former Playboy model $150,000 to suppress claims of a nearly yearlong affair with the married Trump. Colangelo said Trump “desperately did not want this information about Karen McDougal to become public because he was worried about its effect on the election.”

He said jurors would hear a recording Cohen made in September 2016 of himself briefing Trump on the plan to buy McDougal’s story. The recording was made public in July 2018. Colangelo told jurors they will hear Trump in his own voice saying: “What do we got to pay for this? One-fifty?”

Trump denies McDougal's claims of an affair.

The first and only witness Monday was Pecker, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-criminal-trial-hush-money-stormy-daniels-5fdc819697a76536ed83cbf28d4a523c">then-publisher of the National Enquirer and a longtime Trump friend who prosecutors say</a>&nbsp;met with Trump and Cohen at Trump Tower in August 2015 and agreed to help Trump’s campaign identify negative stories about him.

Pecker described the tabloid's use of “checkbook journalism,” a practice that entails paying a source for a story.

“I gave a number to the editors that they could not spend more than $10,000” on a story without getting his approval, Pecker said Tuesday.

The New York case has taken on added importance because it may be the only one of the four against Trump to reach trial before the November election.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/prosecuted-election-interference-april-immunity-claim-2020-election-7ddd54224350e0fbbf6b71a4461874c7">Appeals</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-election-indictment-fani-willis-trump-60b7dd9642fc9ef7c03d75980692334c">legal wrangling</a>&nbsp;have delayed the other three cases.

Blockbuster opening statements in Trump’s historic criminal trial 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency cleared the way Friday for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ethanol-e15-gas-midwest-ba37597f6d1880e31d94180a13299e35">higher blend of ethanol</a>&nbsp;to be sold nationwide for the third summer in a row, citing global conflicts that it says are putting pressure on the world's fuel supply.

The agency announced an emergency waiver that will exempt gasoline blended with 15% ethanol from an existing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-biden-business-smog-environment-4a877e9afc2837609c4a0aee72a042bc">summertime ban</a>. Gasoline with 10% ethanol is already sold nationwide, but the higher blend has been prohibited in the summer because of concerns it could worsen smog during warm weather.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the waiver was warranted because of “Russia’s unjustified, unprovoked, and unconscionable war against Ukraine” and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which he said are putting pressure on the global fuel supply. He said the diminished U.S. refining capacity is also a factor.

The biofuels industry and politicians in the Midwestern states where ethanol is produced from corn praised the EPA’s decision. They have portrayed ethanol as a product that helps farmers, reduces prices at the pump and lessens greenhouse gases because the fuel burns more cleanly than gasoline.

“Allowing uninterrupted sales of E15 will help extend gasoline supplies, prevent fuel shortages, protect air quality and reduce carbon emissions,” said Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds called the decision “a huge victory for Iowa farmers, American energy independence, and consumers.”

Environmentalists and others, however, have said increased ethanol production can increase carbon releases because it results in more corn production, leading to increased use of fertilizer and greater releases of nitrate. Synthetic and natural fertilizers also are a leading source of water pollution.

Iowa leads the nation in ethanol production, followed by Nebraska, Illinois, South Dakota, Minnesota and Indiana.

Most gasoline sold across the country today is blended with 10% ethanol, though 15% blends are becoming increasingly common, especially in the Midwest.

The EPA has approved sales of E15 for cars and trucks manufactured after 2000. The RFA estimates that the higher blend will cost consumers&nbsp;<a href="https://ethanolrfa.org/media-and-news/category/news-releases/article/2023/04/new-analysis-shows-consumers-save-at-least-25-cents-per-gallon-with-e15">more than 25 cents a gallon less</a>&nbsp;than 10% ethanol.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency cleared the way Friday for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ethanol-e15-gas-midwest-ba37597f6d1880e31d94180a13299e35">higher blend of ethanol</a>&nbsp;to be sold nationwide for the third summer in a row, citing global conflicts that it says are putting pressure on the world's fuel supply.The agency announced an emergency waiver that will exempt gasoline blended with 15% ethanol from an existing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-biden-business-smog-environment-4a877e9afc2837609c4a0aee72a042bc">summertime ban</a>. Gasoline with 10% ethanol is already sold nationwide, but the higher blend has been prohibited in the summer because of concerns it could worsen smog during warm weather.EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the waiver was warranted because of “Russia’s unjustified, unprovoked, and unconscionable war against Ukraine” and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which he said are putting pressure on the global fuel supply. He said the diminished U.S. refining capacity is also a factor.The biofuels industry and politicians in the Midwestern states where ethanol is produced from corn praised the EPA’s decision. They have portrayed ethanol as a product that helps farmers, reduces prices at the pump and lessens greenhouse gases because the fuel burns more cleanly than gasoline.“Allowing uninterrupted sales of E15 will help extend gasoline supplies, prevent fuel shortages, protect air quality and reduce carbon emissions,” said Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper.Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds called the decision “a huge victory for Iowa farmers, American energy independence, and consumers.”Environmentalists and others, however, have said increased ethanol production can increase carbon releases because it results in more corn production, leading to increased use of fertilizer and greater releases of nitrate. Synthetic and natural fertilizers also are a leading source of water pollution.Iowa leads the nation in ethanol production, followed by Nebraska, Illinois, South Dakota, Minnesota and Indiana.Most gasoline sold across the country today is blended with 10% ethanol, though 15% blends are becoming increasingly common, especially in the Midwest.The EPA has approved sales of E15 for cars and trucks manufactured after 2000. The RFA estimates that the higher blend will cost consumers&nbsp;<a href="https://ethanolrfa.org/media-and-news/category/news-releases/article/2023/04/new-analysis-shows-consumers-save-at-least-25-cents-per-gallon-with-e15">more than 25 cents a gallon less</a>&nbsp;than 10% ethanol.

The EPA is again allowing summer sales of higher ethanol gasoline blend, citing global conflicts

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Saturday signed legislation reauthorizing a key&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/government-surveillance">U.S. surveillance law</a>&nbsp;after divisions over whether the FBI should be restricted from using the program to search for Americans’ data nearly forced the statute to lapse.

Barely missing its midnight deadline, the Senate had approved the bill by a 60-34 vote hours earlier with bipartisan support, extending for two years the program known as Section 702 of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fbi-surveillance-section-702-c69db6741ca9f4c26f24ebf5941a5cb0">Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act</a>.

Kansas Senator Jerry Moran along with Nebraska Senators Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts voted for the bill. Kansas Senator Roger Marshall and Missouri Senator Josh Hawley voted against the measure.&nbsp; Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt did not vote.

Biden thanked congressional leaders for their work.

“In the nick of time, we are reauthorizing FISA right before it expires at midnight,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said when voting on final passage began 15 minutes before the deadline. “All day long, we persisted and we persisted in trying to reach a breakthrough and in the end, we have succeeded.”

U.S. officials have said the surveillance tool, first authorized in 2008 and renewed several times since then, is crucial in disrupting terrorist attacks, cyber intrusions, and foreign espionage and has also produced intelligence that the U.S. has relied on for specific operations, such as the 2022 killing of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ayman-al-zawahri">al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri.</a>

“If you miss a key piece of intelligence, you may miss some event overseas or put troops in harm’s way," Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said. "You may miss a plot to harm the country here, domestically, or somewhere else. So in this particular case, there’s real-life implications.”

The proposal would renew the program, which permits the U.S. government to collect without a warrant the communications of non-Americans located outside the country to gather foreign intelligence. The reauthorization faced a long and bumpy road to final passage Friday after months of clashes between privacy advocates and national security hawks pushed consideration of the legislation to the brink of expiration.

Though the spy program was technically set to expire at midnight Saturday, the Biden administration had said it expected its authority to collect intelligence to remain operational for at least another year, thanks to an opinion earlier this month from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which receives surveillance applications.

Still, officials had said that court approval shouldn’t be a substitute for congressional authorization, especially since communications companies could cease cooperation with the government if the program is allowed to lapse.

Hours before the law was set to expire, U.S. officials were already scrambling after two major U.S. communication providers said they would stop complying with orders through the surveillance program, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations.

Attorney General Merrick Garland praised the reauthorization and reiterated how “indispensable” the tool is to the Justice Department.

“This reauthorization of Section 702 gives the United States the authority to continue to collect foreign intelligence information about non-U.S. persons located outside the United States, while at the same time codifying important reforms the Justice Department has adopted to ensure the protection of Americans’ privacy and civil liberties," Garland said in a statement Saturday.

But despite the Biden administration's urging and classified briefings to senators this week on the crucial role they say the spy program plays in protecting national security, a group of progressive and conservative lawmakers who were agitating for further changes had refused to accept the version of the bill the House sent over last week.

The lawmakers had demanded that Schumer, D-N.Y., allow votes on amendments to the legislation that would seek to address what they see as civil liberty loopholes in the bill. In the end, Schumer was able to cut a deal that would allow critics to receive floor votes on their amendments in exchange for speeding up the process for passage.

The six amendments ultimately failed to garner the necessary support on the floor to be included in the final passage.

One of the major changes detractors had proposed centered around restricting the FBI’s access to information about Americans through the program. Though the surveillance tool only targets non-Americans in other countries, it also collects communications of Americans when they are in contact with those targeted foreigners. Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the chamber, had been pushing a proposal that would require U.S. officials to get a warrant before accessing American communications.

“If the government wants to spy on my private communications or the private communications of any American, they should be required to get approval from a judge, just as our Founding Fathers intended in writing the Constitution,” Durbin said.

In the past year, U.S. officials have revealed a series of abuses and mistakes by FBI analysts in improperly querying the intelligence repository for information about Americans or others in the U.S., including a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fisa-foreign-surveillance-fbi-3f7d4cc0ef413cdf20bc0b70548cde84">member of Congress</a>&nbsp;and participants in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-fbi-surveillance-75c466a64e838ab12eaef96f6335f3cd">racial justice protests of 2020</a>&nbsp;and the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

But members on both the House and Senate intelligence committees as well as the Justice Department warned requiring a warrant would severely handicap officials from quickly responding to imminent national security threats.

“I think that is a risk that we cannot afford to take with the vast array of challenges our nation faces around the world,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1711625997149.png" alt="File photo White House&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>File photo White House&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Saturday signed legislation reauthorizing a key&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/government-surveillance">U.S. surveillance law</a>&nbsp;after divisions over whether the FBI should be restricted from using the program to search for Americans’ data nearly forced the statute to lapse.Barely missing its midnight deadline, the Senate had approved the bill by a 60-34 vote hours earlier with bipartisan support, extending for two years the program known as Section 702 of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fbi-surveillance-section-702-c69db6741ca9f4c26f24ebf5941a5cb0">Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act</a>. Kansas Senator Jerry Moran along with Nebraska Senators Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts voted for the bill. Kansas Senator Roger Marshall and Missouri Senator Josh Hawley voted against the measure.&nbsp; Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt did not vote.Biden thanked congressional leaders for their work.“In the nick of time, we are reauthorizing FISA right before it expires at midnight,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said when voting on final passage began 15 minutes before the deadline. “All day long, we persisted and we persisted in trying to reach a breakthrough and in the end, we have succeeded.”U.S. officials have said the surveillance tool, first authorized in 2008 and renewed several times since then, is crucial in disrupting terrorist attacks, cyber intrusions, and foreign espionage and has also produced intelligence that the U.S. has relied on for specific operations, such as the 2022 killing of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ayman-al-zawahri">al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri.</a>“If you miss a key piece of intelligence, you may miss some event overseas or put troops in harm’s way," Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said. "You may miss a plot to harm the country here, domestically, or somewhere else. So in this particular case, there’s real-life implications.”The proposal would renew the program, which permits the U.S. government to collect without a warrant the communications of non-Americans located outside the country to gather foreign intelligence. The reauthorization faced a long and bumpy road to final passage Friday after months of clashes between privacy advocates and national security hawks pushed consideration of the legislation to the brink of expiration.Though the spy program was technically set to expire at midnight Saturday, the Biden administration had said it expected its authority to collect intelligence to remain operational for at least another year, thanks to an opinion earlier this month from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which receives surveillance applications.Still, officials had said that court approval shouldn’t be a substitute for congressional authorization, especially since communications companies could cease cooperation with the government if the program is allowed to lapse.Hours before the law was set to expire, U.S. officials were already scrambling after two major U.S. communication providers said they would stop complying with orders through the surveillance program, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations.Attorney General Merrick Garland praised the reauthorization and reiterated how “indispensable” the tool is to the Justice Department.“This reauthorization of Section 702 gives the United States the authority to continue to collect foreign intelligence information about non-U.S. persons located outside the United States, while at the same time codifying important reforms the Justice Department has adopted to ensure the protection of Americans’ privacy and civil liberties," Garland said in a statement Saturday.But despite the Biden administration's urging and classified briefings to senators this week on the crucial role they say the spy program plays in protecting national security, a group of progressive and conservative lawmakers who were agitating for further changes had refused to accept the version of the bill the House sent over last week.The lawmakers had demanded that Schumer, D-N.Y., allow votes on amendments to the legislation that would seek to address what they see as civil liberty loopholes in the bill. In the end, Schumer was able to cut a deal that would allow critics to receive floor votes on their amendments in exchange for speeding up the process for passage.The six amendments ultimately failed to garner the necessary support on the floor to be included in the final passage.One of the major changes detractors had proposed centered around restricting the FBI’s access to information about Americans through the program. Though the surveillance tool only targets non-Americans in other countries, it also collects communications of Americans when they are in contact with those targeted foreigners. Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the chamber, had been pushing a proposal that would require U.S. officials to get a warrant before accessing American communications.“If the government wants to spy on my private communications or the private communications of any American, they should be required to get approval from a judge, just as our Founding Fathers intended in writing the Constitution,” Durbin said.In the past year, U.S. officials have revealed a series of abuses and mistakes by FBI analysts in improperly querying the intelligence repository for information about Americans or others in the U.S., including a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fisa-foreign-surveillance-fbi-3f7d4cc0ef413cdf20bc0b70548cde84">member of Congress</a>&nbsp;and participants in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-fbi-surveillance-75c466a64e838ab12eaef96f6335f3cd">racial justice protests of 2020</a>&nbsp;and the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.But members on both the House and Senate intelligence committees as well as the Justice Department warned requiring a warrant would severely handicap officials from quickly responding to imminent national security threats.“I think that is a risk that we cannot afford to take with the vast array of challenges our nation faces around the world,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Biden signs bill extending controversial US spy program 

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/04/22/reveal-planned-of-contents-found-in-monument-at-neihardt-spring-conference/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — We’ll soon know whether some documents buried inside a concrete monument&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/06/09/wayne-state-group-seeks-to-unlock-mysteries-surrounding-lonely-south-dakota-monument/">erected by poet/author John Neihardt 100 years</a>&nbsp;ago survived three floods and decades of harsh winters on the plains of northwest South Dakota.

On April 27, the contents of a time capsule embedded inside the monument will be revealed as part of the annual spring conference of the John Neihardt Foundation at Wayne State College.

The conference will focus on the 1923 construction of the homemade monument that honors the heroism of mountain man Hugh Glass, as well as the twists and turns that led to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/10/23/mysterious-monument-for-mountain-man-hugh-glass-has-been-moved-to-nebraska/">moving the 1½-ton concrete marker</a>&nbsp;from near Lemmon, S.D., to the Neihardt State Historic Site in Bancroft, Neb.

Members of the Neihardt family, who retrieved the monument in October, aren’t discounting the possibility that Mother Nature might have gotten the best of what was inside the time capsule. The poet/author, the poet laureate in perpetuity of Nebraska, said he left an “original manuscript” inside as well as other documents.

Coralie Hughes, a granddaughter of Neihardt, was mum during a recent email exchange about whether a valuable literary work was found inside, or whether — like the live TV opening of gangster Al Capone’s vault in 1986 — nothing of value was found.

“The story of Hugh Glass and Neihardt’s Hugh Glass monument move to Nebraska will be revealed in its entirety,” said Hughes in an email.

The monument was erected on private land near the site of where Glass was mauled by a grizzly bear in 1823. Later, it had to be moved to accommodate the construction of the federal Shadehill Reservoir.

It was relocated a second time to move it away from an eroding bank of the lake, and then was flooded three times in its new location, according to Joseph Weixelman, a now-retired Wayne State College professor who took up Neihardt’s challenge to revisit the Glass monument site in 2023.

He had given 50-50 odds that something survived a century inside the concrete obelisk that was labeled an “altar to courage.”

Glass’ amazing story of survival became the subject of a movie, “The Revenant,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio. But long before that, in 1915, Neihardt wrote an epic poem, “The Song of Hugh Glass,” as part of “A Cycle of the West,” a collection of five poems about the settlement of the frontier.

Glass, in 1823, was mauled by a grizzly bear and left for dead by the rest of his party of trappers. But instead of dying on the vast frontier, Glass&nbsp;crawled and limped 200 miles to the nearest settlement, Fort Kiowa, on the Missouri River, vowing to avenge his abandonment.

In 1923, Neihardt drove the primitive dirt roads to the confluence of two branches of the Grand River and, with the help of a local rancher and the head of the South Dakota State Historical Society, built a stubby, concrete monument to Glass.

Inside was buried a time capsule. In a 1923 article in the student newspaper of the Nebraska Normal College, Neihardt challenged students to revisit the monument in 2023, open the time capsule, recite portions of “The Song of Hugh Glass” and celebrate as mountain men might have.

Last summer, Weixelman and a handful of students took up the challenge, but uncertainty over who owned the monument and who could grant permission to crack into it&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/08/02/tale-of-mysterious-monument-thickens-as-relative-of-famed-author-pledges-to-find-out-whats-inside/">prevented the Wayne State group from unlocking</a>&nbsp;the mystery inside.

That led the Neihardt family to claim ownership. The Bureau of Reclamation approved their claim and allowed the family to remove the monument to the state historic site in Nebraska, where they opened it up in October.

The family opted to keep the contents secret until the 43rd annual spring conference of the Neihardt Foundation, being held this year at Wayne State. That is where Neihardt — a member of the Nebraska Hall of Fame and best known for “Black Elk Speaks” — graduated at age 15.

The conference, entitled “Monuments in Word, Deed and Stone,” will focus on the effort to fulfill Neihardt’s wishes to revisit the monument and open the time capsule.

Weixelman will speak, as will Lisa Nelson, a director of service learning at Wayne State, who were key in discovering the “challenge” to revisit the almost-forgotten monument.

A documentary of the quest, produced by Neihardt’s great-granddaughter Alexis Petri, also will be shown at the event, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ramsey Theater on the Wayne State Campus.

Weixelman, who retired shortly after the odyssey to South Dakota, said a new time capsule was left behind at the Grand River Museum in Lemmon. Among the items left inside were coins from 2022, a thumb drive holding several documents, a copy of the Wayne Stater student newspaper and a Godzilla toy.

“We did our best to put in things that will entertain people in 100 years,” Weixelman said.

He said he plans to challenge Wayne State students to return again in 2123 to open the waterproof time capsule and again commemorate the story of Hugh Glass.

“I don’t know what people will be thinking 99 years from now.” he said. “Will there even be museums?”

Tickets for the spring conference are $25 each, or $15 for students and members of the Neihardt Foundation. They can be purchased via the website&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.neihardtcenter.org/events">neihardtcenter.org/events</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713800842627.jpeg" alt="n October, the descendants of poet/author John Neihardt eased a 3,200-pound monument — erected by the poet/author 100 years ago in South Dakota — into place at the John Neihardt State Historic Site in Bancroft. The contents of a time capsule embedded inside the monument will be revealed April 27. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>n October, the descendants of poet/author John Neihardt eased a 3,200-pound monument — erected by the poet/author 100 years ago in South Dakota — into place at the John Neihardt State Historic Site in Bancroft. The contents of a time capsule embedded inside the monument will be revealed April 27. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>Paul Hammel<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/04/22/reveal-planned-of-contents-found-in-monument-at-neihardt-spring-conference/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — We’ll soon know whether some documents buried inside a concrete monument&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/06/09/wayne-state-group-seeks-to-unlock-mysteries-surrounding-lonely-south-dakota-monument/">erected by poet/author John Neihardt 100 years</a>&nbsp;ago survived three floods and decades of harsh winters on the plains of northwest South Dakota.On April 27, the contents of a time capsule embedded inside the monument will be revealed as part of the annual spring conference of the John Neihardt Foundation at Wayne State College.<h2>1½-ton monument moved to Nebraska</h2>The conference will focus on the 1923 construction of the homemade monument that honors the heroism of mountain man Hugh Glass, as well as the twists and turns that led to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/10/23/mysterious-monument-for-mountain-man-hugh-glass-has-been-moved-to-nebraska/">moving the 1½-ton concrete marker</a>&nbsp;from near Lemmon, S.D., to the Neihardt State Historic Site in Bancroft, Neb.Members of the Neihardt family, who retrieved the monument in October, aren’t discounting the possibility that Mother Nature might have gotten the best of what was inside the time capsule. The poet/author, the poet laureate in perpetuity of Nebraska, said he left an “original manuscript” inside as well as other documents.Coralie Hughes, a granddaughter of Neihardt, was mum during a recent email exchange about whether a valuable literary work was found inside, or whether — like the live TV opening of gangster Al Capone’s vault in 1986 — nothing of value was found.<h2>Story will be ‘revealed’</h2>“The story of Hugh Glass and Neihardt’s Hugh Glass monument move to Nebraska will be revealed in its entirety,” said Hughes in an email.The monument was erected on private land near the site of where Glass was mauled by a grizzly bear in 1823. Later, it had to be moved to accommodate the construction of the federal Shadehill Reservoir.It was relocated a second time to move it away from an eroding bank of the lake, and then was flooded three times in its new location, according to Joseph Weixelman, a now-retired Wayne State College professor who took up Neihardt’s challenge to revisit the Glass monument site in 2023.He had given 50-50 odds that something survived a century inside the concrete obelisk that was labeled an “altar to courage.”Glass’ amazing story of survival became the subject of a movie, “The Revenant,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio. But long before that, in 1915, Neihardt wrote an epic poem, “The Song of Hugh Glass,” as part of “A Cycle of the West,” a collection of five poems about the settlement of the frontier.Glass, in 1823, was mauled by a grizzly bear and left for dead by the rest of his party of trappers. But instead of dying on the vast frontier, Glass&nbsp;crawled and limped 200 miles to the nearest settlement, Fort Kiowa, on the Missouri River, vowing to avenge his abandonment.In 1923, Neihardt drove the primitive dirt roads to the confluence of two branches of the Grand River and, with the help of a local rancher and the head of the South Dakota State Historical Society, built a stubby, concrete monument to Glass.<h2>A challenge to return</h2>Inside was buried a time capsule. In a 1923 article in the student newspaper of the Nebraska Normal College, Neihardt challenged students to revisit the monument in 2023, open the time capsule, recite portions of “The Song of Hugh Glass” and celebrate as mountain men might have.Last summer, Weixelman and a handful of students took up the challenge, but uncertainty over who owned the monument and who could grant permission to crack into it&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/08/02/tale-of-mysterious-monument-thickens-as-relative-of-famed-author-pledges-to-find-out-whats-inside/">prevented the Wayne State group from unlocking</a>&nbsp;the mystery inside.That led the Neihardt family to claim ownership. The Bureau of Reclamation approved their claim and allowed the family to remove the monument to the state historic site in Nebraska, where they opened it up in October.The family opted to keep the contents secret until the 43rd annual spring conference of the Neihardt Foundation, being held this year at Wayne State. That is where Neihardt — a member of the Nebraska Hall of Fame and best known for “Black Elk Speaks” — graduated at age 15.The conference, entitled “Monuments in Word, Deed and Stone,” will focus on the effort to fulfill Neihardt’s wishes to revisit the monument and open the time capsule.Weixelman will speak, as will Lisa Nelson, a director of service learning at Wayne State, who were key in discovering the “challenge” to revisit the almost-forgotten monument.A documentary of the quest, produced by Neihardt’s great-granddaughter Alexis Petri, also will be shown at the event, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ramsey Theater on the Wayne State Campus.Weixelman, who retired shortly after the odyssey to South Dakota, said a new time capsule was left behind at the Grand River Museum in Lemmon. Among the items left inside were coins from 2022, a thumb drive holding several documents, a copy of the Wayne Stater student newspaper and a Godzilla toy.“We did our best to put in things that will entertain people in 100 years,” Weixelman said.He said he plans to challenge Wayne State students to return again in 2123 to open the waterproof time capsule and again commemorate the story of Hugh Glass.“I don’t know what people will be thinking 99 years from now.” he said. “Will there even be museums?”Tickets for the spring conference are $25 each, or $15 for students and members of the Neihardt Foundation. They can be purchased via the website&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.neihardtcenter.org/events">neihardtcenter.org/events</a>

‘Reveal’ planned of contents found in monument at Neihardt spring conference

Elm Creek, Neb. - Two separate accidents occurred on I-80 near the same location Sunday afternoon near Elm Creek. The second accident that occurred resulted in the death of a truck driver. I-80 was closed for several hours.

The first crash occurred at approximately 9:45 a.m. Sunday, near mile marker 257 on I-80. The crash occurred when a pickup rear-ended a semi in the construction zone. The driver of the pickup suffered non-life-threatening injuries. A child also suffered minor injuries. I-80 was closed for approximately 90 minutes.

The second crash occurred at approximately 12:30 p.m. Sunday, near the same location. This occurred when a semi was parked on the westbound shoulder, in the two-lane construction zone. Another semi, hauling a piece of ag equipment, struck the semi that was parked on the shoulder, causing the ag equipment to enter the eastbound lanes and strike an oncoming semi.

The driver of the eastbound semi was killed in the crash. He has been identified as Viacheslav Nadolinkskii, 49, of Dallas, North Carolina. The drivers of both westbound semis suffered minor injuries and have since been released from the hospital. Troopers are conducting a full crash reconstruction and commercial vehicle post-crash investigation. I-80 was closed for about 5 hours.

NSP was assisted in these incidents by the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office, Dawson County Sheriff’s Office, Kearney Police Department, Nebraska Department of Transportation, and local EMS.

Cody ThomasNebraska State PatrolElm Creek, Neb. - Two separate accidents occurred on I-80 near the same location Sunday afternoon near Elm Creek. The second accident that occurred resulted in the death of a truck driver. I-80 was closed for several hours.The first crash occurred at approximately 9:45 a.m. Sunday, near mile marker 257 on I-80. The crash occurred when a pickup rear-ended a semi in the construction zone. The driver of the pickup suffered non-life-threatening injuries. A child also suffered minor injuries. I-80 was closed for approximately 90 minutes.The second crash occurred at approximately 12:30 p.m. Sunday, near the same location. This occurred when a semi was parked on the westbound shoulder, in the two-lane construction zone. Another semi, hauling a piece of ag equipment, struck the semi that was parked on the shoulder, causing the ag equipment to enter the eastbound lanes and strike an oncoming semi.The driver of the eastbound semi was killed in the crash. He has been identified as Viacheslav Nadolinkskii, 49, of Dallas, North Carolina. The drivers of both westbound semis suffered minor injuries and have since been released from the hospital. Troopers are conducting a full crash reconstruction and commercial vehicle post-crash investigation. I-80 was closed for about 5 hours.NSP was assisted in these incidents by the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office, Dawson County Sheriff’s Office, Kearney Police Department, Nebraska Department of Transportation, and local EMS.

Nebraska State Patrol investigating two accidents that occurred on I-80 in a construction zone near Elm Creek 

Lincoln, Neb. April 22, 2024 —&nbsp;For the past 17 years, Terry Hejny has regularly traveled Nebraska, from the Missouri River to the Panhandle, on an important mission. As director of the&nbsp;<a href="https://unl233.lt.acemlnb.com/Prod/link-tracker?redirectUrl=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&amp;sig=2G2yZN5uw6FK87Kom5imBrS7cBNd3AMW3JDEAFriJYkc&amp;iat=1713787316&amp;a=%7C%7C68108822%7C%7C&amp;account=unl233%2Eactivehosted%2Ecom&amp;email=BPo1RoxZzQ0%2FsiMm32qZNdVnQcmToqecy0M41HdaTWjPozY82MWzPIM%3D%3AlY69lZ%2ByXl6NnCNnRDUitZ1ygEdhxkfX&amp;s=073f67d35943f6c01a66f2eac84e284e&amp;i=744A845A50A15490" target="_blank">Nebraska LEAD Program</a>, he spearheads activities and experiences that help LEAD fellows understand the breadth of the state, preparing them for future leadership in agriculture and agribusiness.

“I always say that LEAD is a transformational travel and experiential development program. It’s full of experiences and opportunities,” said Hejny, who grew up on a diversified crop and livestock farm in Seward County and has headed the program since 2007.The two-year LEAD experience includes detailed looks at Nebraska’s agriculture, economics, health care, education, community development and government, and includes travel to Washington, D.C., and overseas.

“We have something for everyone,” Hejny said. “We help them become passionate about issues and where they want to put their advocacy as they go through this program.”

LEAD, a part of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s&nbsp;<a href="https://unl233.lt.acemlnb.com/Prod/link-tracker?redirectUrl=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&amp;sig=DrLbNSMfi3WgC3cVTCSWuqnX3CP58Qrq6w3K924yXZRH&amp;iat=1713787316&amp;a=%7C%7C68108822%7C%7C&amp;account=unl233%2Eactivehosted%2Ecom&amp;email=BPo1RoxZzQ0%2FsiMm32qZNdVnQcmToqecy0M41HdaTWjPozY82MWzPIM%3D%3AlY69lZ%2ByXl6NnCNnRDUitZ1ygEdhxkfX&amp;s=073f67d35943f6c01a66f2eac84e284e&amp;i=744A845A50A15484" target="_blank">Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources</a>, has been in place since 1981. Over the decades, its alumni have gone on to provide important leadership in production agriculture and agribusiness, including on grower associations and commodity boards, as well as on town councils, school boards, natural resource district boards and the State Legislature.

LEAD’s 12 in-state seminars over two years are “the building blocks of the program,” Hejny said. The sessions take LEAD fellows to every region of the state and help them understand Nebraska’s diversity in topography, climate, economics and culture. Those experiences encourage an important sense of connection and understanding among Nebraskans.

“That is a key thing that has made our program successful,” Hejny said. “We connect people.”

Hejny, who was a member of LEAD 20 class during 2000-02, will retire from his LEAD director position at the end of June. He also will retire as president and chief operating officer of the nonprofit Nebraska Agricultural Leadership Council, which governs the LEAD program in cooperation with IANR and support from 13 other institutions of higher education throughout the state.

A retirement reception for Hejny will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. May 9 in the Nebraska East Union, in the third-floor Prairie Suite. Husker faculty, staff and students, as well as LEAD graduates and anyone else who would like to wish him well, are invited to attend.

Hejny’s greatest satisfaction has been working with so many talented Nebraskans over the years and seeing LEAD Fellows develop their leadership skills.

“I’ve been blessed to have those experiences to see that personal and professional development happen,” Hejny said. “It’s a beautiful process.”

The decades of support from IANR have been particularly important for the program, he said.

Hejny, who earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from UNL, feels a strong connection to LEAD’s tradition due to his ties both to the program’s founding director, James Horner, and his successor, Allen Blezek. Both were faculty members in UNL’s Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication.

Horner’s class on program development helped Hejny understand principles he’s used throughout his career as a high school agriculture teacher in Geneva, Extension educator in Fillmore and Cass counties, and LEAD program director.

Similarly, he said, “I learned everything I needed to know about how to teach from Professor Blezek.”After becoming LEAD director in 2007, Hejny earned a doctorate in human sciences with a specialization in leadership studies. What are the elements of constructive leadership? It’s a long list, Hejny said, but five key components are integrity; trustworthiness; instilling a sense of ethics; fairness; and ensuring transparency.

“Leaders have to model those behaviors,” said Hejny, who also was a high school coach. “They always represent high standards, high expectations.”

LEAD stands out for the breadth of support it receives from institutions, communities, corporations and individuals across the state.

“That’s what makes me feel very blessed,” Hejny said. “That support means that people have ownership of the program, which means they want it to succeed.”

Mark McHargue, president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau, said the LEAD Program “stands as a top leadership development initiative in the state for agricultural stakeholders, fostering well-informed, ready and enthusiastic leaders from various sectors of the agriculture industry across Nebraska.

”The farm bureau has long been a steadfast supporter of the program, McHargue said.“I appreciate Dr. Hejny’s guidance in steering this vital program over the last several years,” he said. “His legacy will endure through the service and leadership of LEAD graduates from across Nebraska for years to come.”

Kelly Brunkhorst, executive director of the Nebraska Corn Board, said Hejny “has continued to build upon the foundation of his predecessors in expanding the LEAD program into the premier leadership program across the state. It is a model for other states to build upon.

” As his retirement from LEAD approaches, Hejny is working with the program’s staff members Shana Gerdes and Irene Malzer to enable a smooth transition for his successor.

“Dr. Blezek had it ready to roll when I took over,” Hejny said, “and I’m going to do the same thing for the next person.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1713791238737.jpeg" alt="(Courtesy of UNL)" />
 <figcaption>(Courtesy of UNL)</figcaption>
 </figure>Geitner Simmons&nbsp;Lincoln, Neb. April 22, 2024 —&nbsp;For the past 17 years, Terry Hejny has regularly traveled Nebraska, from the Missouri River to the Panhandle, on an important mission. As director of the&nbsp;<a href="https://unl233.lt.acemlnb.com/Prod/link-tracker?redirectUrl=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&amp;sig=2G2yZN5uw6FK87Kom5imBrS7cBNd3AMW3JDEAFriJYkc&amp;iat=1713787316&amp;a=%7C%7C68108822%7C%7C&amp;account=unl233%2Eactivehosted%2Ecom&amp;email=BPo1RoxZzQ0%2FsiMm32qZNdVnQcmToqecy0M41HdaTWjPozY82MWzPIM%3D%3AlY69lZ%2ByXl6NnCNnRDUitZ1ygEdhxkfX&amp;s=073f67d35943f6c01a66f2eac84e284e&amp;i=744A845A50A15490" target="_blank">Nebraska LEAD Program</a>, he spearheads activities and experiences that help LEAD fellows understand the breadth of the state, preparing them for future leadership in agriculture and agribusiness.“I always say that LEAD is a transformational travel and experiential development program. It’s full of experiences and opportunities,” said Hejny, who grew up on a diversified crop and livestock farm in Seward County and has headed the program since 2007.The two-year LEAD experience includes detailed looks at Nebraska’s agriculture, economics, health care, education, community development and government, and includes travel to Washington, D.C., and overseas.“We have something for everyone,” Hejny said. “We help them become passionate about issues and where they want to put their advocacy as they go through this program.”LEAD, a part of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s&nbsp;<a href="https://unl233.lt.acemlnb.com/Prod/link-tracker?redirectUrl=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&amp;sig=DrLbNSMfi3WgC3cVTCSWuqnX3CP58Qrq6w3K924yXZRH&amp;iat=1713787316&amp;a=%7C%7C68108822%7C%7C&amp;account=unl233%2Eactivehosted%2Ecom&amp;email=BPo1RoxZzQ0%2FsiMm32qZNdVnQcmToqecy0M41HdaTWjPozY82MWzPIM%3D%3AlY69lZ%2ByXl6NnCNnRDUitZ1ygEdhxkfX&amp;s=073f67d35943f6c01a66f2eac84e284e&amp;i=744A845A50A15484" target="_blank">Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources</a>, has been in place since 1981. Over the decades, its alumni have gone on to provide important leadership in production agriculture and agribusiness, including on grower associations and commodity boards, as well as on town councils, school boards, natural resource district boards and the State Legislature.LEAD’s 12 in-state seminars over two years are “the building blocks of the program,” Hejny said. The sessions take LEAD fellows to every region of the state and help them understand Nebraska’s diversity in topography, climate, economics and culture. Those experiences encourage an important sense of connection and understanding among Nebraskans.“That is a key thing that has made our program successful,” Hejny said. “We connect people.”Hejny, who was a member of LEAD 20 class during 2000-02, will retire from his LEAD director position at the end of June. He also will retire as president and chief operating officer of the nonprofit Nebraska Agricultural Leadership Council, which governs the LEAD program in cooperation with IANR and support from 13 other institutions of higher education throughout the state.A retirement reception for Hejny will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. May 9 in the Nebraska East Union, in the third-floor Prairie Suite. Husker faculty, staff and students, as well as LEAD graduates and anyone else who would like to wish him well, are invited to attend.Hejny’s greatest satisfaction has been working with so many talented Nebraskans over the years and seeing LEAD Fellows develop their leadership skills.“I’ve been blessed to have those experiences to see that personal and professional development happen,” Hejny said. “It’s a beautiful process.”The decades of support from IANR have been particularly important for the program, he said.Hejny, who earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from UNL, feels a strong connection to LEAD’s tradition due to his ties both to the program’s founding director, James Horner, and his successor, Allen Blezek. Both were faculty members in UNL’s Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication.Horner’s class on program development helped Hejny understand principles he’s used throughout his career as a high school agriculture teacher in Geneva, Extension educator in Fillmore and Cass counties, and LEAD program director.Similarly, he said, “I learned everything I needed to know about how to teach from Professor Blezek.”After becoming LEAD director in 2007, Hejny earned a doctorate in human sciences with a specialization in leadership studies. What are the elements of constructive leadership? It’s a long list, Hejny said, but five key components are integrity; trustworthiness; instilling a sense of ethics; fairness; and ensuring transparency.“Leaders have to model those behaviors,” said Hejny, who also was a high school coach. “They always represent high standards, high expectations.”LEAD stands out for the breadth of support it receives from institutions, communities, corporations and individuals across the state.“That’s what makes me feel very blessed,” Hejny said. “That support means that people have ownership of the program, which means they want it to succeed.”Mark McHargue, president of the Nebraska Farm Bureau, said the LEAD Program “stands as a top leadership development initiative in the state for agricultural stakeholders, fostering well-informed, ready and enthusiastic leaders from various sectors of the agriculture industry across Nebraska.”The farm bureau has long been a steadfast supporter of the program, McHargue said.“I appreciate Dr. Hejny’s guidance in steering this vital program over the last several years,” he said. “His legacy will endure through the service and leadership of LEAD graduates from across Nebraska for years to come.”Kelly Brunkhorst, executive director of the Nebraska Corn Board, said Hejny “has continued to build upon the foundation of his predecessors in expanding the LEAD program into the premier leadership program across the state. It is a model for other states to build upon.” As his retirement from LEAD approaches, Hejny is working with the program’s staff members Shana Gerdes and Irene Malzer to enable a smooth transition for his successor.“Dr. Blezek had it ready to roll when I took over,” Hejny said, “and I’m going to do the same thing for the next person.”

Hejny has shown vision in directing LEAD Program’s ‘transformational’ mission

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country music star&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/morgan-wallen">Morgan Wallen</a>, who faces charges stemming in part from accusations that he threw a chair off the rooftop of a six-story bar, says he’s “not proud” of his behavior and accepts responsibility.

The “One Thing at a Time” singer responded publicly Friday night on social media to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/morgan-wallen-arrested-throw-chair-nashville-016f6ed540dae5d4aa794025e3cf3e1e">his arrest in Nashville two weeks ago.</a>&nbsp;He faces a May 3 court date after being charged with three felony counts of reckless endangerment and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct, court records show.

An arrest affidavit said the chair at Chief’s bar landed about 3 feet (1 meter) from officers, who talked to witnesses and reviewed security footage. Witnesses told officers that they watched Wallen pick up a chair, throw it over the roof and laugh about it. Wallen was booked early April 8 and released.

“I didn’t feel right publicly checking in until I made amends with some folks. I’ve touched base with Nashville law enforcement, my family, and the good people at Chief’s. I’m not proud of my behavior, and I accept responsibility,” Wallen wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Wallen, one of the biggest names in contemporary country, is currently on a stadium tour, including a concert scheduled for Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi.

“I have the utmost respect for the officers working every day to keep us all safe. Regarding my tour, there will be no change,” his message said, signed ”-MW.”

The “One Thing at a Time” album spent 16 weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 in 2023 and was the most-consumed album in the U.S. last year. Top 10 hits from the album included “Last Night,” “You Proof” and “Thinkin’ Bout Me.”

In 2021, the country singer was suspended indefinitely from his label after video surfaced of him shouting a racial slur. In 2020, he was arrested on public intoxication and disorderly conduct charges after being kicked out of Kid Rock’s bar in downtown Nashville.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/4/1712583620863.png" alt="Wallen photo Nashville Police" />
 <figcaption>Wallen photo Nashville Police</figcaption>
 </figure>NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country music star&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/morgan-wallen">Morgan Wallen</a>, who faces charges stemming in part from accusations that he threw a chair off the rooftop of a six-story bar, says he’s “not proud” of his behavior and accepts responsibility.The “One Thing at a Time” singer responded publicly Friday night on social media to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/morgan-wallen-arrested-throw-chair-nashville-016f6ed540dae5d4aa794025e3cf3e1e">his arrest in Nashville two weeks ago.</a>&nbsp;He faces a May 3 court date after being charged with three felony counts of reckless endangerment and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct, court records show.An arrest affidavit said the chair at Chief’s bar landed about 3 feet (1 meter) from officers, who talked to witnesses and reviewed security footage. Witnesses told officers that they watched Wallen pick up a chair, throw it over the roof and laugh about it. Wallen was booked early April 8 and released.“I didn’t feel right publicly checking in until I made amends with some folks. I’ve touched base with Nashville law enforcement, my family, and the good people at Chief’s. I’m not proud of my behavior, and I accept responsibility,” Wallen wrote on X, formerly Twitter.Wallen, one of the biggest names in contemporary country, is currently on a stadium tour, including a concert scheduled for Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi.“I have the utmost respect for the officers working every day to keep us all safe. Regarding my tour, there will be no change,” his message said, signed ”-MW.”The “One Thing at a Time” album spent 16 weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 in 2023 and was the most-consumed album in the U.S. last year. Top 10 hits from the album included “Last Night,” “You Proof” and “Thinkin’ Bout Me.”In 2021, the country singer was suspended indefinitely from his label after video surfaced of him shouting a racial slur. In 2020, he was arrested on public intoxication and disorderly conduct charges after being kicked out of Kid Rock’s bar in downtown Nashville.

Facing prison time, Morgan Wallen apologized for behavior

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump tried to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election by preventing damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public, a prosecutor told jurors Monday at the start of the former president's historic hush money trial.

A defense lawyer countered by saying that Trump was “innocent" and by attacking the integrity of the onetime Trump confidant who's now the government's star witness. Trump's attorney said the case should never have been brought.

The opening statements launched the first criminal trial of a former American president, a case unfolding against the backdrop of a closely contested White House race in which Trump is not only the presumptive Republican nominee but also a defendant facing the prospect of a felony conviction and prison.

The trial will offer weeks of salacious and unflattering testimony about an effort by the then-celebrity candidate to stifle story he feared could torpedo his candidacy, including a porn star's claims of an extramarital affair a decade earlier.

Prosecutors at the outset sought to elevate the gravity of the case, the first of four criminal prosecutions against Trump, to reach a jury, by framing it as about election interference. The depiction seemed intended to rebut criticism that the allegations at the heart of the case are less grievous than those of the three other cases, which center on charges of hoarding classified documents and subverting democracy.

“The defendant, Donald Trump, orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election. Then he covered up that criminal conspiracy by lying in his New York business records over and over and over again,” prosecutor Matthew Colangelo told jurors.

The statements offered the 12-person jury — and the voting public — a roadmap for how to view the allegations at the heart of the case.

They also served as an introduction to the colorful cast of characters that comprise the tawdry saga, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-manhattan-stormy-daniels-michael-cohen-b514cb52bb31a82579cb827c40166173">a porn actor who says she had a sexual encounter with Trump</a>; the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/michael-cohen">lawyer who prosecutors say paid her to keep quiet about it</a>; and the tabloid publisher who agreed to function as the campaign's “eyes and ears.”

Trump faces&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-arraignment-hush-money-81225510ef7638494852816878f612f0">34 felony counts of falsifying business records</a>&nbsp;— a charge punishable by up to four years in prison — though it’s not clear if the judge would seek to put him behind bars. A conviction would not preclude Trump from becoming president again, but because it is a state case, he would not be able to attempt to pardon himself if found guilty. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The case brought by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-manhattan-da-bragg-hush-money-trial-a164881f43b1d5064a528b36eada937e">Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg</a>&nbsp;revisits a chapter from Trump’s history when his celebrity past collided with his political ambitions and, prosecutors say, he scrambled to stifle stories that he feared could torpedo his campaign.

In his opening statements, Colangelo traced the origins of the effort to the emergence late in the 2016 campaign of the 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording in which Trump could be heard boasting about grabbing women sexually without their permission.

“The impact of that tape on the campaign was immediate and explosive,” Colangelo said, recounting for jurors how prominent Trump allies withdrew their endorsements and condemned his language.

The prosecutor said evidence will show the Republican National Committee even considered whether it was possible to replace Trump with another candidate.

Within days of the “Access Hollywood” tape becoming public, Colangelo told jurors that The National Enquirer alerted Cohen that porn actor Stormy Daniels was agitating to go public with her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.

The prosecutor described other payments as well that were part of what's known in the tabloid industry as a “catch-and-kill” ploy — catching a potentially damaging story by buying the rights to it and then suppressing or killing it through agreements that prevent the paid person from telling the story to anyone else.

Colangelo also talked about arrangements made to pay a former Playboy model $150,000 to suppress her claims of a nearly yearlong affair with the married Trump. Colangelo said Trump “desperately did not want this information about Karen McDougal to become public because he was worried about its effect on the election.”

He told jurors they will hear a recording Cohen made in September 2016 of himself briefing Trump on the plan to buy McDougal’s story. The recording was made public in July 2018. Colangelo told jurors they hear Trump in his own voice, saying: “What do we got to pay for this? One-fifty?”

Trump arrived at the courthouse shortly before 9 a.m., minutes after castigating the case in capital letters on social media as “election interference” and a “witch hunt.”

The trial will require him to spend his days in a courtroom rather than on the campaign trail, a reality he complained about Monday when he lamented to reporters that he was “here instead of being able to be in Pennsylvania and Georgia and lots of other places campaigning, and it’s very unfair.”

Just as Trump sat through a jury selection process in which multiple prospective jurors expressed negative opinions about him, he will be forced to remain in court as salacious and potentially unflattering details about his personal life are shared with the jury.

Trump has nonetheless sought to turn his criminal defendant status into an asset for his campaign, fundraising off his legal jeopardy and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-harlem-trial-bodega-909f0abee3f1951a2ffdabc8072d61a7">repeatedly railing against a justice system</a>&nbsp;that he has for years claimed is weaponized against him.

Hearing the case is a jury that includes, among others, multiple lawyers, a sales professional, an investment banker and an English teacher. As court began Monday, Judge Juan Merchan disclosed that one of the jurors selected for the case had conveyed reservations about participating, apparently because of the intense media attention. The juror was questioned privately but will remain on the case.

The case will test jurors' ability to set aside any bias but also Trump's ability to abide by the court's restrictions, such as a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-gag-order-hush-money-juan-merchan-f182e7d5c27967b86a59277fd24743e4">gag order</a>&nbsp;that bars him from attacking witnesses. Prosecutors are seeking fines against him for alleged violations of that order.

Prosecutors say Trump obscured the true nature of the payments in internal records when his company reimbursed Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 and is expected to be a star witness for the prosecution.

Trump has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels, and his lawyers argue that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses.

To convict Trump of a felony, prosecutors must show he not only falsified or caused business records to be entered falsely, which would be a misdemeanor,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/175.10">but that he did so to conceal another crime</a>.

The allegations don't accuse Trump of an egregious abuse of power like the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-indicted-jan-6-investigation-special-counsel-debb59bb7a4d9f93f7e2dace01feccdc">federal case in Washington charging him with plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election</a>, or of flouting national security protocols like the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-indictment-classified-documents-miami-8315a5b23c18f27083ed64eef21efff3">federal case in Florida charging him with hoarding classified documents.</a>

But the New York prosecution has taken on added importance because it may be the only one of the four cases against Trump that reaches trial before the November election.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/prosecuted-election-interference-april-immunity-claim-2020-election-7ddd54224350e0fbbf6b71a4461874c7">Appeals</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-election-indictment-fani-willis-trump-60b7dd9642fc9ef7c03d75980692334c">legal wrangling</a>&nbsp;have delayed the other three cases.

NEW YORK (AP) — For the first time in history, prosecutors will present a criminal case against a former American president to a jury Monday as they accuse&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-manhattan-stormy-daniels-michael-cohen-b514cb52bb31a82579cb827c40166173">hush money scheme</a>&nbsp;aimed at preventing damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public.