SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The maker of ChatGPT on Thursday unveiled its next leap into generative artificial intelligence with a tool that instantly makes short videos in response to written commands.

San Francisco-based OpenAI's new text-to-video generator, called Sora, isn't the first of its kind. Google, Meta and the startup Runway ML are among the other companies to have demonstrated similar technology.

But the high quality of videos displayed by OpenAI — some after CEO Sam Altman asked social media users to send in ideas for written prompts — astounded observers while also raising fears about the ethical and societal implications.

“A instructional cooking session for homemade gnocchi hosted by a grandmother social media influencer set in a rustic Tuscan country kitchen with cinematic lighting,” was a prompt suggested on X by a freelance photographer from New Hampshire. Altman responded a short time later with a realistic video that depicted what the prompt described.

The tool isn't yet publicly available and OpenAI has revealed limited information about how it was built. The company, which has been sued by some authors and The New York Times over its use of copyrighted works of writing to train ChatGPT, also hasn't disclosed what imagery and video sources were used to train Sora. (OpenAI pays an undisclosed fee to The Associated Press to license its text news archive).

OpenAI said in a blog post that it's engaging with artists, policymakers and others before releasing the new tool to the public.

“We are working with red teamers — domain experts in areas like misinformation, hateful content, and bias — who will be adversarially testing the model,” the company said. “We’re also building tools to help detect misleading content such as a detection classifier that can tell when a video was generated by Sora.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/7/1689956124232.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The maker of ChatGPT on Thursday unveiled its next leap into generative artificial intelligence with a tool that instantly makes short videos in response to written commands.San Francisco-based OpenAI's new text-to-video generator, called Sora, isn't the first of its kind. Google, Meta and the startup Runway ML are among the other companies to have demonstrated similar technology.But the high quality of videos displayed by OpenAI — some after CEO Sam Altman asked social media users to send in ideas for written prompts — astounded observers while also raising fears about the ethical and societal implications.“A instructional cooking session for homemade gnocchi hosted by a grandmother social media influencer set in a rustic Tuscan country kitchen with cinematic lighting,” was a prompt suggested on X by a freelance photographer from New Hampshire. Altman responded a short time later with a realistic video that depicted what the prompt described.The tool isn't yet publicly available and OpenAI has revealed limited information about how it was built. The company, which has been sued by some authors and The New York Times over its use of copyrighted works of writing to train ChatGPT, also hasn't disclosed what imagery and video sources were used to train Sora. (OpenAI pays an undisclosed fee to The Associated Press to license its text news archive).OpenAI said in a blog post that it's engaging with artists, policymakers and others before releasing the new tool to the public.“We are working with red teamers — domain experts in areas like misinformation, hateful content, and bias — who will be adversarially testing the model,” the company said. “We’re also building tools to help detect misleading content such as a detection classifier that can tell when a video was generated by Sora.”

OpenAI Sora: New tool makes instant videos from written prompts

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jacob-fischler/">JACOB FISCHLER</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/09/21/kansas-board-of-regents-sculpts-plan-for-boosting-state-aid-to-public-higher-education/?emci=78717300-c858-ee11-9937-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=fc107f78-2659-ee11-9937-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=115039">Kansas Reflector</a>

The U.S. House voted Thursday to approve a bill that would preempt the Biden administration’s move last month to pause new approvals for some liquified natural gas exports.

Nine Democrats voted with every Republican in favor of the bill, which the chamber&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202452?Page=2">approved 224-200.</a>&nbsp;The bill would remove the federal requirement that the Department of Energy considers an LNG export permit in the public interest before allowing a project to move forward.

Democrats voting for the bill were Yadira Caraveo of Colorado, Jim Costa of California, Henry Cuellar, Vicente Gonzalez and Marc Veasey of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, Rick Larsen and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington and Mary Peltola of Alaska.

The bill does not appear likely to win the 60 votes needed to advance in the Senate, even if some Democrats would support it.

The bill, sponsored by Texas Republican August Pfluger, targets a recent endeavor by President Joe Biden’s administration to pause new Energy Department permits for LNG exports to non-free-trade-agreement countries.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/biden-administration-temporarily-halt-some-export-approvals-liquified-natural-gas">The pause</a>&nbsp;has no specified end date and would be in place while the department reviews its criteria for its public-interest evaluations.

Like many of Biden’s energy policies, the move drew the ire&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/bidens-natural-gas-export-pause-fought-over-us-house-panel">of Republicans</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/manchin-blasts-white-house-siding-climate-activists-natural-gas-pause%C2%A0">some energy-state Democrats</a>&nbsp;who said it would reduce domestic natural gas production.

Advocates for the measure say LNG releases fewer climate-changing emissions than coal and other fossil fuels, and U.S. production and exportation of the fuel closes more of the European market to Russian-sourced LNG.

“President Biden has issued executive orders and given direction to the federal agencies across the government to shut down American energy production, even at the expense of jobs, economic development, national security and the climate,” South Carolina Republican Jeff Duncan said Thursday.

Releasing more American supply would hamper Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to raise money for that country’s invasion of Ukraine, Duncan said. Russia is a large exporter of natural gas.

“Putin and his energy oligarchs are exporting to Europe 40% more than they did before the war in Ukraine,” Duncan said. “That’s 40% more money flowing right into the pocket of Vladimir Putin to fund his war with Ukraine. I would rather that money flow into the pockets of American energy producers and tax bases and communities all around this country.”

Duncan, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate and the Grid, and other Republicans said Thursday the pause was an election-year ploy to gain favor with environmental groups and was not a well-informed policy goal.

The bill would reverse the pause by revoking the Energy Department’s authority to review export applications.

Instead, approvals for new exports would be overseen only by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Under the bill, that commission would be required to deem all LNG exports in the public interest.

Democrats lined up on the floor Thursday to oppose the bill, which they said would remove a critical environmental guardrail.

“Ensuring that LNG exports are in America’s best interest is something we should all want,” Energy and Commerce ranking Democrat Frank Pallone of New Jersey said. “Instead, we’re here considering a bill that does the opposite.”

The bill “goes so much further” than simply reversing the administration’s pause by requiring that FERC find any proposed LNG export in the public interest, the subcommittee’s ranking Democrat, Colorado’s Diana DeGette, said.

“It says all LNG exports must be in the public interest,” DeGette said. “And it prohibits the Department of Energy from finding otherwise.”

If increased exports lead to higher rates for U.S. consumers or “exorbitant” release of pollution, the department would be powerless to stop expansion, she said.

The pause does not impact current LNG exports, which are ample, DeGette added. The U.S. is the world’s leading producer of LNG. Exports have tripled since 2019.

The Biden administration opposes the bill, the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/SAP-HR7176.pdf">Tuesday statement</a>.

The bill would undermine the administration’s ability to ensure exports are aligned with economic, energy security, geopolitical and environmental goals, the statement said.

“The Administration believes that the critical protections current law provides, which this legislation would repeal, should be retained to protect residential and industrial consumers and national and domestic energy security,” the statement said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1707834737989.png" alt="&nbsp;Nine Democrats voted with every Republican in favor of legislation that would remove the federal requirement that the Department of Energy considers an LNG export permit in the public interest before allowing a project to move forward. photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;Nine Democrats voted with every Republican in favor of legislation that would remove the federal requirement that the Department of Energy considers an LNG export permit in the public interest before allowing a project to move forward. photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jacob-fischler/">JACOB FISCHLER</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/09/21/kansas-board-of-regents-sculpts-plan-for-boosting-state-aid-to-public-higher-education/?emci=78717300-c858-ee11-9937-00224832eb73&amp;emdi=fc107f78-2659-ee11-9937-00224832eb73&amp;ceid=115039">Kansas Reflector</a>The U.S. House voted Thursday to approve a bill that would preempt the Biden administration’s move last month to pause new approvals for some liquified natural gas exports.Nine Democrats voted with every Republican in favor of the bill, which the chamber&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202452?Page=2">approved 224-200.</a>&nbsp;The bill would remove the federal requirement that the Department of Energy considers an LNG export permit in the public interest before allowing a project to move forward.Democrats voting for the bill were Yadira Caraveo of Colorado, Jim Costa of California, Henry Cuellar, Vicente Gonzalez and Marc Veasey of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, Rick Larsen and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington and Mary Peltola of Alaska.The bill does not appear likely to win the 60 votes needed to advance in the Senate, even if some Democrats would support it.The bill, sponsored by Texas Republican August Pfluger, targets a recent endeavor by President Joe Biden’s administration to pause new Energy Department permits for LNG exports to non-free-trade-agreement countries.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/biden-administration-temporarily-halt-some-export-approvals-liquified-natural-gas">The pause</a>&nbsp;has no specified end date and would be in place while the department reviews its criteria for its public-interest evaluations.Like many of Biden’s energy policies, the move drew the ire&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/bidens-natural-gas-export-pause-fought-over-us-house-panel">of Republicans</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/manchin-blasts-white-house-siding-climate-activists-natural-gas-pause%C2%A0">some energy-state Democrats</a>&nbsp;who said it would reduce domestic natural gas production.<h2>European market</h2>Advocates for the measure say LNG releases fewer climate-changing emissions than coal and other fossil fuels, and U.S. production and exportation of the fuel closes more of the European market to Russian-sourced LNG.“President Biden has issued executive orders and given direction to the federal agencies across the government to shut down American energy production, even at the expense of jobs, economic development, national security and the climate,” South Carolina Republican Jeff Duncan said Thursday.Releasing more American supply would hamper Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to raise money for that country’s invasion of Ukraine, Duncan said. Russia is a large exporter of natural gas.“Putin and his energy oligarchs are exporting to Europe 40% more than they did before the war in Ukraine,” Duncan said. “That’s 40% more money flowing right into the pocket of Vladimir Putin to fund his war with Ukraine. I would rather that money flow into the pockets of American energy producers and tax bases and communities all around this country.”Duncan, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate and the Grid, and other Republicans said Thursday the pause was an election-year ploy to gain favor with environmental groups and was not a well-informed policy goal.The bill would reverse the pause by revoking the Energy Department’s authority to review export applications.Instead, approvals for new exports would be overseen only by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Under the bill, that commission would be required to deem all LNG exports in the public interest.<h2>Bill would gut key protection, Dems say</h2>Democrats lined up on the floor Thursday to oppose the bill, which they said would remove a critical environmental guardrail.“Ensuring that LNG exports are in America’s best interest is something we should all want,” Energy and Commerce ranking Democrat Frank Pallone of New Jersey said. “Instead, we’re here considering a bill that does the opposite.”The bill “goes so much further” than simply reversing the administration’s pause by requiring that FERC find any proposed LNG export in the public interest, the subcommittee’s ranking Democrat, Colorado’s Diana DeGette, said.“It says all LNG exports must be in the public interest,” DeGette said. “And it prohibits the Department of Energy from finding otherwise.”If increased exports lead to higher rates for U.S. consumers or “exorbitant” release of pollution, the department would be powerless to stop expansion, she said.The pause does not impact current LNG exports, which are ample, DeGette added. The U.S. is the world’s leading producer of LNG. Exports have tripled since 2019.The Biden administration opposes the bill, the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/SAP-HR7176.pdf">Tuesday statement</a>.The bill would undermine the administration’s ability to ensure exports are aligned with economic, energy security, geopolitical and environmental goals, the statement said.“The Administration believes that the critical protections current law provides, which this legislation would repeal, should be retained to protect residential and industrial consumers and national and domestic energy security,” the statement said.

U.S. House passes bill to reverse Biden pause of some liquified natural gas exports

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)— Missile fire apparently targeted a ship Friday off&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/yemen">Yemen</a>&nbsp;in the Red Sea, the latest attack suspected to have been carried out by Yemen’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/houthis">Houthi rebels</a>&nbsp;amid Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The vessel’s captain reported an explosion nearby the ship in the Red Sea off the Yemeni city of Mocha, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization center said.

“The crew and the vessel are reported safe,” the UKMTO said.

It did not immediately identify the vessel targeted.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels did not immediately acknowledge carrying out the attack. However, the rebels typically take several hours before claiming their assaults.

Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel’s offensive in Gaza</a>. They have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Mideast and Europe.

The U.S. and British militaries have conducted multiple rounds of airstrikes targeting the Houthis’ missile arsenals and launch sites in territory they hold.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military’s Central Command acknowledged carrying out new airstrikes targeting the Houthis on Thursday. It described hitting three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles in Houthi-controlled territory that “were prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1707089021196.png" alt="File photo U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>File photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)— Missile fire apparently targeted a ship Friday off&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/yemen">Yemen</a>&nbsp;in the Red Sea, the latest attack suspected to have been carried out by Yemen’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/houthis">Houthi rebels</a>&nbsp;amid Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.The vessel’s captain reported an explosion nearby the ship in the Red Sea off the Yemeni city of Mocha, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization center said.“The crew and the vessel are reported safe,” the UKMTO said.It did not immediately identify the vessel targeted.Yemen’s Houthi rebels did not immediately acknowledge carrying out the attack. However, the rebels typically take several hours before claiming their assaults.Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea over&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">Israel’s offensive in Gaza</a>. They have frequently targeted vessels with tenuous or no clear links to Israel, imperiling shipping in a key route for trade among Asia, the Mideast and Europe.The U.S. and British militaries have conducted multiple rounds of airstrikes targeting the Houthis’ missile arsenals and launch sites in territory they hold.Meanwhile, the U.S. military’s Central Command acknowledged carrying out new airstrikes targeting the Houthis on Thursday. It described hitting three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles in Houthi-controlled territory that “were prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea.”

U.S. conducts new airstrikes targeting Iran-backed rebels

A Nebraska lawmaker whose north Omaha district has struggled for years with a housing shortage is pushing a bill that, if passed, could make Nebraska the first in the country to forbid out-of-state hedge funds and other corporate entities from buying up single-family properties.

Sen. Justin Wayne’s bill echoes legislative efforts in other states and in Congress to curtail corporate amassing of single-family homes, which critics say has helped cause the price of homes, rent and real estate taxes to soar in recent years. Wayne said that has been the case in his district, where an Ohio corporation has bought more than 150 single-family homes in recent years — often pushing out individual homebuyers with all-cash offers. The company then rents out the homes.

Experts say the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-affordability-century-21-ceo-b60d7bf34139334a843f9760a976f33c">scarcity of homes</a>&nbsp;for purchase can be blamed on a multitude of factors, including sky-high mortgage interest rates and years of underbuilding modest homes.

Wayne's bill offers few specifics. It consists of a single sentence that says a corporation, hedge fund or other business may not buy purchase single-family housing in Nebraska unless it's located in and its principal members live in Nebraska.

“The aim of this is to preserve Nebraska's limited existing housing stock for Nebraskans,” Wayne said this week at a committee hearing where he presented the bill. “If we did this, we would be the first state in the country to take this issue seriously and address the problem.”

A 14-page bill dubbed the End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act has been introduced in both chambers of Congress and would impose a 10-year deadline for hedge funds to sell off the single-family homes they own and, until they do, would saddle those investment trusts with hefty taxes. In turn, those tax penalties would be used to help people put down payments on the divested homes.

Democratic lawmakers in a number of other states have introduced similar bills, including in Minnesota, Indiana, North Carolina and Texas, but those bills have either stalled or failed.

The housing squeeze coming from out-of-state corporate interests isn't just an Omaha problem, said Wayne Mortensen, director of a Lincoln-based affordable housing developer called NeighborWorks Lincoln.

Mortensen said the recession of 2008 and, more recently, the economic downturn driven by the COVID-19 pandemic made single-family housing a more attractive corporate investment than bond markets.

“When that became the case, housing was commoditized and became just like trading any stock,” he said. “Those outside investors are solely interested in how much value they can extract from the Lincoln housing market."

Those corporations often invest no upkeep in the homes, he said.

“And as a result of that, we're seeing incredible dilapidation and housing decline in many of our neighborhoods because of these absentee landlords that have no accountability to the local communities,” Mortensen said.

Currently, about 13% of single-family homes in Lincoln are owned by out-of-state corporate firms, he said.

As in other states, Wayne's bill likely faces an uphill slog in the deep red state of Nebraska. At Monday's hearing before the Banking, Insurance and Commerce Committee, several Republican lawmakers acknowledged a statewide housing shortage, but they cast doubt on Wayne's solution.

“You know, you can set up shell companies, you set up different layers of ownership. You can move your domicile base. There's just a ton of workarounds here,” Omaha Sen. Brad von Gillern said. “I also — as just as a pure capitalist — fundamentally oppose the idea.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708097532092.jpeg" alt="Senator Justin Wayne" />
 <figcaption>Senator Justin Wayne</figcaption>
 </figure>Associated PressA Nebraska lawmaker whose north Omaha district has struggled for years with a housing shortage is pushing a bill that, if passed, could make Nebraska the first in the country to forbid out-of-state hedge funds and other corporate entities from buying up single-family properties.Sen. Justin Wayne’s bill echoes legislative efforts in other states and in Congress to curtail corporate amassing of single-family homes, which critics say has helped cause the price of homes, rent and real estate taxes to soar in recent years. Wayne said that has been the case in his district, where an Ohio corporation has bought more than 150 single-family homes in recent years — often pushing out individual homebuyers with all-cash offers. The company then rents out the homes.Experts say the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mortgage-rates-housing-affordability-century-21-ceo-b60d7bf34139334a843f9760a976f33c">scarcity of homes</a>&nbsp;for purchase can be blamed on a multitude of factors, including sky-high mortgage interest rates and years of underbuilding modest homes.Wayne's bill offers few specifics. It consists of a single sentence that says a corporation, hedge fund or other business may not buy purchase single-family housing in Nebraska unless it's located in and its principal members live in Nebraska.“The aim of this is to preserve Nebraska's limited existing housing stock for Nebraskans,” Wayne said this week at a committee hearing where he presented the bill. “If we did this, we would be the first state in the country to take this issue seriously and address the problem.”A 14-page bill dubbed the End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act has been introduced in both chambers of Congress and would impose a 10-year deadline for hedge funds to sell off the single-family homes they own and, until they do, would saddle those investment trusts with hefty taxes. In turn, those tax penalties would be used to help people put down payments on the divested homes.Democratic lawmakers in a number of other states have introduced similar bills, including in Minnesota, Indiana, North Carolina and Texas, but those bills have either stalled or failed.The housing squeeze coming from out-of-state corporate interests isn't just an Omaha problem, said Wayne Mortensen, director of a Lincoln-based affordable housing developer called NeighborWorks Lincoln.Mortensen said the recession of 2008 and, more recently, the economic downturn driven by the COVID-19 pandemic made single-family housing a more attractive corporate investment than bond markets.“When that became the case, housing was commoditized and became just like trading any stock,” he said. “Those outside investors are solely interested in how much value they can extract from the Lincoln housing market."Those corporations often invest no upkeep in the homes, he said.“And as a result of that, we're seeing incredible dilapidation and housing decline in many of our neighborhoods because of these absentee landlords that have no accountability to the local communities,” Mortensen said.Currently, about 13% of single-family homes in Lincoln are owned by out-of-state corporate firms, he said.As in other states, Wayne's bill likely faces an uphill slog in the deep red state of Nebraska. At Monday's hearing before the Banking, Insurance and Commerce Committee, several Republican lawmakers acknowledged a statewide housing shortage, but they cast doubt on Wayne's solution.“You know, you can set up shell companies, you set up different layers of ownership. You can move your domicile base. There's just a ton of workarounds here,” Omaha Sen. Brad von Gillern said. “I also — as just as a pure capitalist — fundamentally oppose the idea.”

Nebraska lawmaker seeks to ban corporations from buying up single-family homes

<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/02/15/blood-asks-pillen-to-respond-to-worsening-violence-worker-safety-at-state-psychiatric-hospital/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — A Nebraska lawmaker has ramped up her plea to Gov. Jim Pillen, requesting that he act quickly to improve “worsening” safety conditions for workers at the state psychiatric hospital.

Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue, in a letter sent Wednesday to Pillen, said the safety of patients and staff at the Lincoln Regional Center is “completely compromised.”

Blood noted that the perpetrator of the Sonic shooting, who killed two people and injured two others in her community in 2020, is now a patient at the center. She said staffers tell her that Roberto Silva Jr. must have an escort crew of seven staff members to go anywhere in the facility.

In another situation, Blood said, a different patient “stomped on the head” of a staff member. Blood said it took four people to subdue the young patient, and the staffer currently is receiving treatment.

On another recent occasion, Blood said, a patient at the Regional Center was outside the facility with sheriff’s deputies and “attempted to attack the deputies and reach for a pistol.”

“It’s our understanding that many of the patients at LRC are more akin to Nikko Jenkins than not,” Blood said in the letter to Pillen, referring to the Nebraska death row inmate who killed four people in a 10-day span in 2013 and has self-mutilated while in prison. “The situation at LRC continues to be dire.”

For about a year,&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/08/28/state-lawmaker-challenges-gov-pillen-to-act-on-danger-lurking-at-state-psychiatric-hospital/">Blood has listened</a>&nbsp;to mental health specialists, also called techs, relay increased concerns about conditions at their worksite. She said a staffing shortage at the Regional Center has been a&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/assaults-on-staff-nearly-double-at-lincoln-regional-center-new-report-says/">continual and pertinent issue</a>&nbsp;for years.

Last October,&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/10/21/mental-health-techs-protest-working-conditions-safety-at-nebraska-psychiatric-hospital/">techs rallied</a>&nbsp;outside the Governor’s Mansion and at the State Capitol. The protest followed Blood’s earlier outreach and letter to Pillen. Blood said the governor responded in part, with a pay raise and pledging to hire more workers.

But she said that over the past week, she had received messages about worsening conditions threatening workers’ safety. She said every other weekend, a large share of staffers are given the weekend off, leaving others to pick up the workload.

Blood told Pillen that “basic de-escalation training is proving to not be viable” at the facility. She said workers want to be trained like corrections officers to handle violent patients but have not received that form of training.

As of the end of the work day Thursday, Blood said, the governor had not responded to her latest letter.

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services responded to the Nebraska Examiner.

Jeff Powell said the department has already been working to implement improvements, including increasing wages by, he said, “over 50%.” He said 110 new nurse and mental health specialist positions recently were posted.

“While one incident is too many, instances of assault are not at heightened levels at the LRC,” Powell said. “Incidents that occurred in 2023 were below 2022 levels and so far in 2024 there has been no indication of increased incidents.”

He said the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Regional-Centers.aspx">Regional Center</a>&nbsp;is a fully accredited licensed hospital, not a correctional facility. Therefore, he said, it uses a “nationally recognized verbal and physical intervention system” used in many facilities across the nation.

In a media statement, Blood said she understands that the Regional Center is not intended to be part of the Nebraska correctional system.&nbsp;

“I understand the purpose is to provide psychiatric services, forensic psychiatric services and to facilitate sex offender programming,” she said.

However, she said, a pay raise doesn’t answer all concerns, and she advocates for more appropriate training to handle patients who turn violent.&nbsp;

Blood said she and her team continue to listen to workers and share the information publicly because she believes that lives are at risk.

“There appears to be certain patients who have sent more than one staff member to the hospital, with daily assaults on staff occurring,” Blood said. “The severity of injuries suffered include brain trauma, hair being completely pulled out of a young female staffer’s head and attacks on law enforcement members, just to name a few.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708097656666.jpeg" alt="The Lincoln Regional Center was first established in 1869, just outside the capital city. It treats adults with mental illnesses, and those committed for being not responsible for committing a crime due to a mental illness, at several buildings on a campus just southwest of the city. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>The Lincoln Regional Center was first established in 1869, just outside the capital city. It treats adults with mental illnesses, and those committed for being not responsible for committing a crime due to a mental illness, at several buildings on a campus just southwest of the city. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>Cindy Gonzalez<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/02/15/blood-asks-pillen-to-respond-to-worsening-violence-worker-safety-at-state-psychiatric-hospital/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — A Nebraska lawmaker has ramped up her plea to Gov. Jim Pillen, requesting that he act quickly to improve “worsening” safety conditions for workers at the state psychiatric hospital.Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue, in a letter sent Wednesday to Pillen, said the safety of patients and staff at the Lincoln Regional Center is “completely compromised.”Blood noted that the perpetrator of the Sonic shooting, who killed two people and injured two others in her community in 2020, is now a patient at the center. She said staffers tell her that Roberto Silva Jr. must have an escort crew of seven staff members to go anywhere in the facility.In another situation, Blood said, a different patient “stomped on the head” of a staff member. Blood said it took four people to subdue the young patient, and the staffer currently is receiving treatment.On another recent occasion, Blood said, a patient at the Regional Center was outside the facility with sheriff’s deputies and “attempted to attack the deputies and reach for a pistol.”“It’s our understanding that many of the patients at LRC are more akin to Nikko Jenkins than not,” Blood said in the letter to Pillen, referring to the Nebraska death row inmate who killed four people in a 10-day span in 2013 and has self-mutilated while in prison. “The situation at LRC continues to be dire.”For about a year,&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/08/28/state-lawmaker-challenges-gov-pillen-to-act-on-danger-lurking-at-state-psychiatric-hospital/">Blood has listened</a>&nbsp;to mental health specialists, also called techs, relay increased concerns about conditions at their worksite. She said a staffing shortage at the Regional Center has been a&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/assaults-on-staff-nearly-double-at-lincoln-regional-center-new-report-says/">continual and pertinent issue</a>&nbsp;for years.Last October,&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/10/21/mental-health-techs-protest-working-conditions-safety-at-nebraska-psychiatric-hospital/">techs rallied</a>&nbsp;outside the Governor’s Mansion and at the State Capitol. The protest followed Blood’s earlier outreach and letter to Pillen. Blood said the governor responded in part, with a pay raise and pledging to hire more workers.But she said that over the past week, she had received messages about worsening conditions threatening workers’ safety. She said every other weekend, a large share of staffers are given the weekend off, leaving others to pick up the workload.Blood told Pillen that “basic de-escalation training is proving to not be viable” at the facility. She said workers want to be trained like corrections officers to handle violent patients but have not received that form of training.As of the end of the work day Thursday, Blood said, the governor had not responded to her latest letter.A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services responded to the Nebraska Examiner.Jeff Powell said the department has already been working to implement improvements, including increasing wages by, he said, “over 50%.” He said 110 new nurse and mental health specialist positions recently were posted.“While one incident is too many, instances of assault are not at heightened levels at the LRC,” Powell said. “Incidents that occurred in 2023 were below 2022 levels and so far in 2024 there has been no indication of increased incidents.”He said the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Regional-Centers.aspx">Regional Center</a>&nbsp;is a fully accredited licensed hospital, not a correctional facility. Therefore, he said, it uses a “nationally recognized verbal and physical intervention system” used in many facilities across the nation.In a media statement, Blood said she understands that the Regional Center is not intended to be part of the Nebraska correctional system.&nbsp;“I understand the purpose is to provide psychiatric services, forensic psychiatric services and to facilitate sex offender programming,” she said.However, she said, a pay raise doesn’t answer all concerns, and she advocates for more appropriate training to handle patients who turn violent.&nbsp;Blood said she and her team continue to listen to workers and share the information publicly because she believes that lives are at risk.“There appears to be certain patients who have sent more than one staff member to the hospital, with daily assaults on staff occurring,” Blood said. “The severity of injuries suffered include brain trauma, hair being completely pulled out of a young female staffer’s head and attacks on law enforcement members, just to name a few.”

Blood asks Pillen to respond to ‘worsening’ violence, worker safety at state psychiatric hospital

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge ruled Friday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fraud-trial-letitia-james-biden-97077792773f1f25864a462de861a467">against Donald Trump</a>, imposing a $364 million penalty over what the judge ruled was a yearslong scheme to dupe banks and others with financial statements that inflated the former president’s wealth.

<a href="https://thehill.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/452564_2022_PEOPLE_OF_THE_STATE_OF_v_PEOPLE_OF_THE_STATE_OF_DECISION_AFTER_TRIAL_1688-1.pdf">Click here to read </a>the Judge's ruling

Trump also was barred from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years.

Judge Arthur Engoron issued his decision after a 2½-month trial that saw the Republican presidential front-runner bristling under oath that he was the victim of a rigged legal system.

The stiff penalty was a victory for New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, who sued Trump over what she said was not just harmless bragging but years of deceptive practices as he built the multinational collection of skyscrapers, golf courses and other properties that catapulted him to wealth, fame and the White House.

Trump’s lawyers had said even before the verdict that they would appeal.

James sued Trump in 2022 under a state law that authorizes her to investigate persistent fraud in business dealings.

The suit accused Trump and his co-defendants of routinely puffing up his financial statements to create an illusion his properties were more valuable than they really were. State lawyers said Trump exaggerated his wealth by as much as $3.6 billion one year.

By making himself seem richer, Trump qualified for better loan terms, saved on interest and was able to complete projects he might otherwise not have finished, state lawyers said.

Even before the trial began, Engoron ruled that James had proven Trump’s financial statements were fraudulent. The judge ordered some of Trump’s companies removed from his control and dissolved. An appeals court put that decision on hold.

In that earlier ruling, the judge found that, among other tricks, Trump’s financial statements had wrongly claimed his Trump Tower penthouse was nearly three times its actual size and overvalued his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, based on the idea that the property could be developed for residential use, even though he had surrendered rights to develop it for any uses but a club.

Trump, one of 40 witnesses to testify at the trial, said his financial statements actually understated his net worth and that banks did their own research and were happy with his business.

“There was no victim. There was no anything,” Trump testified in November.

During the trial, Trump called the judge “extremely hostile” and the attorney general “a political hack.” In&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fraud-lawsuit-new-york-closing-arguments-b36abe2fd695d0172e71f8ef9c5ee7f3">a six-minute diatribe</a>&nbsp;during closing arguments in January, Trump proclaimed “I am an innocent man” and called the case a “fraud on me.”

Trump and his lawyers have said the outside accountants that helped prepare the statements should’ve flagged any discrepancies and that the documents came with disclaimers that shielded him from liability. They also argued that some of the allegations were barred by the statute of limitations.

The suit is one of many legal headaches for Trump as he campaigns for a return to the White House. He&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-investigations-other-charges-b8b064a00caad4306fb54d2f6a320468">has been indicted four times</a>&nbsp;in the last year — accused in Georgia and Washington, D.C., of plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, in Florida of hoarding classified documents, and in Manhattan of falsifying business records related to hush money paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels on his behalf.

On Thursday, a judge confirmed Trump’s hush-money trial will start on March 25 and a judge in Atlanta heard arguments on whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from his Georgia&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-indictment-arraignment-trump-giuliani-c5abbd260f44947a1c01211136108bfe">election interference case</a>&nbsp;because she had a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fani-willis-nathan-wade-trump-indictment-493165c4614761d4b965923696134c09">personal relationship</a>&nbsp;with a special prosecutor she hired.

Those criminal accusations haven’t appeared to undermine his march toward the Republican presidential nomination, but civil litigation has threatened him financially.

On Jan. 26, a jury ordered Trump to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-carroll-defamation-trial-e4ea8b93cdeb29857864ffd8d14be888">pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll</a>&nbsp;for defaming her after she accused him in 2019 of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. That’s on top of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-rape-carroll-trial-fe68259a4b98bb3947d42af9ec83d7db">$5 million a jury awarded Carroll</a>&nbsp;in a related trial last year.

In 2022, the Trump Organization was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-new-york-manhattan-donald-trump-government-and-politics-86177401a887c85ab50d8b78eb1ed397">convicted of tax fraud</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-legal-proceedings-new-york-city-donald-trump-manhattan-e2f1d01525dafb64be8738c8b4f32085">fined $1.6 million</a>&nbsp;in an unrelated criminal case for helping executives dodge taxes on extravagant perks such as Manhattan apartments and luxury cars.

James had asked the judge to impose a penalty of at least $370 million.

Engoron decided the case because neither side sought a jury and state law doesn’t allow for juries for this type of lawsuit.

Because it was civil, not criminal in nature, the case did not carry the potential of prison time.

James, who campaigned for office as a Trump critic and watchdog, started scrutinizing his business practices in March 2019 after his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/88e83c32a9d54d82abe3ac52bfad22e4">testified to Congress</a>&nbsp;that Trump exaggerated his wealth on financial statements provided to Deutsche Bank while trying to obtain financing to buy the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.

James’ office previously sued Trump for misusing his own charitable foundation to further his political and business interests. Trump was ordered to pay $2 million to an array of charities as a fine and the charity, the Trump Foundation, was shut down.

Trump incorporated the Trump Organization in New York in 1981. He still owns it, but he put his assets into a revocable trust and gave up his positions as the company’s director, president and chairman when he became president, leaving management of the company to sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr.

Trump did not return to a stated leadership position upon leaving the White House in 2021, but his sons testified he’s been involved in some decision making.

Engoron had already appointed a monitor, retired federal judge Barbara Jones, to keep an eye on the company.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/11/1699284958905.png" alt="File Former President Donald Trump in&nbsp;Judge Arthur Engoron's courtroom during the civil fraud trial. Image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>File Former President Donald Trump in&nbsp;Judge Arthur Engoron's courtroom during the civil fraud trial. Image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge ruled Friday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fraud-trial-letitia-james-biden-97077792773f1f25864a462de861a467">against Donald Trump</a>, imposing a $364 million penalty over what the judge ruled was a yearslong scheme to dupe banks and others with financial statements that inflated the former president’s wealth.<a href="https://thehill.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/452564_2022_PEOPLE_OF_THE_STATE_OF_v_PEOPLE_OF_THE_STATE_OF_DECISION_AFTER_TRIAL_1688-1.pdf">Click here to read </a>the Judge's rulingTrump also was barred from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708120507527.png" alt="Statement from the former President on his social media platform" />
 <figcaption>Statement from the former President on his social media platform</figcaption>
 </figure>Judge Arthur Engoron issued his decision after a 2½-month trial that saw the Republican presidential front-runner bristling under oath that he was the victim of a rigged legal system.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708115538405.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The stiff penalty was a victory for New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, who sued Trump over what she said was not just harmless bragging but years of deceptive practices as he built the multinational collection of skyscrapers, golf courses and other properties that catapulted him to wealth, fame and the White House.Trump’s lawyers had said even before the verdict that they would appeal.James sued Trump in 2022 under a state law that authorizes her to investigate persistent fraud in business dealings.The suit accused Trump and his co-defendants of routinely puffing up his financial statements to create an illusion his properties were more valuable than they really were. State lawyers said Trump exaggerated his wealth by as much as $3.6 billion one year.By making himself seem richer, Trump qualified for better loan terms, saved on interest and was able to complete projects he might otherwise not have finished, state lawyers said.Even before the trial began, Engoron ruled that James had proven Trump’s financial statements were fraudulent. The judge ordered some of Trump’s companies removed from his control and dissolved. An appeals court put that decision on hold.In that earlier ruling, the judge found that, among other tricks, Trump’s financial statements had wrongly claimed his Trump Tower penthouse was nearly three times its actual size and overvalued his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, based on the idea that the property could be developed for residential use, even though he had surrendered rights to develop it for any uses but a club.Trump, one of 40 witnesses to testify at the trial, said his financial statements actually understated his net worth and that banks did their own research and were happy with his business.“There was no victim. There was no anything,” Trump testified in November.During the trial, Trump called the judge “extremely hostile” and the attorney general “a political hack.” In&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fraud-lawsuit-new-york-closing-arguments-b36abe2fd695d0172e71f8ef9c5ee7f3">a six-minute diatribe</a>&nbsp;during closing arguments in January, Trump proclaimed “I am an innocent man” and called the case a “fraud on me.”Trump and his lawyers have said the outside accountants that helped prepare the statements should’ve flagged any discrepancies and that the documents came with disclaimers that shielded him from liability. They also argued that some of the allegations were barred by the statute of limitations.The suit is one of many legal headaches for Trump as he campaigns for a return to the White House. He&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-investigations-other-charges-b8b064a00caad4306fb54d2f6a320468">has been indicted four times</a>&nbsp;in the last year — accused in Georgia and Washington, D.C., of plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, in Florida of hoarding classified documents, and in Manhattan of falsifying business records related to hush money paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels on his behalf.On Thursday, a judge confirmed Trump’s hush-money trial will start on March 25 and a judge in Atlanta heard arguments on whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from his Georgia&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/georgia-indictment-arraignment-trump-giuliani-c5abbd260f44947a1c01211136108bfe">election interference case</a>&nbsp;because she had a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/fani-willis-nathan-wade-trump-indictment-493165c4614761d4b965923696134c09">personal relationship</a>&nbsp;with a special prosecutor she hired.Those criminal accusations haven’t appeared to undermine his march toward the Republican presidential nomination, but civil litigation has threatened him financially.On Jan. 26, a jury ordered Trump to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-carroll-defamation-trial-e4ea8b93cdeb29857864ffd8d14be888">pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll</a>&nbsp;for defaming her after she accused him in 2019 of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. That’s on top of the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-rape-carroll-trial-fe68259a4b98bb3947d42af9ec83d7db">$5 million a jury awarded Carroll</a>&nbsp;in a related trial last year.In 2022, the Trump Organization was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-new-york-manhattan-donald-trump-government-and-politics-86177401a887c85ab50d8b78eb1ed397">convicted of tax fraud</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-legal-proceedings-new-york-city-donald-trump-manhattan-e2f1d01525dafb64be8738c8b4f32085">fined $1.6 million</a>&nbsp;in an unrelated criminal case for helping executives dodge taxes on extravagant perks such as Manhattan apartments and luxury cars.James had asked the judge to impose a penalty of at least $370 million.Engoron decided the case because neither side sought a jury and state law doesn’t allow for juries for this type of lawsuit.Because it was civil, not criminal in nature, the case did not carry the potential of prison time.James, who campaigned for office as a Trump critic and watchdog, started scrutinizing his business practices in March 2019 after his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/88e83c32a9d54d82abe3ac52bfad22e4">testified to Congress</a>&nbsp;that Trump exaggerated his wealth on financial statements provided to Deutsche Bank while trying to obtain financing to buy the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.James’ office previously sued Trump for misusing his own charitable foundation to further his political and business interests. Trump was ordered to pay $2 million to an array of charities as a fine and the charity, the Trump Foundation, was shut down.Trump incorporated the Trump Organization in New York in 1981. He still owns it, but he put his assets into a revocable trust and gave up his positions as the company’s director, president and chairman when he became president, leaving management of the company to sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr.Trump did not return to a stated leadership position upon leaving the White House in 2021, but his sons testified he’s been involved in some decision making.Engoron had already appointed a monitor, retired federal judge Barbara Jones, to keep an eye on the company.

Read: Judge’s $354M civil fraud decision against Trump and Trump's reaction

On Friday, February 16, 2024, around 10:30 a.m., Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol responded to an accident south of the Alda interchange involving a black Chevy Silverado and a semi-tractor and trailer. During the investigation, the driver of the Silverado was identified as Justin Hadenfeldt. 

Hadenfeldt has been transported to a hospital in Grand Island for treatment.&nbsp; Justin Hadenfeldt will be arrested on a felony Buffalo County Warrant for First Degree Assault, a Class II Felony, Strangulation or Suffocation Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, a Class IIA Felony and Burglary, a Class IIA Felony.&nbsp;

We share the concern of our community and we continue to work together with Health and&nbsp; Human Services and KPD Victim Witness Services to offer help and support for the victim and&nbsp; her family&nbsp;

KPD continues to investigate and gather evidence related to this case.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Anyone with information or video regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Kearney&nbsp; Police Department (308) 237-2104, Buffalo County Crimestoppers (308) 237-3424, or through&nbsp; the See It Say It Send It App.&nbsp;

Kearney Police Department worked in partnership on this case with the Buffalo County Sheriff’s&nbsp; Office, Grand Island Police Department, Hastings Police Department, Nebraska State Patrol&nbsp; and the Buffalo County Attorney’s Office, US Marshall’s Fugitive Task Force, Hamilton County&nbsp; Sheriff’s Office and Hall County Sheriff’s Office.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Kearney Police DepartmentOn Friday, February 16, 2024, around 10:30 a.m., Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol responded to an accident south of the Alda interchange involving a black Chevy Silverado and a semi-tractor and trailer. During the investigation, the driver of the Silverado was identified as Justin Hadenfeldt. Hadenfeldt has been transported to a hospital in Grand Island for treatment.&nbsp; Justin Hadenfeldt will be arrested on a felony Buffalo County Warrant for First Degree Assault, a Class II Felony, Strangulation or Suffocation Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, a Class IIA Felony and Burglary, a Class IIA Felony.&nbsp;We share the concern of our community and we continue to work together with Health and&nbsp; Human Services and KPD Victim Witness Services to offer help and support for the victim and&nbsp; her family&nbsp;KPD continues to investigate and gather evidence related to this case.&nbsp;&nbsp;Anyone with information or video regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Kearney&nbsp; Police Department (308) 237-2104, Buffalo County Crimestoppers (308) 237-3424, or through&nbsp; the See It Say It Send It App.&nbsp;Kearney Police Department worked in partnership on this case with the Buffalo County Sheriff’s&nbsp; Office, Grand Island Police Department, Hastings Police Department, Nebraska State Patrol&nbsp; and the Buffalo County Attorney’s Office, US Marshall’s Fugitive Task Force, Hamilton County&nbsp; Sheriff’s Office and Hall County Sheriff’s Office.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Kearney Police says wanted man for Wednesday assault has been arrested

LINCOLN, NE&nbsp;– Governor Jim Pillen says a new survey confirms what he has heard repeatedly from taxpayers across Nebraska. They want property tax relief and would support a state sales tax adjustment to make it happen. That’s the response of three-in-five voters surveyed. Not only that, but respondents also indicated they viewed property taxes as being much higher than state sales tax.

The survey, conducted by New Bridge Strategy, was backed by the League of Nebraska Municipalities and the Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO). Results of the survey were released today at a news conference hosted by the League and NACO, highlighting the need for more property tax relief.

Gov. Pillen has called for a reduction in property taxes by 40 percent.

LINCOLN, NE&nbsp;– Governor Jim Pillen says a new survey confirms what he has heard repeatedly from taxpayers across Nebraska. They want property tax relief and would support a state sales tax adjustment to make it happen. That’s the response of three-in-five voters surveyed. Not only that, but respondents also indicated they viewed property taxes as being much higher than state sales tax.The survey, conducted by New Bridge Strategy, was backed by the League of Nebraska Municipalities and the Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO). Results of the survey were released today at a news conference hosted by the League and NACO, highlighting the need for more property tax relief.Gov. Pillen has called for a reduction in property taxes by 40 percent.

Gov. Pillen on Survey: Nebraskans Want Property Tax Relief

United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Vyacheslav Igorevich Penchukov pleaded guilty on February 15, 2024, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska for his role in two separate and wide-ranging malware schemes involving tens of millions of dollars in losses.

Penchukov was a leader of two prolific malware groups that infected thousands of computers with malicious software. These criminal groups stole millions of dollars from their victims and even attacked a major hospital with ransomware, leaving it unable to provide critical care to patients for over two weeks,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Before his arrest and extradition to the United States, the defendant was a fugitive on the FBI’s most wanted list for nearly a decade.&nbsp; Today’s guilty pleas should serve as a clear warning: the Justice Department will never stop in its pursuit of cybercriminals.”

According to court documents,&nbsp;<a>Vyacheslav Igorevich&nbsp;</a><a>Penchukov</a>, also known as Vyacheslav Igoravich Andreev and Tank, 37, of Donetsk, helped lead a wide-ranging racketeering enterprise and conspiracy that infected thousands of business computers with malicious software known as “Zeus” beginning in May 2009. After installing “Zeus” without authorization on victims’ computers, the enterprise then used the malicious software to capture bank account information, passwords, personal identification numbers, and similar information necessary to log into online banking accounts. Penchukov and his co-conspirators then falsely represented to banks that they were employees of the victims and authorized to make transfers of funds from the victims’ bank accounts, causing the banks to make unauthorized transfers of funds from the victims’ accounts, resulting in millions of dollars in losses to the victims. The enterprise used residents of the United States and elsewhere as “money mules” to receive wired funds from victims’ bank accounts into their own bank accounts, who then withdrew and wired funds overseas to accounts controlled by Penchukov’s co-conspirators.&nbsp;

Penchukov was charged with these offenses in the District of Nebraska. Given the severity of the charges in the case and the harm posed to American victims, Penchukov was added to the FBI’s Cyber Most Wanted List.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska, in concert with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina and Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, successfully coordinated the prosecution and plea of Penchukov,” said U.S. Attorney Susan T. Lehr for the District of Nebraska. “This case demonstrates that cybercrime can affect anyone, no matter where they are.&nbsp; It also demonstrates that no matter where the cybercriminals are, the department can and will bring them to justice.”

Despite being added to the FBI’s Cyber Most Wanted List, Penchukov returned to criminal activity by helping lead a conspiracy that infected victim computers with IcedID or Bokbot, a new malware, from at least November 2018 through February 2021. IcedID was a sophisticated form of malicious software that collected and transmitted personal information from victims, including credentials for banking accounts. Penchukov and his co-conspirators used this information to steal from IcedID’s victims. IcedID also provided access to infected computers for other forms of malicious software, including ransomware. One such victim of this ransomware attack was the University of Vermont Medical Center, causing the loss of over $30 million from this victim alone, and left the medical center unable to provide many critical patient services for over two weeks, creating a risk of death or serious bodily injury to patients. Penchukov was charged with these offenses in the Eastern District of North Carolina.

“Malware like IcedID bleeds billions from the American economy and puts our critical infrastructure and national security at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “The Justice Department and FBI Cyber Squad won’t stand by and watch it happen, and won’t quit coming for the world’s most wanted cybercriminals, no matter where they are in the world. This operation removed a key player from one of the world’s most notorious cybercriminal rings. Extradition is real. Anyone who infects American computers had better be prepared to answer to an American judge.”

“Core to the FBI’s cyber strategy is our willingness to play the long game and take players off the field. Vyacheslav Penchukov was a prolific criminal for over a decade and his criminal activities caused millions in damages,” said Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division. “The FBI would like to thank our partners in both public and private sectors, and domestically and globally, for helping us bring Penchukov to justice.”<a></a>

Penchukov was arrested in Switzerland in 2022 and extradited to the United States in 2023.

Penchukov pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit a racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations (RICO) act offense for his leadership role in the “Zeus” enterprise. Penchukov (as Andreev) also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his leadership role in the IcedID malware group. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Senior United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard on May 9, 2024 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count. Judge Gerrard will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Omaha and Charlotte Field Offices are investigating the case.

Assistant Deputy Chief William A. Hall Jr. and Senior Counsels Frank Lin and Ryan K.J. Dickey of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Higgins for the District of Nebraska, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad DeVoe for the Eastern District of North Carolina are prosecuting the case.

<a>The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with the Swiss Federal Office of Justice to secure the arrest and extradition of Penchukov.</a>

Department of JusticeUnited States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Vyacheslav Igorevich Penchukov pleaded guilty on February 15, 2024, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska for his role in two separate and wide-ranging malware schemes involving tens of millions of dollars in losses.Penchukov was a leader of two prolific malware groups that infected thousands of computers with malicious software. These criminal groups stole millions of dollars from their victims and even attacked a major hospital with ransomware, leaving it unable to provide critical care to patients for over two weeks,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Before his arrest and extradition to the United States, the defendant was a fugitive on the FBI’s most wanted list for nearly a decade.&nbsp; Today’s guilty pleas should serve as a clear warning: the Justice Department will never stop in its pursuit of cybercriminals.”According to court documents,&nbsp;<a>Vyacheslav Igorevich&nbsp;</a><a>Penchukov</a>, also known as Vyacheslav Igoravich Andreev and Tank, 37, of Donetsk, helped lead a wide-ranging racketeering enterprise and conspiracy that infected thousands of business computers with malicious software known as “Zeus” beginning in May 2009. After installing “Zeus” without authorization on victims’ computers, the enterprise then used the malicious software to capture bank account information, passwords, personal identification numbers, and similar information necessary to log into online banking accounts. Penchukov and his co-conspirators then falsely represented to banks that they were employees of the victims and authorized to make transfers of funds from the victims’ bank accounts, causing the banks to make unauthorized transfers of funds from the victims’ accounts, resulting in millions of dollars in losses to the victims. The enterprise used residents of the United States and elsewhere as “money mules” to receive wired funds from victims’ bank accounts into their own bank accounts, who then withdrew and wired funds overseas to accounts controlled by Penchukov’s co-conspirators.&nbsp;Penchukov was charged with these offenses in the District of Nebraska. Given the severity of the charges in the case and the harm posed to American victims, Penchukov was added to the FBI’s Cyber Most Wanted List.“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska, in concert with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina and Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, successfully coordinated the prosecution and plea of Penchukov,” said U.S. Attorney Susan T. Lehr for the District of Nebraska. “This case demonstrates that cybercrime can affect anyone, no matter where they are.&nbsp; It also demonstrates that no matter where the cybercriminals are, the department can and will bring them to justice.”Despite being added to the FBI’s Cyber Most Wanted List, Penchukov returned to criminal activity by helping lead a conspiracy that infected victim computers with IcedID or Bokbot, a new malware, from at least November 2018 through February 2021. IcedID was a sophisticated form of malicious software that collected and transmitted personal information from victims, including credentials for banking accounts. Penchukov and his co-conspirators used this information to steal from IcedID’s victims. IcedID also provided access to infected computers for other forms of malicious software, including ransomware. One such victim of this ransomware attack was the University of Vermont Medical Center, causing the loss of over $30 million from this victim alone, and left the medical center unable to provide many critical patient services for over two weeks, creating a risk of death or serious bodily injury to patients. Penchukov was charged with these offenses in the Eastern District of North Carolina.“Malware like IcedID bleeds billions from the American economy and puts our critical infrastructure and national security at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “The Justice Department and FBI Cyber Squad won’t stand by and watch it happen, and won’t quit coming for the world’s most wanted cybercriminals, no matter where they are in the world. This operation removed a key player from one of the world’s most notorious cybercriminal rings. Extradition is real. Anyone who infects American computers had better be prepared to answer to an American judge.”“Core to the FBI’s cyber strategy is our willingness to play the long game and take players off the field. Vyacheslav Penchukov was a prolific criminal for over a decade and his criminal activities caused millions in damages,” said Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division. “The FBI would like to thank our partners in both public and private sectors, and domestically and globally, for helping us bring Penchukov to justice.”<a></a>Penchukov was arrested in Switzerland in 2022 and extradited to the United States in 2023.Penchukov pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit a racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations (RICO) act offense for his leadership role in the “Zeus” enterprise. Penchukov (as Andreev) also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his leadership role in the IcedID malware group. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Senior United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard on May 9, 2024 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count. Judge Gerrard will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.The FBI Omaha and Charlotte Field Offices are investigating the case.Assistant Deputy Chief William A. Hall Jr. and Senior Counsels Frank Lin and Ryan K.J. Dickey of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Higgins for the District of Nebraska, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad DeVoe for the Eastern District of North Carolina are prosecuting the case.<a>The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with the Swiss Federal Office of Justice to secure the arrest and extradition of Penchukov.</a>

Foreign National Pleads Guilty to Role in Cybercrime Schemes Involving Tens of Millions of Dollars in Losses   

NEW YORK (AP) — The Biden administration eased some of the restrictions on banking giant Wells Fargo, saying the bank has sufficiently fixed its toxic culture after years of scandals.

The news sent Wells Fargo's stock up sharply Thursday as investors speculated that the bank, which has been kept under a tight leash by regulators for years, may be able to rebuild its reputation and start growing again. The bank's shares closed up 7.2% to $52.04, its highest level since March 2022, in extremely active trading.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the regulator of big national banks like Wells Fargo, on Thursday terminated a consent order that had been in place since September 2016. The order required the bank to overhaul how it sold financial products to customers and provide additional consumer protections, as well as employee protections for whistleblowers.

That consent order was put into place after a series of newspaper and government investigations in 2016 found Wells Fargo to have a poisonous sales culture that pressured employees into selling multiple products to customers even though the products were not needed. Employees — who worked at “stores” not bank branches — were forced to open millions of unauthorized accounts. Customers had their identities stolen and their credit scores impacted. Of the millions of customers effected, a disproportionate number were non-English speaking Americans.

The scandal severely tarnished the reputation of San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, which eight years ago was considered one of the best-run banks in the country by investors and analysts.

Since the scandal broke, Wells Fargo overhauled its board of directors and management, paid more than a billion dollars in fines and penalties, and has spent eight years trying to show the public that the bad practices are a thing of the past. The scandal led to unionization efforts at some branches as employees protested how managers pushed unreasonable sales goals.

In a brief statement Thursday, the Comptroller of the Currency said that Wells Fargo's “safety and soundness” and “compliance with laws and regulations does not require the continued existence of the Order."

The decision is a major victory for Wells Fargo's management and Charles Scharf, who took over as CEO in 2019.

“Confirmation from the OCC that we have effectively implemented what was required is a result of the hard work of so many of our employees, and I’d like to thank everyone at Wells Fargo involved for their dedication to transforming how we do business,” Scharf said in a prepared statement.

Citigroup banking analyst Keith Horwitz said in a note that the OCC's decision was “positive proof” that Wells Fargo's management was making the right decisions to fix the company's culture.

There remains in place a Federal Reserve consent order against Wells Fargo as well as a requirement by the Fed that bank grow no bigger than its current size until it fixes its sales culture. The Fed declined to comment, but the OCC's decision is likely to pressure the Fed to make its own decision regarding its restrictions on Wells Fargo.

Including the Fed's order, Wells Fargo still has eight consent orders that govern its operations. That's down from 14 when Scharf took over the bank. Management says they still have work to do.

“We’ve changed the company across a number of dimensions," said Scott Powell, Well Fargo's chief operating officer, in an interview. Powell joined the bank roughly around the same time as Scharf.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Biden administration eased some of the restrictions on banking giant Wells Fargo, saying the bank has sufficiently fixed its toxic culture after years of scandals.The news sent Wells Fargo's stock up sharply Thursday as investors speculated that the bank, which has been kept under a tight leash by regulators for years, may be able to rebuild its reputation and start growing again. The bank's shares closed up 7.2% to $52.04, its highest level since March 2022, in extremely active trading.The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the regulator of big national banks like Wells Fargo, on Thursday terminated a consent order that had been in place since September 2016. The order required the bank to overhaul how it sold financial products to customers and provide additional consumer protections, as well as employee protections for whistleblowers.That consent order was put into place after a series of newspaper and government investigations in 2016 found Wells Fargo to have a poisonous sales culture that pressured employees into selling multiple products to customers even though the products were not needed. Employees — who worked at “stores” not bank branches — were forced to open millions of unauthorized accounts. Customers had their identities stolen and their credit scores impacted. Of the millions of customers effected, a disproportionate number were non-English speaking Americans.The scandal severely tarnished the reputation of San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, which eight years ago was considered one of the best-run banks in the country by investors and analysts.Since the scandal broke, Wells Fargo overhauled its board of directors and management, paid more than a billion dollars in fines and penalties, and has spent eight years trying to show the public that the bad practices are a thing of the past. The scandal led to unionization efforts at some branches as employees protested how managers pushed unreasonable sales goals.In a brief statement Thursday, the Comptroller of the Currency said that Wells Fargo's “safety and soundness” and “compliance with laws and regulations does not require the continued existence of the Order."The decision is a major victory for Wells Fargo's management and Charles Scharf, who took over as CEO in 2019.“Confirmation from the OCC that we have effectively implemented what was required is a result of the hard work of so many of our employees, and I’d like to thank everyone at Wells Fargo involved for their dedication to transforming how we do business,” Scharf said in a prepared statement.Citigroup banking analyst Keith Horwitz said in a note that the OCC's decision was “positive proof” that Wells Fargo's management was making the right decisions to fix the company's culture.There remains in place a Federal Reserve consent order against Wells Fargo as well as a requirement by the Fed that bank grow no bigger than its current size until it fixes its sales culture. The Fed declined to comment, but the OCC's decision is likely to pressure the Fed to make its own decision regarding its restrictions on Wells Fargo.Including the Fed's order, Wells Fargo still has eight consent orders that govern its operations. That's down from 14 when Scharf took over the bank. Management says they still have work to do.“We’ve changed the company across a number of dimensions," said Scott Powell, Well Fargo's chief operating officer, in an interview. Powell joined the bank roughly around the same time as Scharf.

Wells Fargo: Regulator lifts key penalty tied to fake accounts scandal

JERUSALEM – A U.S. Coast Guard cutter, forward deployed to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility, seized advanced conventional weapons and other lethal aid originating in Iran and bound to Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen from a vessel in the Arabian Sea the&nbsp; U.S. Central Command revealed in a statement Thursday.

The U.S. Coast Guard Sentinel-class fast-response cutter USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr (WPC 1147), assigned to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, located the vessel and boarded it in the Arabian Sea Jan. 28.

 The boarding team discovered over 200 packages that contained medium-range ballistic missile components, explosives, unmanned underwater/surface vehicle (UUV/USV) components, military-grade communication and network equipment, anti-tank guided missile launcher assemblies, and other military components.

The direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of such aid violates U.N. Security Council Resolution 2216 (as extended and renewed by resolutions 2675 and 2707).

“This is yet another example of Iran’s malign activity in the region, ” said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander. “Their continued supply of advanced conventional weapons to the Houthis is in direct violation of international law and continues to undermine the safety of international shipping and the free flow of commerce.”

CENTCOM is committed to working with our allies and partners to counter the flow of Iranian lethal aid in the region by all lawful means including U.S. and U.N. sanctions and through interdictions.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708001885072.png" alt="Photo U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>Photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>JERUSALEM – A U.S. Coast Guard cutter, forward deployed to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility, seized advanced conventional weapons and other lethal aid originating in Iran and bound to Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen from a vessel in the Arabian Sea the&nbsp; U.S. Central Command revealed in a statement Thursday.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708001866392.png" alt="photo U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>The U.S. Coast Guard Sentinel-class fast-response cutter USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr (WPC 1147), assigned to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, located the vessel and boarded it in the Arabian Sea Jan. 28. The boarding team discovered over 200 packages that contained medium-range ballistic missile components, explosives, unmanned underwater/surface vehicle (UUV/USV) components, military-grade communication and network equipment, anti-tank guided missile launcher assemblies, and other military components.The direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of such aid violates U.N. Security Council Resolution 2216 (as extended and renewed by resolutions 2675 and 2707).“This is yet another example of Iran’s malign activity in the region, ” said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander. “Their continued supply of advanced conventional weapons to the Houthis is in direct violation of international law and continues to undermine the safety of international shipping and the free flow of commerce.”CENTCOM is committed to working with our allies and partners to counter the flow of Iranian lethal aid in the region by all lawful means including U.S. and U.N. sanctions and through interdictions.

 US intercepts Iranian weapons intended for Houthi rebels

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska lawmaker who tanked an effort last year by his fellow Republicans to pass a near-total abortion ban has given top priority this year to a bill that would allow abortions beyond the state's 12-week ban in cases of fatal fetal anomalies.

The bill by state Sen. Merv Riepe would amend Nebraska’s 12-week abortion ban, passed last year, to allow abortions in cases when a fetus is unable to survive outside the womb. That diagnosis must come from two doctors who determine that, regardless of any life-saving treatment, a fetus is incompatible with life outside the womb and will result in death upon birth or shortly thereafter. The diagnosis and abortion must come before 20 weeks of pregnancy — a timeline consistent with Nebraska's previous 20-week ban on abortions.

The bill also removes criminal penalties for doctors who perform an abortion outside the exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of the mother.

The bill comes as the nation finds itself embroiled in a tug-of-war over abortion access in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturning of Roe v. Wade</a>, which had guaranteed the right to abortion nationwide for nearly five decades.

Since then, about two dozen states have enacted some form of abortion restrictions, and that has led to some high-profile cases that have stirred national pushback.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-texas-ban-7d865cdfd75bdc6b2f4186f4d1e6e8bd">Kate Cox</a>, a Texas mother of two, sued last year to obtain an abortion in her state after learning the baby she was carrying had a fatal genetic condition and that carrying to term could leave her infertile. Her request was denied by the Texas Supreme Court, and she left the state to seek an abortion elsewhere.

The uproar over that and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ban-lawsuits-idaho-tennessee-oklahoma-39257646d84255feff5a82f401f32b79">other cases</a>&nbsp;has been met by a slew of voter initiatives over abortion access, all of which have so far favored the side supported by abortion rights supporters. In Nebraska,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ballot-measure-nebraska-0ccae759148162706ab1e2006ecb936e">advocates are trying to collect</a>&nbsp;about 125,000 signatures needed by July 5 to put a constitutional amendment before voters to protect abortion rights until fetal viability.

Riepe delegated his bill as his priority for the session on Wednesday — a day before the deadline to do so. In Nebraska's unique one-chamber, officially nonpartisan Legislature, prioritizing a bill gives it elevated status, making it more likely to be advanced from committee and debated by all 49 state lawmakers.

Riepe, an 81-year-old former hospital administrator, incurred the ire of his fellow Republicans last year when he refused to provide them the final vote needed to pass a bill that would have banned abortion once&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-laws-government-and-politics-health-77c9ba98c4f4ab46fdbd5bcc47b5b938">cardiac activity</a>&nbsp;could be detected, or about six weeks into pregnancy — before most women even know they're pregnant.

Riepe abstained from voting on that bill after his amendment to extend the ban to 12 weeks and add an exception for fatal fetal anomalies was rejected. Following the vote, Riepe took to the mic to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-heartbeat-bill-nebraska-78b861951e8cc0ca92fa320820e2cbee">warn his Republican colleagues</a>&nbsp;that strict abortion bans would galvanize women to vote them out of office.

He pointed to his own slim election victory in 2022, after the fall of Roe v. Wade, over a Democrat who made abortion rights central to her campaign.

“This made the message clear to me how critical abortion will be in 2024,” Riepe said last year. “We must embrace the future of reproductive rights.”

A 12-week ban was eventually folded into a bill to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-transgender-ban-nebraska-filibuster-b0b88845d29f1aaadf7936b7304a0507">restrict gender-affirming care</a>&nbsp;for minors and enacted last year.

On the national stage, Democrats see the issue of abortion rights as a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/roe-biden-abortion-reproductive-rights-election-3d184285cc6edbe733311b26445db2a0">major driver</a>&nbsp;in a presidential election year. Abortion access advocates have pushed hard for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ballot-measure-2024-state-vote-e7d635835dc3a440789ad87787553ec1">ballot measure initiatives</a>&nbsp;aiming to protect abortion rights

According to an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-poll-roe-dobbs-ban-opinion-fcfdfc5a799ac3be617d99999e92eabe">AP-NORC poll last summer</a>, about two-thirds of Americans say abortion should generally be legal, but only about a quarter say it should always be legal and only about 1 in 10 say it should always be illegal.

Adelle Burk with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska said Riepe’s bill falls well short of restoring full rights to abortion access, but that it “acknowledges some of the harm done by the bill passed last year and tries to control some of that damage.”

More telling, she said, is that a bill to ease abortion restrictions is being championed by a Republican with a long history of supporting abortion bans. It indicates that at least some politicians recognize how unpopular the bans are, she said.

“I think voters are deeply concerned about their rights and the overturning of Roe v. Wade," Burk said. “They're motivated to vote in even larger numbers this year and will be looking to protect and restore their rights.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708016758728.jpeg" alt="FILE - Nebraska Sen. Merv Riepe ponders before voting on a bill to ban abortions in Nebraska after about six weeks, April 27, 2023, at the state Capital in Lincoln, Neb. Riepe, the Nebraska lawmaker who tanked an effort in 2023 by his fellow Republicans to pass a near-total abortion ban, has given top priority this year to a bill that would allow abortions beyond the state's 12-week ban in cases of fatal fetal anomalies. (Larry Robinson/Lincoln Journal Star via AP, File" />
 <figcaption>FILE - Nebraska Sen. Merv Riepe ponders before voting on a bill to ban abortions in Nebraska after about six weeks, April 27, 2023, at the state Capital in Lincoln, Neb. Riepe, the Nebraska lawmaker who tanked an effort in 2023 by his fellow Republicans to pass a near-total abortion ban, has given top priority this year to a bill that would allow abortions beyond the state's 12-week ban in cases of fatal fetal anomalies. (Larry Robinson/Lincoln Journal Star via AP, File</figcaption>
 </figure>LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska lawmaker who tanked an effort last year by his fellow Republicans to pass a near-total abortion ban has given top priority this year to a bill that would allow abortions beyond the state's 12-week ban in cases of fatal fetal anomalies.The bill by state Sen. Merv Riepe would amend Nebraska’s 12-week abortion ban, passed last year, to allow abortions in cases when a fetus is unable to survive outside the womb. That diagnosis must come from two doctors who determine that, regardless of any life-saving treatment, a fetus is incompatible with life outside the womb and will result in death upon birth or shortly thereafter. The diagnosis and abortion must come before 20 weeks of pregnancy — a timeline consistent with Nebraska's previous 20-week ban on abortions.The bill also removes criminal penalties for doctors who perform an abortion outside the exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of the mother.The bill comes as the nation finds itself embroiled in a tug-of-war over abortion access in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-supreme-court-decision-854f60302f21c2c35129e58cf8d8a7b0">overturning of Roe v. Wade</a>, which had guaranteed the right to abortion nationwide for nearly five decades.Since then, about two dozen states have enacted some form of abortion restrictions, and that has led to some high-profile cases that have stirred national pushback.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-texas-ban-7d865cdfd75bdc6b2f4186f4d1e6e8bd">Kate Cox</a>, a Texas mother of two, sued last year to obtain an abortion in her state after learning the baby she was carrying had a fatal genetic condition and that carrying to term could leave her infertile. Her request was denied by the Texas Supreme Court, and she left the state to seek an abortion elsewhere.The uproar over that and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ban-lawsuits-idaho-tennessee-oklahoma-39257646d84255feff5a82f401f32b79">other cases</a>&nbsp;has been met by a slew of voter initiatives over abortion access, all of which have so far favored the side supported by abortion rights supporters. In Nebraska,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ballot-measure-nebraska-0ccae759148162706ab1e2006ecb936e">advocates are trying to collect</a>&nbsp;about 125,000 signatures needed by July 5 to put a constitutional amendment before voters to protect abortion rights until fetal viability.Riepe delegated his bill as his priority for the session on Wednesday — a day before the deadline to do so. In Nebraska's unique one-chamber, officially nonpartisan Legislature, prioritizing a bill gives it elevated status, making it more likely to be advanced from committee and debated by all 49 state lawmakers.Riepe, an 81-year-old former hospital administrator, incurred the ire of his fellow Republicans last year when he refused to provide them the final vote needed to pass a bill that would have banned abortion once&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-laws-government-and-politics-health-77c9ba98c4f4ab46fdbd5bcc47b5b938">cardiac activity</a>&nbsp;could be detected, or about six weeks into pregnancy — before most women even know they're pregnant.Riepe abstained from voting on that bill after his amendment to extend the ban to 12 weeks and add an exception for fatal fetal anomalies was rejected. Following the vote, Riepe took to the mic to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-heartbeat-bill-nebraska-78b861951e8cc0ca92fa320820e2cbee">warn his Republican colleagues</a>&nbsp;that strict abortion bans would galvanize women to vote them out of office.He pointed to his own slim election victory in 2022, after the fall of Roe v. Wade, over a Democrat who made abortion rights central to her campaign.“This made the message clear to me how critical abortion will be in 2024,” Riepe said last year. “We must embrace the future of reproductive rights.”A 12-week ban was eventually folded into a bill to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-transgender-ban-nebraska-filibuster-b0b88845d29f1aaadf7936b7304a0507">restrict gender-affirming care</a>&nbsp;for minors and enacted last year.On the national stage, Democrats see the issue of abortion rights as a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/roe-biden-abortion-reproductive-rights-election-3d184285cc6edbe733311b26445db2a0">major driver</a>&nbsp;in a presidential election year. Abortion access advocates have pushed hard for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ballot-measure-2024-state-vote-e7d635835dc3a440789ad87787553ec1">ballot measure initiatives</a>&nbsp;aiming to protect abortion rightsAccording to an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-poll-roe-dobbs-ban-opinion-fcfdfc5a799ac3be617d99999e92eabe">AP-NORC poll last summer</a>, about two-thirds of Americans say abortion should generally be legal, but only about a quarter say it should always be legal and only about 1 in 10 say it should always be illegal.Adelle Burk with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska said Riepe’s bill falls well short of restoring full rights to abortion access, but that it “acknowledges some of the harm done by the bill passed last year and tries to control some of that damage.”More telling, she said, is that a bill to ease abortion restrictions is being championed by a Republican with a long history of supporting abortion bans. It indicates that at least some politicians recognize how unpopular the bans are, she said.“I think voters are deeply concerned about their rights and the overturning of Roe v. Wade," Burk said. “They're motivated to vote in even larger numbers this year and will be looking to protect and restore their rights.”

Nebraska Republican gives top priority to bill allowing abortions in cases of fatal fetal anomalies

LINCOLN —&nbsp;For a young middle schooler, a major challenge one day was a history test she had stayed up late studying for, confident she was “going to crush it.”

But as her teacher was passing out the test, the girl felt a “telltale wetness in her underwear”: Her menstrual period had begun.

She knew she couldn’t pull out a crinkly pad in the “dead quiet classroom” or sit bleeding. She could pull her sweatshirt down to cover her pants and walk stiffly to the front of the room to ask to use the restroom. Once there, she could either hope a friend could help or try to go to the nurse.

“But by that time, she’s going to have to go home because her pants are ruined, so goodbye history test,” Lincoln East High School senior Cassidy Bell told the Education Committee on Monday.

“That girl was me, and that girl was just about every woman in this room,” Cassidy continued. “That girl is a lot of girls in Nebraska right now.”

In part because of Cassidy’s advocacy, menstrual products are available in all of Lincoln Public Schools’ middle and high schools, after such a program began earlier at Lincoln East.

State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln introduced&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=54746">Legislative Bill 1050</a>&nbsp;to require school districts to provide menstrual products in girls’ bathrooms or locker rooms by the 2025-26 school year.

The bill does not include an appropriation, but the Nebraska Department of Education, which would be required to supply products,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/FN/LB1050_20240209-124531.pdf">estimates an annual cost</a>&nbsp;of $750,000 for the approximately 84,000 female students in grades 6-12 in public schools. An extra $123,000 would go toward operating expenses and hiring an additional staff member.

The Legislature has previously&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=47162">removed a sales tax on menstrual supplies</a>&nbsp;and provided period products to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/nebraska-prisons-increase-inmate-access-to-tampons-0d5df446ee644898ac004c99e75464f4">incarcerated women and girls</a>, which Conrad described as first steps.

“It goes of course to our dignity and our humanity,” Conrad told the Education Committee.

Alyssa Capek, an eighth grader at Crete Middle School, said it can be “traumatic and embarrassing” for girls when their period starts and they’re 11 years old with no products.&nbsp;

At Crete, Alyssa added, students are not allowed to carry backpacks between classes, and students don’t want to risk getting in trouble for stopping at their locker on a bathroom pass.

Archita Raj of Elkhorn South High School said regardless of income, female students struggle with this issue, and “all understand the feeling of panic when we forget a tampon and how distracting that can be to our learning.”

Cassidy described talking with a woman who had been in the first graduating class of Lincoln East, which opened in 1967, and feeling frustrated as the woman said she tried a similar project decades ago.&nbsp;

Equity, Cassidy testified, requires acknowledging that some barriers are created by one’s body and “treating girls’ bodies as female, menses and all.”

“Once female students hit puberty, we’re given this insurmountable task of being our own nurses and our own janitors,” Cassidy said. “And because we don’t talk about it, we girls never say to each other, ‘Maybe it doesn’t have to be like this.’”

The Nebraska State Education Association, Nebraska Association of School Boards, ACLU of Nebraska and Lincoln and Grand Island Public Schools representatives also testified in support.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/2/1708016579848.jpeg" alt="Lincoln East High School senior Cassidy Bell, center, is immediately flanked by State Sen. Danielle Conrad and her legislative aide Julia Holmquist after a hearing for a bill to require K-12 Nebraska schools to provide free menstrual products to students. The trio is flanked by Nebraska women and girls who showed up in support on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, in Lincoln. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>Lincoln East High School senior Cassidy Bell, center, is immediately flanked by State Sen. Danielle Conrad and her legislative aide Julia Holmquist after a hearing for a bill to require K-12 Nebraska schools to provide free menstrual products to students. The trio is flanked by Nebraska women and girls who showed up in support on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, in Lincoln. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>LINCOLN —&nbsp;For a young middle schooler, a major challenge one day was a history test she had stayed up late studying for, confident she was “going to crush it.”But as her teacher was passing out the test, the girl felt a “telltale wetness in her underwear”: Her menstrual period had begun.She knew she couldn’t pull out a crinkly pad in the “dead quiet classroom” or sit bleeding. She could pull her sweatshirt down to cover her pants and walk stiffly to the front of the room to ask to use the restroom. Once there, she could either hope a friend could help or try to go to the nurse.“But by that time, she’s going to have to go home because her pants are ruined, so goodbye history test,” Lincoln East High School senior Cassidy Bell told the Education Committee on Monday.“That girl was me, and that girl was just about every woman in this room,” Cassidy continued. “That girl is a lot of girls in Nebraska right now.”<h2>‘Our dignity and our humanity’</h2>In part because of Cassidy’s advocacy, menstrual products are available in all of Lincoln Public Schools’ middle and high schools, after such a program began earlier at Lincoln East.State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln introduced&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=54746">Legislative Bill 1050</a>&nbsp;to require school districts to provide menstrual products in girls’ bathrooms or locker rooms by the 2025-26 school year.The bill does not include an appropriation, but the Nebraska Department of Education, which would be required to supply products,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/FN/LB1050_20240209-124531.pdf">estimates an annual cost</a>&nbsp;of $750,000 for the approximately 84,000 female students in grades 6-12 in public schools. An extra $123,000 would go toward operating expenses and hiring an additional staff member.The Legislature has previously&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=47162">removed a sales tax on menstrual supplies</a>&nbsp;and provided period products to&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/nebraska-prisons-increase-inmate-access-to-tampons-0d5df446ee644898ac004c99e75464f4">incarcerated women and girls</a>, which Conrad described as first steps.“It goes of course to our dignity and our humanity,” Conrad told the Education Committee.<h2>‘Insurmountable task’</h2>Alyssa Capek, an eighth grader at Crete Middle School, said it can be “traumatic and embarrassing” for girls when their period starts and they’re 11 years old with no products.&nbsp;At Crete, Alyssa added, students are not allowed to carry backpacks between classes, and students don’t want to risk getting in trouble for stopping at their locker on a bathroom pass.Archita Raj of Elkhorn South High School said regardless of income, female students struggle with this issue, and “all understand the feeling of panic when we forget a tampon and how distracting that can be to our learning.”Cassidy described talking with a woman who had been in the first graduating class of Lincoln East, which opened in 1967, and feeling frustrated as the woman said she tried a similar project decades ago.&nbsp;Equity, Cassidy testified, requires acknowledging that some barriers are created by one’s body and “treating girls’ bodies as female, menses and all.”“Once female students hit puberty, we’re given this insurmountable task of being our own nurses and our own janitors,” Cassidy said. “And because we don’t talk about it, we girls never say to each other, ‘Maybe it doesn’t have to be like this.’”The Nebraska State Education Association, Nebraska Association of School Boards, ACLU of Nebraska and Lincoln and Grand Island Public Schools representatives also testified in support.No one testified in opposition. The committee took no immediate action.